Fall 2019 Events and Cosponsorships
The Goldfarb Center is excited to offer a premier slate of events and guest speakers in fall 2019. Please stay tuned to our newsletter, social media, and our website for the most up-to-date information.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Past Events and Cosponsorships
2019 Cotter Debate
“Can UBI (Universal Basic Income) contribute to decreasing inequality in the US?”
Michael Strain American Enterprise Institute) and Amy Castro Baker, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Moderated by Assistant Professor of Economics Rob Lester
Wednesday, Nov. 20th | 4 pm | Ostrove, Diamond 142
High rates of inequality have led policymakers in the US and across the world to rethink the social safety net. One option is the provision of a “universal basic income” which would provide an unconditional cash transfer to every citizen. How would UBI affect economic inequality and the lives of workers in the US? Is it affordable without significantly revamping other government welfare programs?
These and other questions will be explored in the second Cotter Debate sponsored by the Goldfarb Center. On one side, Amy Castro-Baker is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice and is a Principal Investigator on the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, the basic income experiment being conducted in Stockton, California. On the other, Michael Strain is the John G. Searle Scholar and director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute with a research emphasis on labor and public economics.
“Failing at Life: Reflections from a Serial Social Entrepreneur on How to (Not) Change the World”
Oliver Sabot ‘02, Partner and Executive Coach at Slingshot Advisory
Thursday, Nov. 14th | 7 pm | Diamond 122
Oliver Sabot has served as an executive at the Clinton Foundation, published research in top scientific journals, and founded one of the fastest-growing networks of quality schools in Africa, which was recognized with a Global Transformative Business award by the Financial Times. He’s also failed repeatedly, with organizations he has built folding and his own physical and mental health collapse. In this talk, Oliver reflects on the path anyone can take from Colby to helping solve some of the world’s most pressing problems based on the lessons he has learned the hard way.
Bio from LinkedIn: Oliver Sabot is an entrepreneur focused on developing and scaling new approaches to transforming education in the developing world. He is the founder of three rapidly growing education ventures in Africa and currently serves as the Managing Director of one of them: Nova Pioneer. Nova Pioneer is a new school network currently operating in Kenya and South Africa that aims to make world-class education more accessible to African families at large scale. He also serves as a Director of the other two ventures, Kepler and Spire, new models to dramatically increase the quality, affordability, and accessibility of higher education.
Sabot brings a decade of experience in global health and development to his focus on education, most recently as the Executive Vice President for Global Programs at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). At CHAI, Sabot led the design and execution of large-scale programs to reduce child mortality and transform health systems in more than 20 countries and managing the organization’s relationships with major global institutions. He joined CHAI to develop and launch a new malaria program, which he grew to be a central strategic pillar of the organization. Among other efforts, his team played a central role in the development and launch a $450 million global initiative to dramatically increase access to quality malaria medicines. He also served as the Chair of the Market Dynamics Committee of the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, guiding the development of improved strategies to better leverage the institution’s $22 billion of investments to shape health product markets.
Sabot is the author of more than 20 scholarly articles on global health published by Science, Cambridge University Press, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the British Medical Journal, and The Lancet.
2019 Cotter Debate
“Can Our Institution Respond to Current Threats to American Democracy?”
Bruce Cain, Charles Louis Ducommun Professor in Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University and David Brady, Bowen H. & Janice Arthur McCoy Professor in Leadership Values, Stanford University
Moderated by Professor of American Government Sandy Maisel
Monday, October 28 | 7 pm | Parker-Reed, SSWAC
Democracies around the world—in Brazil and Venezuela, Hungary, Turkey, and Great Britain, and elsewhere—have been challenged by popularly elected leaders who have acted far outside of traditional democratic norms. This year’s first Cotter Debate, sponsored by the Goldfarb Center, addresses whether American governmental institutions are capable of responding to the threats to decision-making norms seen during the first three years of the Trump administration. Two Stanford professors, David Brady, the Bowen H. and Janice Arthur McCoy Professor of Political Science and Leadership Values, and Bruce Cain, the Charles Louis Ducommun Professor in Humanities and Sciences and the Eccles Family Director of the Center for the Study of the American West, are friends and colleagues, but hold different views on this most important topic. They will present these differences and engage in discussion with the audience on this important topic.
Coffee and dessert bar will be served!
“Latin America’s Growth Conundrum: A Trade Perspective”
Thursday, October 24 | 4 pm | Diamond 141
Please join the Department of Economics and the Goldfarb Center for a talk and dinner with Augusto de la Torre, Former World Bank Chief Economist for Latin America and Former President of the Central Bank of Ecuador.
