Terry Tempest Williams, celebrated author, naturalist, and social justice advocate, will give the 2024 Middlebury College Commencement address on Sunday, May 26.
Middlebury recently participated in , a global initiative of hundreds of educational institutions around the world that encouraged conversations about climate change and justice across college campuses.
The initiative at Middlebury included a teach-in during classes, climate-oriented events at the Knoll, a talk on climate anxiety and the Holistic Future Circles series.
Members of Middlebury’s Sunday Night Environmental Group (SNEG) held an Empower Vermont event in conjunction with , a climate justice non-profit organization based in Burlington, Vt., on Tuesday, Dec. 5 in Axinn 229.
350Vermont, founded by Schumann Distinguished Scholar of Environmental Studies Bill McKibben and a group of Middlebury students in 2007, was the first global grassroots climate campaign. The organization works toward climate solutions by running campaigns and workshops throughout the state, according to its website.
Middlebury’s new plan builds on a history of thinking holistically about sustainability. In 2007, then-President Ron Liebowitz signed the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, and the campus achieved carbon neutrality within ten years - a story shared in . The college has won for its integrated approach to sustainability, including campus operations and curriculum. The new integrated plan also includes ambitious targets for using the college endowment’s investment strategy to fight climate change.
Middlebury College announced a commitment to power its core Vermont campus with 100% renewable energy by 2028. The College also set ambitious goals to reduce energy consumption, to phase out direct fossil-fuel investments in its endowment, and to create new educational programs and opportunities that will help empower future generations of environmental leaders.