We are creating this petition to express our disappointment that Professor Matthew Walker has been denied a tenure position in the Russian Department at Middlebury College. We believe this was a mistake, and we are soliciting signatures with the hope that we can make the Middlebury administration reconsider this decision.
We first met Professor Walker in Spring 2023 through “The Russian Mind,” a required survey course for Russian majors taught in English. His passion for the course material was immediately obvious, as was his desire to make us passionate, too. He gave life to dense, three-hour-long Russian movies that gave us renewed motivation to study the language.
Also in this semester, Professor Walker took a trip to Astana, Kazakhstan to evaluate Middlebury’s new school abroad at Nazarbayev University. Knowing that we were preparing to study abroad there the next academic year, he took the time to answer all of our questions and put us in contact with colleagues at the university. When one of us approached him with the desire to conduct archival research while abroad, he talked her through the process of writing the grant proposal that allowed her to stay in the country for an extra month for this purpose.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Professor Walker was committed to bringing more Ukrainian perspectives into our department. He immediately began studying the Ukrainian language, and soon worked with upperclassmen and Ukrainian international students to develop a senior independent study in Ukrainian.
It is clear that Professor Walker cares for his students. He has taken the time to write us dozens of recommendation letters for internships and graduate school and he is a consistent participant at Russian House events. As students who directly benefitted from Professor Walker’s support and dedication to his work, we believe that denying him tenure is a disservice to future generations of Middlebury students.
If you feel similarly, we ask that you take the time to sign this petition to show the Middlebury community’s support for Professor Walker. We are hopeful that together, we can influence the college’s administration to grant tenure to this extremely deserving individual.
Sincerely,
Sylvie Shure, Catherine Sorokin, and Maya Watson
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
February 17, 2026
27 Comments
The fact that Professor Walker is the only professor that teaches Ukrainian at Middlebury is essential and valuable for the academic/language learning community at the college.
Professor Walker taught one of the most creative and transformative classes I've taken at Middlebury. He was deeply engaged in the material and sparked our interests in relatively niche literature. He is kind, generous, intellectually rigorous and personable. Hearing that Middlebury declined to give him tenure is appalling.
Professor Walker lies at the heart of the Middlebury Russian department. His support for students were a bright spot during the dark Covid years. Without Professor Walker, the Russian department loses much of its identity and appeal.
Professor Walker was an integral part of my Middlebury education, there is no one more deserving of the position. He consistently teaches with quality and is the reason I chose to major in Russian after my first semester.
Professor Walker is one of the most capable educators I have met. He approaches every day with care, compassion, and the utmost competence. He uses a mix of orthodox and novel techniques to teach a challenging language, culture, and literature with nuance and efficacy. When people ask what professors are like at Middlebury, I use Матвей Филиппович as my prime example. I had the pleasure to take two courses, Russian 101 and 102, with Professor Walker during my senior year and would recommend him to any student, whether their interests lie with courses in English or Russian. I cherish the time I spent in his classroom and hope that whichever Middlebury committee has made this error will reconsider and rectify their mistake with haste.
I'm appalled by the Promotions Committee's decision to go against a department's recommendation, depriving us of a wonderful teacher and a brilliant scholar.
I am an alumn and parent - former Russian student and parent of a Russian student. Let’s keep this professor.
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We are creating this petition to express our disappointment that Professor Matthew Walker has been denied a tenure position in the Russian Department at Middlebury College. We believe this was a mistake, and we are soliciting signatures with the hope that we can make the Middlebury administration reconsider this decision.
We first met Professor Walker in Spring 2023 through “The Russian Mind,” a required survey course for Russian majors taught in English. His passion for the course material was immediately obvious, as was his desire to make us passionate, too. He gave life to dense, three-hour-long Russian movies that gave us renewed motivation to study the language.
Also in this semester, Professor Walker took a trip to Astana, Kazakhstan to evaluate Middlebury’s new school abroad at Nazarbayev University. Knowing that we were preparing to study abroad there the next academic year, he took the time to answer all of our questions and put us in contact with colleagues at the university. When one of us approached him with the desire to conduct archival research while abroad, he talked her through the process of writing the grant proposal that allowed her to stay in the country for an extra month for this purpose.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Professor Walker was committed to bringing more Ukrainian perspectives into our department. He immediately began studying the Ukrainian language, and soon worked with upperclassmen and Ukrainian international students to develop a senior independent study in Ukrainian.
It is clear that Professor Walker cares for his students. He has taken the time to write us dozens of recommendation letters for internships and graduate school and he is a consistent participant at Russian House events. As students who directly benefitted from Professor Walker’s support and dedication to his work, we believe that denying him tenure is a disservice to future generations of Middlebury students.
If you feel similarly, we ask that you take the time to sign this petition to show the Middlebury community’s support for Professor Walker. We are hopeful that together, we can influence the college’s administration to grant tenure to this extremely deserving individual.
Sincerely,
Sylvie Shure, Catherine Sorokin, and Maya Watson
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
February 17, 2026
27 Comments
Professor Walker is one of the best professors I have encountered at Middlebury. He is essential to Middlebury's continuing success and status in academia, specifically in Russian and Eurasian studies. Denying him tenure is not only a terrible precedent to set for future professors seeking tenure or employment at Middlebury, but also calls into question the capabilities of the college's administration in prioritizing academic excellence over likely snap judgment financial decisions forced by a near decade of mismanagement.
The fact that Professor Walker is the only professor that teaches Ukrainian at Middlebury is essential and valuable for the academic/language learning community at the college.
Professor Walker taught one of the most creative and transformative classes I've taken at Middlebury. He was deeply engaged in the material and sparked our interests in relatively niche literature. He is kind, generous, intellectually rigorous and personable. Hearing that Middlebury declined to give him tenure is appalling.
Professor Walker lies at the heart of the Middlebury Russian department. His support for students were a bright spot during the dark Covid years. Without Professor Walker, the Russian department loses much of its identity and appeal.
Professor Walker was an integral part of my Middlebury education, there is no one more deserving of the position. He consistently teaches with quality and is the reason I chose to major in Russian after my first semester.
Professor Walker is one of the most capable educators I have met. He approaches every day with care, compassion, and the utmost competence. He uses a mix of orthodox and novel techniques to teach a challenging language, culture, and literature with nuance and efficacy. When people ask what professors are like at Middlebury, I use Матвей Филиппович as my prime example. I had the pleasure to take two courses, Russian 101 and 102, with Professor Walker during my senior year and would recommend him to any student, whether their interests lie with courses in English or Russian. I cherish the time I spent in his classroom and hope that whichever Middlebury committee has made this error will reconsider and rectify their mistake with haste.
I'm appalled by the Promotions Committee's decision to go against a department's recommendation, depriving us of a wonderful teacher and a brilliant scholar.
I am an alumn and parent - former Russian student and parent of a Russian student. Let’s keep this professor.
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Professor Walker is one of the best professors I have encountered at Middlebury. He is essential to Middlebury's continuing success and status in academia, specifically in Russian and Eurasian studies. Denying him tenure is not only a terrible precedent to set for future professors seeking tenure or employment at Middlebury, but also calls into question the capabilities of the college's administration in prioritizing academic excellence over likely snap judgment financial decisions forced by a near decade of mismanagement.