Despite trade tensions on the global level, evidence for Latin America points toward the need for a trade-oriented growth agenda that puts a premium on raising exports and making countries more attractive to people, not just capital. The need to invest in human capital adds urgency to healing the region’s social fractures and dealing with its institutional weaknesses.
Augusto de la Torre recently stepped down as the World Bank’s Chief Economist for Latin American and the Caribbean after serving since September of 2007. Previously, Mr. de la Torre was a Senior Advisor responsible for financial matters in Latin America and the Caribbean. Joining the Bank in October 1997, he published extensively on a broad range of macroeconomic and financial development topics that framed regional policy in turbulent times. Prior to the twenty-year mark, he left on the World Bank, Augusto was President of Ecuador’s Central Bank (1993-1996), winning the Euromoney Magazine award as “Best Latin Central Banker” and served as an International Monetary Fund Economist from 1986-1992, including the IMF’s Resident Representative in Venezuela (1991-1992). He is currently a co-professor at Columbia University’s MPA in Economic Policy Management (MPA-EPM) program’s Financial Development in Emerging Economies course. De la Torre earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Economics at the University of Notre Dame and holds a Licenciatura in Philosophy from the Catholic University of Ecuador.
reception following 5:15 pm in the Pub.
Covering the Campaigns: The Media’s Role in a Chaotic World
Sunday, October 6 | 8:30 a.m. Brunch Reception | 9 a.m. Brunch Buffet | 9:30-10:45 a.m. Program | Parker-Reed Room Schair-Swenson-Watson Alumni Center
How can we make sense of the byzantine world of politics framing the 2020 presidential and congressional elections? Join former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, who served 16 terms in the United States House of Representatives as one of the most outspoken and thoughtful Members of Congress, and Hannah Dineen ’17, weekend anchor and political reporter for NewsCenter Maine, as they discuss the responsibility of journalists to guide us through our electoral maze. Professor of American Government Sandy Maisel, who has observed Maine and national politics for almost half a century, will moderate the discussion.
Quil Lawrence, NPR correspondent and former NPR bureau chief in Baghdad and Kabul
Hala Al-Dosari, human rights activist and scholar, Washington Post’s inaugural Jamal Khashoggi Fellow
Martin Smith, filmmaker, journalist for PBS FRONTLINE and ABC News, founder of Rain Media
Smith’s “The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia” has garnered acclaim. Reviews can be found here: The Wall Street JournalThe New York Times POLITICO‘s “Playbook” NPR The Washington Times Business Insider Haaretz (Reuters syndication) Times of Israel U.S. News & World Report Middle East Eye Middle East Monitor The Globe & Mail (Reuters syndication) Deseret News Times Now NewsThe Daily MailYahoo!News (Bloomberg syndication)Times of India (Reuters syndication) Forbes The Daily Beast Bloomberg GovernmentNew York Post The Hill The Jerusalem Post The National Post UPIReuters TIME Magazine Bloomberg USA Today Al Jazeera The Independent The Wall Street Journal2
Lovejoy Luncheon and Panel
The Toll of Tragedy: Newsrooms Under Stress, Communities Under Attack
Friday, October 4 | Lunch available at noon; panel discussion at 1:00 pm | Robins Room, Roberts Union
Journalists hold deep commitments to serve the communities; in Annapolis, this meant giving their lives when the newsroom was attacked. In Pittsburgh, journalists covering the Tree of Life Synagogue shoot
ing dealt with trauma in the newsroom as it was their neighbors and friends who were slain. How did these newsrooms under enormous stress manage to adapt coverage to extreme violence? How did individuals experiencing the devastating effects of these mass shootings maintain their responsibility to cover the horrific story and its aftermath? What measures were implemented to reduce additional harm to families and communities through reporting? What unintended consequences ensued—and how might these be mitigated in the future?
Please join us for a lunch to witness the accounts of Rick Hutzell, who published a newspaper as a shooter stormed the offices of the Capital Gazette and killed five of his coworkers, and David Shribman, then editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who covered the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre. These tragic lessons resonate with communities around the United States; come honor those who lost their lives, survivors and the incredible journalists holding up a mirror to violence in our towns and cities.
Screening of The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia introduced by filmmaker Martin Smith
Professor Paul Josephson, Colby College
“Putin, Russia, and the Media: Journalism in Contemporary Russia
Tuesday, October 1 | 7:00 pm | SSWAC, Parker-Reed
At least 21 journalists have been killed in Russia since Putin became president in 2000, and 58 since the early 1990s. Given also state control of media, renewed protests against the administration, and growing economic and political problems at home, what are the prospects for journalists in present-day Russia who wish to write about these subjects? How can we understand the government’s attacks — physical, psychological and political — against the free press?
