Heather Lindkvist, photographed by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College.

The Portland Press Herald and Maine Public Broadcasting check in with Bates officials for their reactions to the affirmative action case Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, now being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bates, Bowdoin and Colby colleges have all signed a brief supporting the University of Texas and the use of race-conscious admissions.

“This particular case can have repercussions about how we think about faculty and staff diversity and student diversity,” Heather Lindkvist, special assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion and member of the anthropology faculty, tells thePress Herald.

Leigh Weisenburger, photographed by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College.

Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Leigh Weisenburger tells Maine Public Broadcasting that because “we were founded by abolitionists…one of our number one goals since the very start, and we’re talking back to 1855 here, has been to be open and accessible to all.”

Using race as one part of the admission equation “is not just for the good of our own institutions,” she said, but to ensure that “we are creating a truly global classroom setting, a truly global community, so that as we prepare our students to be those leaders and go out into the world, that we can promise them, promise their families, that they’ve truly had a diversified learning environment.”

• View story from the Portland Press Herald, Oct. 9, 2012.
• View story from Maine Public Broadcasting, Oct. 8, 2012.

Regardless of where you plan to apply, all are invited to learn about the college search and application process 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday Nov. 11 at 4 Andrews Road, Room G52 of Pettengill Hall.

The panel discussion, which is free and open to the public, is: “Understanding the College Search and Application Process.”

Topics include:

* Making the Most of Your College Search and College Visits
* Familiarizing Yourself with the Application Process
* Selective College Admission
* Interviewing Tips
* Financial Aid Basics
* The Student Perspective: the Search, the Application and What I Wish I Knew

Panelists include:

* Nancy Cable, Vice President & Dean of Enrollment and External Affairs
* Leigh Weisenburger, Acting Director of Admission
* Jared Cash ’04, Senior Associate Dean of Admission & Director of Operations
* Johie Farrar ’03, Associate Dean of Admission, Communications & Outreach
* Tom Esponette ’11, Senior Admission Fellow, Edward Little High School, Class of 2007

A reception will immediately follow the panel.

For more information, please contact the Bates Office of Admission: 207.286.6000 or admissions@bates.edu

Established in 2005, the Garcelon Society supports the Androscoggin Scholarship Fund to ensure talented and deserving students from Androscoggin County have access to a Bates College education.