Faculty earn titles, tenure

Laurie Essig, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology and women’s and gender studies, along with four other professors, were approved for tenure this past fall. The Geology and Classics departments also announced two new endowed chairs. Essig’s tenure was met with enthusiasm from students and recently graduated alumni.
“I am ecstatic to learn of her tenure,” wrote Baylie Roth ’09 in an e-mail. Roth, a former student of Essig’s, started a Facebook group in 2008 to fight the pre-tenure committee’s initial recommendation not to renew Essig’s tenure-track contract.
“Middlebury culture is such a privileged, ableist, upper class, white, heteronormative space that it is important (albeit difficult) to be critical of our place in that culture,” he added. “[Essig's] brilliance and influence will continue to make Middlebury a critically aware and amazing place to learn.”
Essig explained that the student outcry did not have a direct impact on the decision. However, she did acknowledge that the support was meaningful at a time when she was being criticized for her teaching.
“[It] was devastating, being a good teacher is central to my identity,” Essig said. "It was really overwhelming to get that much support from students and it's the reason I decided to stay at Middlebury," she said in response to whether or not she had considered accepting outside offers to teach and write.
Though happy to have received tenure, she has recently critiqued the concept in The Chronicle of Higher Education, where she is a regular contributor. The process discourages professors facing pre-tenure review from sharing and publishing their opinions openly, she wrote.
“Who in their right mind would risk ‘job security for life’ in order to say they think the administration is wrong, or the chair is wrong, or even that torture and preemptive war are wrong?”
Essig was joined by four other faculty members receiving tenure: Febe Armanios of the history department, Matthew Kimble of the psychology department, Hedya Klein of the studio art department and Stefano Mula of the Italian department.
Old Chapel also announced the creation of two new endowed chairs. The Robert R. Churchill Professorship in Geosciences in honor of the former college president was awarded to Professor of Geography Ray Coish.
“Bob [Churchill] was a huge presence in geography and environmental studies,” Professor of Geography Tamar Mayer said. “[He] started as a physical geographer, and taught classes on geomorphology. And then, he trained himself in cartography and … really started the whole GIS program at Middlebury.” Churchill hired Mayer in 1987, three years after he hired then geography professor President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz. The chair, Mayer added, allows Churchill’s legacy to continue.
“I think that the chair is a great tribute to him. Just perfect.”
Professor Coish mainly researches volcanism in the northern Appalachians. He has taught classes on Earthquakes and Volcanoes, Bedrock Geology of Vermont and Mineralogy, among others.
The second chair, awarded to Professor of Classics Jane Chaplin, honors President Emeritus Jim Armstrong.
“[Armstrong] is the person who changed Middlebury from a local college to a national college,” said Chaplin.
He is also credited with fully integrating coed student life, and creating the faculty leave program. His teaching academic career also shared parallels with Chaplin’s, intersecting at Princeton.
“To have the chair be named after someone who’s done so much for the institution [is an honor] … and then I got to meet him, which was absolutely terrific,” said Chaplin. The pair had a formal dinner to celebrate the endowment, and read each other’s academic work.
According to the Office of the Provost, both chairs cost around one million dollars to endow, and were made possible through a donation from the Peterson family. The awarded money goes to the scholars to support their research.