Remarks for the Unveiling of Barry Mills’s Presidential Portrait — May 17, 2016

Welcome all, and welcome back to campus, Barry and Karen.

We are here to unveil the official portrait of Barry Mills, our fourteenth president. More on Barry in a moment, but first, I would like to introduce the artists: Warren Prosperi, who painted the portrait, and Lucia Prosperi, a photographer and Warren’s collaborator.

Warren and Lucia worked very closely with Barry. As part of the process, they spent a day with him on campus, getting to understand both the College and his relationship with it. Knowing Barry as I do, I can only imagine that there was some cajoling necessary along the way.

Out of this process, came this portrait we unveil today and hang tomorrow in its place of honor with Barry’s thirteen predecessors.

Barry has often referred to this gallery as “the dead presidents hall,” including in a recent Orient article. Pay back, my friend!

Warren is self-educated. He has been painting since he was five years old, and in his early twenties he spent four years copying at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to gain a greater understanding of classical painting in the tradition of Optical Naturalism. This tradition dates to Caravaggio in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and as I have read, “examines the nature of visual experience and the structure of an actual moment. Warren and Lucia strive to present a moment, which reflects the character and environment of the subject.”

They now have a painting, Epiphany 3, hanging as part of the permanent collection of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Their work also has shown at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., a solo show at the Air Gallery in London, and prior to that at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Conn. They have also shown at galleries in Washington, D.C., New York; Boston, and Cambridge, among other locations.

Warren and Lucia, welcome and thank you.

Before I turn to Barry, we must acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable impact that Karen had at Bowdoin. She was Barry’s full partner for those fourteen years, and a deeply loved member of this community for her contributions and impact on campus.

Thank you, Karen.

One idea of a portrait is permanence—a way for generations to visually and viscerally comprehend an individual. It is a way of memorializing and celebrating great accomplishment. And that is fitting.

Barry’s leadership of Bowdoin permanently transformed our College. Let me offer a few of the more tangible signs of this transformation.

Many new faculty positions were added, the student-faculty ratio fell to 9 to 1, and Bowdoin’s reputation grew as an institution where great teacher/scholars can thrive. Math and computer science expanded significantly and there was an emphasis on interdisciplinary programs, in particular environmental studies and Africana studies. Research opportunities for faculty and students expanded.

Diversity of our student body across every dimension increased in remarkable ways—by race, religion, geography, world view, and economic status, among others.

Our museum of art underwent a stunning renovation, Studzinski Hall was built, and the Edwards center was created. The arts on our campus are flourishing as a result.

There is much, much, more that Barry did, but let me focus on two of what I believe are his greatest accomplishments.

First, he was relentless and incredibly successful in growing our endowment for financial aid and in supporting our “need-blind” admissions policy. He made it possible for every student who earns a place a Bowdoin to come here and thrive, regardless of means, and he has challenged us to remain steadfast in this essential commitment.

Perhaps most importantly, by pushing, cajoling, and exhorting us—sometimes by leading from the front and sometimes by cheering from the sidelines—he made us understand in our heads and hearts that we are a College without peer. We are unique—we offer a great liberal art education and liberal art experience, and do so with a distinct set of values shared by everyone in our community. With warmth, humility, respect, integrity, and most importantly, values centered on the common good—we understand that we have an obligation to something bigger than ourselves. No one has lived the common good more than Barry.

And so, for all of this, and much more, Barry Mills will be regarded as one of Bowdoin’s great presidents.

Barry, for all of us at Bowdoin College—past, present, and future—thank you.