A record number of prospective students have applied for admission to the incoming �ֲ���ý College Class of 2022.

The 2017–18 recruiting season saw first-year applications from 7,688 prospective students — by far the most ever and a 45 percent increase over last year’s 5,316 first-year applications.

“We are meeting more prospective students where they are and telling a story that is more compelling and relevant than ever,” said Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Leigh Weisenburger.

The previous high-water mark was 5,636 in 2014–15.

Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Leigh Weisenburger.

“When we tell �ֲ���ý’ story — about our unwavering commitment to the emancipating potential of the liberal arts, to creative and rigorous scholarship, and to the transformative power of our differences — using traditional admission outreach paired with new-media strategies, the results speak loudly and clearly.”

Among applicants, across-the-board increases in important demographic categories — including geography, first-generation-to-college students, and students of color — “move the overall pool, and thus our incoming class, in the right direction,” she added.

The record level of interest in �ֲ���ý comes as the college launches The �ֲ���ý Campaign, which seeks to raise $300 million in the coming years with a strong focus on endowment for academics and financial aid.

In addition, �ֲ���ý continues to expand its innovative Purposeful Work program and lay the groundwork for a new and fundamentally inclusive Digital and Computational Studies Program.

The 2017–18 recruitment season saw an increase in travel, both nationally and internationally, for the �ֲ���ý Admission team, including new joint travel with fellow colleges of the American Talent Initiative, of which �ֲ���ý is a founding member. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and with a target date of 2025, ATI seeks to expand by 50,000 the number of low- and moderate-income students attending 270 top U.S. schools.

In the digital realm, �ֲ���ý’ expanded suite of web, social media, and email communications and strategies now features a new virtual-visit platform that expands prospective students’ access to one of the most important ways to get to know �ֲ���ý: the campus tour.

The immersive virtual experience is particularly helpful for students who might find it difficult to visit in person. It also helps to educate potential applicants while guiding them toward various “micro-conversions” that are important in the recruitment process, such as watching a �ֲ���ý video, clicking a link to an academic department, or scheduling a visit.

�ֲ���ý has simplified the application process in another way. Effective this year, the college has eliminated the application requirement of a supplemental essay.

“We have found that the essay is an unnecessary barrier in the path of a talented student who deserves access to an excellent education,” said Weisenburger. “Just as �ֲ���ý was the first to show that standardized testing can narrow the door of college opportunity for talented students, we have made this move to reflect our leadership in creating greater access to higher education.”

A deeper look at the 2018 applicant pool and a comparison to the average applicant pool over the prior five years shows a 56 percent increase in applications from first-generation-to-college students; 40 percent from African American students; 27 percent from Asian American students; and 68 percent from Latino students.

�ֲ���ý also expanded its U.S. geographic reach in 2018, with more applicants from the West (30 percent over the five-year average), Midwest (49 percent), South (53 percent), and West (30 percent), as well as New England (14 percent).

International applicants increased by 105 percent, driven by triple-digit increases from China, Pakistan, India, and Ghana.

The incoming class will be finalized this spring. �ֲ���ý notifies applicants of admission decisions on April 1, and the deadline for accepted students to notify �ֲ���ý of their intention to enroll is May 1.

For �ֲ���ý College, 2016–17 was a year of never-befores and how-about-thats, with a few way-to-goes along the way.

Here are the highlights:

�ֲ���ý Campaign launch energized by announcement of Bonneys’ $50 million gift

Believed to be the largest single monetary donation ever to a Maine college, the $50 million gift from Michael ’80 and Alison Grott Bonney ’80, announced on May 16 with the launch of the �ֲ���ý Campaign, will fund new and modernized science facilities at �ֲ���ý.

“We have never been more optimistic about the future of �ֲ���ý,” said Michael.

Kicked off with events in Boston, New York City, San Francisco, and on campus, The �ֲ���ý Campaign has a goal of $300 million, making it the largest fundraising effort in college history.

