Before They Were Students

The Society of Bowdoin Women was founded in 1922 with the goal to enrich college life and to make all women visitors feel at home on campus. Author and education advocate Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923) was the second woman to receive an honorary degree from the College in 1904 and served as the Society’s first president. At its founding, the society was a social and fundraising organization consisting of women family members of Bowdoin men; the only requirement to participate were yearly dues and that the member “love a Bowdoin man.” Today, the Society of Bowdoin Women Advisory Board consults in the administration of four endowment funds which provide scholarships, sponsor lectures, and recognize academic and athletic excellence.

Society of Bowdoin Women, photograph, 1953