Named Faculty Chairs
Named Chairs, Their Donors, and Current Chairholders 2024-25
The Elizabeth and Lee Ainslie Professorship in Environmental Studies (2010) by Elizabeth McKenna Ainslie ’87 and Lee S. Ainslie III. Philip Nyhus, Environmental Studies.
The Dorothy “Bibby” Levine Alfond Professorship of Jewish Studies (2015) by the Harold Alfond Foundation and alumni, parents, and friends of the College. Rabbi Rachel M. Isaacs, Jewish Studies.
The Allen Family Chair in Latin American Literature (1993) by Leon and Karen Allen P ’86. Luis Millones, Spanish.
The Todger Anderson Professorship in Investing and Behavioral Economics (2014) by Todger Anderson ’67. Yang Fan, Economics
The Leslie Brainerd Arey Chair in Biosciences (1993) by Mary E. Arey in memory of her husband, Colby Class of 1912. Andrea R. Tilden, Biology.
The Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professorship (2003) through a bequest from Francis F. Bartlett Jr. ’56. Catherine L. Besteman, Anthropology.
The Arnold Bernhard Professorship in Arts and Humanities (1997) by A. Van Hoven Bernhard ’57 in memory of his father. Adrianna Paliyenko, French.
The Carter Professorship in Mathematics and Computer Science (1985) by Clark H. Carter ’40, Colby trustee, and William C. Carter ’38 to recognize their family’s 85-year relationship with the College. Fernando Q. Gouvêa, Mathematics.
The William R. Cotter Distinguished Teaching Professorship (2000) by members of the Colby community. Kenneth A. Rodman, Government.
The Crawford Family Chair in Religion (1994) by James B. Crawford ’64, chair of the Colby Board of Trustees, and Linda Johnson Crawford ’64 in memory of Colby Professor Gustave H. Todrank. Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, Religious Studies.
The Charles A. Dana Professorship Fund (1966) by the Charles A. Dana Foundation of New York City. Neil L. Gross, Sociology; Adam Howard, Education; Mary Beth Mills, Anthropology; and Liam O’Brien, Statistics.
The Robert E. Diamond Professorship (1993) by Robert E. Diamond Jr. ’73, Colby trustee, in memory of his father. Jennifer A. Yoder, Government and Global Studies.
The Dr. Gerald and Myra Dorros Chair in Life Sciences (1996) by Gerald and Myra Dorros P’93,’96,’98,’01. Julie T. Millard, Chemistry.
The Douglas Chair in Investment and/or Finance (1994) by an anonymous alumnus. Ekaterina Seregina, Economics.
The John J. and Cornelia V. Gibson Chair in History (1996) by John V. Gibson ’59 in honor of his parents. Raffael Scheck, History.
The James M. Gillespie Chair in Art and American Studies (1990) through a bequest from Professor Emeritus James M. Gillespie. Vacant.
The Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professorship in American Government (1991) by William H. Goldfarb ’68, Colby trustee emeritus. Vacant.
The Grossman Professorship of Economics (1976) by Nissie Grossman ’32 in honor of his parents, Reuben and Lizzie Grossman. Patrice M. Franko, Economics.
The Ellerton and Edith Jetté Professorship in Art (1993) through a bequest from Edith M. Jetté, M.A. ’62. Mrs. Jetté and her husband, Ellerton M. Jetté, LL.D. ’55, were longtime friends of the College and supporters of the Colby College Museum of Art. Tanya Sheehan, Art.
The Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Teaching Professorship (1990) by the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation. Robert S. Weisbrot, History.
The Christian A. Johnson Professorship for Integrative Liberal Learning (1998) by the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation to launch a pioneer program in liberal arts education. Vacant.
The Audrey Wade Hittinger Katz and Sheldon Toby Katz Professorship for Distinguished Teaching (1994) by Audrey Hittinger Katz ’57, Colby trustee, and Sheldon T. Katz. Chandra Bhimull, Anthropology and African-American Studies.
The William R. Kenan Jr. Professorship Fund (1979) by the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust. James Behuniak, Philosophy; and Jeffrey Katz, Chemistry.
The Lee Family Chair in English (1993) by Robert S. Lee ’51, Colby trustee, and his wife, Jean. Vacant.
