On Tuesday, Nov. 5, the Board of Trustees met on campus from Oct. 24–26 to discuss a variety of issues affecting the college and to name Laurie Patton President Emerita prior to her departure in January. The trustees also reviewed new fundraising by the “For Every Future” campaign, learned about the college’s finances and projected budget deficit for the 2025 fiscal year, and heard student presentations, according to a press release from the college.
Board members met with Patton and Sarah Stroup, professor of Political Science and director of the Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation, to review the $25 million initiative and its implementation on campus so far.
“The board participated in a “Conflict Styles Self-Assessment,” Stroup wrote in an email to The Campus. “The point of the exercise is not to suggest that there is a ‘best’ conflict style, but to enable reflection on what each person tends to do in conflict situations and then think about whether that approach is best suited for achieving their goals.”
Stroup and Brian Lind, associate dean for Community Standards, announced the creation of the Laurie Patton Leadership in Conflict Transformation Award. The award will be given annually to recognize an undergraduate student who has made “significant contributions to the campus through community building efforts and a dedication to peacebuilding and understanding,” according to the announcement.
“Our goal with this award is to spotlight a student who has truly embodied the work of Conflict Transformation,” Lind wrote in an email to The Campus. “President Patton’s leadership in this area is an important part of her legacy as president and this felt like an appropriate way to both honor her work and elevate the work of students in an ongoing way.”
Much of the board’s meetings three weeks ago focused on the college’s financial highlights with the endowment growth and new offerings at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS).
In the 2024 fiscal year, Middlebury’s finances experienced an overall growth of 9.2% compared to the prior fiscal year with a 6.7% increase in expenses attributable to inflation in health care and wages. The college will face a projected budget deficit of $8.9 million for the current fiscal year, which it intends to address through a four-year plan that includes the business plan for MIIS the trustees approved last spring.
Starting in fall of 2025, MIIS will offer two shorter master’s programs with new online degree programs in cybersecurity, organizational leadership and analytics. The college’s press release stated the trustees hope these changes will increase enrollment at Monterey for students interested in pursuing careers in what are seen as timely and high-demand fields. These adjustments come at a price, with trustees also voting to increase tuition and fees at MIIS by 3.5% from $23,278 to $24,935 per semester for in-person, full-time students.
In Vermont, the construction of the 200-unit mixed-income housing project, Stonecrop Meadows, is set to begin in the coming months, and the trustees last month approved a $2.5 million investment in Summit Properties to cover infrastructure costs.
The board also designated one million dollars in additional funding over the span of a 20-year period to support the renovation of the Ilsley Library, which has plans for a two-story addition.
In addition to funding from the college to the town of Middlebury, Dan Courcey, vice president for Advancement, updated board members on the “For Every Future: The Campaign for Middlebury” which has raised over $485 million. This milestone brings the college closer to its $600 million goal it announced when the campaign entered its public phase in 2023.
On Oct. 23, four student divestment representatives from Middlebury Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) met with the College Board of Advisors, the Resource Committee of the Board of Trustees and administrators to discuss their ongoing campaign for divesting the endowment from war profiteering. This meeting was a follow-up from an earlier conversation between SJP and administration members in May of this year.
“Initially, we presented the College with a list of 45 companies curated from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and as a sign of good faith, committed to a shorter list of twenty-five companies… Their refusal to take action and begin the divestment process has led us to re-commit to the list of 45 companies,” wrote one member of SJP in an email to The Campus.
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, SJP student representatives plan on giving a presentation parallel to the one they gave to the Board of Trustees in hopes of allowing students to learn more about their divestment campaign.
“We will continue to meet with the Board of Trustees through administrative networks for as long as necessary,” wrote another member of the SJP. “However, our efforts must be reciprocated with intentional actions by the Board of Trustees.”
The Board of Trustees will meet again remotely on Feb. 6–8, 2025, and for the final time this academic year on May 8–10.
Rosella Graham '25 (she/her) is a News Editor.
Rosella is an International Politics & Economics major and Spanish minor from San Mateo, California. She spent her junior year in Madrid and outside of The Campus she enjoys co-hosting a radio show and playing lacrosse with friends.
