<p>Middlebury may not have Williams’ or Swarthmore’s “cushioning” as you so aptly (and, frequently) put it. But, it has a lot fewer rungs, as you put it, to move in terms of repositioning. At worst, this period of uncertainty is a lost opportunity to move up a few rungs – and, again, that’s putting it in your terms which seems to put endowment size at the top of everything.</p>