Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College
Motto Ut Aquila Versus Coelum (Latin)
Motto in English
 As an eagle towards the sky
Type Private liberal arts college
Non-profit
Established June 24, 1794
Endowment $1.393 billion (2015)[1]
President Clayton Rose
Academic staff
 240[2]
Undergraduates 1,799 (Fall 2015)[2]
Location Brunswick, Maine, USA
Coordinates: 43°54′32″N 69°57′47″W / 43.909°N 69.963°W / 43.909; -69.963
Campus Suburban
Colors Black and White
         
Athletics NCAA Division III – NESCAC
Nickname Polar Bears
Mascot Polar bear
Affiliations Annapolis Group
Oberlin Group
CLAC
Website bowdoin.edu

Bowdoin College (/ˈboʊdᵻn/ BOH-din) is a private liberal arts college located in Brunswick, Maine. Founded in 1794, the college currently enrolls 1,839 students, and has been coeducational since 1971. Bowdoin offers 33 majors and four additional minors, and has a student–faculty ratio of 9:1.

The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River, 12 miles north of Freeport, Maine, and 18 miles north of Portland, Maine. In addition to its Brunswick campus, Bowdoin also owns a 118-acre coastal studies center on Orr's Island[3] and a 200-acre scientific field station on Kent Island[4] in the Bay of Fundy. Bowdoin was ranked as tied for the fourth-best liberal arts college by U.S. News & World Report, 21st by Forbes, and 35th by Washington Monthly.

History

Founding and 19th century

Bowdoin College, circa 1845. Lithograph by Fitz Hugh Lane

Bowdoin College was chartered in 1794 by the Massachusetts State Legislature and was later redirected under the jurisdiction of the Maine Legislature. It was named for former Massachusetts governor James Bowdoin, whose son James Bowdoin III was an early benefactor.[5] At the time of its founding, it was the easternmost college in the United States, as it was located in Maine.

Bowdoin began to develop in the 1820s, a decade in which Maine became an independent state as a result of the Missouri Compromise and graduated U.S. President Franklin Pierce who played an integral role the nation's enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act, and advocated for the land rights of cotton plantations. The college also graduated two literary philosophers, the writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, both of whom graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1825. Franklin and Hawthorne began an official militia company called the 'Bowdoin Cadets'.[6]

From its founding, Bowdoin was known to educate the sons of the politically elite[7] and "catered very largely to the wealthy conservative from the state of Maine." With the establishment of Bates College in nearby Lewiston, Bowdoin has historically competed with the school academically, and athletically, due to the natural rivalry that grew out of the stark difference between the two colleges, specifically regarding wealth, admissions, and academic platforms.[8][9] Many alumni of Bowdoin subsequently went on to develop Bates during the 1860s and alumni of Bates lectured at Bowdoin.[10][11] During the first half of the 19th century, Bowdoin required of its students a certificate of "good moral character" as well as knowledge of Latin and Ancient Greek, geography, algebra and the major works of Cicero, Xenophon, Virgil and Homer.[12]

View of the campus from Coles Tower

Harriet Beecher Stowe, "the little lady who started this big war", started writing her influential anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin in Bowdoin's Appleton Hall while her husband was teaching at the college, and Brigadier General (and Brevet Major General) Joshua Chamberlain, a Bowdoin alumnus and professor, was present at the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House in 1865. Chamberlain, a Medal of Honor recipient who later served as governor of Maine, adjutant-general of Maine, and president of Bowdoin, fought in Gettysburg, where he was in command of the 20th Maine in defense of Little Round Top. Major General Oliver Otis Howard, class of 1850, led the Freedmen's Bureau after the war and later founded Howard University; Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew, class of 1837, was responsible for the formation of the 54th Massachusetts; and William P. Fessenden (1823) and Hugh McCulloch (1827) both served as Secretary of the Treasury during the Lincoln Administration. However, the college's involvement in the Civil War was mixed as Bowdoin had many ties to slave labor and the Confederacy.

With strained slave-relations between political parties President Franklin Pierce, appointed Jefferson Davis as his Secretary of War, and the college awarded the soon-to-be President of the Confederacy, an honorary degree. The Jefferson Davis Award was given to a student who excelled in legal studies after a donation was given to the college by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The award, however, was discontinued in 2015, with the current college president citing it as inappropriate due to the fact it was named after someone "whose mission was to preserve and institutionalize slavery."[13] President Ulysses S. Grant, too, was given an honorary degree from the college in 1865. Seventeen Bowdoin alumni attained the rank of brigadier general during the Civil War, including James Deering Fessenden and Francis Fessenden; Ellis Spear, class of 1858, who served as Chamberlain's second-in-command at Gettysburg; and Charles Hamlin, class of 1857, son of Vice President Hannibal Hamlin.