Open to all!
Professor Jamila Michener, Cornell University
“Engaging Race, Strengthening Community, Sustaining Democracy”
Sunday, September 15 | 5:15 pm | SSWAC, Parker-Reed
Race continues to play a fundamental role in shaping economic, social and political life in the United States and across the world. Yet, many Americans have limited knowledge of the historical and contemporary processes that account for racial inequality. As a result, few people are equipped to recognize and confront racial inequities in their own lives and communities. Americans’ collective inability to conscientiously contend with race enables systems of oppression, weakens bonds of community, and undermines democracy. In this talk, Professor Michener offers historically grounded, evidence-rich, practical insights on these longstanding dilemmas.
5:00 p.m. Reception with heavy appetizers! Open to all!
Goldfarb Freedom of Expression Symposium 2019
Meet and Greet with Andrew Rudman ’87
Thursday, April 18 | 4:00 pm | Diamond 153
Are you interested in careers in foreign affairs? Please join the Goldfarb Center for a meet and greet with Andrew Rudman ‘87, a Managing Partner at Monach Strategies. Learn about Andrew’s path through the State Department, Commerce, and the private sector for an insider’s view of navigating Washington. Light refreshments will be served!
Mexico Under AMLO
Thursday, April 18 | 7:00 pm | Diamond 122
Senator George J. Mitchell Distinguished International Lecture Series
Meet and Greet with José Miguel Vivanco
Monday, April 15 | 4:00 pm | Grossman 209
Populism and Double Standards: Growing Challenges to Human Rights in the Americas
Monday, April 15 | 7:00 pm | SSWAC, Parker-Reed
Over the last 70 years, the international community has reached a key consensus on human rights issues, ranging from torture to freedom of expression, from women’s rights to accountability. Yet the rise of populist leaders across the globe poses a dangerous threat to such progress. The presentation describes how populist leaders, like Trump, Erdogan, and Maduro, undermine human rights. What implications has this had for regional migration as those disenfranchised from basic rights seek asylum? What can civil society do to protect basic rights achieved over the last decades?
The Diversity Bargain and other Dilemmas of Race, Admissions, and Meritocracy at Elite Universities
Monday, April 8 | 7:00 pm | Robins R
oom, Roberts
The Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs, Education Program., Sociology Department and Interdisciplinary Studies Division will be hosting guest speaker Natasha Kumar Warikoo, Associate Professor of Education at Harvard University
Natasha Warikoo is an expert on racial and ethnic inequality in education. Her most recent book, The Diversity Bargain: And Other Dilemmas of Race, Admissions, and Meritocracy at Elite Universities (University of Chicago Press, 2016), illuminates how undergraduates attending Ivy League universities and Oxford University conceptualize race and meritocracy. The book emphasizes the contradictions, moral conundrums, and tensions on campus related to affirmative action and diversity, and how these vary across racial and national lines. The book won multiple awards from the American Sociological Association, the Society for the Study of Social Problems, and the American Educational Studies Association.
The Honorable Bruce Poliquin
Tuesday, April 2 | 7:00 pm | Page Commons
Leading Diverse Organizations: Lessons from Military Commanders
Monday, March 18 | 7:00 pm | SSWAC, Parker-Reed
The military is one of the most diverse American institutions; success is a function of bringing people from different backgrounds and perspectives together to achieve a common goal. How do military leaders promote inclusivity? How are diverse talents identified? What gets in the way of leading a diverse organization? Come hear LCDR Melissa Maclin ’98, Naval Intelligence Officer and Commander (RET) Michael D. Wisecup, Colby Presidential Leadership Fellow, former Navy Seal on Monday, March 18th at 7:00 pm in SWWAC, Parker-Reed room as they explore these issues to help you develop your own inclusive leadership style.
We will begin with a small case study on the Bin Laden mission. Please take a look at this piece in the New Yorker or this Guardian article to refresh your understanding of this situation.
Climate Change and the Threats to Global -and National- Security
Thursday, March 14 | 7:00 pm | SSWAC, Parker-Reed
Please join the Goldfarb Center at Colby College for a lecture by Brigadier General Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret.) of the American Security Project. The world is heating up. Despite skepticism from climate change deniers, our bases and stations are literally going under water, and our military is seeing conflict accelerate – thanks to climate change. Increasing catastrophic weather is causing undeniable humanitarian crises – to which we have
to respond. What does the future portend? What should we be doing about it? Who is most affected?
