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(10/21/15 8:52pm)
This Monday night will be the first official “10 o’clock Ross.” (Translation: continental food will now be available in Ross Dining Hall from 10 pm to 11 pm every Monday-Thursday night.) We are very excited that the folks in Dining Services were willing to work with us on this initiative. If you see Dan Detora around, thank him! From the beginning, Dan listened to students and was enthusiastic about turning ideas into action.
But, to be sure, enacting change does not end with administrators. Ultimately, it is on us, the students, to foster our campus culture and sense of community.
Like many other colleges and universities around the country today, we have been participating in a dialogue surrounding stress. While some of us may be looking to the administration for tangible changes that address certain pressures, (and there is, of course, legitimacy in that), we believe that students can play a role too. In this spirit, we hope students will take advantage of 10 o’clock Ross in the following weeks.
What would it look like if we, as a student body, committed to one hour of no academic stress? What if we, instead, spent that hour together, exchanging meaningful conversation over a bowl of cereal or playing bananagrams with new friends while drinking a cup of tea? What if we made a concerted effort to not let our conversations be dominated by recounting all of the papers we have to write and exams for which we have to study, and instead discussed that inspiring reading we did or performance we saw?
10 o’clock Ross presents a unique opportunity. It is not yet defined, and all of us have the power to set the tone. Let’s take ownership over our community and our culture. Instead of letting 10 o’clock Ross turn into a room full of computers and readings and problem sets, let’s use it to catch up with our friends, grab some ice cream (or perhaps hot chocolate), and end our nights as a community, together.
(09/17/15 8:59pm)
Hello, Middlebury, and welcome to the 2015-2016 academic year.
I ran for Student Government Association (SGA) President on the premise that I am a leader who listens. It is now up to me to breathe life into this concept. I envision a SGA that is relevant, thoughtful and engaging and, above all, one that truly seeks to represent the student body. And so, with the new academic year ahead, I am extending a formal invitation to all of you to hold me accountable.
Stop me in Proctor and tell me about your latest idea for improving student life. Approach me in Crossroads and ask what the SGA has really been up to behind the scenes. Shoot me an email and I promise you someone from the SGA will respond within 24 hours. Of course, the onus is not entirely on all of you, nor should it be. This year we are introducing some new components that make an open stream of communication between the SGA and the student body easier than ever.
First, we are instituting “Open Conversations,” an opportunity for anyone to stop by the Crest Room in McCullough on Sunday nights at 7 pm to discuss life at Middlebury in a free-flowing, non-moderated setting. We will select and advertise a topic that is reflective of conversations happening around campus and relevant administrators will be invited to attend. A more typical Senate meeting will follow Open Conversations, at which time Senators will formalize the ideas discussed into bills and resolutions. Of course, this component of the night will be entirely open to all students as well.
We will also introduce a more consistent social media presence. On our Facebook page, “Middlebury College SGA,” instead of solely publicizing SGA’s activities, we will expand to function as a centralized page for information highlighting all of the wonderful things happening at this school – and, of course, there are so many wonderful things happening here every single day. Similarly, we are re-thinking our strategy when it comes to conveying information through all-student emails, realizing that there is a fine line to toe between inbox-flooding and a complete lack of communication.
In addition, I will be hosting small group dinners in my Atwater suite where students from all classes and social circles will have the opportunity to engage in a dialogue about how the SGA can better serve their cause or community.
We will continue to hold “Coffee Hour” on late nights in BiHall and Davis Library where your class senators, commons senators and I will be there to chat informally or answer directed questions as you take a break from work and grab a free coffee.
These initiatives are all part of my concerted effort to lead through listening, and for the entire SGA to increase its transparency and communication with the student body and the administration. I will do all that I can to keep you in the know as we begin to collaborate with Old Chapel to work towards implementing our goals for the year, which include 10 o’clock Proc, an extensive peer-counseling network and a student-run bar. I also want you all to keep me in the know. If there is something you are frustrated about, if you feel there is nothing significant happening in the SGA or if you want to get involved with a movement, please send me an email and we will schedule a coffee.
Let us not wait until the end of the year and look back at all we could have done. Instead, let us be thoughtful. Reach out. Come to Open Conversations. I think you will be surprised. We can accomplish a lot when we mobilize our community as a united front.
(01/15/14 10:12pm)
On Wednesday, Jan. 8, Gov. Peter Shumlin utilized his State of the State Address to tackle an issue that had not previously been addressed. Shumlin used all 34 minutes of his address to voice his concerns regarding the heroin and other opiate-based drug addictions that are pervasive in the state of Vermont.
