College continues MIIS exploration

Author: Dina Magrill

President Ronald D. Liebowitz has not ruled out Middlebury College's acquisition of the graduate programs of the Monterey Institute for International Studies (MIIS), though the faculty voted not to support a resolution recommending such an acquisition in a paper ballot vote at the Faculty Council meeting on April 1. The final count was 80 to 21.

Of the 207 faculty members eligible to vote, 116 actually cast a ballot. The vote was an advisory procedure, and the final decision will be made by the Board of Trustees before the end of the year.

As expressed by the recent vote, many faculty members have doubts about the acquisition. Those who voted against it were concerned that another graduate program would take away from the undergraduate liberal arts experience at Middlebury.

"[Frederick C. Dirks Professor of Political Science] Michael Kraus, in suggesting potential benefits of this acquisition, mentioned that his department recently had an applicant for a teaching position who asked if there were opportunities to teach graduate students," recalled Professor of Mathematics Priscilla Bremser. "If an applicant for a position in my department expressed a desire to teach graduate students, we would say, 'You're applying for the wrong job.'"

Kraus responded to some of the faculty's reservations. "I believe the main explanation for the negative vote is that an acquisition of another institution is a difficult proposition to contemplate under the best of circumstances," he said. "It is far easier to point to the potential and opportunity costs involved than it is to identify the long-term benefits that might accrue to us in terms of recruiting, networks or academic reputation," Kraus said.

In response to some faculty members' uneasiness about the acquisition of another graduate program by a strictly undergraduate college like Middlebury, Kraus noted, "If we as faculty were asked today to vote on whether to launch the Bread Loaf programs or our Summer Language Schools, we would vote them down too. Yet these programs are now highly successful, enhance our academic reputation and generate funding, all of which benefit our undergraduate college as well, without involving our undergraduate faculty in any significant way."

Bremser saw a contradiction in the proposed acquisition. "We are told that acquiring MIIS would have no effect on our undergraduate program, that 'firewalls' would be in place and that because the two institutions are thousands of miles apart, there would be little day-to-day contact," she noted. "On the other hand, we hear that if we acquire MIIS, we will have to fix its recruiting practices, fix its development office, fix its Web site, fix its management and improve language instruction to meet our standards."

There are financial concerns associated with acquiring the Monterey program as well. MIIS is currently on financial probation from its accrediting body, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Although Middlebury would not make a cash purchase or payment for the institute, the College would be responsible for assuming responsibility for Monterey's programs as well as its debts.

"James Jermain Professor of Political Economy and International Law Russ Leng pointed out that stabilizing and improving MIIS would require a large infusion of funds," Bremser recalled from the meeting. "I suggest that it would also require large infusion of time and energy and expertise, presumably from here."

Liebowitz commented that the operational budget of the school is enrollment driven, meaning the cost of running the school, as well as paying faculty, is covered by tuition, as well as gifts and grants to the school.

"As we consider an acquisition, one must consider the costs to sustain a program as well as to raise the program to an expected level of excellence," Liebowitz said. One way of doing this requires the school to have the most up-to-date technology, like new computer labs. In such cases, Liebowitz said, the school needs to see if these costs can be covered by surplus such as fundraising.

The University of California Los Angeles system was looking to acquire the institute, but was forced to withdraw because of a cut in its budget. Another financial factor to be considered is the high cost of real estate in the Monterey area.

Many of Middlebury's now-renowned scholastic programs actually started as graduate programs. The Language Schools, established in 1915 and Middlebury's Schools Abroad were initially limited to graduate enrollment. Between 175 and 200 students currently receive their master degrees from the Middlebury Language Schools, and if MIIS were acquired, it could offer an alternative to these masters programs.

Though Liebowitz is looking to acquire the institute on a strictly graduate level, he believes that it could have many benefits for Middlebury undergraduate students. "If we do acquire the Monterey institute, it can provide for much bigger networks for Middlebury students," Liebowitz said.

Although Middlebury is widely recognized on the east coast, Liebowitz has pointed out that Middlebury has much less recognition on the west coast. By considering the acquisition of a graduate program in California, Middlebury seeks to expand its reputation westward. The possibility of Winter Term courses offered to Middlebury students at Monterey could also exist.

Currently, 700 students are enrolled at MIIS, an institute known for its international graduate programs and focus in foreign languages. About 40 percent of the enrolled students come from outside the United States. MIIS consists of several distinctive programs.

The Graduate School of International Policy Studies requires fluency in a foreign language and has the largest enrollment of all the schools.

The School of Translation and Interpretation is currently recognized as the best of its kind in the country and also has a prestigious reputation abroad. Many graduates of this school have gone on to work for the United Nations as translators.

Despite the entire faculty's overwhelming vote against the MIIS acquisition, many individual faculty members remain outspoken advocates of the proposition. According to Michael Geisler, dean of Language Schools and Schools Abroad, there are two programs offered at Monterey that Middlebury will never be able to offer its Language School students a school of translation and teaching English as a second language. "As long as our mantra, during the summer, is 'No English Spoken Here!' it will be very difficult to add either one of those components to our Language Schools curriculum. Yet both translation and interpretation and English as a Second Language are a logical corollary of a fully developed curriculum in foreign language education," Geisler said.

MIIS also boasts a program in applied linguistics that could possibly offer an opportunity to expand the College's Doctor of Modern Languages degree that is currently granted in conjunction with the summer Language Programs. In addition to the Fisher School of International Business, MIIS offers one of the largest non-governmental organizations devoted to non-proliferation research and training.

It is the Institute's Center for East Asian Studies, however, that Liebowitz believes could be most beneficial to the College. "As we move into the 21st century," Liebowitz said, "we cannot underestimate the importance of our ties with Asia." Many of the graduate students at Monterey are themselves from Korea, Japan and China. Liebowitz sees this program as having tremendous potential for its students.

Allison Stanger, director of the Rohatyn Center for International Affairs, was on the Monterey Program Steering Committee that was able to visit the institute along with Kraus, Vice President for Academic Affairs Alyson Byerly, Associate Professor of Political Science Jeff Caso
n, Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Economics Dave Colander and Geisler. Stanger is optimistic about the opportunity, and commented that if Middlebury "were to build a graduate school from scratch, [it] would build something very similar, at least in terms of core values, to what Monterey already has in place."

"That's what makes this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity demanding serious consideration," she said.

David Macey, director of Off-Campus Study, believes the acquisition has potential to enhance Middlebury's reputation. With "our unique commitment to language study, international studies, study abroad and the summer Language Schools, the possibility of associating ourselves with a series of professional schools with similar commitments to language and internationalization, will only further distinguish Middlebury from other four-year residential liberal arts institutions," Macey said.

Although Liebowitz respects the faculty's decision, he remains enthusiastic about the possible benefits of acquiring Monterey. Liebowitz believes the institute would help forward Middlebury's mission. He emphasized the importance of collaboration in future Middlebury programs.

Liebowitz also briefly mentioned another possible College collaboration, this time with a focus towards the Geology and Environmental Studies departments. He mentioned a new proposal from the Maritime Museum in Lake Champlain which has an interest in collaborating with Middlebury College programs.

Although the faculty has already voiced its opinion, the final decision on MIIS will be made by the administration and the Board of Trustees sometime in May.