President Clayton Spencer reveals the $300 million goal of The �ֲ���ý Campaign during the Boston launch event on May 16. “We have gotten pretty far on high intention, good ideas, and great design. But I think we could get even farther if we combine those good ideas and great design with strong resources.” (Jared Charney Photography for �ֲ���ý College)

Women win second NCAA rowing championship

The team championship, �ֲ���ý rowing’s second in three years, came thanks to gutsy performances by both �ֲ���ý boats at the NCAA regatta, held May 26–27 on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.

“It was really the epitome of what I love about this sport,” said Julia Mason ’17 of Niskayuna, N.Y.

�ֲ���ý seniors Julia Mason of Niskayuna, N.Y., Molly Pritz of Ithaca, N.Y., Katherine Traquina of Wayland, Mass., Abigail Bierman of Bethlehem, N.Y., and Jessica Vocaturo of Columbus, N.J., celebrate the college’s second team national championship. (Aaron Morse/�ֲ���ý College)

Record Fulbright awards to �ֲ���ý seniors and young alums

Through late June, the Fulbright U.S. Student program has offered grants to 22 seniors and young alumni for 2017–18 — the college’s highest number of offers ever.

“The Fulbright mission is about young scholars taking the initiative for intercultural exchange in our global society,” says Robert Strong, who guides �ֲ���ý students in applying for Fulbrights.

“The �ֲ���ý experience, set in the international community of Lewiston, is an ideal incubator for such leaders.”

One of 22 seniors and young alumni to receive Fulbright offers for 2017–18, Deshun Peoples ’17 of Chicago, a double major in studio art and rhetoric, received a Fulbright Open Study/Research Award for a project in China. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

�ֲ���ý finished 20th in the 2016–17 Learfield Directors’ Cup, an annual ranking of the country’s most successful varsity sports programs based on their team performances at NCAA championships.

�ֲ���ý ranked 20th out of 325 institutions that scored points in 2016–17. In all, there are 451 NCAA Division III member schools.

The following �ֲ���ý teams earned Directors’ Cup points: women’s rowing (NCAA champs), men’s lacrosse (5th-place tie), women’s outdoor track and field (11th), women’s indoor track and field (11th tie), women’s swimming (13th), alpine and Nordic skiing (17th), women’s cross country (19th), men’s swimming (24th), and men’s indoor track and field (42nd).

Head coach Peter Lasagna and the men’s lacrosse team celebrate after defeating Middlebury at Garcelon Field in April. �ֲ���ý (16-2) advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament in 2017. (Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College)

Major U.S. higher education access initiative selects �ֲ���ý for membership

In December 2016, the American Talent Initiative selected �ֲ���ý on the basis of the college’s commitment to access, affordability, and post-graduation success.

“We are proud to join the American Talent Initiative and look forward to offering our energy, experience, and creativity to the campaign,” said President Spencer.

“Education remains the great equalizer in our society.”

Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the initiative seeks, over the next nine years, to expand by 50,000 the number of low- and moderate-income students attending 270 top U.S. schools.

“At a time when we’re too often reminded of issues that divide us, education remains the great equalizer in our society,” said Spencer.

Members of the Class of 2020 get acquainted during an academic-planning session in August 2016 as part of Bobcat First!, the college’s program for first-generation-to-college students. The college’s record of supporting student success garnered an invitation to the American Talent Initiative. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Debaters advance to the globe’s upper echelons

In March, the team of Abby Westberry ’19 of Readfield, Maine, and Tessa Holtzman ’17 of Las Cruces, N.M., won the North American Women’s Debating Championship.

And in January, the team of Zoë Seaman-Grant ’17 of Charleston, S.C., and Matt Davis ’18 of Chicago made �ֲ���ý’ first-ever final-four appearance at the World Universities Debating Championships, held in The Hague, Netherlands.

The performances have once again “solidified �ֲ���ý as an elite program,” said Director of Debate Jan Hovden.