Governor Shumlin declared the epidemic a “full-blown heroin crisis.” He also expressed concern over the state’s future if things continue the way they are, stating that the addiction “threatens the safety that has always blessed our state.”
Governor Shumlin pointed to the fact that last year, the number of heroin-related deaths doubled from the previous year. Additionally, since 2000, there has been a 770 percent increase in the need for treatment for this addiction. Governor Shumlin stated his intention to shift the focus from a punitive reaction to a more rehabilitative response.
“We must address it as a public health crisis, providing treatment and support, rather than simply doling out punishment, claiming victory, and moving on to our next conviction,” he said in his address.
Shumlin explained that there is a severe lack of treatment facilities in the state and that this is a problem considering how many people are struggling with opiate addiction. He recommended that the Legislature allocate $200,000 to this cause immediately. In doing so, he pointed to the upwards of 500 citizens who have expressed a strong desire to receive treatment but are sitting on waitlists for programs.
There has been ambivalence in some communities regarding the construction of new treatment facilities, but Shumlin called on officials to enact change on this front.
“The time has come for us to stop quietly averting our eyes from the growing heroin addiction in our front yards while we fear and fight treatment facilities in our backyards,” he said.
The governor introduced another element of his plan that would allow those already convicted of possessing heroin the chance to forego incarceration and instead seek a structured treatment program. Again, this initiative is dependent on the construction of new facilities.
However, Shumlin’s proposal did not only seek to ease penalties. It also suggested coming down harder on individuals guilty of selling heroin, which, as the governor said, should “help ensure that high volume dealers who bring drugs into our state to prey upon Vermonters in pursuit of profits will suffer the consequences.”
The proposal seems to have generated mixed results. Most Democrats are pleased with Shumlin’s ideas, and most Republicans are not as thrilled about the fact that he devoted his entire message to a single issue.
Representative Heidi Scheuermann from Stowe, Vt. is one such Republican. “We do have to tackle addiction, but people day after day are asking me about healthcare,” Scheuermann told the New York Times. She felt that Shumlin’s address was mostly a distraction from the confusion surrounding the current healthcare chaos.
On the other hand, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont released a statement on his website praising Shumlin’s proposal.
“I commend the Governor and the Vermont Legislature for making this a top priority for the new session,” Leahy said.
“We need all hands on deck to fight heroin and opiate addiction in Vermont, and the Governor has proposed answers that can draw strength from all parts of our community.”
The proposal will now be evaluated by the Judiciary committees in the House and Senate, both of which have Democrat majorities.
(10/16/13 11:25pm)
Less than a month after more than 500 Addison County residents raised concerns about Phase 1 of the proposed 43-mile pipeline from Colchester to Middlebury, Vermont Gas Systems announced its plans for the implementation of “Phase 2.”
Phase 2 would extend the pipeline from Middlebury to the International Paper Co. (IP) in Ticonderoga, N.Y., giving it an additional presence in the towns of Middlebury, Cornwall, Shoreham, Lake Champlain and Ticondergoa.
Implementing Phase 2 of the pipeline would allow natural gas to reach Rutland sooner than anticipated by utilizing revenues collected from the IP mill.
IP subsequently announced its willingness take on the cost of Phase 2 of the project, estimated at $70 million, as the operation has the potential to save IP $15 million of its fuel costs each year.
In a press release on behalf of Vermont Gas Systems, President and CEO of Vermont Gas Don Gilbert explained the merits of the expansion.
“The agreement with Ticonderoga Paper Mill makes service a reality in Rutland many years sooner than would otherwise be possible,” Gilbert said.
Currently, the Vermont Public Service Board is reviewing Phase I of the pipeline. The Board is expected to make a decision on the initial proposal before the end of the year.
Vermont Gas Systems plans to file a petition with the Vermont Public Service Board in mid-November regarding Phase 2, which was outlined in a letter to the selectboards of towns through which it would run. The state of Vermont mandates this process.
The additional phase of the pipeline has not been met with much enthusiasm. In fact, it has received primarily harsh criticism, particularly from residents of Cornwall and Shoreham.
Phase 2 has also touched upon the debate surrounding fracking, as some environmental groups have asserted that the extension of the pipeline would involve gas being reached by hydraulic fracking.
Still, as explained in Vermont Gas’s press release, Gilbert believes that the pipeline providing natural gas is the best way to proceed.
