List of Colby College people

This is a list of notable individuals affiliated with Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

Notable alumni

Selected Colby Alumni White House Chief of Staff, Pete Rouse, class of 1968 Civil War General and Governor of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin Butler, class of 1838

Category:Colby College alumni

Arts and entertainment

• Mike Daisey 1996, Monologuist, solo performer and author
• Rocco Landesman 1969, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts
• Lincoln Pierce 1985, cartoonist
• Tom Silverman 1975, founder of influential hip-hop record label Tommy Boy Records

Athletics

• Jack Coombs 1906, Two-time World Champion Major League Baseball Player, Manager (Philadelphia Phillies and Duke University)
• Eric DeCosta 1993 Director of Player Personnel, Baltimore Ravens
• Courtney Kennedy, 2001, Olympic Medalist, U.S. Women's Hockey Team, 2002 & 2006
• Ed Phillips (b. 1944), Major League Baseball pitcher for the 1970 Boston Red Sox
• Jan Volk, 1968, former General Manager of the Boston Celtics.
• Dick Whitmore Head Coach for the Colby Basketball Team. He has won over 600 games.

Business

• Anne Clarke Wolff 1987, Head of Global Corporate Banking, Bank of America
• Leslie Biddle 1989, Global Head of Commodity Sales, Goldman Sachs
• Steve Cummings 1977, Head of Corporate and Investment Banking, Wachovia
• Robert Diamond 1973, CEO of Barclays Capital, and Chairman of Barclays Global Investors
• Alan Mirken 1951, President, Aaron Publishing Group, founder of Crown Publishing Group
• Eric S. Rosengren 1979, Current President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
• Frank R. Wallace (pen name for Wallace Ward) 1954, entrepreneur, publisher, writer, and developer of the Neo-Tech philosophy
• Michael Gordon 1966, co-founder, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Investment Officer of Angelo, Gordon

Literature

• Gerry Boyle 1978, novelist and Colby English Professor
• Jeff Gottesfeld 1977, novelist Anne Frank and Me and screen/TV writer The Young and the Restless
• Linda Greenlaw 1983, author of Hungry Ocean (captain of the Hannah Boden, sister ship to the Andrea Gail which went down in "The Perfect Storm" 1991)
• David Barr Kirtley 2000, author
• Robert B. Parker 1954, author of the Spenser detective novels
• E. Annie Proulx 1957, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Shipping News and Brokeback Mountain
• Cecily von Ziegesar 1992, novelist, creator of "Gossip Girl" series.

Media

• Billy Bush 1994, TV personality and nephew of President George H. W. Bush
• Dave Epstein 1986, Columnist, Television Meteorologist
• Dan Harris 1993, ABC News Anchor & Reporter
• Sarah Lee, Washington DC news reporter

Research and academics

• Noah Charney 2002, art historian, author of The Art Thief
• Doris Kearns Goodwin 1964, presidential scholar and historian, notable works include the Pulitzer Prize-winning No Ordinary Time (1995) and Team of Rivals (2005)
• Harold Calvin Marston Morse 1914, mathematician
• Alan Taylor 1977, noted scholar in early Colonial America history and Pulitzer Prize winner

Politics and government

• James Brooks 1831, New York Congressman (1849–53; 1863–66; 1867–73)
• Benjamin F. Butler 1838, Civil War general, Congressman, Governor of Massachusetts, candidate for President
• Stephen Coburn 1839, Maine Congressman (1860–61)
• Adam Cote 1995, Attorney and Candidate for US Congress, ME-1 (2008)
• Patrick Duddy 1972, US Ambassador to Venezuela (pending Senate confirmation)
• Robert Gelbard 1964, US Ambassador to Indonesia (1999–2001) and Bolivia (1988–1991)
• Edward Gurney 1935, US Senator from Florida (1969–1974)
• Elizabeth Hanson 2002, CIA Officer killed in the Camp Chapman attack, Afghanistan.
• Peter D. Hart 1964, founder of Peter D. Hart Research Associates, a political polling organization
• Daniel T. Jewett Republican US Senator (Missouri) 1870-71, Missouri State Representative
• Isaac Smith Kalloch 1852, Baptist minister, founder and first president of Ottawa University, mayor of San Francisco, California
• Elijah P. Lovejoy 1826, abolitionist
• Sean McCormack 1986, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and U.S. State Department Spokesman
• Lot M. Morrill U.S. Senator (1861–69), Governor of Maine (1857–1861), Treasury Secretary (1876–77)
• Andrew Rice 1996, 2008 Democratic Nominee, Candidate, United States Senate (Oklahoma) (Lost to Senator James Inhofe)
• Stuart Rothenberg 1970, editor and publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report, CNN Political Analyst, and syndicated columnist
• Margaret Chase Smith 1943, American politician who served as U.S. Congresswoman (1940–1949) and Senator (1949–1973) from Maine
• Marcellus L. Sterns, former Florida governor, soldier in American Civil War
• Leonard Swett c. 1840-45, close friend of President Lincoln and an organizer for the 1860 Chicago Republican National Convention
• Amy Walter 1990, Political Director ABC News, former House editor for the Cook Political Report, and current Editor in Chief of The Hotline
• Pete Rouse 1968, Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama, former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama, former Chief of Staff to Tom Daschle

