Professor Jill Gordon: Faculty Liaison to the Football Team
Gordon talks with the football team at the beginning of each academic year, offering advice to first-year students on adjusting to life at Colby and balancing academics with athletics. Because the team is so large—about 80 members—it’s difficult for her to meet with the entire team, but she arranges to talk with all of them in small groups each year. During the spring semester she and Arthur Brennan ’68, who coordinates the alumni-student mentoring program, address team leaders and first-year players, encouraging them to explore other interests and take advantage of the wide variety of opportunities Colby offers. When Gordon began as liaison, the football team already had in place a time-management and study-skills program run by Assistant Coach Jonathan Michaeles, and first-year football players were required to attend study halls supervised by upper-class players. Gordon visits these study halls once each year, offering help and advice. This year she focused her discussion on how and when students should talk to faculty members, stressing that the time to address problems is early, before they become insurmountable. Gordon also enjoys attending the fall football barbecue, at which upper-class players introduce first-year players, with a good dose of humor. In the spring she attends the football awards banquet. She has been impressed by the articulate and insightful speeches she hears from team members at these events. At Colby, head coaches are considered faculty members, and as a liaison Gordon has gained a great appreciation for their work. “They do the same thing the academic faculty do,” she said, “teaching, caring, and helping students mature and grow. |
