Scott Meiklejohn to Retire (October 13, 2021)

To the Bowdoin campus community, 

I am writing to let you know that Scott Meiklejohn, who has served Bowdoin over the past quarter century, will be retiring from the College on October 29.  

Scott has been a key member of our community since 1997 and is the only person to have served Bowdoin in three different senior staff positions: assistant to the president, dean of admissions and financial aid, and senior vice president for development and alumni relations (DAR). He has built important relationships in those positions and his other roles at the College, and he has told Bowdoin’s story with enthusiasm across the country and around the world. Respected by trustees and staff, Scott led his teams in admissions and DAR with care and good humor, and he has been a trusted partner to his senior colleagues.   

As dean of admissions, Scott focused on significantly broadening the pool of remarkable students who apply to Bowdoin, with a focus on racial, socioeconomic, and geographic diversity. He also helped develop and implement the policies that moved us into the ranks of the nineteen colleges and universities in this country that have a combination of need-blind admissions, no-loan/grant-only financial aid packages, and that meet the full demonstrated need of each family. In partnership with Scott Hood, he led the 2016 research and communications efforts that significantly improved how and where Bowdoin presented “The Offer of the College.” It is hard to overstate the impact that Scott has had on Bowdoin in this role. 

In 2016, I asked Scott to take on the leadership in development and alumni relations, and he again had a profound impact. He strengthened and broadened our relationships with our alumni and parents, managed the annual fund campaigns through some very challenging years with great success, was a central architect of our current From Here campaign, and is responsible for much of the success we have had after less than two years since the public campaign launch. In a long-planned transition, Scott stepped down this past summer to become a senior advisor at the College, and we welcomed Stephanie Frost as his successor in development and alumni relations. 

His many other contributions to Bowdoin include leadership roles and support for building committees (Watson Arena), reaccreditation (with Craig McEwen in 2005–2006), and campus master-planning projects. He has also served Maine and the wider educational community as a trustee of Waynflete School, Kents Hill School, and Colgate University, where he is a trustee emeritus and past president of the Colgate University Alumni Corporation. We will properly celebrate all that Scott has done for Bowdoin in the spring. 

On a personal note, I will miss Scott’s wise counsel, our work together, and traveling with him for the College. I know that you join me in thanking Scott for his remarkable contributions that have made Bowdoin better over so many years.  

All the best,

Clayton