Agenda

• Board Report-Out: Institute Board of Advisors & Board of Trustees
• Diverse Organization Impact and Transformation (DOIT) Survey

Notes

• Board Report-Out: Institute Board of Advisors & Board of Trustees (Hannah Ross)
  • The Board of Trustees had a great set of meetings in Vermont last week.
  • Meetings Included:
    • Opening meeting dedicated to discussing languages across Middlebury, led by Laurie, Michelle and Steve.
    • Standing Committee meetings (these are listed here).
    • Professional development with the trustees
      • This is an annual session. The topic this year was student mental health.
    • In the President’s report there was an advancement presentation and discussion and some other administrative updates.
    • The board also conducted regular business, including approving the undergraduate comprehensive fee, our auditors, etc
    • We have had 10 years in this new governance structure and are currently conducting a board survey to check in on how things are working in this structure.
    • The meeting concluded with motions and executive session, and the meeting generally seemed to go very well with great questions and engagement.
  • There will be a high-level summary coming through a communication from the VPAAs office. This communication will include notes from the finance update, including the Institute deficit. We want to center transparency in this conversation, along with confidence in our business plan and efforts currently underway. We also understand that our investment in the business plan will take some time to impact our revenue.
• Diverse Organization Impact and Transformation (DOIT) Survey (Nick Creary)
  • The top recommendation from the DEI Task Force report was to conduct a campus climate assessment, and Nick is working with Khuram to identify and develop a survey mechanism.
  • The DOIT survey was started by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, one of the main journals in the DEI world. Nick has gone through the past iterations of the survey, and is hoping for help adapting the instrument to make it more MIIS-specific.
  • The ILG reviewed a sample DOIT survey to provide input on potential questions and assessment needs.
  • We want to get student input and perspective on this work, and understand the type of questions we should be asking students to understand their experience with the climate on campus.
  • Nick will also be connecting with program chairs and departments to understand needs, and there also could be an opportunity to connect with the faculty senate and staff advisory team on this work.
  • The DOIT certification itself can lead to schools being highlighted for this work, and could have a significant impact. It may take us a while to achieve certification, but the survey inventory gives us a starting place for this work. It would be exciting to get to a place where we could apply for this certification in a couple years and have a pathway to achieve it.
  • We have some data from the Student Council DEI survey in SP22 that could help establish the baseline.
  • People are welcome to reach out to Nick Creary with input or further questions.

Agenda

Institute Council Spring 2024 (Q3/4) Objectives & Key Results

Notes

The Institute Council uses the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) framework to structure their work and priorities for the semester. The Institute Leadership Group was invited to review the draft Spring 2024 objectives and provide feedback and comments using the silent meeting format.

The finalized version is available here: Spring 2024 (Q3/4) Objectives & Key Results

Agenda

• Institute Board of Advisors: Agenda Preview (Hannah Ross)
• ILG Meeting Feedback (All)

Institute Board of Advisors: Agenda Preview (Hannah Ross)

• Reference: Middlebury Governance Structure, Middlebury Board or Trustees, Middlebury Institute Board of Advisors
• The Institute Board of Advisors (IBA) will meet in Monterey next Friday, January 26, and Saturday, January 27. 
• The boards of advisors (Schools, College, Institute) meet with the Board of Trustees during the October and May meetings, and then meet off-cycle on their respective campuses when programs are in session. 
• Schedule Preview
  • Friday (full day):
    • Update on Middlebury Institute Online
    • How AI is being incorporated into the MIIS curriculum
    • Meetings with Staff Advisory Team, Faculty Senate, and student representatives
    • Round-table with students from CTEC, CNS, and CBE
    • Dinner with California Climate Semester students.
  • Saturday (half day):
    • Enrollment and marketing update
    • Advancement and grant activity update
    • Conversation about language cooperation across Middlebury
• Q&A Notes:
  • Will there be any voting at this meeting?
    • No, this meeting is off-cycle for tuition, budget-setting, contract recommendations, etc.
  • Does the IBA have decision-making authority?
    • All of the advisory boards serve in an advisory capacity and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees which is the ultimate governance actor and decision-maker.
  • Do the boards overlap with one another?
    • Members of the Board of Trustees are each assigned to a standing committee (Resources, Strategy & Programs, Trusteeship & Governance, Risk, External Relations, etc.) and a board of advisors (Institute, College, Schools). There is a helpful graphic of the governance structure here.
  • Do the various boards have standing committees on DEI and how do those boards ensure there is a thread of diversity represented?
    • There is a board committee on DEI and Khuram Hussain is the senior administrative officer. There is significant overlap between this committee and the trusteeship and governance committee, which informs the thinking around diversity across the boards.
• Board of Trustees Agenda Preview
  • The winter Board of Trustees meeting is typically shorter than the May/October meetings and includes professional development. This session will focus on current issues around student mental health.
  • Other topics will include language cooperation across Middlebury, a financial update, advancement update, and College tuition discussion.

