Barry Mills (born September 8, 1950) is an American attorney and academic who served as the fourteenth president of Bowdoin College.
Barry Mills | |
|---|---|
| Chancellor of UMass Boston Interim | |
| In office 1 July 2017 – 1 July 2018 | |
| Preceded by | J. Keith Motley |
| Succeeded by | Katherine Newman (interim) |
| 14th President of Bowdoin College | |
| In office October 2001 – 1 July 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Robert H. Edwards |
| Succeeded by | Clayton Rose |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 8, 1950 Warwick, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Spouse | Karen Mills |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Bowdoin College (BS) Syracuse University (PhD) Columbia University (JD) |
Early life and education
editA native of Warwick, Rhode Island, Mills graduated cum laude with a double major in biochemistry and government from Bowdoin College in 1972. He then went on to earn a PhD in biology at Syracuse University in 1976 and a JD from Columbia University in 1979, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. Upon graduating, he soon began working at the law firm, Debevoise & Plimpton, where he became a partner in 1986.
Career
editA member of the Board of Trustees from 1994 through 2000, Mills became president of Bowdoin College in October 2001. Since then, Mills has dramatically changed Bowdoin's curriculum and campus. As part of a master plan first designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in 2004, the college has built new residential dorms, a recital hall, a hockey arena, a fitness center, converted one of the college's pools into an architecturally distinctive recital hall, and has undergone a highly publicized renovation to the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
In 2011, Bowdoin set a record low rate of admissions for the class of 2015 at 15.7%. Three years earlier, in 2008, it was recognized as "School of the Year" by College Prowler. Additionally, that January, Mills announced that all student loans would be replaced by grants beginning in September.
Mills presented the Bowdoin Campaign in 2006, a $250 million fund-raising campaign set to be finished in June 2009 and focusing on new faculty positions and financial aid. Aided by a $10 million gift by Subway Sandwiches co-founder Peter Buck, the goal was met that February. In response to the global financial crisis, in September 2008, Mills announced that the college would slow down the rate of new capital projects and faculty positions but would retain job security at the college.
In April 2014, Mills announced he would "step down as president of the College ... at the conclusion of the 2014-15 academic year."[1] He officially stepped down on July 1, 2015, and was succeeded by Clayton Rose.[2]
In March 2017, Mills was appointed deputy chancellor and chief operating officer at the University of Massachusetts Boston. In that role, he oversaw the academic and research program and campus operations. He stepped down from the role at the end of the 2017-18 academic year.[3][4][5] [6]
Personal life
editOn December 19, 2008, his wife, Karen Mills, was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve in his administration as Administrator of the Small Business Administration,[7] in which role she served until February 11, 2013.
References
edit- ^ "Bowdoin Orient coverage of Mills retirement announcement". Archived from the original on 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ Chase, Sam (2 July 2015). "Rose plans to listen and learn in early days of presidency". The Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ Krantz, Laura (March 14, 2017). "UMass Boston chancellor's authority is diluted amid campus financial woes". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ^ Battenfeld, Joe (March 8, 2017). "Battenfeld: Cash-strapped school makes $250G hire". Boston Herald. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ^ "Barry Mills Appointed Deputy Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer at UMass Boston". UMass Boston News. March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ^ "Interim UMass Boston Chancellor To Step Down At End Of School Year". WBUR News. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
- ^ Baker, Peter (December 19, 2008). "Obama Reshapes White House for Domestic Focus". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2020.