Bowdoin College

Not to be confused with Bowdon College.
Bowdoin College
MottoUt Aquila Versus Coelum[1] (Latin)
Motto in English
As an eagle towards the sky
TypePrivate liberal arts college
EstablishedJune 24, 1794; 230 years ago (1794-06-24)
AccreditationNECHE
Academic affiliations
EndowmentUS$2.4 billion (2023)[2]
PresidentSafa Zaki
Academic staff
206[3]
Undergraduates1,850 (fall 2023)
Location
Brunswick
,
Maine
,
United States

43°54′31″N 69°57′46″W / 43.90861°N 69.96278°W / 43.90861; -69.96278
CampusSuburban, 207 acres (84 ha)[4]
NewspaperThe Bowdoin Orient
ColorsBlack and white[5]
NicknamePolar Bears[6]
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division III –
MascotPolar bear
Websitewww.bowdoin.edu Edit this at Wikidata

Bowdoin College (/ˈboʊdɪn/ ⓘ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 35 majors and 40 minors, as well as several joint engineering programs with Columbia, Caltech, Dartmouth College, and the University of Maine.[7][8]

The college was a founding member of its athletic conference, the New England Small College Athletic Conference, and the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium, an athletic conference and inter-library exchange with Bates College and Colby College. Bowdoin has over 30 varsity teams, and the school mascot was selected as a polar bear in 1913 to honor Robert Peary, a Bowdoin alumnus who led the first successful expedition to the North Pole.[9] Between the years 1821 and 1921, Bowdoin operated a medical school called the "Medical School of Maine."[10]

The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In addition to its Brunswick campus, Bowdoin owns a 118-acre (48 ha) coastal studies center on Orr's Island[11] and a 200-acre (81 ha) scientific field station on Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy.[12]

  1. ^ "Commencement 2017: Invocation by Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin". Bowdoin College. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  2. ^ As of March 7, 2022. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2021 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY20 to FY21 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  3. ^ "Common Data Set 2022–2023" (PDF). Bowdoin College. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  4. ^ "Bowdoin College". U.S. News & World Report. 2018. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  5. ^ "Color and Typography". Bowdoin College. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Athletics Quick Facts". Bowdoin Athletics. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Engineering Dual-Degree Options". Archived from the original on December 21, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  8. ^ "Departments and Programs | Bowdoin College". www.bowdoin.edu. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  9. ^ "To the Pole". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  10. ^ "Medical School of Maine: Historical Records and Files 8.2". library.bowdoin.edu. Archived from the original on December 18, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  11. ^ "The Bowdoin Coastal Studies Center". Bowdoin.edu. March 1, 2011. Archived from the original on August 4, 2011.
  12. ^ "A description of Kent Island". Bowdoin.edu. Archived from the original on August 4, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2011.