Colby Magazine - Colby News

Steinem Connects With Activism at Colby

web@colby.edu (Colby College) — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:00:00 UTC

Ms. magazine cofounder Gloria Steinem spoke to a packed house in Lorimer Chapel. Famed activist and political figure Gloria Steinem spoke to a packed Lorimer Chapel Feb. 28, the same day Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act. She served as the keynote speaker of S.H.O.U.T!, a week of multicultural celebration organized by the Pugh Community Board. Steinem took passage of the act earlier that day as a point from which to jump into a discussion of the need to think closely about our connections with people, the effects our actions have, and the current state of the feminist movement. Steinem, who came to prominence in the late Sixties after she published an article titled “After Black Power, Women’s Liberation,” referenced the 1970 takeover of Lorimer Chapel by 18 African-American students as she spoke about the shared efforts and effects of diverse activisms. The argument that feminism is no longer relevant to young people is a myth, she said. Women and men have different patterns of activism, and the more that women “experience life, the more likely we are to be activists.” Framing activist movements as struggles to first establish an identity and then achieve equality, Steinem said that while the feminist movement’s identity is firmly established, it remains for young people, such as those before her in Lorimer Chapel, to continue the work of gaining equality. Those efforts, she said, are only half complete, and finishing them requires careful consideration of our relationships with one another. \"The act of behaving ethically is understanding that everything we do matters,\" she said. \"The means we choose every day will form the ends we get.\"

Colby Leads Way to Net Zero Emissions

web@colby.edu (Colby College) — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:00:00 UTC

Colby\'s biomass heating plant, completed in 2012, substantially cut the College’s emissions. When it comes to carbon-neutral campuses, 668 colleges and universities have signed the pledge. On April 4 Colby became the first among NESCAC, Ivy, and comparable colleges to achieve net zero carbon emissions. Colby is the fourth in the nation and the largest institution to reach the goal to date, according to David Hales, president of the nonprofit Second Nature, which supports the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment and its 668 signatories. The achievement was a decade in the making, as Colby worked to calculate, reduce, and prevent greenhouse gas emissions. A tradition of Yankee thrift has made energy efficiency projects a priority at Colby for many years. Cogeneration of electricity at the steam plant started in the late 1990s, and energy improvements have been part of renovations since the Arab oil crisis 40 years ago. Having switched to sustainably generated electricity contracts 10 years ago, the College came within striking distance of net-zero carbon emissions after its new biomass fueled heating plant became operational last year. Though the plant wasn’t running at full capacity as systems were tested and adjusted, Colby purchased 700,000 fewer gallons of oil in 2012 than in previous years, according to Director of Physical Plant Patricia Whitney. While there is some disagreement whether sustainably harvested biomass is “carbon neutral” or “carbon lean,” Colby used national standards established by the nonprofit Clean Air-Cool Planet for calculating carbon emissions and then hired an independent firm to check and confirm methodology and calculations. Both the College’s analysis and that of Competitive Energy Services of Portland agreed that after all the measures to reduce emissions, the College still produces about 8 million tons of carbon dioxide a year. The biggest source is transportation—both employee and student commuting and business travel by employees. The final piece of achieving carbon neutrality was purchasing carbon offsets—investing in greenhouse gas reduction projects elsewhere in Maine and the United States that countervail Colby’s remaining emissions. Those offsets, which invest in projects including preventing methane from going into the atmosphere at the Presque Isle landfill for example, cost $50,000. That amount is more than covered by fuel cost savings of biomass and is expected to decline as Colby continues to reduce emissions. Vice President for Administration Doug Terp ’84 said shifting from oil to biomass saved Colby $1.2 million in the first year. And, he told employees in April, “instead of spending a couple million dollars that goes out of the state of Maine, and much of it out of the United States, the bulk of our fuel purchases now, on the heating side, are going back into the woods of Maine, which is supporting the local economy.” For additional information on Colby’s carbon neutrality, including answers to frequently asked questions, see www.colby.edu/carbonneutral.

Relay Team Wins New England Championship

web@colby.edu (Colby College) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 UTC

Frances Onyilagha \'14 Frances Onyilagha ’14 runs her leg of the 1,600-meter relay as she and Emily Doyle ’16, Emily Tolman ’16, and Brittney Bell ’13 won the event at the New England Division III Track and Field Championships at Colby’s Harold Alfond Stadium May 4. The women’s team took third place overall in a field of 25, finishing behind MIT and Tufts University.

