The efforts of these students did not end upon their graduation from the University at Albany. As years passed, CRISIS 5300 gained momentum. Upon its renaming as "Middle Earth" in 1973, grant funds were secured by the Dean of Students, Lois Gregg, to expand Middle Earth into a comprehensive peer counseling and peer education agency. Middle Earth quickly gained a reputation as a leader in peer assistance, consulting on the development of similar programs at other colleges and universities across the state, speaking to young people about alcohol and drug abuse prevention, and training professionals, such as hospital personnel, teachers, and overseas operators for New York Telephone, on ways to recognize and address crisis situations. In 1983, Middle Earth expanded its horizons by sponsoring its first Sexuality Week, an event that continues today.

Today, Middle Earth carries the same name and logo, but the look of the agency has evolved with our times. The agency continues to operate a student-staffed hotline service and peer education and peer career advisement programs under the supervision of a Director who is a licensed psychologist. Middle Earth operates one of the few surviving student-staffed hotlines in the country, and it is the only hotline of its type that services the Albany County area. Students can perform services for Middle Earth either on a volunteer basis or for course credit through the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology. The agency is funded both by the University and by the Student Association, making it a student organization that enjoys the rights and benefits of University affiliation.

The nature and scope of Middle Earth services have also evolved with our changing times. While its mission continues to focus on providing services to assist students in achieving their educational and personal goals, this mission is carried out in a more proactive, preventive manner. For example, the impact of HIV/AIDS on our lives today could have never been imagined by a Middle Earth volunteer of the 1970's or early 1980's, nor was there as much of a focus in society or in Middle Earth training on the importance of issues such as personal safety, eating disorders, and human diversity. While CRISIS 5300's first hotline service was operated by less than ten students and was housed for a time in a converted closet in the Campus Center, today's Middle Earth volunteers number over 160, and its offices are located in the former Health and Counseling Building as a service arm of the University Counseling Center, Division of Student Success.

The look of Middle Earth consumers has also changed. During the 2009-2010 year, the hotline service received over 1,600 contacts. Males requested slightly more services than did females, perhaps suggesting that males prefer to seek services anonymously. The three primary issues of concern for students who contacted the hotline were peer relationship issues, sexuality concerns, and psychological concerns. In addition, the Middle Earth outreach education program devoted its 2010 Sexuality Week to a discussion of race, gender, and sexuality hosted by author and political expert Keith Boykin. Through Sexuality Week, over 10,000 students and community members were reached. Middle Earth has been recognized as a national model for its work by the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other national, state, and local organizations.

In 1970, a student had a dream and, with the help of administrators who cared, did something with it. Forty years later, the dream is still alive because over 1,400 alumni and alumnae, over 160 students, and a number of administrators and student leaders are continuing to support this very important community service.

[Source: http://www.albany.edu/middleearthcafe/aboutus.shtml]