Clayton Spencer’s final remarks as the college’s eighth president were among her most personal.

Delivered to �ֲ���ý alumni of the last 70 years at Reunion on June 10, Spencer’s address during the Annual Gathering of the Alumni Association was as multigenerational as her audience’s, hearkening back to her first experience living at a liberal arts college, at Davidson, when her father was president.

“I was a child living in the Davidson president’s house in the ’60s, with my brother’s rock band, complete with scraggly hair and ratty jeans, practicing in the garage behind the dorms. I was taking it all in.”

Spending the last 11 years as �ֲ���ý’ president has been “pretty cool,” Spencer said, to be able to conclude “this phase of my life as I began it — living on a liberal arts campus among a bunch of 18- to 22-year-olds at such an intense and dynamic time in their own development.”

And about those 18- to 22-year-olds that she’s lived (very) close to over the last 11 years at �ֲ���ý? 

They are “still curious. They are idealistic,” Spencer said. “They care about the world, they are developing their agency, and they want to gain the knowledge and tools to solve the world’s hardest problems. They are generous and kind and open. And they are very funny.”

To her personal recollections, which included anecdotes about those funny �ֲ���ý students, Spencer added her thanks. “I am proud and grateful to be associated with this fabulous college that you guys are lucky enough to claim as your own,” she told the alumni, concluding her address with these words:

”If I’ve learned one thing over the past 11 years, it is this: It’s always a great day to be a Bobcat.”

This year, 8,937 prospective students — the highest number ever — applied to join the �ֲ���ý College Class of 2027.

Of those, 1,100 were offered admission. And in April, nearly 250 traveled to �ֲ���ý on one of two days in April set aside for newly admitted students and families to learn more about the college.

On the first visit day, about a dozen of those admitted students, perhaps pointed in the right direction by their Guidebook app, made their way to a Pettengill Hall classroom to get a real taste of �ֲ���ý academics, in the form of a master class led by a �ֲ���ý history professor.

On the one hand, visit days are tightly choreographed, kicking off with a student a cappella performance and welcomes from President Clayton Spencer and Leigh Weisenburger, vice president for enrollment and dean of admission and financial aid. 

On the other, the overall goal is to deliver authenticity. “It is a carefully planned event, but we also try to just roll with the day — allowing students and families to explore �ֲ���ý as they wish,” Weisenburger says. “And I think it keeps �ֲ���ý real.”

Helping to deliver that reality are master classes, including one led by Associate Professor of History Joe Hall about the who and why of the college’s founding in 1855.

Freewill Baptist religious leaders founded �ֲ���ý, he explained. They believed that “all human beings have a certain respect in God’s eyes.” So, all human beings should respect each other — “and thus slavery was evil.” And not just white men should have access to education, but all people, a spirit of inclusion that led to the founding of �ֲ���ý.

“It makes me think a little bit more critically,” said a young woman from Texas. “How can I say that I’m opposed to these struggles but still funding them?”

Supporting the founders were Lewiston textile mill owners, including namesake Benjamin �ֲ���ý, who were making bales of money from cotton grown in Southern slave-holding states before the Civil War. After explaining these facts, Hall invited the would-be Bobcats to think about that contradiction — abolitionist founders and cotton profiteers — and what it means today. “What do you do with it?” he asked. 

“It makes me think a little bit more critically,” said a young woman from Texas, noting that the smart phone in front of her might have metals sourced from problematic mines. “How can I say that I’m opposed to these struggles but still funding them?”

That’s the kind of experience — a student having one-on-one time with a �ֲ���ý faculty member — that President Clayton Spencer says can help a prospective student make their final college choice, whether it’s �ֲ���ý or another college that has offered admission.

“What I’ve learned in life is that even if you have only great choices, it can be hard to figure out which one is right,” said Spencer. 

Like her own choice to accept the �ֲ���ý presidency in 2012, Spencer said that making a big decision means taking in both facts and feelings, “not just the ‘what’ information — �ֲ���ý is in Lewiston, Maine — but also the feel of the place. Does it kind of hit me right in my gut? You take in factual criteria plus emotional criteria and decide if �ֲ���ý is right for you. That’s making an informed judgment.”

In getting to know �ֲ���ý, for example, Spencer’s intuition told her that the student culture was distinctive, “very down to earth, more collaborative than competitive, which I love. And it’s been proven to be just incredibly true since I’ve been here.”

This year’s cohort of admitted students came from two rounds of Early Decision plus Regular Decision. The latter group’s deadline for informing �ֲ���ý of their decision is May 1. In addition to the two visit days, �ֲ���ý offers other ways for admitted students to engage with �ֲ���ý, including a fly-in program called �ֲ���ý Beginnings, giving invited students who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education a chance to visit campus.

When Weisenburger welcomes students and families to visit day, she hits �ֲ���ý high notes, and an octave above the rest this year is the recent appointment of the college’s next president, Garry W. Jenkins. Other highlights that get a mention are the 2021 opening of Bonney Science Center, the 2022 reopening of renovated Dana Hall as a science teaching center, and the fall reopening of historic Chase Hall (dedicated in 1919), significantly restored and revamped for student-facing programs.

This year’s visit days were the first since the pre-pandemic year of 2019 to offer a wall-to-wall day of activities, which allowed Admission to give the day a vivid arc.

So after morning greetings, a few master classes, and topical discussions, such as sustainability at �ֲ���ý, the mid-day hour featured a keynote talk in Gomes Chapel. The theme was �ֲ���ý engagement with Lewiston, and the featured speaker was alumna Julia Sleeper-Whiting ’08, co-founder and executive director of focused on leadership and youth development.

The keynote theme sends a key message, says Weisenburger. “We want students to understand that they can really ingrain themselves in the community.” She makes the point during her morning introduction saying that “Lewiston will be as much a part of your four-year experience as �ֲ���ý will.” 

