Support Bowdoin

Message from the President

To Members of the Bowdoin Community,

Through the combined efforts of many, the College successfully completed The Bowdoin Campaign, a five-year effort to raise at least $250 million to advance the mission of the College. In fact, we substantially exceeded our initial goal, having raised by June 30, 2009, a total of $293 million for the academic program, student life, and financial aid.

This was the most ambitious capital campaign in the long history of Bowdoin College, and it concluded successfully during very trying economic times. Our success is a testament to the quality of our academic program and residential life experience, the exceptional strength and professionalism of our development staff, and the loyalty and perseverance of a group of trustees and volunteers who rose to the occasion during a critical period for Bowdoin. It is also a resounding vote of confidence by alumni, parents, friends, and foundations eager to support our goals and our vision for a stronger Bowdoin College.

Through the Campaign, we have added faculty in critical areas of the curriculum and have greatly enhanced our faculty sabbatical program. We have provided new support for our entire academic program and we have created new opportunities for students through research fellowships. Our commitment to Bowdoin’s founding principles has been underscored and strengthened through the creation of the Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good, and we have also enhanced our career planning program for students. We now enjoy music in the new Studzinski Recital Hall and Kanbar Auditorium, art in a fully renovated and expanded Museum of Art, and hockey in the new Watson Arena. In a matter of weeks, the new Peter Buck Center for Health and Fitness will open in the center of campus. And perhaps most importantly, with new funds for financial aid and the replacement of student loans with grants, we have ensured continued access to Bowdoin for all students, regardless of their economic circumstances.

There will always be more to do at a College that prides itself on advancing knowledge and scholarship, critical thinking, and leadership in a rapidly developing society and world, and these funds by no means solve the very significant economic challenges facing Bowdoin. But the Campaign’s success is an occasion for pride and satisfaction in all that has been accomplished and an opportunity to thank the scores of people responsible for this unprecedented success.

Sincerely yours,

Barry Mills