On Jan. 14, faculty, administrators and students gathered in Middlebury College’s Wilson Hall for the first student-only open meeting designed to shape President Ian B. Baucom’s 10-year strategic plan — the college’s first comprehensive planning initiative in more than a decade.
The discussions are part of a broader effort to organize attention and resources around the college’s long-term priorities. Announced on Oct. 29, the strategic planning process has 12 working groups, structured around three central themes: “Strengthen the Core”, “Connect the Whole”, and “Meet the Moment.” Working groups are composed of students, staff, faculty and alumni, and solicit feedback from various cohorts before presenting policy proposals to the steering committee by May 2026.
At the meeting, attendees were free to engage with any of the 12 working groups, facilitating a student-led discussion. Professor of Global Health and co-chair of the steering committee for the 10-year plan, Jessica Holmes, opened the event before inviting students to share their thoughts with representatives from each working group.
“This whole process is designed to be faculty primary, but not faculty exclusive, because we need to work with our students, we need to work with our staff,” Baucom said at an Oct. 7 faculty meeting discussing the formation of working groups.
Sign-ups for the forum remained low in the days leading up to it. On Jan. 10, Holmes wrote to student members of working groups asking for support in generating interest.
“At present sign-ups are very low and we may need to cancel the event, ” Holmes wrote. “We view student input into this strategic planning process as critical to its success!”
Nevertheless, signups increased in the two days leading up to the event, with Holmes emailing the student members again a few hours before.“Sign-ups were strong, thanks in very large part to your enthusiasm and outreach,” Holmes wrote.
“Not every working group table was well-attended; that’s okay, since some of those working groups may have seemed less relevant to student concerns,” Professor of History Amy Morseman wrote in an email to The Campus. “From my vantage point at the 'Student Access and Success' table, we heard valuable perspectives from students, and we got to see them talk to each other, compare stories, and provide important nuances based on what they shared together about how Middlebury could more effectively deliver a quality educational experience.”
The event was divided into three half-hour segments, allowing students to visit up to three working groups. Each table had a printout of sign-ups and the guiding questions for each working group. Facilitators jotted down notes as students spoke about their Middlebury experiences. Some used microphones to record students speaking.
Clare Rados ’27 is the student representative of the “Build a Vibrant and Engaged Learning Community” working group and facilitated the group's table at the forum.
“My job is mainly to do outreach to students who have expressed an interest in the group's mission, as well as helping with facilitating conversations like the one last week, and then helping to develop our strategic objectives to submit to the next level up and where they will eventually be presented to the board after prioritization,” Rados wrote in an email to The Campus.
Maddy Russell ’26 also visited the “Build a Vibrant and Engaged Learning Community” working group table.
“Honestly, just having the opportunity to dream big about what the college can construct and how to maximize the buildings we already have was a fun exercise,” Russell wrote in an email to The Campus. “I especially hope that it leads to greater conversation around lighting (we could always use more) and seating around campus.”
The “Advance Academic Freedom” table was also well attended. Students responded to the group's first question: How can we advance our commitment to academic freedom?
Conversations highlighted the importance of discussion and respectful debate, particularly when controversial guest speakers are invited to Middlebury.
“We’ve heard a lot about a need for fostering a culture in which academic freedom and free expression are valued, and in which members of our community feel free to do their work without feeling pressured to conceal their views or perspectives,” Professor of Political Science and chair of the “Advance Academic Freedom” working group Bert Johnson wrote in an email to The Campus. “Clear policies and fair application of those policies are important, but so are opportunities for debating our good-faith disagreements in an environment where such discussions are seen as enjoyable and informative rather than intimidating.”
“They [students] described concerns about potential academic or social repercussions, a dynamic that raises broader questions about academic freedom and the conditions necessary for open intellectual exchange,” a member of the “Advance Academic Freedom” Ignacio Gamero ’26 wrote in an email to The Campus.
Sophia Kahn ’26 also attended “Advance Academic Freedom.”
“We should be part of knowing what’s going on behind the scenes and have input over what resources are available or could be taken away, and how policies around academic freedom or protesting are created and enforced,” Kahn wrote in a message to The Campus.
The willingness of the Middlebury community to convene and discuss the future of the institution is appreciated by working group leaders like Sunder Ramaswamy, distinguished college professor of international economics, who leads a working group focused on Middlebury’s global strategy and mission.
“I have been deeply impressed by the commitment and generosity of my faculty, staff, and student colleagues,” Ramaswamy wrote in an email to The Campus. “Since we first met just before Thanksgiving, they have consistently made time — despite demanding schedules and the compressed planning timeline — to participate fully in our meetings, engage with others across the community, and actively seek out diverse perspectives. Their dedication reflects a shared seriousness of purpose about how Middlebury should position itself in an increasingly dynamic and unpredictable world.”
Students were excited about the opportunity to share feedback with college administrators.
“The working group reminded me that so much of how we connect and interact with each other is shaped by our physical surroundings on campus — something that we can change for the better!” Russell wrote.
As the working groups continue their discussions, students continue to call for transparency in decision-making, urging the steering committee to continue soliciting student input and to take it into consideration.
“I liked being able to have a discussion with not just other students but also community members like faculty, staff, and board members,” Kahn wrote in an email to The Campus. “I appreciated that each group seemed open to listening to what we had to say and encouraged us to write or email with further questions/ideas. I just hope that our contributions are taken seriously and our voices reflected in the final output.”
Facilitators reiterated that active participation will play a key role in shaping the college's 10-year strategy. Students can submit feedback to working groups continuously via a Google form.
Editor’s note: Senior News Editor Cole Chaudhari ’26, News Editor Rachelle Talbert ’28, News Editor Norah Khan ’27 and Editor-in-Chief Mandy Berghela ’26 contributed reporting to this article. Yuvraj Shah ’26 is the student representative on the "Define Global Mission and Strategy” working group, and Berghela is a member of the “Advance Academic Freedom” working group.
Yuvraj Shah '26 (he/him) is a Managing Editor.
He has previously served as the Senior Opinions Editor. He is a joint major in History and English Literature. He was awarded a $5000 Mellon Humanities For All Times Grant through the Axinn Center for the Humanities and is conducting research about the citizenship rights of the British Kenyan Asian diaspora. He studied abroad at Keble College, University of Oxford. He is a Senior Fellow at Middlebury College Admissions, a Residential Advisor, and Arts Events House Manager. He is a member of Middlebury College’s new 10-year plan development committee. He has previously interned with the New England Review and the Middlebury Magazine. He is an international student from Nairobi, Kenya, and London, UK. He is a UWC Davis Scholar.