Sleeper-Whiting, who co-founded Tree Street Youth as a student, personifies that reality, telling her audience how profound it was for her when she graduated from �ֲ���ý that her students from Lewiston came to Commencement — she felt her worlds come together.

“You can come to �ֲ���ý and make community here, and also make community in Lewiston,” Weisenburger said. “That’s important for all of us. And certainly important to show our new students.”

In admission-speak, the process of enrolling first-year students is described as a funnel because it starts with a big number — folks who have an inkling of interest in a college — at the top and ends with a much smaller number, students who decide that �ֲ���ý is for them. 

Here’s what the �ֲ���ý funnel looked like this year:

• 35,410: inquiries from students who engaged with �ֲ���ý through a visit, requesting information, or other way
• 8,937: total applications from first-year students
• 1,100: total admitted students
• 505: target number

This year’s admit rate — the percentage of applicants admitted — was 12.3 percent, the second lowest for �ֲ���ý.

Of the 1,100 students offered admission, 49 U.S. states are represented, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and more than 60 countries. Thirty-nine percent self-identify as students of color, and 13 percent will be the first in their family to attend college. Eleven percent are non-U.S. citizens. 

Here’s the U.S. geographic breakdown:

• New England 26%
• Middle Atlantic 25%
• Midwest 8%
• Southeast 8%
• Southwest and West 20%

After the U.S., the countries with the largest number of admitted students are China (19), United Kingdom (12), India (11), Canada (7), Costa Rica (5), Pakistan (4), and Switzerland (4).

In terms of secondary education, the public school / private school split is about 50-50, and Pell-eligible students represent 13.5% of admitted students. This year’s incoming class will receive financial aid in part from the Schuler Access Initiative, a $100 million expansion of financial aid to enroll students from the lowest-income families.

The Class of 2027 arrives at �ֲ���ý on Aug. 31.

�ֲ���ý College plans to add eight new permanent faculty positions over the next three years, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty Malcolm Hill has announced.

The new tenure-track positions are in addition to seven endowed professorships funded as part of the college’s recently completed �ֲ���ý Campaign. The result is a nearly 10 percent increase in the �ֲ���ý faculty under the leadership of Clayton Spencer, who became president of �ֲ���ý in July 2012.

Expanding the faculty “is a matter of central importance to the strength and vitality of our academic program,” said Hill, who shared the plan during the January meeting of the �ֲ���ý faculty.

He added, “�ֲ���ý has long been known for its strong academic program, anchored by a faculty of outstanding teachers and scholars who work intensively with students to help them acquire the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind that will equip them to be highly effective leaders and contributors in their lives after �ֲ���ý.”

The eight new positions will “help to reduce workload associated with advising and senior thesis; enhance the student experience with smaller class sizes and expanded curricular offerings; and create opportunities for curricular innovation.”

Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty Malcolm Hill

Several factors have made the goal of growing the faculty feasible, Hill explained, including recent shifts in the composition of the faculty and retirements of senior members of the faculty; prudent financial planning; and the success of the �ֲ���ý Campaign, which raised $346 million, of which $90 million was given to drive academic excellence.

In his remarks to the faculty at its Jan. 17 meeting Hill noted that the plan to expand the faculty will be pressure-tested against current economic conditions. “Our ability to fully achieve this goal is contingent upon maintaining a stable and positive financial outlook at the college.”

An expanded faculty will deliver significant benefits to �ֲ���ý and to our students, “maintaining our position as a leading liberal arts college,” said Hill.

The new positions will “help to reduce workload associated with advising and senior thesis; enhance the student experience with smaller class sizes and expanded curricular offerings; and create opportunities for curricular innovation.”

Hill said that that he looks forward to working with the faculty’s Academic Affairs Council to determine the allocation of new faculty positions in existing �ֲ���ý departments and programs, with an eye on delivering the greatest impact for �ֲ���ý students and faculty. The plan to expand the faculty will begin with three additive searches in the next academic year (2023–24).

Tenure-track �ֲ���ý faculty who join the college today and in the coming years will encounter a robust and forward-looking program of professional support, expectations, and mentoring.

In 2021, the faculty adopted new criteria for reappointment, tenure, and promotion through a revision of the Faculty Handbook. In 2022, �ֲ���ý opened its Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning to support faculty and staff educators through ongoing professional development in evidence-based and inclusive pedagogies, “which, in turn, will support greater student success,” said Hill. 

“Going forward, �ֲ���ý will continue to invest time and energy to support the faculty in their work, with the ultimate goal of strengthening our ability to deliver an exceptional education for our students.”

�ֲ���ý College President Clayton Spencer announced today that Leana E. Amáez, a seasoned equity and inclusion leader and longtime advocate for underrepresented populations, has been named vice president for equity and inclusion, effective Feb. 27, 2023.

“I am thrilled to welcome Leana to �ֲ���ý to lead our work in equity and inclusion — work that is central to our mission and to the success and well-being of every member of our community,” said Spencer.

“Leana comes to this role with 15 years of experience in equity and inclusion work across a range of organizations, and she brings first-hand knowledge of life and work in a residential liberal arts college. She is known for a leadership style that combines strategy, structure, and relationship building, qualities that will be invaluable as we continue to strive for sustainable progress toward greater equity and inclusiveness at �ֲ���ý.” 

“I am delighted to join the �ֲ���ý community,” said Amáez. “I have long admired �ֲ���ý for its founding commitment to liberation, justice, and inclusion. This commitment was evident in every conversation I had during the search process and my visit to campus.” 

