Parents and Families

Dean Margaret Hazlett with Neli Vazquez ’14 and June Guo ’16 at the Women's Leadership Lunch

Before Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, set off a national debate on why more women don’t occupy positions of power, Bowdoin had its own plans to start a conversation about women and leadership.

Back in early February (a good month before Lean In was released), the Bowdoin Women’s Resource Center was set to host an inaugural Women’s Leadership Lunch with faculty, staff and the 13 female trustees who were planning to be on campus at that time. As it happened, a blizzard derailed the trustees’ travel plans and the lunch was canceled.

Not to be deterred, four student-workers at the Women’s Resource Center — Laurel Varnell ’14, Emily Ausubel ’13, Jackie Fickes ’15 and Helen Conaghan ’13 — with WRC Director Melissa Quinby, organized a second attempt at the lunch. Although they couldn’t gather all the trustees together, the team was able to invite more than 60 female students/campus leaders to join 14 faculty and staff to talk about women and leadership at Bowdoin.

Read the full story here.

A new study conducted by Fidelity reports that financial advisors from the millennial generation are reaping triple the amount of referrals from satisfied clients and 60% more assets to manage than their elder, baby boomer colleagues. This gap is being credited to a little more muster on the part of younger advisors, in addition to a heavier reliance on outsourcing tasks on technology and a collaborative mentality.

The deep blue hue of this iceberg provides insight into how the iceberg formed. Photo by C. Roesler.

A trio of Bowdoin math and science professors will be explaining how color, pattern and scale are scientific tools as well as artistic ones, in a gallery talk at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art at 2 p.m. April 21, 2013.

Mary Lou Zeeman, Bowdoin’s R. Wells Johnson Professor of Mathematics, Collin Roesler, associate professor of earth and oceanographic science, and Emily Peterman, assistant professor of earth and oceanographic science, will discuss the exhibition “Sense of Scale, Measure By Color: Art, Science, and Mathematics of Planet Earth.”

The display includes aerial photographs of sea ice patterns, a rainbow array of rock samples, and kaleidoscope-esque images of mineral cross-sections, arranged to demonstrate that nature’s colors and patterns are full of scientific information as well as visual appeal.

On view through June 2, 2013, the exhibition was conceived as an accompaniment to the museum’s current Per Kirkeby show, which showcases the Danish artist’s large, colorful, geology-inspired paintings.

Read more.

According to the annual Airline Quality Rating (AQR) report released last week, the 14 largest U.S. airlines improved their on-time performance and lost less baggage. However, customer complaints rose 20% and involuntary denied boardings also increased. Experts say the negative trends in customer satisfaction are likely due to airlines forcing 150 seats in a 130-seat aircrafts to “squeeze out more revenue,” in addition to the increase in mergers in the airline industry (ie. American Airlines and US Airways, AirTran and Southwest).

Joan Benoit Samuelson '79 with her family, (l. to r.) husband Scott Samuelson, daughter Abbie and son Anders, a member of the Class of 2012, after her finish but before the bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon April 15, 2013.

Marathon Matriarch Joan Benoit Samuelson ’79 surpassed her “30 in 30″ goal of running the Boston Marathon, on the 30th anniversary of her win, within 30 minutes of her record-breaking time, but as USA Today reports, Joanie, as she’s known to friends and fans the world over, came away with a heavy heart. She shares her feelings about Monday’s tragedy, saying, ”As history has long told, Boston will stand tall.”

A news crew interviews Kim Gilmore '16 about her efforts to raise money for the family of Martin Richard, the eight-year-old Dorchester, Mass., boy killed in the Boston Marathon bombing.

More than two hours north of Boston and the scene of Monday’s horrific Boston Marathon bombing, Bowdoin students are doing what they can to help. Kim Gilmore ’16 grew up in the same Dorchester, Mass., neighborhood as Martin Richard, the eight-year-old boy who was killed in one of the blasts. Gilmore has begun raising money to send to the Richard family, to help pay medical bills and to start a scholarship fund for Martin’s sister Jane, who lost her leg in the bombing. Other students — Molly Fargeorge ’14 and Hannah Arrighi ’15 —  have organized an effort that allows members of the community to sign cards of support that will be sent to first responders in Boston. “We thought that was a simple thing to organize, easy to implement and a good way to send our love,”  said Fargeorge. Watch WGME coverage.

