The Chronicle of Higher Education tells the story of Colby College’s role in the transformation of downtown Waterville, Maine in a video titled “A College Gives Back to the Town That Once Saved It.”
Closed mills from a bygone era stand over Waterville like sullen sentries. They remind some townspeople and visitors of more-prosperous times. But when David A. Greene, president of Colby College, arrived on the campus, in 2013, he saw a dilapidated town with huge potential. With Greene’s leadership, the liberal-arts college has pulled together the community and investors, raised millions, and embarked on a major downtown revitalization.
In 2018, Colby opened the Bill & Joan Alfond Main Street Commons, bringing 200 students to a new dormitory that contributed to the downtown’s revival. This summer the college broke ground on a boutique hotel.
The video follows Greene along Main Street while he points out projects already complete and other initiatives underway. Watch the video to see everything that’s happened in the last five years and what lies ahead.