Chenault Gift Establishes New Herman S. Dreer Leadership Fellowship at Bowdoin

“Leaders from All Walks of Life”

*Images available upon request

BRUNSWICK, Maine, April 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Kenneth I. Chenault, a member of the Class of 1973 and a 1996 honorary degree recipient, and his wife, Kathryn C. Chenault, have made a $2 million gift to Bowdoin College, the bulk of which will be used to establish an endowed fellowship that will bring exemplary leaders to campus to engage with the Bowdoin community.

The Chenaults have named the fellowship in honor of Herman S. Dreer, Class of 1910, who was the second Black man to graduate from Bowdoin, eighty-four years after John Brown Russwurm, Class of 1826. Dreer’s life story—and, in particular, his relationship with the College—is revealed in The Blackman at Bowdoin, the history honors thesis Chenault wrote in 1973.

Dreer graduated in just three years as the second-highest-ranked student in his class. Even so, he was isolated socially because of his race. In his honors thesis, Chenault wrote that “The fact that he was left alone and not intimidated physically by his classmates was all he could expect or ask for. . . . Slavery may have ended but Dreer was tolerated for the most part rather than accepted socially, just as Russwurm had been eighty-one years earlier.” Chenault went on to write that “according to Dreer, he tried through all his actions to convey to Bowdoin the humanity of the Black man. . . . The mere fact of his presence ‘exploded’ many of the stereotypes of Blacks commonly held by whites at that time.”

In spite of the significant racism Dreer experienced, he led a remarkable life as an academic, educational reformer, author, minister, and civil rights leader. Chenault wrote that Dreer had “a lifelong mission: helping Black people in any way he possibly could, be it educating them, tending to their spiritual needs, or as he did in November of 1972, engaging in a fierce political struggle to help Blacks gain elective office in St. Louis.” Along with historian Carter G. Woodson, Dreer initiated the observance of Black History Month in the United States.

“I stand on the shoulders of people like Herman Dreer who, despite being denied the opportunities they deserved, paved the way and valiantly forged ahead,” said Ken Chenault. “Kathy and I are privileged to honor Herman Dreer and give him the long overdue recognition that he so justly deserves. The Herman S. Dreer Leadership Fellowship will ensure that Herman’s legacy lives on to inspire future generations of trailblazers.”

Fifty years ago, in preparation for graduation, Chenault encouraged the Bowdoin Afro American Society—of which he was a member—to acknowledge an African American leader annually at the Baccalaureate ceremony. Chenault presented Dreer with the Afro-American Society’s first Outstanding Alumnus Award that year, in 1973.

The Herman S. Dreer Leadership Fellowship will support individuals from any professional field—leaders “from all walks of life”—in business, technology, government, law, the arts, the military, the nonprofit sector, and other disciplines.

Dreer Fellows will be named for a semester or an academic year, with the general expectation that they will visit campus several times, deliver a public lecture, and engage with students and the greater Bowdoin community, both inside and outside the classroom. Additionally, they may also attend classes at faculty invitation, hold office hours for students to provide career and mentoring advice, and meet with alumni (particularly young alumni). They will be invited to engage in the life of the College by meeting with student groups and by sharing meals with students, faculty, and staff in the dining halls.

The Dreer Fellows Program complements the work Bowdoin is doing in several areas of the College—academically, culturally, and in career planning—to significantly expand the sense of possibility for students, especially students from under-resourced and marginalized backgrounds, as they consider their professional aspirations, their leadership potential, and their ability to effect change. The College will seek Dreer Fellows from across society, including bringing leaders to campus who rose from similar under-resourced backgrounds.

“This is both a generous gift and a beautiful idea that will bring to the fore an incredible alumnus who had largely been forgotten at the College—a person very important to Ken, whose life he and Kathy want us to understand and celebrate,” said Bowdoin president Clayton Rose. “Dreer Fellows will be an essential part of a new and deliberate effort at the College to further develop leadership skills in our students, to underscore that a Bowdoin education prepares them to accomplish anything they want in their lives, and to aim high— very high.”

The president will oversee the selection and visits of Dreer Fellows, working with the campus and alumni community.

More information online.

Media contact: Doug Cook
[email protected]

SOURCE Bowdoin College