Bowdoin College, the highly rated liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, has announced the creation of four new endowed faculty professorships that honor distinguished Black graduates of the college.
The four new chairs will be named to honor:
Matthew D. Branche, overseer emeritus, the first Black student to serve as class president at Bowdoin and to be pledged by a chapter of a national fraternity with a membership policy of racial exclusion.
Iris W. Davis, a student leader in the early days of coeducation at Bowdoin, an outstanding athlete, trustee of the college, environmental scientist, and policy leader in Massachusetts.
Rasuli Lewis, a founder and co-leader of the Harlem Children’s Zone, one of the creators of the Peace March, and a leader of the Peacemakers program.
Frederic Morrow, the first Black person to hold an executive position in the White House and a civil rights advocate, author, and business leader.
“Through incredibly generous and anonymous gifts, these new professorships will benefit the college in several critical ways, including with fresh and exciting intellectual and curricular insights and experiences and by providing role models and mentors for junior faculty and our students,” said Bowdoin College President Clayton Rose. “Our new colleagues will engage in and catalyze interdisciplinary scholarship on issues of race, racism, and racial justice and enhance our students’ understanding of these issues as we prepare them to make change and to lead in the world.”