Lectures Look to the Future of the Liberal Arts

web@colby.edu (Colby College) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 UTC

William Bowen Martha Nussbaum David Oxtoby Celebrating 200 years since Colby was chartered, a theme often repeated this year was the importance of looking ahead as well as remembering the past. In that spirit the Distinguished Bicentennial Lecture Series brought four leading American intellectuals to campus to talk about the future of the liberal arts. David Oxtoby, president of Pomona College and chair-elect of the Harvard Board of Overseers, wrapped up the series April 8 with an address that envisioned a bright future for colleges like Colby and Pomona. Oxtoby followed a March 18 lecture by William Bowen, president emeritus of Princeton, past president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and “one of the most-respected voices in higher education,” according to President William D. Adams in the introduction. Earlier speakers in the series were Wendy Ewald, a pioneer in visual literacy and learning, and Martha Nussbaum, a political philosopher on the University of Chicago faculty. Oxtoby, a renowned scientist, described two approaches to the study of chemistry: analysis (breaking something down to see what it’s made of) and synthesis (combining materials to make a more complex compound). “These steps of breaking down and putting together,” he said, “characterize many of the activities we engage in through the curricula of our colleges.” While the focus in higher education has long been on analysis, he said, echoing Ewald’s thesis, more attention needs to be paid to synthesis. Liberal arts colleges “should be centers of interdisciplinary innovation in order to foster this type of synthesis,” Oxtoby said. “From poverty to climate change to religious intolerance,” he said, solving the problems we confront will require contributions from many disciplines. He advocated interdisciplinary work and more attention to nonlinear, intuitive, and visual “left-brain” thinking. Ultimately, he argued, “the people who will be successful are those who can integrate their entire brains,” right and left hemispheres. In his talk Bowen led with a challenge: that Colby and its kin cannot dismiss digital technology as a potential part of their teaching. “Heresy of heresies,” he said, “I suspect—though no one knows as yet—that such pedagogies may even be helpful in intimate, bucolic settings such as this one.” “We should remain open to the possibility that emerging technologies can complement more-traditional forms of teaching,” Bowen said, “and thereby allow valuable faculty time to be put to higher-value uses, such as seminar instruction and one-on-one guidance of independent work.” Nussbaum discussed her recent work, particularly European laws targeting Muslim customs, in a Feb. 21 talk titled The New Religious Intolerance: Overcoming the Politics of Fear. Ewald’s talk, Secret Games: A 21st-Century Education, was covered in the winter Colby magazine.

Terrell Looks at Activism at Colby, Encourages Speaking Out

web@colby.edu (Colby College) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 UTC

Trustee Charles Terrell ’70 reflected on Colby’s history of activism—and his own—at a student-organized event in March. One week after a group of students interrupted the ceremonial end to the Bicentennial Address Feb. 27, Charles Terrell ’70—an icon of activism at Colby for his leadership in the chapel takeover—delivered the endnote address for the Pugh Community Board-organized S.H.O.U.T! week activities exploring activism. Terrell’s presence March 6 was timely given the recent events. His message to admiring students included inspiration and realism. He encouraged students to speak out, but he said speaking does not guarantee being heard. “The same thing doesn’t matter to everybody,” he said, “but it’s important I think to speak to those things that you think are important.” In a walk through the history of activism at Colby, Terrell reminded students that speaking up is not always easy. “Activism is messy. It’s disruptive. It’s always inconvenient,” he said. He spoke briefly about his involvement in the Lorimer Chapel takeover, though he expressed wonder at how he continues to be identified, at least at Colby, by this small part of his life. “It truly amazes me that students find this action so meaningful all of these years later.” Terrell mentioned the student film Bicentennial that drove some of the activism on Feb. 27. “I think that’s very much a part of where Colby is now, and it certainly highlights a number of issues, things that matter,” he said. “But again, I want to remind us: everything does not matter to everybody. I just think it’s important that we have artists on campus who will bring things that they think matter to the surface.” In closing, as music by Marvin Gaye filled the room, Terrell read the names of each member of the “Chapel 17,” most of whom he had lost touch with, he said. The dramatic ending clearly resonated with students present. [In 2007 Terrell talked about his experience at Colby and his role as a trustee with Colby editor Gerry Boyle \'78.]

Library Renovation To Restore Reading Room

web@colby.edu (Colby College) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 UTC

Substantial renovations in Miller Library will remodel the entrance and the first floor and will restore the historic main-floor reading room over the next two years. The $8.7-million project approved by trustees in April will significantly expand study space for students and will bring together academic support including the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Farnham Writers’ Center, Information Technology Services, and the new humanities center. Some administrative offices will be moved to the ground floor. The project got underway in early May, when some of the collection was moved so construction could begin. Both phases of the two-part project will be completed by fall 2014.

Men’s Lacrosse Alumni Competing in Pro Leagues

web@colby.edu (Colby College) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 UTC

With his college lacrosse career behind him, Ian Deveau \'13 was planning to head for California, hoping to play for a new league, the LXM Pro Tour. Already competing in LXM is Whit McCarthy ’10, who plays for Team Maverik. Also playing in the pro ranks are Caddy Brooks ’09, who was drafted this spring by the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse, and Craig Bunker \'11, in his second season with the Cannons.