“Driven in large part by antiracism movements, there is now a growing awareness that to remedy the systemic barriers that prevent some community members from thriving and that prohibit institutions from realizing their full promise, institutional investment in systemic solutions is necessary, required, and right,” she continued. “Equity and inclusion is not a destination that we reach and then pass over on our way to something else good and desirable but a core value that guides and shapes everything we do and everything we say we are.”  

Amáez comes to �ֲ���ý College from Simply Business, a Boston-based insurance provider, where she has served as the company’s first global leader for diversity, equity, and inclusion since February 2021. In her current role, she has collaborated with employee resource groups, helped review and revise company policies with an equity lens, and developed strategic plans and initiatives to ensure support and an inclusive workplace culture. 

An attorney, Amáez has more than 15 years of experience in industry, government, the nonprofit sector, and higher education. Before Simply Business, she worked for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Pine Tree Legal Assistance, and Bowdoin College supporting DEI efforts and programs. Earlier in her career, Amáez was a criminal defense attorney in the Bronx, N.Y.

Amáez added that she looks forward to building upon this foundation in partnership with students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, and the Lewiston community, to ensure that equity and inclusion remain an important part of the �ֲ���ý experience, both in principle and in practice.

In her role as vice president for equity and inclusion at �ֲ���ý, Amáez will be responsible for developing and implementing a framework for diversity and inclusion in collaboration with partners across campus. A direct report to the president and member of the college’s senior leadership team, she will lead the college-wide approach to equity and inclusion in partnership with key stakeholders across the community. 

At Maine’s DHHS, Amáez served as an internal consultant to DHHS senior leaders, guiding their understanding and application of best practices in DEI throughout the department. She collaborated with state officials to improve the support of minority-owned vendors in Maine’s contracting process, and she was instrumental in helping the agency address inequities in COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Before joining DHHS, Amáez was director of pro bono services for Pine Tree Legal, a non-profit advocacy group that provides legal services to low-income residents in Maine.

At Bowdoin, where she spent eight years as associate dean of students for diversity and inclusion, Amáez helped students from underrepresented groups navigate their college experience. She coordinated educational programs to explore issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality; designed staff positions for DEI work; and created the college’s first Student Center for Multicultural Life. 

During her tenure at Bowdoin, she also led efforts to establish best practices for hiring and retaining a diverse staff. She served on various committees with staff, faculty, students, and trustees, advocating for resources and engaging in conversations about how to address demands on faculty’s time, especially for faculty from historically marginalized backgrounds to whom students and institutions often turn for support. 

Originally from New York state, Amáez earned a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies from Wesleyan University and a law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Her appointment follows a national search overseen by a committee that included faculty, staff, and students, with assistance from WittKieffer, a search firm with expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion searches. 

As the year ticks to a close, here’s a countdown of the 10 most-viewed �ֲ���ýNews stories of 2022. They are ranked by page views but we’ve also included the average time readers spent viewing the stories.

10.

During the Super Bowl last February, Sam Francis, a 26-year-old data analyst for the Cincinnati Bengals, was among those coaches feeding real-time advice to head coach Zac Taylor on what the team could, or should, or might, do in any given situation.

Page views: 2,506
Average Time on Page: 5:16

9.

Our coverage of one of the largest on-campus gatherings since 2019 garnered one of the year’s largest page views. Our immersive photographic display featured students, parents, relatives, friends, dogs, hugs, kisses, smiles, dogs, a cappella, posters, trees, sports. And did we say dogs?

Page views: 2,703
Average Time on Page: 2:55

8.

Our coverage of the beginning of the �ֲ���ý year looked at dining trends for 2022, including increasing interest in vegan options, some shortages (like sriracha), and a longstanding partnership with the world of research and discovery.

The specific sriracha that’s hard to come by is the favorite one, produced by Huy Fong, the brand that features a label with the rooster. “We have been able to get a Tabasco version of sriracha with out any issues,” says Justin Good, assistant purchasing manager for Dining Services.

Page views: 2,757
Average Time on Page: 4:56

7.

When a �ֲ���ý professor offers remarks about a retiring colleague, what comes through loud and clear is great respect and fondness. Over the course of three campus events during the 2021–22 academic year, �ֲ���ý College celebrated the retirements of these 12 faculty members.

Page views: 3,092
Average Time on Page: 5:45

6.

Each year, we offer both data and quirky tidbits about the incoming class, from their entrepreneurial leanings to their special talents, and you scoop them up.

Need an oyster farmer or beekeeper? What about a Celtic harpist who can also build their own instrument? How about an extremely challenging game of chess? We’ve got a first-year �ֲ���ý student for you.

Page views: 3,093
Average Time on Page: 4:21

5.

This big news story announced the election of new board members as well as new officers, including a new chair, Greg A. Ehret ’91, whose tenure begins July 1, 2023.

The new officers reflect “varied professional and personal characteristics” reflecting a goal to ensure that board leadership continues to “reflect a broad range of perspectives,” said trustee chair John D. Gillespie ’80, who retires from the board in June 2023 after 20 years of service. “With this group, we’ve achieved that, and I am confident that they will be tremendous board leaders for years to come.”

Page views: 3,546
Average Time on Page: 1:49

4.

Ten Fulbright Student Awards — nine to graduating seniors and the tenth to a recent graduate — created opportunities for �ֲ���ýies to engage in teaching and research opportunities around the world during 2022–23.

The goal of the Fulbright program and the mission of �ֲ���ý are complementary, says Robert Strong, a lecturer in English and director of National Fellowships.

“Fulbright understands the ‘transformative power of our differences,’” said Strong, . “And as these students travel into the world of COVID transitions, I tell them to prioritize happiness and safety; they always need to have both.”

Page views: 3,986
Average Time on Page: 4:41

3.