Debate partners Zoë Seaman-Grant ’17 and Matt Davis ’18 made it to the finals of the 2017 World Universities Debating Championships in The Hague, Netherlands. (Photograph courtesy Brooks Quimby Debate Council)

Economist Michael Murray wins 2017 Kroepsch Award for Excellence in Teaching

Murray received the college’s signature teaching award for, among other things, “making econometrics click for [students] in a way that other people don’t,” said his colleague James Hughes.

Students don’t just rave about Murray’s ability to communicate econometrics. They say he even makes it fun. “He made complex concepts enjoyable and interesting to learn,” said Sarah Centanni ’17 of Hingham, Mass.

Economics professor Michael Murray works with econometrics students during the final week of classes in April. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Ali Rabideau’s social-enterprise pitch wins top prize in $15,000 competition

The �ֲ���ý senior’s winning pitch in the student-run Bobcat Ventures competition on April 1, 2016, grew from her summer job helping a Lewiston nonprofit, the Center for Wisdom’s Women, make some money by growing and selling products made from medicinal herbs and flowers.

Rabideau said that being able to knit together two strong strands of the �ֲ���ý experience — entrepreneurism and social awareness — “was my favorite part of the experience: Having the kind of work you value brought to life by an entrepreneurship competition.”

Bobcat Ventures judge Chris Barbin ’93 presents first-place winner Ali Rabideau ’17 with a first-place check of $9,000 on April 1, 2017. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Campus weathers historic five-snowstorm week

February 2017 delivered a one-two-three-four-five punch of snowstorms totaling around 47 inches, which is more than double the height of your average bobcat.

Midway through the February blitz, with the temperature at about 13 degrees and the wind gusting to 25 mph, we caught up with Kinsey Moser ’18 of Florida, at left, who was walking with Emma Foss ’19 and Adam Poulin ’19 of Maine and Jade Donaldson ’18 of New Jersey.

�ֲ���ý takes national lead in sustainability with switch to Renewable Fuel Oil

�ֲ���ý is cutting emissions and saving money as the first U.S. college to heat with an innovative fuel oil made from wood scraps and other cellulosic biomass products.

�ֲ���ý sustainability manager Tom Twist estimates that burning RFO will cut the steam plant’s annual emission of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) from about 3,080 metric tons to 532.

“It’s a huge drop, which is pretty cool,” said Twist.

Tanks a lot: With a Cote crane poised for action, a rigger unfastens the Renewable Fuel Oil tank from its trailer on Dec. 9, 2016. (Doug Hubley/�ֲ���ý College)

Attempt to suppress �ֲ���ý student vote gets swift college response

Denounced with vigor by President Clayton Spencer, the dastardly attempt to discourage �ֲ���ý students from participating in the 2016 national election on Nov. 8 captured national attention.

Two days before the election, orange fliers posted in Commons and residences by an unknown person implied that voting in Maine meant that a student must get a Maine driver’s license and, if they owned a car, register it with the state. Neither are requirements for students to vote in Maine.

In her statement to the community, President Spencer denounced the fliers as “clearly a deliberate attempt at voter suppression.”

Orange fliers with false voting information posted on campus on Nov. 6 were a deliberate attempt to discourage students from voting, said President Spencer. (Photograph by Sarah Frankie Sigman ’18)

Marcy Plavin, a singular force for dance and dancers at �ֲ���ý, dies at age 84

Plavin, who died Nov.  3, 2016, was the face and spirit of �ֲ���ý dance and, for her students, “a spirited defender and nurturer of their aspirations and dreams,” said President Spencer.

Dance critic and historian Suzanne Carbonneau ’76 said that Plavin provided an ��Գٰ�é�� “to the world of artistic creation” for her students. “We learned that passionate engagement, an appreciation of the sublime, and the cultivation of compassion are forms of knowledge that none of us can afford to be without.”

