News

Announcing the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity

Bowdoin is proud to announce a $50 million gift—the largest in our 231-year history—from Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings ’83 to launch the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity.

It’s Complicated

Historian Patrick Rael Discusses Abolitionism in Maine on Public Radio

Maine is often regarded as having played a major role in the abolitionist movement, in no small part due to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s connection to the state. The truth, however, is more nuanced, as Professor of History Patrick Rael helps to explain on a recent radio broadcast.
Insect Paparazzo

Bowdoin IT Employee Finds Beauty in the College’s Smallest Residents

When he's not fixing classroom tech, Michael DeLola is often scouring campus for insects with his camera to reveal a beautiful, intricate world invisible to most.
Data for the Environment

Students In Advanced GIS Mapping Class Boost Local Conservation

Students in the spring course Applied GIS and Remote Sensing worked collaboratively to provide the town of Topsham with updated maps and data for key environmental, conservation, and development areas.
Reunions, Real and Fictional

Life Imitating Art, Imitating Life

Author Elise Juska ’95 visits campus on Reunion Weekend to discuss her latest novel, Reunion, a “snapshot of mid-life” that follows three friends at their twenty-fifth college reunion. The setting is a fictional college in midcoast Maine.
Excellence in Leadership

Michael Cato BostonCISO Orbie Finalist

Michael Cato, Bowdoin’s senior vice president and chief information officer, was a finalist for a 2025 BostonCISO ORBIE award in the nonprofit category.
A Landmark Exhibition

Shining a Light on Inuit Artists and Printmakers

The latest exhibit at the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum showcases the largely forgotten work of a group of Inuit artists and printmakers. On display is a collection of printed textiles produced in Arctic Canada in the 1950s and 1960s as part of an experimental initiative.
Scholarly and Artistic Works

Faculty Excellence in Action: Celebrating a Semester of Scholarship and Creativity

From national and international recognitions and important books and papers to explorations and performances that benefitted the Maine community and beyond in myriad ways, Bowdoin faculty enriched campus life this spring through a wide array of scholarly and artistic pursuits that extended well beyond the classroom.
Prominent Alumni Share Thoughts

What Does the Common Good Look Like?

In one of the highlights of the 2025 Reunion Weekend, alumni from a diverse array of fields in the nonprofit world, including Common Good Award winner George Khaldun ’73, gather to share insight and stories.
Slideshow of Smiles

Reunion Weekend 2025 in Pictures

More than 2,000 alumni and guests representing class years from eight decades returned to campus to reconnect with fellow Polar Bears who had traveled from across the country and from as far away as Columbia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
A Joyful Noise

Student Music Jamboree Attracts Dozens of Players from Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby

As well as being a talented musician, Bowdoin sophomore Laura Souza ’27 clearly has the makings of a top impresario. She recently helped put together a campus music festival featuring more than a hundred student performers from Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby.
Intellectual Curiosity Rewarded

Camila Eljuri ’27 Awarded Summer Fellowship in Political Studies

The government major and aspiring lawyer heads to Washington, DC, for six weeks as a summer fellow of the Hertog Foundation. Eljuri will take part in the educational nonprofit’s political studies program, joining a handful of other students from the across the nation.
Promoting Intellectual Inquiry and Philanthropy

Happy 200th Birthday PBK of Maine. “Love of Learning Is the Guide of Life.”

Fifty-six graduating seniors are inducted into Phi Beta Kappa (PBK), as the Alpha of Maine chapter of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious undergraduate honors society celebrates its two hundredth birthday.
Imparting Wisdom

Baccalaureate Ceremony Marks End of the Academic Year

Bowdoin's Baccalaureate, on Friday, May 23, 2025, in Sidney J. Watson Arena, celebrated the completion of the academic year. The College’s 220th Commencement follows on Saturday, May 24.
You Made It!

The Finish Line: Bowdoin Celebrates 220th Commencement

Graduating seniors, most of whom started at Bowdoin when the world was still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, were joined by friends and family as the College conferred 520 bachelor of arts degrees on the Class of 2025.