The College of the Atlantic, founded in 1969, is an alternative liberal-arts college located on Mount Desert Island in Bar Harbor, Maine. It awards a bachelor's degree (and a master's degree) in only one discipline, human ecology, though with a variety of emphases. The college is extremely small, with approximately 280 students and a faculty of roughly 30. Its curriculum emphasizes student-directed work and community service, and it has turned out a high proportion of activists.

The current president of College of the Atlantic (COA) is Steven K. Katona, noted for his lasting contribution to marine mammal research. COA is home to Allied Whale, one of the largest whale research organizations in the world. Katona was immediately preceded as President by Lou Rabineau.