College of the Atlantic

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College of the Atlantic


Established	1969
Type	Private Liberal Arts
Endowment	$15,000,000
President	David Hales
Undergraduates	280
Postgraduates	9
Location	Bar Harbor, ME, USA
Campus	Rural
Website	http://www.coa.edu/

The College of the Atlantic, founded in 1969, is an alternative liberal-arts college located on Mount Desert Island in Bar Harbor, Maine, in the United States. It awards a bachelor's degree (and a master's degree) in only one discipline, human ecology, though with a variety of emphases. However, its strongest programs are in art, human studies, and environmental sciences. The college is small, with approximately 280 students and a faculty of roughly 30. Its curriculum emphasizes student-directed work and community service, and it has turned out a high proportion of activists. The college is also part of a six-school consortium called the Eco League, where students can spend a semester or more at Antioch College, Alaska Pacific University, Green Mountain College, Northland College (Wisconsin), and Prescott College at no additional cost.

The college is known for its use of small, discussion intensive classes and is constantly recognized for both by the Princeton Review.

The school has partnerships with the University of Maine, Olin College of Engineering, the SALT Institute for Documentary Studies, the National Outdoor Leadership School, The Landing School of Boat Design, and the Sea Education Association.

The college is constantly rated highly for its campus food by the Princeton Review. Most of the food is produced locally, and many of the vegetables are raised in Beach Hill Farm, which is owned by the college. Because of the unusually high number of vegan students, the school makes a point to create high-quality vegan dishes for every meal.

The current president of COA is David Hales, who succeeded long-standing president Steven K. Katona, the latter having retired after the 2005–2006 school year. Steve was noted for his lasting contribution to marine mammal research; COA is home to Allied Whale, one of the largest whale research organizations in the world.

College of the Atlantic continually strives to be environmentally conscious. It was the first school in the country to have a zero-waste graduation. Also, in 2004, COA was the first campus to make a multi-year commitment to be entirely powered by renewable energy, signing a 10-year contract with Endless Energy Corporation.

Although, not recognized highly by the USNEWS college rankings, the College is acknowleged by other organizations. For instance, the Washington Monthly ranked it as the 27th best liberal arts college in the country (2006).

Princeton Review Distinctions: