The Inauguration of a New President at Middlebury College
THE INAUGURATION OF A NEW PRESIDENT AT MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE -- (Extensions of Remarks - October 04, 2004)
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I recognize the October 10th inauguration of Dr. Ronald D. Liebowitz as the sixteenth president of Middlebury College. Middlebury is one of the nation's finest liberal arts colleges. We in Vermont are proud that we have, in our midst, a beacon of learning for students all across the nation.
Dr. Liebowitz was chosen as Middlebury's forthcoming president after a five-month search during which 400 prospective candidates were reviewed. Despite the fact that the prestigious position attracted many of the nation's foremost educators, Middlebury selected one of its own, the third time it has chosen a member of its faculty to head the institution. His able predecessor, John McCardell, was also a longtime faculty member when he became president in 1992, and Dr. McCardell's thirteen-year leadership has amply confirmed Middlebury College's confidence that its own faculty have some of the finest minds and some of the most humane administrative abilities that can be found in the entire nation.
A professor of geography, Dr. Liebowitz is a widely recognized authority on Russian economic and political geography. Dr. Liebowitz has served as provost and executive vice president of Middlebury College since 1997. Earlier, he served for two years as dean of the faculty. During his administrative years he played a significant leadership role in the internationalization of the curriculum, including the introduction of innovative interdisciplinary, team-taught senior seminars in international studies, the establishment of a new major in international studies, and the strengthening of the program in international politics and economics.
We in Vermont welcome his leadership as he shepherds this outstanding college into the future. We look forward to a rich partnership as Middlebury brings its student and faculty resources to bear on helping us address Vermont's, and the nation's, problems and priorities. And in these difficult times, we have confidence that Middlebury's long-standing choice to focus on international affairs will educate yet more generations of students to look outward, to recognize that they have a dual obligation: to work for domestic justice by helping those in America who are less fortunate than themselves, and to work for international justice by giving support to foreign nations as they attempt to realize social justice for their own citizens.