A Place Where
Anything is Possible

As he celebrates his 10th year as president, David A. Greene continues to push the boundaries at Colby

Words by Bob Keyes
Photographs by Ashley L. Conti, Dennis Griggs, Tim O’Rourke, Gregory A. Rec, Gabe Souza, Sam Trafton

President David A. Greene prepares for Commencement in 2019 with the help of Executive Assistant Regina Ouimette, standing behind him.

President David A. Greene preparing for Commencement

Whitney King likes to tell a story about his first trip to Allen Island when describing what it’s like working with Colby President David A. Greene.

The two were among a small contingent of Colby people who ventured to the island off the Maine coast to explore the possibility of the College becoming stewards of Allen and its nearby sister island, Benner—and if so, what that might look like. At the time, nobody from Colby really knew what was out there or the potential of what would become the Island Campus. But Greene was intrigued enough by the possibilities to accept the invitation to take the trip and see for himself.

They gathered on the wharf at Port Clyde and motored out to the islands, and soon the artist Jamie Wyeth showed up in his boat, joining them. His late parents, Andrew and Betsy Wyeth, had purchased the islands decades before and developed them into a model of coastal conservation, maritime sustainability, and artistic ingenuity. Over several hours, Wyeth showed them around the island landscape, opening the buildings, traversing the terrain, and sharing a meal. Later that day, he hosted them at his home in Tenants Harbor.

Members of the Colby group had barely settled in for their return drive to campus when the president declared his intentions.

artist Jamie Wyeth welcomes David A. Greene and others to Allen and Benner Islands

The artist Jamie Wyeth welcomes Colby President David A. Greene and others to Allen and Benner Islands.

Greene and Whitney King, Colby’s Dr. Frank and Theodora Miselis Professor of Chemistry, tour Allen Island for the first time.

“We got in the car and David said, ‘We’re going to do this,’ and within a few weeks we had signed a memorandum of understanding agreement and we were on our way,” said King, the Dr. Frank and Theodora Miselis Professor of Chemistry, who has helped Colby develop its vision for the Island Campus since its opening in 2022. “It was not, ‘How are we going to do this?’ It was, ‘We are going to do this.’ And we did.”

That clarity of foresight, strategic determination, and certainty of confidence have been hallmarks of Greene’s decade-long tenure at Colby. He arrived in summer 2014, following ascending senior positions at Smith College, Brown University, and the University of Chicago, his last stop before coming to Mayflower Hill.

Colby has operated at an accelerated pace in the decade since, with Greene defining goals and putting teams in place to achieve them on an ongoing, always-evolving basis. He made it clear that Colby would move with speed and purpose toward becoming the greatest liberal arts college in the country, if not the world, because the urgent nature of our times and the higher education landscape demanded nothing less. He promised to improve the areas where Colby was strong and address areas that needed improvement.

David A. Greene saw the potential of Allen Island as a place of unlimited possibilities for students and faculty interested in the arts, sciences, and other academic disciplines.

“There’s nothing that feels more exciting to me than what I’m doing, because I just feel like every single day I’m doing something that matters and that aligns with my values. I love the innovation, I love the change, I love being part of an organization that’s doing things that matter in the world. There are certainly other industries where that happens all the time, but I’m in the right place at Colby. I’ve got more to do, and I’ve got more room for growth for myself to be able to continue to do this work. I have to keep getting better at it all the time. That matters to me.”

person walking alone through the Miller Lawn

During his first day on campus, David A. Greene took a solitary walk across Miller Lawn. In the decade since, his presidency has been marked by his clarity of foresight, strategic determination, and certainty of confidence.

“I saw Colby as a place that had an extraordinary history and great intellectual assets. But it was also a place that was ready to move and could imagine itself doing a lot more,” Greene said, reflecting on his early impressions. “I saw the need to really push the boundaries of what’s possible and to imagine something different for ourselves, for how we are educating our students, and for how we are supporting scholarly work that can change the world. I believed Colby could be one of those places that could really change the tenor of higher education, and if we did it right, that we would make an important contribution that goes beyond Mayflower Hill.”

All of that has come to pass.

David A. Greene signing his name on a piece of steel before it's used for construction

President David A. Greene signs his name to the last piece of steel before it’s raised into place during the construction of the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in downtown Waterville. Colby’s investment in the city’s redevelopment has highlighted Greene’s first decade as president.

A decade of new ideas

It has been a decade of growth and expansion, new ideas, and bold initiatives, with a dramatic rise in the public awareness of Colby around the world and broad, sustained financial support. In the first decade of Greene’s presidency, applications for admission nearly quadrupled from slightly more than 5,000 to just shy of 20,000. Colby ranks fourth on the list of colleges and universities that offer the most generous financial aid packages to the highest-need students, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, outranking such Ivy League schools as Harvard and Yale.

