Ostrove Auditorium, Diamond Building, Colby College

Professor Jens Ludwig, University of Chicago, will discuss the opportunities and challenges of using machine learning tools to help address what we call prediction policy problems. We show that the use of algorithmic predictions of risk to inform release decisions create the opportunity to simultaneously reduce crime, reduce jail populations, and reduce racial disparities within the […]

Eric Rosengren ’79, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, will lecture on monetary policy. Rosengren, who credits Colby College for inspiring his interest in economics, went on to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. President of the Boston Fed since 2007, he has developed a reputation for […]

The first of the Goldfarb Center’s Election Initiative Event series welcomes Erika Franklin Fowler, assistant professor and director of the Wesleyan Media Project, Wesleyan University. Outside-group advertising in elections skyrocketed after a series of campaign finance decisions by the Supreme Court, culminating in the seminal Citizens United case. What effect does this spending have on the electorate? This […]

Join James Manzer from ReVision Energy to explore community solar options in Maine and the opportunity to be part of the solar energy movement. Learn about the financial and environmental benefits of solar energy and the process of becoming part of a member-owned solar installation.

Dr. Nell Irvin Painter will deliver this commemorative Dr. Martin Luther King lecture. A leading historian of the United States, Painter is the Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, Princeton University. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, has served as president of the Organization of American Historians and the Southern Historical Association, and is a prolific […]

The 2015 Cotter Debate will feature panelists Stephen Moose, professor of crop sciences at the University of Illinois, Judith Chambers, director for the Program for Biosafety Systems International Food Policy Research Institute, Jonathan Latham, executive director of the Bioscience Resource Project, and Jodi Koberinski, Colby’s Oak Human Rights Fellow to debate the question, "Should we […]

Winner of a genius grant and one of TIME Magazine's World's 100 Most Influential People, Will Allen will share his expertise in urban farming and its relationship to strong local communities. As a world-traveling ambassador for food security, Allen trains others through his not-for-profit Growing Power organization. With both words and images, Allen documents his experiences from […]

Eric Klinenberg, professor of sociology at New York University, will talk about his book Modern Romance, a New York Times bestseller that explores the perils and pleasures of modern romance. Klinenberg, one of the leading sociologists in the United States, is the director of NYU's Institute for Public Knowledge. Sponsored by the Department of Sociology, the […]

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 […]

Peter Forbes works to redefine conservation as achieving resilient relationships between people and place and between one another. His goal is to partner with communities and organizations for transformative conversations.

Jodi Koberinski, a pioneer in food sovereignty in Canada, has reimagined agriculture and advocated for more equitable food systems. Colby's 2015 Oak Human Rights Fellow and a global leader in efforts to create sustainable, safe, and re food systems, Koberinski will give her formal address to the community as part of her Oak fellowship.

The Man from Oran depicts the betrayal of revolutionary ideals by Algeria's political leaders after the country gained independence from France in 1962. Djaffar -- the man from Oran -- has no interest in the liberation movement but finds himself involved with his friend Hamid in the murder of a French farmer. They get away, […]

Tonight's speaker, Hilary Hoynes, Colby Class of '83, holds the Haas Distinguished Chair in Economic Disparities and is professor of public policy and economics at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. She specializes in the study of poverty, inequality, and the impacts of government tax and transfer programs […]

Dan Harris '93 is co-anchor of ABC's Nightline and the weekend edition of Good Morning America. His New York Times bestseller, 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self Help That Actually Works -- A True Story, chronicles his career journey and his struggle […]