Chief Justice Roberts to address Middlebury

Author: Ben Salkowe

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. will deliver Middlebury's Fulton lecture next month, College President Ronald D. Liebowitz announced in an all-campus e-mail on Friday. While not an official part of the strategic plan's proposed college-wide convocation series, Liebowitz wrote Tuesday that the event could serve as a foundation for community-wide discussions and illustrate the plan's recommendation.

Roberts, 51, will speak in Mead Chapel at 8:15 p.m. on Oct. 24. Following his lecture the Chief Justice will take questions from the audience before attending a reception in McCullough.

"I can think of few positions that are more important than the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, especially at a time when our country is so fractured politically," wrote Liebowitz in an e-mail Tuesday. "What Chief Justice Roberts has to say, no matter his political affiliation, should be of great interest to all of us."

Student political leaders from both parties agreed that the Chief Justice's visit would be an opportunity for meaningful political discussion.

"While all of us might not agree with Chief Justice Roberts' politics in his decision-making, there is no denying that we all stand to explore our own personal beliefs through listening to his words," wrote Antoinette Rangel '09, president of the College Democrats, in response to the announcement.

"I hope that [Roberts'] lecture will give the student body some sort of understanding of conservative viewpoints," wrote Natalie Komrovsky '09, co-president of the College Republicans, in an e-mail Friday.

Liebowitz wrote that the event could model the recommended weekly college-wide convocations outlined last May in the College's strategic plan.

The plan's recommendation calls for an all-community convocation on the first week of each month with a "major outside speaker" who would introduce a topic for discussion. The second week would follow-up with Commons-based discussions to further debate the topic, followed by the third week with a faculty, staff or student speaker or panel that could address the topic in another all-community event. The fourth week, according to the plan, would remain open for reflection on the topic in small group settings.

"While we work to get a convocation series in place, there is no reason why this particular event could not serve as the foundation for community-wide discussions in a number of venues, from the Commons, to student-led organizations, to dorm hall discussions," wrote Liebowitz.

Past campus appearances by prominent conservatives have sparked protests by students and community members, including controversial visits by former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer '82 in the fall of 2002 and former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in the spring of 2005.

Stefan Claypool '09, the College Republican's other co-president, wrote that he was "thrilled" about the event but did expect some student protests.

"Seeing as how Chief Justice Roberts is an appointee of President Bush, towards whom many [Middlebury] students are openly hostile, I do expect some form of protest from the radical liberal elements of the student body," wrote Claypool.

Roberts' visit will mark the second by a U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice to the Middlebury campus. The late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, Roberts' predecessor, gave a Fulton lecture in 1998.

Roberts was confirmed as the 17th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 29, 2005. As a lawyer the Buffalo, N.Y.-native had argued dozens of cases before the Court and been sworn in as a justice on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2003.

Roberts received his bachelor's degree in only three years at Harvard College in 1976, and his degree in law from Harvard Law School in 1979.

The John Hamilton Fulton Lecture in the Liberal Arts was established at Middlebury College in 1966 by an emeritus member of the College Board of Trustees. Previous Fulton lecturers have included James A. Baker, III, Wynton Marsalis and Elie Wiesel.