“Natural gas has played a key role in the economic opportunities and environmental improvements in Chittenden and Franklin counties, and it is expected to bring $200 million in energy savings to Addison county communities over the next twenty years, while reducing emissions by 300,000 tons,” Gilbert said in the press release. “These economic and environmental benefits will continue to grow significantly if natural gas service is extended to Rutland. That is why many Addison and Rutland county residents, employers and community organizations have expressed their support for natural gas and the economic and environmental benefits to their communities.”
Despite Gilbert’s claims, after receiving Vermont Gas Systems’ letter describing Phase 2, the Cornwall Selectboard came down hard on Governor Peter Shumlin in a letter fiercely rejecting the proposition.
All five members of the Cornwall Selectboard, including chairman Bruce Hiland as well as David Sears, Abi Sessions, Judy Watts and Ben Woods, signed the letter, which was straight to the point from its opening sentence.
“‘Phase 2’. Hmmmm, that term suggests a straightforward continuation of a Phase 1 project … but we all know that is NOT the case with gas pipelines,” the letter began. “While a plausible case is made that the ‘Phase 1’ pipeline to Middlebury will serve Vermonters’ economic public good, NO such argument can be made for the so-called ‘Phase 2’ pipeline to International Paper in Ticonderoga, N.Y.”
The letter asserts that the additional phase is merely a financing scheme that will make money for IP, which, according to the letter, had established itself as a solid company before any pipeline plans were introduced.
The Cornwall Selectboard also explained that residents of Cornwall have already demonstrated deep opposition to Phase 1 of the pipeline, and that they are equally, if not more likely to reject what is called for in Phase 2.
In an email to Vermont Public Radio, Steve Wark, spokesman for Vermont Gas, commented on what he believes to be the positive aspects of the pipeline.
“The only way to get the economic and environmental benefits of natural gas to Rutland before 2035 is to serve the Ticonderoga Paper Mill,” Wark said. “Rutland’s median income is one of the lowest in Vermont. It’s hard to understand why someone would work to block the expansion of natural gas service to more Vermonters, particularly those in Rutland. They may not understand how challenged the Rutland economy is.”
Still, despite this claim, the Cornwall Selectboard calls for something else. In its letter, the members propose that Shumlin should come up with an innovative and creative way to finance a pipeline that would run directly to Rutland and not to IP.
They suggest a number of specific means of doing this, including raising gas prices “very slightly to extend natural gas availability further into Vermont.”
According to Burlington Free Press, Sue Allen, spokeswoman Shumlin, explained in an email that the office is still looking over the letter from the Selectboard.
(09/25/13 11:35pm)
At a news conference at City Hall on Monday, Sept. 23, former Governor Madeline Kunin announced that Vermont will be joining a new initiative to support women wishing to seek elected positions in Vermont.
As the only female governor in the history of Vermont, Kunin announced that Vermont is partnering with Emerge America, a non-profit organization with a stated goal of increasing the number of Democratic women in public office.
Kunin, along with a group of other Democratic women, raised $50,000 since January in order to implement Engage America in Vermont.
According to VTDigger.org, in her announcement, Kunin elaborated on why this issue is so important.
“Women’s issues are somewhat different, not on every issue, but on some issues, and those voices need to be heard,” Kunin said.
Kunin also pointed to more specific issues that require women leaders.
“Sexual assault is nothing new, but for the first time it’s becoming public, and it’s because women are leading the charge,” Kunin said.
Kunin also described the current state of women representation in Vermont politics. 41 percent of the Vermont Legislature is made up of women, and women hold half of the 96 Democratic seats in the House. In the senate, which consists of 30 members, there are only nine women.
Emerge America was founded in 2002 and currently works in 14 states, specifically Arizona, California, Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
While the work Emerge America does in each state depends on the state’s political landscape and specific needs, the general procedure is standard and includes identifying potential leaders, and eventually encouraging them to run for all types of office, including those at the local level. Those interested in training apply to the program and the accepted program members attend a seven-month, 70-hour program.
A news release on Emerge America’s website reveals that Kunin expressed optimism that Emerge Americawill encourage women leaders to run for office.
“The difference between women and men is women often have to be asked to run,” Kunin said. “Emerge will ask!”
Emerge has had successful results in the states that it has been working with in the past 11 years. According to their website, of those who have run for office after attending Emerge training, 60% of the women have won their election.
