1. Commencement speakers and honorands announced
Four honorary degree recipients will speak at the 138th commencement at Bates College May 31, President Elaine Tuttle Hansen has announced. They are former National Science Foundation Director Rita R. Colwell; Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Levering Lewis; Bates Dean Emeritus of Admissions Milton L. Lindholm of the class of 1935; and retired investment bank executive, former diplomat and current chair of Lower Manhattan Development Corp. John C. Whitehead. www.bates.edu/x48750.xml

2. President announces resignation of Dean Branham
President Elaine Tuttle Hansen announced Feb. 9 to the Bates campus community the resignation of Dean of Students F. Celeste Branham, effective July 1. A committee chaired by Wylie Mitchell, dean of admissions, immediately began a national search for Branham's replacement. www.bates.edu/x48903.xml

3. Luncheon, Swingtime Canteen pay tribute to wartime spirit
The College honors military veterans this month. On Saturday, March 13, Bates alumni of any age who served in the armed forces are invited to attend a luncheon and performance at no cost. The 11:30 a.m. lunch takes place in the Rowe Room, Chase Hall, followed by a 2 p.m. performance of the theater department production Swingtime Canteen, an homage in period pop music to the indomitable spirit of World War II-era America. The show is held in Schaeffer Theatre, whose lobby will feature a display of WW II memorabilia curated by Tim Larson ’05. To attend, RSVP by March 11 to Shanna Bruno at 207-786-8254 or e-mail sbruno@bates.edu. Meanwhile, Batesie or no, any member of the "greatest generation" who served during WW II will be admitted gratis to any Swingtime Canteen performance, running in Schaeffer at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, March 11-13, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 13-14. See: www.bates.edu/x48714.xml

4. Seniors series offers nitty-gritty on life after Bates
From March 3 to May 9, a transition series sponsored by the Office of Career Services, the Office of the Dean of Students and College Advancement will offer primers on managing money, relocating to where the jobs and grad schools are, legal rights of renters and employees, and other great things to know about getting along in the real world. www.bates.edu/x48904.xml

5. Training for the Boston Marathon?
So that we can plan a cheering section for the April 19 event, we are collecting names of those alumni, parents, students, faculty and staff who plan to run this year. Please email Susan Harriman in the Office of Alumni and Parent Programs if you plan to compete. sharrima@bates.edu

6. Maine Sports Hall of Fame inducts Hatch
Bob Hatch, coach and Athletic Director at Bates College for parts of 42 years, will be inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. www.sunjournal.com/story.asp?slg=021304hatch

7. Bates in episode of scary ABC mini-series by Stephen King
Stephen King's mini-series Kingdom Hospital debuts this month. Set in Lewiston (but actually filmed in Vancouver), the series promises a Hollywood version of Bates, tentatively set for Episode 6. But beware - you never know what will end up on the cutting room floor! abc.go.com/movies/kingdomhospital.html

8. Bates Web failure in February
During a prolonged technical failure of the Bates Web site in February that prevented updates, many of the BatesNews links did not work. We are assured that the problem is fixed, so if you are curious about any of those February items, you can access them now. www.bates.edu/batesnews-02-04.xml

9. Visit Bates students studying abroad
Join Bates alumni on the South African Wild Safari trip and visit with Bates students studying abroad at the CBB (Colby, Bates, Bowdoin) Cape Town Center! Other alumni travel opportunities include wine-tasting in Northern California at vineyards where Bates graduates are vintners, Alumni College in Greece, and an Italian musical heritage program. For more information on all of the upcoming Bates alumni travel programs, please visit www.bates.edu/alumni-travel.xml

10. Former professor sentenced to five years
Former music professor Linda Williams was sentenced in February to five years in prison for her role in a drug distribution conspiracy. Williams was put on unpaid leave at the end of last academic year and resigned in October, after pleading guilty to the drug charges. Read a story on the sentencing in the Portland Press Herald: www.pressherald.com/news/state/040224professor.shtml

