First-Year Academic Advising
Your First-Year Advising Team
At Colby, we take a team approach to academic advising before you declare your major. Students have access to faculty, staff, peers, and specialized advisors to help plan for your arrival, select your fall courses, and, once on campus, navigate your academic journey. Once you declare a major, which you can do as early as the spring of your first year, you will be assigned a major advisor, but your first-year team will always be a resource for you throughout your Colby education.
Summer Faculty Advisors
We have assembled a team of 28 faculty members from across the college to guide you through fall course selection in June. Find out more information about the team below. They will host interactive, small group sessions on Zoom and be available for one-on-one meetings as needed. We strongly encourage you to sign up for a General Advising Session, and to keep the sessions small, we are asking that you RSVP for the session you plan to attend.
- Annie Tang, Assistant Professor of Statistics
- Arne Koch, Associate Professor and Chair of German and Russian
- Ben Fallaw, Professor of Latin American Studies
- Brett White, Associate Professor and Chair of Spanish
- Chris Walker, Assistant Professor of English
- Dan LaFave, Associate Professor of Economics; Faculty Affiliate of East Asian Studies and Global Studies
- David Freidenreich, Pulver Family Professor and Chair of Jewish Studies
- Debra Spark, Zacamy Professor of English
- Denise Bruesewitz, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
- Elizabeth Ketner, Senior Lecturer of Writing
- Gwyneth Shanks, Assistant Professor of Performance, Theater, and Dance
- Joshua Urich, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
- Justin Becknell, Associate Professor and Chair of Environmental Studies
- Katherine Stubbs, Associate Professor and Chair of English
- Kevin Rice, Associate Professor of Chemistry; Chair of Natural Sciences Division
- Laura Nuffer, Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies
- Michael Donihue, Herbert E. Wadsworth 1892 Professor of Economics
- Pei Pei Liu, Assistant Professor of Education
- Rob Lester, Associate Professor of Economics
- Ron Peck, Associate Professor of Biology and Chair of Cell and Molecular Biology/Biochemistry
- Sam Gunter, Associate Professor of Economics
- Stacy Doore, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
- Tanya Sheehan, Ellerton M. and Edith K. Jetté Professor of Art
- Tasha Dunn, Associate Professor and Chair of Geology
- Thom Klepach, Lecturer of Science, Technology and Society
- Veronica Romero, Assistant Professor of Psychology
- Veronique Plesch, Professor and Chair of Art
- Ying Li, Associate Professor of Computer Science
Liberal Arts Advisors
At the end of August, you will be assigned a liberal arts advisor. This faculty member will be your advisor until you declare a major and will help guide you through our liberal arts curriculum and prepare you for major declaration, which you can do as early as the spring of your first year. You will get to meet with your liberal arts advisor on Tuesday, September 3, 2024. These meetings will be set up for you automatically and will appear in your myColby portal later this summer.
Special Advisors
In addition to academic support from faculty, you will have opportunities to hear from and consult with a team of special advisors. These advisors have specific expertise on topics that fall outside of the typical academic support you will receive from the summer faculty advisors in June and your liberal arts advisor during your first year. Like summer faculty advisors, special advisors will also host interactive Zoom sessions in June and will be available to meet with you when you come to campus in the fall.
Find out more about our special advisors below and the sessions they are offering during Advising Week. No RSVP is needed for these. Students may join any of the sessions below.
Director of Health Professions Advising
Cate Ashton
Director of Career Advising/Advisor for Communications, Entertainment, and the Arts
Jason Wall
Associate Director of STEM Programming
Sasha Alcott
Advisors for the Dual-Degree Engineering Programs with Dartmouth and Columbia
Stephanie Taylor, Associate Professor and Chair of Computer science and Alejandra Ortiz, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Director of the Integrated Studies Program
Jesse Meredith, Visiting Assistant Professor of History
Faculty Liaisons to Athletic Teams
For more information on this program, visit this site.
Peer Advisors
Colby is a community of deeply engaged members and that includes our current students. We cultivate a strong culture of peer support that extends through the classroom and into the residence halls. This year, for the first time, we have students working during the summer months to help prepare you for your campus arrival and your first year. During July and August, you will be able to reach out to these students for advice or information using our first-year advising Discord server or dedicated email address: [email protected].
Advising Deans
Learn more about the Advising Deans here.
Registrar’s Office
Learn more about the Registrar’s Office here.