A Remarkable Gift to Launch the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence

Dear Colby Community,

 With profound gratitude for their vision and generosity, I write to share that Andrew Davis ’85, LL.D. ’15 and the Davis family have made a remarkable gift to Colby to create a new academic program that will make the College a prominent center for the teaching and research of artificial intelligence and machine learning, allowing our faculty and students to reimagine a liberal arts education for this century and beyond.

The Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence, established through a $30-million commitment, will ensure that Colby students across the disciplines will have rich technical expertise while being deeply educated in the liberal arts, thereby possessing the powers of discernment to shape AI for the greater good.

I want to thank the many Colby faculty who developed the concept for the Davis Institute and who will be instrumental in the global search for the founding director, which will begin immediately.

Andrew Davis and his family have a gift for seeing how the world is evolving and how organizations and individuals must grow and change. They created the Davis United World College Scholars Program, made the lead gift for the Davis Science Center, and, most recently, established DavisConnects. Their support has made Colby a global institution, a leading college in the sciences, and one that changes the life outcomes of its students through exceptional internship, research, and international experiences.

Their newest investment in Colby might just turn out to be the most transformative of all. The Davis Institute will open this fall and include support for current faculty while endowing new positions across the disciplines at Colby. It will allow the College to build upon and generate partnerships with leading organizations to facilitate faculty and student research and provide students with broad-ranging opportunities for internships. It will be a catalyst for creating a robust innovation ecosystem in Waterville.

Provost Margaret McFadden once called Colby “an opportunity machine.” That’s true now, and it will undeniably be our calling card when the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence opens.

 While my gratitude to Andrew and his family is unbounded, I know the greatest thanks that Andrew can receive is to see the Davis Institute flourish and for it to forever change the life trajectories of our students and to better our world in substantive and lasting ways. That’s our commitment to my friend Andrew, who challenges us to reach higher, imagine more, and never settle when it comes to Colby’s relevance and impact.

Please join me in thanking Andrew and his family for always brightening Colby’s future.

Sincerely,
David A. Greene