We admit that we are not exactly sure why so much attention got focused on this specific installment of our popular monthly roundup of �ֲ���ý mentions in the news media. What we do know is that this �ֲ���ý in the News got a lot of clicks and time on page from folks in India, who found the page with the help of a Google search (though we don’t know what search terms they used), shortly after its publication on Oct. 14.

Items that might have drawn them in included media mentions of singer-songwriter Mark Erelli ’96 writing about the vulnerability of his vision slowly fading, author and neuroscientist Lisa Genova ’92 offering tips on distinguishing between forgetfulness and Alzheimer’s disease, and an item about Pulitzer Prize winning author Liz Strout ’77.

Page views: 4,509
Average Time on Page: 4:56

2.

It’s truly unusual when a �ֲ���ý president concludes their presidency — it’s only happened seven other times since �ֲ���ý was founded as Maine State Seminary in 1855.

This story announces President Clayton Spencer intention to conclude her presidency on June 30, 2023. “Clayton has been a transformative leader for �ֲ���ý, giving new shape and meaning to the power of a liberal arts education for today’s world,” said John Gillespie ’80, chair of the �ֲ���ý College Board of Trustees.

For the record, the prior eight �ֲ���ý presidents departed office in June 1894 (Oren Cheney), May 1919 (George Chase), June 1944 (Clifton Gray), January 1967 (Charles Phillips), June 1989 (Hedley Reynolds), June 2002 (Donald Harward), and July 2011 (Elaine Hansen).

Page views: 4,902
Average Time on Page: 5:04

1. Announcing the 26th annual �ֲ���ý College Summer book list

What’s better than an annual end-of-year list of recommended books?

At �ֲ���ý, the annual list comes at the end of the academic year, and readers once again flocked to the extremely popular Good Reads: The �ֲ���ý College Non-Required Reading List for Leisure Moments.

Doing what readers do, they stayed with this year’s edition, the 26th, a good amount of time, an average of seven minutes. Maybe all those clicks make sense; we know we like to check back on this list while gift buying.

These titles received two or more recommendations in 2022:

• Piranesi by Susanna Clark
• Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott
• Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
• On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
• This is Happiness by Niall Williams

Page views: 5,393
Average Time on Page: 7:05

�ֲ���ý College President Clayton Spencer announced today that Tracey A. Reeves, associate vice president for research and academic communications at Georgia Institute of Technology, will become vice president for communications and marketing at �ֲ���ý, effective Sept. 12.

“I am thrilled to welcome Tracey,” said Spencer. “Tracey is a highly accomplished communications professional, with deep experience in journalism, a track record of progressive responsibility in leadership and management, and 14 years immersed in the issues and challenges of higher education. She has a stellar reputation as an honest and accountable leader, with a proven ability to motivate and support her teams. In many conversations during the search, Tracey impressed �ֲ���ý colleagues with her warmth, insight, and thoughtful approach to complex issues. I very much look forward to working with and learning from Tracey in the coming year.”

“As a New Englander, I have long admired �ֲ���ý and its rich history,” said Reeves. “I have now come to understand and appreciate how �ֲ���ý challenges itself — to find better approaches to educating students, to build a more inclusive and equitable community, and to raise its visibility and expand its reach. I look forward to helping �ֲ���ý in all these endeavors by learning the culture and telling the stories that capture �ֲ���ý’ distinctive identity and invite engagement. Having worked at complex universities and as a journalist at major news organizations, I find purpose in the work of supporting mission-driven institutions. And while my recent experiences have been at large research organizations, I look forward to bringing my skills, knowledge, and perspectives into such a wonderful and distinctive liberal arts  environment.”

A leader in Institute Communications at Georgia Tech since 2018, Reeves was promoted to associate vice president in 2021, reorganizing her communications team to execute an integrated marketing and communications strategy to drive awareness of the Institute’s $1.2 billion research enterprise as a local, national, and global leader in the research space. Reeves helped guide the division’s COVID-19 communications for campus constituents, developed a crisis communications plan for the Institute, and created a Race at Georgia Tech: A Call to Action discussion series. In addition to managing the Institute Communications team, she also helped oversee communications professionals in two additional units, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Georgia Tech Research Institute.

As a member of the senior staff at �ֲ���ý, Reeves will lead the college’s effort to create a college-wide strategic communications and marketing program that promotes �ֲ���ý’ identity, priorities, and accomplishments to internal and external audiences across all communications channels. As an adviser to Spencer and �ֲ���ý senior leaders, Reeves will provide guidance on branding and marketing programs, communications matters, and crisis planning and response. 

Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Reeves spent a decade as director of media relations at the Johns Hopkins University. She helped lead major initiatives, including Hopkins Local, to support economic growth, employment, and investment in Baltimore, particularly in predominantly Black and disenfranchised communities.

Before entering higher education communications, Reeves was a newspaper reporter and editor. At The Washington Post, she reported on major national events and stories, including the September 11 attacks, and served as Maryland bureau chief. She was a national staff writer for Knight-Ridder Newspapers, sharing in the Pulitzer Prize for public service awarded in 1998 to the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald. 

Reeves earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Illinois State University and received a certificate in leadership principles from Harvard Online Business School. She has served on the executive committee of the Association of American Universities Public Affairs Network and been a member of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Public Relations Society of America, and the National Association of Black Journalists. 

Reeves’ appointment follows a national search overseen by a committee composed of faculty and staff, with assistance from The Ward Group, a search firm that specializes in communications, and campus visits by several finalists. She succeeds Sean Findlen ’99, who departed �ֲ���ý in April for a position in the private sector after serving the college since 2015.

Clayton Spencer announced today that the upcoming academic year will be her last as president of �ֲ���ý. She will conclude her tenure on June 30, 2023. 

