Young Alumni Leadership Program

Story posted March 05, 2010

In a very personal presentation about his time in Planning and Development at Bowdoin, Bill Torrey spoke to members of YALP about something we don’t usually see as students – fundraising. In his 22 years at the College, Torrey has seen a lot of changes in social life on campus and reflected on the anger that many students felt regarding Bowdoin's decision to close the fraternity system. This according to him encouraged the creation of YALP  back in the late 1990s, when there was certainly a feeling that students at the college need to know why and how decisions are made.

A significant portion of Torrey’s presentation focused on the recently completed five year capital campaign, which exceeded its goals and by raising more than 293 million dollars became the most successful effort of the kind in the College’s history. Torrey was very humble about this success and commented on the fact that we as an institution have been very fortunate to receive the support of our alumni base.  A big portion of the capital campaign had been allocated to financial aid, a sign of the continued commitment of the College to making Bowdoin affordable.

Torrey commented on the fact that given our relative small size, we have been able to communicate the priorities of the college to a large number of alumni and parents. One of the reasons for such a success is that even though Bowdoin has grown in time, we still represent the principles of a small community, which are reflected in our relationships with graduates. The success of the fundraising efforts of the College is only one measure of the fact that a majority of people affiliated with the institution stand by its mission. They reflect a willingness to contribute towards both the academic rigor and opportunities available to current students and essentially are behind what makes Bowdoin the college that it is today.