A trailblazer for women’s athletics at Bowdoin, Ellen Shuman
broke down barriers through her diving and became one of the finest
at her craft in New England history.
Coming to Brunswick from Washington and Lee High School, Shuman
found a college with scarcely a women’s athletics program and
no women’s swim team in 1972. Undaunted, she joined the
men’s swim team and competed individually, reaching heights
that saw her become the program’s first New England
champion.
She graduated holding the one-meter (368.55) and three-meter
(388.19) diving marks, claiming the 1976 New England women’s
one-meter diving crown. She was a six-time All-New England
performer, taking one first-place, one second-place, and four
third-place finishes against competitors across all divisions. She
was also the only woman ever to reach the finals of the men’s
New England Diving Championships after making the cut of 12
finalists in March 1976, qualifying for the men’s NCAA
Division III Championship.
An active member of the campus community, Shuman played in the
orchestra and also coached the Brunswick High School girl’s
diving program. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in art
history and earned herMBA at Yale. Her strong leadership and
commitment to Bowdoin has followed Ellen into her alumni years as
she has served as former president of the Alumni Council and former
vice chair and current member of the Board of Trustees.
