At Colby College's commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 25th, noted photographer and Island Institute Executive Vice President, Peter Ralston, received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in recognition of his work as a photographer, environmentalist, and advocate for Maine's coastal communities.

Colby President William Adams cited Ralston's photographic work by saying, "We honor your devotion to things close to home, for your artistic talent in sharing those things with the world, and the record you have provided of a threatened coastal way of life." Adams quoted Portland Museum of Art Director Daniel O'Leary as having called Ralston "the direct spiritual descendent of Winslow Homer in his loving and solemn response to the Maine coast and to the people who live in harmony alongside its austere beauty."

Ralston is an accomplished professional photographer and writer whose work has appeared in 34 books and more than 50 magazines, as well as having been exhibited in galleries across the United States and abroad. His web site (www.pralston.com) highlights his personal Maine work as well as that of the Island Institute.

Ralston co-founded the Island Institute in 1983 with Philip Conkling. The Colby Citation noted, "the organization is dedicated to supporting the island and coastal communities of Maine in numerous ways, including fisheries projects, community school support, and preserving Maine lighthouses and island post offices," among many other specific projects to that end.

Other honorary degrees were presented to Harvard's acclaimed poetry critic and scholar, Helen Vendler; Clifford Geertz, professor emeritus at Princeton University's Institute for Advanced Study and one of the world's leading anthropologists; Edward Lorenz, professor emeritus of meteorology at MIT, originator of the "butterfly effect" and founder of the new science of chaos theory; and Sonia Picado, a parliamentarian in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, former president of that country's National Liberation Party, and current President of the Interamerican Institute of Human Rights.

Founded in 1813, Colby College in Waterville, Maine, is one of the nation's oldest and best independent colleges of liberal arts. Colby is known for its intellectual rigor, its supportive campus community and atmosphere, and its global reach.