The Alumni Association honors Paul V. Hazelton for his achievements in higher education. His ability to lead was evident from his days at Thornton when he was Student Council president, football captain, and editor-in-chief of the Tripod. A graduate of Bowdoin in 1942, Mr. Hazelton returned to his alma mater in 1948. For nine years he taught English and served as assistant director of admissions. Starting in 1957, countless students have been touched by his efforts as chairman of Bowdoin's Department of Education, a position he held for 28 years, retiring in 1985. He was a member of the state Board of Education, the Maine Education Council, and chairman of a special advisory council on vocational education. For several years he served as project director of Upward Bound. He also served twelve years as town moderator for Topsham and fifteen years as a court mediator. In 1984 he received the Distinguished Educator Award from the Maine State Superintendents Association, and in 1987 the Bowdoin Alumni Award for Faculty and Staff. He died in 1996.

See a list of past recipients