A New Academic Year
Dear students, faculty, and staff,
Welcome to the start of the academic year! I hope you all have had a fulfilling and revitalizing summer.
It has been a busy summer on campus. We hosted many visitors from around the world, as well as a variety of programs and events. Many visitors came to see the major exhibits in our two museums. Nearly 300 of our students were here to conduct research with faculty, to participate in a wide range of internships and fellowships, and to work in campus jobs, all the while enjoying these extraordinary weeks in Maine. We also welcomed the seventh cohort of Geoffrey Canada Scholars to campus.
In the larger world, it was a summer of continued global conflict. The board of trustees and I spent time this summer considering the issues and requests put forward last spring in the Bowdoin Student Government referendum, and I will have more to say about that in the next few days.
With continuing heartbreaking violence and global unrest and the presidential election just weeks away, these are times that challenge each of us and every academic community to engage in meaningful dialogue and critical reflection, to listen actively to those who have different life experiences and views, and to deepen our understanding of the issues that divide people and communities. Beginning this month and continuing throughout the semester, we will have the opportunity to hear from several guest speakers and to attend other programming aimed at fostering engagement on a variety of important matters. I hope you will participate.
I would like to share some campus news. We have welcomed two new colleagues to the senior staff. Our new senior vice president for student affairs and dean for student affairs, Jim Hoppe, and our new senior vice president for development and alumni relations, Heather Krajewski, arrived about a month ago and are already making important contributions and looking forward to meeting and working with the Bowdoin community.
In June, the College was awarded a major grant to fund an exciting faculty development initiative on artificial intelligence (AI) and teaching. The three-year grant from the Davis Educational Foundation will support faculty and teaching staff in considering the potential, implications, and application of AI in the classroom. Under the direction of Professor of Physics Dale Syphers and a subcommittee of the Committee on Teaching and Classroom Practice, the initiative will offer workshops, symposia, and lectures beginning this month. Among the future activities is a humanities-focused symposium on AI in music, and I cannot wait to see what else comes out of this timely opportunity.
You will see that we have made great progress on the renovations at Sills Hall, which is slated to reopen next summer, and that our counseling staff are settled into their renovated quarters at 30 College Street. Work begins in the coming weeks to restore the historic observatory at its new location at Pickard Field, and construction is underway on a new studio for our student-run radio station—WBOR—which will begin broadcasting from new quarters on the ground floor of Coles Tower next semester. We also retained the services of Ayers Saint Gross over the summer, a firm that will partner with us to develop the next phase of a comprehensive campus plan—a multiyear effort that will require and benefit from your feedback and insights.
I have already had some opportunities to meet our newest students, including when they came to my office to sign the matriculation book and yesterday at Convocation. It has also been wonderful to welcome the new faculty and staff who joined us over the summer and to reconnect with returning members of our community.
Students: I look forward to spending as much time as I can with you, and I will be holding regular lunches in Thorne and open office hours in different locations around campus this year. Please look for the dates and times in CampusGroups. Meanwhile, don’t be surprised if I sit down next to you in Thorne or Moulton or stop you on the Quad to say hello, and don’t hesitate to seek me out if I can ever be helpful to you.
That goes as well for our exceptional faculty and staff, whom I look forward to seeing on Thursday afternoon on the Cleaveland House lawn as we meet and welcome our newest colleagues to Bowdoin. And I hope everyone—students, faculty, and staff—will head out to Coe Quad tomorrow beginning at 3:00 p.m. for the annual Ice Cream Social. This is one more way to say hello and welcome back!
I love the start of the academic year. It is full of energy and possibility, and I cannot wait to see what Bowdoin’s 223rd academic year will bring.
With my very best wishes,
Safa
Welcome to the start of the academic year! I hope you all have had a fulfilling and revitalizing summer.
It has been a busy summer on campus. We hosted many visitors from around the world, as well as a variety of programs and events. Many visitors came to see the major exhibits in our two museums. Nearly 300 of our students were here to conduct research with faculty, to participate in a wide range of internships and fellowships, and to work in campus jobs, all the while enjoying these extraordinary weeks in Maine. We also welcomed the seventh cohort of Geoffrey Canada Scholars to campus.
In the larger world, it was a summer of continued global conflict. The board of trustees and I spent time this summer considering the issues and requests put forward last spring in the Bowdoin Student Government referendum, and I will have more to say about that in the next few days.
With continuing heartbreaking violence and global unrest and the presidential election just weeks away, these are times that challenge each of us and every academic community to engage in meaningful dialogue and critical reflection, to listen actively to those who have different life experiences and views, and to deepen our understanding of the issues that divide people and communities. Beginning this month and continuing throughout the semester, we will have the opportunity to hear from several guest speakers and to attend other programming aimed at fostering engagement on a variety of important matters. I hope you will participate.
I would like to share some campus news. We have welcomed two new colleagues to the senior staff. Our new senior vice president for student affairs and dean for student affairs, Jim Hoppe, and our new senior vice president for development and alumni relations, Heather Krajewski, arrived about a month ago and are already making important contributions and looking forward to meeting and working with the Bowdoin community.
In June, the College was awarded a major grant to fund an exciting faculty development initiative on artificial intelligence (AI) and teaching. The three-year grant from the Davis Educational Foundation will support faculty and teaching staff in considering the potential, implications, and application of AI in the classroom. Under the direction of Professor of Physics Dale Syphers and a subcommittee of the Committee on Teaching and Classroom Practice, the initiative will offer workshops, symposia, and lectures beginning this month. Among the future activities is a humanities-focused symposium on AI in music, and I cannot wait to see what else comes out of this timely opportunity.
You will see that we have made great progress on the renovations at Sills Hall, which is slated to reopen next summer, and that our counseling staff are settled into their renovated quarters at 30 College Street. Work begins in the coming weeks to restore the historic observatory at its new location at Pickard Field, and construction is underway on a new studio for our student-run radio station—WBOR—which will begin broadcasting from new quarters on the ground floor of Coles Tower next semester. We also retained the services of Ayers Saint Gross over the summer, a firm that will partner with us to develop the next phase of a comprehensive campus plan—a multiyear effort that will require and benefit from your feedback and insights.
I have already had some opportunities to meet our newest students, including when they came to my office to sign the matriculation book and yesterday at Convocation. It has also been wonderful to welcome the new faculty and staff who joined us over the summer and to reconnect with returning members of our community.
Students: I look forward to spending as much time as I can with you, and I will be holding regular lunches in Thorne and open office hours in different locations around campus this year. Please look for the dates and times in CampusGroups. Meanwhile, don’t be surprised if I sit down next to you in Thorne or Moulton or stop you on the Quad to say hello, and don’t hesitate to seek me out if I can ever be helpful to you.
That goes as well for our exceptional faculty and staff, whom I look forward to seeing on Thursday afternoon on the Cleaveland House lawn as we meet and welcome our newest colleagues to Bowdoin. And I hope everyone—students, faculty, and staff—will head out to Coe Quad tomorrow beginning at 3:00 p.m. for the annual Ice Cream Social. This is one more way to say hello and welcome back!
I love the start of the academic year. It is full of energy and possibility, and I cannot wait to see what Bowdoin’s 223rd academic year will bring.
With my very best wishes,
Safa