The Chronicle offers an in-depth look at how Bates College is creating extensive ties to Lewiston-Auburn and statewide communities through service-learning programs.

Bates College President Donald W. Harward discusses the particular value of a liberal arts education, and the linking of academic rigor with service to community.

Wylie Mitchell, dean of admissions at Bates College, answers questions about choosing a school and navigating the admissions process.

William Pope.L, 45, Bates College Lecturer in Theatre, sits atop a toilet on a 10-foot throne, calmly eating pieces of The Wall Street Journal, guzzling milk or ketchup, then spitting it all out ... the current "Söma Söma Söma" show at New York's SculptureCenter almost begs the spectator to come up with generational generalities, or to speculate on the current state of performance art ... Pope.L, who organized the show, says he wanted a "minisurvey" of what's going on in body art, since, to some extent, it's disappeared into photography and video. "People seem more interested in packaging it than in actually doing it."