Bowdoin College recruiting veterans to increase diversity

Photo / Maureen Milliken Bowdoin College's new Roux Center for the Environment is framed by the school's iconic white pines, part of the inspiration for the building design. The college is making its first drive to enroll veterans in an effort to increase student diversity.

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Military veterans are trading dog tags for diplomas at one of Maine’s most elite private colleges.

Bowdoin College in Brunswick is actively recruiting former U.S. armed service personnel to join the ranks of its 1,800 students, Maine Public reported.

The college is making its first drive to enroll veterans in an effort to increase student diversity.

"We talk a lot about diversity in all forms, and veterans are a big segment of the population not represented on campus,” Associate Dean of Admissions Ryan Ricciardi told Maine Public.

Administrators say the inclusion of more veterans not only offers them a top-notch education, but exposes other Bowdoin students — most of whom come straight from high school — to a broader perspective on the world.

"Our 18- and 19-year-olds may have traveled, but in very different circumstances," said Director of Admissions Claudia Marroquin. “And I think that ability to really understand issues from different angles, and having had interaction with populations different from themselves, is certainly something our more traditional-age students can learn from our veterans."

The recruitment effort means Bowdoin has to grapple with needs that are unusual in its student body, such as different housing requirements and child care for veterans with families. Providing time off for military reservists is another issue the college is addressing.

Bowdoin is also working with organizations, such as Service to School, that assist veterans in the college application process.

Last year, almost 95,000 veterans used federal educational aid, popularly known as the “G.I. Bill,” according to Maine Public, with more than more than 3,000 veterans attending a Maine school.