Media Coverage

In a piece titled "The ski wax industry is working to leave PFAS behind," NPR's Marketplace interviewed Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Gail Carlson about her work identifying fluorochemicals, also called PFAS and used in ski wax. "What we found was that the snow at the start line was extraordinarily contaminated," she said. Carlson also advocated for a ban on fluorochemicals in ski wax, which in part led to Maine passing a law "directing industries to move away from all kinds of unnecessary PFAS uses by 2030, including ski wax," Marketplace reported. The study was also featured in the Portland Press Herald.

Maine Public interviewed Professor of Economics Michael Donihue about his economic analysis of Maine's new recreational marijuana industry during its first year of legal operations. In the story, Donihue said he was surprised by the rate of sales growth, which increased an average of 20 percent every month, and that the industry supported some 900 direct and indirect jobs.

Media took notice of the Colby Museum of Art’s acquisition of a work by American artist Faith Ringgold. Stories in The Art Newspaper and Hyperallergic highlighted the news and included commentary from the museum’s Carolyn Muzzy Director Jacqueline Terrassa, who noted that it was a “rare opportunity to acquire a story quilt by one of the most important, influential, and courageous artists of our time.” The news was also shared by Art Daily, Art News, and Culture Type.

The Portland Press Herald shared updates on the construction of the Paul J. Schupf Art Center. What the Herald calls the “cornerstone of downtown Waterville’s rebirth” is expected to open in early December, with art galleries, cinema, teaching space, and a caf​​é.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson will be the Colby commencement speaker for 2022, reported the Bangor Daily News and Portland Press Herald. Commencement will take place on May 22, and other featured speakers will include artist Jamie Wyeth and Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Portland Press Herald included a lobster-industry report by Professor of Economics Michael Donihue in a piece about the sector. Donihue called the lobster industry “possibly the most economically important asset for the state.”

The Portland Press Herald ran a review of the "Poetics of Atmosphere," a show that includes a video by Lorna Simpson called “Cloudscape” and other works from the museum. The article highlights the incorporation of artworks from the museum’s permanent collection, adding that Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Siera Hyte, “created an atmosphere of discovery.”

Various regional media, including the Portland Press Herald, covered an important new report about decriminalizing drug use and possession in Maine. The lead author, Winifred Tate, an associate professor of anthropology at Colby and director of the College’s Maine Drug Policy Lab, noted that, “there's clear consensus for a public health approach addressing the needs of people with substance use disorder, but current policies don’t back that up.”

Art Daily published a story about the Colby Museum’s current exhibition Act of Sight: The Tsiaras Family Photography Collection. The article noted that the show includes “many rare and unpublished images by well-known photographers who collectively represent some of the most significant work in the medium over the last century.”

National Public Radio turned to Colby twice last week. For the first segment, Vlada Trofimchuk ’23 was interviewed about being a Ukrainian student currently studying in the U.S., while the second story included commentary from Visiting Assistant Professor of History Virginia Olmsted McGraw about the power of clothing in war.