By more than doubling financial aid over the last 10 years, Colby has recruited, enrolled, and supported more students from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. From 2014 to 2023 the College increased the number of first-generation-to-college students by 38 percent, and, according to the most recent report by the American Talent Initiative, Colby had the highest rate of growth of need-based Pell Grants between 2015-16 and 2021-22 among the more than 135 high-graduation-rate member institutions. There are now roughly as many low-income students as middle-income students at Colby, largely because a greater investment by the College and the generosity of alumni and friends have made it possible for families who earn up to $75,000 a year to send a student tuition-free.

Joined by Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins and other dignitaries, Greene helps cut the ribbon marking the return of two-way traffic in downtown Waterville.

And the newly expanded Fair Shot Fund will make a Colby education more affordable than many public, in-state institutions for middle-income families, an initiative that could serve as a national model for other colleges and universities. The new initiative, which will be available beginning with the Class of 2029, means families earning up to $200,000, $150,000, and $100,000, with assets typical of that income level, can expect to pay no more than $20,000, $15,000, and $10,000 respectively for tuition, room, and board. At the same time, Colby increased the number of faculty by 31 percent.

In addition to adding the 500-acre Island Campus, Colby has created academic labs specializing in the arts, biosciences, entrepreneurship, and climate and environment—the Lyons Arts Lab, the Linde Packman Lab for Biosciences Innovation, the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship, and the Buck Lab for Climate and Environment—all offering financial support for students to explore new ideas and new opportunities. It established the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the first institute for artificial intelligence at a liberal arts college, and when the pandemic disrupted the job market, Colby tapped its alumni network through DavisConnects to guarantee a job or career opportunity for every graduate—and then expanded the program for future graduates.

“One thing that’s been most gratifying about coming to Colby is how many people I’ve met who are associated with this college, who have the clearest value systems I’ve ever seen, who are community-oriented, and who are among the kindest and most welcoming people in the world.

“I wish I could just bottle it up because I know how special it is. This is a more caring community than any community I’ve ever been part of. We watch out for each other, and there is a sense that we’re in this together and that we’re stronger as a community than we are as individuals. Those kinds of values don’t exist everywhere.”

The College has built relationships and partnerships with research institutions, labs, businesses, and art institutions in Maine and around the world, including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, the MDI Biological Laboratory on the coast of Maine, Iberdrola in Spain, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and it is now preparing for its largest academic investment by planning for a new science center and a dramatic curriculum expansion into the applied sciences, high-performance computation, and engineering, all building off the strength of Colby’s existing science programs.

At the same time, Greene’s decade-long presidency has been defined by the full commitment of Colby to the liberal arts when the liberal arts are under attack and many institutions of higher education are questioning their value. All the while, Colby has updated the architectural character of Mayflower Hill and the city of Waterville, constructing innovative and inviting academic, athletic and recreation, arts, and residential buildings on campus while investing more than $100 million toward Waterville’s revitalization, including the city’s first downtown hotel in 100 years, a residence hall for 200 students who are focused on civic engagement, and two spaces dedicated to the arts and community.

Colby opened the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts in fall 2023, the largest academic building in the College’s history.

Culture of possibility

Greene arrived with three primary goals. First was instilling a culture of possibility and creating a sense that Colby was a place “where things get done, where we will support your work at the highest level, where you can imagine something different, where we dance to our own beat, and where we create our own pathway.”

Second was spreading the expectation of excellence across every aspect of the College and tying excellence to innovation. Third was building community—on campus, in town, and across the worldwide networks of Colby alumni and friends.

“When you put those three things together, you can deal with the tough issues, you can really begin to change, and you can do so at a scale that goes beyond your campus,” Greene said.

faculty wearing hard hats in a new facility

Greene leads a tour of the Gordon Center during construction with National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree.

The cumulative impact is that Colby has become a place where anything is possible, where students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to bring their ideas forward, and where imagination is checked only by the limits of time.

“He always starts with a ‘yes,’ and when you start with a ‘yes’ the possibilities are endless and then you work your way down to implementation,” said Erica Wall, who joined Colby in 2022 as director of the Lunder Institute for American Art after a career as an arts educator and curator in Massachusetts and California.

