Just over four years into its $750-million Dare Northward campaign—the largest campaign in liberal arts college history—Colby College has surpassed $650 million with contributions from more than 24,700 alumni, family members, and friends. The campaign is already making a substantial impact on the student, faculty, and staff experiences at Colby.

Colby has received a $2-million gift in support of the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts, on track to be the most advanced and innovative arts facility in the region. The anonymous gift will name two key backstage spaces: the costume shop and the dressing rooms. The gift was made possible through the generosity of a loyal Colby alumna and longtime resident of Waterville.

Colby will establish the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship to provide distinctive opportunities and experiences for understanding and applying the principles of entrepreneurship. The new lab, which will create a unique and leading entrepreneurship program among liberal arts colleges, is the result of a generous gift from Trustee Emeritus Todd Halloran '84.

Colby has become the inaugural college in the Haynesville Project, a first-of-its-kind pilot program that provides financial support for newly tenured faculty. Developed by Tom P'10 and Cathy Tinsley P'10, the core of the initiative is a generous $2-million gift to Colby that will provide direct funding to talented faculty who are at pivotal points in their careers. The project is named after Tom Tinsley’s late father, James A. Tinsley, an exceptional scholar and teacher who grew up in Haynesville, Louisiana.

Colby received a $7-million gift for financial aid that will further enhance the College’s commitment to increase access and affordability to the most talented students from all backgrounds. The generous gift, from the George G. Petrikas Revocable Trust, will establish the George G. Petrikas Financial Aid Fund designed to support high school graduates from Bangor or Waterville who enroll at Colby.

Colby’s one-of-a-kind space for artistic creation, innovation, and community interaction on Main Street was officially named the Greene Block + Studios as part of an opening ceremony in the new building. The name, which was at the request of lead donors Peter H. Lunder ’56, D.F.A. ’98 and Life Trustee Paula Crane Lunder, D.F.A. ’98, recognizes David and Carolyn Greene and their efforts to engage and work with the community.

To celebrate the start of the largest academic building project in its history and acknowledge the lead donor who is making it possible, Colby officially broke ground on the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts. The building is named in honor of Trustee Michael Gordon '66, whose commitment to the arts will provide expansive opportunities for students and the community.

Colby is pleased to announce a $2.8-million gift toward financial aid that further ensures access and affordability for Maine students. The gift, made possible through the anonymous donors’ estate, builds on an existing financial aid fund previously established by the same couple, bringing their total contribution to financial aid of in-state students to more than $5 million. 

Kate Lucier O’Neil ’85 and Ford E. O’Neil—a couple with a passion for enhancing the academic experience and life trajectories of Colby students—have made a $1.5-million gift to the College. In honor of their generosity, new spaces in the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center and the forthcoming Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts will carry the O’Neil name.