Kunin led a kick off celebration on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at Hotel Vermont-Juniper in Burlington to officiate the new partnership.
(09/12/13 12:51am)
This past June, the College revealed its new joint initiative with the town of Middlebury to fund the building of a new town recreation facility, as well as a new town hall.
The project altogether is estimated to cost $7.5 million. The College will contribute $5.5 million, and the town of Middlebury will cover the remaining $2 million.
The existing town hall and gymnasium will both be demolished. The 8,000- to 9,000-sqaure-foot new town hall will be located at 77 Main Street, next to the Ilsey Public Library and where the Osborne House currently stands. The new recreation center will include a gymnasium and will be constructed at Memorial Sports Center off Mary Hogan Drive.
The construction of a new triangular public park and green space owned by the College is also included in the initiative, and is set to be located where the town center and gymnasium currently stand. Additionally, Osborne House will be relocated to the corner of Cross and Water streets. Previously, the town of Middlebury owned this vacant property, but the land will now belong to the College.
For the town of Middlebury, the initiative marks the culmination of a 10-year struggle to fix the town hall and gymnasium due to deterioration and the lack of energy efficiency.
When they realized a $10 million plan would probably not gain tax payers’ support, and fundraising through state and federal grants were not a feasible option, Selectman Victor Nuovo, chairman of the Town Center Steering Committee and a professor emeritus of philosophy at the College, along with Selectboard Chairman Dean George approached the College asking for financial assistance.
Such assistance to the town on behalf of the College is not unusual. In fact, the College recently signed on to funding $9 million out of the $16 million going towards the construction of the new Cross Street Bridge.
These projects are illustrative of the “fair-share” agreement that requires the College to provide funding to projects that might raise local high taxes. The College recognizes this as its responsibility due to the impact that it may have on some of the town’s services.
A news release on behalf of President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz expressed excitement regarding this new project.
“I’m delighted to see how the town and college have been able to come together to find ways to improve the vitality of our downtown,” he said. “This is a partnership that I believe can stand as a model for any college community.”
Despite Liebowitz’s enthusiasm, the project was not met with optimism from all town members.
At a public hearing in the town of Middlebury in July, more than a dozen people spoke against the construction of new town offices and a public gymnasium. According to The Addison Independent, Middlebury resident Victoria DeWind expressed concern over the concept that the land on which the current town hall is built will be handed over to the College.
“This is such an opportunity for the town; why do we give it away for a park? We don’t need another park to meet our different needs,” DeWind said at the public forum.
Resident Barbara Tomb expressed some disappointment in the College’s role in the process as well.
“If the College is part of the community, I guess I’d kind of like to see them step up and go ahead and contribute without needing to get something necessarily in return for it, other than appreciation and being a good neighbor,” she said.
Other concerns expressed by town members included the crowding of the already tightly packed Ilsey Library, and the lack of available parking where the municipal center will be built.
Not all those present were against the project. Some town members expressed optimism that this project will solve issues that have been present in the community for years.
To date, the exact details of the plan have not been sorted out, but Selectboard Chairman Dean George promised to keep the town members posted.
“We’re not trying to be closed-doors about this and we aren’t rushing this,” Geoge told The Addison Indapendent.
(05/08/13 8:51pm)
On Thursday, May 2, an all-campus email announced that Rachel Liddell ’15 was elected President of the Student Government Association (SGA) for the 2013-2014 academic year.
The election yielded a record turnout with a total of 1,484 votes. Liddell received 772 votes, which amounted to 52.02 percent of votes and a clear majority. Liddell defeated Killian Naylor ’14.5, who received 367 votes and Nathan LaBarba ’14, who received 345 votes. Ranked ballot calculations were not deemed necessary in the tally process.
“The campaign was a huge amount of effort and time, but the real work starts now,” said Liddell. “I’m just shocked by the voter turnout, blown away by the distribution of the vote and very proud.”
Current SGA Chief of Staff Anna Esten ’13 noted the impressive voter turnout as well. “The turnout was the highest we have on record, and we think it was a combination of the fact that there were three high-profile presidential candidates running, as well as increased interest in the SGA in general this year.”
A new provision of SGA election guidelines, enacted this fall, is thought to have contributed to the record voter turnout. The new rule allowed candidates to campaign during the voting period, whereas campaigning in previous years ended when ballots went live online.
Liddell’s SGA experience stems from her role as Cook Commons Senator during the 2012-2013 academic year, as well as serving alongside students, faculty and staff as a member of the College’s budgetary advisory committee.