20th century

Bowdoin was also the Medical School of Maine from 1821 to 1921

Although Bowdoin's Medical School of Maine closed its doors in 1921, it produced Dr. Augustus Stinchfield, who received his M.D. in 1868 and went on to become one of the co-founders of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. In 1877, the college would go on to graduate the infamous Charles Morse, the American banker who established near-monopoly of the ice business in New York, which directly lead to the financial Panic of 1907.[14] Another alumnus in the sciences is the controversial entomologist-turned-sexologist Alfred Kinsey, class of 1916. The college went on to educate and eventually graduate Arctic explorers Robert E. Peary, class of 1877, and Donald B. MacMillan, class of 1898. Peary led the first successful expedition to the North Pole in 1908, and MacMillan, a member of Peary's crew, explored Greenland, Baffin Island and Labrador in the schooner Bowdoin between 1908 and 1954. Bowdoin's Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum[15] honors the two explorers, and the college's mascot, the polar bear, was chosen in 1913 to honor MacMillan, who donated a statue of a polar bear to his alma mater in 1917.Wallace H. White, Jr., class of 1899, served as Senate Minority Leader from 1944–1947 and Senate Majority Leader from 1947–1949; George J. Mitchell, class of 1954, served as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995 before assuming an active role in the Northern Ireland peace process; and William Cohen, class of 1962, spent twenty-five years in the House and Senate before being appointed Secretary of Defense in the Clinton Administration.

In 1970, it became one of a very limited number of liberal arts college to make the SAT optional in the admissions process, and in 1971, after nearly 180 years as a small men's college, Bowdoin admitted its first class of women. Bowdoin also phased out fraternities in the late 1990s, replacing them with a system of college-owned social houses.

Recent developments

In 2001, Barry Mills, class of 1972, was appointed as the fifth alumnus president of the college. On January 18, 2008, Bowdoin announced that it would be eliminating loans for all new and current students receiving financial aid, replacing those loans with grants beginning with the 2008–2009 academic year.[16] President Mills stated, "Some see a calling in such vital but often low paying fields such as teaching or social work. With significant debt at graduation, some students will undoubtedly be forced to make career or education choices not on the basis of their talents, interests, and promise in a particular field, but rather on their capacity to repay student loans. As an institution devoted to the common good, Bowdoin must consider the fairness of such a result."[16]

In February 2009, following a $10 million donation by Subway Sandwiches co-founder and alumnus Peter Buck, class of 1952, the college completed a $250-million capital campaign. Additionally, the college has also recently completed major construction projects on the campus, including a renovation of the college's art museum and a new fitness center named after Peter Buck.[17]

Academics

Bowdoin Chapel during the late spring

Course distribution requirements were abolished in the 1970s, but were reinstated by a faculty majority vote in 1981, as a result of an initiative by oral communication and film professor Barbara Kaster. She insisted that distribution requirements would ensure students a more well-rounded education in a diversity of fields and therefore present them with more career possibilities. The requirements of at least two courses in each of the categories of Natural Sciences/Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Humanities/Fine Arts, and Foreign Studies (including languages) took effect for the Class of 1987 and have been gradually amended since then. Current requirements require one course each in: Natural Sciences, Quantitative Reasoning, Visual and Performing Arts, International Perspectives and Exploring Social Differences. A small writing-intensive course, called a First Year Seminar, is also required.

In 1990, the Bowdoin faculty voted to change the four-level grading system to the traditional A, B, C, D and F system. The previous system, consisting of high honors, honors, pass and fail, was devised primarily to de-emphasize the importance of grades and to reduce competition.[18] In 2002, the faculty decided to change the grading system so that it incorporated plus and minus grades.

Other notable Bowdoin faculty include (or have included): Edville Gerhardt Abbott, Charles Beitz, John Bisbee, Paul Chadbourne, Thomas Cornell, Kristen R. Ghodsee, Eddie Glaude, Joseph E. Johnson, Richard Morgan, Elliott Schwartz, and Scott Sehon.

Rankings

University rankings
National
Forbes[19] 21
Global
Liberal arts colleges
U.S. News & World Report[20] 4
Washington Monthly[21] 35

In 2006 Newsweek described Bowdoin as a "New Ivy", one of a number of liberal arts colleges and universities outside of the Ivy League, and it has also been dubbed a "Hidden Ivy".[22]

Bowdoin has been ranked among all liberal arts colleges in the United States by U.S. News & World Report since the rankings were established, and in the 2016 edition of the rankings, Bowdoin ranked tied for fourth overall with Middlebury, Wellesley, and Pomona and 12th in the category "best value schools".[23] In Forbes' 2015 college rankings, Bowdoin ranked 21st overall and 20th among private colleges.[24]

Based on student's SAT scores, Bowdoin is tied with Williams for 5th in Business Insider's smartest liberal arts colleges with an average score of 1435 for math and critical reading combined.[25] Among all colleges, it is tied with Brown, Carnegie Mellon, and Williams for 22nd.[26] Bowdoin was named "School of the Year" by Niche, and is ranked 1st among liberal arts colleges.[27]

Admissions

Fall admission statistics
  2016[28] 2015[29] 2014[30] 2013[31]
Applicants 6,788 6,790 6,935 7,052
Admits NA 1,009 1,034 1,054
Admit rate NA 14.9% 14.9% 14.9%
Enrolled NA 499 503 497
SAT range NA 2050-2300 2050-2290 2050-2280
ACT range NA 31-34 31-34 30-33

Bowdoin accepted 14.9% or 1,009 of the 6,790 applicants for the class of 2019.[29][32] Applicant numbers for the college have been decreasing steadily since 2011. For the class of 2020, 6,788 students applied.[28]

U.S. News and World Report classifies Bowdoin as "most selective".[33] Of enrolling students, 89% are in the top 10% of their high school graduating class.[34]

