The Board of Trustees convened over Homecoming weekend to attend to annual fall business and to commemorate the opening of the Walker Art Building.
The Board voted to name the new ice arena the Watson Arena after Sid Watson, athletic director from 1983 to 1998. The Trustees also approved hiring an architectural firm for construction of the new fitness and wellness center.
"Everyone agrees that we need a new fitness center. That is unquestionable," said Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) President Dustin Brooks '08, one of two students who has a vote on the Board. While some members of the Board questioned the preliminary design and location of the fitness and wellness center, Brooks was quick to point out that plans are still preliminary.
Vice President of BSG Affairs Kata Solow '10 described the discussion of the long-term future of the College as "the most interesting thing I've witnessed." Solow has attended two sets of Trustees Meetings, this October and last May, as a voting Student Representative.
Most of the weekend revolved around the reopening of the art museum.
According to Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Scott Hood, there were 3,078 guests in attendance on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at museum events.
"It's astounded everyone I've talked to," said Brooks. "You don't feel like you're in Brunswick, Maine. It feels like a metropolitan area. [The museum] brings a high level of culture [to campus]," Brooks added.
The museum was open to the Trustees and special guests on Friday, to the campus on Saturday, and to the greater Brunswick community on Sunday. Approximately 900 people were in attendance at Sunday's events, with speakers including Governor John Baldacci, Maine Arts Commission Director Alden Wilson, and donor and member of the Board of Trustees Linda Roth '76.
"The trustees are important members of the Bowdoin community and they were involved in a lot of the preliminary steps of the renovation from approving the money for the renovation to approving the museum design," said Solow. "They invested a lot of time, emotion, and money in this project and deserved to enjoy the final product."
Solow also commended the College for involving the community. "I think the College did a great job of making the opening a campus-wide and community-wide event. I'm excited that the Museum is going to be community resource, not just college one," she said.
The Trustees will meet again in February at a retreat in Boston, according to Secretary of the College Richard Mersereau '69.
Mersereau described the February retreat as a way for Trustees to get to know each other and network.
"It's a terrific move mostly because it's a terrific time in Bowdoin's history and recent history to have this discussion about what the important questions are," said Mersereau.
"The February discussion will be about 'defining ourselves,"' Solow said. "How is a Bowdoin student different from a Middlebury student, a Williams student, a Bates student?"