The lecture is free and open to the public; it will be held in the Parker Reed Room of the Schair Swenson Watson Alumni Center. To access the building enter by the tennis courts across from the Colby Art Museum (open until 9 pm on Thursdays!); lecture parking is available behind the Alumni Center.
Please come early (6:45) to enjoy coffee and dessert!
Leveraging Social Marketing for Reproductive Health
Monday, March 11 | 5:00 pm | “LoPo” Bobby Silberman Lounge
The Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs is hosting guest speaker Jennifer Pope Michie ’96, Director, Family Planning & Reproductive Health at PSI.
Jen provides technical assistance to country programs providing life-saving products, clinical services, and behavior change communications that empower the world’s most vulnerable populations to lead healthier lives. Jen has over 15 years of experience working with non-profits, corporations, and government agencies on family planning, HIV and AIDS, malaria, child survival, institutional strengthening, staff capacity building, social marking, and franchising.
Prior to her role as Director, Family Planning & Reproductive Health, Jen served as PSI’s Country Representative in Côte d’Ivoire where she increased the health impact by over 1,000% and funding by 50% in one year. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as Deputy Country Representative and family planning technical advisor, she managed 100 staff across 10 provinces and oversaw a social franchise network of over 450 private sector healthcare providers.
After Jen’s talk please join us in the Pub for heavy apps to talk about careers in global health. (Under 21s are very welcome as the pub is opening just for us!)
Education and Poverty: The High Cost of Attaining Equity
Monday, March 4 | 7:00 p.m. | Roberts, Robins room
The Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs is hosting guest speaker Roger Schulman, President, and CEO of Fund for Educational Excellence on March 4th for a 7 pm lecture in Roberts, Robins room. Mr. Schulman, who has over 20 years of experience in urban education works closely with a wide variety of district, foundation, and community partners to promote the Fund’s mission of increasing educational opportunities for Baltimore City’s public school students. He has been a leader in pulling together local and national coalitions to support such district-wide priorities as developing stronger school and classroom leaders, assessing school effectiveness, and improving literacy and graduation rates.
People, Borders, and Walls: Immigration Policy from Obama to Trump
Thursday, Feb. 21 | 7:00 p.m. | Diamond 122
Guest speaker Alejandro Mayorkas, Partner, WilmerHale, former Deputy Secretary, Homeland Security, and a Colby parent, 
rolled out DACA under President Obama. Before joining WilmerHale, Mr. Mayorkas served as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, where he managed some of the most complex and critical responsibilities of government, including preventing and responding to terrorist attacks on US soil, enhancing both the government’s and the private sector’s cybersecurity, enforcing the nation’s immigration laws, facilitating lawful trade and travel, and helping stricken communities recover from disasters. For his service as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, Mr. Mayorkas received the Department’s Distinguished Service Award, its highest civilian honor; the US Coast Guard’s Distinguished Service Award; a special commendation from the National Security Agency for his achievements in national security and, specifically, cybersecurity; and numerous additional awards and commendations.
Ranked Choice Voting: Can it Work for the 2020 Presidential Election?
Thursday, Feb. 7 | 7:00 p.m. | Diamond 122
Rob Richie, president, and CEO of FairVote will be speaking on Ranked Choice Voting and the moves to make it apply to the presidential primaries or caucuses (and general election) in Maine.
Richie has played a key role in advancing, winning, and implementing electoral reforms at the local and state levels. He has been involved in implementing ranked choice voting in more than a dozen cities, cumulative voting in numerous Voting Rights Act cases, the National Popular Vote plan in 11 states, and promoting voter access proposals like voter preregistration and lower voting age.
Civil Discourse in an Uncivil Age
Monday, Dec. 3 | 7: 00 p.m. | SSWAC Parker-Reed room
Do our words matter? Join Alexander Heffner, host of The Open Mind on PBS, as he explores the increasing divisive
ness in American life, the toxic climate of political rhetoric and violence, and the steps to correct this plague on our democracy. The discussion will consider how we the people, elected officeholders, digital platforms, and journalists can work to reverse the disunion.
Not only does Mr. Heffner’s show exemplify civility, but thanks to a 2016 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Mr. Heffner has spent significant time exploring free speech from the expression on college campuses to hate speech on the Internet.
Mr. Heffner has covered American politics, civic life and Millennials since the 2008 presidential campaign. He is a coauthor of A Documentary History of the United States (Penguin, 2018). A native New Yorker, he is a graduate of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and Harvard. His work has been profiled in The Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Des Moines Register, Christian Science Monitor, Variety, Medium, and on NBC News, MSNBC, C-SPAN, NPR, CNN, BBC, and ABC, among other media outlets. His writing has appeared in TIME, USA TODAY, Daily Beast, Reuters, RealClearPolitics, NYT’s Room for Debate, The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and Philadelphia Inquirer, among other publications. He was the political director for WHRB 95.3 FM and host of The Political Arena.
