A Newsletter for Alumni
Fingers crossed for fair weather, students, faculty, and families are readying for Sunday, May 20—a day to honor the Class of 2012, 470 strong, and to hear from a high-profile former world leader. Alumni can view the password-protected live webcast using your Colby Alumni Network (CAN) username and password. Those alumni without CAN login credentials may call 207-859-5930 between 3 and 6 p.m. EDT Friday, May 18 or between 3 and 6 a.m. EDT Saturday, May 19, (password required by phone system is 1813) to receive a password to view the webcast. Questions or difficulty? Call 207-859-4353. Please don't share your password, but do share or follow commencement on Twitter using #ColbyGrad. More details on Commencement 2012 are online.
There's something different about varsity crew captain Jill Howell '12. Not just that she's the smallest one on the boat or that she wields a mic instead of an oar. As coxswain—the eyes of the team—she is every inch a team leader, but it's not a crew of women following her directions. Howell is the first woman in Colby history to captain a men's varsity team. Read more in an insideColby profile by Josephine Liang '14.
Four professors won 2012-13 Fulbright fellowships to do research and teach on three continents. "It's a measure of the broad strength of Colby's faculty that we see professors from the humanities, sciences, and social sciences all receiving Fulbright awards in the same year," said Lori Kletzer, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty. Read more about Patrice Franko (economics), Bob Gastaldo (geology), Paula Harrington (English), and Sandy Maisel (government) and their Fulbright plans.
Matt Apuzzo '00 won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting in April as part of an Associated Press team that revealed the New York Police Department's secret surveillance of Muslims. Read how Apuzzo complicated Colby's presidential transition as an Echo reporter in 1999, and get links to his post-prize interview on NPR's Fresh Air, to the award-winning AP series, and to a story about his cub reporting days at the Morning Sentinel.
The actors onstage get most of the glory. But the costumes, set design, and wigs in this spring's production of Moliere's 17th-century comedy Tartuffe were so remarkable that Sonia Vargas '15 made a video about them. Take a look at all that went into this semester's big show before opening night rolled around.
Documentary filmmaker Erik Ewers is producing a video for Colby's bicentennial, and he's looking for footage showing the College over the years—any era, any topic, any format. If you have movies or videos to share, contact newmedia@colby.edu. We're eager to see what you have.
Colby received a record number of applications this year and—more good news—the number of students who accepted Colby's offer of admission (known as the yield) increased as well. A particularly bright spot is the yield among Presidential Scholars, the students with the strongest academic records. Read more.
Elizabeth Hanson '02 was a rising CIA star with ponderous responsibilities and the profound respect of her superiors when she was killed along with six colleagues in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan in 2009. Editor Gerry Boyle '78 probes Hanson's extraordinary service to country and the shadowy circumstances of her death in a feature story in the spring 2012 Colby magazine, now online and in the mail.
Was Beethoven a revolutionary? Alumni, parents, and friends are invited to explore this question and other theories on the Atlantic Revolution at Alumni College, July 22-26 on campus. The Age of Democratic Revolution? From the American War of Independence to the Revolutions of 1848 is the title, and Colby faculty members will lead sessions and discussions covering history, philosophy, art, and music from this period. Get information and register online.
As an American who grew up on multiple continents, Winsor Wesson '12 faced a challenge typical of what are known as "third-culture kids." At Colby people expected him to get American cultural references. "They don't entirely understand why you wouldn't understand these things," he said. Wesson is among third-culture kids profiled in a new insideColby feature by Teko Mmolawa '12 about these students, some of whom first experienced U.S. living at Colby.
More than 600 students presented projects at the 13th Colby Undergraduate Research Symposium and related departmental events in April. Topics ranged from computer modeling of tectonic plate boundaries to dressing for success in Dickens to how Bisphenol A affects behavior. Read about three students' projects or browse an array of online abstracts.
Alumni and friends of Colby are invited to Celebrate Colby, June 2, following the reunion parade. The Distinguished Alumnus Award will be presented to environmentalist Kent Wommack '77 and the Charles Bassett Faculty Award will be presented to Special Assistant to the President Janice Kassman H'75 for her service to Colby and alumni. Bill Alfond '72 will receive the Ernest C. Marriner Award for his work as a trustee and class volunteer. Colby Brick award winners are Audrey Hittinger Katz '57, Mike McCabe '62, Kurt Swenson '67, James Cowie '77, Anne Clarke Wolff '87, Chris Sullivan '97, and Joshua Woodfork '97. Information and a full reunion schedule are online.
Upcoming events for alumni up and down the East Coast include a lecture, a panel discussion, a luncheon, a happy hour, a reception, a musical, and Alumni College on campus in July. Check the alumni events calendar and see what's near you.