Rachel Segall ’91 and Michael Foley ’89 embrace Marcy Plavin on May 2, 2015, during rehearsals for the evening’s alumni dance concert to honor Plavin. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

$10 million gift from Elizabeth Kalperis Chu ’80 and Michael Chu ’80 names new residences

Dedicated on Oct. 2, 2016, in honor of the Chus’ gift, Kalperis Hall and Chu Hall, located at 65 and 55 Campus Ave. respectively, provide housing for 243 students. In addition, Kalperis Hall features street-level space for the relocated and reimagined �ֲ���ý College Store and Post & Print office.

The new buildings establish a new, dynamic area of college life on the south side of campus while offering a more defined and welcoming gateway to �ֲ���ý.

Elizabeth Kalperis Chu ’80 and Michael Chu ’80 pose outside Kalperis Hall on Oct. 28, 2016. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

The project is part of the college’s strategic efforts to improve residential offerings on a broad scale while maintaining campus enrollment at approximately 1,750 students.

�ֲ���ý dedicates new rowing boathouse, ‘a place to call home’

The �ֲ���ý rowing program had a housewarming on Oct. 29, 2016, formally dedicating its new donor-funded boathouse on the Androscoggin River in Greene.

The new facility has what the old boathouse, a rustic unheated pole barn, did not have: locker rooms, workout space, and secure storage for boats.

Still, some things won’t change. “We take pride in being the tough, gritty team from Maine,” said captain Abbey Bierman ’17 of Bethlehem, N.Y. “And this boathouse will not change that.”

The college’s new donor-funded boathouse was designed by Peterson Architects, based in Cambridge, Mass. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Museum of Art’s ‘Phantom Punch’ exhibition is among first in U.S. to present contemporary Saudi artists

You didn’t see it coming: A groundbreaking exhibition of contemporary Saudi Arabian art at the �ֲ���ý College Museum of Art last fall and winter.

“We want to show that there are creative, interesting, critical people who are exploring the political and cultural issues in their society,” said co-curator Loring Danforth, Dana Professor of Anthropology.

“Tagged and Documented” (2013) by Hudu Bedoun appears in Phantom Punch.

Journalist and Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King speaks at �ֲ���ý

Punctuating his remarks with penetrating detail, Shaun King, senior social justice writer for the New York Daily News and a leading voice in the Black Lives Matter movement, spoke to a capacity audience in the Gomes Chapel on Oct. 11, 2016.

“Sometimes human beings are amazing, and sometimes they’re really terrible,” King said. “Sometimes the quality of humanity goes up, and sometimes it goes really far down.”

Black Lives Matter activist and New York Daily News justice writer Shaun King delivers remarks in the Gomes Chapel on Oct. 11, 2016. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

Chemist Tom Wenzel shares $900,000 grant for curriculum development

The grant will support work by Dana Professor of Chemistry Tom Wenzel and a collaborator to advance active learning, where students take a hands-on approach to solving problems that have their roots in real-world situations.

“This is a way to help faculty meaningfully change the way they teach,” Wenzel said. “To move away from lectures to doing in-class group work, and away from ‘recipe-driven’ laboratories to more open-ended experiments.”

Charles A. Dana Professor of Chemistry Tom Wenzel. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Robert Flynn, a three-sport coach with ‘iconic Bobcat zen’ who elevated �ֲ���ý skiing to national prominence, dies at age 83

Bob Flynn’s warmth and loyalty to his athletes embodied “the force, the spirit, and the iconic Bobcat zen” of �ֲ���ý athletics.

At his induction into the �ֲ���ý Scholar-Athlete Society in 2015, Flynn was honored for his many years of “encouraging �ֲ���ý athletes to participate in all �ֲ���ý had to offer. Most of all, he has assisted �ֲ���ý students in challenging themselves.”

Whatever the sport, “it just didn’t matter to him who you were. He was nice — period,” said Dave Irons, a longtime friend and Maine ski industry journalist.

