Middlebury College has announced that the role of interim president next year will be filled by Stephen Snyder, dean of Middlebury Language Schools and vice president for Academic Affairs, beginning Jan. 1, 2025. He will serve through June 30, or until the 18th president of the college is chosen.
In May, current President Laurie Patton announced her plans to leave Middlebury after accepting a position as President of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Patton will depart the college in January, nearly 10 years after her arrival as president in July 2015.
Snyder recently served as the interim dean of the Middlebury Institute in Monterey (MIIS) for eight months and is currently on sabbatical, according to a letter on Friday from Ted Truscott ’83, chair of the Board of Trustees. In addition to his other roles, Snyder is the Kawashima Professor of Japanese Studies, having joined the department in 2005 before being named dean of Language Schools in 2014.
Snyder has also been recognized by various literary organizations; in 2020, he won the American Book Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award for his translation of “The Memory Police.” He also was named a finalist for the International Booker Prize for other works.
“The Board of Trustees and I feel privileged that in Steve we’ve been able to name such a prolific scholar, admired teacher, accomplished administrator, and above all, generous colleague to serve as interim president,” Truscott wrote. He added that the decision to select Snyder was unanimous among the Board of Trustees.
Truscott announced Snyder’s appointment at the first faculty meeting of the semester on Friday, Sept. 6, held at the Bread Loaf campus in Ripton, Vt. The faculty address was followed by an announcement to staff members on the main campus and a letter sent to all community members Friday morning.
Truscott mentioned that, being on sabbatical, Snyder was initially reluctant to accept the position. After encouragement from other trustees with whom Snyder is close, he accepted the position.
“We are so indebted to Steve and so grateful to him, he and Linda, because Linda’s a part of this too, that they would forgo the second half of their sabbatical to serve Middlebury College,” Truscott said. “I mean, that is an act of true love for Middlebury.”
Truscott also reminded faculty of the importance of honoring Snyder’s sabbatical — he was not in attendance at the meeting — and that Snyder’s role as interim president does not begin until January.
“We want to let Steve be on sabbatical. Laurie Patton is still the president of Middlebury College. So if you would let Steve have the first half of his sabbatical and let Laurie be the president of Middlebury College, I think we’re going to have a great fall together.”
In July, the Middlebury Board of Trustees appointed a presidential search committee of 18 community members. The committee is chaired by Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees Kirtley Cameron ’95 and includes eight other current or former trustees, three Middlebury College professors, two MIIS faculty, several members of the staff and administration, and one current student.
The committee’s charge is to recommend a final candidate to the Board of Trustees, who retains the sole power to select the college’s next president.
Board of Trustees leadership also selected the executive search firm Isaacson, Miller to assist the committee in recruiting candidates and managing the process. In an email to The Campus, search process leadership wrote that trustees were “impressed by their thorough candidate research and vetting process, as well as their ability to place highly qualified candidates from a broad range of diverse backgrounds.” Isaacson, Miller has notably placed presidents at Bates College, Hamilton College, Michigan State University, Stanford University and Northwestern University.
Throughout the search, the committee has emphasized its efforts to engage community members in the process, allowing them to express their vision of Middlebury’s next president. In his letter, Truscott announced the search committee’s plans for ongoing outreach, including a listening session with MIIS faculty on Sept. 12 and a second listening session for students, faculty and staff in Wilson Hall on Oct. 8. The search committee is also soliciting feedback from faculty, staff and students through online surveys.
Search leadership wrote that “The [presidential search] timeline will depend on the time it will take to find the right candidate. We do not want to rush the process, but at the same time we understand it will be important to have a president in place by the start of the next academic year, if not sooner.” Truscott told the assembled faculty at the Friday meeting that the committee hopes to select the college’s next president by February 2025.
“We want to hear what you have to say about this, we want to have as open and transparent of a process as we possibly can and of course do a great job of selecting a future president of Middlebury and building on Laurie’s awesome legacy,” Truscott said.
Maggie Bryan '25 (she/her) is the Senior Arts and Culture Editor.
Maggie has previously served as Arts and Culture Editor and Staff Writer. She hails from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and is double majoring in French and Environmental Policy. This spring, she will be studying abroad in Paris. During her free time, she can be found running on the TAM or teaching spin classes in the FIC.
Evan Weiss '25 is a news editor.
Ryan McElroy '25 (he/him) is a managing editor for The Middlebury Campus.
He previously served as a news editor and staff writer.
Ryan is majoring in History with a possible minor in psychology or English. He also takes part in Middlebury Mock Trial and Matriculate.org on campus. He spent this past summer working as a research assistant in the History department studying Middle Eastern immigration to New England.
