Middlebury Magazine

  • Recent Stories
  • Menu
    • Features
    • Essays
    • Q&A
    • Podcasts
    • Review
    • Videos
    • About
    • Advertising
    • Contact
    • Support
    • Writers’ Guidelines
  • Search

Uncategorized

Celebrating a Centennial, Researching Tooth Decay, and More

Recapping the news, notes, stories, and interesting tidbits that have grabbed our attention this week.

By Middlebury Magazine Staff
Illustration by Loris Lora
July 24, 2017
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • Email icon

¡Feliz centenario, Escuela de español! Middlebury’s Spanish School turns 100 this summer. The School has a rich history—for decades Middlebury was a haven for exiles fleeing the Spanish Civil War and from dictatorships in Spanish America. Roberto Véguez, professor emeritus of Spanish and associate director of the Spanish School, will publish this history in a forthcoming book En las montañas de Vermont: Los exiliados en la Escuela Española de Middlebury College. An English translation can be read here.

Biology professor Grace Spatafora has received a $2.3 million grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (an arm of the National Institutes of Health). Spatafora’s research focuses on how S. mutans, an oral bacterium, causes tooth decay. The five-year grant will fund the research of at least 15 Middlebury undergraduates through 2022.

A gripping story in the current issue of Pacific Standard relates how journalist Zaheena Rasheed, Class of 2012, is putting her life on the line to report on corruption and crime in her native Maldives. The story is written by another alumna, Lois Parshley ’11.

About 13 years ago, Jeffery Lewis—the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies—founded the first blog dedicated to arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation. Arms Control Wonk has now become a must-read for anyone interested in nuclear weapons—or terrified about their potential use. Which is how the blog, and more specifically its podcast, came to be featured on a This American Life Story titled “How I Learned to Start Worrying and Fear the Bomb.” It’s worth a listen.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Stories

Features

Pitch Perfect

Sarah Minahan ’14 finds success in the first professional woman’s rugby league in the U.S.

By Jane Dornbusch
Photograph by Robert Clark
February 1, 2026

In Conversation

Middlebury President Ian Baucom sits down for an extensive interview with magazine editor Matthew Jennings.

By Matthew Jennings
Photograph by Brett Simison
January 3, 2026

A Dog’s Life

A filmmaker takes us into the minds of the animals who are part of our families.

By Sara Thurber Marshall
Photographs by Randal Ford and Steve James
April 4, 2025

The Worrying Dude

Matthew J.C. Clark '04 is a writer and carpenter who defies convention

By Josh Billings ’03
Photographs by Tara Rice
April 3, 2025

Dispatches

Unattributed

A Middlebury professor reaches out for help solving a three-generation art mystery.

By Jessie Raymond '90
February 5, 2026

Words & Music

NPR dropped in on a German for Singers class designed to give language students an edge when competing for roles in German-language operas.

By Matt Jennings
Illustration by Edel Rodriguez
October 8, 2025

Horse Sense

Middlebury has a vibrant equestrian scene.

By Sara Thurber Marshall
Photograph by Yeager “Teddy” Anderson ’13.5
September 23, 2025

The Economics of Health Care

Students in Health Economics and Policy course help shape Vermont healthcare reform.

By Jon Reidel
Photographs by Daria Bishop
July 31, 2025

Thanks for the Memories

A student-curated exhibit explores the Middlebury experience through more than a century of undergrad scrapbooks.

By Jessie Raymond '90
Photographs by Todd Balfour
May 5, 2025

Fear Factor

A scientific model—and work of art—warns of the next pandemic.

By Jessie Raymond '90
Photograph by Jonathan Blake
April 4, 2025

From NESCAC to NFL?

Thomas Perry '25 has a shot at playing football on Sundays.

By Matt Jennings
Photograph by Rodney Wooters
March 11, 2025

Words in Space

A NASA interpreter bridges the language gap, one mission at a time.

By Jessie Raymond '90
Illustrations by Davide Bonazzi
February 15, 2025

Keeping Her Stick on the Ice

An alumna’s passion for ice hockey puts her in the record books.

By Sara Thurber Marshall
Illustration by Connie Noble
January 26, 2025
View All

Essays

Writing & AI

I used to identify as a writer. Now that’s changing.

By Paul Barnwell '04, MA English '14
Illustration by Petra Peterffy
February 8, 2026

Q&A

Aubrianna Wilson, Middlebury Class of '23, seated in her wheelchair in a California garden

37 Minutes with Aubrianna Wilson ’23

A recent alumna isvdoing her part to create a world in which people with disabilities are seen—and celebrated.

By Jessie Raymond '90
Photographs by Joyce Kim
February 5, 2026

Quotation

A summer immersed in a language can do wonders, as veterans of Middlebury College’s famous language-learning program can attest. The lockdown is clearly going to amount to the equivalent of about two summers, and there are mini-Middleburys happening in millions of houses worldwide.”

—John McWhorter, writing “The Coronavirus Generation Will Use Language Differently” in the Atlantic.

Podcasts

The Exit Interview with Middlebury President Laurie L. Patton

With her presidency at Middlebury coming to an end, the host of this podcast becomes its final guest.

By Middlebury Magazine Staff
December 18, 2024

The Monterey Trialogue: A Distinct Take on Superpower Diplomacy featuring Anna Vassilieva and Peter Slezkine

Our guests for episode six of season three are Anna Vassilieva and Peter Slezkine, the folks behind the Monterey Trialogue—which brings together leading experts from the United States, China, and Russia for in-depth discussions of their countries' interests and concerns in the vital regions of the world.

By Middlebury Magazine Staff
July 19, 2024

Education as the Great Equalizer, featuring Annie Weinberg ’10

Our guest for episode five of season three is Annie Weinberg '10, the founder and executive director of Alexander Twilight Academy, an educational catalyst program in Boston, Massachusetts, that supports students from under-resourced backgrounds.

By Middlebury Magazine Staff
March 14, 2024

Review

Facing Facts

The producer of the documentary Gone Guys reflects on the very real struggles of today's boys and young men.

By Caroline Crawford
January 21, 2026

Editors’ Picks for November and December

By Middlebury Magazine Staff
December 20, 2025

Editors’ Picks for September and October

By Middlebury Magazine Staff
October 24, 2025

Videos

Green Haven

Middlebury's Bi Hall greenhouse is much more than a botanical laboratory.

By Brett Simison
February 8, 2026

The Exit Interview with Middlebury President Laurie Patton

With her presidency at Middlebury coming to an end, the host of the MiddMoment podcast becomes its final guest.

By Chris Spencer
Audio by Mitch Bluestein
December 20, 2024

Creating Community Through Hip Hop

For three days in March, the sounds, styles, and fashions of global hip hop converged on Middlebury for an electric symposium.

By Jordan Saint-Louis '24
April 17, 2023
Middlebury College
  • Alumni
  • Newsroom
  • Contact Us
  • icon-instagram

The views presented are not necessarily those of the editors or the official policies of the College.

© 2026 Middlebury College Publications.