In an email to the campus community on Wednesday, President Clayton Rose provided an update on the College’s plan for anti-racist work in the upcoming months.
“I am writing to follow up on my message of June 11 about our work ahead on race and racism,” Rose wrote.
President Clayton Rose has voluntarily reduced his salary “well in excess of 20 percent,” as of April 1. The move, announced in the April 29 virtual town hall with students and subsequent email to the College community on April 30, comes in the face of financial losses the College has incurred as a consequence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and switch to remote learning.
Elizabeth McCormack, the dean for academic affairs and senior vice president of the College, will be stepping down from her position at the end of the academic year, President Clayton Rose announced in an email to campus Tuesday.
President Clayton Rose joined a small group of students in the living room of Reed House for an intimate question-and-answer session on Thursday evening. During nearly two hours of discussion, students pressed Rose on an array of hot-button campus issues, ranging from James “Jes” Staley’s ’79 P’11 status on the Board of Trustees to campus mental health services and the fight for a living wage for Bowdoin’s housekeeping staff.
Kristina Bethea Odejimi has been named the new dean of students and will begin at the College on August 1. The post was previously held by Janet Lohmann, who was hired as dean for student affairs in April, replacing Tim Foster upon his retirement.
In recent months there has been a pattern of stories in the Orient exploring the complexities and limitations of Bowdoin’s endowment and operating budget. To add context to the series of articles and op-eds, the Orient has decided to break down the numbers behind the money that makes Bowdoin run.
At the start of next semester, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Information Technology and the Office of Inclusion and Diversity will launch the first phase of the Lived Name Initiative, an effort to better accommodate trans and non-binary students, as well as others who don’t go by their legal name.
Last month, Michael Reed assumed the newly created position of senior vice president for inclusion and diversity. As part of the College’s senior administration, Reed aims to increase and promote diversity among students, faculty and staff while working to create a more inclusive campus community.
The College has created an online form for students to apply for emergency financial aid, Dean of Students Janet Lohmann announced in an email to the student body last Friday.
The fund—which will cover the costs of “emergencies, special programs, test prep, supplies, travel and unanticipated events,” according to the website—is composed of donations from the Bowdoin community.
President Clayton Rose announced two important additions to the administration over Winter Break. Michael Cato and Michael Reed, will assume their positions on campus on March 1. Cato is the new senior vice president and chief information officer (CIO) while Reed will serve as the senior vice president for inclusion and diversity.
The Office of Admissions received 743 applications by the end of its early decision I period on Wednesday, signifying an approximately 25 percent increase from last year’s 604 applications.
This year’s ED I applicants represent more than 550 high schools, marking an increase from the 470 schools represented in last year’s applicant pool.
As Allen Delong, associate dean of student affairs, wraps up the final days of his 12-year Bowdoin career, he reflects with pride as well as nostalgia on the many strides the College has made. During his tenure Delong played a critical role in launching student spaces on campus that promote diversity and inclusivity.
I am a historian of education who uses college and university newspapers to gain insight into students’ higher education experiences over time. I also look to those archives to identify issues and concerns that, historically, students deemed important enough to write about.
When Bowdoin first opened its doors on September 3, 1802, it had two employees: President Joseph McKeen and one professor, John Abbot. Together, they taught eight students. Since then, the College has grown to staff over 945 employees with 1,806 students.
Allen Delong, associate dean of student affairs, will depart from Bowdoin on November 10 to serve in the newly created position of senior associate dean at Bates College. Drawing from his experience developing student spaces at Bowdoin that better reflect the College’s changing demography, Delong will head the Purposeful Work program and Career Development Center at Bates, an office designed to help students prepare for lives of work and social contribution that align with the liberal arts values.
Chief Investment Officer Paula Volent earned a salary of $2,244,678 in the 2015 calendar year, an increase of $934,754 since 2014, when she made $1,309,924, according to Bowdoin’s Form 990, the public tax filing which reports compensation of the College’s highest paid employees.
In a report released on August 29, the Ad Hoc Committee on Inclusion recommended that Bowdoin hire a Senior Vice President for Inclusion and Diversity (SVP-ID) as part of the College’s ongoing efforts to foster inclusion and diversity on campus.
This summer, Bowdoin made progress on its efforts toward reaccreditation by producing a 113-page self-study evaluating the College’s performance and setting projections for improvement within the next 10 years.
The report was submitted to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), a reaccreditation body, for approval.
On April 12, the Cumberland County Superior Court ruled that Bowdoin has the right to purchase the property at 28 College Street, the last remaining property on College Street that Bowdoin does not own. The decision comes after a months-long legal battle over a 1996 agreement between the College and the property’s owner that granted Bowdoin the right to buy the home before any other buyer could place an offer, should the home be placed on the market.
BowdoinOne Day, the month-long fundraising campaign which concludes April 26, is just one component of the College’s annual fundraising efforts, which bring in about $12 million in donations through the Alumni, Parent, Friend and Polar Bear Athletic funds every year.
Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Bob Ives ’69 will retire at the end of the year. A beloved campus figure, Ives taught classes and supported Bowdoin’s student faith groups as well as individual students working on navigating their faith and spiritual life at the College.
Interim Dean for Academic Affairs Jennifer Scanlon will return to the role of full-time Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies (GSWS) next semester. Scanlon has served as interim dean for academic affairs for the past two years and was associate dean for two years before that, while also teaching part-time.
Janet Lohmann will return to Bowdoin to become dean of students, a new position in the College’s administration, on July 1 after serving as dean of students at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio for one year.
The Office of Admissions accepted 13.4 percent of applicants to the class of 2021, marking the lowest acceptance rate on record. On March 17, 719 high school students received Regular Decision acceptance letters. The College received a total of 7,251 applications, a seven percent increase from last year.