Dairy king to address seniors

Author: Brian Fung

Gary Hirshberg, chairman, president and self-described "CEYo" of Stonyfield Farm, will deliver Middlebury's commencement address on May 24 to the graduating class of 2009. At an event expected to draw more than 5,000, Hirshberg and six others will also receive honorary degrees from the College.

Since joining Stonyfield Farm in 1983, Hirshberg has been an outspoken proponent of sustainable business practices - making him, according to President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz, "somewhat of a maverick in the business community."

"He's articulate, bright and committed to something that mirrors and reflects the College's own values," said Liebowitz.

Stonyfield Farm is one of the world's top yogurt manufacturers. Based in Londonderry, N.H., the company claims over $300 million in annual sales and promotes environmentally friendly agriculture.

Hirshberg, 54, is a New Hampshire native who later became one of the first graduates to earn a degree from Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. After he began working for the Rural Education Center, a small organic farm school in his home state, Hirshberg and school founder Samuel Kaymen began making yogurt to offset the institution's costs.

Together, the two milked the cows, pitched their product to consumers and made deliveries. Hirshberg and Kaymen committed fully to yogurt when they realized that their message about sustainable agriculture could spread farther and faster as a company than as a school.

"We had seven cows, and no idea what we were doing," Hirshberg joked in a phone interview. "But we had a good yogurt recipe and were good salespeople."

Prior to his career in dairy products, Hirshberg was the executive director of the New Alchemy Institute, an environmental research organization in Hatchville, Mass. Until its closure in 1991, the New Alchemy Institute pursued research into organic gardening, aquaculture and bioshelters, which are advanced greenhouses capable of supporting fish and insect populations in addition to plant life.

Hirshberg has received a series of local and national awards, including BusinessNH Magazine's "Business Leader of the Year" and "New Hampshire's 1998 Small Business
Person of the Year" from the U.S. Small Business Administration. He is also a board member at - among others - the Dannon Company and Honest Tea.

The Stonyfield front man is known less for his actions than his ideas. For Pooja Shahani '09, a member of the Honorary Degree Committee that approved Hirshberg's selection, those ideas mean more than his relatively obscure status.

"Considering the economy today, we really need innovators like Gary," said Shahani, who expects Hirshberg to deliver nothing short of a dynamic and inspiring address. "He was the guy who suggested organic farming 25 years ago, when almost nobody knew what it was."

Hirshberg's selection comes at a time
when many business leaders nationwide are
being called out for unethical behavior. Hirshberg's commitment to social responsibility played a major role in the Honorary Degree Committee's final decision, according to committee chair David Salem.

"People have begun questioning not only
the legitimacy but the viability of democratic capitalism," said Salem in a phone interview.

"They're wondering if it's possible to be a successful capitalist without cutting ethical corners. Here you have a man who hasn't compromised."

Graduating seniors can expect Hirshberg
to discuss his transition from a liberal arts education in environmental studies to leadership of a multi-billion dollar business.

Upon conclusion of his address, Hirshberg will receive from the College an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, his eighth such doctorate. Joining him will be David A. Jones and his wife, Betty Ashbury Jones; President Emeritus of the College John M. McCardell and his wife, Bonnie McCardell; Frank Sesno; and Clara Yu, former president of Middlebury's Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS).

David A. Jones will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. A native of Louisville, Ky., Jones is a current MIIS trustee. After graduating from the University of Louisville in 1954, Jones served for three years in the U.S. Navy before pursuing law at Yale University. In 1961, he helped found Humana Inc., which went on to become one of the largest healthcare companies in the U.S.

Betty Ashbury Jones will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. A current trustee and former vice chair of the board at Middlebury College, Jones is also a 1984 graduate of Middlebury's French school - the only current trustee to be associated with the College's language programs. Together with her husband, Jones helped establish a $3 million grant to support MIIS.

John M. McCardell will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. McCardell was president of the College from 1992 to 2004; before that, he had served as a professor of American history. A wildly successful $200 million capital campaign during McCardell's presidency prompted the creation of an endowed professorship in McCardell's honor.

The College's science facility also bears the former president's name. McCardell is currently a founding member of the Amethyst Initiative, which seeks to renew debate over the 21-year-old drinking age in the United States.Bonnie McCardell will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. McCardell helped establish the annual Middlebury College Public Leadership awards and was deeply involved in educational and developmental initiatives in the local community during her husband's tenure. During her time volunteering for the College's Page One Literacy Project, McCardell helped distribute over 22,000 books to organizations nationwide.

Frank Sesno '77 will receive an honorary
Doctor of Letters degree. A College trustee from 1994 through 2004, Sesno joined CNN in the mid-1980s as a White House correspondent. Sesno later hosted the network's Sunday news talk show, "Late Edition with Frank Sesno," and is today a professor of public policy and communication at George Washington
University. By the end of the academic year, Sesno will have had two sons graduate from the College.

Clara Yu will receive an honorary Doctor of Education degree. After serving a stint as assistant professor of Chinese, Yu was named vice president for languages and director of the Summer Language Schools in 1993. She is responsible for designing what became the College's renowned major in international studies. Yu was also the 12th president of MIIS. She retired from the position last year.