Board of Trustees Welcomes Two New Members
John Lyons '85 and Jeff Packman '88 elected to Board of Trustees.
Colby is pleased to announce the election of two exceptional leaders to its Board of Trustees. John Lyons ’85, a New York City-based film editor, joins the board as an alumni trustee and will serve a three-year term. Jeff Packman ’88, a biopharma consultant, joins as a corporate trustee with a four-year term. Packman has previously served on the board, including as vice chair.
Their counsel will help bolster Colby’s position as a world-class institution preparing a diverse student population to address many of the world’s most complex challenges.
John Lyons is a film editor who works primarily on feature films and documentaries. His most recent project is a documentary series called “PRIDE” that discusses challenges of gay life in 1950s America. He is perhaps best known for his work with writer and director Ritesh Batra, including their award-winning film The Lunchbox. Lyons has cut the directorial debuts of actors-turned-directors Paul Bettany and Meg Ryan. He’s also worked in television and on short films for directors as diverse as John Cameron Mitchell, Xan Cassavetes, Boyd Holbrook, Natalie Portman, and Isaac Mizrahi. Lyons is an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and a board member of Film at Lincoln Center.
Jeff Packman is principal of the advisory firm Packman Biopharma Consulting. He has nearly three decades of international experience in biotechnology regulatory affairs and in manufacturing and clinical operations leadership; he also specializes in rare-disease drug development. Previously, he was chief development officer of Clementia Pharmaceuticals and led drug-development efforts at Apofore Corporation, FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Oscient Pharmaceuticals, and PAREXEL International Corporation. He is a founding board member of a private philanthropic foundation focused on healthcare, education, and arts initiatives in Greater Boston; he’s also a member of the Basic Science Visiting Committee at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He earned an M.B.A. with highest honors from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business Administration at Babson College.
Lyons and Packman join Colby’s governing body at a time of unprecedented momentum and growth. Just this year, the College established the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the first cross-disciplinary AI institute at a liberal arts college. Over the past several years, other one-of-a-kind programs have come online, including the Linde Packman Lab for Biosciences Innovation, the Buck Lab for Climate and Environment, the Center for the Arts and Humanities, the Pulver Science Scholars Program, the Lunder Institute for American Art, and others. And in 2020, Colby opened the 350,000-square-foot Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center, the most advanced and comprehensive athletic facility in the country.
Colby’s commitment to growing its arts ecosystem has also taken center stage. Earlier this month, Colby officially opened the Greene Block + Studios in a renovated, historic downtown building. The facility promotes the development of creative work by Maine and national artists, educators, change agents, performers, scientists, and students. Also downtown, construction on the Paul J. Schupf Art Center is continuing apace. The College has also broken ground on the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts, an on-campus center with multipurpose spaces designed for innovative teaching and performing to foster creativity and collaboration among students and faculty across the disciplines.
