Bowdoin names alumnus as president

BRUNSWICK – A New York lawyer and former trustee has been tapped to become Bowdoin College’s 14th president.

Barry Mills, a 1972 Bowdoin graduate, was unanimously chosen by trustees and a presidential search committee. He will replace Robert Edwards, who will step down June 30 after 11 years as president.

Mills, 50, was a trustee and chairman of the presidential search committee until last month, when he stepped aside to avoid a conflict of interest after learning that he had been drafted as a candidate.

By then, the list of candidates had been narrowed down to about 12 people, said Donald R. Kurtz, trustees’ chairman. “This is a wonderful day for Bowdoin College; this has exceeded our highest hopes,” said Kurtz. “[His appointment] was a direct result of his work with the committee and his ability to work with other people.”

Mills, who majored in biochemistry and government while at Bowdoin as a student, is the deputy presiding partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, an international law firm based in New York City. He earned a doctorate degree in biology from Syracuse University in 1976 and a law degree at the Columbia University School of Law in 1979.

He served on the Student Affairs Committee and as a member of the Academic Affairs Committee while on the Bowdoin Board of Trustees.

He will be the fifth Bowdoin alumnus to serve as its president.

“I have a deep passion for Bowdoin, its people, and the liberal arts, and I look forward to listening and learning in the months ahead,” Mills said Wednesday in a written statement.

Mills received a ringing endorsement from Edwards. “The appointment of Barry Mills is a brilliant stroke,” Edwards said in the release. “He is a proven teacher and developer of people … I’m elated that he’s coming back to Bowdoin.”