Effective Feb. 1, 2015, Dr. Sunder Ramaswamy will step down from his position as the 13th president of the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS), a graduate school of Middlebury College. Ramaswamy announced his plans in an email addressed to MIIS faculty, staff, and students on Nov. 20, two days following the announcement of Dr. Laurie L. Patton’s appointment as the 17th President of Middlebury College.
In his email, Ramaswamy wrote, “It is an extraordinary privilege to lead the Monterey Institute, and every day I appreciate the community that we have nurtured and strengthened over the past seven years. To this end, as we undergo this period of dynamic change, I believe that this is the right time to align and synchronize changes in the leadership of MIIS with the transition in governance and presidential leadership at Middlebury.”
Ramaswamy assumed the presidency in January 2009. During his tenure, MIIS created its Graduate School of International Policy and Management (GSIPM) and Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education (GSTILE), launched new degree programs in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies, International Education Management and International Trade and Economic Diplomacy, and opened the Center for the Blue Economy, the Center for Conflict Studies and the Center for Social Impact Learning.
“It would be fair to say that MIIS is better positioned today than any time in its nearly 60-year history. And, these milestones are also a source of great personal satisfaction for me,” Ramaswamy said.
Prior to his move to MIIS, Ramaswamy was the Director for the Madras School of Economics in Chennai, India. He also held visiting positions with Vanderbilt University, the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in Chennai, India and the World Bank, where he worked on projects dealing with economic reform in India.
Ramaswamy was also Middlebury College’s Frederick C. Dirks Professor of International Economics. At the College, he served three terms as the chair of the Economics department from 1996 to 2003 and helped create the International Studies major. Ramaswamy also served as the Dean for Faculty Development and Research. He was the project director for the Middlebury-Monterey Integration Task Force and guided MIIS through its integration phase with the College.
In an email sent to MIIS faculty, staff and students, President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz discussed the transition plan for new leadership at the school.
“Consistent with the administrative structure at Middlebury and recommendations from our most recent 10-year Reaccreditation, we are replacing the president of the Institute with a vice president for academic affairs (VPAA) and dean of the Institute. This position will serve as both chief academic officer at MIIS and will also have responsibilities for the overall success and functioning of the Institute through collaboration with the senior administrative team at Middlebury,” Liebowitz said.
Jeff Dayton-Johnson, an associate professor of international studies at MIIS, will serve in this position in an interim capacity until Jun. 30, 2016, effective immediately.
Prior to joining the MIIS faculty, Dayton-Johnson served as a senior economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, where he served as the Head of the OECD Development Centre’s Americas Desk. Dayton-Johnson was also a professor of economics at Dalhousie University in Canada, where he coordinated the Master in Development Economics (MDE) program.
Liebowitz wrote, “[Dayton-Johnson] has emerged as a leader who is able to work across programmatic boundaries and who communicates the Institute’s curricular distinctiveness with compelling clarity … he has proven to be a clear and compelling communicator and has demonstrated his capacity for innovation and fruitful collaboration.”
After Ramaswamy officially steps down from his presidency, he will assist Dayton-Johnson until Jun. 30, 2015, serving as the Senior Advisor on Institutional Initiatives. Afterward, Ramaswamy will begin his scheduled sabbatical as a Distinguished College Professor of International Economics. He plans to shift his academic and research focus to the Indian economy and the development of higher education in India.