“Sometimes it’s hard for average students to have their voice heard, and I’m excited to be someone who can make my voice heard, and also someone who is willing to lend my voice to others,” said Liddell.
Liddell made her decision to run for SGA President in March after repeated conversations with incoming Chief of Staff Danny Zhang ’15.
“Finding Danny [marked the shift from] me having an ambition that I wanted to enact by myself into me having a team, and me having somebody who was willing to support me in a very real way,” said Liddell.
Zhang feels that the biggest factor in Liddell’s success was their campaign efforts early on in the election process.
“I think we had a really strong ground game going for us,” said Zhang. “It was overall a really dynamic campaign with a lot of moving pieces, including social media, chalking, posters and just talking to people.
“From what I’ve seen, Rachel has an extremely driven personality,” Zhang said. “She’s very dedicated to what she does, and if she wants something, she’ll do what it takes to get it done.”
As advertised during her campaign, Liddell’s primary platform issue is to work with administrators to grant students academic credit for summer internships, arguing that the winter term internship policy, which grants general academic credit, should extend to summer opportunities as well.
“Many summer internships are unpaid, and that’s disturbing,” said Liddell. “On the one hand, it’s negative to buy into that, and on the other hand, buying into it is inevitable, and we need to have those kinds of experiential learning moments in order to be qualified in the job market when we graduate.”
Liddell’s platform also includes reforming distribution requirements, addressing the role of social houses on campus, revamping course evaluations and reconsidering the efficacy of the Honor Code.
“I obviously am interested in making a difference here at Middlebury,” said Liddell. “I am interested in impacting the issues that I am passionate about, and I think that a lot of students are passionate about these same issues.”
In addition to the SGA presidential elections, elections took place for Student Co-Chair of the Community Council and SGA senators.
Luke Carroll Brown ’13.5 will serve as Community Council Co-Chair. Caroline Zitin ’14 was elected unopposed as Senior Senator, Nalia Jahan ’15 will serve as Junior Senator for the full year while Rana Abdelhamid ’15 will serve during the fall semester. Hasher Nisar ’16 and Conor Simons ’16 will serve as Sophomore Senators. Evan Allis ’15.5 and Joseph Leavenworth Bakali ’15.5 were elected Feb Senators.
Commons Senators were elected as well. Alex Potter ’16.5 will represent Atwater Commons, Josh Beerlowitz ’16 will serve as Brainerd Senator, Taylor Custer ’15 will be Ross Commons’ Senator and Lisa Han ‘16 will serve as Wonnacott Senator.
(04/10/13 4:26pm)
On April 5-7, five students attended the sixth annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) conference at Washington University in St. Louis. The students were selected from a pool of applicants from colleges and universities around the world to participate in the event. The trip was sponsored by the Middlebury Center for Social Entrepreneurship (MCSE).
Founded in 2007, the CGI U conference was inspired by the structure of former President of the United States Bill Clinton’s Clinton Global Initiative, which brings together global leaders who are committed to facilitating change. CGI U draws the next generation’s leaders together each year to discuss and debate problems within five “focus areas:” Education, Environment and Climate Change, Peace and Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health. In order to participate in CGI U, educational institutions must commit to giving a minimum of $10,000 in funding to students for the implementation of CGI U-selected projects.
The five students who attended the conference, Rana Abdelhamid ’15, Rabeya Jawaid ’16, Betty Kobia ’16, Armel Nibasumba ’16 and Rachel Sider ’14, returned to campus feeling inspired by the weekend’s events, which included a plenary session titled “Getting off the Ground: Stories of Starting Up,” moderated by former President Bill Clinton and featuring remarks by Chelsea Clinton, as well as alumnus Shabana Basij-Rasikh ’11.
“It was super inspirational to be able to engage and build relationships with such incredibly passionate young people,” Abdelhamid said. “The entire experience just made me so much more optimistic about the future.”
To apply for a ticket to the conference, students had to submit a “Commitment to Action,” detailing a plan of implementation for a challenge of their choice that falls within one of the five focus areas. CGI U then selected 1,200 students to receive grants ranging to make their proposed commitments a reality. The five Middlebury students who participated in CGI U received funding in the form of two MCSE summer grants: a Davis Project for Peace grant and a MCSE fellowship.
Jawaid, who hails from Karachi, Pakistan, received $3,000 from MCSE to implement her Commitment to Action over the summer to provide deaf women in Pakistan with vocational training.
