Media Coverage

Director of the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence Amanda Stent is one of 25 Mainers of the Year, as chosen by Maine magazine. Stent "views the work that she has done over the past year as raising awareness, first and foremost. Through talks that the institute has hosted, an interview with Maine Voices Live, and forming relationships with Bigelow Labs, Dirigo Labs, the University of Maine, and the Roux Institute, getting the word out about AI across Maine has been an important first step," the magazine said.

Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Stacy-ann Robinson was quoted in CarbonBrief's latest briefing on whether developed countries should pay for loss and damage associated with climate change. She spoke about the multitude of financing options that could be available but stressed the importance of financing flows increasing with the cost of response and recovery. CarbonBrief covers the latest developments in climate science, climate policy, and energy policy and is a go-to news source for climate negotiators and other policy- and decision-makers.

The latest book by Associate Professor of Anthropology Britt Halvorson, Imagining the Heartland, is getting attention from multiple outlets. Halvorson and her coauthor were featured guests on the Leonard Lopate at Large show on WBAI New York on Aug. 30; Halvorson was the featured guest on journalist Andrew Keen's national podcast earlier in the summer; and the online news magazine Sapiens published an essay about the book in August. Looking ahead, the authors are doing another radio show/podcast on Sept. 6, Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen.

In a Portland Press Herald story highlighting the lack of affordable housing for students in Maine, Professor of Education Adam Howard noted that the "real cost" of college includes housing, food, and other expenses on top of tuition. With rising rents, housing costs, and inflationary pressures, Howard said he’s concerned that  community colleges may become inaccessible for low-income students. “We need to completely restructure how we think about financial aid if we’re interested in college being for all people,” he told the Press Herald. “Not just for middle, upper middle class and wealthy people.”

A recent policy analysis that Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Stacy-ann Robinson coauthored with her students was mentioned in the Aug. 19, 2022, Foreign Policy's Latin America Brief that highlights the appointment of former Grenadian Environment Minister Simon Stiell as the new chief of the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change and his possible push for climate reparations. It also highlights the relevance of Robinson's policy analysis's findings—that airline travel and fossil fuel extraction levies are the loss and damage financing mechanisms that best consider the special circumstances of small island developing states.

Patch published an article about the CourtWatchME program, which involved the Maine Drug Policy Lab at the College. The story included commentary from Winfred Tate, associate professor of anthropology, who explained that, “CourtWatch leaders would be analyzing data collected during the summer soon and would likely put out a report in mid-September.”

Jack Cosgrove, the Dick McGee Head Coach for Colby Football, talks about his experience at the College in an article published by Central Maine Newspapers. “Since arriving at Colby, I have become more and more enamored with a college that has seen tenfold improvements, both in its institutional stature and its athletic facilities,” Cosgrove said.

An article in the Washington Examiner about the Schumer-Manchin deal included commentary from L. Sandy Maisel, the Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professor of American Government, Emeritus, who pointed out that, “There was an inherent risk with the deal given the ‘Democrats in disarray’ caricature.” Another story published by the Global and Mail about Paul LePage, Maine’s republican candidate for governor, also referred to Maisel, who said that LePage “was modulating his image [without] saying anything outrageous.”

An article published by the Bangor Daily News about patients’ concern regarding the risk of exposure to the chemical substances called PFAS included commentary from Gail Carlson, assistant professor of environmental studies. “Getting doctors up to speed on PFAS exposure could take time because they might not typically think about environmental exposure as a risk factor,” Carlson said, adding that “while the effects of lead and arsenic exposure have been established for decades, PFAS risks have only become well-known recently.”