To faculty and staff,

I’m writing to inform you of several changes to the senior administration of the College.

Rick Ganong ’86, P’17, senior vice president for development and alumni relations, has decided to pursue business interests beyond the College following two-and-a-half years of service to Bowdoin. Scott Meiklejohn will move from admissions to lead the division of development and alumni relations. Whitney Soule, currently director of admissions, will succeed Scott and serve as dean of admissions and financial aid at the College. All of these changes are effective on July 1, 2016.

In a message to me, Rick expressed his thanks for the opportunity to serve his alma mater and said he will continue to be an ambassador for the College going forward.

“I’ve very much enjoyed this time back at Bowdoin and the people I’ve come to know here, but now is the right time for me to make this change,” Rick wrote. “Scott Meiklejohn is a good friend and a terrific leader. I know he will make this a seamless transition, and I wish him and the fabulous staff in development and alumni relations all the best.”

Rick joined the leadership team at Bowdoin in January 2014 following a highly successful twenty-five-year career in the investment management industry. His demonstrated fundraising, leadership, and organizational abilities make him a tremendously valuable asset to any organization, and we have been lucky to have him with us at the College. I am grateful to Rick for all the work he has done these past thirty months to guide our fundraising and alumni relations efforts, for his leadership of last fall’s inauguration events, and for helping me get to know so many of our alumni, donors, and friends. He is a talented and successful leader with an infectious enthusiasm for everything Bowdoin. We will miss him and we wish him all the best.

Scott, now in his twentieth year at Bowdoin, has proven himself to be an effective leader in a variety of roles. Most recently, he has been instrumental in building an admissions staff and operation that continues to break new ground year after year. Since becoming interim dean of admissions and financial aid in 2008 and dean a year later, Scott and his team have achieved the highest applicant totals in Bowdoin’s history, record selectivity, and record yield. They have attracted an increasingly diverse group of applicants from more than 3,300 high schools across America and have matriculated first-year classes of extraordinary students who continue to invigorate our campus with their talents, their accomplishments, and their passion for learning. These years have also seen a tremendous expansion of our ability to provide need-based financial aid and to reduce the burden of loans for our students.

As many of you know, Scott spent the first ten-and-a-half years of his tenure at Bowdoin working in development and alumni relations and later as assistant to President Mills. He has managed—at different times—programs and staff in annual giving, alumni relations, donor relations, Bowdoin Magazine, and corporation and foundation relations. He knows many of the dedicated staff there, and he understands these programs and their importance to the College. He also knows many of our alumni and parents. The College will continue to benefit tremendously from Scott’s leadership, management and relationship skills, and strategic acumen in this new role.

Whitney is among the most talented and experienced admissions professionals in the nation. She has demonstrated a deep understanding of what it takes to attract, admit, and matriculate gifted students who will thrive at Bowdoin and who make our community stronger year after year. Since joining the College in 2008, she has been a critical part of the leadership team in admissions, and with her expertise in the use of technology, data, and analysis in admissions, she has been instrumental in modernizing our student recruitment efforts. We will soon post a detailed announcement about Whitney’s promotion, but in the meantime, I know each of you joins me in congratulating her on this achievement—it is great news for Bowdoin and I look forward to working with her in this new role.

In the weeks ahead, we will find an appropriate time to say a proper farewell to Rick and to thank him for his service.

Sincerely,

Clayton