Official Opening of the Western Campus

Not even Saturday’s cold rainy weather could diminish the Laker spirit at Boys’ Latin Homecoming. Homecoming morning began with the official grand opening of the western campus. Board members past and present, alumni, donors, the administrative team, boarding students, parents and friends, gathered on our 30-acre western campus to dedicate our new dormitory and several gathering spaces.  

Headmaster Chris Post opened the program with remarks recognizing the many members of the BL family who enabled us to open the western campus. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Bob Carter ‘64 and his wife Carol, and Joe Cowan H’21 and his wife Ozzie,  the boarding facility is now known as Carter-Cowan Hall. The friendship between these families has stretched over six decades. Joe, a current member of BL’s Board of Trustees, was named an honorary alum of the class of 2021, two of his grandsons are current BL students and two more are alumni.  Bob, BL class of ‘69, is a distinguished alumnus, past chair of the Board of Visitors and past president of the Board of Trustees. His son,Trent, is a member of the class of ‘90, and Bob’s brother, Bud, graduated in the class of 1960. 

Chris also recognized such dedicated BL families as: the Mollett Family, the Bauer Family and the Mitchell-Wolff Families. The Charles T. Bauer Foundation, thanks to past parent Janet Hartman and BL trustee and honorary alumnus Ted Bauer, honored the Mollett Family by naming the outdoor courtyard and promenade The Mollett Family Agora. This naming honors the many contributions Richard ‘69 and his wife Dort have made to the School, and their sons, alumnus and trustee Ryan ‘97, who celebrated his 25th reunion on Saturday, and Brandon ‘94, who has served in numerous positions at Boys’ Latin including head of middle school. Brandon is currently Boys’ Latin’s academic dean.

The great room, the common area in the dorm, is named for honorary alumnus and former BL trustee Barton S. Mitchell H’07. It was made possible through the generous donation of the Mitchell Wolff families: wife Beth Mitchell, their daughter Kimberly Mitchell Wolff and husband John (P ’25,’ 27, ’29), his sons Jim Mitchell ’87 and wife Jill, and  David Mitchell ’85 and wife Kim. 

The morning ended with a ceremonial ribbon cutting and smiles and gratitude all around.