Media Coverage

The headline says it all: "Colby College testing ‘going well,’ official overseeing health and safety plans says." The Morning Sentinel talked to Doug Terp, vice president of administration, who said of the low rate of COVID-19 infections that "overall, these results are well below what we were assuming we’d have,” he said. “From the 10,000-foot level, our goal was to get people here and try to get the campus stable, so we were able to do that.”

Blair Braverman '11 has an essay in the New York Times as part of their series on resilience. In her essay "What My Sled Dogs Taught Me About Planning for the Unknown," Braverman links the unknown distances her dogs must run each time they go out with the uncertainties of the length of the pandemic. "That’s how I feel now, midpandemic: that we humans are falling into uncertainty, stretching ourselves thin, and we have no idea how far it is to the finish line. The difference, of course, is that sled dogs want to run, and people do not want to live through a public health crisis. But there’s a parallel in the unknown distance, the unseen ending. And oddly enough, mushing has prepared me for this."

Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Gail Carlson was interviewed on the radio program This Green Earth on Sept. 22. In the 30-minute conversation, they talked about Carlson's new research on PFAS in ski wax, "it's surprising findings, and why changes in the use of this type of ski wax are being pursued. These 'forever' chemicals can get into the snow, soil, and surface water, causing biological harm to the local ecology," the program's teaser states. This Green Earth focuses on the environment and environmentalism and broadcasts on KPCW out of Park City, Utah. 

Colby's reopening success and testing program was the subject of a feature story on the PBS Newshour. "As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many academic institutions across the country are dealing with outbreaks—or offering only virtual learning in an attempt to prevent them. But one liberal arts school in Maine is seeking to avoid either fate," the story opens. The Newshour's Jeffrey Brown was on campus and spoke with students, a faculty member, and President David Greene, who believes testing should be available everywhere across the country.  "Places like Colby and others are picking it up and saying, 'we are going to figure it out ourselves. We will get this done.' And that's really important to show that there is a way forward on this, when, as a country, we haven't been able to do that thus far."

Professor of Government Dan Shea was a guest on the Sept. 22 NPR show On Point titled "How RBG's Death Could Impact Key Senate Races." Boston's NPR station WBUR aired the show, but it's also aired on stations across the country. NECN—New England Cable News—also tapped Shea for their story "Susan Collins Faces Pressure From Right, Left Over Supreme Court Vote." Even though Collins has said she does “not believe that the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election,” Shea believes her decision is complicated based on various election scenarios. “We’re in uncharted territory,” Shea fold NECN. “This may well be part of her legacy. I think she’s worried about the legitimacy of the Senate, Congress and the Court.” In a Sept. 20 Wall Street Journal article, Shea said of Collins: “It’s an impossible position that does thrust her into the most important moves that she’ll make in her career. It is about her legacy, a grand statement, a grand move, maybe even her last grand move in a very long public life. And it is an opportunity, it seems to me, for her to calm things down. If she can rally that sense of what’s best for America instead of what’s best for the Republican party, it could be her last grand gesture.”

Sandy Maisel, the Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professor of American Government, was tapped for a Public News Service article on how Susan Collins's opposition to a Supreme Court vote may impact her chances for reelection. "Many of those undecided people have hesitation about the extent to which she supports Trump. Some of those people are still in play for her," Maisel said.  

In an Associated Press story titled "Walmart, Amazon Donate To QAnon-Promoting Tennessee Politician" that was circulated across the country, Professor of Government Anthony Corrado was quoted about how corporate PAC managers make decisions on which candidates to support. "In many instances, you don’t have any kind of corporate board oversight or any kind of accountability in terms of review of contributions before they’re made,” Corrado said. “Some corporations now have adopted policies about the supervision of PAC contributions because of the reputational risks involved in this.” The Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, and Houston Chronicle are among the many outlets that ran the story.

Artist Jim Condron '92 was interviewed by The New Criterion magazine for their September issue. The article says that just before the pandemic hit, "Condron began a residency at the New York Studio School’s DUMBO Sculpture Studio and Gallery," so the interviewer and Condron talked "about such disruptions and recent work, but we also discuss longer-standing artistic concerns that transcend the strange circumstances of these past few months." 

Insider magazine included Colby in its story "13 of the most unique colleges in America," highlighting Colby's Jan Plan as an opportunity "to take time off to travel or complete research abroad." 

Professor of Government Anthony Corrado was tapped for a Maine Public story on the high-profile, high-stakes Maine U.S. Senate race and the effects of money flowing into the race. “This is the marquee race in the country for the U.S. Senate,” said Corrado, one of the leading campaign finance experts in the country. "Corrado said the state’s U.S. Senate race reflects the trend of increasingly nationalized contests. 'Fundraising and spending has now become basically a borderless activity,' he said."