Others

• Tara Allain, Miss Maine 2007, class of 2008
• Wylie Dufresne, Chef and owner of wd~50 restaurant in New York City, featured as a judge on Top Chef
• Mary Caffrey Low 1875, Founder, Sigma Kappa Sorority
• Francis Augustus Cox was given a Doctor of Divinity degree by "Waterville University" in the 1830s
• Gardner Colby, after whom the college is named for his sustaining gift during the Civil War era

Notable faculty

Category:Colby College faculty

• Richard Beeman, professor of American History (1979-80)
• Jennifer Boylan, professor of English, author of She's Not There
• Sharon Lee, novelist, Colby staff
• Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize winning author and former professor of English at Colby. His works include Empire Falls, Nobody's Fool and Straight Man.
• Ira Sadoff, Professor of English and poet

As of 2011, Colby has 44 endowed faculty positions:

Year created	Name of Chair	Current holder	Department	Notes
1928	The Arthur Jeremiah Roberts Professorship in Literature	Ira Sadoff	English	Established by the Board of Trustees as an expression of their regard for the late President Roberts, Colby's 13th president, who had taught English literature at Colby
1940	The Herbert E. Wadsworth Professorship in Economics	James W. Meehan, Jr.	Economics	Established by Herbert E. Wadsworth, Class of 1892, Colby trustee
1956	The Julian D. Taylor Assistant Professorship in Classics	Kerill N. O'Neill	Classics	Established by a bequest from Professor Julian D. Taylor, who taught Latin and Greek at Colby from 1868 to 1931
1963	The Ziskind Professorship of East Asian Studies	--	--	Established by the Jacob Ziskind Trust
1965	The J. Warren Merrill Professorship in Chemistry and Natural History	Andrea R. Tilden	Biology	Established by J. Warren Merrill, Colby trustee
1966	The Charles A. Dana Professorship Fund	Anthony J. Corrado Jr. (government), Thomas J. Morrione (sociology), Steven Saunders (music), Jill Gordon (philosophy), and Adrianna Paliyenko (French)	--	Established by the Charles A. Dana Foundation of New York City
1976	The Grossman Professorship in Economics	Patrice M. Franko	Economics	Established by Nissie Grossman '32 in honor of his parents, Reuben and Lizzie Grossman
1979	The William R. Kenan Jr. Professorship Fund	L. Sandy Maisel	Government	Established by the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust
1981	The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Professorship	Cheryl Townsend Gilkes	Sociology and African-American Studies	Established by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
1985	The Carter Professorship in Mathematics and Computer Science	Fernando Q. Gouvêa	Mathematics	Established by Clark H. Carter '40, Colby trustee, and William C. Carter '38 to recognize their family's 85-year relationship with the College
1988	The Clare Boothe Luce Professorships	Lynn Hannum (biology), Virginia C. Long (physics), and Katherine R. St. Clair (mathematics)	--	Established through a bequest from Clare Boothe Luce
1990	The James M. Gillespie Chair of Art and American Studies	Michael A. Marlais	Art	Established through a bequest from Professor Emeritus James M.Gillespie
1990	The Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Teaching Professorship	Robert S. Weisbrot	History	Established by the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation
1990	The NEH/Class of 1940 Distinguished Professorship in Humanities	Jonathan M. Weiss	French	Established by the National Endowment for the Humanities and alumni from the Class of 1940
1990	The Clara C. Piper Professorship	David H. Firmage	Biology	Established by Wilson C. Piper '39, Colby trustee, and Mary Piper in memory of Wilson Piper's mother, Clara Collins Piper '14
1991	The Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professorship in American Government	G. Calvin Mackenzie	Government	Established by William H. Goldfarb '68, Colby trustee
1991	The Dr. Frank and Theodora Miselis Chair in Chemistry	D. Whitney King	Chemistry	Established by Frank J. '43 and Theodora Miselis
1992	The Carolyn Muzzy Museum of Art Chair	Sharon L. Corwin	Colby College Museum of Art	Established by Colby friend Carolyn Muzzy, who had been involved with the museum since its inception
