Middlebury College
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Middlebury does this in two ways. The President and Vice President for Finance and Director of Community Relations meet quarterly with the town of Middlebury's select board to share information and coordinate action on matters that relate to the town and College including many sustainability-related issues. For example, energy planning, affordable housing, and joint infrastructure needs. We hired a community liaison who facilitates college and town planning and implementation around climate. Together, we have advocated for the town the adopt a comprehensive energy plan. There has been progress, but no conclusion yet.

Another project includes buying land to create affordable housing. This was an initiative led by both the college and the town after much advocacy.

The town of Middlebury also contracts with a local resident who serves as the College's liaison to community organizations -- many of whom work on sustainability-related causes -- to advise the College on how to best support and interact with these groups. The College has also worked very closely with town officials to promote and ensure public safety around the Covid-19 pandemic.

The community liaison mentioned above also advises the College on how to engage and support organizations in the county, a number of which are involved in sustainability-related work. For example, the College supports (through representation on the board) the Addison County Climate Economy Action Center. The College has also supported the Addison County Relocalization Network in a similar manner to advocate for production, marketing and distribution of local foods. The Dean of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs recently served on a working committee of the Vermont legislature to develop recommendations in support of forest policy and funding to help private land owners enroll their land in carbon credit programs. In addition, students in our Environmental Studies capstone course work with local partners such as the Vermont Department of Health to help implement policies to protect families (particularly ESL families) from lead exposure. Capstone students have also partnered with the Natural Resources Committee in the Vermont House of Representatives to support legislation to protect exposure to arsenic in drinking water.

Middlebury College has signed the following:

Put a Price on Carbon

Call to Action for Higher Education Leadership

Second Nature's Presidents' Climate Leadership Commitments

We Are Still In

In addition, the College has committed to divesting from fossil fuels by 2034. The College has signed a statement along with other colleges called Statement in Support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program and our Undocumented Immigrant Students.

Middlebury College is a signatory on the United Nations' "Race to Zero." Link can be found here: https://unfccc.int/climate-action/race-to-zero-campaign

in December of 2018 the College went on record opposing proposed revisions to Title IX by the U.S. Department of Education because they would make the process more complex, stressful, and difficult to navigate, and may discourage people from reporting violence and harassment.

In October 2018 the College issued a public statement on proposed change of the legal definition of gender under Title IX that would narrowly define gender. The statement says that Middlebury will not change its policies or procedures and will continue to prohibit discrimination in employment (or in admission or access to its educational or extracurricular programs, activities, or facilities) based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, among many other forms of identity.

In 2017, the College signed on to the Grand Coalition Letter signed by over 150 higher education leaders across the country to reaffirm their commitment to continue working to address the climate crisis.