The Lunder Institute is a good example of Greene’s broad vision. Colby launched the institute in 2017 to support innovative research and creative production that expands the boundaries of American art. As a part of the Colby Museum of Art, the Lunder Institute provides a space for the intersection of art-making, scholarship, and research and operates as a think tank for the museum and the field of American art, through its fellowships, convenings, publications, and more. It’s an unusual and unique asset for a small liberal arts college. The Lunder Institute fits well at Colby given the stature of the museum and the size and quality of its art collection, Wall said.

“I respect David’s ambition and drive, and I like how he challenges us to do our very best. He definitely likes to push the boundaries, and I appreciate the opportunity to do that at the Lunder Institute,” Wall said. “We are making our presence known in the field, and we are going beyond our borders in Waterville to engage the field. It feels very satisfying.”

David A. Greene giving a speech at a podium

In spring 2024, David A. Greene addressed an audience from the stage of the Performance Hall at the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts.

Lofty admissions goals

Among Greene’s first initiatives was increasing the number of applications for admission from about 5,000 to 10,000. He announced his intentions publicly, and the news reverberated across the admissions landscape.

“A lot of people in our profession were skeptical when he said that, and many in the Colby community had doubts, as well,” said Randi Maloney ’09, who was assistant director of admissions at the time and has since become associate vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid.

Some questioned his motives and wondered if he wanted to boost the number of applications solely to enhance Colby’s selectivity. But Maloney said Greene made his student-centered intentions clear to the staff. “He met with our team early on and charged us with ensuring there weren’t students anywhere in the world—talented, exceptional, impactful students—who weren’t considering Colby simply because they did not know about us, didn’t think they could afford us, or weren’t aware of the incredible opportunities this education could offer them. We hadn’t been doing a great job of sharing these messages with students from all backgrounds and all places.”

With applications now approaching 20,000 annually, Maloney understands how and why she and her team have met and eclipsed their goals. “Our community has made so many initiatives possible for us to share with prospective students, from the Lunder Institute to DavisConnects, Davis AI, the Gordon Center, the athletics and recreation center, new financial aid initiatives, the labs—there’s so many that I could list,” she shared. “It’s taken an exceptional amount of work and dedication by so many people to get here, both in the Admissions and Financial Aid Office and beyond.

“David has always put things in front of me that feel just slightly beyond reach. He sees something in people they don’t always see in themselves. And I think he saw something in Colby that it did not see in itself, either. That vision and confidence has changed the trajectory of my life, and the trajectory of the College, as well.”

Part of Greene’s success stems from his ability to communicate. When he pitches Colby and the broader Colby story to potential students and their parents, prospective faculty and employees, donors, or journalists, he does so with authenticity and passion. He wants the world to know about Colby and is not shy about calling attention to the College and its people. The goal in doing so, he said, was not to generate publicity for the sake of publicity, but to generate publicity so Colby graduates are better positioned for success and for creating meaningful lives for themselves and their communities.

“People need to know who we are, what we stand for, and the kinds of programs we support and the excellence and rigor of them. If they do, Colby will be all the stronger for it. Everything we have tried to do in terms of raising the profile of Colby in the world has been all about that,” he said.

A future-forward portfolio

Colby received a lot of attention during the early days of the pandemic when it launched Pay It Northward, a strategic initiative through DavisConnects, the on-campus center that matches students with transformative on- and off-campus experiences with specialized advising and worldwide connections, regardless of financial circumstances or personal networks. While the world was shutting down, Pay It Northward focused on securing postgraduate opportunities for every member of the Class of 2020.

It was bold and audacious, and it made an impression on people in higher education whose jobs center around helping graduates begin their careers. Colleges across the country were all dealing with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, and many tried a variety of strategies to ease the impact. Through Pay It Northward and DavisConnects, Greene stepped up and proclaimed through words and actions that there would be no impact on Colby graduates.

That future-forward attitude extended into the fall semester. Brunda Katikireddy ’24 arrived at Colby in fall 2020, while the pandemic was still virulent. At the time, many of Colby’s peer institutions chose to offer classes remotely. Colby invested $10 million to enact safeguards and gave students the chance to be on campus, which Katikireddy chose to do.

Randi Maloney sitting in a chair in her office

Randi Maloney ’09, associate vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid, has helped Colby nearly quadruple the number of annual applications for admission. She said David A. Greene’s management style as president empowers staff and faculty members to aim high. “He sees something in people they don’t always see in themselves. And I think he saw something in Colby that it did not see in itself, either,” she said.

“We had about 5,000 applications to Colby, and I said, ‘Why don’t we have 10,000 applications?’ My question wasn’t about college selectivity. It was about why aren’t we reaching into communities that we haven’t reached into before to let them know about the power of a Colby education.

“That’s what I was trying to get to. There are so many students around the world who would benefit from the kind of education that we offer and the access that we provide through a generous financial aid program. Why aren’t we talking to those students? Why aren’t we reaching them? Many of them had never heard of this place.”