Deveau Best in NESCAC Men’s Lacrosse

web@colby.edu (Colby College) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 UTC

Ian Deveau ’13 averaged 3.71 points per game, with 52 points in 14 games this season. Ian Deveau ’13 is the top men’s lacrosse player in a very competitive conference. Deveau, a former NESCAC rookie of the year and three-time all-conference midfielder, was named NESCAC Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Year in May. Deveau, said head coach Justin Domingos, “embodies what playing college lacrosse is all about.” The Portsmouth, R.I., resident finished his career ranked fifth in scoring in the history of men’s lacrosse at Colby with 99 goals and 80 assists for 179 career points. He is sixth all-time in goals, sixth in assists, and tied for sixth for most points in a season (52 in 2013). Deveau ranks first in the conference in points per game (3.71) this year, with 36 goals and 16 assists. Deveau’s teammate John Jennings ’13 was selected to the All-NESCAC second team at attacker.

Colby Volunteer Center Puts Service in Spring Break

web@colby.edu (Colby College) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 UTC

Ten Colby students helped build the foundation of a small school in Las Cebitas, Nicaragua. There was a time when thoughts of spring break conjured images of beaches and beer. And they may still—for some. But these days demand for alternative spring break programs exceeds capacity. The Goldfarb Center, which oversees some of Colby’s trips, is considering expanding its program. Currently the Colby Volunteer Center oversees three student-led trips each year. This year, students traveled to Nicaragua, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and New York City to lend many hands. Other students worked with Native American children in Maine, sang for children in the Bronx, and tested their paddling and physical skills in Kentucky. These trips, says Vice President for Student Affairs Jim Terhune, provide leadership training, teach life skills, and help students connect what they learn in the classroom with personal experience—all elements of the “Colby 360” plan. Almost all of the trips are organized entirely by students. As it prepares to expand ASB options, the Goldfarb Center will consider the cost of its trips, which are paid for through student-organized fundraisers according to Associate Director Alice Elliott. Beyond soliciting donations from family, this year students shoveled out cars and held bake sales. “You name it, they do it,” she said.

Capitol Hill to Mayflower Hill

web@colby.edu (Colby College) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 UTC

Just after the budget sequester took effect and as partisanship in Washington seemed elevated, two former congressmen—one Republican and one Democrat—visited campus to clarify how the government got here and where they think it should go next.

Adams Announces Plans to Retire; Search for Successor Begins

web@colby.edu (Colby College) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 04:00:00 UTC

President William D. Adams will retire in June 2014. President William D. Adams announced in January that he will retire in June 2014. The news set in motion the process of selecting Colby’s 20th president. Adams, president since 2000, guided the College through many significant changes and milestones. He has overseen the growth of the academic program, most notably in the areas of environmental studies and the visual arts. Adams also oversaw the founding of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement and a new center for the arts and humanities. He led a $376-million capital campaign, the largest in Maine history, which included numerous building projects, the College’s expansion on the Colby Green, and the gift of the Lunder Collection of American Art. “I am honored to have had the opportunity to lead such a remarkable place,” Adams said. Adams, however, stressed that he has three more semesters in the job and much left to accomplish in support of Colby’s mission. “This is not the time for a valedictory note,” he said, in a message to alumni. Some of the unfinished business, he said, includes the College’s bicentennial celebration and completion of Colby’s 2013 strategic initiatives. “We’ve got a lot to do and a lot I want to accomplish in my remaining time here,” he told a staff gathering in February. “We’ve got a lot to do and a lot I want to accomplish in my remaining time here.” President William D. Adams Running parallel to Adams’s work in the coming 15 months will be the search for his successor. A presidential search committee, which first met in January, is headed by Trustee Emeritus Michael L. Gordon ’66. The 19-member committee includes nine trustees, five faculty members, an administrative representative, the head of the Alumni Council, two students, and Gordon. According to Sally Baker, vice president and secretary of the corporation, it is customary to have a new president in place six months before the preceding president steps down. Baker said the Colby community will be asked to participate in the process in open forums on campus and via electronic forums. Updates on the search committee’s progress will come periodically from Gordon, she said. “One of my tasks is to ensure that the committee gathers—and considers thoughtfully—the views of those who work and study at Colby and of those with other connections to the College,” Gordon said, in a statement on the presidential search page on the Colby website. The process, he said, “embraces every constituency in our community.” While Adams will remain president until the end of the 2013-2014 academic year, he plans to take a sabbatical this summer, he reported at the staff gathering in February. Adams, who holds a doctorate in political philosophy from the University of California at Santa Cruz, said he plans to spend the summer in France doing research for a book project. He described the book as “part memoir, part travel narrative, part intellectual history,” prompted by and organized around the French philosopher on whom he wrote his dissertation, Maurice Merleau-Ponty. One part of the project, Adams said, was prompted by his experience at Colby, specifically with the Colby Museum of Art. He has spent time thinking about painting, and Merleau-Ponty was interested in art, especially the work of Cézanne. Asked by Tony Marin, a plumber in the Physical Plant Department, to explain the premise of the book he is taking time off to write, Adams smiled and said he wasn’t sure he was taking time off, but rather, was exploring a long-held interest in Merleau-Ponty. “I want to revisit that interest,” he said, “but in a very friendly and not precisely academic way.\"

Marking the Centuries