Although Bowdoin does not require the SAT in admissions, all students must submit a score upon matriculation. The middle 50% SAT range for the verbal and math sections of the SAT is 660–750 and 660–750, respectively — numbers of only those submitting scores during the admissions process. The middle 50% ACT range is 30–33.[35]

The April 17, 2008, edition of The Economist noted Bowdoin in an article on university admissions: "So-called 'almost-Ivies' such as Bowdoin and Middlebury also saw record low admission rates this year (18% each). It is now as hard to get into Bowdoin, says the college's admissions director, as it was to get into Princeton in the 1970s." However, applicant levels have been declining since 2013.[36]

Many students apply for financial aid, and around 85% of those who apply receive aid. Bowdoin is a need-blind and a no-loans institution.[16]

While a significant portion of the student body hails from New England — including nearly 25% from Massachusetts and 10% from Maine — recent classes have drawn from an increasingly national and international pool. Although Bowdoin once had a reputation for homogeneity (both ethnically and socioeconomically), a diversity campaign has increased the percentage of students of color in recent classes to more than 31%.[37] In fact, admission of minorities goes back at least as far as John Brown Russwurm 1826, Bowdoin's first African-American college graduate, and the third African-American graduate of any American college.[38]

Graduates

In 2006, Bowdoin was named a "Top Producer of Fulbright Awards for American Students" by the Institute of International Education.[39] According to PayScale, alumni of Bowdoin College have a mid-career median salary of $106,000, making it the 29th highest among colleges and universities in the United States.[40]

Student life

Hubbard Hall, once the college's library

The college's dining services have been featured on numerous national news organizations, with The New York Times reporting: "If it weren't for the trays, and for the fact that most diners are under 25, you'd think it was a restaurant."[41] Bowdoin has two major dining halls, one of which was renovated in the late 1990s. Every academic year begins with a lobster bake outside Farley Fieldhouse.

Recalling his days at Bowdoin in a recent interview, Professor Richard E. Morgan (Class of 1959) described student life at the then-all-male school as "monastic," and noted that "the only things to do were either work or drink." (This is corroborated by the Official Preppy Handbook, which in 1980 ranked Bowdoin the number two drinking school in the country, behind Dartmouth.) These days, Morgan observed, the college offers a far broader array of recreational opportunities: "If we could have looked forward in time to Bowdoin's standard of living today, we would have been astounded."[42]

Since abolishing Greek fraternities in the late 1990s, Bowdoin has switched to a system in which entering students are assigned a "college house" affiliation correlating with their first-year dormitory. While six houses were originally established, following the construction of two new dorms, two were added effective in the fall of 2007, bringing the total to eight: Ladd (affiliated with Osher Hall), Baxter (West), Quinby (Appleton), MacMillan (Coleman), Howell (Hyde), Helmreich (Maine), Reed (Moore), and Burnett (Winthrop). The college houses are physical buildings around campus which host parties and other events throughout the year. Those students who choose not to live in their affiliated house retain their affiliation and are considered members throughout their Bowdoin career. Before the fraternity system was abolished in the 1990s, all the Bowdoin fraternities were co-educational (except for one unrecognized sorority and two unrecognized all-male fraternities).

Bowdoin's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was founded in 1825. Those who have been inducted to the Maine chapter as undergraduates include Nathaniel Hawthorne (1825), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1825), Robert E. Peary (1877), Owen Brewster (1909), Harold Hitz Burton (1909), Paul Douglas (1913), Alfred Kinsey (1916), Thomas R. Pickering (1953), and Lawrence B. Lindsey (1976).

The Orient, the college's newspaper

Clubs

The largest student group on campus is the Outing Club, which leads canoeing, kayaking, rafting, camping and backpacking trips throughout Maine.[43] Bowdoin's Board Game Club currently holds the largest email base of any student group. One of the school's two historic rival literary societies, The Peucinian Society, has recently been revitalized from its previous form. The Peucinian Society was founded in 1805. This organization counts such people as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Joshua Chamberlain amongst its former members, though these individuals originally belonged to the Athenian Society (the second society of the two historic groups). These literary and intellectual societies were the dominant groups on campus before they declined in popularity after the rise of Greek fraternities.

Media and publications

Bowdoin's student newspaper, The Bowdoin Orient, is the oldest continuously published college weekly in the United States.[44] The Orient was named the second best tabloid-sized college weekly at a Collegiate Associated Press conference in March 2007.[45] Additionally, the school's literary magazine, The Quill, has been published since 1897. The Bowdoin Globalist, an international news, culture, and politics magazine affiliated with the Global21 organization of college magazines has been publishing since 2012. The Bowdoin Globalist transitioned to a digital-only platform in 2015. The college's radio station, WBOR, has been in operation since 1951. In 1999, The Bowdoin Cable Network was formed, producing a weekly newscast and several student created shows per semester.[46]

A cappella

There are six a cappella groups on campus.[47] The Meddiebempsters and the Longfellows are all-male, Miscellania and Bella Mafia are all-female, and BOKA and Ursus Verses are co-ed.

