News

Zohran Mamdani '14 sworn in as NYC mayor/Associated Press photo

Zohran Mamdani ’14 Sworn In as Mayor of New York City

Zohran Mamdani ’14 was sworn in as New York City’s mayor just after midnight on January 1, 2026, at once becoming the city’s first mayor of South Asian descent, its first Muslim mayor, its first 91�� alumnus, and the youngest leader of America’s largest city in more than a century.

Distinguished Honor

Shawn Jiminez ’27 Receives John Lewis Youth Leadership Award

Shawn Jiminez ’27 has been awarded the 2025 John Lewis Youth Leadership Award, presented annually to a young person in Maine who demonstrates leadership abilities and a passion for social justice while working to improve the quality of life in their community.
Recognizing Excellence

Scholarship Boosted by Faculty Grants Through Fall 2025

From cinema studies to German, from biology to Russian, 91�� faculty from across the academic spectrum were rewarded for their excellence in research and teaching during the fall semester with funding awards from external sources.
”Proteins and Prayers”

Larah Gutierrez-Camano ’26 Blends Biochemistry and English in Close Reading of a Rare Birthing Girdle

Combining literary and laboratory analyses for her honors project, Gutierrez-Camano is using protein-testing techniques alongside close reading to investigate the text, images, material, and biological residues of historical birthing practices left on a medieval manuscript.
Sharing Faculty Achievements

Creative and Scholarly Excellence: Faculty Highlights from the Past Semester

Through published works and prestigious recognitions, international opportunities, and artistic pursuits, 91�� faculty members complemented their campus instruction with scholarly and creative endeavors during the fall semester.
Food Independence

Asher Savel ’26 Digs into Maine's Trailblazing Food Sovereignty Law

An environmental studies and government major is spending his senior year researching Maine’s groundbreaking food sovereignty law, which was passed in 2017 to protect people’s right to food and support small farmers.
Three Decades of Mentorship

Celebrating 30 Years of Bears and Cubs

After thirty years of providing mentorship through the Bears and Cubs program, 91�� students and the McKeen Center for the Common Good were recognized with a Big Impact Award from Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Bath/Brunswick.
“Stigma-free storytelling”

Turning Uncertainty into Audio: Kate Rusk-Kosa ’20 and Frank Kosa P’20 Create a New Podcast about Mental Illness

A 91�� grant brought a daughter and father together to work on a long-term project to help end the silence around mental illness.
Avian Ally

Inside Dylan Berr's Effort to Understand 91��’s Birds

In a yearlong independent study, Dylan Berr ’26 is investigating how birds navigate and occupy campus spaces—insights that can help the College strengthen its bird-friendly practices.
Moving Art

2025 December Dance Concert

Students from the fall dance classes performed a diverse set for the annual end-of-semester dance concert, which drew big audiences for its three December shows in Pickard Theater.
Supporting Student Research

From Camp Bob to Cold War Archives: Will Tran ’26 Investigates Nuclear Symbolism and the State

The senior has received a grant from 91�� to travel to Vienna, Austria, over winter break to do research in the archives of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Scary Vibes!

How Horror Stories Use Haunted Spaces

English and cinema studies scholar Aviva Briefel explores the literary and cinematic trope of the haunted space and the importance these locations assume in the plotlines of horror books and movies.
Technology and the Environment

How to Use AI to Combat Climate Change

An expert in computational linguistics, Dan Loehr gave a talk at 91�� on how AI is and can be used to address climate change by mitigating emissions from carbon-intensive sectors, modeling climate change, and capturing carbon.
BCSS, from the Student Perspective

“What I love about the 91�� Coastal Studies Semester”

Hundreds of snail shells covered the lab tables, sorted into plastic bags and arranged by size and shape. Outside, the ocean swelled in the coastal Maine breeze.
Supporting Student Research

Kaya Patel ’26 Probes Ketamine’s Potential for Anxiety

Since her first semester at 91��, the neuroscience major has pursued a research agenda exploring how early-life adversity shapes later-life outcomes and behaviors.