The Charles C. and Pamela W. Leighton Research Fellow in Biology. Syed Tariq Ahmad, Biology; and Lynn Hannum, Biology.
The Clare Boothe Luce Professorships (1988) through a bequest from Clare Boothe Luce. Allison K. Barner, Biology; Stacey Doore, Computer Science; Tahiya Chowdhury, Computer Science.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Professorship (1981) by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Lydia Moland, Philosophy.
The J. Warren Merrill Professorship in Chemistry and Natural History (1865) by J. Warren Merrill, Colby trustee. Dasan Thamattoor, Chemistry.
The Dr. Frank and Theodora Miselis Chair in Chemistry (1991) by Frank J. ’43 and Theodora Miselis. D. Whitney King, Chemistry.
The Mitchell Family Professorship in Economics (1993) by Edson V. Mitchell ’75, Colby trustee. Andreas Waldkirch, Economics.
The Montgoris Chair (2004) by William J. Montgoris P’99 and Margaret Montgoris P’99 in support of pre-tenure faculty. Carrie LeVan, Government.
The Carolyn Muzzy Museum of Art Chair (1992) by Colby friend Carolyn Muzzy, who had been involved with the museum since its inception. Jacqueline Terrassa, Museum.
The NEH/Class of 1940 Distinguished Professorship in Humanities (1990) by the National Endowment for the Humanities and alumni from the Class of 1940. Effective Sept. 1, 2023, Margaret McFadden, Provost and Dean of Faculty.
The Oak Chair in Biological Sciences (1993) by the Oak Foundation, the family foundation of the parents of a Colby alumnus. Catherine R. Bevier, Biology.
The Oak Chair in East Asian Language and Literature (2000) by the Oak Foundation, the family foundation of the parents of a Colby alumnus. Kimberly A. Besio, East Asian Studies.
The Paul D. and Marilyn Paganucci Chair in Italian Language and Literature (2000) by Paul D. Paganucci, M.A. ’75, Colby trustee, and Marilyn Paganucci. Gianluca Rizzo, Italian.
The Clara C. Piper Professorship (1990) by Wilson C. Piper ’39, Colby trustee, and Mary Piper in memory of Wilson Piper’s mother, Clara Collins Piper, Class of 1914. Martha Arterberry, Psychology.
The Pugh Family Professorship in Economics (1992) by Lawrence R. Pugh ’56, chair of the Colby Board of Trustees, and Jean Van Curan Pugh ’55. David W. Findlay, Economics.
The Pulver Family Chair in Jewish Studies (1996) by David Pulver ’63, Colby trustee, and Carol Pulver. David Freidenreich, Religious Studies.
The Arthur Jeremiah Roberts Professorship of Literature (1928) by the Board of Trustees as an expression of their regard for the late President Roberts, Colby’s 13th president, who had taught English literature at Colby. Mary Ellis Gibson, English.
The William A. Rogers Professorship in Physics (2000) by an anonymous donor. Charles Conover, Physics.
The Sunrise Chair (2000) by anonymous parents of Colby alumni. Robert T. Bluhm Jr., Physics.
The Julian D. Taylor Professorship in Classics (1956) by a bequest from Professor Julian D. Taylor, who taught Latin and Greek at Colby from 1868 to 1931. Kerill N. O’Neill, Classics.
The Herbert E. Wadsworth Professorship in Economics (1940) by Herbert E. Wadsworth, Class of 1892, Colby trustee. Michael R. Donihue ’79, Economics.
The Whipple-Coddington Chair in Geology (1994) by Jane Whipple Coddington ’55, Colby trustee, and F. Chandler Coddington Jr. Walter “Bill” Sullivan, Geology.
The Harriet S. and George C. Wiswell Jr. Chair in American Constitutional Law (2000) by Harriet Sargent Wiswell ’48 and George C. Wiswell Jr. ’50. Joseph R. Reisert, Government.
The Zacamy Chair in English (1993) by John R. Zacamy Jr. ’71, Colby trustee emeritus. Debra A. Spark, English.
The Ziskind Professorship of East Asian Studies (1963) by the Jacob Ziskind Trust. Ankeney Weitz, East Asian Studies and Art.