Colby featured prominently in an
NBC Nightly News story about the Davis United World College Scholars program and benefactor Shelby Davis. The story, broadcast May 9, featured Davis and
Qiamuddin Amiry '09, one of more than 165 Davis UWC scholars who attend or have graduated from Colby. Amiry talked about his program to bring Afghan students to private American high schools and Professor
Jen Yoder (government and international studies) talked about the impact of the Davis UWC scholars. In an extended
online interview, Davis scholars
Escar Kusema '09 and
Emily Foraker '09 talked about how Davis's philanthropy affects their lives.
A new 9,000-square-foot bookstore opened in Cotter Union June 13, just in time to serve 2,000 cyclists who were spending a night on campus during the American Lung Association's Trek Across Maine. It was the second major addition to Cotter to open in 10 months, completing the vision of the union as a central meeting place for students. The move from the bookstore's long-standing location in Roberts to the two-story brick addition in Cotter was completed in less than a week, right after Reunion 2008 wrapped up. See
more online.
This spring five faculty members were promoted, two received named chairs, and one was named associate dean of faculty. Associate professors
Paul Josephson (history),
Leo Livshits (math), and
Veronique Plesch (art) become full professors Sept. 1.
Tracey Cote and
Candice Parent (athletics) become adjunct associate professors Aug. 1.
Steve Saunders was named Charles A. Dana Professor of Music, and
Debra Barbezat is the new Mitchell Family Professor of Economics.
Michael Donihue '79 (economics) agreed to a three-year term as associate vice president for academic affairs and associate dean of faculty beginning July 1. He will help manage curricular planning, development, and evaluation for the academic program as Colby tackles its first major curricular review in almost two decades.
In his baccalaureate address to the Class of 2008 May 24, President
William Adams confessed to eight years of longing to enter the Mr. Colby contest and a lifelong desire to be Tom Waits. The
20-minute talk was a hit with students and parents and set the tone for a near-perfect Commencement Weekend.
Bob Diamond '73 gave the commencement address as 521 members of the Class of 2008 transformed into alumni, and honorary degree recipients shared compelling off-the-cuff remarks the night before.
Recordings and transcripts of it all are online.
The Colby Fund, which provides critical support for annual operations, is in its final week of the fiscal year. As of June 23, the Colby Fund had raised $3.65 million toward its overall goal of $4.7 million and had reached 42.8-percent participation toward the goal of 53 percent.
See where your class stands toward its goals at or make your gift today at
www.colby.edu/give or 1-800-311-3678.
At his 35th reunion, June 5-8,
Bob Diamond '73 announced a $4-million dollar gift to the campaign from the Diamond Family Foundation to build the College's strengths in interdisciplinary study of the environment, energy policy, climate change, and sustainability. "These issues are critically important to the United States and to humankind," said Bob, who delivered the
2008 Commencement address and received an
honorary Doctor of Laws on May 25. Read more in the Waterville
Morning Sentinel.
More than 1,000 alumni—some from as far away as South Africa, Peru, Vietnam, England, and Japan—came to Reunion Weekend, June 5-8, and enjoyed faculty and alumni lectures, a presidential golf tournament, and the new reunion carnival. Volunteers from the Class of 2008 welcomed alums to campus, staffed dorms, and provided golf-cart transportation.
Photos from the weekend are online at.
Meet the newest Colby alums and welcome them to your city on September 17 at the 11th annual Welcome to the City events. Receptions are planned in eighteen cities in the U.S. and abroad (
see the list). For the last ten years the events have included Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin alumni; this year Middlebury, Hamilton, and Connecticut College plan to join us, and Dartmouth is making a bid to crash the party too.
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