Announcements , News. Middlebury College has appointed Dr. Ian Baucom, PhD, as its 18th president. Baucom, currently executive vice president and provost of the University of Virginia and the Robert C. Taylor Professor of English, is a widely regarded leader in higher education who has long championed the role of colleges and universities as civic institutions.
He has empowered teaching, research, and learning to engage the urgent challenges of our time by building partnerships across a broad spectrum of disciplines: neuroscience and biotech, the humanities, environmental resilience, global Black studies, the visual and performing arts, digital technology, and artificial intelligence.
As a scholar, teacher, mentor, administrator, and colleague whose work has influenced individuals and organizations here and around the world, he has been a steadfast advocate for the work of education in changing lives and advancing the promise of democracy.
The Board of Trustees made the appointment late yesterday at a special meeting to receive the unanimous recommendation of the Presidential Search Committee, comprising student, faculty, staff, alumni, and trustee representatives who have been at work since last summer. Baucom was also granted the position of tenured professor in the Department of English on the recommendation of the interim president following consultation with the provost and the Promotions Committee.
He will take office on July 1. Baucom will succeed Laurie L. Interim President Steve Snyder, formerly dean of the Language Schools, will continue to lead the institution until June As Middlebury anticipates the arrival of its 18th president, who will take office July 1, , we offer this glimpse into his person, his values, and his perspectivesβon Middlebury, on higher education and the liberal arts, on our shared responsibilities to the wider world.
