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MAGAZINE BowdoinWINTER 2007 VOL.78 NO.2 REMEMBRANCE OF THINGSTHINGS TO TO THE POETRY COMECOME OF EDWARD POLS MEET DEAN JUDD AIMING HIGH WITH ALEC LEE ’80 CELEBRATING LONGFELLOW’S 200TH • POLAR AWARENESS • IMPRESSIVE INVESTMENT RETURNS BowdoinMAGAZINE WINTER 2007 FEATURES 12 Edward Pols - A Continuing Education BY FRANKLIN BURROUGHS Edward Pols taught at Bowdoin from 1949 to 1988.A 12 Kenan Professor of the Humanities, he was known as a philosopher, not a poet. In this piece, Professor Franklin Burroughs introduces readers to Pols’s poems and “how cogently, compactly, and beautifully they managed the difficult task of thinking in verse.” 18 Interview: Cristle Collins Judd CONTENTS BY SCOTT W. HOOD PHOTOGRAPHS BY DENNIS GRIGGS Cristle Collins Judd arrived in Brunswick last summer to lead Bowdoin’s academic program as dean for aca- demic affairs. Scott Hood talks with her about her background, her priorities, and her adjustment to her 18 26 new post. 26 Aim High Magic BY LISA WESEL PHOTOGRAPHS BY SETH AFFOUMADO There are parts of San Francisco where the tour guides won’t go and the cable cars don’t run, but there is magic there too — in the form of Aim High, a summer school program co-founded 20 years ago by Alec Lee Jr. ’80. Find out why so many Bowdoin graduates find their way into Lee’s network. DEPARTMENTS Bookshelf 2 Mailbox 4 Bowdoinsider 5 Alumnotes 32 Weddings 38 Class News 49 Obituaries 71 Bowdoin MAGAZINE |letter| FROM THE EDITOR Winter, 2007 Volume 78, Number 2 MAGAZINE STAFF Editor More than a walk in the woods Alison M. Bennie Associate Editor Matthew J. O’Donnell hen we talk about winter in Maine, it is often in terms of endurance — Design when will it end, when might the ice be out, when might the grass be Pennisi & Lamare Portland, Maine green on the quad.This year, winter started slowly but appears to be going W Obituary Editor out with some gusto, if the March storms continue as they usually do (March is the John R. Cross ’76 snowiest month here). In like a lamb, this time, out like a lion. Contributors Douglas R. Boxer-Cook James Caton When I was growing up in Maine, winter had its challenges — we had a farm, and taking Susan Danforth care of animals in the cold is sometimes just that much harder, as is getting up for chores Selby Frame Scott W. Hood at five in the morning. But, reading the story of Nat Wheelwright’s winter field studies Alix Roy ’07 class reminded me of how special this season is here.Walking in a new snow, whether Photographs by Seth Affoumado, Brian deep in the woods or across campus, is a singular experience.The hushed beauty and the Beard, Dennis Griggs, Justin Knight, James Marshall, Michele Stapleton, and Bowdoin sense of peace that it creates, even in the cold or wind, is extraordinary.What Nat and his College Archives. students describe (see the full story on Bowdoin’s Academic Spotlight on the web for BOWDOIN (ISSN, 0895-2604) is pub- details) is the kind of experience that we wish all the winter nay-sayers could have — lished four times a year by Bowdoin tromping through the woods, well-clothed and prepared and led by experts, and yet still College, 4104 College Station, Brunswick, Maine 04011. Printed by Dartmouth astonished by the simple magic of nature. Printing, Hanover, New Hampshire.Third- class postage paid at Hanover, New Hampshire. Sent free of charge to all It is easy now to experience so many things virtually.Technology makes it possible to see Bowdoin alumni/ae, parents of current and recent undergraduates, faculty and things up close from a world away.The use of technology in Bowdoin’s classrooms is staff, seniors, and selected members of booming, and it is enormously effective — we are rightfully proud of all that our students the Association of Bowdoin Friends. can do with these tools, and the multiple and complex ways we have of conveying knowl- Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors. edge and information. Send class news to classnews@bow- doin.edu or mail to the address above. But I believe that we also have an edge on many other colleges, in very many different Advertising inquiries? Please e-mail maga- places.And that is where we are and the experience of physically being here.As a group [email protected] or fax 207-725- 3003. Please send address changes to the of students on campus compile suggestions for 50 Things to Do Before Leaving Bowdoin, mailing address above. Send ideas or let- ters to the editor to that address or by we hope they will not miss the ones that may not readily come their way again: a walk e-mail to [email protected]. through the Bowdoin Pines in the snow, an afternoon skate on the Brunswick Mall or on the