Reunion Weekend 2025 in Pictures
By Bowdoin NewsMore 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.
Over class dinners and pub nights, alumni caught up with each other, making new memories during activities that included museum tours, lectures, outings to the Schiller Coastal Studies Center, and the ever-popular pints and pinot gathering.
At Reunion Convocation on Saturday, May 31, following a procession of alumni celebrating their fiftieth reunion, President Safa Zaki welcomed those gathered in Watson Arena and offered a brief overview of highlights from the academic year.
President Zaki noted that Bowdoin is one of the most active research institutions among liberal arts colleges, a status formally acknowledged by the Carnegie Classification systems, which recently designated Bowdoin among the top research colleges and universities in the country.
She also mentioned the College’s newest appointments to endowed chairs, established through the generosity of alumni, parents, and other donors.
“The generous assistance of alumni and other donors allows us to provide need-based financial aid for all four years without loans—including for international students,” Zaki said. “We are one of only ten colleges and universities in the country to do so.”
Zaki also mentioned the College’s March announcement regarding Reed Hastings’s generous $50 million gift that is funding the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity. “This amazing gift will bring ten new professors to Bowdoin and create new opportunities for research,” she said.
“This growth of the faculty is part of my strategic vision for the College. It will allow faculty to experiment with new ways of teaching that will help prepare our students for the AI revolution."
For his long and outstanding devotion to the College, William Bao Bean ’95 was presented the 2025 Alumni Service Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Bowdoin Alumni Council.
For his extraordinary contributions demonstrating remarkable vision, resilience, and innovation during his career as a teacher, Malcolm W. Gauld ’76, P’14 was presented the 2025 Distinguished Educator Award, recognizing outstanding achievement in education by a Bowdoin alumnus or alumna in any field and at any level of education.
President Zaki then presented the 2025 Common Good Award to George A. Khaldun ’73, selected by the Bowdoin College Board of Trustees for devoting his considerable skill as an administrator, expertise as an educator, and passion as a reformer to bettering the lives of young people through his quest to break the cycle of poverty in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood and in other urban communities throughout the country.
Watch a recording of the Reunion Convocation ceremony.