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Inauguration: Inauguration celebrates liberal arts, Rose urges uncomfortable discourse
In his inaugural speech as Bowdoin’s 15th president, Clayton Rose spoke to the necessity of “full-throated intellectual discovery and discourse” to an audience of former presidents, guests, alumni, faculty, staff and students in Farley Field House Saturday morning. His speech, “Why We Are Here,” echoed the Inaugural Weekend’s overall tone in praising the liberal arts and expressing a continued need for dialogue.
“[Bowdoin] is a place where we are sheltered from much of the angst and struggle of the ‘real world,’” Rose said. “And this is as it should be: it should be comfortable and safe enough to allow us to engage in our core mission of full-throated intellectual discovery and discourse—which is most decidedly uncomfortable and unsafe.”
Echoing his convocation speech and his address to first-years, Rose stressed the need to be “intellectually courageous” and maintain faith in the value of the liberal arts despite efforts “to reduce the value of this education to salaries.”
Chair of the Board of Trustees Debbie Barker ’80 thought Rose’s remarks exemplified his role at the College.
“His commitment to the liberal arts is steadfast and, at a time when the value of this form of education is being questioned, he will be a great spokesperson and supporter,” Barker said in an email to the Orient. “Finding one’s passion and listening and engaging in dialogue with others—especially if people disagree —are hallmarks of the liberal arts tradition.”
Ethan Barkalow ’18, who attended the Installation Ceremony, found Rose’s speech good, but too general.
“I think, if anything, I would’ve wished I got a little more specific information for what he was going to view his presidency,’” he said.
Though only 125 of the approximately 1,100 attendees of the ceremony and following luncheon were students, some partook in the weekend’s other events or watched the Installation Ceremony online.
“It was a big event and I’ve talked to President Rose a couple times in passing on the quad,” said Jenna Scott ’19, who watched the ceremony on live stream. “As a first year too, I feel for him a bit.”
Regardless of their level of participation over the weekend, students expressed their hope that Rose would use his role to preserve the good of Bowdoin’s past while creating a new, even better future.
Tyrone Li ’16 said he hopes that Rose will continue former president Barry Mills’ legacy of improving financial aid as well as mirroring his constant presence around campus.
“Bowdoin has a different history than the one we live in,” Bill De La Rosa ’16 said. “There is a divide between the old Bowdoin and the new Bowdoin.”
De La Rosa, who spoke at the Installation on the importance of being “global citizens before anything else,” emphasized his hopes for Rose to increase diversity on campus and help students of different backgrounds transition to Bowdoin.
De La Rosa has already been pleasantly surprised with Rose’s tone these past few months.
“He was definitely part of the norm of previous presidents. Besides the fact that he was a white male, he was also largely from that corporate side,” De La Rosa said. “But these few months [through his attendance at lectures, his emails, his first address to the College about race, his welcoming of social justice events on campus] have...for me personally, really said...that he is well aware of everything that affects students in our contemporary society.”
The Inauguration Ceremony was preceded by an Inaugural Procession across the Quad featuring delegates from a plethora of other institutions of higher education. The ceremony concluded when Mills handed the keys to the College over to Rose.
“It’s interesting that Bowdoin is this unifying concept that everyone can get behind even though the school has changed drastically,” said Emma Maggie Solberg, assistant professor of English.
Solberg was impressed by not only the stateliness of the ceremony, but also the collective praise of the liberal arts, especially considering she does not have a liberal arts background.
“I’m still shocked by the liberal arts. It’s such an amazingly different pedagogical system from anything I’ve ever come up against before,” she said. “So it was very interesting for me to see the alumni coming back and pay their respects to Bowdoin because they love Bowdoin...I’m just so curious about that kind of love felt by an alum for Bowdoin decades later.”
Chuck Dinsmore ’69 was one of these alumni who returned for Inauguration.
“Every person on the dais was a spectacular representation of a liberal arts education. Each bringing their own personal experiences to the floor...examining the past, enjoying the present, looking to the future, welcoming Clayton Rose is just a very Bowdoin experience,” said Dinsmore. “[These are] things that those of us who went to college here have come to appreciate more each year following our graduation.”
Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster echoed Dinsmore’s phrasing, calling the events part of “a great Bowdoin weekend.”
“[It was a great celebration] to see so many people come back, to see such energy…to have Clayton welcomed in that way,” Foster said. “To see three of our presidents together was powerful. It’s really quite remarkable to think it’s only happened 15 times in the history of the College.”
James Callahan, Matt Shen, Lucy Ryan, Max Larson, Gideon Moore, Harry DiPrinzio, Calder McHugh, and Matthew Gutschenritter contributed to this report.
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Inauguration: Q&A with the Inauguration panelists
ANDY SERWER ‘81
What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?
I really learned to think independently for the first time. I learned to think about thinking.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?
I think it’s very clear. How do you go from good to great? And where do you go from here? I mean the place is in good shape, great shape, and so how do you make it even better? And in a way, it’s almost easier if you come in, like if Clayton was coming in in a turnaround situation, it’s like oh this place stinks and fire everyone, do this, and there’s like five logical things to do. It’s harder because the place is in such great shape.
What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?
I’m going to say climb Mount Katahdin. I’m going to say something besides that, but I really believe, climb Mount Katahdin. I really do. Because I really like doing that. That’s super cool. It’s just a little bit hard, but you should do it. I think I’m just going to leave it at that. Some people say have dinner at a professor’s house, but I’d rather climb Mount Katahdin.
RUTHIE DAVIS ‘84
What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?
To follow your passion, to try different things, and really figure out what you’re passionate about. By the time you graduate you’re pretty clear on the areas that are your favorite, because you’ve sampled many things.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?
I feel like Bowdoin is doing great, and I feel like I just want to make sure that it continues its unique flavor that is very down-to-earth. The people here, as much as they’re really talented, smart, it’s getting harder and harder to get into, I’d like to think that they stay well-rounded, nice people, down-to-earth people, not elitist, just cool, you know?
What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?
I’ve definitely gone across the campus in boxer shorts many times - that would be a fun thing to do. That’s kind of like a joke answer, but I would always encourage people to, in your college career at some point, do something that no one’s ever done before. Whatever it is. It could be in any area - do something that no one’s ever done before.
SHELLEY HEARNE ‘83
What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?
That knowing is not the same as thinking.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?
In a day and age where there’s so much pressure to follow the trends and the fads, how do you keep your eye on really producing real leaders? Versus what’s the latest correct or current thing versus what really is going to matter... Don’t get sidetracked by all the latest. It’s really sticking to core values.
What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?
Well, I would say something like swim naked off of Bailey’s Island, but... it is really important before you leave this campus to do something that gives back to the community. Not to the Bowdoin community, but to the community surrounding Bowdoin... That kind of being in touch I think is absolutely critical for every student to have that. We’ve got to share this grace.
GEORGE MITCHELL ‘54
What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?
I think here I felt part of a community, and for the first time in my life, had faint stirrings of self-esteem and confidence in my ability to deal with people and issues. So for me, the small size, the warmth of the atmosphere, the welcoming attitude were the most important things.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?
I think it’s a challenge that faces not only Bowdoin, but every institution of higher learning, indeed, educational facility. It’s that the rapid change through which the world is going, what we call the information or technological communications transformation, will, I think, be seen by future historians as impactful on human history as was the industrial revolution. And keeping pace with that, making sense of the tremendously difficult issues confronting our country and the world, preparing people to be able to deal with those challenges, which can’t be foreseen.
What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?
Oh gosh, I graduated so long ago that I can’t remember. I guess my answer would be to make sure you do graduate. That you study hard enough and get the grades so that you actually do make it out the door.
ADAM WEINBERG ‘87
What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?
Probably persistence, in all honesty. I was an ice hockey player here, I was a pretty serious student involved in lots of things, but what I learned at Bowdoin was what it meant to really work hard and to persevere, and to sometimes work through failure to find creative ways to problem-solve, and a passion for succeeding.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?
I think the challenge for all of the liberal arts colleges is how to make sure we stay relevant in a rapidly changing world. Look, Bowdoin is in a fortunate place: large endowment, beautiful facilities, phenomenal students, incredibly talented and engaged faculty, but the world’s changing rapidly on us, and the question is how do we continue to make sure that the education we’re giving you is going to prepare you to be as successful in the world (however you define that) as my generation was.
What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?
Make great friends. My Bowdoin friends remain some of my closest friends in the world.
KEN CHENNAULT ‘73
What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?
To be intellectually curious and to make a difference in the community.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?
I think the biggest challenge facing Bowdoin is [that] you have this great liberal arts college, and the world is transforming at an incredible pace, and how does Bowdoin figure out its role in a fast changing world?
What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?
Try to meet five people that they have no relationship with, and in their last year, really try to develop a relationship, because one of the things that I find is that even at a place like Bowdoin and in any community you can be too insular and it’s always good to get out of your comfort zone.
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Inauguration: Clayton Rose inaugurated as Bowdoin's 15th president
Clayton Rose was officially inaugurated as the 15th president of Bowdoin College this morning in front of hundreds of students, faculty and alumni in Farley Field House.
"At its core a liberal arts education is about understanding," said President Rose in his inaugural address titled "Why We Are Here."
Rose's speech emphasized the importance of helping students find their passions and engage with uncomfortable ideas while at Bowdoin.
"Value comes from an education that makes it possible for us to learn what we really want to do," said Rose in his address.
"We must invite in views that are different than ours, and not only invite them in, but engage them," he said.
Rose was joined on stage by former presidents Barry Mills and Bob Edwards.
Check bowdoinorient.com for further coverage of Inauguration Weekend.
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Inauguration: Bowdoin prepared to inaugurate 15th president, celebrate contemporary role of the liberal arts
The last presidential inauguration held at Bowdoin occurred just after the new millennium. The 9/11 attacks had just occurred. Facebook, Twitter and MySpace were yet to be invented. Now, 14 years later, Bowdoin is ready to host another and officially welcome President Clayton Rose as the College’s 15th president.
According to Rick Ganong, senior vice president for development and alumni relations and the chair of Bowdoin’s Inauguration Committee, Bowdoin will be “the place to be in the state of Maine” on the weekend of October 16 for Rose’s inauguration.
The ceremony will include significant pomp and circumstance. Homecoming and the Board of Trustees’ fall meeting will also take place during that weekend.
The festivities will kick off on Thursday night with a performance from student a cappella groups in Pickard Theater. On Friday morning, there will be tours of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and the Edwards Center for Art and Dance.
The Inaugural Symposium’s two panels will take place Friday afternoon in Pickard Theater, starting with a keynote by Hanna Holborn Gray, president emerita of University of Chicago and one of Rose’s mentors. Jennifer Scanlon, interim dean for academic affairs, will moderate the first panel of alumni and academics entitled “Yes, It Still Matters: Why and How We Teach the Liberal Arts.” The second panel, “Making a Living and Making a Life: The Liberal Arts in Commerce and Citizenship,” will consist entirely of alumni: Kenneth Chenault ’73 H’96, Ruthie Davis ’84, Shelley Hearne ’83 and George Mitchell ’54 H’83 will speak. Andy Serwer ’81, journalist and editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance will moderate the panel. The symposium will be streamed live online.
Friday evening, the indie-rock band Guster will perform in Morrell Gym.
Saturday morning the moment will be President Rose’s. A procession will lead down to Farley Field House, where Rose will officially become Bowdoin’s 15th president.
While this is Rose’s weekend, he has been minimally involved in the planning process. The Inauguration Committee, which consists of 14 members, has been planning the event. The committee is made up of faculty, staff, students and trustees of the college.
Scanlon is a member of the committee. According to her, Rose was interested in examining the concept of a liberal arts education throughout the weekend.
“It has provided us with a really exciting opportunity to really think carefully and invite people to talk about the role of the liberal arts,” said Scanlon. She recognizes that there are currently “a lot of demands for more pre-professional education.”
She hopes that the discussion will continue in the community after the panel.
“As a member of the Inauguration Committee, certainly we looked at the past several inaugurations at Bowdoin as well as inaugurations at other places,” said Scanlon.
The ceremonial aspects of the event will be similar to those of the past and at other schools; however, the symposium keeps the Inauguration unique to Bowdoin.
“I’ve had the good fortune to work with a great committee…They’ve had terrific ideas, they’ve executed well and they’ve followed through,” said Ganong. “We got lucky to have such a great lineup for the symposium, and such a good solid list of those speaking at the ceremony, and we’re looking forward to the music.”
With the Inauguration still two weeks away, student reaction has been more mixed. One email has been sent to the student body presenting an opportunity to register for the Inauguration itself. According to Ganong, 87 students are currently registered. It is expected, however, that this number will rise in the coming week.
“I RSVP’d to the Inauguration because I feel like it is a big day for the College,” said Lucy Ryan ’19, who registered upon receiving the initial email.
Aziza Janmohamed ’19 was equally interested but has not yet registered.
“It seems really exciting and is a special event so I will be there,” Janmohamed said.
Yet other students are less interested in the upcoming inauguration.
“I got one email and I just read through the thing…I just kind of assumed it was not something that I would want to go to,” said Sophia Ardell ’17.
Ganong declined to comment about the cost of the event, which includes Inauguration, Homecoming and Trustees’ Weekend, but noted that “this only happens once every 10, 15, 20 years,” and thus will be celebrated accordingly.