rink on the quad.When the ice is out, an outing on Merrymeeting Bay or a climb up and over Morse Mountain to the beach. Perhaps most of all, we hope that they will not miss the chance to look at the world with a Bowdoin professor as a guide — one who, like Nat Wheelwright, still sees the gift that Maine provides in its beauty and its surprises. AMB Cover: The House That’s Not Your Own,by Elizabeth Pols [email protected] 1 bookshelfBOWDOIN 102 Minutes:The Untold Story Composers’ Voices from Ives Love in Black and White: of the Fight to Survive Inside to Ellington:An Oral History a Memoir of Race, Religion, the Twin Towers of American Music and Romance New York Times writers Jim Dwyer Libby Van Cleve ’80 and Vivian Former Secretary of Defense and and Kevin Flynn vividly recreate Perlis present the lives and work of U.S. Senator William Cohen ’62, the 102-minute span between notable musicians and composers of the author of ten previous books, impact of the first plane into the the early twentieth century in text provides a powerful memoir of his World Trade Center and the moment the second and accompanying CDs that provide an extensive relationship with his wife Janet Langhart Cohen. tower collapsed, from the perspective of those collection of interviews with some of the most Despite their nearly opposite backgrounds – trapped inside the buildings. Bowdoin alumnus significant musical figures of the era.The collection different races, different religions – Secretary and Frank Doyle ’85, one of almost 3,000 who lost has received an Independent Publisher Award as Mrs. Cohen prove how personal connection and their lives that day, is mentioned several times in well as the Deems Taylor Award from The love can transcend traditional social prejudices. the book. Times Books, 2006. American Society of Composers,Authors & Cohen’s story is a bold statement on love and on Publishers for outstanding print, broadcast, and new the soul of American society. Rowman & Littlefield My Country Roots:The Ultimate media coverage of music. Yale University Press, 2005. Publishers, 2007. MP3 Guide to America’s Original Outsider Music David C. Driskell: Bend to Baja: A Biodiesel Carter Little ’98 contributes to Artist and Scholar Powered Surfing and the first in a series of six guides to In this study of nearly five Climbing Road Trip music downloading, surveying the decades of David Driskell’s work, Released in conjunction with last century of country music song Julie L. McGee ’82 explores the Patagonia by Stellar Transmedia, writing and covering 1,400 songs split into 100 life of the African American an outdoor adventure company recommended playlists for downloading. Little painter and printmaker who co-founded by Philip Drake and his co-authors provide critiques of each track, received the National Humanities Medal in 2000. ’01, Bend to Baja documents a February 2005 capturing the spirit and character of the songs and Nearly two hundred full-color and black-and- surf-inspired road trip along the west coast of offering readers a convenient way to explore the white images, some of the artist himself, are North America.Author Jeff Johnson chronicles breadth and depth of the genre. Naked Ink reproduced in this “long-overdue tribute.” the journey of three world-renowned surfers and Publishers, 2006. Pomegranate Communications, Inc., 2006. their non-traditional lifestyle centered on the search for waves. Moonlight Publishing, 2006. |Q&A| FOOTNOTES Leon Gorman ’56 L.L. Bean,The Making of an American Icon ritten by Leon Gorman ’56, L.L. Bean,The Making of an GORMAN: No, I never did.There have been lots of changes in the American Icon, is “the first authoritative, true-to-life account activities that are popular, but there were always plenty of people who Wof the iconic retailer and its colorful history and culture.” wanted to be outdoors.We have a broad sense of outdoors people as Bowdoin Magazine editor Alison Bennie sat down with Gorman our customers — not just people going out into the wilderness, but recently for a conversation about the book, which reveals, among other everyone from bird watchers to bird hunters. insights and anecdotes, what it took for Gorman to bide his time before having an opportunity to bring L.L. Bean into the modern age. BOWDOIN: When we talk about developing leaders at Bowdoin, one of the programs we often mention is the Leadership Training we do BOWDOIN: I think anyone who has read the book would know one through the Outing Club. Do you think there is a connection between thing about you, judging from the early chapters: you’re a very patient the outdoors and the development of those skills? man! Did you ever just feel like giving up in your quest to bring L.L.