1992	The Pugh Family Professorship in Economics	David W. Findlay	Economics	Established by Lawrence R. Pugh '56, chair of the Colby Board of Trustees, and Jean Van Curan Pugh '55
1993	The Allen Family Chair in Latin American Literature	Jorge Olivares	Spanish	Established by Leon and Karen Allen P'86
1993	The Leslie Brainerd Arey Chair of Biosciences	W. Herbert Wilson	Biology	Established by Mary E. Arey in memory of her husband, who graduated from Colby in 1912
1993	The Robert E. Diamond Professorship In Humanities	Jennifer Yoder	Government and International Studies	Established by Robert E. Diamond Jr. '73, Colby trustee, in memory of his father
1993	The Ellerton and Edith Jetté Professorship in Art	David L. Simon	Art	Established through a bequest from Edith M. Jetté H '62. Mrs. Jette and her husband, Ellerton M. Jetté H'55, were long-time friends of the College and supporters of the Colby College Museum of Art
1993	The Lee Family Chair in English	Cedric Gael Bryant	English	Established by Robert S. Lee '51, Colby trustee, and his wife, Jean
1993	The Mitchell Family Professorship in Economics	Debra Barbezat	Economics	Established by Edson V. Mitchell '75, Colby trustee
1993	The Oak Chair in Biological Sciences	F. Russell Cole	Biology	Established by the Oak Foundation, the family foundation of the parents of a Colby alumnus
1993	The Zacamy Chair in English	Peter B. Harris	English	Established by John R. Zacamy Jr. '71, Colby trustee
1994	The Crawford Family Chair in Religion	Nikky-Guninder Singh	Religious Studies	Established by James B. Crawford '64, chair of the Colby Board of Trustees, and Linda Johnson Crawford '64 in memory of Colby Professor Gustave H. Todrank
1994	The Douglas Chair in Investment and/or Finance	Randy A. Nelson	Administrative Science and Economics	Established by an anonymous alumnus
1994	The Audrey Wade Hittinger Katz and Sheldon Toby Katz Professorship for Distinguished Teaching	Ariel C. Armony	Government	Established by Audrey Hittinger Katz '57, Colby trustee, and Sheldon T. Katz
1994	The Whipple-Coddington Chair in Geology	Robert A. Gastaldo	Geology	Established by Jane Whipple Coddington '55, Colby trustee, and F. Chandler Coddington Jr.
1996	The Dr. Gerald and Myra Dorros Chair in Life Sciences	Julie T. Millard	Chemistry	Established by Gerald and Myra Dorros P'93 '96 '98 '01
1996	The John J. Gibson and Cornelia V. Gibson Chair in History	Elizabeth D. Leonard	History	Established by John V. Gibson '59 in honor of his parents
1996	The Pulver Family Chair in Jewish Studies	Howard N. Lupovitch	Jewish Studies	Established by David Pulver '63, Colby trustee, and Carol Pulver
1997	The Arnold Bernhard Professorship in Arts and Humanities	Paul S. Machlin	Music	Established by A. Van Hoven Bernhard '57 in memory of his father
1998	The Christian A. Johnson Professorship for Integrative Liberal Learning	Daniel H. Cohen	Philosophy	Established by the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation to launch a pioneer program in liberal arts education
2000	The William R. Cotter Distinguished Teaching Professorship	Kenneth A. Rodman	Government	Established by members of the Colby community
2000	The Oak Chair in East Asian Language and Literature	Tamae K. Prindle	East African Studies	Established by the Oak Foundation, the family foundation of the parents of a Colby alumnus
2000	The Paul D. and Marilyn Paganucci Chair in Italian Language and Literature	Mario Moroni	Italian	Established by Paul D. Paganucci '75, Colby trustee, and Marilyn Paganucci
2000	The William A. Rogers Professorship in Physics	Murray F. Campbell	Physics	Established by an anonymous donor
2000	The Sunrise Chair	Robert T. Bluhm Jr.	Physics	Established by anonymous parents of Colby alumni
2000	The Harriet S. and George C. Wiswell Jr. Chair in American Constitutional Law	Joseph R. Reisert	Government	Established by Harriet Sargent Wiswell '48 and George C. Wiswell Jr. '50
2003	The Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professorship	Hanna M. Roisman	Classics	Established through a bequest from Francis F. Bartlett Jr. '56
2010	The Harold Alfond Director of Athletics	Marcella Zalot	Athletics	To enhance the experience of Colby student-athletes on the field and in the classroom

