Winter 2004 Volume 75, Number 2 A Principled Leader A conversation with Ken Chenault ’73, Chairman and CEO of American Express contentswinter2004 A Principled Leader 8 A Conversation with American Express’s Ken Chenault By Scott W. Hood Photographs by Don Hamerman Kenneth I. Chenault, a member of the Bowdoin College Class of 1973, capped a steady 28-year rise to international corporate prominence in April 2001, when he was named chairman and chief executive officer of the American Express Company. As friends would later tell him, his timing couldn’t have been worse. Hoop Dreams 18 Thinking Your Way to the Win By Edgar Allen Beem Photographs by Michele Stapleton Bowdoin’s women’s basketball team is undefeated and nationally ranked, and the team was placed on the 2002-03 Academic Honor Roll by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association — an honor shared by only 25 colleges in the country. But it’s not just the combination of excellence on the court and in the classroom that makes them standouts. It’s how they make those skills work together. The Sultan of Swing 24 By Ajay Singh Photographs by James Marshall Doug Silton, a member of Bowdoin’s Class of 2000, is not only a championship swing dancer but a successful businessman, making a living doing what he loves – a little Lindy Hop. Departments Mailbox 2 Bookshelf 3 College & Maine 4 Weddings 30 Class News 34 Obituaries 64 Interview 71 BOWDOINeditor’s note staff Volume 75, Number 2 Winter, 2004 I have a 15 year-old daughter, a 13 year-old son, a 13 year-old stepson, and a 10 MAGAZINE STAFF year-old stepdaughter. As a result, our house is often very loud, filled with the Editor whoops and laughs of teenagers and the thumps of their nearly grown-up size Alison M. Bennie bodies careening up and down stairs and blasting through doors, the refrigerator opening and closing like a percussion back beat to it all. It can be astonishingly Associate Editor silent too, though, with just the clicking of multiple keyboards and the faint Matthew J. O’Donnell noise coming off several sets of headphones. It’s not just the moods of adoles- Design cents that are extreme, it’s their physical selves as well – full speed or idle. Pennisi & Lamare Falmouth, Maine But they are thinking people, too, and they have many things to think about Obituary Editor these days, both in looking at the world and in deciding — for themselves, John R. Cross ’76 newly — what paths to take. We find that these conversations almost always turn into discussions about making choices. (My husband and I aren’t exactly Contributors consulted, mind you, but when we weigh in we are usually not ignored. That is, Allyson Algeo James Caton not totally.) We try to talk with them about how the ability to choose what you Susan Danforth do in your life — what you will study and where you will do it, what your line Scott W. Hood of work will be, where you might live and with whom you might associate — is Lauren Whaley ’03 a great freedom, both precious and unusual, but that it is not just sitting there Photographs by Brian Beard, Dennis waiting for them to use it. It is theirs to gain. By taking advantage of opportuni- Griggs, Don Hamerman, James ties. By readying themselves for choice, both in their minds and in the skills Marshall, Michele Stapleton and they develop and the knowledge they build. By being courageous in the face of Bowdoin College Archives. failure and by opening themselves to newness. What they choose to do will BOWDOIN (ISSN, 0895-2604) is pub- always open the next few doors — and it can shut them, too, it’s important to lished four times a year by Bowdoin say to teenagers — but the door to a person’s mind has to stay open permanent- College, 4104 College Station, ly if he or she is to live the life that will be the most rewarding. Brunswick, Maine 04011. Printed by Dartmouth Printing, Hanover, New Hampshire. Third-class postage paid at Any of our stories in this issue is an example of how that sort of thinking works. Hanover, New Hampshire. Sent free of It can be brought to bear to gain the edge in a game situation, as Stefanie Pemper charge to all Bowdoin alumni/ae, par- and her players describe. Or in choosing a satisfying way to make a living, as ents of current and recent undergradu- Doug Silton did when he left his corporate position to start a dance studio. And ates, faculty and staff, seniors, and selected members of the Association of no one talks more eloquently about taking action within a thinking framework, Bowdoin Friends. even a philosophical one, than American Express CEO