Out on a Lim The need for transparency

Author: Leslie Lim

Middlebury is currently the proud owner of a certain college ranking, and a certain nagging fault along with it. Two weeks ago, I read in this very same paper about Middlebury's number one ranking in the Sierra Club's "Ten That Get It" list. Different from many other college rankings, the list is produced by the preeminent grassroots environmental organization, and focuses on our "greenness." We seem to be getting used to patting ourselves on the backs for attending a clearly green and clean, top-notch school. All these accolades being thrown at us have become a slight haze of commendations and congratulations. But at the end of many lists, there seems to be a continuing pattern of our only fault being "the administration's lack of transparency regarding current investments."

Wait, this sounded slightly familiar. Those around last year might remember we were patting ourselves on the back around the same time last year for getting a solid "A-" on our "College sustainability report card" issued by the Sustainable Endowment Institute. Yay for us! We became one of six schools to get such high marks. Looking closer, we also earned two Cs regarding "endowment transparency" and "investment priorities." In other words, no access for the public as to what Middlebury College does with its wallet.

Now, I don't mean to chide like a parent who only sees the B+ on an otherwise spotless report card. But this lack of transparency has me thinking. We uphold transparency in the political institutions and processes of this country as a cornerstone that ensures protection against corruption and villainy (at least in theory). Does that sense of need for transparency get lost in the smaller stage of Middlebury? As a private institution, Middlebury certainly has a right to do what it wants, including keeping its money matters under wraps. I'm not contesting anything of the sort. But I wonder whether it's wise to refuse the obvious safeguards transparency provides?

Taking an even closer look at the Middlebury microcosm, I've also noticed the lack of transparency regarding certain hiring procedures of the College. As a student of French (once upon a time) and Japanese, I'm on very familiar terms with language tables. And I've heard the frustrations of at least four people trying to figure out how to apply to become wait-staff at language tables. The entire process seems shrouded in mystery. No job listings online, no public notice of job availability, no clear channel of application and not even polite declining of eager applicants. What this amounts to is the visible frustration and resentment of the people who began their application with excitement and a generally positive outlook.

What I'm trying to illustrate here is the clear advantages of transparency even at the most basic level, in reducing unnecessary frustration and ill will. With transparency, wild accusations and insinuations that might come with any sort of opaque and murky territory could be much more easily rebutted. At Middlebury, we could leave our fiscal business behind closed doors, but I'd like to stress the common benefits of clear procedures and open dealings. After all, what do we have to hide?