ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ College Announces the Finnegan McCoul Woodruff Mountain Center
By ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ NewsThe twenty-one-acre property in Kingfield, Maine, presents an exciting opportunity for the College to teach outdoor skills and leadership and share Maine’s beauty.
The land, which is about two hours from campus, provides myriad opportunities for the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ Outing Club (BOC) to expand the ways in which it teaches leadership and outdoor skills.
Dean of Student Affairs Emeritus Tim Foster and Stephanie Foster, both devoted and now retired staff members, donated funds for the purchase and asked that the property be called the Finnegan McCoul Woodruff Mountain Center, in honor of Finnegan Woodruff ’21.
A gift of any size to the Finnegan McCoul Woodruff Mountain Center will directly support important infrastructure and enhancements to the property, such as bunkhouses, a well and pump for running water, tent pads, and more.
Thank you for considering a gift that will provide year-round access for hundreds of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ students each year.
With an annual membership of roughly 1,600, the BOC is one of the most popular student organizations at the College.
Through its more than 170 off-campus trips, weekly on-campus events, and dozens of Orientation trips, the BOC introduces students to outdoor activities that may become lifelong passions and connects students in meaningful and lasting ways to the mountains, rivers, and coast of Maine.
The BOC has long sought to have a base camp centrally located in its program area of the western Maine mountains. The Carrabassett Valley is at the center of this region, with most BOC trips utilizing the natural resources located from fifteen minutes to an hour from this area.
The combination of riverfront access and the proximity of this property to Sugarloaf and Saddleback ski areas, Flagstaff Lake, the Appalachian Trail, the Bigelow Range, and other destinations where the BOC often send trips makes the Woodruff Mountain Center an exceptionally good location for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ outdoor programs.
The site itself has 446 feet of river frontage with an adjacent flat area sufficient to support at least forty students in tents.
Having rustic accommodations at the center for forty-plus students will provide year-round access for hundreds of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ students each year, providing the learning and benefits that come from spending a night in the mountains with a small group of their peers, engaging face-to-face and then taking part together in a physically active adventure the next day.
Finn Woodruff grew up in Maine and at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾. An environmental studies and music major at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾, he was an accomplished musician and visual artist and had an unbounded love for the outdoors. Beginning when he was a high school student, Woodruff taught BOC groups to paddle, ski, and—most of all—to celebrate every opportunity for adventure in the waters, woods, and mountains of Maine. In November 2021, while living in Washington and taking classes at Lewis and Clark University to finish his ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ degree, Finn died in a kayaking accident on the White Salmon River.