The fate of the orangutan and its rainforest home, the provision of eye care to underserved African communities and the aftermath of Liberia’s brutal civil wars are topics that Bates College students will discuss in public presentations during October.

The three students are recipients of Phillips Student Fellowships, Bates grants that supported their research abroad.

Robert Little, a junior from Auburn, offers the presentation Helping People and Orangutans Through Video at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 11. Two more presentations take place at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13: Emily Howe, a senior from Carlisle, Mass., delivers Unite for Sight and Theodore Sutherland, a senior from Accra, Ghana, offers Beyond the Culture of War. Both events take place in Chase Hall Lounge, 56 Campus Ave.

Phillips Student Fellowships provide cross-cultural experiences focused on research, service or the arts. The fellowships are much sought after at Bates and are awarded through a competitive process.

Little did his research in Borneo, Indonesia, where he investigated the status of orangutans and the destruction of the rainforest. He did video interviews with residents on both sides of the rainforest issue, both those involved in clearing the forests and those working to protect them.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Howe will detail her volunteer service in Ghana with the organization Unite for Sight, which brings ophthalmological care to communities with the goal of eliminating preventable blindness. A pre-med student, Howe helped provide free eye screenings and observed surgeries.

Because of her interest in public health, Howe says she found it especially interesting to “learn about different barriers to health — especially cultural barriers,” and observe Unite for Sight’s strategies for overcoming these barriers.

Sutherland worked in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, to observe how the country is rebuilding — culturally, socially, politically and economically — five years after a devastating 14-year civil war.

Working in the office of the Monrovia’s mayor, Mary Broh, he gained a unique perspective on how public policy is used in an African context to negotiate the cultural, economic and social tensions that arise from the mayhem of wars. With an ultimate goal of “learning about how conflicts change the culture of countries,” Sutherland will contrast his Liberian experiences with his perceptions of Ghana and America.

The Phillips Student Fellowships honor Charles F. Phillips, the fourth president of Bates College, and his wife, Evelyn M. Phillips. Grants provide students with an experience of immersion in another culture, opportunities for extensive research, service-learning, volunteer work or career exploration, as well as unique opportunities for intellectual and personal growth.

The gift of nearly $9 million is the largest in the College’s history and is believed to be the largest gift ever from a U.S. college president and spouse to an institution. The couple, who lived nearby in Auburn, died last year about six months apart. The gift comes in the form of an unrestricted bequest to the College’s endowment.

The Phillips’ gift is broken into four areas. They are:

• Phillips Faculty Awards to provide opportunities for faculty members to pursue scholarship and research;

• Phillips Professorships will recognize teaching and scholarly excellence by distinguished appointments from the Bates faculty;

• The Phillips Student Internships will provide opportunities for students to link research, service or career exploration with international experiences;

• The Phillips Leadership Fund to provide programs for the College and its departments to further levels of excellence.

These landmark endowments, known as the Charles F. and Evelyn M. Phillips Endowments, connect the former president’s work at Bates with the current planning for the College’s future. Early in their careers at Bates, Dr. and Mrs. Phillips expressed a vision for the College known as the Bates Plan, propelling the institution forward with energy and purpose following World War II.

“More than 50 years ago, a critical time in U.S. higher education, the Bates Plan reinforced the value of the liberal arts for living in a modern world and signaled Bates’ emergence as one of the finest colleges in the country,” said President Donald W. Harward in announcing the gift.

“In their gift, Charles and Evelyn Phillips have given us a remarkable opportunity to carry on that work,” Harward said. “Indeed their love of Bates inspires us as we chart the College’s future and reinforce its persisting qualities.”

Bates is a 143-year-old residential, undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is recognized among the nation’s top 20 liberal arts colleges. The college is noted for its academic excellence and its egalitarian traditions and culture. Bates offers majors in 23 academic departments and six interdisciplinary programs, and encourages independent study, research with faculty members and participation in off-campus study programs.