$150 million gift to college announced by David A. Greene will help catalyze half-billion dollars of new investment in science and technology
Colby College recently announced that it has received a $150-million lead commitment for a new science complex that will catalyze a half-billion dollars of investment in science and technology.
The gift is the largest in Colby’s history and one of the most generous for any liberal arts college.
The new funding will elevate Colby’s role in Maine’s burgeoning science ecosystem, create new engineering and public health programs to enable faculty and students to lead in new and emergent fields, and make it possible for the College to build a state-of-the-art science complex.
The new facility and programs will deepen opportunities for students and faculty to identify solutions for some of the most vexing health and environmental issues facing the state of Maine and the country; allow the College to build on its collaborations with science research organizations; support the state’s K-12 STEM education; and create the right environment for rural areas to compete in science and technology and generate 21st-century jobs in a fast-paced innovation economy.
“Colby has long had outstanding science programs,” said President David A. Greene, “and that work has been deeply connected to other scientific organizations across the state and around the world. These investments will allow us to take that work to a new level, ensuring that science education and the application of scientific knowledge and discovery are addressing the needs of Maine. Importantly, it allows Colby to be at the forefront of educating the next generation of science and technology leaders who will carry with them a deep understanding of the human dimensions of science and the need to ensure that the power of science is used for a broader societal good.”
At the core of this overall investment is the development of a $300-million science complex and the expansion of the science curriculum to include more applied science and engineering.
The new facility, which is expected to open in 2030, will address current and future science educational and research needs and lead to the creation of academic programs that address the dramatically and rapidly changing fields of science and technology.
To that end, Colby will significantly expand its science faculty and introduce a suite of forward-looking and solutions-oriented engineering and applied science programs.
These will likely include biomedical engineering, environmental engineering, materials engineering, and public health, and will build on recently formed majors and minors in fields that include data science, computational biology, marine science, and environmental computation. Additional information about these programs can be found here.
“The lines between fundamental and applied research have been blurred in recent years, with science-driven technologies changing the very nature of health care, environmental stewardship, and business growth,” said Greene.
“For many scientists today, their work is most productive and their progress most robust when it involves a collaborative approach to joining basic and applied research. And for our students, that intersection of fundamental discoveries with the development of new tools based on those discoveries is the key to how science will play a central role in solving longstanding challenges.”
‘Colby has long had outstanding science programs, and that work has been deeply connected to other scientific organizations across the state and around the world. These investments will allow us to take that work to a new level, ensuring that science education and the application of scientific knowledge and discovery are addressing the needs of Maine.’
Over the last few years, Colby has made a number of strategic investments that are part of its focus on the sciences.
Most recently, the College announced the establishment of a Center for Resilience and Economic Impact, which will employ scientific approaches to strengthening communities across Maine. In another initiative designed to support broader state efforts, Colby has partnered with the Central Maine Growth Council on the planning and development of a high-performance computing hub in Waterville that is under final consideration for federal support.
Additional highlights of Colby’s investment in the sciences include establishing the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the first of its kind at a liberal arts college; the development of a 500-acre coastal research campus via the acquisition of Maine’s Allen and Benner islands; and launching the McVey Center for Computational and Data Sciences.
The College has also created a series of programs to support creativity, research, and innovation, including the Buck Lab for Climate and Environment, the Linde Packman Lab for Biosciences Innovation, and the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship.
A key part of Colby’s science initiative has been its commitment to building and expanding partnerships with leading science and technology organizations in Maine, including the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, The Jackson Laboratory, and MDI Biological Laboratory. This latest investment in science and technology programs will be developed to complement and strengthen the work at these and other organizations in the state.
“We’ve worked closely with Colby College for 15 years to introduce students to cutting-edge research in the marine and environmental sciences,” said Deborah Bronk, president and CEO of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. “This major new investment will build on that foundation, catalyzing innovation and opening new opportunities in marine resources, climate resilience, and sustainability.
“This bold step forward will strengthen Maine’s leadership in science and technology, and we are excited about the impact it will have across our state and beyond.”
The College will also direct these new investments to areas that are explicitly designed to address the challenges that have become endemic to Maine—from having one of the highest rates of cancer in the country to a legacy of harmful pollutants impacting soil and water quality.
“The MDI Biological Laboratory and Colby College have enjoyed a strong and rewarding partnership for more than 25 years,” said Hermann Haller, M.D., president of the MDI Biological Laboratory.
“Together, along with other research and academic institutions across the state, we have worked to expand Maine’s capacity for cutting-edge biomedical research and to train the next generation of scientists, physicians, and biotech innovators.
“We are honored to continue working alongside President Greene and the Colby Board of Trustees as they launch this bold expansion, which will transform science in Maine for generations to come.”
Colby’s science initiative includes a substantial commitment to expanding the state’s capacity for STEM education at the K-12 level, which is a critical need in Maine.
Central to this work will be Colby’s Partnerships in Science and Math Outreach, a linked set of funding, internship, and educational opportunities that will enable the College to significantly impact Maine math and science education through innovative programming developed in partnership with educators.
While specific programming is to be determined, potential options could include:
- Teacher assistantships for K-12 educators to work alongside Colby faculty on research projects, developing their own curricula and pedagogy and training on lab instruction
- Hosting K-12 groups for laboratory experiments, fieldwork, and collaborative STEM projects
- Creating a new suite of summer programs for teacher development and students around STEM enrichment
The new facility will support the radical changes in how science is practiced today and in the future. With approximately 200,000 square feet, it will comprise teaching and research laboratories, classrooms, offices, fabrication labs, specialized equipment and computing infrastructure, and gathering spaces.
The College has explored a number of different conceptual models for organizing the space in the new building to blur disciplinary boundaries, encourage relentless collaboration, and integrate research and teaching across all areas of the facility.
A key part of this will be creating a set of shared areas with specialized equipment and instrumentation (e.g., imaging technology, sophisticated computation resources, etc.) in the new complex that brings researchers into spaces shared among disciplines.
“Expanded science and engineering programming at Colby at this moment represents an incredible opportunity for our students to take a human-centered approach to science and technology,” said Colby’s Provost Denise Bruesewitz.
“Students who join the Colby community with an interest in STEM get the best of both worlds, in the sense that they directly engage in leading-edge scientific research as collaborators with Colby faculty and our incredible network of partner research institutions, with all the advantages of a holistic liberal arts education.
Our students will be prepared to be the next generation of science and tech leaders.”