Jawaid worked with deaf Pakastani women two summers ago and wanted to continue her project, but lacked the necessary funding until now. Using her MCSE grant, Jawaid will purchase sewing machines to enable women to make and sell clothing.
“Before Middlebury, I knew I wanted to make a change,” Jawaid said. “But here there’s so much studying and it’s so busy, so [CGI U] is a great way for me to get back to what I believe in and get inspired again.”
Jawaid was impressed by the College’s commitment to CGI U, as the MCSE paid for her and the other students’ plane tickets and hotel fees.
“The school is really committed to helping students attend CGI U and carry out their projects,” she said.
MCSE Associate Director of Operations and Development Heather Neuwirth ’08 is excited that the students had the chance to participate in such a special conference.
“It’s a really important chance for our students to learn about projects of other like-minded undergraduate and graduate students,” she said.
The MCSE will be posting a recap of the CGI U conference for those who could not attend within the next couple of weeks.
(03/06/13 5:37pm)
On Thursday, Feb. 28, Core and Change in the Liberal Arts, a committee formed by the office of Academic Affairs, hosted a panel discussion titled “Technology & The Liberal Arts.” The discussion was meant to explore how new technologies can be used to advance the College’s mission.
The panel was moderated by Special Assistant to Academic Affairs Sarah McGowen and panelists included, Manager of Web and Interactive Digital Media Technologies Joe Antonioli, Associate Professor of History Louisa Burnham, Christian A. Johnson Professor of Music Peter Hamlin and Assistant Professor of Computer Science David Kauchak.
Each of the panel members were asked to respond to the following question: “How can we use emerging technologies to support Middlebury’s mission to cultivate the intellectual, creative, physical, ethical and social qualities essential for leadership in a rapidly changing global community?”
Taking the podium first, Antonioli began by defining the term “emerging technologies” as more durable and flexible technologies, or in other cases, the convergence of already existing technologies. He also laid out some of the challenges that arise from the abundance of all of the new technologies available.
“We need to investigate each technology as it comes, and technology is being developed at a very fast pace now,” he said. “So we need to come up with a way to look at these technologies and decide which ones are worth investing our time and money in, and which ones are going to be most useful to us.”
Antonioli pointed out that one way to go about this process is to think about how a new technology would affect the activities at Middlebury. In other words, is it just taking an activity that already exists and making it digital, or is it creating a new learning opportunity?
Hamlin spoke next and began by describing his own personal philosophy about technology, specifically as it relates to music.
“Of course the pace of change [regarding technology] is really sudden, but I don’t really believe that there is something fundamentally different [about music] and that’s how I go about my teaching,” he said.
Hamlin did, however, decide to offer a new class involving electronic music, for which technology is necessary.
Burnham presented a slightly different perspective, as she has come to heavily integrate technology into her teaching. Her tests are now online, her grading is all done on her iPad, and she has also started having her students discuss readings on online forums before doing so in discussion sections.
“My idea is to use the technology to make simpler the things that can be made simple for me, and also to exploit the possibilities of the technologies outside the classroom to enhance the experience of students and me in the classroom,” she said.
Kauchak then turned the discussion toward online learning, and how the College might benefit in the long term by a shift toward the new technology. Describing the employment of the new tools by a Stanford professor, he described how the California-based faculty member is recording himself teaching every lesson plan and putting it online for his students to watch the night before they have class. Kauckak then described that the lessons are also accompanied by problems, and the professor is able to use the responses to tailor his teaching to the sections of the material that are giving students the hardest time. While Kauchak hasn’t yet implemented this online teaching in his class, he explained that he has considered it and encouraged others to explore its potential as well.
McGowen then opened the discussion to a question-and-answer session, which prompted discussion on topics ranging from the challenges faced by new learning styles of students, to the interaction between newer, more electric music and older, more classical music.
L. Douglas and Laura J. Meredith Dean of Library Information Services and Chief Information Officer Michael D. Roy felt this was an especially productive part of the panel discussion.
“In general I was happy with it the panel, but I didn’t feel as if the presentations directly confronted the question that was posed,” he said. “I think in the discussion, however, we started to get closer to engaging those questions.”
Will Hanley ’15 enjoyed the panel discussion. “It was very interesting to hear about how teachers are constantly finding new ways of changing their curriculum, and how other people are influencing them around the world,” he said.
Over the coming months Core and Change in the Liberal Arts will continue to explore the role of technology in the liberal arts experience.