2002-2003 Catalogue
2001-2002 Catalogue

This information was last updated on: 10/19/04 1:59:57 PM

Chartered by the General Court of Massachusetts in 1813, seven years before Maine became a state, Colby is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the nation. In 1871 it became the first previously all-male college in New England to admit women. Before World War II, trustees voted to move the College from its crowded original site in downtown Waterville to the handsome Mayflower Hill campus of more than 700 acres, where 62 buildings have been constructed since 1937.

Colby is an undergraduate liberal arts college and confers the bachelor of arts degree. Today, Colby's 1,800 students--evenly divided between men and women come from virtually every state and about 70 foreign countries. Alumni, numbering more than 23,000, are represented in all 50 states and 75 foreign countries. Students may choose from some 500 courses in 53 major fields and have wide flexibility in designing independent study programs, electing special majors, and participating in internships and exchange programs. More than two thirds of all Colby students will study abroad at some time during their undergraduate experience.

Historically, Colby has valued understanding of and concern for others, diversity of thought and culture, open access to campus groups and organizations, and personal and academic honesty. In order to embrace and support these values, members of the College community bear a special responsibility, in all of their words and actions, to honor and protect the rights and feelings of others.

In 1984, following an investigation of campus life commissioned by the Board of Trustees, a decision was made to withdraw recognition from Colby's fraternities. The fraternity decision opened up housing throughout the campus to all students on an equal basis, and it created opportunities for students to play a significant role in governance at Colby. Student-faculty collaboration has long been an important part of the culture, and programs to enhance those relationships were instituted.

Colby College is dedicated to the education of humane, thoughtful, and engaged persons prepared to respond to the challenges of an increasingly diverse and global society and to the issues of justice that arise therein. The College also is committed to fostering a fully inclusive campus community, enriched by persons of different races, genders, ethnicities, nationalities, economic backgrounds, ages, abilities, sexual orientations, and spiritual values. We strive to confront and overcome actions and attitudes that discourage the widest possible range of participation in our community, and we seek to deepen our understanding of diversity in our daily relationships and in our dealings as an institution.

Accreditation and Memberships