Les Brewer (April 22, 1922 – August 23, 2019) was an American businessman who co-founded the College of the Atlantic, a private, liberal arts college located in Mount Desert Island, Maine, in 1969.[1][2][3]

Brewer attended Bar Harbor High School in Bar Harbor, Maine.[2] In 1968, Brewer and his friend and former high school football teammate, Father James Gower, conceived the idea of a four-year college to be located on Mount Desert Island.[1] Mount Desert Island residents had wanted a four-year college, with an environmental focus, to stimulate the island's economy during the off-season, when revenue from tourism declined.[2] Brewer and Gower founded the school in 1969.[2] Three other Mount Desert residents were also involved in the establishment of the college: Bernard K. "Sonny" Cough, Richard Lewis and Robert Smith.[2]

The College of the Atlantic began offering its first classes in 1972 with an enrollment of just 32 students.[1][2] The institution now has approximately 350 undergraduate students [4] and 6 graduate students, as of the 2012–2013 school year.[2] Since its establishment, the College of the Atlantic has offered only one academic major, human ecology.[1]

Les was also the president of the Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association for over 35 years.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "College of the Atlantic co-founder dies at 90". WMTV. December 16, 2012. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Trotter, Bill (December 17, 2012). "COA co-founder, priest, James Gower, dies at age 90". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  3. ^ "Leslie C. Brewer". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  4. ^ "About COA".
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