Photo / Courtesy of Colby College
David Watts
June 23, 2025
Longtime IBM executive to lead Colby's AI Institute
David Watts, a senior executive at IBM with three decades in technology under his belt, will join Colby College in Waterville as director of the school’s Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence starting in August.
Watts will succeed the institute's interim director, Michael Donihue.
The institute was launched in 2021 with a $30 million gift to set up the first cross-disciplinary institute for machine learning at a liberal arts college.
Watts has served in multiple leadership roles at IBM during more than two decades with the company. He has also worked at Motorola and other technology companies, and launched a startup focused on advanced semiconductor chip processing.
“David has an extraordinary history in developing leading-edge systems for global businesses,” said David A. Greene, president of Colby College.
“His deep understanding of AI, his scientific and technical expertise and his ability to lead across sectors make him ideally suited to guide the Davis Institute,” Greene added. “Just as importantly, David brings the mindset of a teacher and the heart of an academic, with a vision that aligns perfectly with the future of the liberal arts.”
Watts holds a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder, for his research on quantized superlattice electrodes in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He also earned a master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s from Carleton College in Minnesota.
Watts said he is leaving industry for academia to have an impact on the next generation of thinkers and leaders.
“For me, it comes down to impact. What kind of difference do you want to make in the world, and in whose lives?” Watts said. “The Davis Institute is already doing something unique in higher education. I saw a chance to help shape a powerful, cross-disciplinary vision, one that prepares students to lead in an AI-transformed world with creativity, purpose and integrity.”
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