Assistant Professor of Economics Nathan W. Chan published the article “Misinformation and Its Implications for Green Markets” in the journal Strategic Behavior and the Environment, December 2015. Chan’s areas of expertise include environmental and natural resource economics, public economics, microeconomic theory, and applied game theory.
An endowed faculty chair in Jewish studies and the new Center for Small Town Jewish Life at Colby College have solidified Colby’s place as a leader in Jewish studies among liberal arts colleges. On Nov. 19 the College celebrated both developments when Rabbi Rachel Isaacs delivered the inaugural lecture for the Dorothy “Bibby” Levine Alfond...
An audible exhale rippled through Lorimer Chapel when students, faculty, and staff gathered Dec. 8 to pause and reflect on what has been a tumultuous year locally, nationally, and internationally. “Take three deep breaths and let it go,” said Peter Harris, Zacamy Professor of English emeritus and teacher in the Soto Zen tradition, one...
Reflecting on 2015, Waterville Mayor Nick Isgro counts partnerships involving Colby, the city, and local businesses among the city’s blessings. The purchase of five downtown buildings by the College and the news of Collaborative Consulting opening a new office in Waterville highlight the strength of cooperation. “We would do wise to learn from the lesson that...
Brand-New & Terrific: Alex Katz in the 1950s, an exhibit at the Colby College Museum of Art, was one of 11 exhibitions named in a Wall Street Journal article titled “The Best Art of 2015: At Play in the Landscape of Art.” Critic Karen Wilkin’s list of the year’s 11 best exhibitions of 2015 included...
Bartlett Professor of Anthropology Catherine Besteman, who has spent much of her career studying Somali society, both in Somalia and in refugee communities in Maine, was the featured guest Dec. 14 on Safe Space Radio, a public affairs program on WMPG in Portland, Maine. During the program, which is archived online, she discusses causes of...
Dan Shea, professor of government, thinks that candidate Donald Trump’s rise is a natural extension of the upheaval of the tea party era, CNN Politics reports. Shea, who studies the polarization of the electorate, believes that for Republicans “there is a last-ditch attempt to bring back something that they once had. Then this leads into Trump,...
Professor of Sociology Neil Gross cautions that a newly released paper about how interdisciplinary scholars collaborate “must be considered preliminary, since the authors only studied successful collaborative networks,” Inside Higher Ed reports. While networks can be structured in various ways, Gross said that, given the “importance of these networks for problem solving today, it’s urgent...
Visiting Assistant Professor of Cinema Studies Kyle Stevens recently published an essay on teaching the classic film Casablanca in The Cine-Files, an online scholarly journal of cinema studies. The film, he argues, presents an opportunity to see how surprisingly complex classical Hollywood style can be. His piece is titled, “Teaching Casablanca: Clay, Ink, Documentary, Set.”
A crucial building block for the revitalization of Waterville fell into place this week as a Massachusetts-based IT consulting firm, partnering with Colby, announced Wednesday that it will open a new center in the city’s downtown, creating 200 jobs. Read press coverage: Boston Globe BetaBoston | Globe.com Associated Press Bloomberg Business MPBN Morning Sentinel |...
Professor of English Michael Burke published an essay, “Into the Wildwood,” in the December 2015 issue of Down East magazine. The evocative piece describes the unusual experience of attending a winter solstice service in a tiny, off-the-grid church in the remote community of Reeds Mill, Maine.
Larry Pugh ’56, hailed as “one of Colby’s great leaders” by President David A. Greene, died Dec. 3 in Naples, Fla., at 82. “For those of us charged with leading this great college and ensuring its success well into the future, Larry was a guiding light,” Greene said in a message to the Colby community...
Professor of Science, Technology, and Society James R. Fleming will present four lectures in December on climate science, history, and culture in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Fleming has been appointed an executive member of the council of History of Meteorological Science and Technology, Chinese Society for the History of Science and Technology.
Birds captured more than 150 years ago are coming to life at Colby. A rare 1860 edition of John James Audubon’s Birds of America is on public display at Colby College through the summer of 2016. The Bien Edition of the iconic work was published between 1858 and 1860. This large-format edition features life-size portraits...
Laurel Anderson ’88 was named the 2015 Ohio Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Anderson, a botany-microbiology professor at Ohio Wesleyan University credited with the creation of an international undergraduate research network, was recognized at a Washington, D.C., luncheon...
Professor of Computer Science Bruce Maxwell spoke about artificial intelligence (AI) on Maine Public Broadcasting Network’s “Maine Calling” Nov. 24. The 50-minute program discussed what AI is and its uses in today’s society.
Maple Razsa, associate professor of anthropology, was awarded the Fejos Postdoctoral Fellowship in Ethnographic Film from the Wenner-Gren Foundation. The prestigious award, given to “scholars to devote themselves to full-time work on a research-related film,” allows Razsa to continue his work on his documentary film The Maribor Uprising: A Live Interactive Documentary about a 2012 uprising in...
Coauthors of a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics about concussion-like symptom reporting in high school athletes include Colby professors Joseph Atkins (psychology) and Bruce Maxwell (computer science) and Medical Director Paul Berkner, D.O. They conclude that girls and students with a preexisting health conditions are more likely to report symptoms of concussions.
Jack Sandler, Colby’s head men’s lacrosse coach since 2013, died Nov. 19. He reportedly collapsed while on a treadmill in a hotel. He was 35. Sandler came to Colby following eight seasons as the head coach at Skidmore College. He coached three United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Honorable Mention All-Americans and the NESCAC Rookie of...
If so much mainstream economic theory is based on the assumption that people are rational and act in their own self interest, why do they make so many lousy decisions, particularly about saving and investing money? That’s a question that Leonard Wolk, Colby’s new Todger Anderson Assistant Professor of Investing and Behavioral Economics, ponders, researches,...