RANKED CHOICE VOTING: Maine’s experience and the Future
Monday, Oct. 29 | 7:00 p.m. | Diamond – 122
Midterm Elections 2018 program
Is this the Year of the Woman? Will women candidates and voters swing the Congress?
Thursday, Oct. 25 | 7:00 p.m. | Ostrove Auditorium
Jennifer L. Lawless is the Commonwealth Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia. A perfect speaker to discuss the upcoming election with so many women on the ballot, she is a leading national expert on political ambition and women in American politics, the author or co-author of six books, including Women on the Run: Gender, Media, and Political Campaigns in a Polarized Era (with Danny Hayes) and It Still Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don’t Run for Office (with Richard L. Fox).
Trade Wars
Fall 2018 William R. and Linda K. Cotter Debate
Thursday | Oct. 18 | 4 p.m. | Ostrove Auditorium
We are now in a full-blown trade war. Unilateral actions by the Trump Administration targeting steel and aluminum imports even his political allies; ever-escalating tariffs on imports from China were quickly followed by retaliatory actions targeting politically sensitive sectors and goods. What will be the economic and political fallout of these actions? Will they help destroy the multilateral trading system that has stood tall since the end of World War II? How will they affect the imminent midterm Congressional elections? These questions and more will be debated by Soumaya Keynes, the U.S. economics and trade editor for The Economist and Dean Baker, senior economist and long-time Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Reform (CEPR).
2018 Elijah Parish Lovejoy Convocation
Inside of the Interview: Asking Tough Questions in Tough Situations
Monday | Oct. 8 | Noon | SSWAC – Parker-Reed Room
Catrin Einhorn, a New York Times journalist who received a 2018 Pulitzer Prize for public service, along with a team of reporters, for exposing sexual harassment and misconduct across industries, will talk about how the team of reporters who exposed sexual harassment and misconduct was able to weave such a difficult and important narrative. This opportunity is especially directed at students and faculty engaged in interview work.
Ms. Einhorn has covered sexual harassment in blue-collar workplaces, urban violence, Americans’ complicated relationship with firearms, and veterans’ issues. In 2016, Ms. Einhorn and Jodi Kantor wrote a series about everyday Canadians adopting Syrian refugees, documenting the surprises, challenges and intense relationships that arose over the year of sponsorship. Previously, she was part of a team that examined President Obama’s troop surge in Afghanistan by telling the personal stories of one battalion’s yearlong deployment in a multimedia series called “Year at War.”
Her work has been recognized with awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmys), Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University, World Press Photo and Picture of the Year International. Before joining The New York Times, Ms. Einhorn was a public radio reporter and a Fulbright scholar in anthropology.
Shrinking Newsrooms and Community Impact
Monday | Oct. 8 | 8:30 a.m. | Chace Community Forum, Bill & Joan Alfond Main Street Commons
How do shrinking news spaces impact communities? Newspaper employment shrank 45% from 2009 to 2017. With this decimation of the news staff, what has happened to local coverage? What is the impact of regional news deserts? How have community voices changed when papers are populated by AP wire stories rather than narratives of local events? Jack Beaudoin ’87, writer and editor of Pine Tree Watch, Mizell Stewart III, news executive for Gannett and the USA TODAY Network, and David Shribman, executive editor and vice president of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, will join our honoree Chuck Plunkett to discuss how community voices have changed over the years.
Sunday | Oct. 7 | 9 a.m. | SSWAC – Parker-Reed Room
Professor Sandy Maisel will host a panel discussion with David Shribman, executive editor and vice president of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Nancy Barnes, executive vice president of news and editor at Houston Chronicle Publishing Company, Marty Kaiser, senior fellow at the Democracy Fund, and Lawrence Goldman, senior research fellow at St. Peter’s College, Oxford. Bring your parents!
Lives Still in Limbo: UnDACAmented and Navigating Uncertain Futures
Sept. 24 | 7:00 pm | SSWAC – 104 Parker-Reed Room
Roberto G. Gonzales, Ph.D. Harvard University Graduate School of Education
Due to the political gridlock in the U.S. Congress, the fate of more than two million young immigrants remains uncertain. With legalization efforts stalled, on June 15, 2012, President Obama introduced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a change in his administration’s enforcement policy that would temporarily defer deportations from the United States for undocumented youth and young adults, in addition to providing temporary Social Security numbers and two-year work permits. At the six-year mark, more than 814,000 young people have benefited from the program and, as a result, had taken giant steps towards the American mainstream. Things changed under the Trump administration. On September 5, 2017, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced an end to what had become a very successful policy. What does this termination mean for these young people and their families? Based on a multi-year study, Professor Gonzales provides some interesting answers to these vexing questions.
