Just over a month ago, Colby President William D. Adams, fondly known as “Bro” to those on the hill, announced his intention to retire in June 2014. According to The Colby Echo, alumnus Michael Gordon will lead the search committee for our next leader.
Since Colby was founded in 1813, all of the college’s presidents have been men. From the little that I know, most of them have been successful leaders. In Bro’s thirteen-year term, Colby raised over 300 million dollars, built three new buildings, renovated the Art Museum, and started construction on a new science building. Judging from these statistics, it will be a challenge for anyone to fill Bro’s role. However, as with any change in government, a new leader will mark a new era for Colby.
What better way to show the world how far we have come in our 200 years than to hire a woman for our next president? While Colby would not be the first college in the United States to have a female president, it could certainly be a leader in a movement to bring more women into leadership positions in higher education.
According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, “today’s typical college leader is a married white male with a doctorate in education.” Only a quarter of United States college presidents are women. Additionally, women are less likely than men to be tenured professors.
Carla Aronsohn, a senior at Colby and a leader of The Bridge, thinks a woman president could take more action regarding the long-desired Gender and Sexuality Resource Center. “Stereotypically, women are more sympathetic to these kinds of issues,” she says. Carla emphasizes that the new president must be a feminist in order to understand the urgent need for a center, as Colby is currently the only NESCAC member without one. It’s more likely that a woman would be able to relate to the issues that the center would address, such as body image, sexuality, and assault.
Sydney Hammond, a junior, wonders how a woman president might change the atmosphere on campus. Sydney said that a woman in charge might change things like distribution requirements or first-year orientation and might take a different approach to fundraising. A new and less traditional leader could bring new ideas to the table and influence the Colby experience for both students and faculty.
Over a century ago, Colby was one of the first all-male colleges to admit women. Mary Low, Colby’s first female student and valedictorian of her class, enrolled in 1871. Mary Low’s experience at Colby showed the country that women could succeed at the same schools as their male peers. If we can make history for giving women a higher education, can’t we do it again for putting women in the highest leadership position?
Many of Colby’s current leaders are men, such as Bro, Dean Terhune, Dean Johnston, and Jed Wartman. Additionally, 58 percent of the professors are men and only 42 percent are women. However, women make up over half (54.6 percent) of the student body. One more woman couldn’t hurt.
As a senior, I can safely say that I love Colby and have had an amazing and worthwhile experience. However, I’ve always had a desire to make it better, so that the next group of students to come through can have an even better time. I believe that a woman president has the potential to make Colby an even more welcoming place for future students.
Andrew Hedburg, a senior, sees no issue with a woman president. “The president’s job is to raise money and to represent the school. If a woman can do that, I don’t see why it couldn’t happen,” he says.
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