Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement

Economic inequality is the defining issue of our day. The gap between the very rich and very poor in developing nations dashed hopes that all boats would rise together. Certainly the writings of Katherine Boo, the 2015 Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award Winner, underscore what some believe to be the persistent link between rapid growth and […]

For shining a spotlight on poverty and the heartrending inequalities of our era, Katherine Boo has a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, and a MacArthur genius grant. In October, she will receive Colby College's Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award for courageous journalism. Boo will receive an honorary doctoral degree along with the Lovejoy award and will […]

What’s it like to lead a small Ugandan village? Milly Businge will share her experiences of leadership & development in Kikuube, a village where Colby students studied abroad in January 2015. Businge will speak about the challenges for food security and sustainability posed by the arrival of multinational corporate agriculture in Kikuube, as well as her family’s […]

Dan Wasserman will show and discuss his cartoons from the current and past election campaigns. He will be joined by his images of all your favorite political characters, from Bernie and Hillary, to Jeb! and the Donald. Dan will discuss the role of satire in a democracy, his sources for cartoon ideas, conflicts with editors […]

Reginald Dwayne Betts will graduate from Yale Law School in May. This is a far cry away from May of 1997, when a sixteen-year-old Dwayne was sentenced to nine years in prison for carjacking. He knows the criminal justice system from both ends of the spectrum and describes his chosen field as “the business of […]

John Della Volpe, is director of polling at the  Institute of Politics at Harvard University. Each semester, he leads a public opinion survey group of students who develop, field and report on the attitudes of young Americans (Millennial Generation) toward politics and public service. Since 2000, the IOP survey has tracked pre- and post-9/11 attitudes; […]

 Paul Gorski, cofounder of EdChange and associate professor of integrative studies at George Mason University, will discuss how poverty impacts opportunity in today's education system. In addition to his work in poverty and educational opportunity, he also writes about social justice education and social justice activist sustainability.

The Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs is hosting guest speaker Roger Schulman, President and CEO of Fund for Educational Excellence on March 4th for a 7 pm lecture in Roberts, Robins room on Colby campus. Mr. Schulman who has over 20 years of experience in urban education works closely with a wide variety of district, […]

Please join the Goldfarb Center at Colby College for a lecture by Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret.) of the American Security Project on the threats that climate change presents for national and global security. The world is heating up. Despite skepticism from climate change deniers, our bases and stations are literally going under […]

A Conversation with Congressman Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. Join the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs tomorrow for A Conversation with Congressman Hank Johnson: The U.S. Criminal Justice System & Racial Inequities from 7 – 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28. This public event is the official kick-off for our annual public policy theme of criminal injustice […]

Join the Goldfarb Center for our 2021 Cotter Debate to explore this topic with two top experts in the field of constitutional law. Suzanna Sherry, the Herman O. Loewenstein Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University Law School, will discuss the merits of lifetime appointments. The opposing view will be argued by Ilya Shapiro, director of […]

This collaborative event between the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs at Colby College and the Maine Chapter of the Fulbright Association will focus on the very topical subject of international migration and the global circumstances (such as the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and food insecurity) that drive its flow. The event represents a unique and important opportunity to bring outside experts […]

Leonard Pitts Jr. is widely known for his nationally syndicated Miami Herald column that often addresses issues of race and racism, politics, and culture. In a career that spans close to 45 years, Pitts has worked as a columnist, a college professor, a radio producer, and a lecturer. He is also the author of a […]

Join the Goldfarb Center for a talk with Anthony Ray Hinton one of the longest serving death row prisoners in Alabama history, who was freed in 2015 after proving his innocence. Mr. Hinton, now an author and prison reform advocate, will share his story about how he survived 30 years on death row and never […]

This live, virtual event will feature a conversation between United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Associate Professor of Sociology Christel Kesler. The dialogue will be hosted and moderated by Goldfarb's Executive Director Kimberly Flowers. Mayorkas will share the opportunities and challenges of his new role as part of President Joe Biden’s cabinet, […]

The Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs will be hosting an in-person conversation tomorrow with civil liberties leader and free speech expert Nadine Strossen. Kimberly Flowers, the Goldfarb Center's Executive Director, will moderate a robust Q&A with Colby students, faculty, and staff on issues ranging from how to effectively resist hate speech to free speech on college campuses. Strossen […]

Join us for a thoughtful talk with one of the nation’s top First Amendment litigators on free speech issues ranging from protest rights, Black student activism on campuses, and​the recent string of state classroom censorship bills. The event will be an open Q&A session where Colby students will have the opportunity to ask Mr. Sykes […]

Prof. Aaron Hanlon Prof. Christel Kesler Prof. Dasan Thamattor Conventional wisdom holds that science flourishes in a free, open society with robust free speech norms. But as misinformation spreads during a global pandemic, costing lives and undermining scientific credibility, is it time to rethink conventional wisdom? The Goldfarb Center will host an interdisciplinary faculty-led discussion […]

It is time for the last Goldfarb Center event of the semester. As part of its focus on freedom of speech, the Goldfarb Center is hosting an in-person talk that will be live streamed at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 7. We will be hosting a conversation with Nathan Law, a well-known democracy activist currently […]

Join us for a conversation on disinformation in the digital age with Lisa Kaplan ’13. From public policies to social media tactics, Kaplan will discuss how disinformation has become a serious threat to government, businesses, and individuals alike. What is the balance between freely sharing ideas and protecting vulnerable people from harmful disinformation? How has […]

Julie Ann Smith Rep. Charlotte Warren Rep. Jessica Fay Do you want to learn how policymakers and academic experts work together to best shape public policy? Join the Goldfarb Center in a collaboration with the Maine Scholars Strategy Network as we host Maine lawmakers and policy advocates to explore ways that academic research can impact public policy. […]

As part of the Goldfarb Center’s annual theme on freedom of speech, join Colby professors as they guide us in a conversation on free speech with a global lens. How do policy approaches to free speech vary across countries? Is the US approach to free speech exceptional? What kinds of historical and contemporary factors help […]

This year's George J. Mitchell International Lecture Series speaker is Gayle E. Smith, who has served as a top advisor on international issues for three American presidents and is one of the world’s leading experts on global development and global health security. In 2021, Smith took on a temporary role at the request of the […]

The last event of the semester for the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs will be a conversation with musician, entrepreneur, and podcast host Eric Nam about the increasing violence directed at Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Eric Nam is one of the most popular and recognizable celebrities in Asia. He […]

In its continuing efforts to recognize individuals who put themselves at personal risk for the sake of truth-telling, Colby College will honor two Ukrainians with the 2022 Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award for Courage in Journalism. Mstyslav Chernov, a visual journalist and writer, and photojournalist Evgeniy Maloletka are being recognized for exceptional bravery in covering the Russian […]