Middlebury College has stood for two hundred and twenty-five years. It has weathered civil wars, financial crashes and global pandemics without disappearing. For most students, that permanence feels like a given. However, it is clearly at a crossroads. An impending demographic cliff, the unprecedented rise in tuition costs, and a countywide lessening faith in higher education prompted us to ask a new question in this year’s eighth annual student survey (Zeitgeist 8.0): “Do you have faith in the future of Middlebury?” Generally, respondents said yes, but cautioned that Middlebury has areas it needs to self-reflect on. So what does the future of Middlebury really look like? The Editorial Board offered a reflection on this question.
Zeitgeist respondents cited artificial intelligence (AI) as one of the most concerning factors undermining their faith in Middlebury and in liberal arts education more generally. A wide variety of departments are losing faculty this year, and many students can infer that it is not simply time to retire; professors' morale is noticeably low, particularly when they discuss how AI is transforming their careers. Their exhaustion is palpable, and we don’t blame them. But how can students have faith when the very people who foster their intellectual experience don’t? Middlebury must treat faculty well-being not as a peripheral concern but as central to its mission, ensuring that professors can continue to serve as inspiring mentors and incredible educators. This is the only way to combat the threats AI poses to the liberal arts. Faculty aside, we must note that staff are increasingly being treated as replaceable. Last spring’s $10 million reduction in staff benefits and a partial hiring freeze do not bode well for the college's future as a fair and attractive employer. Catering, dining, facilities, student activities, and library services all reported being understaffed, with current staff being asked to work more than expected.
Then there is the money. The cost of attendance at Middlebury has reached $97,386, making the future hard to imagine for many. Soon, four years at Middlebury will cost nearly twice the average household income in the US. How are students outside the top 1% supposed to have faith in that future? With 23% of students’ families earning $800,000 or more annually, and that number only increasing with recent admission trends, Middlebury may become a community of only the wealthy. As it is, 58% of students pay full tuition (that means for every two people you talk to, at least one pays full tuition). Some consequences are already visible, such as our national and global rankings dropping and applications falling to a five-year low. But the harder question is not about these statistics; it is about what Middlebury loses when it becomes a community defined by wealth. The diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences that make a liberal arts education worth experiencing will not survive the current direction. This is not just an equity problem; it is an intellectual one that threatens the vibrancy of our community.
Nevertheless, despite the dark national trends, Middlebury remains unmistakably alive. President Ian Baucom offers a hopeful demeanor, he is excited, personable, and eager to cultivate community. We can’t ignore that, in many ways, the community is still exiting the liminal period that came after Covid-19 and is regrowing and redefining itself. With President Baucom, it feels like the window of potential has truly expanded, and protecting the vibrant, tight-knit Middlebury community that transcends borders and generations feels possible. Middlebury’s future will not come from its administrators or financial advisors. It will come from its students, staff, and faculty, and, with President Baucom, it feels as if we have a college administration that understands that.
Within the past month, the student symposium and Nocturne arts festival have made it hard not to believe in Middlebury and the people who give it life. Last Saturday, Nocturne breathed life into campus, talent was tangible in the air, and you could feel the freedom of self-expression emanating amongst everyone. And just two weeks ago, over 250 students passionately presented on important research and learning they have been engaging in. In the age of AI, it is moments like these that feel so precious. Real humans doing things only humans can do, with their eyes lighting up as they talk about their study on neuroplasticity, or singing and dancing their hearts out with an eager audience of friends. This is what imbues us with hope when we think about the future of Middlebury and its potential to be a safe haven for community, expression, and curiosity at a time when those values are hard to truly grow.
The two hundred and twenty-five years that this institution rests on are real and shouldn’t go unnoticed. But longevity does not equal vitality. This place, with its intellectually rich and passionately creative students, is not invincible. We take the Zeitgeist responses to be importantly honest, honoring the truth in the fact that many tenants of this institution we love so much are under extreme pressure. However, we must not lose sight of the life that surrounds us every day. We, as Middlebury students, have the power to create community, continue engaging intellectually, and make a meaningful home in our time here. To believe in a bright future for Middlebury makes it just that much more possible.