“I have loved my time at �ֲ���ý,” said Spencer in her letter to the community. “On my first trip to campus in December 2011, when I was introduced to the �ֲ���ý community, I was so impressed by the students I met and thrilled to get a sense, firsthand, of the beautiful work our faculty and staff do every day to make �ֲ���ý the extraordinary place it is. I have felt so lucky to be part of this community, and I am proud of all that we have accomplished together.”

“Clayton has been a transformative leader for �ֲ���ý, giving new shape and meaning to the power of a liberal arts education for today’s world,” said John Gillespie ’80, chair of the �ֲ���ý College Board of Trustees. “She has also guided the college through the extraordinary challenges of the past several years with exceptional clarity and a steady hand.”

“Clayton has always imagined the best for �ֲ���ý, and she has inspired others to do the same,” Gillespie continued. “Already a prominent and respected higher education leader when she came to �ֲ���ý, Clayton recruited a superbly talented team of senior leaders who, in turn, have worked together with faculty, staff, students, and alumni to strengthen the �ֲ���ý experience across all dimensions. Clayton is creative, generous, and fearless. These qualities have made her a superb leader for this dynamic period in �ֲ���ý’ history.”

“We have been incredibly fortunate to have Clayton as �ֲ���ý’ president over these past 10 years,” added Michael Bonney ’80, Gillespie’s predecessor as chair of the Board of Trustees and a member of the search committee that brought Spencer to �ֲ���ý. “Throughout her presidency, Clayton has identified the forces shaping society and higher education and found opportunities for creative action. We would not be preparing to close the largest campaign in the college’s history without the vision, energy, and effectiveness she communicated so powerfully to �ֲ���ý’ alumni and supporters.” 

Under Spencer, �ֲ���ý has strengthened its reputation as one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges, making strategic improvements in the academic program; centering equity and inclusion as animating values in �ֲ���ý’ curriculum, teaching, student life, and the daily work of everyone at the college; designing a program rooted in the liberal arts to prepare students for lives of meaning and purpose; and adapting and adding to the physical infrastructure at �ֲ���ý to support a contemporary vision of how the college community wishes to live, work, and learn. 

Institutionally, �ֲ���ý has become measurably stronger and more financially resilient. The endowment has more than doubled, from $216 million in 2012 to $466 million as of June 2021. The college will conclude the most successful fundraising campaign in �ֲ���ý history on June 30, having already surpassed the initial $300 million goal and raising more than $336 million to date to support academic, financial aid, student life, and fiscal priorities. Meanwhile, annual fundraising has nearly tripled, from $12 million in 2013 to $34 million in 2021. 

During Spencer’s tenure, the number of admission applications has increased by 54 percent, from 5,362 in 2012 to 8,273 applications for the Class of 2026. �ֲ���ý has deepened its commitment to financial aid, strengthened programs for first-generation students, and expanded the percentage of enrolled students who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color by 42 percent, from 18 to 26 percent of the student body. Twenty-nine percent of the incoming Class of 2026 are U.S. students of color. 

In 2016, �ֲ���ý was invited to join the American Talent Initiative, supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies, to help talented low- and moderate-income students gain access to U.S. colleges and universities with the highest graduation rates. In 2022, �ֲ���ý was chosen as one of the first five colleges to participate in the Schuler Access Initiative. Funded by the Chicago-based Schuler Education Foundation, this program will generate up to $100 million over the next 10 years — up to $50 million from the foundation to match up to $50 million from �ֲ���ý donors — to expand the number of talented students at �ֲ���ý from America’s lowest income families. �ֲ���ý has raised $34 million from �ֲ���ý families in the first year of the program to be matched by $34 million from the foundation. 

�ֲ���ý has also made important investments in the academic program over the past decade. Through gifts from �ֲ���ý trustees, alumni, and parents, the college established seven new endowed professorships. Three positions were designated to support a new Program in Digital and Computational Studies, announced in 2016, and three additional faculty lines were created in economics, neuroscience, and chemistry. In 2018, �ֲ���ý created a seventh endowed professorship dedicated to equity and inclusion in STEM. In addition to expanding the faculty, the college has worked hard to increase recruitment and support of faculty members from traditionally underrepresented groups. Over the past five years, the college has hired 34 new tenure-track faculty, half of whom identify as BIPOC.

In curriculum and teaching, �ֲ���ý has established itself as a leader in pursuing innovative and equity-driven approaches designed to remove barriers to student learning and improve the academic experience for all students. These efforts are supported in part by major grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. To optimize teaching and research, �ֲ���ý has invested over $75 million to create the new Bonney Science Center, renovate Dana Chemistry Hall, and improve Carnegie Science Hall. In addition to state-of-the-art labs, these facilities also offer modern classroom and collaborative study spaces for all disciplines.

With respect to the student experience, virtually every aspect of campus life programming has been transformed over the past decade through the creation of intentionally designed, affirmative, and responsive initiatives to support student development and success. Since 2015, �ֲ���ý has completed a comprehensive reorganization of offices under Student Affairs: Advising and Student Support, Accessible Education, Athletics, including sports medicine and recreation, Campus Life, Counseling and Psychological Services, Global Education, Health Services, Purposeful Work, and Residence Life and Health Education.

One feature of �ֲ���ý’ approach to student development that has drawn national recognition is the Purposeful Work program. It is rooted in the core principles of the liberal arts, has curricular and co-curricular aspects, and takes a four-year, developmental approach to working with students. The concept of purposeful work is based on the premise that meaningful work, however each individual defines it, is fundamental to shaping a life; the �ֲ���ý program helps students determine how to navigate the evolving worlds of work based on developing their own sense of identity, agency, and purpose. 

