Talk of the Towns 1/14/26: Conversation with Sylvia Torti, President, College of the Atlantic

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves
College of the Atlantic provides help with production. Engineering by Joel Mann of WERU Community Radio.
Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording.

Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities

This month:
What is College of the Atlantic’s focus on human ecology and its approach to education?
What are the results of a recent study of College of the Atlantic’s contribution to the regional economy and cultural landscape?
How has College of the Atlantic benefited from an ongoing relationship with United World Colleges and it’s scholarships for international students?
What has led to the success of College of the Atlantic’s decade long Summer Institute?
How is College of the Atlantic responding to challenges facing higher education, including the shrinking number of traditionally-aged college students?

Guest/s:
Dr. Sylvia Torti, President, College of the Atlantic

FMI:
www.coa.edu

About the hosts:

Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals.

Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.