Delmar Student named Phillips Student Fellow

Christian McTighe, a Bates College junior from Delmar, N.Y., has been named a 2000 Phillips Student Fellow and will receive a grant of up to $10,000 to compare two contemplative paths, Roman Catholic monasticism and Zen Buddhist monasticism, at several sites in Japan this summer.

McTighe, a philosophy major at Bates, notes that while these two contemplative spiritual traditions have developed independently, they share similarities in religious observances and in the religious experiences of monks. In Japan, McTighe will stay at a Roman Catholic convent, a Roman Catholic monastery, a Zen Buddhist temple and a Zen retreat center to explore the common ground in the monastic experience.

Phillips Student Fellows each receive grants of up to $10,000 for summer projects in service-learning, career exploration, research or some combination of the three in international and other culturally distinct settings. The Phillips Student Fellowships, along with the Phillips Faculty Fellowships and Phillips Professorships at Bates, are part of the Phillips Endowment Program, an ambitious initiative of awards, honors and opportunities for faculty and students funded by a $9-million endowment bequest to the College from former Bates President Charles F. Phillips, and his wife, Evelyn Minard Phillips, in 1999.

The Phillips bequest is believed to be the largest gift ever from a U.S. college president and spouse to his or her institution. The Phillipses, longtime Auburn residents, officially served Bates from 1944 through 1966; Charles F. died in March 1999 just months after the death of Evelyn M., his wife of 65 years.

Also named 2000 Phillips Student Fellows are Sze Wei Ang ’01 of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Kathryn Dutille ’01 of Lebanon, N.H.; Margot Fine ’03 of Scarsdale, N.Y.; Kristin Hines ’02 of East Granby, Conn.; John Daniel Lichtman ’02 of Woodbridge, Conn.; Jesse Minor ’02 of Wilmington, N.C.; and Mindy Newman ’01 of Atlanta, Ga.

McTighe, a dean’s list student, is a member of the varsity crew team at Bates. A 1998 graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, he is the son of Audrey Roes of 14, Axbridge Lane, Delmar, N.Y., and Michael McTigue of 502 Astor Court, Delmar, N.Y.