Since the invention of the first computer, technology has geared toward a very specific trend: the more advanced the technology, the smaller the device becomes. Until now. This trend seems to be reversing as we consume more and more media on our phones — and not just since Samsung’s release of the Galaxy Note II and the Galaxy Mega (measuring in at a whopping 6.3 inches).

The Bowdoin College Library is taking innovative measures to keep its print collection alive and well—no easy task in an age of infinite digital resources and all-too-limited shelf space. The library is one of eight large libraries across the state that have teamed up to manage their collections collaboratively, in a project called the Maine Shared Collections Strategy.

“We’re analyzing our combined holdings and developing a plan to manage, store, and preserve the titles that are valuable to our communities,” said Judith Montgomery, Acting Librarian at the Bowdoin Library.

Under this plan, each library will be responsible for retaining specific books for statewide use. The coalition is also investigating print-on-demand services, through large digital libraries such as Hathi Trust. “We want to ensure that our scholars and readers have timely access to the print materials they need, while at the same time helping our libraries address critical space issues,” Montgomery said.

Read more.

While wintery winds brought a chill to the campus Tuesday night, students, staff and faculty gathered at the steps of the Museum of Art to reflect on the Boston Marathon bombing.

Madison Whitley ’13 was the first to speak at the event, which was organized by Bowdoin Student Government and Student Activities. She acknowledged the close tie between Boston and Bowdoin. “Boston has a special place in Bowdoin’s heart,” she said. “Chances are you know someone who was cheering at or running in the marathon.” She then quoted Mister Rogers, who said to “look for the helpers” in times of disaster. Whitley said that on days like these, she appreciates the Bowdoin community, and all its helpers, the most.

Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Robert Ives then offered a few remarks, recounting a story he heard from a Scottish shepherd friend. When lambs are born in the spring, they need water as well as their mother’s milk. But this time of year, the streams are often full and fast, scaring the lambs away. To lure them to drink, the shepherd builds a stone wall in a stream to catch the water and create a still pool.

“We’re going into the turbulent waters of life, but we are called to be like those stones,” Ives said. “We’re called to be stones of encouragement and loving support, to encourage each other through these turbulent times of life.”

Assistant Professor of Africana Studies Brian Purnell also spoke, explaining that he had been invited to the event after people had read and were moved by his blog post, “Open letter to my students about Boston marathon bombing.”

Purnell said the attacks in Boston were an attack on the world, as runners from 96 countries had competed and 20,000 people had been watching from the sidelines. “It’s a terrible threat to safety and communal celebration,” he commented.

But Purnell reminded students that “the work we do here every day is an antidote to the violence in Boston, because critical thinking and questioning is a type of antidote to violence.”

At Bowdoin, as at many colleges and universities, there is free expression of ideas. “We seek analysis that is honest and has integrity … We fight for pluralism, thought and experience, and that is how we work for a common good called justice.”

The Longfellows then sang a quiet song, asking that the crowd approach them and stand closer together to ward off the cold of the night.

Ives concluded the ceremony with a Celtic blessing: “As we go forth this evening, may the peace of running waves…blowing winds…shining stars…quiet earth be with you….”

Photos by Michele Stapleton

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Pattie Sellers, Senior Editor at Large at Fortune magazine, talks with American Express CEO Ken Chenault ’74 and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg about women’s roles in leadership positions.

More than 80 members of the Association of Bowdoin Friends gathered Tuesday evening in Main Lounge for dessert, coffee, and an hour with Bowdoin President Barry Mills. It’s an annual informal event bringing members of the local community together with Bowdoin’s president for a free-flowing Q&A about the College and anything else on people’s minds. Visit bowdoin.edu/friends for more information about joining the Association of Bowdoin Friends.

Reputation. It is said to be the number-one driver of a product’s value, but how might one cultivate such favor? As Forbes reports, it isn’t easy but can be achieved through employment of locals, engagement in social issues and forging of trust.

The Hunger Games, Revisited from Bowdoin College on Vimeo.

Kristen Ghodsee (right, John S. Osterweis Associate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies) and Aviva Briefel (Associate Professor of English and Film Studies) sit down to talk about the movie The Hunger Games. Briefel and Ghodsee recently held a panel discussion on this topic with librarian Jeanne Madden of Falmouth Memorial Library, following a screening of the film in Smith Auditorium.

