President’s Message on Health and Welfare Benefits

Dear Monterey Institute Faculty and Staff:

I am writing to keep faculty and staff informed regarding ongoing integration efforts that are bringing systems, processes, and policies at MIIS and Middlebury College into alignment with one another. As you know, the goal of the two boards of trustees and two presidents at MIIS and Middlebury with respect to institutional policies is to achieve parity, meaning not necessarily identical policies, but highly compatible ones that may be adapted to the unique circumstances of either campus.

In the area of health and welfare benefits, our analysis has pointed to distinct advantages with respect to both absolute cost and the coverage we get for our money when we team up with Middlebury to create a larger pool of enrollees.

At the MIIS board meeting later this month, we will be presenting a proposal to align MIIS health and welfare benefits with Middlebury’s beginning on January 1, 2010. The changes being proposed will result in more generous benefits and greater choice of providers than are available under the existing MIIS plans. The specific changes include:

o Transition MIIS to the Middlebury medical plan (a self-insured plan under which the College contracts with CBA Blue to administer its claims process)

o Transition MIIS to the Middlebury dental plan

o Existing vision plan retained by MIIS, but not added by Middlebury

o Consolidate COBRA administration

o Consolidate flexible spending administration (with retention of debit card feature for MIIS employees)

o Consolidate Employee Assistance Program (retaining student coverage at MIIS)

o Joint transition by both MIIS and Midd employees to Mutual of Omaha life insurance, disability, etc., with adjustment for California disability plan

o Implementation of income sensitive premiums at MIIS

Overall Impact of Proposal:

o Significant potential monetary savings for the Institute, that would become available to address other pressing needs

o Plans have similar or greater value

o Greater flexibility in choice of medical and dental providers

o Overall ratio of employer to employee contributions remains approximately the same

o Income sensitivity in employee contributions, based on a percent of pay

o most employees will see reduced premiums

o some more highly compensated employees will see increased premiums

o one-year transitional funding to provide the latter employees with a year to budget for the increase

Among the benefits we can look forward to if this plan is approved by the board is an enhanced ability for Middlebury Human Resources staff to assist Institute employees with questions and issues, since all Middlebury and MIIS employees will be under the same benefit plans.

Because the MIIS plan year begins in October, we will conduct an open enrollment period to continue our existing plans for the three months remaining in 2009. Open enrollment for calendar year 2010 will take place in November and December. HR staff from MIIS and Middlebury will offer a series of webinars and/or videoconferences in order to explain the various benefit plans and answer questions from faculty and staff.

We believe these changes retain all of the key components of existing health and welfare benefits for Institute employees, while offering significant cost and/or coverage advantages for many members of our community. This proposal was presented to the Faculty Senate and the Staff Advisory Team on September 15, and will be presented to the Institute’s board of trustees for approval at their regularly scheduled September 24-26 meeting. This timing will ensure our ability to implement the changes by the January 1 start of the new plan year.

We will make every effort to respond to any questions or concerns faculty or staff may have about these changes. Please direct your questions to Cathy Vincent or Michael Ulibarri in the Human Resources office.

Sunder

President Ramaswamy Goes Head-to-Head with David Letterman

One of the highlights of Commencement and Inauguration weekend was Sunder’s Top Ten list, which we share here:

The Top 10 reasons why I accepted the presidency at the Monterey Institute of International Studies

10. When I moved from Middlebury College to the Madras School of Economics in Madras, India, I was looking for another place that began with an “M”.
9.  The Board of Trustees offered free passes to the aquarium.
8.  I looove the smell of fog in the morning.
7.  No spring mud season – yeah !!
6.  Nobody says “no” to Clara Yu!
5.  I thought this was DLI…
4.  Monterey’s zip code 93940 is cooler and closer to 90210 than Middlebury’s 05753.
3.  I wanted to have a golf game.
2.  I wanted a real challenge, like being a college president during a historic economic meltdown.

And the number one reason for me to join the Monterey Institute…

1.    I always dreamed of one-upping Dave Letterman by having my Top 10 List translated into seven languages.

On a more serious academic note, Sunder’s remarks at the Inaugural Symposium are attached.

