1. Bates receives national recognition for community partnerships
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching recently selected Bates College for its new Community Engagement Classification, created to recognize colleges and universities that have institutionalized community engagement in their endeavors. www.bates.edu/x154430.xml

2. Debaters take on Yale before hosting North American tourney
As tournament host, the Bates team did not debate in this year's North American Debating Championships - better known among debaters as the NorthAms. To keep its hat in the ring, however, on Jan. 25 several Bates team members debated the Yale University team in the Bates College Chapel on the issue, "In a democratic society, civil disobedience is never justified." The Bates team argued that civil disobedience is never justified, while the Yale squad, currently the top U.S. debating team, argued that it is. This public debate was declared a tie. Tournament first-place winners were: Ian Freeman of Carleton University for varsity speaker; Daniel Rauch of Princeton for novice speaker; McGill for novice team; and Yale for varsity team.

3. Did You Know?
The NorthAms trophy is called the Queens-Bates trophy, which is dated 1908, the year Queens University of Ontario and Bates College held the very first international collegiate debate.

4. Kelsey receives College award for excellence in teaching
Nominated by students and alumni who extolled his scholarship, his challenge to students and his encouragement, Professor of Psychology John Kelsey has received the College's Ruth M. and Robert H. Kroepsch Award for Excellence in Teaching for 2007. www.bates.edu/x154949.xml

5. Deadline March 1 for Barlow alumni travel grants
The Barlow Alumni Travel Grant is an award of up to $3,500 to fund travel abroad by a Bates alumni educator who has been teaching kindergarten through 12th grade for at least five years. The grant must support educational and professional goals. Alumni are invited to apply online; the deadline is March 1 and the grant announcement will be made March 15. The Barlow Endowment, made possible by David Barlow '79, also funds a range of student study-abroad programs, plus opportunities for students to link their experiences with their academic work on campus. Application forms and information are available online: www.bates.edu/barlow-grant.xml

6. Join Bates friends for Third National Day of Service
The Alumni Association is pleased to announce the third annual National Day of Service, planned for Saturday, April 21. Alumni, parents, students and prospective students are invited to participate in service projects planned for 18 cities across the U.S. Details are at: community.bates.edu/NDS2007

7. Biology scholarships available for alumni
The biology department, in conjunction with the Medical Studies Committee, is soliciting applications for alumni scholarships to be awarded from the Harriet M. and Fred E. Pomeroy Fund. Each Pomeroy scholar will receive $5,000 to help support graduate/professional training in biology or the health sciences. To be eligible, alumni must have completed significant coursework in biology while at Bates and successfully completed at least one year of graduate or professional study before applying. All application materials must be received by April 1, 2007. Interested? Contact Lee Abrahamsen (labraham@bates.edu), Karen Palin (kpalin@bates.edu) or Sue Cook (scook@bates.edu) www.bates.edu/x153863.xml

8. President Hansen to speak at March Florida event
If you reside in or around Sarasota, Fla., or plan to vacation on Florida’s west coast in March, please join us for cocktails, dinner and conversation with President Elaine Tuttle Hansen on Thursday, March 8, 2007 at the Bijou Café in downtown Sarasota. Hosted by Trustee Emeritus Jim Moody '53, the gathering will include plenty of time to catch up with local alumni, parents, and friends as well as an opportunity to hear from President Hansen about what’s happening on campus today and her plans for the future. Visit community.bates.edu/ Sarasota2007 or contact Leigh Graham '82 at lgraham@bates.edu or 207-786-8255 for more information. Invitations will be mailed soon. www.bates.edu/bates-in-the-news.xml

9. MLK Day: Civil rights activists share experiences with Bates community
The 2007 Bates College observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day was filled with lectures, workshops and performances, all emphasizing the theme "Between Chaos and Community." Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee veterans Cleveland Sellers and Ruby Sales inspired members of the community with personal memories and visions for the future. View a slide show depicting the Bates' observance of King's legacy. www.bates.edu/x154554.xml

10. Construction update
Considering how much trouble a Maine winter can cause when it really wants to, the people handling Bates' major campus-improvement projects have gotten off easy so far. Snow has been minimal, and only during the past couple of weeks have temperatures dropped to something like normal. www.bates.edu/x154650.xml

11. Bates People in the News
The French news service Agence France Presse has found a favorite source in the Bates Department of Politics, turning for the second time in two months to professor Eric Hooglund for insights into Middle Eastern affairs. Maine news organizations looked to Professor John McClendon, of the African American and American cultural studies programs, in covering Kwanzaa and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Yankee Magazine ran a story on Shirl Penney '99 and his grandfather. (The editor of Yankee Magazine learned about the story by reading Bates Magazine, which profiled Shirl in 2005.) www.bates.edu/bates-in-the-news.xml