It seems like only yesterday they were the country’s “young urban professionals,” but America’s baby boomers have already begun to enter retirement age. The effect of this on the economy has become more and more top of mind, but economists don’t seem too concerned. They cite a predicted deduction of “0.2 percentage points from annual U.S. GDP growth on average through 2030,” an effect that could easily remain unnoticed due to other economic  factors.

Remi Kanazi, spoken word artist and pro-Palestine activist, at Bowdoin

Remi Kanazi, spoken word artist and pro-Palestine activist, recently came to Bowdoin to perform for a packed audience in Ladd House. Bowdoin is just one stop on a busy college tour for Kanazi. “I work with student activists to challenge inequality in society,” he said.

In between reciting his poetry, Kanazi indulged in playful banter intermingled with serious stories of his experience as a Palestinian-American. Kanazi wasn’t the only poet to perform; Bowdoin students also recited original works.  Assistant Professor of Africana Studies Brian Purnell introduced the event.

Kanazi said he was impressed with the political and artistic spirit of Bowdoin students. “This is nutty how good the poets are. And I’m teaching a workshop tomorrow? I’m going to be like, write a poem and perform it, we’re done,” he said.

Kanazi was invited to Bowdoin by Bowdoin’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, a nationwide group that seeks to end the oppression of Palestinian refugees in Israel. The event was also hosted by Bowdoin’s Slam Poet Society, whose members often overlap with those of SJP’s.

Read the full story here.

In celebration of National Poetry Month this April, the literary journal 32 Poems features a series in which poets “praise presses, journals, and readings series that bring poetry to us in a special way.” In a recent segment, Chad Davidson urges us to check out “the most ambitious listening booth project of contemporary poetry the world has seen,” the website From the Fishouse, edited by Bowdoin magazine’s Matt O’Donnell.

“Mordet I Finderup Lade (Regicide at Finderup Barn),” 1967, mixed media on Masonite, and, below, “Untitled (Horses),” 2009, tempera on canvas by Per Kirkeby.

The Portland Press Herald praises the current Per Kirkeby exhibition at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, saying the Danish artist deserves the kind of recognition the College has accorded him.

“For all practical purposes, the museum has turned the place over to this effort on Kirkeby’s behalf. In one room, there are six large paintings including one (“Unbilled,” 2009) that may have set the world record for a Maine show,” Philip Isaacson writes for the Press Herald. “There are a variety of additional rooms, plus a room for large sculptures and an additional space for eight splendid small bronzes.”

The exhibition, Isaacson concludes, “is a big moment for Bowdoin, and a remarkable moment for Maine. It is an opportunity to see an event of the kind that only Bowdoin offers.”

New research reveals that regular exercise can substantially improve memory, but the type of exercise is key. Scientists have found that endurance training and weight training may have different physiological effects within the brain — and cause improvements in different types of memory.

Bowdoin chemistry and biochemstry majors at the ACS National Meeting & Exposition

Several chemistry and biochemistry students (including one 2012 graduate) recently presented their research at the April 7-11 National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society, which took place in New Orleans.

All nine Bowdoin students who applied to present were accepted, according to Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Studies Dharni Vasudevan. To be accepted, undergraduate student research has to be at an advanced stage, as well as be original and potentially worthy of publication, she said.

Read the full story here.

Softball — Julia Geaumont ’16 scattered seven hits in a complete game in a 7-1 win in the opener, and Melissa DellaTorre ’14 allowed four hits in the 11-1 victory for Bowdoin in the nightcap as the Polar Bears took two games from Colby in NESCAC East softball Sunday.

Baseball — The baseball team completed a sweep of Colby with a pair of wins Sunday. Tim McGarry ’13 tripled to lead off the top of the eighth inning and scored on a single by Luke Regan ’13 to help the baseball team to a 3-2 victory over Colby in the opening game at Coombs Field. The Polar Bears beat the Mules, 8-2, in the second game.

Rowing — Bowdoin won four out of the eight events run for Fours and finished second in all other events at The Big Three Regatta with Amherst and Middlebury in Hadley, Mass., Saturday. The Men’s Varsity Four and Women’s Varsity Four won decisively while the Men’s Lightweight Four and Men’s Novice Four held off late charges to hold on to first place. Results here. The Navy races next at The Riverhawk Race Series with UMASS and others next Saturday in Lowell, Mass., and on Sunday contests The President’s Cup with Colby and Bates in Greene, Maine.