Over the past decade, �ֲ���ý has undertaken a strategic program of infrastructure improvements, highlighted by major facilities projects that extend the college’s identity and resources along Campus Avenue, including Bonney Science Center, as well as Chu and Kalperis residence halls, the latter a mixed-use facility incorporating the �ֲ���ý Store and the college’s Post & Print operation. The ongoing renovation of historic Chase Hall, to be completed in fall 2023, is designed to create a nexus for student programs and services. �ֲ���ý also completed an award-winning renovation of the landmark Peter J. Gomes Chapel in 2021. 

Before joining �ֲ���ý, Spencer served for seven years as vice president for policy at Harvard University. She previously served as Harvard’s associate vice president for higher education policy as well as acting executive dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She has served as a trustee of Williams College and Phillips Exeter Academy and on the boards of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, the American Council on Education, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education, and the Institute for the International Education of Students. She currently serves on the steering committee of the Coalition for Life Transformative Education and the board of the Annapolis Group. 

The �ֲ���ý Board of Trustees will begin immediately to design a search process to identify Spencer’s successor and will share details in the coming weeks, said Gillespie. “The selection of the president is one of the most important responsibilities of the Board of Trustees. The search will be broadly consultative, and we will form a search committee that includes representatives from the campus community in addition to trustees.” 

�ֲ���ý College President Clayton Spencer announced today that Vice President for College Advancement Sarah R. Pearson ’75, a nationally recognized leader in higher education fundraising and the architect of the record-setting �ֲ���ý Campaign, will retire on June 30, 2022, at the conclusion of the campaign.

“Ten years ago, I was thrilled when Sarah decided to return to her alma mater and take on the crucial role of leading fundraising and alumni engagement efforts at �ֲ���ý,” said Spencer. “She was well known in fundraising as a consummate strategist, and she saw the future as an opportunity for �ֲ���ý to become stronger. Combining her considerable experience and deep devotion to �ֲ���ý with her seemingly boundless energy and optimism, Sarah led the design and execution of the largest and most successful fundraising campaign in the college’s history. As a new president, I could not have asked for a better guide in the art of fundraising or a better partner in our shared work on behalf of �ֲ���ý.” 

Through the end of the fiscal year on June 30, Spencer added, “Sarah will focus her energies on the successful conclusion of the �ֲ���ý Campaign,” turning over management of advancement to Associate Vice President Eric Foushee, who will become acting vice president for college advancement on July 1.

“It has been a great privilege to serve the institution I have loved since the day I arrived on campus in September 1971,” said Pearson, who was an honors major in theater at �ֲ���ý and earned an M.F.A. from Brandeis University. “I am grateful for the support of the college, the �ֲ���ý Board of Trustees, as well as the many alumni, parents, and friends who have made this a remarkable and memorable closing chapter to my career. I want to give special thanks to my colleagues in College Advancement and, finally, to my son and daughter, Ben and Liz Balcom, for their endless love and support throughout my career.”

“�ֲ���ý is stronger now thanks to the work of Sarah Pearson and her team in College Advancement,” said John D. Gillespie ’80, chair of the �ֲ���ý College Board of Trustees who serves as co-chair of the �ֲ���ý Campaign. “Viewed through the lens of our charge as a board, which is to protect and strengthen the college’s generational ability to offer the highest quality liberal arts education possible, Sarah represents the best of that imperative, with her robust leadership, clear vision, and unerring sense of the right direction forward. Speaking personally as a fellow �ֲ���ý graduate, I feel great pride in what we’ve accomplished together.”

During Pearson’s tenure at �ֲ���ý, annual fundraising has nearly tripled, from $12 million in fiscal 2013 to $34.2 million in fiscal 2021. In shaping a new strategy for fundraising at �ֲ���ý, Pearson and her team played a central role in translating the goals of the college’s Institutional Plan into a set of compelling fundraising priorities, which were presented to the college community at the public launch of the �ֲ���ý Campaign in May 2017 with a goal of $300 million.

Sitting squarely at the center of the campaign’s goal of Investing in Opportunity, the college announced a $100 million fundraising partnership with the Schuler Education Foundation in 2021. Kicked off with the foundation’s challenge grant of $50 million to �ֲ���ý, to be matched dollar for dollar by �ֲ���ý donors, the Schuler Access Initiative will enable the college to increase the number of talented students from America’s lowest-income families. To date, more than $34 million has been raised from �ֲ���ý donors to meet that challenge.

With a focus on the future of higher education philanthropy, Pearson has led the college’s involvement in a strategic partnership, also supported by the Schuler Education Foundation, with five leading national liberal arts colleges to research and address declining rates of giving among the large demographic cohort known as millennials.

Pearson has led College Advancement’s significant investment in reimagining the range and goals of the college’s engagement programs, including Reunion programming and the �ֲ���ý Alumni MOSAIC program, which builds community among underrepresented racial, ethnic, LGBTQIA+, first-generation college, and international alumni. Throughout Pearson’s tenure, signature college events in cities around the world regularly set attendance records.

In a 42-year career in higher education, Pearson has served as chief development officer at the Broad Institute at Harvard and MIT and as vice president for alumni relations and development at Northwestern University. During her tenure at Northwestern, total university giving increased from $138 million to $235 million annually. Pearson also held leadership positions at the University of Chicago, Cornell, and Harvard.

In her service to the field of advancement nationally, Pearson has served on the board of trustees of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education International and chair of the CASE Philanthropy Commission. Characterized as a “creative strategist,” she was among 10 leaders featured in Making the Case for Leadership: Profiles of Chief Advancement Officers in Higher Education. She has taught at numerous CASE conferences including serving as chair for the CASE Summer Institute in Educational Fundraising, the largest institute for new advancement professionals.

Prior to her appointment as �ֲ���ý vice president for college advancement, Pearson served for four years on the Board of Trustees, co-chairing the college’s advancement committee and was co-chair of the �ֲ���ý Fund, charged with overseeing strategic and tactical objectives for the college’s annual giving program.

