Colby gets $25 million gift for students to study abroad

Courtesy / Colby College An architect's rendering of the home of DavisConnects. The renovated building will open fall 2017. Students at Colby College will have the opportunity to study abroad, thanks to a $25 million gift to the Waterville liberal arts college from the Davis family and a trustee of its charitable foundation, Andrew Davis, a 1985 graduate.

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Students at Colby College will have greater opportunity to study abroad, thanks to a $25 million gift to the Waterville liberal arts college from the Davis family and a trustee of its charitable foundation, Andrew Davis, a 1985 graduate.

The Waterville Sentinel reported that Colby will launch its study-abroad program, DavisConnects, in the fall. The program is designed to enable students to take advantage of internships, research and fellowship opportunities abroad, who otherwise might not have the resources or personal connections to do so.

“The Davis family changed American higher education by making the best colleges and universities available to deserving students from around the world through the Davis United World College Scholars program,” Colby President David A. Greene said in a statement. “That program changed Colby College and the life trajectory of countless students who came here to study and left prepared and committed to changing their communities for the better. Now Andrew Davis and his family are bringing Colby to the world by providing all of our students with rigorous, meaningful global opportunities.”

On its website, Colby College describes DavisConnects as “a re-envisioning of the liberal arts in a global context.”

“DavisConnects, housed in a completely refurbished and expanded Grossman Hall in the center of campus, will open in the fall of 2017,” the college stated. “There, with the support of a talented staff, students will design a set of experiences to complement their core academic program and connect their courses to the world beyond the academy. Students will begin this design process early in their first year, mapping out a flexible plan of course work with internship, research, and global experiences.”

Other opportunities funded by the new program include Davis Global Engagement Fellowships, a competitive award, and the Davis Summit on Global Engagement, an annual event that connects the college community to its global initiatives and priorities.