Dear Colleagues,

The last time I sent out a Friday update like this, Provost Jeff Cason was still alive. I am so grateful to the many members of the MIIS and Middlebury communities who have shared expressions of support and solidarity with me and with each other.  (You might appreciate this obituary, from the Addison Independent, which captures something of his personality.)  I miss Jeff’s friendship and his counsel every day. And I am motivated to work on the many projects he championed here at MIIS to ensure and strengthen his legacy.

Much of Jeff’s vision for the Institute and its future inspire the Business Plan that is the subject of these Friday updates. I’m restarting the update series – biweekly, for now – as we approach the start of the new academic year.

1. Academic restructuring is at the heart of the Business Plan: how do we organize our teams to make our educational programs as effective as possible? One component of that is the reconfiguration of our academic leadership roles to better equip us for institutional change, which I announced in my July 1 message. My Institute Council colleagues have been working with many colleagues to clarify how these changes impact each of us. If you have a question for a dean and you’re still not sure who to go, let me know. Thank you for your patience as we adapt to this new structure.
2. The development of new online programs will require more extensive collaboration with external partners to complement our in-house capacity in lead generation, marketing, enrollment management and instructional design. As such, over the spring semester, a number of online program management (OPM) firms met with stakeholders in Middlebury and Monterey. We hope to select a partner very soon so that we can get to work. When I share details about the partner, I will also provide a summary of feedback that we received about the firms’ presentations, and how that feedback influenced the decision.
3. The improvement and expansion of Study Away @ MIIS opportunities for College undergraduates was particularly dear to Jeff Cason. We are committed to incorporating the lessons learned during the first iteration of the California Climate Semester (likely to be renamed) this past spring, as well as working on our Global Security and Language Education options.

There will be much to do in the coming year, and I intend to use these Friday updates to ensure effective information-sharing. There will be many other options for debate, deliberation, and communication. And we will need to set up new and/or improved processes for curricular and other changes, with clear information about how you can be involved, how and when decisions will be taken, and how your contributions will inform those decisions.  Thank you for your ongoing commitment to the Institute’s mission and to its students – current, past and future.

As always, these updates on the Institute of the future are archived here for your reference.

My best wishes to all of you for a great end to your summer.

JDJ