The Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award of Colby, established in 1952, honors a member of the newspaper profession who continues the Lovejoy heritage of fearlessness and freedom.
The recipient may be an editor, reporter, or publisher who, in the opinion of the judges, has contributed to the nation’s journalistic achievement. The selection committee makes its decision using criteria including integrity, craftsmanship, character, intelligence, and courage.
The purpose of the award is threefold: to honor and preserve the memory of Elijah Parish Lovejoy; to stimulate and honor the kind of achievement embodied in Lovejoy’s own courageous actions; and to promote a sense of mutual responsibility and cooperation between a journalistic world devoted to freedom of the press and a liberal arts college devoted to academic freedom.
The Cotter Debate Series was established in 1999 to recognize William R. Cotter, Colby’s 18th President, and his wife Linda K. Cotter. William R. Cotter received his undergraduate degree and his law degree at Harvard before striking out in a career in international governance and development. He spent two years in Northern Nigeria as assistant attorney general and crown counsel, served as a White House fellow under Lyndon Johnson, and was the Ford Foundation’s representative to Colombia and Venezuela. From 1970 to 1979 he was president of the African-American Institute, a nonprofit organization concerned with African development. As Colby’s president from 1979 to 2000, he increased international study opportunities, made significant progress in diversifying the faculty and student body, more than doubled library space, more than doubled the percentage of tenure-track women professors, and helped push Colby higher in the ranks of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges. Cotter led the College through the difficult process of ending the fraternity system, and during his presidency, the endowment increased over fifteen-fold.
The Mitchell Series brings a prominent policy leader each year to Colby College for a dinner and a lecture designed to foster interaction with students, faculty, and members of the greater Waterville community. The series is in honor of former U.S. Senator, statesman, international negotiator, and Waterville native George Mitchell.
The series was launched by generous contributions from Mitchell family members and friends of the senator who were eager to bring a high-profile event to the Waterville area. They include Paul Mitchell, the senator’s brother and a lifelong businessman in Waterville; his son Bill Mitchell, also a Waterville businessman and the senator’s nephew; and three of Senator Mitchell’s cousins, Bob Baldacci, a Portland consultant and brother of Maine’s former governor, and Waterville attorneys John and Mark Nale.
The Brody Service Award was created in memory of the Honorable Morton A. Brody, a U.S. District Court judge who passed away in March 2000. Judge Brody led an exemplary career as a lawyer, judge, and civic leader. A long-time friend of the College, he taught courses at Colby on the judicial system and was the husband of former Associate Dean of Admissions Judith Brody ’58. At the request of the Brody family, in keeping with Judge Brody’s distinguished service to both the state and federal judiciary, the College has accepted gifts given in his memory to establish an endowment to support a biennial event on the campus to honor an outstanding United States federal or state judge who embodies the same qualities of integrity, compassion, humanity, and judicial craftsmanship as were exhibited by Judge Brody throughout his lifetime.
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