Ken Chenault. Ken says in his interview something that we have heard from other Bowdoin graduates — Opinions expressed in this magazine that Bowdoin provided not only a challenging academic environment amid some are those of the authors. great natural beauty and interesting colleagues, but that it was also quite simply a Send class news to classnews@bow- good place to think. Suggesting that pure reflection has that kind of power and doin.edu or mail to the address above. value is, in this world of perpetual stimulus, surprising. Advertising inquiries? Please e-mail [email protected] or fax 207-725-3003. Please send address It’s a good lesson to remember to pass on to our children when they’re ready. changes to the mailing address above. Know how to quiet the bombardment and pay attention to yourself. Decide Send ideas or letters to the editor to what matters to you, use it to create a philosophy, and act within it. And then that address or by e-mail to bowdoined- keep going— but also keep thinking, dreaming, and sometimes just sitting [email protected]. there, waiting for the thought to come. Cover: American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault at the offices of American AMB Express in New York. Photo by Don Hamerman. BOWDOIN WINTER 2004 1 mailbox Founders of the “A Dime A Dog” All for One Fabulous Hats To the Editor: To the Editor: To the Editor: I enjoyed very much reading the letter The “WeWantWork–Boston” article On page three of the Fall 2003 issue, by Richard E. Crockford ’49, entitled (Fall ’03) brings memories of a there is an article and picture of the “Who Kept the Dogs Out,” which similar effort in Boston in early years handsome McManus/Hayes family. appeared in the Fall 2003 issue — of the great depression. My Dad was a Anna Hayes says that they all marched Volume 75, number 1. director in the Boston YMCA on in the commencement procession and My special interest in this article is Huntington Ave., and one of his had the opportunity to wear “these obvious when you read the enclosed programs brought unemployed men fabulous hats.” letter written to me by former Dean of the together. Catchy name; can’t Perhaps Mrs. Hayes would be College, Paul Nixon. As you will note, the remember. They came in every interested to know that these hats letter was written on December 3, 1944, morning dressed for business and were introduced to the Bowdoin asking me to serve as official college dog spent the day working to place one campus in 1996 by the Class of 1946 catcher, and was prompted by an of the other men in the club. at their 50th reunion. The year before, embarrassing, yet harmless, incident It worked! at reunion time, several of us began involving a dog and former President Sills Lou Brummer ’39 talking about our 50th. We looked while the President was speaking at the across campus and saw…baseball podium during a morning chapel service. caps! White with black letters, black The job description called for my Just “Emperor,” Please with white letters, but nothing but removing dogs from the chapel after To the Editor: baseball caps. they had “wandered” in through the Just thought I’d point out that the We resolved to have a different hat old “swinging” doors. article on page 26, the column in lime for our 50th, and you have seen the I accepted the Dean’s offer mainly color in the last paragraph: “In China, result. They were a success with the because of the very generous pay the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal class and also with our Alumni associated with the job, “a dime a dog.” Medicine...” Relations adviser, Sara Eddy, who was Dick Crockford made out better than I Although the book might be called director at the time. Sara received one. at $20.00 per semester — but that’s “Huang Di...” in Mandarin, (Huang Di) The hats have been copied by other what inflation will do. translates into Emperor. (Huang) in its classes, and we feel that imitation is I always played the game “fair and many other Chinese characters might the sincerest form of flattery. square” and never failed to adhere to mean yellow, but when used in Dean Nixon’s earnest request — “don’t conjunction, it means Emperor. J. Morgan Heussler ’46 coax any in, then to bounce them.” Gary Tan Dick Johnstone ’44 Boulder, CO Send Us Mail! We are very interested in your feedback, thoughts, and ideas about Bowdoin In response to our story in the Fall, 2003 issue, “Family Ties,” Ed Rogers ’81 sent us this photo. Left to right, magazine. You can reach us by e-mail at Chris Rogers ’83, Ed Rogers ’81 and Steve Rogers ’82.