College unveils new vision for commons
Anthony Adragna
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: News
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Originally seen as a way to foster four years of continual community growth, the commons system as conceived by former President of the College John M. McCardell over 10 years ago is no more. Current President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz announced a new direction for the system, based on continued affiliation with a commons for four years but only two years of continued residency.
Liebowitz and Dean of the College Tim Spears, unveiled the new "4/2" proposal at a meeting of the new Residential Life staff during their training. A more general announcement came through Liebowitz's blog, "Ron on Middlebury."
Upon reviewing the progress made in the original common vision, Liebowitz concluded the original hope for the commons system was not compatible with the needs of the College.
"The commons vision does not work with the culture at Middlebury," he said. "Students want freedom. Ties [between students] would not be as strong in a completed system. The impact of trying to build five commons on this campus would be huge. It would involve readjusting building uses. Forget the financial side of things."
The financial side of things, though, prompted Liebowitz to examine the progress made in the original plan.
"Cost was the original reason for stepping back and thinking where we were in the original vision," he admitted. "We have to ask though, 'If we had the money tomorrow, is this the right system for Middlebury?' We assumed in the 1990s an unreasonable sense of how long it would take to finish the commons. We probably didn't consider how long it would take to finish all five. But the point is, we don't have to take the money to finish the vision."
Spears said the commons system has not evolved into the vision seen a decade ago.
"We needed to stop and revisit where we are and see how that compares to the original vision [of the commons]," he said. "Now we can evaluate the cultural assumptions we made back then. People march to one vision. The system was designed in an idealistic vision. It's fair to say that most people then wanted a four-year commons system with continued membership. We're not there."
Liebowitz and Dean of the College Tim Spears, unveiled the new "4/2" proposal at a meeting of the new Residential Life staff during their training. A more general announcement came through Liebowitz's blog, "Ron on Middlebury."
Upon reviewing the progress made in the original common vision, Liebowitz concluded the original hope for the commons system was not compatible with the needs of the College.
"The commons vision does not work with the culture at Middlebury," he said. "Students want freedom. Ties [between students] would not be as strong in a completed system. The impact of trying to build five commons on this campus would be huge. It would involve readjusting building uses. Forget the financial side of things."
The financial side of things, though, prompted Liebowitz to examine the progress made in the original plan.
"Cost was the original reason for stepping back and thinking where we were in the original vision," he admitted. "We have to ask though, 'If we had the money tomorrow, is this the right system for Middlebury?' We assumed in the 1990s an unreasonable sense of how long it would take to finish the commons. We probably didn't consider how long it would take to finish all five. But the point is, we don't have to take the money to finish the vision."
Spears said the commons system has not evolved into the vision seen a decade ago.
"We needed to stop and revisit where we are and see how that compares to the original vision [of the commons]," he said. "Now we can evaluate the cultural assumptions we made back then. People march to one vision. The system was designed in an idealistic vision. It's fair to say that most people then wanted a four-year commons system with continued membership. We're not there."
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Gail Davidson '70
posted 10/02/07 @ 4:11 PM EST
After watching the Commons system develop over the decade of its existence, I am no more convinced of its necessity or even its relevance than I was when it began. (Continued…)
hmerrill
Hardy Merrill '94
posted 10/02/07 @ 9:50 PM EST
To my chagrin I date myself, but it has actually been 15 years since the Commons concept was hatched during my years as a Middlebury undergrad. In 1993 I was fortunate enough to be able to move off campus for (to paraphrase this article) "good senior housing. (Continued…)
Robert Schlesinger '94
posted 10/03/07 @ 11:53 AM EST
I was bemused by the comment in this article that "It's fair to say that most people then wanted a four-year commons system with continued membership. (Continued…)
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