Bowdoin College
05/27/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/28/2026 09:06
Bowdoin Remains Committed to Finnegan McCoul Woodruff Mountain Center
Bowdoin Remains Committed to Finnegan McCoul Woodruff Mountain Center
By Bowdoin NewsAfter hearing concerns raised by members of the Kingfield community, Bowdoin College has voluntarily withdrawn the application currently pending before the Kingfield Planning Board to allow the Town time to review its ordinances and create space for continued dialogue.
While the permitting process is paused for the moment, the College remains fully committed to supporting the Bowdoin Outing Club and the opportunities the Finnegan McCoul Woodruff Mountain Center will provide for students.
Through more than 170 off-campus trips, weekly programs, and Orientation outings each year, the Bowdoin Outing Club introduces students to outdoor experiences that often become lifelong passions, while fostering leadership, connection, and community.
Through peer-led trips and extensive leadership training, students develop skills in teamwork, communication, decision-making, and outdoor leadership while building lasting connections to one another and to the natural landscapes of Maine.
Through peer-led trips and extensive leadership training, students develop skills in teamwork, communication, decision-making, and outdoor leadership while building lasting connections to one another and to the natural landscapes of Maine.
For many years, the BOC has sought a centrally located base camp within its primary program area in the western Maine mountains.
The Kingfield property was purchased through the generosity of Dean of Student Affairs Emeritus Tim Foster and Stephanie Foster, both longtime Bowdoin staff members, who requested that the center be named in honor of Finnegan Woodruff '21.
Reflecting on their support for the project, the Fosters said, "The BOC offers students the unusual opportunity to learn skills and practice leadership in Bowdoin's largest classroom-the wild places of Maine and beyond."
The project has also been supported by more than 600 members of the Bowdoin family who contributed as a way of showing their support for Woodruff and the BOC.
This strong showing from our alumni illustrates the powerful impact the Outing Club has had on students and the community for the past thirty years.
The significance of the project extends beyond logistics and land use. Named in memory of Finnegan Woodruff-a Maine-born-and-raised Bowdoin student and beloved member of the Bowdoin Outing Club who passed away in 2021-the center reflects a mission of introducing students, many for the first time, to the mountains, rivers, and outdoor traditions of Maine.
"The Bowdoin Outing Club has long embodied what people love most about this college: community, trust, humility, and a deep connection to place," said Bowdoin College president Safa Zaki.
"For generations, the BOC has been students' way into Maine itself-its mountains, its coast, its quiet woods-and the friendships and confidence they find there stays with them long after they graduate."
About Finn Woodruff
Finn Woodruff grew up in Maine and at Bowdoin. An environmental studies and music major at Bowdoin, he was an accomplished musician and visual artist and had an unbounded love for the outdoors. Beginning when he was a high school student, Woodruff taught BOC groups to paddle, ski, and-most of all-to celebrate every opportunity for adventure in the waters, woods, and mountains of Maine. In November 2021, while living in Washington and taking classes at Lewis and Clark University to finish his Bowdoin degree, Finn died in a kayaking accident on the White Salmon River.
Following concerns raised during the Planning Board review process, the College determined that the best course was to voluntarily withdraw the application and commit not to refile for at least six months.
This pause will allow the Town time to review its ordinances while also creating space for more deliberate and substantive dialogue with community members and other stakeholders.
With the town's support, Bowdoin hopes to move forward as a good neighbor/community partner with this project that is modest in scale, serious in purpose, and committed to fostering lasting appreciation for this remarkable region among generations of students to come.
Bowdoin College published this content on May 27, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 28, 2026 at 15:06 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]