MIDDLEBURY, Vt.-Two institutions renowned for their expertise in international education, language teaching and cultural studies are combining forces.

Administrators from Middlebury College and the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) signed an agreement on Friday, Dec. 2, that makes Monterey an affiliate of Middlebury. The agreement will combine the strengths of both institutions.

“With this affiliation, Middlebury is greatly expanding its role in international education,” said Middlebury College President Ronald D. Liebowitz. “Through its new relationship with Monterey, Middlebury is extending its reach in graduate education into the fields of international policy studies and international business.”

According to Liebowitz, several of Monterey’s programs - those in translation and interpretation, and in second-language acquisition - will also complement Middlebury’s already renowned graduate language programs, which operate both in Middlebury, Vt., and at five of the seven Middlebury Schools Abroad.

The two institutions will benefit in other ways as well, said Liebowitz. Monterey’s four graduate schools will be able to take advantage of the Middlebury Schools Abroad to expand and deepen the two institutions’ international programs, and draw on Middlebury’s strong network of undergraduate and graduate institutions, both in the United States and abroad.

“Middlebury College and the Monterey Institute are leaders in the field of international education.” said Liebowitz. “At a time when the world seems to be getting smaller, the problems it faces are only growing more complex. Combined, our experience, knowledge, programs and vision will have a noticeable impact on our ability to develop informed leaders, better prepared to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.”

The signing, which took place at a private ceremony on the Monterey campus, marks the conclusion of a process that began in November 2004, when a group from Middlebury visited Monterey for the first time. This fall, both boards of trustees voted unanimously to approve the affiliation.

“We are extremely pleased to affiliate with Middlebury College,” said Monterey President Steven J. Baker. “The institute came into being 50 years ago, at the height of the Cold War. The challenges and opportunities of today’s world, though different, are even greater. With this affiliation, we strengthen our commitment to build vigorous, innovative models of international education.”

The affiliation agreement establishes the structure of the relationship between the two institutions. The Monterey Institute will have a new 13-member board of trustees. Nine of the board members have ties to Middlebury and the other four previously served on the institute’s board.

“Monterey’s new world-class board of trustees is an outstanding group of accomplished individuals who are dedicated to making Middlebury, Monterey and the affiliation a success. They, as much as anything else, are a true reflection of the commitment that Middlebury has made to this initiative,” said Liebowitz.

The nine board members with connections to Middlebury are: James S. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer of New Balance Athletic Shoe; Frederick M. Fritz, chair of the Middlebury College board of trustees; Philip O. Geier, executive director of the Davis United World College Scholars Program; David A. Jones, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Humana, Inc.; William H. Kieffer III, former senior vice president of State Street Corporation; Catherine Grace Lee, consultant to Eukor Car Carriers; Russell J. Leng, Middlebury College James Jermain Professor of Political Economy and International Law; Victor P. Micati, retired executive of Pfizer; and Marna C. Whittington, chief operating officer of Allianz Dresdner Asset Management.

The four board members who previously served on the Monterey Institute board are: Beverly Lannquist Hamilton, former president of ARCO Investment Management Company; Stephen McDonald, managing director of Trust Company of the West; Bernard H. Schulte, senior advisor of John Parry & Alexander, Inc.; and J.R. Williams, first vice president of Wachovia Securities.

Baker will remain president of the Monterey Institute through 2005. On Dec. 31, 2005, Clara Yu will assume this role. A member of the Middlebury faculty since 1987, a former vice president of languages and director of the Middlebury Language Schools, Yu is internationally known as a leader in the use of technology in higher education. She is the founder of the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education (NITLE), a consortium of 81 liberal arts colleges, the largest virtual network in United States higher education devoted to this work. Supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Institute has brought information literacy, Geographic Information Systems, bioinformatics, social network and game design programs to its participant institutions.

Born in China and reared in Taiwan, Yu was working with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation on the development of the next generation of internet search engines when Liebowitz approached her about the Monterey affiliation. Since July, she has served as a special advisor to Baker; from January through July 2006, Baker will serve in a similar advisory role to Yu.

Describing the Middlebury and Monterey affiliation, Yu said, “This partnership is about more than just two world-class institutions coming together. Our shared mission is to educate
U.S. and international students who speak the languages of the world, and who understand cultural differences and how to bridge them. Our goal together is to help build a safer, more just, and more sustainable world. It is a great honor to join the trustees, faculty, staff and students at the Monterey Institute and Middlebury College in this important work.”

Commenting on the agreement between Middlebury and Monterey, Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation, a nonprofit foundation that supports education, said, “The affiliation is a great service to the nation at a time when America needs more knowledge of the world’s cultures and languages. Together, Middlebury and Monterey will occupy a major place in the nation’s study of language and culture.”

Located in Vermont, Middlebury College is one of the leading liberal arts colleges in the nation. It enrolls 2,350 undergraduate students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. The college also enrolls 1,300 students at its nine intensive summer language schools, 550 at the Bread Loaf School of English, and 300 at its seven Middlebury Schools Abroad. Each year, Middlebury awards an average of 250 graduate degrees in foreign languages and English. The college is particularly noted for excellence in international studies, languages, writing and literary studies, and environmental studies.

The Monterey Institute of International Studies, located in California, enrolls some 750 students from 46 countries. The institute includes the Graduate School of International Policy Studies, the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation, the Fisher Graduate School of International Business, the Graduate School of Language and Educational Linguistics, the internationally renowned Center for Nonproliferation Studies and the Center for East Asian Studies.