The Bowdoin Orient

Assistant Baseball and Football Coach Trevor Powers '06 was arrested for Operating Under the Influence (OUI) on Sunday, April 25 at 1:31 a.m. on Coffin Street, according to public records on the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) website.

In Maine, driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more qualifies an individual as guilty of an OUI.

According to Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Scott Hood, Powers' arrest and future employment with the College is a personnel matter, so Hood is "not really able to discuss it publicly."

According to pitcher and outfielder Andrew Belmonte '12, Powers did not coach the team last weekend for a game against Bates, which qualified the Polar Bears for the NESCAC playoffs scheduled for this weekend.

Instead, former Bowdoin baseball coach Manny Lora was there in Powers' place.

"We [the team] were not given any details" as to why Powers did not coach the team that weekend, said Belmonte.

According to Hood, a personnel issue "means information regarding employee and employment is confidential and the College does not discuss them publicly."

Hood did not comment on whether Powers will continue to be employed by the College or allowed to serve as an assistant coach for the remainder of the school year or beyond.

"I am simply able to ensure you that they [Athletics Department staff] will take whatever steps they need to take to make sure the needs of the team are met," said Hood.

According to captain and catcher Reid Auger '10, a mandatory team meeting was called at the field on Monday, April 26, a day when there was no formal practice.

"[At the meeting], Powers informed the team he will not be coaching for the rest of the year," said Auger.

According to Belmonte, the last time Powers coached was during a game against Tufts two weeks ago.

General guidelines and policies expected of all employees of the College can be found in the Employee Handbook.

The "Code of Conduct" section in the Employee Handbook states: "All employees are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and ethical manner, maintaining high standards of integrity and use of good judgment."

In the "Disciplinary Action" section, the policy notes, "any act or failure to act which interferes with the rights or interests of the College, its employees or students will subject the offender to disciplinary action."

According to the Employee Handbook, disciplinary action may take the form of verbal or written warnings, suspension with or without pay, or immediate termination of employment.

It is not confirmed whether Powers' employment has been or will be terminated.

Furthermore, "all disciplinary action will be determined based on the seriousness and frequency of the offense, the employee's past record and the circumstances of the case," states the Handbook.

According to Director of Human Resources Tama Spoerri, employees of the College are "employees at will" which generally "means that employees can resign at anytime or the College can terminate their employment at anytime with or without cause."

"They have the right to end their employment, or we have the right to end their appointment, with or without cause," said Spoerri. "Any policy for any action taken for any purpose is handled by a case by case basis and is confidential."

Members of the faculty has different appointments that are handled separately by the Deans for Academic Affairs, according to Spoerri.

Director of Athletics Jeff Ward, Head Baseball Coach Mike Connolly and Head Football Coach David Caputi all declined to interview with the Orient.

However, Ward wrote in an e-mail, "I will assure you that we will be appropriately staffed going forward."

During his time at Bowdoin, Powers was the winningest pitcher in the College's history by going 21-8 with a 3.68 career earned on average (ERA).

Powers' driving record consists of one speeding ticket in 2003 and another in 2004.

"As a team, we're learning to forgive him [Powers] already," said Auger. "We hope to have him back soon."

"We all look up to our coaches as role models," said Belmonte. "But nobody is perfect."

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