Polar Bearings October 2026

Join us on campus for our speaker series by outstanding alumni of Bowdoin College and other leaders in a wide range of professions. 

Presidential Libraries: History or Hagiography?

Program Details:

Tuesday, October 13 2026

11:30 a.m. Doors Open

12:00 p.m. Program Begins

1:30 p.m. Program Ends

In 1939, FDR built the first presidential library on his family's estate in Hyde Park, NY. The system has greatly changed over time as seen in the recent opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

We will hear from Tom Putnam '84 - his talk will include a travelogue of the 14 presidential libraries and will address the question of how our nation best celebrates presidential achievements while also examining historical missteps. It will conclude with a general discussion of presidents of this past century.

Tom Putnam graduated from Bowdoin in 1984 where he was a Truman scholar and received a Watson Fellowship.  He also graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University with a Masters of Public Administration. He subsequently lived in Senegal West Africa as a Fulbright Scholar continuing his focus on education systems.   He served as the director of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and subsequently oversaw the nation’s entire presidential library system.

Registration is on a first-come, first served basis. The registration fee is $25 per person which will include soup, sandwiches and beverages.

Please note that capacity is limited and pre-registration is required.