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The ''Bowdoin Project'' (officially entitled ''What does Bowdoin Teach? How a Contemporary Liberal Arts College Shapes Students'') was an educational publication critiquing the educational practices of
Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is ...
-based liberal arts college
Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint e ...
.


Overview


Reception

The report was rebutted by the at-the-time President Barry Mills, who called the assessment, "mean-spirited and personal". President Mills responded multiple times after the college's initial response, concluding in a published report entitled "Setting the Record Straight" in ''
The Daily Sun The ''Daily Sun'' is the largest daily newspaper in South Africa. ''Daily Sun'' may also refer to the following newspapers: United States * ''Arizona Daily Sun'', Flagstaff, Arizona * ''Bowdoin Daily Sun'', Connecticut, published by Bowdoin Colleg ...
'', in which he formalized his rejection by stating:
he report wasfinanced at a cost of "well over $100,000" by an individual who has not spent more than a few hours on our campus and produced by a 25-year-old organization whose investigators have no first-hand experience with what we teach or how we teach it. It exaggerates its claims and misrepresents both what we do at Bowdoin and what we stand for. This is not just my reaction. It is the considered opinion of many members of our community, including those who ought to know best—our current students and their parents, and alumni who have spent many, many hours in our classrooms and labs, and who describe an experience very different from the one contained in this report.
One of the most covered sections of the report was one that questioned the college's patriotism, as well as asserting that its mission was "antithetical to the American experiment". Mills responded by stating:
he report saidthat our "worldview" and what we teach here s"antithetical to the American experiment" or that "Bowdoin on the whole shows little interest in the West." Frankly, it's hard to know where to begin with such nonsense. The American flag flies high over our campus atop a flagpole dedicated to our graduates who died in defense of America.
Many academic institutions and organizations sided with the college, calling the report, "a failed attack on Bowdoin
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mech ...
descended into disturbing conspiracy theories and wild speculation."


References

{{Reflist, 2 Bowdoin College