Submitted by Joseph Watson

• In observation of Breast Cancer Awareness month student organizers will display general information and certificates acknowledging donations that are being accepted in the dining halls.
• The Men’s Advisory Group is presenting a video in the Atrium and elsewhere on campus.
• The Roosevelt Institution, Middlebury’s non-partisan student-run political think tank, will present a display on McCain and Obama’s policy stances on immigration, foreign policy, the economy, healthcare, education, and the environment. This display will be in place for the full week before the election and will compliment the voter registration display already in place. (See previous LISt entry: https://sites.middlebury.edu/list/2008/09/26/voters-in-the-lobby/
• And finally, LIS will be hosting the Associated Press’ exhibit “The American President” from Election Day until the Thanksgiving break. Joseph is creating panels for the two presidents who were born in Vermont to augment the AP exhibit since both Arthur and Coolidge are not represented in the touring exhibit. We’ve also received brochures from the State of Vermont historic sites for each Vermont born president. Below, please see the press release prepared for us by Blaire Kloman in our Office of Public Affairs. (It’s so great to work at Middlebury College where one can pass this sort of task off to colleagues with the appropriate expertise!)

Here is an example of the kind of photo that will be on display.

 LOS ANGELES/ July 1960 U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy, D-Mass., makes his way through a crowd of supporters and journalists as he arrives for the Democratic National Convention. Kennedy turned back challenges by former Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson and U.S. Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson, D-Texas, who accepted the vice presidential nomination. (AP)

For more information you can visit http://www.ap.org/americanpresident/#

 PRESS RELEASE

Media contact: Blair Kloman

802-443-5483/bkloman@middlebury.edu

Oct. 20, 2008

IMMEDIATE

Middlebury College Library to host Associated Press photo exhibit of American presidents Nov. 4-25

 MIDDLEBURY, Vt. ― “The American President,” an exhibit of more than 80 compelling news photos from the Associated Press (AP) spanning the past 60 years, will be on view at the Middlebury College Library from Tuesday, Nov. 4, to Tuesday, Nov. 25. The display shows American presidents at war and at ease, in victory and in defeat, confronting national crises and facing personal scandals, running for office and leading the country on the world stage.

Amid the extraordinary voter interest in the 2008 race for the White House, the new exhibit helps illustrate one constant in the ever-shifting media landscape. The coverage of the White House by AP reporters and photographers has been the dominant source of presidential news across the United States and around the world.

“We’re especially pleased to host the AP’s American President exhibit at this time, since it coincides with one of the most important national elections in recent memory. These photos of our past presidents capture the human side of those who have served, not just the formal face of the presidency. As with all of our work in the library, we hope the exhibit will encourage not only reflection, but also action,’ said Dean of Library and Information Services Michael Roy.

The exhibit features a number of the AP’s Pulitzer Prize-winning images, including Paul Vathis’ view of John F. Kennedy conferring gravely with his predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower, at Camp David after the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961; Ron Edmonds’ rapid sequence documenting the 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan; and White House photos taken during Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment battle. “The American President” also includes memorable shots from the AP Images photo library, which contains more than 10 million film and digital images, and pictures taken in this year’s run for the White House by Senators Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama.

According to exhibit organizers, the college will be hosting the full photo exhibit with the 16 panels as well as a looping video on a monitor. In order to include the two presidents who were born in Vermont, the college library organizers are preparing two additional panels with photos of Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur to augment the display.

Exhibit hours will coincide with library hours, available online at www.middlebury.edu/academics/lis/about/hours_maps/hours_lib/. For more information, contact Middlebury College Preservation and Processing Manager Joseph Watson at 802-443-5487 or jwatson@middlebury.edu.

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