11. NOVA special on combat docs features Dave Lounsbury '72
With their allegiances to both the Hippocratic oath and military guidelines sometimes in conflict, how do combat doctors decide whom to treat? "In my 20-plus years as a doctor in the military," says Dr. Dave Lounsbury '72, "I have served field units in the first Gulf War, the Balkans, and Turkey, and in February 2003 I deployed to the Gulf with the 10th Combat Support Hospital. It was during and after this deployment that the true intricacies of combat medical ethics really came home to me." Read Col. Lounsbury's essay, produced for a PBS NOVA feature that was available in some markets March 2: "Life and Death in the War Zone." www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/combatdocs/tugofwar.html

12. Correction: 'GQ' is Gregory Qaiyum
As several readers pointed out, in the February BatesNews we misidentified prominent hip-hop artist "GQ" as emerging hip-hop artist "POSTELL." The real GQ is Gregory Qaiyum, who attended Bates from 1994-96. We confused information about Jay "POSTELL" Pringle '98 with that of Quaiyum -- who wrote, directed and stars in "Just Another Story," a Showtime network motion picture about a young hip-hop hopeful trying to make do in New York City. Pringle had a significant acting role in Quaiyum's film, which included two of Pringle's original songs as part of the soundtrack/film score. Pringle is an actor/writer/hip-hop artist, currently living in New York City. Quaiyum is an actor/writer/hip-hop artist, currently living in Venice Beach, California. We regret the error. www.bates.edu/batesnews-02-04.xml#x48043

13. Reunion 2004 coming June 11-13
From the Dana Professors to Hollywood cartoonists to music by Last Kid Picked, we've got a terrific Reunion Weekend planned this year. Click here to see a listing of highlights www.bates.edu/x47743.xml. Alumni in classes ending in 4 and 9 -- registration materials are coming your way via e-mail shortly. If you prefer to receive your information on paper, please contact the Office of Alumni & Parent Programs (hgagnon@bates.edu). If you are not a member of a reunion-year class but would like to join in the fun, please let us know by e-mailing alumni@bates.edu or calling 207-786-6127.

14. Fund established in memory of Ellen Seeling
"She worked fluently in all styles," said Martin Andrucki as he read the memorial minute for his late theater department colleague, Ellen Seeling, at the February faculty meeting. The reference was to Seeling's theater designs, from gritty realism for Eric Bogosian's subUrbia to Victorian elegance for Lady Windermere's Fan. Those who knew her say that Seeling, who died Dec. 29, was also fluent in the many styles of being a Bates professor. The campus paid tribute to Seeling with Remembering Ellen, a gathering in Ladd Library on Feb. 12. The evening included tributes, a costume parade, an exhibition of photographs, drawings and models of her work, and the announcement of the Ellen Seeling Design Fellowship. The fund will support students pursuing the "early steps along the path that Ellen walked with such excellence and bravery," in the words of Andrucki, Dana Professor of Theater. Click this link to read the Bates Magazine tribute to Seeling by one of her thesis students, a tribute by Andrucki and the memorial minute, as well as a slideshow of Seeling's notable costumes and sets: www.bates.edu/x47834.xml

15. This month in Bates history: the first St. Patrick's Day Puddle Jump
A sure way to simmer down after a long semester: In March 1975, a few Batesies cut a hole in the Lake Andrews ice, donned bathing suits (a few did, at least) and took a bracing St. Patrick's Day dip. From humble origins, the Puddle Jump today is part of Bates lore, even getting a warm mention during President Hansen's inauguration two years ago. And unlike the murky origins of many student traditions, the Puddle Jump has a provenance as clear as the waters of the now-restored Puddle, thanks to the event's attentive founders, Christopher Callahan '78, Scott Copeland '78 and Lars Llorente '78, who return to campus every five years to check on their late-winter ritual. www.bates.edu/x48189.xml

16. Bates People in the News
Local broadcasters and newspapers were quick to cover the announcement that -- on the college's nomination -- former dean of students Judith Magyar Isaacson '65, author of the widely acclaimed Holocaust memoir Seed of Sarah, would be inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in March. The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., spoke to Medco Health Solutions head David Snow '76, while the Portland Press Herald followed a community art project undertaken by Assistant Professor of Spanish Felicia Fahey. And in Manchester, N.H., the Bangor Daily News caught up with Jim Tobin '83, Bangor resident and chairman of the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign in New England. www.bates.edu/bates-in-the-news.xml