27 April 1997To the Middlebury College Community
From: David Haward Bain, Dept. English/Creative Writing
Re: Proposed Partnership--Middlebury College and the Mt Independence State Historic Site
Mount Independence -- the largest undisturbed Revolutionary fortress in the United States, a rocky, ruins-dotted, wooded prominence on the Lake Champlain shore one half-hour southwest of Middlebury -- presents itself as an extraordinary opportunity for Middlebury College from several standpoints.
Thirty years ago, Dean Thomas Hedley Reynolds was instrumental in beginning the official recognition process; his students mapped the 300-acre site and produced the first hiking trails passing the major ruins of the old encampment. It is fitting to take up Reynold's project at this time of proposed curricular and enrollment expansion, with the Mount now an official state historic site (on the National Register of Historic Places), with a million-dollar visitors' center and museum open, and with the State of Vermont formally committed to such public-private partnerships for the educational and cultural benefit of Vermonters and visitors alike.
The College is in a period of expansion. Diverse building projects, Bicentennial plans, and sundry matters occupy the institution's -- everyone's -- attention. Certainly one could argue that we have enough on our minds at this point. Yet if you read on I hope you will see that many facets of this partnership with the Mount fit easily within our existing programs or else enhance them in compelling ways, often honoring the goal of interdisciplinary study. This is not an expensive nor an exhausting path to take.
Earlier this month I met with VPAA John McWilliams, VPF Ron Liebowitz, and VPEA Will Melton to discuss my proposal, outlined below, which should only serve as a startup document. We agreed that only with vigorous faculty support would this program succeed. John McWilliams has authorized the formation of a steering committee to investigate curricular and extracurricular involvement in the Mount Independence Historic Site, and appointed me to begin the process. I invite you to study the notions below, to contact me with suggestions, and most emphatically to actively work toward making this a reality. I need your suggestions and involvement -- and I need at least some of you on the Committee. It won't be onerous -- it's a good challenge and promises to be fun. The Administration has seen merit in inquiry. Governor Dean and State Historic Preservation Director Townsend Anderson have endorsed this partnership. It is left to us to take up where Thomas Hedley Reynolds' vision left off.
[Important Postscript: I have established a website here, dedicated to the Mount, which makes a large amount of written material available to you: <http://www.middlebury.edu/~mtindep>. Here you will find historical and archaeological articles, illustrations, maps, and a trailguide.]
The Proposal sent to McCardell, McWilliams, Liebowitz, and Melton:
There are many reasons why an association between Middlebury College and Mount Independence would be especially beneficial to the College. I have noted some of these benefits under two columns below -- Curricular and External. These are but the beginning of such a list. It is my hope that we would create a Middlebury College Steering Committee (with members drawn from interested departments and administrative units) -- more about which below.
Curricular Benefits
Advantages in Newly-Created or Adapted Course Offerings (all with a physical connection to the Mount):
1. History Department: Colonial and Revolutionary history
2. American Literature and Civilization: 18th Century literature; antecedents of the Revolution
3. Environmental Studies: Lake Champlain waters and the 300-acre undisturbed historic site
4. Biology: As above
5. Geography: Lake Champlain floor mapping; Mount topography
5. Teacher Education: local history in area schools
6. Interdisciplinary, especially in Winter Term (with specially-opened Visitors' Center)
7. Archaeology: although not a strength at present, this offers a good prospect for future expansion at Middlebury (as David Andrews and others had once urged) with a regular, shared, or visiting appointment. The Coalition has hosted limited digs in previous years (UVM, Castleton), but is interested in a longer-term relationship.
8. Math/Computer Science: Development of exhibition software, historical inventories, etc., perhaps in conjunction with ITS. Phase Two of the Center's budgeted development is to be computer exhibit installation.
9. Summer Programs
External Benefits
A. Undergraduate Affairs: Bus Excursions, guided tours, miscellaneous--Visitors' Center and Historic Trails
1. Commons Activities
2. First-Years' Orientation
3. Parents' Weekends
4. February Fresh. Orientation, Commencement
5. Commencement Weekend
6. Volunteer Services
a. Docent Training Program and service
b. Periodic Mount clean-ups (brushwork, trail grooming, etc.)
7. Mountain Club, EQ, Social House community involvement
B. Alumni Affairs: Bus Excursions, guided tours, miscellaneous (picnics, etc.)--Visitors' Center and Historic Trails
1. Alumni College--assorted courses, bike trips, interdisciplinary presentations
2. Reunion Weekends
3. External Affairs Outreach
4. Specially-organized Weekends (Perhaps triangulated between the College, Mount Independence, and Brookside, an historic inn located just south of Orwell Village).
The stronger and deeper the new association between the College and the Mount would be, the more resonance all these activities -- curricular, extracurricular, and external -- would take on to participants. Such a partnership, whether it is called an association or an "adoption," would cast a beneficial light on the institution and create an exciting new energy of a decided long-term variety at the school.
I hope that you will be interested in exploring various aspects of this relationship with the Mount Independence board and administration. I hope that faculty members (from History, AmLit/Civ, Biology, Environmental Studies, Math/Computer, Teacher Ed., etc.) could join with administrators (Academic Administration, External Affairs, Dean of Students), interested staff, and students, in forming a Middlebury-Mount Independence Steering Committee to investigate these matters. And I hope that the appropriate faculty committees (such as Teaching Resources, regarding archaeology?) could begin to intently study this.(The right visiting appointment, to a recognized Colonial/Revolutionary archaeologist, would instantly set this in motion.)
David Haward Bain
Visiting Lecturer, English/Creative Writing (since 1987)
Bread Loaf Writers' Conference (since 1980)
Adirondack House 217 -- (802) 443-5008
Email: Bain_David@msmail.middlebury.edu
<http://www.middlebury.edu/~bain> Personal/publications
<http://www.middlebury.edu/~blwc>Writers' Conference
<http://www.middlebury.edu/~mtindep>Mount Independence
Return to Index Page Go to History Page Go to TrailGuide Page Become a Friend of Mt. Independence See Middlebury College Proposal #1 Go to Visitor Center Page