Senior Staff

In his role as Dean of the College, Gustavo Burkett oversees the student experience, including academic advising, student success, multicultural affairs, residential life, civic engagement, health and counseling services, the office of the Dean of Students, and Colby’s signature program for facilitated and funded research, internship, and global experiences, DavisConnects. Originally from Argentina, he first lived in Maine as a high-school exchange student and later earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Maine. He completed his Ph.D. at University of Massachusetts, Boston. Prior to Colby, Burkett served in leadership roles at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Boston College, and most recently, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gustavo Burkett’s career trajectory and diverse experiences have shaped him into an influential professional in higher education. With a breadth of expertise in many areas of higher education administration, he continues to make significant contributions to the field, inspire students, and drive positive change.

As vice president and chief people services officer, Ruth Jackson oversees the management of operations in the office of people services and is responsible for campus safety and security, College events, and the Island Campus. A Maine native and a graduate of Brandeis University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Jackson worked in positions of increasing responsibility in the Office of Communications at Colby from 2004-2019, moving from vice president of communications to become vice president and chief of staff, a role she held from 2019-2026.

Senior Vice President Matthew T. Proto is responsible for leading admissions, advancement, communications, athletics and recreation, summer session and first-year financial aid for the College. Prior to joining the Colby community in May 2015 he served as assistant dean of admissions at Stanford University. Proto has benefited from working in multiple admissions roles, having served as director of scholar selection for the Morehead-Cain Scholars program, associate director of admission and college counseling at Choate Rosemary Hall, and assistant director of admission at Yale University. A graduate of Yale University, Proto earned a master of liberal studies degree at Wesleyan University and a doctorate in educational leadership at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jacqueline Terrassa is the Carolyn Muzzy Director at the Colby College Museum of Art where she is responsible for leading one of the country’s most notable academic museums, setting strategy, raising the museum’s visibility, and expanding its impact for Colby, our local Waterville and regional communities, and audiences who find value in the museum’s content and educational mission. Terrassa works closely with colleagues across the institution as well as with the Museum’s Board of Governors, partners, and community leaders to realize the goals of the museum for mutual benefit. The Colby Museum counts with a distinguished collection, exhibitions, publications and academic, public and community engagement programs, as well as with the Lunder Institute for American Art, an incubator for pathbreaking collaborative research, artistic practice and mentorship in the field. From her role at Colby, she advocates for the value of art and artists in our society and seeks opportunities to expand equitable access to cultural resources, build and enrich communities with the arts as catalyst, and empower people to think critically, produce new knowledge, imagine, and create. Prior to joining the Colby Museum in August 2020, she served as the Woman’s Board Vice President for Learning and Public Engagement at Art Institute of Chicago and held leadership and education positions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries; the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art; and the Hyde Park Art Center. From 2011 to 2015 she co-directed the Museum Education Division of the National Art Education Association. She has worked on projects with a range of artists and written about artists and approaches to museum-based engagement. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she received her BFA at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, and her MFA at the University of Chicago.

As vice president and chief financial officer, Nicole Trufant oversees the College’s finance strategies and operations, including investments, student financial services and planning, budget management, facilities, and information technology services. Prior to Colby, she served as senior vice president of finance and administration at the University of New England. Trufant is immediate past chair of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), the leading national professional organization dedicated to promoting best practices among higher education business and finance professionals. A certified public accountant, Trufant graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern Maine with a B.S. in accounting and a B.A. in sociology. She received an M.S. in management from New England College and a certificate in executive management from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

As vice president, general counsel, and secretary of the College, Richard Uchida ’79 is the principal liaison to the Board of Trustees and promotes, facilitates, and supports governance practices across the College to further its long-range strategic interests. He also serves as the College’s chief legal affairs officer, representing the College on legal and regulatory issues, providing a range of legal and risk management services, and overseeing the College’s work with outside counsel. Prior to Colby, Uchida was a partner in Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, a law firm with offices in Concord, N.H., Boston, Hartford, Albany, New York City, and Providence. He was vice chair of Colby’s Board of Trustees, past chair of the Educational Policy Committee, and vice chair of the Athletics Subcommittee. He earned his law degree from the University of New Hampshire School of Law, formerly Franklin Pierce Law Center, where he was an adjunct professor and a trustee until the merger with UNH. He was a member of Colby’s 2013 presidential search committee.