News

NESCAC News

By Kirsty Warren ’18

December 5, 2014

Middlebury Names 17th President

The Middlebury College Board of Trustees named Dr. Laurie L. Patton the college’s 17th president on Nov. 18, according to The Middlebury Campus. Patton will be the college’s first female president in its 214-year history. Faculty, alumni, Trustees and students filled Middlebury’s Mead Chapel for the Nov. 18 ceremony.

“We talked to leaders in higher education across the country who were the rising stars,” Chair of the Board of Trustees Marna Whittington said of the selection process. “And we went out and recruited some of them to our pool, so we had a terrific pool.” The selection committee narrowed the 260 initial candidates down to 100, then 50, then 12 then 5 final candidates who underwent multiple rounds of interviews and background checks.

Patton, who is currently dean of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University and a professor of religion, was chosen because of her commitment to liberal arts education in the 21st century and “scholarly values, leadership capabilities, management expertise, commitment to diversity and finally cultural fluency for a really global perspective.”

In a press conference with The Campus, Patton addressed topics like being the college’s first female president, increasing diversity and financial aid.

“I can’t wait to get here,” Patton said. “I can’t wait to listen and to learn more, to dive into our deepest challenges and have our best arguments.”

NESCAC schools join Ferguson protests

Several NESCAC schools protest the Ferguson grand jury’s decision

Several NESCAC schools have protested the Ferguson grand jury’s decision not to indict Darren Wilson since the verdict was announced on Nov. 24. On Nov. 25, students at Wesleyan University stood holding posters with slogans like “Land of the Free for Who?”, “Lynch No More” and “Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere.” At 11 a.m., many students participated in a moment of silence, according to The Wesleyan Argus.

On Monday, Dec. 1, approximately 30 Tufts students chanted “Black lives matter” in dining halls at lunch and dinner according to the Tufts Daily. On Monday night, about 70 Bowdoin students gathered for five minutes of silence followed by time to share thoughts and a silent candlelit walk around campus in honor of Michael Brown.

Bowdoin receives record-high ED applications

The Bowdoin College recieved a record-high 662 Early Decision I applications for the Class of 2019. According to The Bowdoin Orient, this marks a 10.7 percent increase from last year’s 598 applications.

“Bowdoin is popular,” said Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Scott Meiklejohn. “Every time I have been asked in all my years why applications are up, I always say the same thing which is, ‘Bowdoin is a great place and more people are finding out about it.’”

This year’s ED I applicant pool represents a greater number of high schools than last year’s, with 482 schools represented compared to 467 last year. Admissions does not have a fixed number of students it hopes to admit early, but the total targeted class size is 495-500 students.

“We’re excited. The number is just a number until you actually open the applications; that’s when it gets more interesting to see who would love to come to Bowdoin,” Meiklejohn said.

All News