On November 16, VPAA Jeff Dayton Johnson hosted a Town Hall meeting for faculty and staff to report on highlights of the fall semester, and to engage attendees in a discussion of a draft mission statement for the Institute.
Earlier in the Fall, members of the community were invited to contribute ideas for a new, more focused mission statement through an online tool that invited suggestions and allowed participants to offer amendments and vote various suggestions up or down. The Institute’s leadership groups refined this input to come up with a draft mission statement: The Middlebury Institute… educates professionals to advance understanding, promote peace, and drive change in pursuit of a more just world.
Dean Kent Glenzer led the Town Hall attendees in an exercise using instant polling software to respond to this draft. Eighty percent of the faculty and staff in attendance felt that the draft strongly or very strongly connects with their personal values; 74% felt strongly or very strongly that the draft statement reflects the reasons why they work at MIIS.
Like all Middlebury programs, the Institute is looking at its Mission Statement as part of the Envisioning Middlebury strategic planning process.