Commencement and Inauguration Plans Announced

Dear Members of the MIIS Community:

We are now just three weeks from one of the most exciting times of the year – commencement.  This event represents the culmination of years of work and study for hundreds of our students, and is a chance for family members and guests to celebrate with us this momentous time in our students’ lives.

This year’s spring commencement will include all of the customary celebrations – the garden party reception on Friday, May 15, the commencement ceremony itself on Saturday, May 16, and the commencement reception afterwards.  In addition, the commencement ceremony will include my formal inauguration as president of the Institute.

The decision to join the two events offers a wonderful opportunity to showcase the amazing work our students and faculty are doing both locally and around the globe for a wide audience encompassing the campus community, our Board of Trustees, and our friends and supporters.  The day before commencement, on May 15 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, we will convene an inaugural symposium titled “Being The Solution: Building Leadership From Monterey To Mumbai,” which will feature sessions and stations spotlighting a variety of student and faculty projects, accomplishments, and disciplines.  In that way, the symposium will provide rich context for family members and guests in particular to understand the scope and significance of our graduating students’ achievements.  All MIIS community members – students, family members and guests, alumni, faculty and staff — are invited to attend the symposium.

The schedule of events for May 15-16 is as follows:

Friday, May 15

1:00 pm – 5:00 pm   Inauguration Symposium – Irvine Auditorium
(Agenda attached)

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm   Graduation Garden Party –  Holland Center Courtyard

Saturday, May 16

1:00 pm – 3:30 pm   Commencement and Inauguration  – Colton Hall Lawn

3:30 pm – 5:30 pm   Commencement Reception – Samson Student Center

I look forward to sharing with you two days of celebration of the Institute, our important mission, and the students who are our reason for being here.

Best regards,
Sunder

President Ramaswamy Announces Expanded MIIS Role for Bob Huth

I am pleased to announce that Bob Huth, a frequent visitor from Middlebury and valued partner in our preparations for financial integration, has agreed to take on a significant role in the MIIS community over the next 16 months.

Bob, who is currently Executive Vice President at Middlebury, will take on the principal responsibility for guiding and supporting our financial operations effective July 1, 2009, and lead those efforts all the way through full integration with Middlebury on June 30, 2010.

Bob has been involved in the Middlebury-Monterey affiliation since it began, and has worked diligently with colleagues at Monterey to lay the groundwork to ensure the smoothest transition possible for both Monterey and Middlebury.

A graduate of Moravian College, Bob has been at Middlebury since 1998 and is a certified public accountant with an M.B.A. from Lehigh University. Bob has over 30 years of experience in finance and accounting, including serving as Senior Vice President for Administration at Moravian College and Controller of Lehigh University.  He is a past President of the Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers (EACUBO), a former Board member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) from 2001 to 2004, and has served as a Commissioner of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) since 2007.

Bob will spend approximately 3/4 of his time in California and, back in Vermont, will continue to oversee Middlebury’s Department of Facilities Services and real estate holdings.  He will also continue his service as a NEASC commissioner.

Bob and his wife Barbara are in the process of relocating to Monterey for the duration of this assignment, and I am sure you will all give them a warm reception.

Jim Graber, who has provided exceptional service to the Institute as interim CFO during the early stages of integration, will complete his contract at the end of June, at which time Bob will assume the title of Acting Executive Director of Business and Finance Operations at the Institute.

We are extremely grateful for Jim’s contribution to the Institute, as a six-month initial assignment turned into a two-and-a-half-year stay marked by increasing financial stability and progress toward our strategic goal of long-term sustainability.  We have been fortunate to benefit from Jim’s wisdom and experience, and he and Deb will remain in our circle of friends in the Monterey community.

MIIS M-squared Program Committee Named

In February, we announced the appointment of Tsuneo Akaha to the position of M2 Academic Programs Coordinator.  We are now pleased to announce that Tsuneo has assembled the M2 Program Committee, which includes members of the academic administration and faculty representing key areas of potential synergy between the Monterey Institute and Middlebury’s various programs.

