Roger Howell: administrative records

Record Group

Identifier: A01.02.10

Staff Only
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Scope and Content

This collection contains administrative papers of Roger Howell. Includes general office files on a number of important subjects, including correspondence regarding the Afro-American Studies Program (now Africana Studies), CBB educational television, co-education, the 175th anniversary capital campaign, the 1970 student strike and the Senior Center. The records also include president's reports and faculty committee material. As material in folders often overlaps presidential administrations, the researcher may wish to consult the records of former and subsequent presidents for relevant information on a particular subject. For additional Roger Howell materials, see the Roger Howell Papers (M93).

Dates

Creation: 1952 - 1993

Access Restrictions

Some material restricted. Consult finding aid for specific information.

Biographical/Historical Note

Following the resignation of James Stacy Coles, Roger Howell (1936-1989) was elected Bowdoin's tenth president in 1969. Howell, an alumnus of the class of 1958, a respected scholar in the field of seventeenth-century British history and a Rhodes Scholar, earned a B.A. and an M.A. and D. Phil. (1964) at St. John's College, Oxford University. During his tenure, the College first admitted women and grew in size from 950 to 1,350 students. Howell implemented the Afro-American Studies Program, now the Africana Studies Program and oversaw the expansion of other academic programs with the addition of courses in environmental studies and a major in biochemistry. An important event during his tenure was the student strike of May 1970. The "strike" was in response to the violence at Kent State University. Siding with the students, Howell kept the College open but, in doing so, lost the support of area residents and some conservative alumni. He resigned in 1978 to pursue teaching and research full-time.