Announcing Janet Lohmann's Retirement
To the Bowdoin community,
I write today with the news that Janet Lohmann has decided to retire at the end of July 2024. Janet has been—and is—an exceptional dean for student affairs. Over her years at Bowdoin, Janet has rightly earned widespread admiration and respect for her collaborative leadership and advocacy for students.
Speaking personally, I came to quickly learn why Janet is so respected across the College. I am grateful for her wise counsel and perspective, and I will miss her thoughtful leadership, enthusiasm, and dedication. With all she has accomplished during some of the most challenging years for higher education in recent memory, Janet has certainly earned the right to step back for a period as she considers the next chapter in her accomplished life and career.
I look forward to an opportunity to publicly thank her and celebrate her accomplishments later this semester, but for now, let me share a few highlights of her work on behalf of students at Bowdoin.
Janet has been an essential presence in the Bowdoin community for over twenty years. She taught in the sociology department for several years before shifting her focus to student affairs, where she has served in a variety of important roles, including director of accommodations for students with disabilities, associate dean of student affairs, dean of first-year students, and dean of students. In 2019, Janet was named senior vice president and dean for student affairs, just months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period of tremendous uncertainty, Janet was an essential part of the leadership team that navigated months filled with complex challenges and difficult decisions. In learning about that period at Bowdoin, I heard again and again how invaluable Janet’s caring presence and clear thinking were to the entire Bowdoin community.
The health, safety, and overall welfare of students was—and always has been—the top priority for Janet and for the dedicated team she leads with patience, good humor, and her ever-present spirit of gratitude. She has supported and advocated for additional resources for the counseling center at Bowdoin, including increasing the number of counselors, and creating an assistant director of wellness and community outreach position to help students learn healthy, skillful approaches to understanding themselves and their well-being.
A first-generation college student herself, Janet has been passionate about supporting students for whom college—and Bowdoin—may feel unfamiliar. A couple of examples: with others, she was instrumental in implementing the BASE advising model and in developing THRIVE, two initiatives dedicated to supporting low-income and first-generation students.
Janet’s commitment to ensuring that all students know they belong at Bowdoin is reflected by her leadership in developing Ladd House as a hub of offices and programs to support accessibility, belonging, inclusion, and diversity and in creating a new student leadership position to help foster, grow, and develop student leadership skills at the College. These important legacies—a tribute to Janet’s collaborative style, imagination, and care—will help Bowdoin students for years to come.
A less public but crucially important part of Janet’s work has been her steady and unflagging support for the staff in student affairs and the invaluable work they do on behalf of our students and our community. In the months ahead, I know Janet will continue her efforts to support students, lead her team, and serve as an important member of senior leadership. Janet leaves big shoes to fill, and I will soon share more information about the search for our next dean of student affairs.
I have been so taken with the tradition known as “Gratitude Thursdays,” and I was not at all surprised to learn that it was introduced by Janet. One Thursday afternoon in 2015, Janet arranged to set up a table for students in Smith Union equipped with paper, pens, envelopes, and postage stamps. Her idea was to revive the lost art of letter writing to express gratitude to others. This practice says so much about Janet’s leadership, heart, and approach to the world.
Let me close with my gratitude for her partnership and for the insights and wisdom she has shared with me and with so many others at the College.
All my best,
Safa
I write today with the news that Janet Lohmann has decided to retire at the end of July 2024. Janet has been—and is—an exceptional dean for student affairs. Over her years at Bowdoin, Janet has rightly earned widespread admiration and respect for her collaborative leadership and advocacy for students.
Speaking personally, I came to quickly learn why Janet is so respected across the College. I am grateful for her wise counsel and perspective, and I will miss her thoughtful leadership, enthusiasm, and dedication. With all she has accomplished during some of the most challenging years for higher education in recent memory, Janet has certainly earned the right to step back for a period as she considers the next chapter in her accomplished life and career.
I look forward to an opportunity to publicly thank her and celebrate her accomplishments later this semester, but for now, let me share a few highlights of her work on behalf of students at Bowdoin.
Janet has been an essential presence in the Bowdoin community for over twenty years. She taught in the sociology department for several years before shifting her focus to student affairs, where she has served in a variety of important roles, including director of accommodations for students with disabilities, associate dean of student affairs, dean of first-year students, and dean of students. In 2019, Janet was named senior vice president and dean for student affairs, just months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period of tremendous uncertainty, Janet was an essential part of the leadership team that navigated months filled with complex challenges and difficult decisions. In learning about that period at Bowdoin, I heard again and again how invaluable Janet’s caring presence and clear thinking were to the entire Bowdoin community.
The health, safety, and overall welfare of students was—and always has been—the top priority for Janet and for the dedicated team she leads with patience, good humor, and her ever-present spirit of gratitude. She has supported and advocated for additional resources for the counseling center at Bowdoin, including increasing the number of counselors, and creating an assistant director of wellness and community outreach position to help students learn healthy, skillful approaches to understanding themselves and their well-being.
A first-generation college student herself, Janet has been passionate about supporting students for whom college—and Bowdoin—may feel unfamiliar. A couple of examples: with others, she was instrumental in implementing the BASE advising model and in developing THRIVE, two initiatives dedicated to supporting low-income and first-generation students.
Janet’s commitment to ensuring that all students know they belong at Bowdoin is reflected by her leadership in developing Ladd House as a hub of offices and programs to support accessibility, belonging, inclusion, and diversity and in creating a new student leadership position to help foster, grow, and develop student leadership skills at the College. These important legacies—a tribute to Janet’s collaborative style, imagination, and care—will help Bowdoin students for years to come.
A less public but crucially important part of Janet’s work has been her steady and unflagging support for the staff in student affairs and the invaluable work they do on behalf of our students and our community. In the months ahead, I know Janet will continue her efforts to support students, lead her team, and serve as an important member of senior leadership. Janet leaves big shoes to fill, and I will soon share more information about the search for our next dean of student affairs.
I have been so taken with the tradition known as “Gratitude Thursdays,” and I was not at all surprised to learn that it was introduced by Janet. One Thursday afternoon in 2015, Janet arranged to set up a table for students in Smith Union equipped with paper, pens, envelopes, and postage stamps. Her idea was to revive the lost art of letter writing to express gratitude to others. This practice says so much about Janet’s leadership, heart, and approach to the world.
Let me close with my gratitude for her partnership and for the insights and wisdom she has shared with me and with so many others at the College.
All my best,
Safa