I took an Oral History Class with Professor Povitz this J-term. Not only were classes engaging, and discussions interesting, but Professor Povitz had a brilliant way of introducing her expertise in the oral history field as an approachable yet expert insight. She never assumed she had the right technique and took our class’ projects as learning opportunities for her own work, while pushing us to find projects and storylines which were both engaging and respectful. I was excited to come to class because I knew I would be pushed yet heard and I learned so much in our class together.
Author: Kristen Morgenstern
Though I never had a class with Professor Povitz, I had the pleasure of learning from her…a true testament to her engagement in the Middlebury community. In my time at Middlebury, I grew to know her as an avid supporter of student voices and an advocate for equity. Professors such as professor Povitz, so giving of their time and energy to students who are not in their class, are few and far between. She is the embodiment of the liberal arts curriculum that the College champions — I fondly recall running into her at late night lectures hosted by departments far from her own. Professor Povitz is a professor who makes Middlebury the great college it is. Without her knowledge, enthusiasm, and mentorship, the college will suffer a tremendous loss.
Professor Povitz was my first advisor and a vital piece to the beginning of my Middlebury experience. She is an engaging, powerful professor, both because of her humor and personality and the identities she holds. She is an essential asset to Middlebury and especially to the Jewish and queer communities, and it would be a real loss to the community at large if we lost her expertise and her energy.
Professor Povitz is an integral part to the Jewish community at Midd!
I write in support of the hire of Professor Lana Povitz. I had the pleasure of taking her courses on the History of US Radicalism and on Gender Sexuality and Psychiatry. Both of these classes had some of the best syllabi I have encountered at Middlebury, in terms of their thoughtfulness, their course content, and her judicious appraisal of the right amount of coursework. She possess a refined grasp of the narrative arc of the semester and how each week contributes a distinctive element with coherent and connected content and readings. She also hands out a guide to reading strategically for students who are new to history courses. It helps them learn how to prioritize the main concepts in the reading, understand that they do not need to read every last word, and guides them in taking effective notes. Professor Povitz is incredibly intentional in her history classes in providing foundational readings that ground us in the time periods we study such as The God that Failed by Richard Wright, and leading secondary sources that place it in a wider context from a contemporary perspective, such as the work of Robin DG Kelly. Through a combination of lectures, discussion, and weekly student presentations and discussion posts, Professor Povitz ensured that her entire class was actively participating and had a firm grounding in the important historical markers of the time period. She emphasizes discussions that confront the past while grappling with how it impacts our moment today. Professor Povitz is known for her intellectual capacity and her thorough knowledge of the source materials for all of the diverse classes she teaches. Her ability to lead in the classroom is self-evident. Her thoughtfulness and care for her students both inside and outside of the classroom distinguishes her at Middlebury. I have spent countless hours in her office hours while taking her classes and outside of her classes seeking her advice while working on other projects. I have witnessed how she has helped other students refine their ideas, and their work and watched her help them articulate their interests and passions. She helps students recognize that their ideas are valid. When they see connections between the historical examples they encounter through her courses and an imperative for action in the present, she assists them in clarifying their ideas and translating them into action. She has enriched the Middlebury community by helping students launch projects supporting social justice in the world. In addition to her excellent teaching, availability during office hours, and her support for students whose activism draws inspiration from her classroom, she also shows up and helps with many other student efforts. For example, last spring I sought a faculty partner who could join me in launching an informal program of Jewish text study. Professor Povitz worked with me to create a weekly text study that engaged students across all faith backgrounds. These students were often emotionally and spiritually burnt-out from the pandemic, and through text study we reinvigorated each other and provided a restorative space for the community. I am so grateful to have Professor Povitz at Middlebury and everything she does. It is my honor to recommend her hire at Middlebury.
I remember first taking a class with Professor Povitz freshmen year and being absolutely blown away by her grasp of the material, the way in which she engaged the class, and her astonishing intelligence. Since then Povitz has only grown in my mind as an incredible role model and friend. I do research with her that is both engaging and cutting edge. I do not know what Middlebury would be for me without Povitz, but I imagine it would be a lot less interesting, joyful, and challenging. Povitz has pushed me to grasp material in more nuanced ways, both encouraging me while helping me receive my full potential. Povitz is a gem of this community and I think Middlebury would be doing itself a great disservice to not recognize her for what she truly is: a cornerstone to the Jewish studies department and an incredible human and scholar.
