1. CCWG TACKLES DANGEROUS DRINKING
2. $5 SEASONAL FLU SHOTS
3. DOUBLE GOLD LEED BUILDINGS
4. WHAT’S IN A NAME(D CHAIR)?
5. RIDEBOARD HAS CARPOOLS
6. NEW LOOK ON COLBY.EDU
7. DEBRA SPARK’S AWARD-WINNING NOVEL
8. LARISSA TAYLOR ON JOAN OF ARC
9. ADRIAN BLEVINS’S NEW POETRY
10. IRA SADOFF’S CRITICAL EYE
11. JIM FLEMING ON CLIMATE ENGINEERING
12. SERDJ CELEBRATES SOCCER SUCCESS
13. VÉRO PLESCH VERY BUSY
14. JOE DEEGAN IS NEW VISTA
15. REMEMBERING SUEBETH FAIR
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1. CCWG TACKLES DANGEROUS DRINKING
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Extending the academic and intellectual focus throughout the week and adopting a more restrictive policy on hard alcohol are among recommendations of the Campus Culture Working Group, formed after the 2008 Champagne on the Steps troubles. The CCWG’s goal is eliminating high-risk and dangerous drinking as a staple of student social life. Dean of Students Jim Terhune presented the group’s report to students Sept. 15 at the annual State of the College, outlining 10 recommendations that trustees will consider in October after a period for input from students and others. The report and recommendations are online. Jim’s remarks Tuesday are also online.
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2. $5 SEASONAL FLU SHOTS
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Health Services will offer $5 flu shots (seasonal flu vaccine) for faculty and staff Sept. 23-25 while supplies last. Students are first priority for vaccinations Sept. 21 and 22; clinics for faculty, staff, and students will be in Pulver Pavilion 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25. No appointment necessary. Payment by cash or check only. Call the Health Center, ext. 4460, if you have questions.
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3. DOUBLE GOLD LEED BUILDINGS
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Colby now has more LEED-certified buildings than any other private college in Maine and we were the first in that category to get gold. Pierce and Perkins-Wilson, built in the early 1950s as frat houses and renovated in 2008, received LEED gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council this summer. They’re now more energy efficient and include local, recycled, and sustainably harvested materials. Read more.
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4. WHAT’S IN A NAME(D CHAIR)?
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Four new appointments to named endowed chairs took effect Sept. 1, and the four new chairholders got to hold forth last Thursday night to inaugurate the new Women in the Spotlight series. Congratulations to Kim Besio, Ziskind Associate Professor of East Asian Studies, Jill Gordon, Charles A. Dana Professor of Philosophy; Adrianna Paliyenko, Charles A. Dana Professor of French; and Jennifer Yoder, Robert E. Diamond Associate Professor of Government and International Studies. Watch for details on upcoming Women in the Spotlight events.
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5. RIDEBOARD HAS CARPOOLS
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Who noticed that the new and improved online rideboard, introduced last spring, has a “carpools” category? Currently “Carpool Offered” entries outnumber “Carpool Needed” three to one, and anyone who can log in to Colby’s site can post new offers or requests. Good for the pocketbook and for the planet.
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6. NEW LOOK ON COLBY.EDU
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It took an overnight marathon for the Web team in the Communications Office to launch the new and reorganized www.colby.edu Sept. 14, but that was just the launch. Development of the design and new gateway pages took the better part of 10 months, and tweaking the code and content continues. Anyone with questions, comments, or lingering bugs to report may e-mail web@colby.edu or use the "Contact Us" link in the standard links at the bottom of most Colby Web pages. Congrats to the team that put it together, and thanks to the folks in ITS who put in extra effort (and hours) on the project.
7. DEBRA SPARK’S AWARD-WINNING NOVEL
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Good For the Jews, a new novel by Debra Spark (English) published by University of Michigan Press, won the 2009 Michigan Literary Fiction Award. The publisher’s Web site calls it “a smart, funny, sexy novel set in Madison, Wisconsin, during the Bush administration.”
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8. LARISSA TAYLOR ON JOAN OF ARC
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Larissa Taylor (history) is getting glowing reviews for her new book, The Virgin Warrior: The Life and Death of Joan of Arc (Yale University Press), which was called “a splendid biography.” In August she was interviewed on the BBC’s Woman's Hour and she had a gig on Irish Radio in the wee hours (EDT) Monday morning.
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9. ADRIAN BLEVINS’S NEW POETRY
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A new book of poetry by Adrian Blevins (creative writing), Live from the Homesick Jamboree, was published this year by University Press of New England in the Wesleyan Poetry Series. “Molten and musical poetry from an acclaimed Southern writer,” says the Web site.
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10. IRA SADOFF’S CRITICAL EYE
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In his latest book, History Matters: Contemporary Poetry on the Margins of American Culture, published by University of Iowa Press, Ira Sadoff (English) examines how poets live and write within history. Poet Charles Simic praised Ira, who, he said, “never fails to say many interesting and provocative things.
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11. JIM FLEMING ON CLIMATE ENGINEERING
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On Oct. 30 Jim Fleming (STS) will present “Historical Perspectives on Fixing the Sky” at an MIT symposium, “Engineering a Cooler Earth: Can We Do It? Should We Try?”. ... Fleming’s work on climate engineering was cited in a Miller-McCune article titled “Let’s Just Rejigger the Globe to Cool It Off.” Also cited: Michael McCracken, who speaks here at 4 p.m. Sept. 25.
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12. SERDJ CELEBRATES SOCCER SUCCESS
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The Morning Sentinel called Mark Serdjenian ’73 (athletics) “Mr. Colby Soccer” in its preview of the 50th anniversary celebration for men's varsity soccer. Including former players, coaches, and guests, 130 (including six “founding fathers” from 1959) attended the banquet Sept. 12, and 44 played in an alumni game. "It was really positive," said Mark, who spent four years in goal and is in his 34th season as head coach. Sentinel story: http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/sports/stories/6832206.html; Photos (including a good one of Doug Terp ’84 on the sidelines) by Jamie Hansman ’80: http://picasaweb.google.com/jhansman18/Celebrating50YearsOfColbySoccer?authkey=Gv1sRgCOGt8KmMna--zwE&feat=email#
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13. VÉRO PLESCH VERY BUSY
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Véronique Plesch (art) will be the traveling art expert with the Colby-Bates-Hamilton alumni trip, “Egypt and the Eternal Nile” this December. ... She also co-edited a book published this summer: Elective Affinities: Testing Word and Image Relationships. Word & Image Interactions 6—essays first presented in 2005 at the International Association of Word and Image Studies conference. Rachel Tobie '04, our former Admissions colleague, designed the cover and the template for all the books in the series.
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14. JOE DEEGAN IS NEW VISTA
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Welcome Joe Deegan, who joins the Goldfarb Center through AmeriCorps*VISTA and will work with students involved in the Colby Volunteer Center. The CVC has 17 ongoing service programs and several major one-time events each year. Joe comes from a Fulbright year teaching English in the Slovak Republic, and he’s living on campus in Pierce.
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15. REMEMBERING SUEBETH FAIR
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Longtime colleagues may remember SueBeth A. Fair, who passed away at age 87 in August. She managed the Colby Bookstore 1974-84.