Special Recognitions

On May 9, President Ronald D. Liebowitz acknowledged five extraordinary gifts whose impact will be felt at Middlebury for generations. Through a commemorative tribute—the presentation of historical artifacts from Middlebury’s Special Collections—President Liebowitz recognized the timelessness of a liberal arts education.

Eve Adler Department of Classics

The endowing of the classics department, named in honor of former classics professor Eve Adler—the first department at Middlebury to be endowed—ensures that the study of the classics remains foundational to a Middlebury liberal arts education.

This endowment, provided by an anonymous donor, will provide a second endowed professorship for the study of classics; cover the department’s operating budget; fund the professional development of our classics faculty; host scholars for lectures, symposia, and residencies; and also provide exceptional learning opportunities for students as deemed appropriate by our classics faculty. These include studying intensive Latin and Greek during the summer, participating on archaeological digs in Greece, plus other opportunities yet to be identified and proposed. Learn more »

Greenberg-Starr Department of Chinese

The endowing of the Chinese department recognizes the excellence of the department and its faculty’s commitment to the teaching of the Mandarin language and Chinese literature.

The Chinese department endowment will provide a second endowed professorship, funding to support the department’s operating budget, support for library and media materials for teaching, funds to support Chinese majors who wish to attend Middlebury’s summer intensive Chinese School, and funds for professional development for colleagues in the Chinese department. Learn more »

Lois ’51 and J. Harvey Watson Department of French

The endowing of the French department by Lois ’51 and Harvey Watson will ensure the continued excellence in foreign language and culture study for future Middlebury students. We are grateful for the Watsons’ generosity and confidence in the Middlebury faculty.

The endowment will fund a second endowed professorship for the department, funding to support the department’s operating budget, funds to enrich our students’ study of France and the French-speaking world, and funds for the professional development of our French department faculty. Learn more »

The Bread Loaf Campus and Lands

Nearly a century ago, the visionary Vermont environmentalist Joseph Battell bequeathed to Middlebury College the large tract of land that is home to the Bread Loaf campus. Bordering the Green Mountain National Forest and encompassing numerous areas of ecological and natural interest, the Bread Loaf campus and surrounding forests have long provided the Middlebury community with spaces for outdoor recreation and environmental education.

With the support of Trustee Louis Bacon ’79, a leading conservation philanthropist, Middlebury can ensure that many of those same lands—approximately 2,100 acres—in the Green Mountains are conserved, protected, and remain with the College in perpetuity with their own endowment. Learn more »

Betty A. Jones MA ’86 School of French

The naming of the Middlebury French School—the Betty Ashbury Jones ’86  School of French—is in recognition of Betty’s staunch and unyielding support for the French School, for the Language Schools, and for the greater Middlebury. We are indebted to Betty’s unparalleled support for language study at Middlebury and are honored to have her name on the School from which she graduated and which she loves. Learn more »