Roberto G. Gonzales is a Professor of Education at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Since 2002 he has carried out one of the most comprehensive studies of undocumented immigrants in the United States. His book, Lives in Limbo: Undocumented and Coming of Age in America, is based on an in-depth study that followed 150 undocumented young adults in Los Angeles for twelve years. To date, Lives in Limbo has won seven major book awards, including the Society for the Study of Social Problems C. Wright Mills Award, the American Education Research Association Outstanding Book Award, and the Law and Society Association Herbert Jacob Book Award. It has also been adopted by several universities as a common read and is being used by K-12 schools across the country in teacher and staff training. In addition, Professor Gonzales’ National UnDACAmented Research Project has surveyed nearly 2,700 undocumented young adults and has carried out 500 in-depth interviews on their experiences following President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
George J. Mitchell Distinguished International Lecture Series | World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva
May 6 | 7 p.m. | Ostrove Auditorium
Kristalina Georgieva is the first CEO of the World Bank. Until 2017, she was a European commissioner for budget and human resources. From 1993 to 2010, she served in a number of positions in the World Bank Group, eventually rising to become its vice president and corporate secretary in March 2008. Georgieva was honored as the 2010 “European of the Year” and “EU Commissioner of the Year” for her handling of the humanitarian disasters in Haiti and Pakistan. Join us on May 6 to hear her speech, entitled “The World Bank: Why We Dare to Confront Global Challenges.”
Preparing for a Career in Legal Advocacy
May 3 | 6 p.m. | Robins Room, Roberts Hall
For those considering attending law school, whether immediately following Colby graduation, or years after, join Class of 2014 alumni, BriAnne Illich in the Robins Room in Roberts on May 3rd at 6:00 p.m. She will discuss her experience transitioning from a Global Studies and Spanish major at Colby to a Washington University law student, and her early career as an advocate and federal law clerk for the US District Court for the District of New Mexico. Come for helpful tips on the law school application process, law school survival strategies, summer legal internship information, and paths to alternative and modern legal careers. Dinner will be provided.
#MeToo, Tarana Burke
April 30 | 7 p.m. | Page Commons
We are thrilled to partner with the Pugh Community Board to welcome civil rights activist and creator of the #MeToo movement, Tarana Burke, to the Colby campus. Tarana will present a lecture followed by an audience Q&A.
2018 Morton A. Brody Award for Distinguished Judicial Service
April 22 | 4 p.m. Panel; How the Law Responds to Changes in Science, Ostrove Auditorium | 5:30 pm Award Ceremony, Ostrove Auditorium
The biennial Brody Award for 2018 will be presented to Judge Anita Brody, Senior United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, Judge Brody (no relation to Morton A. Brody) is best known for presiding over the lawsuits and settlements relating to concussions in the NFL.
Leadership in Times of Crisis
April 19 | 4:45 p.m. Panel featuring Colby Trustees Sara Burns ’79 and Jane Powers ’86
Colby Trustees Sara Burns ’79 and Jane Powers ’86 will join us to discuss leadership in times of crisis. As you are developing your own style of leading, this is an opportunity to reflect on the characteristics two successful leaders see as essential to effective leadership. Heavy apps (quesadillas) and desserts will be served so you can enjoy a dinner while you consider these essential life skills.
Trumping Ethical Norms: Teachers, Preachers, Pollsters, and the Media Respond to Donald Trump
April 12 | 4 p.m. Panel “Religious leaders respond to Drumpf” | 7 p.m. Panel “Journalists and professors respond to Trump” | Diamond 122
This mini-conference will examine how professors, religious leaders, pollsters, and various media outlets have responded to challenges posed by a candidate and now-President Trump. The event is meant as a kick-off for a new book, co-edited by Colby Professor of Government Sandy Maisel, and recent Colby grad and current News Center Maine reporter Hannah Dineen ’17.
Amy Walter: Washington Politics Today and the 2018 Midterms
March 12 | 8 a.m. | Parker-Reed Room, SSW Alumni Center
Amy Walter, political analyst and editor of The Cook Political Report, will join Colby Professors Dan Shea and Carrie LeVan for a breakfast and discussion on Trumpian politics and the 2018 midterms.
