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By Kaitlin McCabe '16

Middlebury reevaluates divestment
On August 28, President Ronald D. Liebowitz announced that the Middlebury Board of Trustees and the administration has been evaluating the possibility of divesting its endowment of companies in the fossil-fuel sector. This statement is significant for this particular college, which is a recognized leader among colleges and universities that seek solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. The decision is part of a national movement to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions and has created heated tension amongst the college community. In the past few months, the college reevaluated the investment strategy of endowment managers and analyzed investment returns relative to other strategies and other institutions. In addition to remodeling investment strategies, Middlebury requested that investment managers explore alternative approaches.

Hamilton grad named Colby president
David A. Greene, an innovative leader at the University of Chicago and a graduate of Hamilton College, has been named the 20th president of Colby College, Chair of the Colby College Board of Trustees.  As executive vice president at the University of Chicago, Greene notably advanced strategic priorities that included an expansion of the faculty, the creation of new academic institutes and centers, financial aid initiatives, a civic engagement plan and major investments to infrastructure in support of research and teaching. He also recruited senior leadership in areas including finance and administration, alumni relations and development, communications, student and campus life and admissions and financial aid. Prior to this appointment at the UChicago, Greene was a vice president at Brown University. Greene’s leadership at Brown led to significant improvements and additions to campus facilities, a broad range of new student services and a number of programs that enhanced the academic dimensions of residential and campus life.

Williams professor to research study habits
Nate Kornell, assistant professor of psychology at Williams College, has been awarded a $600,000 grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation (JSMF) to conduct research on students’ study habits. The four year project is entitled, “Improving Self-regulated Learning.” With the grant, Kornell and his team will conduct several online and laboratory studies that will examine decisions students make while studying—for example, where to allot their time, how much time to spend and what methods are used to enhance memory retrieval. Kornell will also investigate how students choose to study compared to how findings suggest they should study in order to reach the project’s long-term goal of helping students understand and develop more effective studying strategies.

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