1. Debaters ranked 15th in world, will host North American championship
The Bates College debate team ranks 15th internationally, according to an unofficial tally of more than 400 teams competing in the World Universities Debating Championships. In other news, Bates will host the North American Debating Championships Jan. 26-28. Known as "NorAms," the competition is the top debating championship in North America, held on an alternating basis in the United States and Canada since 1991. www.bates.edu/x153628.xml

2. Follow progress of new Commons, residential village online
If you're wondering what's happening with the new dining Commons and residential village projects, visit the Bates Web site. The Office of Communications and Media Relations launched its Campus Construction Updates page in December to provide news, images, commentary, links to related information and a look at what's ahead. The page will be refreshed weekly starting the week of Jan. 8. www.bates.edu/campus-improvements.xml

3. Bates awards Johnson, Whitehouse professorships
The College recently appointed two faculty members to four-year term professorships, President Elaine Tuttle Hansen announced. Professor of History Michael Jones has been named the new Christian A. Johnson Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, and Professor of Sociology Emily Kane has been named Whitehouse Professor. www.bates.edu/x153332.xml

4. Bates football photo runs large in December Sports Illustrated
A terrific image from a storm-soaked Bates-Colby football game on Oct. 28 appeared across pages 46 and 47 of the Dec. 4 Sports Illustrated's special issue, "Football America." Here's that photo, and the story behind it. www.bates.edu/x153469.xml

5. Did You Know?
Two of the six members of the Harvard Graduate Council Executive Board are 2005 Bates alumni: Christopher Laconi and Jason Rafferty were elected to the board for 2006-2007. Laconi, representing the Kennedy School of Government, serves as vice president for communications. Rafferty, representing the medical school, serves as vice president for student advocacy. Each of the 11 graduate schools at Harvard elects four representatives to the Harvard Graduate Council. These representatives then elect six students to the Executive Board. www.hgc.harvard.edu/about_executive.htm

6. MLK Day theme highlights 'Between Chaos and Community'
Civil rights activist and historian Cleveland Sellers, director of the African American studies program at the University of North Carolina, is the keynote speaker for the 2007 Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances at Bates. Sellers' address, "Where Do We Go From Here: A Call to Consciousness!," is part of the annual Bates celebration of King's life and work that includes performances, art exhibitions, workshops and orations. Classes at the college are canceled Jan. 15 and special programming is scheduled with an emphasis this year on the theme "Between Chaos and Community."

7. Bates, Colby, Bowdoin win grant for collaborative library program
Colby, Bates and Bowdoin colleges have received a $280,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to build a model program for the collaborative development of library collections. The plan is to share collection resources in all formats, electronic and print, reduce unnecessary duplication and redundant purchases, and make a broader universe of materials available at each campus. www.bates.edu/x153863.xml

8. Bates People in the News
Eric Hooglund, an Iran expert and visiting professor of politics at Bates, spoke to the international news agency Agence France Presse about declining U.S. influence in Iraq. Meanwhile, The Associated Press named Kim Gamel '90 to the position of news editor in Baghdad. A New Yorker story about Lewiston's Somali community quoted Bates anthropologist Elizabeth Eames, and the International Herald Tribune covered the role of Trustee Thomas Renyi P'97, P'04 in the merger of Bank of New York and Mellon Financial. www.bates.edu/bates-in-the-news.xml