Internal Governance

The Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at Colby College is committed to creating a governance structure that is open and accessible to all faculty and students who are interested in and who participate in Goldfarb Center programs.

We want to reach out to and seek involvement of as many members of the Colby community as want to be actively involved in the work of the center. Toward that end, we developed a four-facet on-campus governing structure.

Goldfarb Center Committees
The Goldfarb Center Faculty Coordinating Committee is comprised of any faculty member who volunteers for service following an annual call for volunteers. We strive to have faculty from as many different academic disciplines as possible. The role of the Faculty Coordinating Committee is to suggest programs for the center and to be involved in developing, organizing and participating in our conferences, panels, seminars and events.

The Goldfarb Center Faculty Steering Committee is nominated by the members of the Coordinating Committee and appointed by the Center director. The main criteria for selection are expressed interest in the Center's program and a desire to balance the committee among the various constituencies of the Center.

The Goldfarb Center Civic Engagement Committee provides guidance and sets policy for the civic engagement initiative at Colby College. The committee works closely to advise the assistant director for community outreach and programming and supports and encourages faculty in the development of service learning and other courses with significant community based learning components.

The Goldfarb Center Student Boards are actively involved in the strategic direction and programming of the Center. We frequently seek formal student input through our two boards -- the Student Executive Board and the Student Advisory Board. Currently, the SEB is 15 students and the SAB is 28 students from a diverse background of majors and class years. These are student-driven boards, managed by the 2008-2009 co-chairs Sarah Whitfield and Isaac Opper.  Calls for new members are made at the end of the fall and spring semesters.

We also have created several external mechanisms to provide guidance for the Center, in the form of a National Advisory Board and several local Liaison Boards.