Even as �ֲ���ý was hitting its goal of carbon neutrality in May 2019, a year earlier than the college’s Committee on Environmental Responsibility (CER) had aimed for, the group was already thinking about its aspirations for 2030.

“We then said, ‘OK, what are the next priorities going to be?’” remembers Associate Professor of Physics Travis Gould. Gould chairs the environmental committee, which comprises 22 students, faculty, and staff from across all areas of the college.

Developed and honed over more than two years, the overarching priority of the Sustainability Roadmap, unveiled this week by President Clayton Spencer and the environmental committee, is to become “climate positive” by 2030.

“This new roadmap is our path forward,” Spencer says. “It presents both large aspirational goals and practical next steps, and it will engage the entire community in helping us make progress, both in infrastructure and behavioral changes.”

Climate positive means the college will sequester more carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than it emits. (Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas produced by human activities.) While carbon neutrality aimed to balance out the harmful aspects of human activity, this new goal aims to be corrective and restorative.

“What our previous action plan for 2020 did was set us on course toward being what you might call  ‘the least bad,’” says Sustainability Manager Tom Twist, who joined �ֲ���ý in 2015.  “Which was a good choice. But now it seemed logical to us that the next step should be working toward doing ‘more good.’” 

Twist has been instrumental in developing programs across the college to address sustainability issues, including working with students who come up with new and innovative ideas to make �ֲ���ý greener, applying for Green Innovation Grants every year to make them a reality. One of the Green Innovation Grant projects led to student EcoReps successfully making the case to Central Maine Power and Efficiency Maine for about $36,000 in grants to increase the number of electric vehicle chargers on campus. As a result, �ֲ���ý more than doubled the number of EV charging stations on campus in 2021.  

When the CER created the college’s first formal Climate Action Plan in 2010, it set a 10-year goal to reduce �ֲ���ý’ carbon footprint, balancing carbon emissions created by the college by removing an equivalent amount of carbon from the atmosphere. That was achieved by changes in everything from the college’s recycling and composting program to crucial adjustments in the steam plan, moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. 

The nearly 30-page Roadmap details how to reach the new goal, including deeper work in campus culture, engaging all academic departments, and tracking and sharing data more broadly to keep everyone — faculty, staff, and students — involved in the efforts. Every decision around operations, whether in dining services or energy choices, speaks to the ��Dz��峾����’s goal of climate positivity. �ֲ���ý will use water more efficiently, shift to electric vehicles wherever possible and move even further toward renewables. In August 2020, �ֲ���ý entered into a 5 megawatt solar project, one large enough to represent 75 percent of �ֲ���ý’ current electricity use.

�ֲ���ý will also aim high in its future building standards. The CER recommends that all new campus buildings meet at minimum, the American Institute of Architects 2030 Challenge standard, which sets a fossil fuel energy reduction goal of 80% below the average building consumption for that category of building. The stretch goal is to adopt the Passive House design standard, which can see reductions of up to 90% in fuel costs.

Pam Wichroski, �ֲ���ý’ director of capital planning and construction and longtime CER member, has worked to make sure every new building (such as the Bonney Science Center) or renovation is in line with the college’s environmental goals. The last plan made a radical difference in how �ֲ���ý shaped its sustainability efforts. “The 2010 Climate Action Plan had plenty of value,” Wichroski says. “It ended up being surprisingly accurate in terms of how we got to carbon neutrality.” The CER’s hope is that the new Sustainability Roadmap inspires and leads �ֲ���ý even further.

The goal for 2020 was ambitious, but the 2030 goal is even more so, out of necessity. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group composed of scientists worldwide, regularly sounds alarms about the world’s environmental future. In 2021, the IPCC warnings got even more dire. It said the planet was on course for a hotter, more dangerous climate future, with total global warming likely to rise around 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next two decades. Unless there are radical adjustments to human activities, the report said warming could exceed 2 degrees Celsius within the 21st century.

Those shifts may not sound monumental ​​(in Fahrenheit, that’s 2.7°F to 3.6°F) but scientists say even warming at the lower end of that estimate will lead to more extreme weather, including deadly heat waves and droughts, rising seas, and widespread suffering among the world’s most vulnerable. 

For the CER, the imperative to act institutionally was obvious. ”�ֲ���ý is already having a net positive impact in a whole host of fields, whether in student life, or research, or our surrounding community,” the Roadmap says. “The Climate Positive goal is to bring our environmental footprint in line with that overall approach. We want to take in more greenhouse gases than we emit and actually be restorative for our climate, our ecosystems, and our people.”

Their efforts won praise from President Spencer. “The CER has done a deeply impressive job of engaging the entire �ֲ���ý community in the process, leveraging the commitment and creativity of individuals across the college,” Spencer says. “It is a powerful example of the impact that a motivated and mission-driven set of diverse stakeholders can have, and it offers a compelling model for the college as it works to address other institutional challenges.”

Seen by more than 10,000 viewers around the world, the �ֲ���ý College Class of 2020 emerged from the tumult of their abbreviated senior year to graduate Sunday on a triumphant note, as the college conferred bachelor’s degrees on 463 seniors in a ceremony delivered via livestream.

“The Class of 2020 will hold a special place in the college’s history,” said President Clayton Spencer in her welcome, recorded on the Historic Quad earlier in May.

The graduates have endured a singular experience — the global COVID-19 pandemic — that, she said, “I hope and expect has brought moments of joy amidst the frustrations, and an arc of learning and growth amidst the ceaseless uncertainty of these times.”

Commencement Day scenes: May 31, 2020

Lexie Jamieson '20 of Scarborough, Maine, poses outside her home with her dad, Neil Jamieson ‘82.

Kathleen Smith '20 of Piedmont, Calif., with dog Hibby at Donner Lake.

