Dear readers,
In the summertime when so many are vacationing, Colgate Magazine is celebrating the season of travel. We talked to alumni working in the transportation industry about prevailing topics like the unpredictability of flying, as well as what the future holds with self-driving cars and decarbonizing rail transit.
We rode the memory train with alumni as they reminisced about traveling abroad with their favorite professors.
And in honor of the U.S.’s 250th anniversary, we’re taking you on a road trip through America, from seeing the Milky Way along the Blue Ridge Parkway to celebrating the sharpening of a 20-foot pencil in Minneapolis to meeting Elvis in Las Vegas.
Abroad we talked to Darryl Nirenberg ’81, the U.S. ambassador to Romania; Steve Johnson ’93, owner of Cerveceria Catorce in Guatemala; and Bob ’83 and Mack ’13 Woodruff, who have a new docuseries about USO entertainment overseas. Meanwhile, some of our student-athletes have been representing the Raiders in other countries, such as women’s rowing in England.
We hope you enjoy taking this tour from the comfort of your couch — or your beach blanket. Let us know what you think of the summer issue: magazine@colgate.edu.
2026 Readership Survey Results
In the spring we sent a survey to readers via email. Here are the results:
1,296 responses
- Gender: 56% male, 38% female, <1% nonbinary/transgender, 5% preferred not to say
- Age: 44% 65+, 26% 50–64, 18% 35–49, 5% 25–34, 2% under 25
- Race/ethnicity: 86% white, 9% other/prefer not to say/no response, 2% Asian, 2% Black, 1% Hispanic/Latino/Latina
- Engagement: 65% read every issue, 23% read most issues, 10% read occasionally, 1% never read the magazine; 61% read exclusively in print, 30% read mostly in print, 5% read equally in print and online, 4% read mostly or exclusively online
- Favorite article topics, in order: alumni endeavors, campus life, faculty activities, current students, research projects, fundraising
What do you like most about Colgate Magazine?
A sampling of comments:
→ I am the daughter of an alum, so the Scene (as I still call it) has always been part of my life. A year ago, I moved to a city 763 miles from my family and friends. So little was familiar here — even the junk mail was different. Then one day the Scene came through my mail slot, and I wanted to hug it. It was like a friend surprising me with a visit.
→ It is the main way I keep up with my school. I value it enormously.
→ The first thing I always read is the president’s letter. President Casey does not let the grass grow under his feet. We are blessed to have his leadership.
→ It is visually beautiful — captures the finest visuals from campus (touches the nostalgic heart, not just the brain).
→ I like that it’s in print. I consume all my other news online and appreciate the break!
→ It is the tangible embodiment of what I love about the school.→ I love showing my kids the cool things that alumni are up to.
→ It’s arguably the best piece of snail mail I get. Perfect blend of nostalgia and keeping me informed about the Colgate community. Please continue investing in this robust, print alumni publication.
We received several comments expressing concern that this survey was conducted because the print publication is in jeopardy, so we want to assure readers that our motive was only to hear readers’ feedback. Thank you to those who participated.