Bob Flynn, photographed in September 2012 while coaching the �ֲ���ý golf team. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

There are at least 50,000 low-to-moderate-income students in the U.S. who have the talent to excel at the nation’s leading colleges and universities. Yet, for a variety of reasons, they don’t have access to those institutions.

It’s ironic, because these students have the most to gain from a top-quality college education: that a quality college education significantly improves the chances that lower-income students will not only graduate, but will thrive after graduation.

To bridge that gap and help those underserved young people gain access to the best U.S. schools, �ֲ���ý College has joined 30 of the nation’s most-respected colleges and universities in a new nationwide effort —

�ֲ���ý was invited to join the initiative, which includes peers Amherst and Williams as well as universities such as Princeton, Harvard, and Berkeley, on the strength of the college’s proven commitment to access, affordability, and success after graduation.

“We are proud to join the American Talent Initiative and look forward to offering our energy, experience, and creativity to the campaign,” says President Spencer.

Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the initiative seeks, over the next nine years, to expand by 50,000 the number of low- and moderate-income students attending 270 top U.S. schools.

“At a time when we’re too often reminded of issues that divide us, education remains the great equalizer in our society,” says �ֲ���ý President Clayton Spencer, a longtime champion of improved access to education.

“Since our founding by abolitionists in the Civil War era, �ֲ���ý has maintained an unwavering commitment to recruiting talented and motivated students from a broad range of backgrounds and supporting them for success in college and beyond,” she says.

“We are proud to join the American Talent Initiative and look forward to offering our energy, experience, and creativity to the campaign.”

Named for the student potential that the initiative will cultivate, the ATI is a partnership among the 30 schools; Bloomberg Philanthropies; and two organizations dedicated to strengthening academe and student outcomes, the Aspen College Excellence Program and Ithaka S+R.

ATI hopes ultimately to enlist 270 institutions, those that consistently graduate at least 70 percent of their students in six years or less.

The American Talent Initiative’s 30 founding institutions represent the cream of U.S. academe, spanning the spectrum of category, region, and size.

Representing diverse regions and academic missions, each institution will choose its own way to contribute to the 50,000-student enrollment goal. They will step up their own efforts to recruit and support lower-income students, share ideas and experiences, and contribute to research that helps other colleges and universities expand opportunity.

A commitment to accessibility is rooted in its �ֲ���ý values: From its founding, in 1855, �ֲ���ý has recruited students without regard to race, religion, national origin, or sex.

In 2011, the college demonstrated this commitment to access and affordability in a particularly high-profile way with the appointment of Spencer as president. As vice president of policy at Harvard prior to �ֲ���ý, she played key roles in the reshaping and major expansion of the university’s financial aid program; and in the creation of the Crimson Summer Academy, which provides low-income high-school students with on-campus experiences leading to higher education.

Compared with its peers, �ֲ���ý spends a significantly larger proportion of its resources on financial aid.

For �ֲ���ý, financial aid is a central priority. The college ensures that 100 percent of its students’ demonstrated financial need is met for all four years. Forty-three percent of students receive grants from �ֲ���ý, with such grants averaging $40,000 per student.

Compared with its peers, �ֲ���ý spends a significantly larger proportion of its resources on financial aid. In fiscal year 2015, for example, �ֲ���ý had an operating budget of $103.4 million and spent the equivalent of a third, $31.4 million, on financial aid.

That year, �ֲ���ý’ financial aid outlay was equivalent to 12 percent of the college’s endowment — more than twice the commitment of several peer liberal arts colleges with far larger endowments.

A variety of programs enable all students to thrive at �ֲ���ý. Here, members of the Class of 2020 get together last August during a session of Bobcat First!, a program for first-generation-to-college students. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Also in the interest of increasing accessibility, �ֲ���ý was among the first U.S. colleges to cease requiring that applicants submit standardized test scores — a requirement that narrows the doorway of college opportunity for low-income students and other underrepresented groups.