ILG Meeting Feedback (Hannah Ross)

• There will be an opportunity for ILG members to provide input on meeting cadence and content through a survey.
• Want to be thoughtful about how we are using our meeting time. We also recognize there are other groups that have been introduced over the last several years (Institute Council, Student Experience Team, Leadership Alliance) and think it is good timing to check in with this group and invite recommendations to ensure these meetings continue to add unique value.
• This is seen as an important space for Institute-level communication and coordination.

Agenda

• Upcoming VPAA Sabbatical & Interim Leadership Support
• OKR Progress Report
• End-of-Semester/Holiday updates

Upcoming VPAA Sabbatical & Interim Leadership Support (Michelle McCauley)

• Michelle and Steve will both be in Monterey frequently during the semester
• We are working hard to allow for a smooth transition, but also recognize that it will be a time of learning
• We will be sending out a message introducing Steve Snyder to the MIIS community before the end of the semester to give a greater sense of his role as head of the Language Schools and deep background in language. He will be stepping away from his Language Schools VPAA/Dean role as of Jan 1 to support this interim role (Carlos Velez will be stepping in as the Language Schools VPAA, and Tim Page will be stepping into Language Schools Dean role)
• Jeff has been helping develop an interim communication plan, and Michelle and Steve will be working closely with primary contacts to understand communication needs and opportunities.
• Michelle and Steve will be working together to cover meetings and other responsibilities that fall under the Institute VPAA purview. Barbara Burke will be managing Steve Snyder’s calendar, and Erin Southworth will continue to manage Michelle McCauley’s calendar. Please contact Barbara and Erin for calendaring needs.
• We will be hosting a student town hall in February as well as a faculty/staff town hall. Michelle and Steve will both be present for these meetings. The student town hall will touch on the process to restructure our student governance.

Objectives & Key Results Progress Report (Institute Council)

• The Council presents draft objectives and key results (OKRs) to the ILG every semester, and then as we near the end of the semester, we provide an update on how we have or have not met these targets.
• The FA23 (Q1/2) OKRs are listed here: https://sites.middlebury.edu/miis-info/institute-council-fa23-q1-2-objectives-key-results/
• New Programs
  • The online MPA in sustainability was reviewed with feedback from APSIC and other stakeholders, approval went out on 12.6.23. We are on track with nine courses developed, and three more scheduled for spring. We are still taking applications as people tend to enroll later for online programs. We have three deposited students, others in the pipeline, and hope to hit at least five for this first cohort. We will have three intakes per year. 
  • The Online Cybersecurity program will be an MS, not a MA. Hoping to launch 2025. We have identified a small team of subject matter experts. Have identified a program director (a part-time role), design of program will kick off in early January. Related to hiring of an on-ground cybersecurity faculty member, who will be working in alignment with the online MS, but will have their own on-ground responsibilities. 
• Online infrastructure
  • We have signed with Wiley to support marketing, enrollment, and student retention and are integrating their operations with CACS, SFS, etc. to make it a seamless experience for online students. TESOL/TFL and IEM will not move to be part of the Wiley online program portfolio at this point, but we are moving forward and will continue to support these programs internally.
  • The online program calendar is a 7 week session model: Spring A/ B, Summer A/B, Fall A/B
  • All of this will fall under the umbrella of “Middlebury Institute Online” and Patricia is working with Much on how this will look on the website so policies, calendar, etc. are all easily accessible.
  • We’ve had incredible support from folks in IT, SFS, HR, Records, DLINQ, Toni Thomas, and more. Thanks to them.
• Existing Programs
  • The TI curricular change and NPTS rebranding initiatives are both moving forward incrementally and we are hoping to have concrete proposals in the spring.
  • TI curricular changes will come in two rounds with some changes implemented this fall and others taking effect in the following academic year. The curricular changes will aim to improve enrollments and adapt the curriculum to changes in the industry. 
  • NPTS faculty are continuing to work on the naming convention for the program and the different degrees that should be a part of it. Planning to put forward a revised proposal for final vote by mid-January. 
  • We are also hoping to implement project management software to support this type of initiative and help systematize the work.
• Faculty Governance
  • Completing the process to hire a new Cybersecurity faculty member. The final candidates were very well-received, and we are excited to see one of them come into this position. Gratitude to Philipp Bleek and the other members of the hiring committee for all of their hard work.
  • The faculty governance OKRs are behind schedule, but we will be adjusting deadlines and continuing progress in the spring semester.

End-of-Semester and Holiday Updates (Hannah Ross)

• The next BIPOC speaker series event on “You’re on Native Land, So Now What?” is today at 12:30 in MG102 and on Zoom
• We look forward to seeing everyone at Commencement this weekend, please join if you are able.
• Please stop by office services or connect with Naomi Braswell to support our giving tree by making a contribution or picking up a gift tag.
• The faculty and staff holiday gathering will be on Tuesday, December 19th, at 3:30pm.
• Thursday, December 22, has been added as a Middlebury holiday, enjoy the extended break!