COA 2000-2001 COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC A LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE OF HUMAN ECOLOGY ON THE MAINE COAST COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC AT A GLANCE FOUNDED 1969 TYPE Coeducational, 4-year independent college with graduate programs LOCATION Bar Harbor, Maine Located on Mount Desert Island Population-4,500 45 miles southeast of Bangor 300 miles north of Boston CAMPUS 29-shorefront acres overlooking Frenchman Bay, adjacent to Acadia National Park SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR Three 10-week terms DEGREES OFFERED B.A. Human Ecology M.Phil. Human Ecology STUDENT BODY 277: 66% women 34 % men 38 states and 12 foreign countries 42% live in campus housing BILLED EXPENSES 2000-2001 Tuition & Fees $ 20,361 Room $ 3,285 Board $ 2,058 Total 25,704 FINANCIAL AID More than two-thirds of the student body receive Financial Aid: average award, 1999-2000: $15,771 ADMISSION Selective Interview strongly recommended Campus visit and student-guided tours available throughout the year TRANSPORTATION Air-regularly scheduled flights to Bar Harbor and Bangor Bus - service to Ellsworth and Bangor "When your views on the world and your intellect are being challenged and you begin to feel uncomfortable because of a contradiction you've detected that is threatening your current model of the world or some aspect of it, pay attention. You are about to learn something." WILLIAM H. DRURY, JR. COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC FACULTY MEMBER 1976-1992 College of the Atlantic was created three decades ago at a time when it was becoming evident that conventional education was an inadequate prepara- tion for citizenship in our increasingly complex and technical society. The growing interdependence of environmental and social issues and the limitations of academic specialization demanded a wider vision. COA's founders created a pioneering institution dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of human ecology, a college in which students overcome narrow points of view and integrate knowledge across traditional academic lines. At COA, boundaries among disciplines are minimized. Scientific analysis joins with humanistic and aesthetic understanding. Insights from specialized knowledge are combined for a fuller understanding of compli- cated issues. Responsible citizenship requires collaborative attitudes and skills. This is the main rationale for COA's commitment to participatory gover- nance and consensus building. It is exemplified in the creative ways meet- ings are run, disputes are resolved, computer technologies are utilized, or partnerships with the outside community are formed. At COA, students work on real issues from the beginning rather than after they are "educated." Individualized courses of study are created by students as they work together with faculty to expand their academic hori- zons and develop their sense of responsibility. The outcome is an education which builds competence and confidence for life-long learning and pre- pares effective citizens and leaders for the future. ACADEMIC LIFE 4 STUDENT LIFE 20 FACULTY 24 FACILITIES 30 COURSES 34 ADMISSION AND FINANCIAL AID 36 College of the Atlantic is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. PUB Students can tap into academic interests in a number of ways: working with a professor in a classroom, or heading out for some field experi- ence in Acadia National Park. 4 / COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC INDIVIDUALIZED SELF-DIRECTED Four years at College of the Atlantic are unrivaled From start to finish, a student's time at COA is a by any other college program. A survey of each journey. Students are encouraged to devise their transcript will prove to be as varied and unique as a own path and to pioneer new routes for themselves, finger print. Students exercise their individuality and through this "choose your own adventure" and their creativity of vision while crafting a cur- style, the learning is all the more evident and tan- riculum that is entirely their own, at once reflective gible. Students navigate through four years of of who they are and of what they yearn to be. course work, independent and group studies, tuto- Individuality is a trademark of an education at rials, study abroad opportunities, internships, and a COA, and students develop an academic concentra- senior project. Rolanda Seymour '00 remarks tion which is reflective of their goals and aspira- "With a self-directed education you cannot help but tions, their quest for knowledge, and their passion be driven by the desire for personal enlightenment, for learning. and once you have this, you are able to bring it to Although formalized concentrations of study the people around you." exist in different areas, students are free to develop The Internship and Senior Project are two personal concentrations which may focus on a opportunities for students to gain real world experi- single interest or a combination of interests. For ence in any area of their interest, whether it be example, a student may focus on one area, such as delving into a new field or going deeper into an marine biology, environmental design, or literature, already familiar area. while others develop concentrations of study which Our list of "what we want to be when we grow combine such divergent interests as painting, psy- up" can be a colorful and cumulative one. In a chology, and botany. Most colleges give a student world of countless opportunities for exploration, comprehensive blueprints for their academic future, inquiry, and challenge, an education at College of foregoing any opportunity for individual design. At the Atlantic caters to the chameleon inherent within College of the Atlantic, students draw their own all people. Our motivated students take charge of blueprints, designing a framework of ideas and their education, with the help of a supportive and inspiration. guiding faculty. Students have the option to focus intensively in one field of study, or to cast their nets INTEGRATED over a broad array of interests. At first glance, one might see a river as simply a course of water winding through a landscape. This CURRICULUM past spring, a group of twelve students had an The college's curriculum is crafted to reflect its opportunity to experience rivers from all imaginable mission and vision. The faculty, students, staff, angles. "Rivers: Ecology, Conservation, and alumni and trustees of College of the Atlantic Chemistry" was team taught by three professors. envision a world where people value creativity, The Rivers course was comprised of three classes intellectual achievement, and diversity of nature taught in conjunction with one another, and was and human cultures. With respect and compassion, truly an interdisciplinary experience. Through individuals construct meaningful lives for them- problem sets, role-playing exercises, service pro- selves, gain appreciation for the relationships jects, class projects, laboratory experiments, pad- among all forms of life, and safeguard the heritage dling, and plenty of field experience, students of future generations. learned about rivers from a variety of perspectives. A human ecological perspective integrates knowl- Students analyzed water samples for evidence of edge from all academic disciplines and from per- pollution, studied the effects of dams on a water- sonal experience to investigate, and ultimately shed, and traveled to the Southeast to survey the improve, the relationships between human beings dams created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. and their social and natural communities. At COA, students are encouraged to integrate The College of the Atlantic community encour- knowledge from all academic disciplines and from ages, prepares, and expects students to gain the personal experience to investigate, and ultimately expertise, breadth, values, and practical experience improve, the relationships between human beings necessary to achieve individual fulfillment and to and their social and natural communities. help solve problems that challenge communities everywhere. COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC / 5