Presidents of the School

	Presidents of Colby College	years as president
1	Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin	(1822–1833)
2	Rev. Rufus Babcock	(1833-1836)
3	Robert Everett Pattison	(1836-1839)
4	Eliphaz Fay	(1841-1843)
5	David Newton Sheldon	(1843-1853)
6	Robert Everett Pattison	(1854-1857)
7	James Tift Champlin	(1857-1873)
8	Henry Ephraim Robins	(1873-1882)
9	George Dana Boardman Pepper	(1882-1889)
10	Albion Woodbury Small	(1889-1892)
11	Beniah Longley Whitman	(1892-1895)
12	Nathaniel Butler Jr.	(1896-1901)
13	Charles Lincoln White	(1901-1908)
14	Arthur J. Roberts	(1908–1927)
15	Franklin W. Johnson	(1929–1942)
16	J. Seelye Bixler	(1942–1960)
17	Robert E. L. Strider	(1960–1979)
18	William R. Cotter	(1979–2000 )
19	William D. Adams	(2000– )

Honorary Degree Recipeints

• asterisk denotes commencement speaker

Year	Recipient	Degree	Notes
2008	Gabriella De Ferrari	Doctor of Letters	American art historian, curator, and writer; founding Chair of the Advisory Board of the Colby College Museum of Art
2008	Robert Diamond* ’73	Doctor of Laws	Group Chief Executive of Barclays
2008	Amory Lovins	Doctor of Laws	Author; Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute
2008	David Simon	Doctor of Letters	American author, journalist, television writer, producer, and MacArthur Fellowship winner
2008	Sunita Williams	Doctor of Science	United States Naval officer and a NASA astronaut
2009	Joseph F. Boulous	Doctor of Laws	President of The Boulos Companies in Portland, Maine, chair of the Colby College Board of Trustees.
2009	Kate Chappell	Doctor of Laws	Cofounded Tom's of Maine
2009	Tom Chappell	Doctor of Laws	Cofounded Tom's of Maine
2009	Margaret Geller	Doctor of Science	Senior Astronomer at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
2009	Jack Goldsmith	Doctor of Laws	Harvard Law School professor, author, United States Assistant Attorney General under Attorney General John Ashcroft
2009	Greg Mortenson*	Doctor of Humane Letters	Executive director of the Central Asia Institute co-author of the New York Times Bestsellers Three Cups of Tea
2010	Kwame Anthony Appiah	Doctor of Laws	Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University
2010	Helene D. Gayle	Doctor of Humane Letters	President and CEO of CARE
2010	Judith McHale*	Doctor of Laws	Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
2010	Richard Rhodes	Doctor of Letters	Author of Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb (1986)
2010	Joshua Silver	Doctor of Science	Physicist, Director of the Centre for Vision in the Developing World at the University of Oxford
2011	Adelaide M. Cromwell	Doctor of Laws	First African-American graduate of Smith College
2011	Richard Ford	Doctor of Letters	Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist
2011	Bernard Osher	Doctor of Laws	Business Leader and Philanthropist
2011	Rajiv Shah*	Doctor of Laws	Administrator, United States Agency for International Development
2011	Peter G. Vigue	Doctor of Laws	Chairman of the Board, President, CEO, Cianbro Companies