Charlie Clark '51 (left) accepts the Sesquicentennial Prize from President Hansen. Photo by Lincoln Benedict '09.

Citation delivered by William C. Hiss '66, vice president for external affairs.

We are pleased and proud to present the Sesquicentennial Award this year to Charles E. Clark, Class of 1951, for Bates Through the Years: An Illustrated History.

Charles E. Clark graduated from Bates in 1951, where he was editor of The Bates Student. For a time, after the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a tour in the Navy, he was a reporter for The Providence Journal and Evening Bulletin. He earned a Ph.D. in American civilization from Brown University in 1966, and for 30 years taught American history at the University of New Hampshire. At the time of his retirement he held the James H. Hayes and Claire Short Hayes Chair in the Humanities, and currently enjoys professor emeritus status.

Charlie has made many important contributions to the understanding of early American history through his numerous works and publications. Early American history is not a field mined for its humor, yet Charlie's scholarship reflects an enjoyment of the breadth of human spirit and an eye for the comic moment.

In early 2000, the Advisory Board on Bates History Projects began considering ways to celebrate the College's 150th anniversary, and realized that there had not been a book published on Bates history since 1936. Thinking that it would be wonderful to bring the College's written history up to date for this important anniversary, the board invited Charlie to share his decades of experience as a widely published scholar of New England history to write the book. Happily for all of us, Charlie agreed to take on the project, and he did so not only for professional reasons, but also for his love of Bates and his family's long association with the College.

His connections to Bates have deep roots. The memory books that his parents, Clarence H. Clark, Class of 1925 and Beatrice Wright Clark, Class of 1926, wrote as students; reminiscences from his beloved aunt, Elizabeth "Tippy" Wright Colby, Class of 1930; the memories of his own undergraduate experience at Bates; and he those he shares with his wife, Margery Schumacher Clark, Class of 1952, and his more contemporary connection to Bates through his granddaughter, Jennifer Winslow Thomas, Class of 2000; all informed, inspired and gave him special insights to certain eras at Bates.

Ever the passionate historian and a natural teacher, Charlie arranged to involve Bates students in research for the book, giving them the opportunity to learn how a dedicated professional sorts through original documents and raw materials to produce a work that makes history come alive for others.

In his book, to our benefit, Charlie explores the evolution and expression of Bates principles while also recognizing that the College is populated at any given time by several hundred young adults all trying their wings, with quite varied levels of initial success. In reading Bates Through the Years, the reader finds much to smile over, much to admire and much to remember. The people who have defined Bates come alive, with both their human peculiarities and their fierce and affectionate devotion to the College.

Charlie's book, while tracing the history of Bates, mirrors larger issues — including important educational and social debates — of the last 150 years of American history. And as our world struggles to secure freedom and social justice for its peoples, the powerful abolitionist and egalitarian principles of a Bates' founders still find relevant expression at Bates today.

Charles E. Clark, in gratitude and deep appreciation for your work on Bates Through the Years — the gracefully written and beautifully illustrated history of Bates that has helped us pause to look outward and reaffirm our own historic responsibility to serve Maine, America and the world — we are honored to present you with the College's Sesquicentennial Award.