To the Colby Community,

Parker Beverage and I have been colleagues throughout his admirable Colby career. In fact, in the early years, when he was the newly anointed Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid and I was the Dean of Students, we were the "junior members" of the Colby President's "senior staff."

The best way to describe Parker is that he is a "marvel." You see, he has a phenomenal memory for students' names, records, test scores, high schools attended, honors won etc. It is hard to stump him. And, believe me, I tried over the years.

In addition, he is a very hard worker. In fact, he reads every single one of the 4000 plus applications the college receives annually. You will often see his office lights twinkling late at night in the midst of "the reading season."

He is the "guardian" of each class, ensuring that it has the proper mix of students: from far and near, from large schools , small schools and home schooled, with varied academic interests and fascinating extracurricular talents. Go back and research the remarks he makes at FIRST YEAR ASSEMBLY and you will see the command he has of each incoming class and its character.

Once you are touched by Parker, you remain on his radar. He speaks glowingly at a myriad of venues all over the world, about the accomplishments of Colby students and alumni to demonstrate why Colby is a superb choice for high school graduates from Presque Isle , Maine to Kathmandu, Nepal.

Thank you,
Janice Kassman
Special Assistant to the President for External Affairs