Anna Glass '20 of Wilton, Maine, celebrates at home with her parents, Marc '88 and Wendy Glass.

Cousins Patrick Crowley '20 of Lexington, Mass., and Callie Abouzeid '20 of Belmont, Mass., toss their graduation caps.

Erin O'Farrell '20 of West Burke, Vt., poses with her mother, Des Hertz, and stepfather, Chris Manges '91.

The 463-member class comes from 37 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia, and from 52 countries, including 38 from Maine.

+Class of 2020 By the Numbers

Mirroring many of the elements of the traditional on-campus ceremony, the 154th �ֲ���ý Commencement comprised video segments recorded over the last three weeks, including a social-distanced processional to the Historic Quad featuring Spencer, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs Malcolm Hill, and Multifaith Chaplain Brittany Longsdorf.

Since its first in 1867, �ֲ���ý has never cancelled or postponed a Commencement.

Wearing a face mask due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael Murray, the Charles Franklin Phillips Professor of Economics, carries the mace on May 11 during the taping of portions of the 154th �ֲ���ý Commencement. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Spencer’s welcome also expressed hope that the seniors will go into the world with an advanced understanding of the vexing complexity of the world’s problems.

“I hope that as a result of having your world turned upside down this spring, you will understand certain things sooner and better than the typical senior graduating from college,” she continued.

Welcome | A. Clayton Spencer, President | Commencement 2020 | �ֲ���ý College

“I hope that you will realize that hard problems do not admit of glib or easy answers; that sound decisions are based on the conscious integration of evidence, values, and empathetic imagination; that unequal access to resources and opportunities magnifies the suffering of some groups over others.

“Wherever you may be, whatever you may be wearing, I send you, from the entire �ֲ���ý community, our most sincere and joyous congratulations.”

“Most fundamental, I hope that you will never assume that the world can be a stable or fair place unless you get up every day and fight for truth, justice, and our shared humanity.”

The Historic Quad may be empty, but “I imagine you out there in your homes, surrounded by loved ones — some of you, I hope, turned out in caps and gowns,” Spencer concluded. “Wherever you may be, whatever you may be wearing, I send you, from the entire �ֲ���ý community, our most sincere and joyous congratulations.”

Described by Spencer as “a force on the �ֲ���ý campus for the past four years,” Senior Speaker Alexandria Onuoha ’20 titled her prerecorded Commencement address “Stay Strong, and Walk Like You Got Some Sense” —  advice from her mother, Vinette Gayle, to whom the address was dedicated.

Senior Address | Alexandria C. Onuoha | Commencement 2020 | �ֲ���ý College

Onuoha credited Gayle with instilling “in me the values of consistency, activism, initiative, and warmth.” A double major in psychology and dance from Malden, Mass., Onuoha used facets from her �ֲ���ý career to illustrate how those qualities had powered her own success — exercising activism and initiative, for example, to lead student organizations in advancing social justice on campus.

“Our story as a class is not perfect, but it’s real,” Onuoha said. “For students who have been waiting for this moment to be celebrated — especially for students of color, for first-generation students, for international students — it’s more than a walk, it’s a moment of victory.

“We may not have been able to walk across the stage and then hug our families, but we do get to walk with a �ֲ���ý degree and a holistic perspective on academics and on life. We get to walk towards the next chapter of our lives as writers of our own story.”

Though recorded weeks ago, Commencement Greetings delivered by artist Vanessa German, an exhibitor at the �ֲ���ý Museum of Art in 2019–20, delivered a message very much in the current national moment.

“The future belongs to human beings who can hold justice at the center of their truth. And you all — you graduates of now — are rare, promising human beings,” she said.

“You are the bridge generation. You are bridging a past of fastness and desperate injustice to a future that is so eager for your open heart, your brilliance, your capacity to be emotionally available, courageous, vulnerable, and a rocket ship of perseverance.”

Commencement Greeting | Vanessa German | Commencement 2020

German encouraged the graduates go forth with courage and authenticity. “Bet on yourself,” she said.  “Even if you need to take a leap of faith and it makes your leg shake, it is better to go forth quaking in your own name than it is to claim someone else’s hand of playing it safe.”

She described her faith in the seniors, telling them to rely on their self-knowledge gained at �ֲ���ý. “You know your places of strength and you know your small places too. You know of the power that resides within you — when you are in the click and the groove of the thing that is your thing. You know what right feels like, when you are right inside of it.

“So from this point forward, offer to no one the lie of your smallness. You get to rise to the occasion of who you are and you are whole. Move towards the future that is calling your own name with the sound of your own voice.

“You are a rare human being and you must decide who you will be and how you will go forth for the world. We are waiting for your dreams and your ideas for the restless, energetic spirit that is rising up within you. We are waiting for you.”

The conferral of degrees featured slides of each of the 463 graduates, each with a photo of the senior’s choosing plus their major and academic honors. Dean of the Faculty Malcolm Hill read each name.

And though the virtual ceremony didn’t allow the usual in-person hugs and congratulations that mark any sort of graduation, more than 100 �ֲ���ý faculty and staff recorded personal greetings for the class.

More than 100 �ֲ���ý faculty and staff recorded video messages of congratulations and support to the Class of 2020.

In her closing benediction, Multifaith Chaplain Brittany Longsdorf asked the Class of 2020 to view moments from their time at �ֲ���ý as “not mundane but sacred. They are the fibers that weave together who you are and who you will continue to become.”

“You are spread across the world now, a beautiful Bobcat diaspora, but this place now lives in your bones just as your essence still rustles the leaves of stalwart maples and oaks lining each sidewalk you trod,” she said.

“Envision the face of each family member, faculty, staff, and fellow student who journeyed with you through your �ֲ���ý days and nights. As your locus changes, feel our collective blessing.”

Full Program | �ֲ���ý Commencement 2020