MIDDBRIEFS

Author: LISIE MEHLMAN, POLLY JOHNSON AND KATHRYN FLAGG

At their annual May meeting this weekend, the Middlebury College Board of Trustees granted tenure to eight current assistant professors: Tim Huang of the Computer Science department, Pete Nelson of Geography, William Pyle and Thierry Warin of Economics, Patricia Saldarriaga of Spanish , Pavlos Sfyroeras of Classics, Yumna Siddiqi of English and Jacob Tropp of History.

Huang has coached students to perform successfully at computer programming competitions across the Northeast in addition to conducting research on topics such as artificial intelligence and computer science pedagogy.

Nelson, currently at work on a project exploring the social, economic and political consequences of the migration of domestic baby boomers and Latino immigrants into rural communities, teaches courses on Urban Geography, Population Geography and Economic Geography.

Teaching in the Russian and East European studies as well as the economics department, Pyle specializes in transition economies, and specifically the Russian economic system. Also from the economics department, Warin's research focuses on the politics and economics of the European Union. He is the author of three books and numerous articles.

Saldarriaga is a published poet and has a book forthcoming on the 17th century Mexican writer, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz.

Sfyroeras teaches courses in Latin and Greek and will soon have a book on the comedy of Aristophanes published by Harvard University Press.

A specialist in postcolonial literature, Siddiqi came to Middlebury after teaching for several years at the University of North Carolina. She has a book forthcoming from Columbia University Press.

The scholarship of Tropp, the current Spencer Fellow in African Studies, focuses on the history of South Africa, with an emphasis on the environmental practices and challenges of the Transkei region.

Assistant professors generally are reviewed for tenure after teaching at the College for at least five years and no later than eight years, and the Promotions Committee conducts such reviews at the time of the professor's choosing. The review process includes sit-in evaluations conducted by fellow professors as well as evaluations from each professor's department. The process also considers unsolicited letters from students. In addition to these evaluations, the College requires that professors produce scholarly or artistic achievements of significantly high quality to be eligible for promotion to tenure.

In the final stages of tenure reviews, recommendations for tenure are made by the president of the College to the Board of Trustees. Should a faculty member not be granted tenure, a similar review will be conducted at three-year intervals until the faculty member is promoted or leaves the institution.



Library preps for final exam all-nighters

The library plans to accommodate late-night crammers again this finals period. It will be open 24 hours a day beginning the night of Sunday, May 14. Students will be required to flash their Middlebury Access card for entry past 9 p.m. through 7 a.m. This policy will apply to faculty and staff, as well. Don't get any ideas about saving research until the last minute, though, because the Circulation, Reference and Help Desks will be closing at their normal times. Therefore, any resources that will be needed overnight must be checked out prior to the standard 1 a.m. closing.

The library announced for the first time last spring that it would keep its doors open all night for studious night-owls throughout the final exam period. This announcement followed complaints from students and initiatives from the SGA regarding library hours. While many students still bemoan the library's schedule during the academic semester, the Library and Information Services has cited funding and staffing constraints as obstacles to year-round 24-hour services.