Before They Were Students

Secretaries, clerks, receptionists, nurses, and housekeepers were among women staff members on the men-dominated campus.

Goldie Singer (1916-2017) was one of the women employed by the college before the 1970s. Singer worked as the payroll supervisor from 1946 until her retirement in 1980. Before her employment at Bowdoin, she worked for Maine Governor Sumner Sewall during his 1940 campaign and became a part-time employee in his office after the election. She was welcomed as an honorary member of the Bowdoin Alumni Association after dedicating 34 years of her career to Bowdoin. In this photo, Singer smiles warmly at a student during registration in Hubbard Hall in 1962.

Goldie Singer, photograph, 1962