Category Archives: For Staff

Attention Middlebury College Community! The time has come to begin collecting donations for the annual Winter Clothing Closet!

alum, For Faculty, For Staff, Midd News & Events, Midd Points

What it is:

It’s a winter clothing drive organized by International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) to benefit new international and U.S. students (especially those who have never lived in a cold climate) who need warm winter clothes.

What we’re looking for:

We seek “like-new” or “gently-used” winter clothing. In particular, we’re looking for winter coats, jackets, hats, mittens/gloves, scarves, and footwear/boots in good condition that would appeal to college students.
(Note: This year due to space limitations, we will focus on WINTER clothing/gear, especially coats, hats, and adult-size gloves and mittens.  In the past, we received many other types of every day clothing that we encourage you to donate to reuse shops in town, which we promote to students.)

Where to bring your donations:

Collection boxes can be found in the following locations from October 4-18, 2018:

  • McCullough Student Center– by the Box Office.
  • Service Building/ISSS Office– In the first floor entryway, by the stairs that go up to ISSS.

When it is:

We collect items from October 4-18, 2018. The Winter Clothing Closet will be on Friday, October 19, where items are given to students for free.

Questions?  Please contact ISSS at isss@middlebury.edu or by phone at 802-443-5858.

Thank you in advance for your contributions, which will help many new students stay warm and cozy this winter.

Relay for Life 5k Color Run on Sunday 10/7

For Faculty, For Staff, Midd News & Events, Midd Points

Faculty and staff members and their families are warmly invited to participate in the student organization Relay for Life’s second annual 5k Color Run. The run will take place this Sunday 10/7 from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Stop by Ross Dining Hall, pay your participation fee ($15), pick up your T-shirt, and run/walk at your pace with your family! This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so we encourage folks to wear pink. Looking forward to seeing everyone there. Meet at Ross Dining Hall; run loop around campus. Questions? Contact relayforlife@middlebury.edu.

Middlebury Classic Quidditch Festival: 9/29, 10am-5pm

For Faculty, For Staff, Midd News & Events, Midd Points

Middlebury College, home of Muggle Quidditch, is continuing its tradition of magic with this year’s Middlebury Classic Quidditch Festival. Over a dozen teams from around New England will battle on the pitch in this goofy sport. Last year, over 700 people took part in the festival, enjoying potion demonstrations, quidditch workshops, food trucks, acrobatics, face painting and visiting bands. All are invited to participate in activities and watch performances throughout the day at this family-friendly festival.

The Middlebury Quidditch team proudly hosts the festival, but creating such a magical day is a community effort. Information and interest forms for teams, vendors, non-profits, and volunteers are available online at: www.go.middlebury.edu/quidditch. For more info, check out the Facebook event.

Also: Starting now, keep your eyes out downtown for five snitches hidden in local businesses in the “Snitch Hunt” leading up to the event!

Fund for Innovation Proposal Deadline – October 4

For Faculty, For Staff, Midd Points, Midd/MIIS Collaboration

The Fund for Innovation (FFI) application is open for the 2018­-2019 academic year. The fall deadline to apply is October 4, 2018.  All faculty, staff, and students are eligible to apply for FFI funding.

Grants are open to current students, faculty, and staff across Middlebury. Our next deadline is October 4th, 2018, and we invite all members of the community to submit an application. The FFI also invites applications for Fast-Track grants. These smaller grants are up to $2,000 and are accepted on a rolling basis. The FFI especially encourages students to apply for Fast-Track grants, as the timeline and structure are more supportive of short-term project.

The Fund for Innovation was created in March 2015 to honor President Ron Liebowitz and his wife Jessica by fostering continuous innovation at Middlebury. In 2017, President Laurie Patton announced the fund will be used to support projects that will inspire educational innovation. The FFI provides support for experimental and unconventional projects that have the potential to create lasting, positive change and strengthen Middlebury’s educational experience. To date, the FFI has provided funding and support to 29 innovative projects across the College, the Institute, and the Schools.

Need some inspiration? Read about our funded projects and learn more about the Fund for Innovation on our webpage.

Information about the application process may be found on the FFI website, and questions about specific proposals should be directed to Erin Southworth, Special Projects Assistant in the Office of the Provost.

College Community Chorus begins new season

For Faculty, For Staff, Midd News & Events, Midd Points, ,

The Middlebury College Community Chorus welcomes faculty, staff, and students to join us as we prepare for our annual Thanksgiving concerts (Nov. 17-18) with a program entitled A Song Arising. Regular rehearsals begin September 11 in Mead Chapel, and then continue on Sundays and Tuesdays, 7-8:30pm throughout the fall. (Note: rehearsal on 9/18 will be in Mahaney Ctr for the Arts 221).

Community Chorus in rehearsal

Community Chorus in rehearsal

As always, we welcome community neighbors and family members (high school age and up) to join us! Participants should plan to attend at least one rehearsal each week. We welcome all singers without audition who can follow a musical score. Our members travel from throughout the region to participate in this 150-year-old community tradition.

For additional information, check on the web at go.middlebury.edu/communitychorus or contact director Jeff Rehbach at 989-7355.

Please see below a listing of selections for this fall. We look forward to making music together as we explore this repertoire! Join us!

The power of music in our lives…

  • Earth Song by Frank Ticheli, who writes, “The scorched earth cries out in vain, but music and singing have been my refuge.”
  • The Song Arising by Joseph Martin with his words, “Where there is sadness, where there is strife, let me sing harmony.”
  • Alway Something Sings by Dan Forrest with words by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “I hear a skyborn music still: it sounds from all things old, it sounds from all things young.”
  • Vida Atrevida, a dramatic new 2018 setting of Chilean songwriter and activist Violeta Parra’s words, arranged by Middlebury’s Sam Guarnaccia: “Thank you, life, for giving me so much. You gave me laughter and you gave me tears. The two elements that make up my song, and your song, and everyone’s song, which is my very song.”

The world around us…

  • Muusika by Estonian composer Pärt Uusberg: “Somewhere the original harmony must exist, hidden somewhere in the vast wilds…”
  • The Peace of Wild Things by Jake Runestad, a 2014 award-winning composition based on Wendell Berry’s poem.
  • I Dream a World by Connor Koppin, in a new setting of the text by Langston Hughes.

Reverently…

  • Kyrie eleison – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s first choral work, scored for choir & string quartet.
  • Communio/Lux aeterna: the final movement from Mozart‘s powerful Requiem.
  • Illumination, a prayerful Latin text originating from 17th century Ireland, sensitively set by composer Michael McGlynn, arranger for the Celtic ensemble Anúna.

Celebration & Thanksgiving…

  • O Be Joyful (Psalm 100) by British composer John Rutter
  • Hymn for America by Minnesota composer Stephen Paulus (a Thanksgiving favorite of the chorus)
  • How Can I Keep from Singing by longtime Vermont resident Gwyneth Walker
  • I Will Sing by African American singer-composer Rosephanye Powell in a toe-tapping gospel style, “When freedom rings, I will sing of the joy, of the peace, of the love that fills my heart.”