Given Colby's expectation that professors are both teachers and scholars, the sabbatical year plays an increasingly important role in faculty research, said Dean of Faculty Ed Yeterian. Recent projects undertaken by professors reflect trends, in academe and at Colby, of cross-disciplinary inquiry and global reach. "Most faculty members aren't just pursuing scholarship; they're excited about it," Yeterian said. And, he says, the excitement they bring back to classrooms is an important reason that the College increased its support for faculty sabbaticals.

In 2002-03 19 professors are on full-year sabbaticals and four on semester sabbaticals. Some examples:

Professor of French Suellen Diaconoff. "The New Scheherazades: Women, Writing and Politics in Morocco." (Book project, in Morocco.)

Associate Professor and Harriet S. and George C. Wiswell Jr. Research Fellow in American History Elizabeth Leonard. "Lust For Revenge," about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. (Book project.)

Arnold Bernhard Professor of Arts and Humanities Paul Machlin. "Ol' Man River at the Fountain of Youth: The Emergence of Doo-Wop."

Allen Family Professor of Latin American Literature Jorge Olivares. "Arenas of Desire: Cuba, Exile, and Same-Sex Sexualities in Reinaldo Arenas." (Book project.)

Professor of Computer Science Dale Skrien. "Object-Oriented Design and Design Patterns." (Textbook project.)

Assistant Professor of Anthropology and African-American Studies Maritza Straughn-Williams. "The Mealy Bug Crisis: The Vincentian State and the Traffickers." (Book project.)

Clare Booth Luce Assistant Professor of Biology Andrea Tilden. "The neuromodulatory role of melatonin in crustaceans; use of high-performance liquid chromatophy (HPLC) in quantification of crustacean hormones and neuropeptides."

Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies Hong Zhang. "Social Transformations, Family Life and Uxorilocal Marriage in Rural China, 1900-1990s." (Book project, in China.)