I took Professor Povitz’s History of U.S. Radicalism course in the spring of 2021. It was one of a handful of classes I’d taken at Middlebury that truly changed how I viewed the world. The class was incredibly well organized, each day’s materials building on the last and leading into the next. Professor Povitz’s introduced me to a variety of scholars, writers, and resources that are often left out of typical academics. We discussed radical movements on the far left and on the far right, thinking about which had worked, which had not, and why. Professor Povitz structured the class in a way that pushed me to think deeply about the issues at hand. She expected a lot from each of her students but also understood that we were in the midst of a pandemic that was challenging us all in various ways. Professor Povitz was both rigorous and compassionate. Preferring that students learn and come to class excited than that we get lost in dense readings, she changed up the syllabus at times to ensure that students were able to do the work. She also taught us important skills such as how to skim readings in a productive way that enables learning. Even though I was a senior when I took this class, hers was the first that truly taught me how to ask critical questions that tie together multiple readings and topics. These skills are ones that can be used in graduate school and even in other classes at Middlebury. Additionally, as a young Jewish woman at a college surrounded by mostly Christian peers, having a professor who shared those identities with me is inspiring and incredibly important. I was floored when I heard that Professor Povitz was not being offered tenure. She is an invaluable member of this community who has contributed so much and will continue to do so. If I were administrators at the college, I would offer her tenure in a heartbeat.
Last semester, I took “Modern American Jewish History” with Professor Povitz, and it was my favorite class of the semester. I took the course hoping to learn more about my own place in American society, and the history of my ancestors, and I certainly got way more out of the class than I expected to. Professor Povitz’s course reshaped my thinking of Judaism and my relation to it, and connected me more with my own family and relatives. That one class with Professor Povitz has sparked deep discussions about religion among friends at college who haven’t even taken the course, which has been one of my favorite examples of learning and critical discussions taking place outside of the classroom. Outside of class, I greatly enjoyed talking with Professor Povitz about topics related to class and topics not at all related to class. It is very important to have such professors on campus, people that students can feel comfortable talking with and who happily make time to listen to the every day thoughts and musings of students. I hope that next year, I will be able to continue seeing and talking with Professor Povitz on the Middlebury campus, and be able to take more interesting and unique classes with her that cover topics and groups underrepresented in the Middlebury curricula and otherwise wouldn’t be taught here.
Professor Povitz is a kind, genuine, and thoughtful person who also happens to be an incredible teacher. She teaches with grace and is able to create a learning environment where students are comfortable and open to engaging in conversation and getting deep into the topics at hand. Professor Povitz allows students to be creative in their learning, and empowers them to take everything they can from the class. My brief time at Middlebury would not be the same without Professor Povitz’s class, and it would be a truly devastating loss to the History department if the diversity of underrepresented topics she teaches is removed from the course offerings. Jewish studies is already a small department, and losing a professor of her kind will cause serious detriment. Middlebury needs a professor like professor Povitz to encourage acceptance of Jewish people of all intersections. I implore you to offer Professor Povitz a tenure track or partner hire for the sake of hundreds of students who her teachings have touched, and the hundreds more to come.
Dear Administration, In the fall of 2019, as I began to finish up my college search process, Middlebury trended towards the top of the pack. Still though, my parents thought I should sit in on a class before applying Early Decision to a school so far away. After combing damn near the entire catalog, searching for what I thought would interest me the most, Professor Povitz was one of the two people I reached out to. She was teaching a class called History of US Radicalism, which sounded right up my alley. I was then happy and excited to see I had gotten an email back that I was welcomed to the class. Excitement turned to apprehension as the day drew nearer. Had I really just decided to waltz into a 3-hour discussion seminar for college students? And I had to do the reading? And I had to find something called LaForce Hall? (That’s not LaForce! That’s Ross! Oh, I guess it’s LaForce.) Anyways, the day finally arrived, and believe it or not I did do the reading, and I managed to find Laforce Hall, and I managed to waltz into class. Still, the being in class part is probably what scared me the most, I had sat in on my other class earlier that day, and wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. But, when Professor Povitz and the other students walked in, I immediately got caught up in it all. The content was full of things I had never heard of, all of which I wanted to know more about. The discussion was stimulating and kept me engaged. Most incredibly of all, when you needed to go to the bathroom, you didn’t have to ask! At the center of it all, though at the same time managing to stay in the periphery, was Professor Povitz, who moderated and pushed forward the discussion so well three hours felt like half of one. The solitary, unconfident move by myself to say something during the entire class was immediately noticed by Professor Povitz, who encouraged me to share. She took my idea seriously, and we included it in the discussion going forward. As a high school senior unaccustomed to having these sorts of academic discussions, it meant the world to me. When I left the class, more than anything I wanted more of that. I went home and applied Early Decision to Middlebury College. I’m here now (History Major! Class of ’24!). Last semester I took Modern American Jewish History with Professor Povitz. It was surreal to find myself back in class with the professor who for me had meant Middlebury to me before I even really knew Middlebury. It was everything I had wanted and more. Professor Povitz is the kind of professor who is keenly aware of students’ needs. Week by week, the class followed a strong and reasonable arc. As a faculty member, her classes deal with issues not touched on often enough. As a lecturer, she knows students’ limits, and works to keep them engaged. As a discussion leader, she knows how to challenge and push a class to formulate its thoughts. As a human, she is kind and empathetic. That last point truly is central to my understanding of her. Still though, I haven’t gotten the opportunity to take History of US Radicalism beyond that single class. I would really love the chance to do that. -Ewan Inglis ’24 PS. I had Professor Ayoub over J-Term and I learned a truly mind boggling amount of Arabic. That class was one of the most enriching and amazing educational experiences I’ve ever had! I loved it!