Studzinski Recital Hall

"The Longfellows" are the newer of the two all male groups. Founded in 2004, they trace their roots to the historic class of 1825 at Bowdoin, which graduated Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In 2011, they won their quarterfinal of the International Collegiate Championship of A Cappella, advancing them to the semifinals, as the only all-male group. The same year, they were in the final round of selection to be on NBC's "The Sing Off." In 2010 and again in 2013, they sang the national anthem at a Boston Celtics game. They have performed all over Maine and the Northeast.

"The Meddiebempsters" are the oldest of Bowdoin's six a cappella groups. Founded in the spring of 1937, the Meddies performed in USO shows after World War II.[48]

"Miscellania" is the oldest all-female a cappella group at Bowdoin College. Miscellania was founded in 1972 as the female counterpart to the Meddiebempsters, shortly after women were admitted to Bowdoin. Since then, Miscellania has grown to be a part of the tradition of a cappella at Bowdoin College. Distinguishable by their black dresses, Miscellania has performed all over Maine and the Northeast, as well as down the East Coast on longer tours.

Controversies

Student safety

On November 7th, 2015, a unidentified man broke into a campus apartment and it was later revealed that a rape had occurred.[49] Ten days later another student reported an unidentified man had broken into another campus apartment and allegedly sexually assaulted the student.[50] The assailant was a registered sex offender, and seeking treatment at a local support group near the college, he was briefly jailed and convicted of his crime, leading for the support group to be terminated by the Church Council.[51][52] On November 11, 2015, a reported sexual assault at an off-campus apartment complex owned by the college led to a formal investigation by Bowdoin Security and the Brunswick Police Department.[53] A week later, two instances involved female students walking alone at night who reported being grabbed from behind by unknown assailants. In response, Brunswick police increased patrols near the college the college issued alerts to students, faculty, and staff.[54] The college expanded shuttle service after dark and conducted a full audit of campus lighting and door/window security.[55] Two weeks later, a man, who was later identified as an unlisted sex offender, was arrested for breaking into another campus building and waiting for a student to return from classes, and the next day was detained for looking into the windows of students' residences.[56] Bowdoin Security received dozens of reports indicating that a man had been filming and taking photos of students, undressing or nude from outside, which lead to a full investigation, with the culprit being arrested, convicted, and jailed.[57]

In the summer of 2015, the male student withdrew from the college after his arrest for the alleged rape of a female student in late May, which prompted the college to discontinue its investigation of the rape.[58][59] He was formally indicted for the crime by a Cumberland County grand jury in October.[60] With a reported 17 rapes occurring in 2014, the college has stated that the increase in number is attributed to "new federal reporting rules and an increased awareness on campus."[61]

Religious tolerance

On June 10, 2014, The New York Times, published an article that denounced the college's dismissal of the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship. The club was dismissed because of certain members refusing to agree to the nondiscrimination policies of the college, due to their "basic Christian faith," which included doctrinal standards on homosexuality, and abstinence.[62][63] The college would go on to refute the article saying "There’s a real tension between the college’s deeply held commitment to making sure no group discriminates against any student and the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship’s deep concern that the people who lead it need to share the basic Christian doctrine."[64] As of 2014, the group is no longer an officially recognized group at the college, and operates off-campus.[65]

Manhattan report

In 2013, Bowdoin's 14th President, Barry Mills, was reportedly playing golf with philanthropist Thomas Klingenstein who, in the middle of a swing, told him that the college was a "ridiculous liberal school that brings all the wrong students to campus for all the wrong reasons." The incident would go to be referred to as "The golf shot heard around the academic world", by The Wall Street Journal.[66] Yale University's professor of Political Science, Peter Berkowitz, wrote an article entitled "The Sad State of Liberal Education at Bowdoin," reiterating the statements of Klingenstein.[67]

In April 2013, the college was at the center of Manhattan Institute for Policy Research's educational study entitled, "What Does Bowdoin Teach? How a Contemporary Liberal Arts College Shapes Students."[68] The report was later dubbed, "The Bowdoin Project" due to widespread media coverage.[69] Prompted by the National Association of Scholars, it was a 359-page report that was financed at cost of $100,000. The assessment criticized and denounced, in thorough detail, the college's academic program, sexual atmosphere, treatment of women and minorities, student and faculty diversity, drug and alcohol issues, student safety, and hazing, among twenty-six other categories.[70] The report received national coverage and lead to a discussion regarding the politicization of higher education and Bowdoin's academic reputation.[71] The report was rebutted by the at-the-time President Barry Mills, who called the assessment, "mean-spirited and personal."[72] President Mills responded multiple times after the college's initial response, concluding in a published report entitled "Setting the Record Straight" in The Daily Sun, in which he formalized his rejection by stating:

"[The report was] financed at a cost of "well over $100,000" by an individual who has not spent more than a few hours on our campus and produced by a 25-year-old organization whose investigators have no first-hand experience with what we teach or how we teach it. It exaggerates its claims and misrepresents both what we do at Bowdoin and what we stand for. This is not just my reaction. It is the considered opinion of many members of our community, including those who ought to know best—our current students and their parents, and alumni who have spent many, many hours in our classrooms and labs, and who describe an experience very different from the one contained in this report."

