Colby College | Enhancing Student Life

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Part of the power of the residential college experience lies in the connections students form outside of the classroom. Recent educational research has borne out the experience of generations of Colby students—extracurricular interaction with faculty, a rich social and cultural life, and close peer relationships with students from different backgrounds and cultures are all tremendously important in the education and development of undergraduates.

Reaching the World: A Campaign for Colby seeks to enrich students' experiences outside of the classroom by providing endowed resources to support the College's central student life programs. Colby offers several opportunities for alumni, parents, and friends to become partners in shaping student life at Colby. Donors who make gifts in support of the opportunities listed to the right at the level indicated or higher receive annual reports on the use of their named endowed funds.

Student Life Funds

International Student Assistance Fund - $50,000
Many of Colby's international students incur unique expenses associated with living in the United States and in Maine for the first time. They often need travel assistance, help with summer employment, places to stay during extended college breaks, and items as basic as warm coats and boots. The establishment of an International Student Assistance Fund will provide resources to help students from abroad with these expenses.

Student Leadership Development Fund - $50,000
Funds for student leadership development provide resources for training and mentoring promising first-year and sophomore students for the assumption of prominent leadership positions on campus. Leadership programming includes day-long workshops, Jan Plan seminars, and symposiums, including sessions led by professionals from outside the College. Students who participate will become COOT (Colby Outdoor Orientation Trips) and LEAP (Leadership Education and Advisory Program) leaders as well as members of the residence hall staff, the student programming board, and the Student Government Association.

Residential Life Enrichment Fund - $75,000
Gifts made in support of residential life enrichment provide resources to enhance the experiences of Colby students by encouraging student-faculty interaction outside of the classroom. Programs that benefit from the fund include the faculty in residence program, the residence hall book seminar program, and the "take a professor to lunch" program, not to mention a wide variety of seminars, lectures, and presentations about health, politics, spirituality, community service, and career options.

Social Life Program Fund - $100,000
Resources for student social life programs, especially programs that emphasize alcohol-free activities, are important to an institution located in central Maine. The Social Life Program Fund provides resources for diverse social life programming sponsored by the student programming board, academic departments, and other campus organizations. Venues for social life programming include Cotter Union and other campus locations as well as off-campus locations in the greater Waterville community, Portland, and Boston.

Diversity and Multicultural Enrichment Fund - $250,000
Enhancing and celebrating diversity are important elements of the Colby experience. Diversity and multicultural enrichment funds provide resources for important organizations and programming such as the Pugh Center Community Board, an organization that educates students and encourages dialogue about multicultural issues; diversity orientation for first year ALANA (African-American, Latino/a, Native American, and Asian), international, and first generation college students; and the annual student-led Colby Diversity Conference, which teaches students to create an environment that acknowledges, respects, and enhances differences.