Alumni Respond to Coeducation
With a long history as a men’s college, the announcement of coeducation elicited varied responses from alumni. This exchange between Frank Ormerod, Class of 1921, and President Roger Howell illustrates some of the opposition the College fielded after its announcement. Ormerod writes, “I feel very strongly that Bowdoin should remain a small college and that it should not become coeducational.” In his response, Howell respectfully disagrees with Ormerod’s position. Ormerod responds in kind, this time drawing an analogy to the Hebrew bible prophet Micaiah (1 Kings 22) in which Micaiah is the only prophet to advise King Ahab of Israel against battling Syria. King Ahab disregards Micaiah’s warning, and the battle ends in his death. In his missive to Howell, Ormerod prays Bowdoin’s coeducational decision does not end in tragedy as that story did.
Frank H. Ormerod to President Roger Howell, correspondence, September 16, 1969