David A. Greene shares a laugh during convocation in fall 2016.

“People who went to other colleges did not have a first year, but it was a relatively normal experience for those of us at Colby,” she said. “David Greene was central to that effort. He had a tough job figuring out what colleges could and should do during uncertain times, and we did really well. He gave me the college experience that a lot of my peers across the country and around the world did not have.”

Katikireddy, a computer science major from Durham, N.H., benefited in other ways. As a junior, she lived in Colby’s downtown residential building, the Bill & Joan Alfond Main Street Commons—the first building Colby opened downtown, in 2018—and she has taken classes with professors associated with the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence, which opened in 2021. “Every year since I’ve been here, it seems something new has opened that has been an amazing addition to the campus,” she said, noting that she also has become a leader during her time at Colby, serving as president of the Student Government Association (SGA).

Andrew Iferenta ’24, vice president of the SGA, said the shared first-year experience strengthened the relationships among members of the class. “We had testing three times a week and masking, but we still had that relatively stable campus experience,” he said. “That bonded us in special ways.”

A football player majoring in science, technology, and society and double minoring in cinema studies and English, he has spent a lot of time in the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center, which opened in 2021 during the pandemic. “Having a facility like that to go to every day, there are so many different avenues for you to hone and improve your skills so you can be the best athlete you can be. It’s pretty incredible that I could spend so much time there,” he said.

two students sitting in a classroom behind a laptop

Brunda Katikireddy ’24 arrived on campus for in-person classes while the pandemic was still virulent and when many of Colby’s peer institutions chose to offer classes remotely. “But it was a relatively normal experience for those of us at Colby. David A. Greene was central to that effort,” she said.

Dreaming in realistic ways

For others, Colby has become a place where it’s OK to dream big. Arnout van der Meer, associate professor of history who recently received tenure and a Haynesville Project Fellowship that allows him the financial security to conduct research that is personally meaningful, appreciates teaching “where you can dream in realistic ways and take a risk, where you can imagine a project and go after it and try to make it happen.”

Further, during a time when the humanities and liberal arts are in peril at major universities and small colleges across the country, the history professor is grateful to teach where he knows the humanities are valued and supported and where his opinions are heard. “Despite all the societal tensions, the humanities are safe here,” van der Meer said, adding that he has had many conversations with colleagues about the pace of change at Colby. He agrees, the pace does sometimes feel frenetic, he said. “But these last few years, I have found myself saying I would rather be in a place where things are moving and in motion and where there is energy than be in a place where things are static.”

Teresa McKinney had worked in community engagement and student development at the Juilliard School and as director of education at New York City Opera prior to coming to Colby in 2020 to become the first Diamond Family Director of the Arts. She loved her work and her life in New York. Giving up both to take a chance on Colby was a difficult decision, but one she embraced because of the possibilities.

Arnout van der Meer, associate professor of history, helps a student during class. He appreciates teaching “where you can dream in realistic ways and take a risk, where you can imagine a project and go after it and try to make it happen.”

Teresa McKinney using a computer at her desk

Teresa McKinney became the Diamond Family Director of the Arts in 2020, moving to Maine from New York City for the chance to use the arts to help revitalize Waterville.

McKinney recalled her graduate thesis on the role of the arts and culture in revitalizing post-industrial communities. Colby and Waterville gave her the chance to test and prove her thesis. She arrived before the Lockwood Hotel, Greene Block + Studios, or the Paul J. Schupf Art Center opened downtown and before the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts opened on campus.

“I remember walking around downtown during the interview, and I said, ‘This is a blank canvas,’ a remarkable opportunity. We had the chance to envision what the future of the city would look like and how the arts could add to the vibrancy of the community,” she said. “I moved to Waterville because of the possibilities and because of David A. Greene’s vision to center the arts in this revitalization.”

Jane Powers ’86 served on the Board of Trustees when Greene became president, and she has since become the first woman to chair the board. She has turned to him many times for lessons in leadership, motivation, and inspiration.

“David’s positive energy and the forward momentum he has created for Colby are extraordinary. I am impressed with his vision, but I am more impressed with his drive to accomplish it. A lot of people have vision, but they don’t have the goods to deliver. David delivers,” Powers said.

Soon after he was hired, Greene hosted a board retreat. And soon after that retreat, inspired by Greene’s words and vision, Powers began thinking differently about the possibility of what Colby could become. She remembers Greene challenging the board, “Are we going to move forward and become everything we can be, or are we going to stay with the status quo?”

The answer has never been in doubt.

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