Colby College launches laboratory training in public policy

File photo Colby College in Waterville said it will launch a Public Policy Lab to combine classroom training with experiential learning.

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By Renee Cordes

Days after the U.S. presidential election, Colby College in Waterville announced plans to establish a Public Policy Lab to combine classroom study with experiential learning.

Funded with a $5 million donation from an anonymous trustee, the lab aims to allow students to participate in all aspects of the policymaking process by working in close collaboration with faculty members, community partners, visiting practitioners and organizations.

For Colby, the lab will be the fifth launched in recent years. It will join the Buck Lab for Climate and Environment, the Linde Packman Lab for Biosciences Innovation, the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship and the Lyons Arts Lab.

All are cross-disciplinary and focused on pressing challenges, creating opportunities for students in research, internships and employment. The labs strengthen Colby’s approach to academic innovation, grounding experiential learning with practical applications, according to the school.

“The Colby labs have helped to redefine a Colby education,” said Colby President David A. Greene, who was recognized as a Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year in 2017. “The labs deepen academic engagement and create partnerships and opportunities for research and learning through hands-on problem solving."

He also said that the $5 million gift “allows the college’s long tradition of engagement in public policy to become a centerpiece of the Colby experience.”

Still to be named, the inaugural director of the Public Policy Lab will come from a policy-related discipline. In addition to running the lab, the director will lead a visiting fellow program, build co-curricular opportunities for students interested in public policy, and work with faculty to develop avenues of study and student engagement.