1. Bates Admissions has most applicants ever
Bates Admissions had received 4,433 applications by late February — the highest number of applications ever received by the College. Enough additional transfer applications are expected to arrive by the March 1 deadline to bring the total close to or above 4,500. Applicants hail from 49 states and 116 countries. The applicant pool is 48 percent male and 52 percent female. About one-third of the applicants are either multi-cultural or international students. Early Decision applications increased by nearly 17 percent this year — up to 470, compared to 404 last year. Admissions wants to thank all of the students, alumni and families who helped in outreach efforts — more than 3,000 students were interviewed!

In March the Admissions Committee will be hard at work selecting one out of four applicants to be offered admission. The College anticipates approximately 500 new students to enroll in September.

2. Women's basketball wins NCAA Basketball Championship tourney bid
On the heels of a thrilling, albeit runner-up, performance at the NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship last weekend, the Bates women's basketball team (24-2) advances to the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. In the NESCAC tourney in Brunswick, the women beat Williams, 62-59, in the semis before falling to host Bowdoin, 65-59, in the final. With an at-large NCAA bid, Bates earns a bye past Wednesday's first round and hosts the winner of Salem State vs. Emmanuel on March 5, 2 p.m., at Alumni Gym. Tickets are $4/adults and $3/students and will be sold Thursday-Friday, 2-4 p.m., at the gym and at the door Saturday.

On the men's side, the Bobcats concluded a great season of their own, advancing to their NESCAC final before losing to host Amherst.

To see a slideshow of the Bates women at the NESCAC tourney, visit: www.bates.edu/x63929.xml

Click here for online ticket sales to Saturday's NCAA game.

3. Fourth annual Mount David Summit April 1
Make plans to visit campus during the Mount David Summit, the annual campus-wide celebration of student academic achievement highlighting undergraduate research; student creative work in art, dance, theater, music and film/video; projects conducted in the context of academic courses; and service-learning. The Summit spotlights the rich intellectual life of the College. More than 200 students participated last year, and we expect another great turnout this year. www.bates.edu/mt-david-summit.xml

4. Los Angeles networking reception at Fox Studios March 14
California Dreaming: From Lewiston to Hollywood - Charting your career path in L.A. Join the Bates Club of Southern California at Twentieth Century Fox for a networking reception and lively discussion on breaking into the Hollywood job market. Featuring three successful alumni and a Bates parent. Also attending will be Bates Career Services Director Charles Kovacs. For more information, please contact Leigh Graham at lgraham@bates.edu or 207-786-8255.

5. Career Services offers workshop at Bates, counseling in Los Angeles
March is a happening month for the Office of Career Services. On Wednesday, March 9, management and sales training specialist Linda Pogue comes to campus to present a workshop in communication and presentation skills. For more information, visit: www.bates.edu/x63747.xml

Meanwhile, OCS Director Charles Kovacs is in Los Angeles to offer individual career counseling on Monday and Tuesday, March 14-15. Meet with Kovacs to clarify and assess career or job-search options and strategies. Appointments are first-come, first-served. Call Bonnie Trundy at 207-786-6232 to schedule an appointment with Kovacs or reserve a seat at the Pogue workshop.

6. Edmund Muskie Oral History Project at Bates is completed
Edmund S. Muskie's alma mater has completed a project that tells the late U.S. statesman's story in the voices of those who knew him. Begun in 1997, the Edmund S. Muskie Oral History Project at Bates comprises some 440 interviews with people who worked with, otherwise knew or were directly affected by Muskie, a member of the Bates class of 1936 who became Maine governor, U.S. senator and U.S. secretary of state, and a candidate for the White House. www.bates.edu/x63746.xml

7. Making the world a better place...one Batesie at a time
Service to community is a hallmark of the Bates tradition. On Saturday, April 30, 2005, Bates alumni, students, parents, families and friends will gather for the first-ever National Day of Service in cities across the United States. Each project - building a house, working in a community garden, stocking a local food pantry - will provide an opportunity for Bates people to gather, work together and socialize while helping their neighbors. Events are planned in six cities across the country. For more information, go to: www.bates.edu/x58388.xml

8. From Bates Archives: Music, theater, recreation of winters past
The annual Pops Concert, Shakespearean productions, and a toboggan run are among the highlights of this month's historic slideshow. www.bates.edu/x62318.xml

The Bates Oral History site offers an interview with Silver Moore-Leamon '55, who describes the festivities surrounding a Mayoralty campaign in the mid-1950s. www.bates.edu/oral-history.xml

9. The Campaign for Bates hits $81.9 million and intensifies efforts
With 16 months until June 30, 2006—the conclusion of The Campaign for Bates—the College seeks to raise $38.1 to reach its goal of $120 million. This month, the College makes stops in three cities on behalf of the campaign to bolster alumni and parent involvement and build awareness around the College's philanthropic needs. Susan '52 and John Ames '53 will host a brunch at Plymouth Harbor in Sarasota, Fla. on Thursday, March 3. On Tuesday evening, March 8, Vice President for External Affairs, Bill Hiss '66, and Trustee Joel Goober '70 will serve as speakers at the Westin Providence Hotel in Providence, R.I. A 12-person host committee will sponsor an evening event featuring President Elaine Tuttle Hansen and Trustee Michael Bonney '80 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Mass. on Thursday, March 10. Trustees and members of the Campaign Committee will intensify solicitation efforts throughout the winter and spring, encouraging donors to make Bates a top priority. For more about regional campaign events scheduled through June, visit: www.bates.edu/alumni-events.xml#x61942

To make a gift or learn more about the campaign, visit: www.bates.edu/campaign

10. Carolyn Court retires after 25 years as coach
After a quarter century spent teaching young women to run faster, jump higher and throw farther, Carolyn Court has crossed the finish line of her collegiate coaching career, announcing her retirement as head coach of women's cross country and track. Court, who came of age as an athlete and coach in the early days of gender-equity efforts in American sports, was praised as both a role model and talented coach whose work at Bates spans two generations of female athletes. Read the profile by Matt Gagne '04, interim sports information director: www.bates.edu/x63234.xml

11. This Month in Bates History: Maine State Seminary wins its charter
On March 16 at 10 p.m., let's raise a toast (alcohol-free, since Bates founder Oren Cheney was a famous temperance man) to celebrate the birth of the College, the moment 150 years ago that Maine Gov. Anson Morrill signed "An Act to Incorporate the Trustees of the Maine State Seminary" (the school from which Bates evolved in 1864). After tortuous machinations, the Legislature passed the charter at 9:30 p.m. on the session's final day. Then Cheney walked the bill to the governor's office. "Well, Mr. Cheney, have you a bill there you want me to veto?" the governor teased. "Yes, Governor, if you want to!" Cheney replied. As the governor put pen to paper, Cheney wrote later, "a burden was rolled off, and a winter's work was ended." Cheney describes the bill's passage and the next burden that the new institution had to bear: www.bates.edu/x63914.xml

12. Bates People in the News
Readers in Seoul and London heard from Bates people as the Korea Herald talked to Megan Price '04 about her work in an English-immersion program, and Jon Marcus '82 wrote about Bates' landmark SAT study in the venerable Times. Listeners all over Europe heard political scientist James Richter discuss on Voice of America the personality traits influencing the leadership of presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin. In this country, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the first of what could be several news organizations to cover new research about the antidepressant effects of certain foods - research led by James Carlezon '86 (one of the Bates medical experts who recently took part in a Bates Boston Business Network panel discussion). www.bates.edu/bates-in-the-news.xml