Mustafa Santiago Ali from the Hip Hop Caucus: Moving Our Most Vulnerable Communities from Surviving to Thriving
March 6th | 7 p.m. | Ostrove, Diamond Building
Mustafa Santiago Ali is the Senior Vice President of Climate, Environmental Justice & Community Revitalization for the Hip Hop Caucus. The Hip Hop Caucus is a national, non-profit and non-partisan organization that connects the Hip Hop community to the civic process to build power and create positive change. Mustafa is renowned as a National Speaker, Trainer, and Facilitator specializing in Social Justice issues focused on revitalizing our most vulnerable communities.
Mustafa Ali joined the Hip Hop Caucus, after working 24 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At the EPA, he served as the Assistant Associate Administrator for Environmental Justice and Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice and Community Revitalization. Mustafa elevated environmental justice issues and worked across federal agencies to strengthen environmental justice policies, programs, and initiatives. At the EPA, Mustafa led the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJIWG), which was comprised of 17 federal agencies and White House offices focused on implementing holistic strategies to address the issues facing vulnerable communities. Mustafa Ali worked for EPA Administrators beginning with William Riley and ending with Scott Pruitt. He joined the EPA as a student and became a founding member of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ). Mr. Ali also served as the Director of Communications in the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ), where he led the Communications and Stakeholder Involvement (CSI) team. In 2012, Mustafa launched the EPA’s Environmental Justice in Action Blog, which reached over 100,000 followers. This blog highlighted innovative actions to address environmental justice, sustainability, and climate change issues. In 2010, Mr. Ali also served as the Environmental Justice Lead for the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In 2004, he was selected as the EPA’s National Enforcement Training Institutes “Trainer of the Year” for his efforts in training over 4,000 across the country in “The Fundamentals of Environmental Justice.”
Mustafa Ali was a Brookings Institution Congressional Fellow in the Office of Congressman John Conyers from 2007 through 2008. His portfolio as a Legislative Assistant focused on Foreign Policy in Africa and South America, Homeland Security, Health Care, Veterans Affairs, Appropriations, and Environmental Justice.
Cosponsored by Environmental Studies, Pugh Community Board, Goldfarb Center, and African American Studies.
Maine Republican Gubernatorial Debate
February 26 | 7 p.m. | Ostrove Auditorium, Diamond
The Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs at Colby College, in partnership with the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, Thomas College, and the Colby Young Republicans, will host the first Republican Debate of the 2018 Maine Gubernatorial Race. The debate begins at 7pm on Monday, February 26, at the Ostrove Auditorium in the Diamond Building at Colby College.
Check out a photo album and watch the full recording of the debate on Facebook.
Ultimate Insiders: White House Photographers and How They Shape History
February 22 | 7 p.m. | Diamond 122
Ken Walsh is chief White House correspondent for U.S. News & World Report. He has covered the White House since 1986 and is the author of eight books on the presidency. The Goldfarb Center will welcome him to discuss his latest book on the influential but often unseen official photographers who cover the president. Ken’s book will be available for purchase and personalized autographs at the conclusion of the lecture.
Watch the full recording of Ken’s speech on YouTube.
Text, Talk, Revive Civility
Jan. 24 | 4 p.m. | Diamond 123
Colby parent (Joshua ’17) Mark Hews, the Maine State Organizer for the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD), will lead a dinner workshop on promoting civil dialogue. Maine is one of four states that will take part in an intensive program to help people improve the way they talk and listen to each other. The NICD initiative aligns with objectives expressed by our Goldfarb student engagement board seeking deeper dialogue on campus.
Protect, Nurture, and Enjoy: Infant Mental Health Training for Caregivers of Infants and their Families
Alexandra Murray Harrison, M.D.
There is now consensus in the scientific community that the origins of adult diseases can often be found in the first years of life. It also has been shown that a safe and responsive caregiving relationship is not only important to healthy child development but may also moderate the negative health effect of early adversities in the life of the individual. Despite being a critical factor in positive health outcomes, infant mental health is frequently either absent from the training of frontline health workers or relegated to a low priority. The Infant Mental Health training, “Protect, Nurture, and Enjoy” (PNE) was designed to equip health workers – both professional and paraprofessional — with the knowledge and motivation needed to facilitate positive caregiver-infant interactions in the community. A reception will follow the talk.
Free Speech on College Campuses: Should There Be Any Limits?
Fall 2017 William R. and Linda K. Cotter Debate
Nov. 16 | 6:30 p.m. Coffee and Dessert Reception; 7 p.m. Discussion | Schair-Swenson-Watson Alumni Center, Parker Reed Room
Academies flourish with free and open discourse. But does the right to free speech include the right to share what is experienced by some as hateful? If so, who defines when discourse has crossed the line to be too vitriolic? Some are concerned that efforts to increase sensitivity and safety are suppressing frank and open discussion. Others believe colleges and universities have a duty to protect students from what some deem as hateful rhetoric that targets specific groups in harmful ways.