But if the headline of the ATI story is 50,000 new enrollments, the initiative is just as deeply concerned with the progress of its students once they’re inside the wrought-iron gates — as well as their success as college graduates. Here, too, �ֲ���ý has an enviable track record.

With 96 percent of students participating, �ֲ���ý’ robust senior thesis program is especially beneficial to students from underrepresented groups. So too is the college’s 10-to-1 ratio of students to faculty, which means more individualized attention and stronger academic relationships.

Relatively new on the scene, the college’s Purposeful Work initiative is nationally distinctive. Spearheaded by President Spencer as one of her central initiatives, Purposeful Work is dedicated to the proposition that, because work is fundamental to our lives, a liberal arts education should help students discover the unique path that aligns who they are with what they will do later in life.

Purposeful Work programming includes wide-ranging paid internships. From left, Associate Professor of Economics Nathan Tefft meets with his Purposeful Work interns Fan Dong ’17  and Michael Varner ’17 in summer 2016. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Driven by innovative programming, Purposeful Work includes wide-ranging paid internships and myriad opportunities for students from families without strong professional networks to make connections that can be essential to a professional career.

Purposeful Work has also seen the infusion of life-purpose considerations and life skills into the curriculum; the development of practitioner-taught courses that have ranged from journalism to entrepreneurship to music production; and a speaker series that brings notable guests to campus to talk about the traits that support meaningful work.

�ֲ���ý offers a variety of other programs designed to enable all students to thrive during their �ֲ���ý years, including the 12 percent of �ֲ���ý students who are the first generation of their families to attend college.

For instance, the Bobcat First! program specifically supports first-generation students. It strengthens their sense of belonging at �ֲ���ý, their sense of community, and their emotional intelligence. And the Dinner Table series of mealtime conversations has been shown to improve participants’ satisfaction with the college experience and their comfort with communicating across cultural differences.

Programs like these figure in a high freshman-to-sophomore retention rate that, for fall 2015, was nearly 95 percent. And nearly 90 percent of �ֲ���ý students graduate within six years — well above the ATI’s benchmark of 70 percent.

Within six months of graduation, 99 percent of �ֲ���ý alumni are settled in a job, internship, or graduate school. And students in the �ֲ���ý Class of 2015 had an average federal loan debt of around $14,000, less than half the national average.

�ֲ���ý has a high freshman-to-sophomore retention rate (95 percent) and a six-year graduate rate of nearly 90 percent. In fall 2015, from left, physics major Dan Paseltiner ’16, physics major Javier Morales ’16, and French major Kwamae Delva ’18 study together in a lounge at the Office of Intercultural Education. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

The American Talent Initiative’s 28 founding institutions represent the cream of U.S. academe. Spanning the spectrum of category, region, and size, they include eminent small liberal arts colleges like �ֲ���ý and Williams, Ivies like Harvard and Yale, and such powerhouse research universities as the University of Michigan and UC Berkeley.

Today, that college degree is more critical than ever, even as higher education moves further out of reach for many young people.

The ATI will invite the remaining 240 schools into the program over time, with the goal of adding at least 100 in just the next few years.

In the mid-20th century, with the G.I. Bill, the Higher Education Act, and the Civil Rights Act, the nation invested in and opened access to higher education for its citizens, characterizing a college degree as a path to success. Today, that college degree is more critical than ever, even as higher education moves further out of reach for many young people.

A lack of information about options, confusion about costs, and inadequate offers of financial aid keep thousands of new high school graduates every year from attending the colleges and universities that could best help them succeed. The ATI seeks to ensure that these “missing” students have a path to attend and thrive at the institutions with the highest graduation rates and best track records for post-graduate success.

“If we’re serious about promoting social mobility in America, we need to ensure that every qualified high school student in the U.S. has an opportunity to attend college,” says Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term mayor of New York City.

“I’m so glad that so many great colleges and universities have stepped up today and committed themselves towards that goal. This is a vital first step toward creating a more meritocratic society.”