One of the most covered sections of the report was one that questioned the college's patriotism, as well as asserting that is mission was "antithetical to the American experiment". Mills responded by stating:

"[The report said] that our "worldview" and what we teach here [is] "antithetical to the American experiment" or that "Bowdoin on the whole shows little interest in the West." Frankly, it’s hard to know where to begin with such nonsense. The American flag flies high over our campus atop a flagpole dedicated to our graduates who died in defense of America."[73]

Many academic institutions and organizations sided with the college, calling the report, "a failed attack on Bowdoin [that] descended into disturbing conspiracy theories and wild speculation."[74][75] Two Bowdoin professors, one of social science and one of political science, sided with the report, writing in the college's newspaper, "although I do not agree with all the findings of the NAS report, I believe that it highlights serious problems with the current state of education at Bowdoin and at elite institutions in general."[76][77]

The study was covered extensively by The American Mind, in which its founder and president Charles Kesler, interviewed the principle architect of the report, and President of the National Association of Scholars, Peter Wood.[78] With a total of four videos being made, the main issues addressed by Wood was lack of political diversity and representation,[78] perceived weakness of academic program,[79] and student life concerning sexual assault, the meaning of consent, and a perceived "doctrine of anti-traditionalism."[80]

In January 2014, the college was again criticized, along with other liberal arts colleges, by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, citing the college's perceived grade inflation, substance abuse, restriction of free speech, and lack of core classes, in a report entitled, "Education or Reputation?"[81]

Racial and ethnic issues

In 2014, Bowdoin’s Lacrosse team held a themed party that included dressing up as Native Americans that were attending a "Cracksgiving."[82] The students involved were administratively disciplined and Dean of Student Affairs, Foster sent a campus-wide email stating that "Bowdoin will not condone or tolerate behavior that divides our community and denigrates others, nor will we accept a plea of ignorance as license to avoid accountability."[83]

On October 22, 2015, Bowdoin’s sailing team held a themed party that sparked issues of racism and cultural appropriation.[84][85] The theme was characterized as "gangster-themed" featuring costumes that were stereotypically associated with black culture. This sparked a major debate on campus about racism, cultural stereotypes, and racial discrimination.[86] On December 8, 2015, Bowdoin President Clayton Rose hosted a 75-minute "town hall" discussion about race in the College's David Saul Smith Union that was attended by more than 500 students. During the event, titled "Why should I care about race if I'm white?," students were invited to speak candidly and to ask questions about race.[87]

On February 20, 2016, Bowdoin students sent an email inviting each other to a "tequila-themed" birthday party, in which the following was stated, "we’re not saying it’s a fiesta, but we’re not not saying that :) (we’re not saying that)." [88] The party featured students wearing miniature Sombreros, and consuming tequila, both closely linked with Latin American culture. The email, party, and subsequent aftermath caused extended media coverage and backlash from students, and their administration citing the incident as "ethnic stereotyping" and "act of bias".[89][90][91] The student government filed articles of impeachment against members who parpcitpated in the party's activities.[92] The incident was covered by selected national news outlets, including The Washington Post, which called the reaction questionable, in a piece entitled, "Political correctness devours yet another college, fighting over mini-sombreros."[93] The Washington Post, ran another article later that day, criticizing the college's administration in their involvement in providing culturally and racially linked attire to alumni at a reunion gathering, questioning if "tequila party attendees should have known better than to treat sombreros as silly props if the administration itself didn’t either."[94] The publication ran a third, and final article on the event, detailing the events through different perspectives, citing the administration itself as "actively mudding those [cultural] norms" by their involvement with the alumni reunion event, and criticized the college's reaction to the party, by questioning whether "[questions of cultural appropriation] deserve to be settled via disciplinary decision[s] suddenly handed down from on high that will mar these students’ transcripts and potentially hurt their future employment."[95]

Environmental record

Bowdoin College signed onto the American College and University President's Climate Commitment in 2007.[96] The college followed through with a carbon neutrality plan released in 2009, with 2020 as the target year for carbon neutrality. According to the plan, general improvements to Maine's electricity grid will account for 7% of carbon reductions, commuting improvements will account for 1%, and the purchase of renewable energy credits will account for 41%. The college intends to reduce its own carbon emissions 28% by 2020, leaving the remaining 23% for new technologies and more renewable energy credits.[97] Coordinator of Sustainable Bowdoin Keisha Payson has acknowledged that achieving carbon neutrality by 2020 "might not be realistic."[98] Bowdoin purchases its electricity from Central Maine Power. The college buys renewable energy credits to offset all of the related carbon emissions.[99] According to the EPA's Green Power Partnership, 5.8% of Bowdoin's total electricity usage comes from green power.[100] Bowdoin's facilities are heated by an on-campus heating plant which burns natural gas.[99]

In February 2013, the college announced that 1.4% of its endowment is invested in the fossil fuel industry. The disclosure was in response to students' calls to divest these holdings.[101]

Bowdoin announces plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2020

Between 2002 and 2008, Bowdoin College decreased its CO2 emissions by 40%. It achieved that reduction by switching from #6 to #2 oil in its heating plant, reducing the campus set heating point from 72 to 68 degrees, and by adhering to its own Green Design Standards in renovations.[102] In addition, Bowdoin runs a single stream recycling program, and its dining services department has begun composting food waste and unbleached paper napkins.[103] Bowdoin received an overall grade of "B-" for its sustainability efforts on the College Sustainability Report Card 2009 published by the Sustainable Endowments Institute.[104] In addition to various student run organizations, including Sustainable Bowdoin and the Bowdoin Organic Garden, the college's dining service regularly uses local products and annually invites local farmers to campus to discuss how local food products are incorporated into the daily menu for students.

In 2003, Bowdoin made a commitment to achieve LEED-certification for all new campus buildings.[105] The college has since completed construction on Osher and West residency halls, the Peter Buck Center for Health & Fitness, and the Sidney J. Watson Arena, all of which have attained LEED or Silver LEED certification. The new dorms partially use collected rain water as part of an advanced flushing system, while the new ice arena uses one of the most efficient dehumidification and refrigeration systems out of any Division III collegiate arena.[105]

In 2009, the college announced a detailed plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2020 as a result of campus-wide conservation efforts and specific initiatives in its implementation plan. The plan includes the construction of a solar thermal system, part of the "Thorne Solar Hot Water Project"; cogeneration in the central heating plant (for which Bowdoin received $400,000 in federal grants); lighting upgrades to all campus buildings; and modern monitoring systems of energy usage on campus.[106]

Campus

Museums on Bowdoin's campus include the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, and the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum. Notable Buildings include Massachusetts Hall, Hubbard Hall, the Parker Cleaveland House and the Harriet Beecher Stowe House.

The main Quad of Bowdoin College in the middle of autumn.

Athletics

Hubbard Grandstand in 1912, built in 1904 at Whittier Field

Bowdoin competes in the NCAA Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference, which also includes Amherst, Conn College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams. Bowdoin has competed against Bates College since the 1800s and began competing with Colby College in the 1940s, in 1965, the three schools formed the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium.[11] The college's mascot is the polar bear, the school's official colors white and black.[107]

The women's basketball team are 8-time NESCAC champions, holding a record 7-year streak. The field hockey team are four-time NCAA National Champions; winning the title in 2007 (defeating Middlebury College), 2008 (defeating Tufts University), 2010 (defeating Messiah College) and 2013 (defeating Salisbury College). Head coach Nicky Pearson has been NESCAC coach of the year a record 7 times.

Bowdoin's Men's Tennis doubles won the 4th NCAA National Championship. Bowdoin's 5th NCAA National Championship was won by the men's indoor track Distance Medley Relay Team taking the top spot at the Division 3 Indoor Track and Field National Championships.[108]

Facilities

Before a match between Bowdoin and Williams at Watson Arena, built in 2009

In addition to several outdoor athletic fields (Pickard field & Whittier Field), the college's athletic facilities include:

Bowdoin alumni

Bowdoin alumni Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Famous Bowdoin graduates include;

Bowdoin graduates have led all three branches of the federal government, including both houses of Congress. Franklin Pierce (1826) was America's fourteenth President; Melville Weston Fuller (1853) served as Chief Justice of the United States; Thomas Brackett Reed (1860) was twice elected Speaker of the House of Representatives; and Wallace H. White, Jr. (1899) and George J. Mitchell (1954) both served as Majority Leader of the United States Senate.

Fictional character Dr. Derek Shepherd of the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy was a graduate of Bowdoin, and sometimes pictured wearing a Bowdoin T-shirt on the show.[109]

Presidents of Bowdoin

Joshua L. Chamberlain statue near the entrance to Bowdoin College
  1. Joseph McKeen (1802–07)
  2. Jesse Appleton (1809–19)
  3. William Allen (1820–39)
  4. Leonard Woods (1839–66)
  5. Samuel Harris (1867–71)
  6. Joshua Chamberlain (1871–83)
  7. William DeWitt Hyde (1885–1917)
  8. Kenneth C.M. Sills (1918–52)
  9. James S. Coles (1952–67)
  10. Roger Howell, Jr. (1969–78)
  11. Willard F. Enteman (1978–80)
  12. A. LeRoy Greason (1981–90)
  13. Robert Hazard Edwards (1990–2000)
  14. Barry Mills (2001–2015)
  15. Clayton Rose (2015–present)

References

  1. ↑ "Bowdoin Endowment Returns 14.4 Percent". Bowdoin College. September 22, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Common Data Set 2015-2016" (PDF). Bowdoin College.
  3. ↑ "The Bowdoin Coastal Studies Center". Bowdoin.edu. 2011-03-01. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  4. ↑ "A description of Kent Island". Bowdoin.edu. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  5. ↑ "The Charter of Bowdoin College - Office of the President". www.bowdoin.edu. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  6. ↑ Wallner, Peter A. (Spring 2005). "Franklin Pierce and Bowdoin College Associates Hawthorne and Hale" (PDF). Historical New Hampshire (New Hampshire Historical Society): 24.
  7. ↑ John J. Pullen, "Joshua Chamberlain: A Hero's Life and Legacy," Stackpole Books (1999), ISBN 9780585283463, pg. 60
  8. ↑ Nevin, David (1970). Muskie of Maine. Ladd Library, Bates College: Random House, New York. p. 99.
  9. ↑ Larson, Timothy (2005). "Faith by Their Works: The Progressive Tradition at Bates College from 1855 to 1877,". Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine: Bates College Publishing. pp. Multi–source.
  10. ↑ Larson, Timothy (2005). "Faith by Their Works: The Progressive Tradition at Bates College from 1855 to 1877,". Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine: Bates College Publishing. pp. Multi–source.
  11. 1 2 Woz, Markus (2002). Traditionally Unconventonal. Ladd Library, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine: Bates College. p. 6.
  12. ↑ James Grant, "Mr. Speaker!: The Life and Times of Thomas B. Reed," Simon & Schuster (2011), ISBN 978-1416544944, pg. 9
  13. ↑ "Bowdoin to Discontinue Annual Academic Award in the Name of Jefferson Davis | Bowdoin News". community.bowdoin.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  14. ↑ Druett, Joan (2000). She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea. Simon and Schuster. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-7432-1437-7. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Website of the Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum". Academic.bowdoin.edu. 2010-11-18. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  16. 1 2 3 Story posted January 24, 2008 (2008-01-24). "Bowdoin Eliminates Student Loans While Vowing to Maintain its Com, Campus News (Bowdoin)". Bowdoin.edu. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  17. ↑ "Trustees meeting focuses on finances — The Bowdoin Orient". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  18. ↑ "Campus Life: Bowdoin; Students Angered By Vote to Change Grading System". The New York Times. 1990-04-15.
  19. ↑ "America's Top Colleges". Forbes. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings". America's Best Colleges 2016. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Washington Monthly's 2015 Liberal Arts College Rankings". Washington Monthly. August 24, 2015.
  22. ↑ Newsweek Web Exclusive (Aug 21, 2006). "25 New Ivies – The nation's elite colleges these days include more than Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Why? It's the tough competition for all the top students. That means a range of schools are getting fresh bragging rights.". Newsweek. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  23. ↑ "U.S. News Best Colleges Rankings - Bowdoin College". U.S. News & World Report. 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  24. ↑ "America's Top Colleges". Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  25. ↑ "The 600 Smartest Colleges In America". Retrieved 2015-06-23.
  26. ↑ "https://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/56143/1339-us-colleges-ranked-average-student-brainpower.pdf" (PDF). www.psychologytoday.com. Retrieved 2015-06-23. External link in |title= (help)
  27. ↑ "Niche Rankings 2016".
  28. 1 2 "207 students admitted Early Decision I for Class of 2020, 33.7 percent acceptance rate — The Bowdoin Orient". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  29. 1 2 http://bowdoinorient.com/article/8121
  30. ↑
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  32. ↑ "Class of 2019 Admission Results - College Kickstart". College Kickstart. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  33. ↑ "Bowdoin College | Best College | US News". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
  34. ↑ "Bowdoin College Statistics". College Prowler. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  35. ↑ "Class of 2013 Profile (Bowdoin Admissions)". Bowdoin.edu. 2009-08-20. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  36. ↑ "University admissions: Accepted". The Economist. 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  37. ↑ "College Search – Bowdoin College". Collegesearch.collegeboard.com. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
  38. ↑ Charles C. Calhoun, A Small College in Maine: 200 Years of Bowdoin, published by the college in 1993, ISBN 0-916606-25-2
  39. ↑ "Bowdoin Orient article on Bowdoin producing Fulbright Scholars". Orient.bowdoin.edu. 2006-01-27. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  40. ↑ Rampell, Catherine (2009-07-20). ""Do Elite Colleges Produce the Best-Paid Graduates?", New York Times, July 20, 2009". Economix.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  41. ↑ Sanders, Michael S. (2008-04-09). "Latest College Reading Lists: Menus With Pho and Lobster". The New York Times.
  42. ↑ "Orient article interviewing Professor Morgan". Orient.bowdoin.edu. 2005-02-18. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  43. ↑ "Bowdoin Outing Club website". Studorgs.bowdoin.edu. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  44. ↑ Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums (1970). Doris A. Isaacson, ed. Maine: A Guide 'Down East'. Rockland, Me: Courier-Gazette, Inc. p. 177.
  45. ↑ "Bowdoin Brief: Orient takes national newspaper award". Orient.bowdoin.edu. 2007-04-06. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  46. ↑ "The Bowdoin Cable Network". Bcn.bowdoin.edu. 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  47. ↑ "A cappella council convenes, selects". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  48. ↑ Race, Peter (1987). Meddiebempsters History: "And may the music echo long..." 1937-1987. pp. 17–30. ML200.8.B73 M44 1987.
  49. ↑ "Attempted assault adds to unease on Bowdoin College campus - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram". The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  50. ↑ "Convicted sex offender charged with breaking in, exposing himself to Bath woman - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram". The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  51. ↑ 13, Cbs. "Bowdoin concerns spur church to oust sex offender support group". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  52. ↑ "Police Identify Person of Interest in Bowdoin College Sexual Assault". NECN. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  53. ↑ "Student Reports Sexual Assault at Mayflower Apts.".
  54. ↑ "Message to the Bowdoin Community - November 18, 2015".
  55. ↑ "Bowdoin College student reports attempted assault".
  56. ↑ Brogan, Beth; Staff, B. D. N. "Bath man accused of breaking into home, exposing himself". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  57. ↑ Brogan, Beth; Staff, B. D. N. "Man charged with secretly photographing nude Bowdoin students". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  58. ↑ "College halts investigation into alleged sexual assault following Taylor's resignation".
  59. ↑ Brogan, Beth; Staff, B. D. N. "Former Bowdoin College student indicted for alleged rape". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  60. ↑ "Taylor indicted for alleged on-campus rape".
  61. ↑ Staff, CS. "Bowdoin Attributes Jump in Reported Rapes to New Rules". www.campussafetymagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  62. ↑ Paulson, Michael (2014-06-09). "Colleges and Evangelicals Collide on Bias Policy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  63. ↑ "BCF advisors refuse to sign policy, vacate role at College — The Bowdoin Orient". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  64. ↑ Brogan, Beth; Staff, B. D. N. "Bowdoin rebuts New York Times report that college stripped Christian group of campus status". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  65. ↑ "Christian fellowship moves off-campus to house on Harpswell Road — The Bowdoin Orient". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  66. ↑ Feith, David. "The Golf Shot Heard Round the Academic World". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  67. ↑ "The Sad State of Liberal Education at Bowdoin". www.realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  68. ↑ "What Does Bowdoin Teach? How a Contemporary Liberal Arts College Shapes Students National Association of Scholars". www.nas.org. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  69. ↑ "National Association of Scholars". www.nas.org. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  70. ↑ Peter Wood and Michael Toscano. "What Does Bowdoin Teach? How a Contemporary Liberal Arts College Shapes Students" (PDF).
  71. ↑ "Bite-Sized Bowdoin Report". National Review Online. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  72. ↑ "Report critiques Bowdoin as example of everything wrong with liberal arts colleges - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  73. ↑ "Barry Mills: Setting the Record Straight". dailysun.bowdoin.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  74. ↑ "A Failed Attack on Bowdoin by the NAS". ACADEME BLOG. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  75. ↑ "Williams Alum Drags Bowdoin’s Name Through The Mud - In The 'Cac". Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  76. ↑ "NAS study, though flawed, points to Bowdoin’s problems — The Bowdoin Orient". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  77. ↑ "An exchange with President Mills — The Bowdoin Orient". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  78. 1 2 The American Mind (2013-07-08), 4. Responding to the Bowdoin College Study, retrieved 2016-03-29
  79. ↑ The American Mind (2013-06-24), 2. An Analysis of Bowdoin College Curriculum, retrieved 2016-03-29
  80. ↑ The American Mind (2013-07-01), 3. Examining Student Life at Bowdoin College, retrieved 2016-03-29
  81. ↑ "Education or Reputation?" (PDF).
  82. ↑ "Administration falls silent on "Cracksgiving" appropriation incident — The Bowdoin Orient". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  83. ↑ "Bowdoin College athletes to be disciplined for dressing as Native Americans at ‘Cracksgiving’ party".
  84. ↑ "‘Gangster’ party spurs debate over racism on campus".
  85. ↑ "Bowdoin sailing team’s ‘gangster party’ criticized as racist".
  86. ↑ "Bowdoin sailing team’s ‘gangster party’ criticized as racist".
  87. ↑ "President Rose Leads Town Hall Meeting on Issues of Race".
  88. ↑ "Stereotyping at ‘tequila’ party causes backlash — The Bowdoin Orient". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  89. ↑ Reaves, Tony; Staff, B. D. N. "Report: Bowdoin students face punishment for stereotyping at ‘tequila party’". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  90. ↑ "Sombreros at Bowdoin ‘tequila party’ ignite controversy on campus and beyond - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram". The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  91. ↑ "Doghead: is it culturally appropriate? - The Colby Echo". The Colby Echo. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  92. ↑ "BSG to introduce articles of impeachment against two members — The Bowdoin Orient". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  93. ↑ Rampell, Catherine (2016-03-03). "Political correctness devours yet another college, fighting over mini-sombreros". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  94. ↑ Rampell, Catherine (2016-03-04). "Bowdoin update: On Facebook, school flaunted photos of alumni, students in school-provided sombreros". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  95. ↑ Rampell, Catherine (2016-03-04). "Why write about tiny sombreros?". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  96. ↑ "Bowdoin College Commits to Climate Neutral Campus". Bowdoin College. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  97. ↑ "A Blueprint for Carbon Neutrality in 2020" (PDF). Bowdoin College. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  98. ↑ Rube, Harry (30 November 2012). "Coordinator Payson urges BSG to continue supporting sustainability on campus". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  99. 1 2 "Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Update for FY 2012" (PDF). Bowdoin College. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  100. ↑ "Partner Profile". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  101. ↑ Casey, Garrett (8 February 2013). "1.4 percent of College’s endowment invested in fossil fuels". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  102. ↑ "What We're Doing". Bowdoin College. Archived from the original on August 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  103. ↑ "Waste Management". Bowdoin College. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  104. ↑ "Bowdoin College - Green Report Card 2009". Greenreportcard.org. 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  105. 1 2 "LEED Certification (Bowdoin, Sustainability)". Bowdoin.edu. 2009-09-22. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  106. ↑ Story posted February 03, 2011 (2011-02-03). "Bowdoin On Track To Meet Carbon Neutrality Goal, Campus News (Bowdoin)". Bowdoin.edu. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
  107. ↑ "The Bowdoin Polar Bear - Bowdoin". athletics.bowdoin.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  108. ↑ http://athletics.bowdoin.edu/sports/mtrack/2011-12/releases/20120309wk44vp
  109. ↑ "Death of McDreamy: Patrick Dempsey’s Bowdoin Grad Character at Heart of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Shocker | Bowdoin News". community.bowdoin.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-16.

Further reading

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