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VPAA Update 2.20.24

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Dear Colleagues:

I hope this finds you well. I enjoyed meeting and working with many of you during January. After being in Vermont for the board meeting and to teach, I’m headed back to Monterey tomorrow and staying through the end of next week. I look forward to meeting with many more of you then.

The Institute Council recently finalized our goals and areas of focus for spring, and I wanted to share the full details and deadlines with all of you, including who is leading the work in each area. The primary focus for all of us continues to be increasing enrollment.

Our Focus areas:

  • Provost Michelle McCauley: Leading implementation of the business model across all areas
  • Myself: Deepening language collaboration across Middlebury
  • Patricia Szasz: Online programs
  • Daniel Chatham: Revitalizing on-ground programs
  • Laura Burian: Faculty evaluation and governance

Key areas of work for spring 2024

Revitalizing on-ground programs

  • Develop an umbrella security program reorganized into three degrees for fall 2025:
    • M.A. in Terrorism and Global Security
    • M.A. in Nonproliferation and Global Security
    • M.A. in Threat Intelligence and Global Security
  • Revision of on-ground programs for fall 2025

Launching new online programs

  • Complete program design for the new 30-credit MA in Localization Project Management and 36-credit MS in Cybersecurity
  • Complete market research and initial program design for degrees in Analytics and Organizational Leadership
  • Implement curricular updates to Online TESOL and IEM programs to align with the new online calendar and competency-based model

Faculty governance

  • Introduce a new process with improved workflow for contract renewal, promotions, sabbaticals, and annual review 
  • Support process to establish new faculty salary structure (for regular and adjunct faculty) with updated ranges
  • Identify and hire new Dean of Faculty

See the full Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for Spring 2024.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us for greater detail on these initiatives and to provide input. Thank you to all of you for your resilience and creativity during this period of major change. I appreciate your collaboration and the ways that you all go above and beyond to ensure an incredible educational experience not only for our current students, but for our future students.

Steve Snyder

Interim VPAA