To the Editors:
My wife Tina and I were thrilled to attend the Sarah and James Bowdoin Day celebration last Friday on Parents Weekend, as two of our host students were honored.
The program featured an instructive welcome by President Mills on Sarah and James Bowdoin; a thoughtful discourse on history's lessons by Carol Berkin, professor of American colonial and revolutionary history at Baruch College; and a poignant tale of self-discovery presented by Samuel Hanson '11, who thanked two professors by name for their role in his growth.
The missing ingredient? The faculty. Only a few Bowdoin professors—a dozen at most—took part in the procession.
Why would an event honoring students for their academic achievements garner such a sorry show of support from the very people who teach and mentor them?
I grant that the event was optional and that professors lead very busy lives. Moreover, some professors might consider it unseemly or elitist to single out just a few scholars given the extraordinary accomplishments of the vast majority of students, inside and outside the classroom.
The latter explanation begs another question—why do so few faculty members attend the Commencement ceremonies in May?
Perhaps I'm missing something. Or maybe I'm just a sentimental old fogey. Whatever the case, I'm baffled.
Sincerely,
David R. Treadwell, Jr. '64