A growing number of conflicts in the form of large public demonstrations and event protests have created an urgent need for institutions to define freedom of expression on their respective campuses. As polarized speech may incite violent action, does a university have a responsibility to provide for the physical safety—or the right to speak—of incendiary speakers?
The Fall 2017 William R. and Linda K. Cotter Debate will explore how academic institutions can support diversity and inclusion while providing space for robust discourse, deliberation, and disagreement.
Panelists Include:
Jon A. Shields, associate professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College
Laura Beth Nielsen, director of the Legal Studies Program and professor of Sociology, Northwestern University
Jon Zimmerman, professor of history of education, University of Pennsylvania
Moderated by Neil Gross, Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology, Colby College
Gender and Resistance: An Evening with Jennifer Finney Boylan
Maine Gubernatorial Candidate Debate
Nov. 13 | 7 p.m. | Diamond Building, Ostrove Auditorium
Hear the candidates for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Maine give their perspectives for the future of the state. Participating candidates include Adam Cote, Betsy Sweet, Diane Russell, Janet Mills, Mark Eves, Jim Boyle, and Patrick Eisenhart. A coffee and dessert reception will be held after the debate. Hosted by Colby College, Thomas College, and the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce. Sponsored by Maine Technology Group, PretiFlaherty, Serra Public Affairs, and Sheridan Construction.
Women in Business: Do they Lead Differently than Men?
A lunchtime discussion with Colby Trustees Anne Clarke Wolff ’87 and Catherine Roosevelt ’89
Please note this event has reached capacity.
Oct. 19 | Lunch served at Noon; Discussion begins at 12:15 p.m. | Silberman Lounge, Cotter Union
Many leadership studies suggest that women are more participative, collaborative, transformational and democratic than men; female managers are seen as less transactional, authoritative, or “command-control.” Other research has revealed that Fortune 500 companies with a higher percentage of women on their boards experience significantly higher financial outcomes. In what other ways do women’s leadership traits influence professional organizations? How can students develop leadership skills that will translate into professional success in the business world today and in the future?
Two highly accomplished trustees, Anne Clarke Wolff ’87 and Catherine (Kate) Roosevelt ’89, will lead a lunchtime discussion on their experiences and the strategies they’ve employed to develop their leadership skills and advance their careers.
Anne Clarke Wolff ’87 is the Managing Director, Head of Global Corporate Banking, and Head of Global Leasing for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Kate Roosevelt ’89 is executive vice president for Campbell & Company, a strategic consultancy to the non-profit sector. The conversation will be moderated by Patrice Franko, interim director of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Grossman Professor of Economics and Global Studies.
War’s End? Guerrilla Demobilization in Colombia
2017 Lovejoy Award Convocation
Journalism with Purpose: How to Write with Impact
2017 Lovejoy Student Journalism Conference
From Russia with Love: Covering National Security in the Age of Trump
Two New York Times investigative reporters discuss the latest in the special counsel investigation, the perils of covering national security and covering the new Washington. Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman are Pulitzer-winning reporters in the Washington bureau of the Times. The discussion will be moderated by Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professor of American Government Sandy Maisel.
Disappearing Diplomacy: Foreign Policy in the Trump Era
Robert Gelbard ’64 is an international business consultant specializing in project development and implementation, crisis management and risk analysis. During his prior career in the U.S. Foreign Service, Gelbard held numerous senior foreign policy positions, including as President Clinton’s Special Representative for the Balkans, Ambassador to Indonesia and East Timor, Ambassador to Bolivia, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (including responsibility for counter-terrorism), Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs, Deputy Assistant Secretary for South America, Director for Southern Africa and Deputy Director for Western Europe.
Whose Streets? Film screening and discussion with director Sabaah Folayan
Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, Whose Streets? is an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising. The film is a powerful battle cry from a generation fighting, not for their civil rights, but for the right to live. Director Sabaah Folayan will lead a discussion and question and answer session after the screening. Cosponsored by Colby Cinema Studies, Pugh Community Board, African American Studies, The Center for Arts and Humanities, and The Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs
Democracy in a Hotter Time
The present crisis in U.S. democracy has its origins in our history and political system. Much the same can be said for our slow and inadequate response to climate change now underway. These and similar problems in public policy are the result of the breakdown in democratic institutions. The path forward requires repairing and strengthening the capacities of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Cosponsored by the Environmental Studies Program and The Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs