The Board of Trustees approved seven faculty members for tenure at its February meeting over the weekend.
Pamela Fletcher in the art department, Guillermo Herrera in economics, John Lichter in biology and environmental science, Stephen Majercik in computer science, Samuel Putnam in psychology, Jennifer Taback in mathematics, and Birgit Tautz in German were all promoted from assistant professors to associate professors with tenure.
The board also conferred honorary degrees for May's commencement: for the doctor of humane letters, Geoffrey Canada '74, Stanley Druckenmiller '75, and the newly appointed president of Harvard University, Drew Gilpin Faust; for the doctor of law, former Governor of Maine Angus King; and for the doctor of music, head of the Curtis Institute of Music Roberto Diaz.
In an e-mail to the Orient, Secretary of the College Richard Mersereau said that the Trustees' honors committee "looks for a diverse group of distinguished individuals with enough of a connection to Bowdoin that they will feel honored to receive the degree."
He noted that Faust had been suggested for the honorary degree before her recent appointment as Harvard's president, so the announcement of her new post this week was "nice timing."
The board also approved the College's revised Intellectual Property Policy, which was endorsed by the faculty in May and approved by the trustees' academic affairs committee in November.
Chair of the board's academic affairs committee Michele Cyr '76 said in a phone interview with the Orient that a "relatively old policy was on the books and it was clear it needed to be reviewed in the context of what other colleges are doing with intellectual property."
The new policy holds that Bowdoin has an ownership in intellectual property if it involves identity interest, functional interest, or "substantial use" of Bowdoin's resources. The policy defines identity interest as works "integral to, and reflect more directly on, the identity of the college than the individual" and functional interest as "works that are used to enhance the effective functioning and coordination of ongoing operations."
The College does not have ownership interest in what the policy calls "traditionally scholarly works."
In other business, the board authorized the construction of a new ice arena with a budget limited to $20 million. Mersereau said in an e-mail that the project will start in June if the permitting process is not delayed.
The new 68,200 square-foot arena, which will be located next to Farley Field House, is expected to have seating capacity of 1,900, according to Bowdoin's Web site. The plan for its construction includes dismantling Dayton Arena and replacing it with parking facilities.
The trustees also discussed financial aid at Saturday's plenary session, at which Dean of Admissions Bill Shain and Director of Student Aid Steve Joyce gave a presentation, according to Mersereau.
"[Financial aid] was not discussed because it's an imminent vote, but because it's just such an important subject, and nationally it's an area that keeps changing," Mersereau said in an interview with the Orient. "The intent of the discussion was to bring or keep the board up to speed on the issue."
He added that the board might have to make "some choices down the line" and that it wields ultimate authority over financial aid policy.
Cyr said that board broke into three discussion groups after presentation, giving all the trustees "the opportunity to ask questions and make sure they really understood the financial aid issue."
"There was a lot of discussion about what kind of student body we want to shape," said trustee Jeff Emerson '70 in a phone interview with the Orient.
Chair of the Board of Trustees Peter Small '64 also stressed the importance of keeping the board updated on financial aid-related issues, saying in a phone interview that it's one of the College's "most important challenges" and is "always going to be a problem."
"Contrary to what most people think, we don't have an unlimited bucket of money," he added.
Besides official business, the trustees also had the opportunity to attend a discussion with members of the Young Alumni Leadership Program, an open forum on Africana Studies, Common Hour with Tracy Kidder, and sporting events.