The members of the M2 Program Committee are:

Tsuneo Akaha, GSIPM faculty in International Policy Studies; coordinator
Amy Sands, Provost
Yuwei Shi, GSIPM faculty in International Business and dean designate
Renee Jourdenais, dean, GSLEL; dean designate, GSTILE
Anna Vassilieva, GSTILE faculty in Language Studies
Jeff Langholz, GSIPM faculty in Environmental Studies
Fernando De Paolis, GSIPM faculty in International Policy Studies
John Balcom, GSTILE faculty in Translation and Interpretation
Patricia Lewis, deputy director, JMCNS

The M2 Program Committee will initially focus on program opportunities that build on established strengths at both institutions, including languages and linguistics, international policy and management, and international environmental policy.  We thank them for their willingness to undertake this important work.

We are looking forward to a visit from the Middlebury M2 Program Committee in early April, to meet their Monterey counterparts and begin to get to know our programs and faculty.  This is the first step in building a strong integrated academic community that we believe will result in exciting new opportunities for our students, faculty, and staff.

Planning Retreats Generate Ideas for GSIPM, GSTILE

Seventy faculty staff and students met on Friday morning at La Playa hotel in Carmel to discuss ideas for ensuring academic excellence through the merger of the policy and business school, and their collaboration with a new office of advising, career and student services.  They were joined for lunch by an additional 50 faculty, staff and students representing translation, interpretation and language education progrms.  The latter group stayed on for their own afternoon retreat to develop ideas for  the new graduate school encompassing all language-related programs.

After hearing briefly from President Ramaswamy and the new academic leadership team — provost Amy Sands and deans designate Renee Jourdenais, Tate Miller, and Yuwei Shi — about the vision for the reorganization and the goals of the retreat, each group spent most of the allotted four hours in break-out sessions discussing questions designed to elicit ideas for exploiting synergies between programs within and across schools, and for developing strong relationships between academic programs and the new advising function.  Notes from the retreat are posted in an online Reorganization Resource Center and members of the community are invited to comment or add their ideas.

GSIPM NOTES

GSTILE NOTES

You can either read the notes directly on the site, at the links above, or scroll to the bottom of the page to download a Word file.  Please note that the notes are numbered by group in the order in which we received them, not by the table numbers at the retreat.

A third retreat devoted to the new Office of Advising, Career, and Student Services is planned for Friday, February 27 from 1-5 pm (preceded by lunch from 12-1), also at La Playa. There are still spaces open in this retreat, although there is very limited availability for the lunch. Contact Amy McGill if you are interested in attending.

Join the Rideshare Rewards Program for a Chance to win $1000!

MIIS has been a registered member of this government sponsored program since the fall of 2007. Joining the program is easy! All you have to do is drop your membership application off at the President’s Office and hand your monthly logs in at the President’s Office at the end of each month.  For every day you carpool, vanpool, bicycle, walk, or ride the bus your name will be entered into a monthly drawing to win $1000!

So far, our 50 Rideshare members logged a total of 2,287 days of alternate transportation use, two MIIS students have won $1000 each, and other students have won prizes such as an iPod and an eco-tour vacation!

Here is how you can become a member:

Step 1: Download a membership application

Step 2: Drop your application off at the Reception Desk in the President’s Office.

Step 3: Keep monthly commute logs tracking the number of days you use alternative transportation. Then turn them in to Barbara Burke by the 26th of each month for signature. Logs will be faxed to Commute Alternatives for the drawing. The drawing winner will be announced by the 5th of the following month.

Drawings will occur each month throughout the academic year.

Remember, each day counts as an entry in to the drawing!

The Rideshare Rewards Program is offered by AMBAG, a governmental organization, to registered members throughout the region. The mission of AMBAG’s Commute Alternatives program is to “reduce traffic congestion and automobile emissions while optimizing the use of existing transportation infrastructure in the Monterey Bay region.” You can help fufill this mission. Join the program today!

Provost and Planning Appointments Announced

President Sunder Ramaswamy announces the appointment of two additional members of his administrative team:

Provost Amy Sands has been reappointed to her current role, and will continue to provide academic leadership to the Institute. She is charged with coordinating the work of reorganizing our academic administration, which begins next month, ensuring that we achieve what we have set out to accomplish: programs that are individually distinguished by their strength and academic excellence, contributing to a whole that is even greater than the sum of its parts.

Provost Sands brings to this challenging task her three years of experience in her current role, as well as three years as dean of GSIPS. Her knowledge of our academic programs, her contribution to the redefinition of academic excellence for the Monterey Institute, and the esteem in which she is held by her colleagues, have equipped her well for the task of building two vibrant, interdependent, forward-looking graduate schools, and an over-arching advising function that serves our students as lifelong members of an academic and professional community.

Amy McGill will also continue as a member of the administration, in the role of Executive Director of Planning and Special Projects.  She came to the Institute in 2007 from the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education, after serving as the associate director and then director of Middlebury’s Center for Educational Technology.  She has appreciated the opportunity to continue working with long time Middlebury colleagues, but at the same time has developed a deep commitment to the Monterey Institute’s mission and its people.  She will leverage her knowledge of the strengths of both institutions as she continues to coordinate the M2 integration process, with a focus on finance operations and communications functions.

She will also oversee and develop the Institute’s human resources and technology services and programs; facilitate innovation across the Institute; and provide leadership for special projects that advance the Institute’s strategic goals.

The two Amys join Beth McDermott, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement, and Jason Warburg, Executive Director of Communications, whose appointments were announced previously, and Barbara Burke and Jim Graber, whose positions are ongoing, to form the President’s Staff.

M-squared Finance, Operations and Communications Group Formed

As the Institute moves closer to the June 30, 2010 date for legal integration with Middlebury, President Ramaswamy is taking steps to formalize some of the structures that we have in place for keeping the M-squared integration planning process on track.  Beginning this week, Amy McGill will chair a bi-weekly Finance, Operations and Communications group, mirroring a similar group at Middlebury.  While meetings between counterparts on both campuses (such as those in HR, IT, IA, Finance and Communications) will continue as needed to collaborate on specific projects, we hope that regular FOC meetings here will enable us to better coordinate the many facets of our evolving relationship with Middlebury.

FOC members at Monterey are:  Amy McGill (Planning, Technology and HR), Jim Graber (Finance), Steve Marino (Finance), Beth McDermott (Advancement), Jason Warburg (Communications), Jill Stoffers (Enrollment), Cathy Vincent (Human Resources).

Members of the community who have questions or concerns relating to integration are welcome to bring those issues to any member of the FOC group, and we’ll report back regularly with news of our progress.

Welcome to Newcomers, Visitors!

The torch has now been officially passed to our new president, Sunder Ramaswamy! While he has not quite unpacked all his boxes in the president’s office, he is settled in his new home in Monterey with his wife, Varna, and son, Srivats, and they are ready to “be the solution” with all of us at MIIS.

We’re also joined today by Jason Warburg, our new Executive Director of Communications.  Jason comes to us from the Sacramento area, where his career has included communications and public relations for EDFUND, a non-profit organization that administers student loan programs in California. Jason also served as the legislative director and senior policy and communications advisor for California’s Lieutenant Governor for a number of years. He has an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown, and a B.A. in Political Science from UC Davis.

Last, but far from least, we welcome some special visitors from Middlebury:

•    President Ron Liebowitz, his wife, Jessica, and their three children will be with us for the next two weeks, so that Ron can engage in some west coast development activities and attend the MIIS Board meeting.
•    MIIS Trustee and Middlebury Professor Russ Leng has returned, by popular demand, to teach his winter term course on War.
•    Mike Roy, Middlebury’s new Dean of Library and Information Services, will be on campus next week (January 12 and 13), learning about our library and technology resources and exploring possibilities for collaboration and integration.

Clara Yu Honored by City of Monterey and MIIS Colleagues

On Tuesday, December 16, the City of Monterey City Council honored MIIS President Clara Yu for her accomplishments over the past three years.  Later, at the annual faculty and staff holiday party, colleagues paid tribute to Clara and wished Clara and John a fond and regretful farewell.  Thanks, Clara, for everything, from all of us!

MIIS Reorganization Planning Information Published

As promised by President Designate Sunder Ramaswamy at last week’s series of meetings, here is a presentation on the administrative reorganization of the Monterey Institute’s academic programs. It provides guiding principles for the reorganization, an overview of key elements and rationale, timelines, and a preview of the process for community engagement.  Also attached is a document that describes the key leadership positions within the restructured administration and invites expressions of interest in these roles between now and December 15.