I have heard amazing things about Professor Povitz’s impact on my friends who have been in her courses. She is a highly beloved professor on this campus and if would be a tremendous loss to the school to see a professor who touches so many students and teaches about to many important topics go.
Professor Povitz has been one of the most impactful professors I have had during my time at Middlebury. I am a senior Neuroscience major and took Professor Povitz’s History of Sexuality course the Spring of my Junior year. I am interested in history yet primarily study STEM. History of Sexuality was such a profound learning experience solely due to Professor Povitz’s expert knowledge and ability to teach the material in a challenging and exciting fashion. She engages with her students and seeks to offer any support she can. She encouraged all students to come to office hours so she could get to know our interests beyond the classroom. Professor Povitz is the best lecturer I’ve had at Midd and she cares deeply for her students, something that is not always immediate in the classroom. After History of Sexuality I proceeded to take two more courses with Professor Povitz during my Senior year. I took her J-term course Practicing Oral History and I’m currently enrolled in Black and Jewish Feminist Perspectives. All of her classes have been my favorite classes at Middlebury. The latter class is a 400 level history seminar. I am taking it because I am interested in the material and because I so enjoy Professor Povitz as a professor. The class meets once a week during the night… Evidently, Professor Povitz is that good of a professor where time of day does not matter to take one of her classes. The fact that I am taking a 400 level history seminar course when I am not a history major or minor should also speak to Professor Povitz’s teaching abilities and the immense interest she garners with the courses and topics she teaches. Professor Povitz’s queer identity and interest and expertise at teaching queer histories has been incredible for me personally as a student. Having Professors with a shared identity as you who also teach incredibly important and often untold histories has been instrumental in me feeling like I belong on this campus. Professor Povitz’s importance to this campus cannot be put into words. She is an excellent Professor who should be kept on staff due to the many reasons I have outlined above. I know my positive experience from Professor Povitz’s classrooms is not unique. Any student who takes one of her classes leaves with a greater understanding of marginalized histories and in my case, a greater sense of Middlebury community (I know this is true of many others too). Please reconsider Professor Povitz’s position at the college. She deserves a tenure track or a partner track. Write the wrong that has been assigned and flip the narrative on the heteronormativity prevalent in partner hires at the college.
I was doing an exchange semester at Middlebury through the AVIC program when I met Prof. Povitz as I was taking her class, The Histories of U.S. Radicalism. Through the course, I was introduced to some major works of Black feminist writers, and Prof. Povitz guided me in framing research questions and connecting it to my work in other classes. This class proved to be the seed for my current PhD studies, as I study the aesthetics Dalit-Black solidarity in the twentieth century at the Comparative Literaure program at Northwestern University. Prof. Povitz insisted on creating a warm and welcoming space for her students, where we were repeatedly encouraged to (un)learn and grow together. She makes the classroom a space for deliberate discussion and thought, where we are constantly provoked to think about our complicity and role in creating a world we want to live and build together. It would truly be a loss for the Middlebury community to lose Prof. Povitz, as her incomparable scholarship and thoughtful critique is at the helm of new critical inquiry in history. Prof. Povitz is an academic mentor, and above all, a beacon of light who has the capacity to transform the experience of Middlebury as a space for intellectual learning and personal growth for her students. It is imperative for a private liberal arts college such as Middlebury to keep Prof. Povitz as a voice of concern, critique, and care in the institution.
