Back in ninth grade biology when my teacher, who also happened to be my dad, told me to dissect a frog, I poked around at it with just enough conviction to mangle the thing. The experience taught me very little about the frog but a lot about the dangers of heavy-handed analysis. It is quite possible, I learned, to do more harm than good.

When you cut into a healthy organism, you had better do so with the humble resolve that it is for a good purpose. The same is true whether anatomizing a frog or evaluating a magazine. And there is at least one other major similarity: in both cases, you are looking for the heart.

We began disassembling Colby about six months ago. Analyzing its components separately allowed us to get a better picture of the whole and decide on ways we could improve it.

If you'll excuse me as I switch metaphors for a moment, Colby resembled a beautiful old house. The foundation was sound and the construction sturdy, but it needed a paint job.

So when we put Colby back together we did so with an eye toward creating visual appeal and readability without compromising the outstanding editorial mix that has characterized the magazine in the past. We gave particular attention to the departments, sections which should reflect everyday life at Colby-a subject difficult to contain in 16-or-so pages. Responding to readers' wishes for more news about the College, we've tried to wedge in more articles by creating a series of subsections, several of which we introduce with this issue. The combined effect of these changes, we hope, will be to enhance readers' enjoyment of Colby while also providing more information; a pleasing recipe that consists of what a colleague of mine calls "important news and endearing trifles."

There will be no retreat from the quality writing and interesting subject matter that Colby readers have come to expect. The Alumni at Large section, 30-plus pages of personal postcards from old classmates, celebrates both the success and sincerity of Colby alumni. If there is a better alumni news section in a college magazine today, I haven't seen it. It remains as it always has been.

Likewise, features have long been a strength of the magazine. We will continue to bring you provocative, entertaining articles about Colby people and their activities. We hope Colby will reflect the breadth and diversity of Colby's alumni population, a group whose talent and hard work are leaving imprints all over the world.

Our two favorite subjects around here are Colby and Colby. If you have comments about either, we'd love to hear them. You may e-mail messages to mag@colby.edu, call 207-872-3226 or send me a letter.

I hope you like Colby's new clothes.

Sincerely,

J. Kevin Cool
managing editor, Colby