When Special Collections created a display about the Colby of 100 years ago, Professor of Science, Technology, and Society
Jim Fleming took a look and made some observations. Colby's 1908 tuition, $90, was about 5 percent of the average American family income. By his calculations, today’s tuition is about 70 percent of average family income. While the tuition increase is well over one order of magnitude higher than general inflation, “perhaps,” he noted, “today's Colby is more than an order of magnitude better than old Colby . . . and, recent students don't have to bring their own cord of wood for heating.”
The Augusta-Waterville area recently ranked 17th among 140 American "micropolitan" regions for its high quality of living. A story in a chain of publications known as Bizjournals ranked the regions, giving points for light traffic, healthy economies, good schools, low unemployment, etc. The
Morning Sentinel covered the ranking, leading its story with: “In your face, Hilton Head Island-Beaufort, S.C. . . . The Augusta-Waterville area has you—and all but 16 out of 140 "micropolitan" areas across the country—beat.”
Combining service and outdoor adventure, one COOT
2 (Colby Outdoor Orientation Trip) group this year spent the last weekend in August building granite steps on the Hunt Trail on Mt. Katahdin. The Maine Outdoor Journal of the
Portland Press Herald praised the group, and especially
Steve Tatko ’10 (who has been “cutting and wrapping boulders with chains since he was 11”), for their considerable efforts, which moved huge rocks 500 feet uphill for the staircase project. The full range of
COOT2 trips is described at online.
New and returning students were greeted by new facilities, new community engagement programs, and new environmental initiatives as the school year got underway. The new bookstore in Cotter Union was a big draw for parents and students, Harold Alfond Stadium will be ready for the first home football game, the new C2IT community-engagement initiative during orientation was a success, and students now have the option of renting Zipcars by the hour.
More information is online, as well as
Student Lens photos.
A comprehensive effort to address excessive, high-risk drinking at Colby is underway following a Board of Trustees resolution that puts an end to the seniors' "Champagne Steps" celebration on the last day of classes. President
William Adams notified the community in July that two working groups were being formed—the first to recommend appropriate and effective measures to manage the elimination of the Champagne Steps event, which this year saw many students hospitalized and damage to property on campus, the second to propose the means by which the College can address the systemic abuse of alcohol in student social life. Students, faculty, and administrators are represented on both panels; the second group also includes trustees, alumni, and parents of current students. Both groups were scheduled to get to work in September, and the annual State of the College address September 10 included discussion of the initiatives by President Adams, board chair
Joe Boulos '68, and SGA leaders.
After infiltrating wards at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Anne Hull co-wrote the
Washington Post series that exposed abuse and neglect of wounded war veterans. Her stories, about soldiers receiving substandard care while living in moldy rooms with rodent feces and cockroaches, prompted reforms and won her a Pulitzer. At 8 p.m. Sept. 28 she receives Colby’s 2008 Lovejoy Award and delivers the
Lovejoy address. A Goldfarb Center panel discussion, “Giving Voice to the Voiceless,” at 4 p.m., precedes the convocation. And the first
Lovejoy Visiting Journalists in Residence,
Phil Taubman and
Felicity Barringer, visited campus Sept. 7-10.
If you think your tailgate party is classier than the others, you won't want to miss Colby's first-ever tailgate competition Saturday, Oct. 18 during Family Homecoming Weekend, as the Mules take on the Hamilton Continentals. It’s all about good food, decorations, and school spirit, and prizes will be awarded in both the student and alumni/family categories. For more about the competition and other events during
Family Homecoming Weekend,
Would you like to meet current students at networking events and talk about careers? Do you know of job opportunities that may interest students? Would you like to learn more about the Colby Alumni Network? If so you should attend the Second Annual Colby Alumni Networking Weekend, on campus Sept. 26-27, sponsored by the Alumni Council, Alumni Office, and Career Center. On Saturday
Henry J. Sockbeson III ’73 will receive the Distinguished Alumnus/a Award for his 25-year record as an attorney practicing Indian law in state, tribal, and federal courts. See the full
schedule of events,
Six professors who taught a cumulative total of 155 years and touched many thousands of students retired this spring.
Eva Linfield (music),
Pat Onion (English)
Ulla Reidel-Schrewe (German and Russian),
Tom Tietenberg (economics and environmental studies),
Jon Weiss (French) and
Joylynn Wing (theater and dance) are acknowledged in this summer's
Colby magazine.
CAN (Colby Alumni Network) Alumni events Arts at Colby Athletics Family Homecoming Weekend MyNews 