Dear Middlebury College, Professor Povitz is one of the best professors I have ever had at Middlebury. She perfectly walks the line between demanding growth and effort from her students and being kind and supportive. She is incredibly knowledgeable of a variety of different topics and brings energy, interactive activities, honesty, passion and intelligence to the classroom every day to make every class a valuable, unique, and engaging experience. She and her partner are essential and irreplaceable parts of the Middlebury faculty because of their unique backgrounds and knowledges in the queer, arabic, jewish, history, and gender studies community. I have participated in a Torah Study group with Professor Povitz that was one of my favorite Jewish experiences I have ever had on campus. I have also taken her History of Sexuality class. As a gender studies major, by the end of this semester with the leave of Profesor Gupta, as a department we will have a total of two full time professors. This is honestly a disgrace to such a robust and generative area of study. Because of this gender studies majors are often forced to to classes with professors unqualified to teach gender studied but who are allowed to cross list their courses so we have enough options to graduate on time. Professor Povitz’s class on sexuality was an incredible Gender studies and History class, and she has the perfect set of knowledge and pedagogy to teach this types of fascinating classes at Middlebury. She is irreplaceable. It would be a horrible and impactful mistake and a disregard for our education to not offer her a tenure track here. Please do.
My Professor Povitz has been one of my most impactful professors at Middlebury. I first took her course History of Sexuality in the US last spring. I found the course material absolutely fascinating. I was so excited to be learning about a different type of history than I had in the past. Professor Povitz was such an encouraging and engaging professor. This course inspired me to take two more classes with her. i then took Practicing Oral History, which was so amazing and I think so helpful to learn about for academia and then Feminism in Jewish and Black Perspectives. I think it is really valuable to have a professor at Middlebury so passionate about Judaism, especially in ways that are different from typical ways in which we learn about Judaism at Middlebury. As a Jewish student, this is really important to me and I would be really disappointed to see Professor Povitz leave as I think her courses are really valuable and important for the Middlebury community.
I have only just begun my first class with Professor Povitz and already I know that she is an amazing professor who is essential to our community. I am taking her class Black and Jewish Feminist Perspectives (HIST 0448) and after one class I have learned so much on topics that should be more widespread. Professor Povitz is sharing super valuable knowledge and in doing so making our campus a more kind and welcoming place. As a Black Jewish woman there aren’t many, really zero places, where my various identities converge and in this class I was able to find that space.
I am a senior, so I have had a range of different academic experiences. Compared to my other professors, Professor Povitz is a genius in keeping students engaged — when other professors stick to the classic reading/lecture structure, she is able to assign meaningful readings, assignments, and day-to-day class plans that connect students to each other and keep us interested/passionate in the course material. While I have led discussions in other classes, when I was assigned to lead class discussion in her class, she gave me the most agency and greatest experience of intentional collaboration with her (i.e. us sharing a google doc to plan class agenda).
Although I have yet to have Professor Povitz as a professor for a class, my Sophmore year I met with her many times during her office hours, seeking council on student activism projects I was working on. Though I was not even her student at the time, Professor Povitz prioritized my learning and showed up to support me, taking hours out of her week to meet with me and lending me books of hers to read to support my learning and help answer my questions. Additionally, as a queer student on campus, I feel exponentially safer and more woven into the Middlebury community when I know there are faculty members who represent and understand an important part of my experience. Professor Povitz is vital to this institution and it’s students in immeasurable ways. It is a grave oversight not to recognize that fact.
Professor Povitz has been one of my favorite professors I’ve had in my 4 years at Middlebury. I think I learned the most in her course out of all my courses. Professor Povitz is frankly incredible and I think it’s absurd that Middlebury hasn’t offered her tenure. She treats her students like capable adults and holds us to a high standard, which is effective in showing us what we are able to achieve. Most importantly Professor Povitz holds space for groups of marginalized groups of students on campus and I think plays an essential role in the history department of expanding who’s history we are teaching. It would deeply sadden me if Midd were to loose a person as important as Povitz to making campus a progressive and inclusive space.
Professor Povitz’s History of US Food Politics class exposed me to some of the most interesting readings I have done during my time at Middlebury. I found myself sharing readings about the 1902 Kosher Meat Boycott, Black Panther breakfast program, and even the Park Slope Food Co-op with friends, many of whom went on to take classes with Professor Povitz. Professor Povitz holds a high standard for her students, and though her assignments were sometimes challenging, I felt that my writing improved significantly. Professor Povitz is unlike any other professor I have had at Middlebury, it is impactful to see a queer professor teach marginalized histories in such a dynamic way while still making time for things like Torah study. If Middlebury intends on being a progressive institution, keeping beloved professors like this is vital.