Media Coverage

An Associated Press story on July 19 about COVID-19 testing strategies for colleges opens with an explanation of Colby's testing program for this fall. "For students heading to Colby College in Maine this fall, coronavirus testing is expected to be a routine part of campus life," the lede reads. "All students will be required to provide a nasal swab every other day for two weeks, and then twice a week after that. All told, the college says it will provide 85,000 tests, nearly as many as the entire state of Maine has since the pandemic started." Media outlets across the country picked up the story, including the Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and the Seattle Times.  

Associate Professor of Psychology Chris Soto was quoted in a Discover magazine story titled "Who Are You? The Lure and Limitations of Personality Tests." Since "most popular personality quizzes give us a positive outlook on ourselves, and rarely highlight the negative," Soto said that it simply “feels good to say good things about yourself.” 

Tayo Clyburn, presently vice president of inclusive diversity and equity and chief diversity officer at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, has been named dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion for Colby. He comes to Mayflower Hill with extensive experience in diversity and inclusion in higher education. At Colby Clyburn will lead and oversee campus-wide initiatives supporting Colby’s ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. He’ll work across departments, including the Office of the Dean of the College and the Office of the Provost, shaping policies and practices to ensure a more inclusive, equitable, and welcoming community.     “Colby is in the space of thinking about what are the innovative practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Clyburn, who has been engaged in diversity, equity, and inclusion work for more than 15 years. “[Colby] has taken up those practices across all sectors of the institution—in athletics, advancement, admissions, in the faculty space, and in the student-services space—that's the ideal integrated model for diversity and inclusion. That's the model that I believe in, that's the way I approach doing the work.”   In his role at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Clyburn has provided leadership, consultation, and assistance to various constituencies at the college, supporting actions that foster greater diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accountability. He also assisted in recruiting and retaining faculty, staff, and students from historically underrepresented groups as well as in providing environments where every community could thrive. Prior to that, he served at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at The Ohio State University, which he joined in 2010 while he was still a Ph.D. candidate. In his last role as executive director for mission and strategic partnerships, he led strategic initiatives and special projects, developed relationships with campus partners, and addressed university-wide issues. “I've always desired to have an impact and to do this work well,” Clyburn said. “Colby is poised to have an impact on higher education and on the world in general. That's what I see, being able to be a part of the team that's moving that conversation, moving the institution to be a leader in these areas.” Dean of the College Karlene Burrell-McRae ’94 said, “Tayo is really gifted at thinking about each person's role and responsibility in creating an equitable and anti-racist community. I think Tayo comes with a spirit of openness, of optimism, and has the ability to ask critical questions to be able to move us to where we aspire to be.”  Clyburn holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University’s English Department, where he specialized in 20th- and 21st-century African-American literature as well as critical race theory. His dissertation explored the ways African-American writers portray the impact of colorblind/post-racial discourse on the lives of Black people. “Tayo comes to us as a scholarly practitioner who is very student-centric, student-focused. He has the right ingredients to build strong relationships with faculty, staff, and students to make a difference and advance our collective work," said Burrell-McRae. “Having someone whose entire role is dedicated to thinking with us, bringing different stakeholders into the fold to think about diversity, equity, and inclusion and what it will take to create an anti-racist community is really exciting.” Assistant Professor of Computer Science Eric Aaron, a member of the search committee, was impressed with Clyburn’s communication skills, commitment to issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and wealth of experience. “Like other Colby faculty members, I want to do all I can to provide a sense of belonging for our students,” said Aaron. “Tayo will do a great job of providing institutional support for that.”  Students on the committee echoed similar sentiments. "I am extremely excited for Tayo Clyburn to come to Colby,” said Deekayla Thomas ’23. “He has the motivation and experience that will aid Colby in moving forward and expanding on the work that has already been started." In addition to Aaron and Thomas, the search committee included Eniola Adeoye-Lawal ’23, Alex Heisler ’21, Tiger Nguyen ’23, Associate Professor of Anthropology and African-American Studies Chandra Bhimull, Associate Director for Talent Development Melissa Breger, Dean of the College Karlene Burrell-McRae, Lawry Family Director of Civic Engagement and Community Partnerships Elizabeth Jabar, Interim Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion JJ Jackson, and Vice President for Enrollment and Communications and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Matt Proto.    Clyburn will begin his work at Colby August 26.

Colby's Pay it Northward campaign was the lead item in the July 23 Forbes article "To Succeed, College Students Need Schools To Measure, Prioritize Building Networks" by Michael Horn. "In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Colby College turned heads in May when it guaranteed that all 300 of its seniors still in search of work would have a meaningful opportunity within three months of graduating," he wrote. "That a jobs guarantee is newsworthy says a lot about higher education today. President Greene calling on Colby alumni and families reflects the fact that it’s networks—not just degrees—that lead to jobs."

In a July 20 Washington Post article titled "On some college campuses, a new fall rite: coronavirus testing," Colby is featured prominently and said to have "a maximalist position: Test everyone, and test often."

President David Greene joined CNBC's "Power Lunch" on July 10 to discuss Colby's plans to reopen the College this fall and to provide 85,000 tests to students and employees in the fall semester. "The idea that is so important about this is to actually be able to identify people who might be infected before they’re actually contagious. That allows us to then quarantine those people, and to contract trace, and to isolate other individuals as we need to," President Greene said. "And that’s going to really make a difference in terms of being able to ensure that when we have the virus on campus, because we’re sure we’ll have it at times, it won’t be spreading."  President Greene also discussed other safety measures Colby is putting into place, such as preventive measures, cleaning protocols, and securing a lease on a hotel for a year as a place for isolation to handle any potential spike in COVID-19 cases.

As the Senate race between Susan Collins and Sara Gideon heats up, Sandy Maisel, the Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professor of American Government, is frequently tapped for comment. Recent stories in which he adds his thoughts include: Public News Service, July 17 Washington Examiner, July 17    

The Wall Street Journal included Colby in its July 15 article titled "Universities’ Plan to Test Students for Covid-19 to Increase Demand on Testing Capacity," which discusses the possible strain on the supply of COVID-19 test kits as colleges prepare to open and offer extensive testing to their students and employees. "Colby College, in Waterville, Maine, detailed on June 30 a plan to conduct about 85,000 tests over its fall semester—nearly as many as its home state has done since the pandemic hit. The school’s testing program will be administered by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a biomedical research center, and would require students to be tested before arrival on campus and again three times in the opening weeks of the semester," the article states.

In a July 15 Globe and Mail article, Sandy Maisel, Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professor of American Government, commented on Joe Biden's strategy in the article "Biden is digging in Trump states, and using some of his rhetoric, too." The article notes that Biden is adopting some of the language Trump uses that appeals to white manufacturing workers. “The slice that Biden takes of that issue is much more of the progressive-left approach than of the ‘America First’ approach Trump used,'" Maisel, said. “And he is using an entirely different tone.”

Alejandra Ortiz, assistant professor of geology, was interviewed for an article titled "A Brighter Future for Coral Reef Islands" that appeared in Eos, a source of news and science for the American Geophysical Union. The article reports on new research that shows low-lying coral reef island may be more resilient to rising ocean levels than previously thought. If an island does survive, it doesn't mean it's necessarily habitable, said Ortiz, a coastal geomorphologist not involved in the study. "For houses and many other types of human infrastructure, waves washing over the island are 'the definition of destruction,'" she said. "I do firmly believe that the evidence shows that these landscapes, over the next hundred years, are resilient,” she said. “But if you say they’re going to look the same or they’re going to be resilient with humans living on them as they do now—that’s where things start to look more negative.”