If anyone has questions about this initiative please email me or Liz Robinson.

This started, as Ron said in the release, with a year long study of Middlebury's peer group. The questions we asked were simply how are creativitiy and innovation being addressed at liberal arts colleges in the 21st century. As this topic is at the heart of why one goes to a liberal arts college, were there things that could be done in the current environmnent to stimulate and develop innovative thinking in students. I could not be more supportive of your President in taking such a pro-active approach to this area.

If you have questions about the iniative you should talk to Ron or Liz. I think they will tell you that the goal is simple: encourage students to take the initiative to develop new skills while they are still students. In other words, to encourage students to take risks and by so doing learn. Innovative and creative skills can be learned and developed. It just takes experimenting or taking risks. Only through this tried and true process can one develop these skills. My goal in supporting this initiative was to try to stimulate students to break from the routines with which they have become comfortable and to experiment in other areas while they are still in the comfort of an academic environment. Ask most alumni and they will tell you that they wish that they had taken more chances while they were students.

Anyone who has ideas on how to encourage or develop more creative and innovative processes at Middlebury, I encourage you to talk to Liz. She is open to all suggestions. This is an area where learning should truly be fun!