A Remarkable Gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation

Dear Colby Community,

I write to share that one of Colby’s most generous and steadfast partners, the Harold Alfond Foundation, has made a $101-million contribution to Colby in support of our downtown Waterville revitalization efforts and the new Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center. This is a truly transformative gift that builds on the legacy of Harold Alfond and will improve life for the Colby and Waterville communities for generations to come. More information is available here.

Harold Alfond and his wife, Dorothy “Bibby” Levine Alfond ’38, cared deeply about this Waterville community and affording young people with opportunities to help them reach their greatest potential.

The Harold Alfond Foundation’s support has allowed Colby to proceed on multiple projects on Main Street, including the arts collaborative, currently under construction and slated for completion in spring 2021; the Lockwood Hotel, which will open to the public next year; and the Paul J. Schupf Art Center, for which groundbreaking will take place in early 2021. Together, these projects will not only serve our community through dynamic arts programming but also contribute to making Waterville a destination for the arts and culture.

Waterville will also become a destination for athletic competition through the new Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center, which opened to the Colby community this fall. While the pandemic has made it necessary to limit access to the center this year, in future years it will become an asset for members of the local community and allow Colby to host athletics contests and meets that will draw visitors from afar, creating an infusion of energy and resources. That day cannot come soon enough.

The history of this great College is marked by incredible moments such as this one—when donors have been inspired to contribute to initiatives that align with their values and, in doing so, have changed Colby’s trajectory. Harold Alfond did this in 1955, when his first gift to Colby allowed for the construction of the Alfond Ice Arena. That act led to Colby’s inclusion in the NESCAC and to our hosting the first intercollegiate varsity women’s ice hockey game—a historic moment. At the dedication of that facility, he is reported to have said, “In all humility, I ask that I be granted the resources, the ability, and the lifeblood to enable me to continue to assist young men and women in attending Colby.” Seventy-five years later, through his foundation, Harold Alfond is doing just that. I could not be more grateful.

David A. Greene
President