Upholding Colby’s Values

One incident that resonates for her took place during the Great Depression, when the College was in a challenging period. Back then, the people of Waterville helped raise $100,000—almost $2 million in today’s dollars—so Colby could move from its small campus by the Kennebec River to a much larger location on Mayflower Hill.

Their effort meant the world to Colby then, and it still matters today, said Powers, chair of the Colby Board of Trustees. Stories like this one help inform how the board does its work and serve as a reminder to the College never to retreat into an academic ivory tower but rather keep an outward focus on doing good in the world.

“I think about the story of Waterville saying, ‘We want Colby College to exist and to thrive,’” Powers said. “Our board feels a sense of responsibility to give back. The Waterville relationship is one of those examples. We don’t exist in a bubble, and we don’t want to exist in a bubble.”

And at a time when higher education seems buffeted by hurricane-force winds coming from different directions, Powers believes it is helpful to think of the board as a tree with roots as deep and strong as Colby’s history.

“We are committed to a set of values that draws on the way the College was founded, and how it’s existed,” she said. “We have to pay attention, stay rooted in our values. If you have really strong roots, and the wind is going crazy, you can flex. Colby College existed before us. If we steward it responsibly, it’s going to exist after us. And if we really do our jobs, it’s going to be even better.”

Since becoming the first woman to chair the board in 2021, Powers has overseen a period of growth and expansion with a leadership style that highlights virtuous service—helping others from a place of love, humility, and generosity. She’s a clinical social worker and therapist by training, and now leads a statewide effort in Massachusetts to make sure hospitals and clinics listen to patients and their families. On the Colby board, her experience helps her foster a culture of inclusion, respect, and appreciation for the privilege of helping to steer the College’s path forward.

“I feel so grateful to be a part of the Colby board,” she said. “It is one of the greatest honors of my life, and it’s also one of the things that I love most in my life.”

There are 36 people on the Board of Trustees, the primary governing authority of the College, as well as eight Life Trustees and up to two student representatives, who do not hold voting powers.

Most trustees are Colby alumni, but that’s not a requirement. What is required is to care passionately about Colby and its future, with a responsibility to ensure the long-term viability and success. In practice, this work is informed by such long-held Colby values as civic engagement, community involvement, and responsibility.

“The ego gets left at the door,” Powers said. “Whatever role people play in their life outside, and they are all amazing leaders, when they’re in that room, there is no jockeying. There is no condescension. Whether you’ve been on the board for a year, or you graduated five years ago, you’re as welcome and regarded as somebody who’s a Life Trustee and has been on the board for 40 years.”

The work of running a college is driven by day-to-day and year-to-year decisions. The trustees, by contrast, take the long view by considering what will be best for the College in the future. “Our job as a board is really thinking strategically about where we want to be as an institution, and what our values are, and how we match our values with the vision,” Powers said.

To do this, Colby’s trustees meet three times a year for multiday board meetings, and members often get together or reach out individually outside of those times, too. The College has a robust board mentoring program, so every new trustee is paired with a more experienced trustee. The intention is to make sure all the trustees quickly feel welcome, comfortable, and acclimated to the board’s culture.

“I love mentoring younger or newer board members,” Powers said. “It’s all the stuff like, ‘What do I wear to the meetings?’ and ‘How does it work? Do I just listen? Am I supposed to say anything?’”

The answer to that last question is absolutely yes.

When Jackie Dinneen ’05 joined the board in 2022, the then-deputy chief of staff at the Peace Corps was honored and enthusiastic, but also a little bit uncertain.

But board members warmly welcomed her, especially her mentor, Jeff Packman ’88. From the beginning, he encouraged her to ask him anything and call him if she ever had a question. The board also had an introductory orientation so that all new members would understand the board’s priorities, role, and fiduciary responsibilities.

For Dinneen, the orientation and Packman’s mentorship helped her feel able to fully participate in the work from the beginning.

“I felt comfortable hitting the ground running and using my voice,” she said. “[The board has] knocked it out of the park in terms of compassion, love for Colby, and wanting the best for its future, which is great to see.”

Board members are committed to working toward the best future for the College. They do this by helping to ensure Colby’s financial stability by fundraising and managing the endowment, approving major policies, and keeping the College’s values at the forefront of all decisions.

With a visionary president at the helm, Colby has been in a busy period of innovation and growth, meaning that life is never dull for the trustees.

“There’s not a sense at all of any complacency,” said Alexander “Sandy” Buck ’78, who has served on the board for 13 years. “There’s always something more that we could be doing. What we have done has just been amazing, but I think that there’s more to do, such as the planned science center.”

Buck is especially proud of the revitalization of Waterville that has taken place over the past 13 years, a dramatic change that came about because of the College’s investment in and commitment to the city. In that time, Colby has built the Bill & Joan Alfond Main Street Commons, where 200 students live, the Lockwood Hotel, and the Paul J. Schupf Art Center, in addition to renovating what became the Greene Block + Studios. More than 40 new businesses have opened downtown as well, adding to the feeling that Waterville is on the move.

He’s also excited about the relationships Colby is building with organizations across the state that are working on a range of issues related to resilience, economic impact, and community strength. Such relationships serve as a complement to other efforts, such as making sure that much of the programming at the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center remains open to the public.

“I see this as a real effort for a private institution to do some public good, and not make it all about Colby, but make it about what we can do for other communities,” Buck said.

For Dinneen’s part, she hopes that the board’s work will make certain that community connection, belonging, and innovation continue to grow at Colby.

“Serving the public good is needed now more than ever,” she said. “The landscape is shifting, and seeing how private organizations, individuals, and institutions like Colby are giving back to the community, and to a state that we love, I think that is incredibly important.”

Powers agreed.

“We’re part of a history, and we want to continue to do our part to invest in the institution and in the vision that is going to be about the long-term health of the institution. That’s our job as the board,” she said. “But what that long-term health looks like, I think, is investing in Maine, and having our students be from all over and from all walks of life, and to be able to access what is special about the Colby community, and then to take that out and do it in their own communities. That feels like a very powerful thing.”