Stay tuned for further details regarding faculty and staff participation in the February retreats (dates, times, locations, how to sign up).

MIIS, DLI Sponsor Panel Discussion

The Monterey Institute of International Studies and the Defense Language
Institute cordially invite you to attend a panel discussion, titled
“Leadership in a Time of War”, on Wednesday, November 19 from 6:30PM –
8:00PM in the Irvine Auditorium, featuring:

* LTC Danial Pick, former Army Attaché, U.S. Embassy, Amman, Jordan and
Iraq Policy Officer, Office of the Secretary of Defense.

* Bill Murphy Jr., author of In a Time of War: The Proud and Perilous
Journey of West Point’s Class of 2002
and a former Army JAG office who
reported from Iraq for The Washington Post.

* Mike Cerre, an Emmy-award winning journlist for ABC News in Iraq who
served as an USMC officer in Vietnam.

* CPT Fergal O’Reilly, a former platoon leader with the 82nd Airborne in
Afghanistan and Iraq, who is now assigned to the Defense Language
Institute.

The discussion will be moderated by Capt DJ Skelton, who was wounded
during U.S. combat operations in Fallujah, Iraq in Nov 2004.  He is one of
the leading U.S. Army advocates for Wounded Warriors, playing a key role
in strategic policy development and analysis regarding care for wounded
servicemen and who currently serves at the Defense Language Institute.
Bios for all of the participants (except O’Reilly) are attached.

Join these Iraq war veterans and the author of an important new book on
the sacrifices of young American Army officers for a discussion about
country, service, and leadership in a time of war.

There will be a light reception in the McCone Atrium immediately following
the panel discussion.

Reorganization Planning Begins November 13

Monterey Institute faculty, staff, and students are all invited to join President Designate Sunder Ramaswamy for an initial discussion about the MIIS reorganization planning process on Thursday, November 13, 2008.

The agenda of the meeting will be to share guiding principles, expected outcomes, and indicative timeline with the MIIS community, including how the community will be able to participate in and contribute to the reorganization efforts going forward.  In addition, there will be a brief update provided on the current integration progress with Middlebury.

To enable more interactive, focused discussions, Dr. Ramaswamy will hold four one-hour meetings with faculty, staff, and students, one for each school. Administrative staff may join any of the four meetings of their choosing.  If faculty, staff, and students cannot attend their school’s session for any reason, they are welcome to attend another school’s session.  Please find the meeting schedule below:

Meeting Schedule
Thursday, November 13

12:00PM          GSTI                Irvine Auditorium

1:00PM            FGSIB             Irvine Auditorium

2:00PM            GSIPS             Irvine Auditorium

4:00PM            GSLEL            Irvine Auditorium

We look forward to your attendance and contributions as we begin this exciting process in achieving an even stronger, better institution for our future global leaders.

Trustees Approve Monterey Institute Reorganization

The following message was sent to the Institute community on Friday.

To the members of the Monterey Institute community,

At its meeting this morning, the Board of Trustees of the Monterey Institute of International Studies unanimously approved the following resolution regarding reorganization of the academic administration.

RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees approves the following academic administrative reorganization, effective Academic Year 2009/2010:

*  The Graduate School of International Policy Studies and Fisher Graduate School of International Business will become a single Graduate School of International Policy and Management.

*  The Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation and the Graduate School of Language and Educational Linguistics will become a single Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education.

In taking this action, the Board gave careful consideration to the thoughtful and constructive input it has received from the community.

Our intention in approving this reorganization is to reaffirm the commitment of the Board and the administration to pursue academic excellence as we look toward the process of reaccreditation by NEASC and AACSB.  We believe that the synergies within the new structure will enhance our programs and make the Institute a truly distinctive leader in global education.

As we proceed to develop the details within this basic organizational framework, there are many decisions to be made. We value the engagement of the whole Institute community in a collaborative and appreciative process, to be announced in a timely manner. 

William H Kieffer III, Chair of the Board of Trustees

Clara Yu, President

Sunder Ramaswamy, President Designate