1. Commencement 2007 speakers announced
Four honorary degree recipients will speak at the 141st commencement at Bates College on May 27. They are children's book author Eric Carle; singer-songwriter Corey Harris, who is a member of the Bates class of 1991; inventor-entrepreneur Dean Kamen; and actor and author Anna Deavere Smith. www.bates.edu/honorands-2007.xml

2. Mount David Summit highlights student achievement across disciplines
More than 300 Bates students will take part in the sixth Mount David Summit, the college's annual celebration of student academic achievement. The event opens with ceremonies at 2:30 p.m. Friday, March 30, in the Perry Atrium of Pettengill Hall, where many of the day's events will take place. www.bates.edu/x156353.xml
The Bates Board of Trustees Honorary Degree Committee seeks nominations for honorary degree recipients in 2008 and beyond. www.bates.edu/honorand-nominations-2008.xml

3. Bates admission offers in the mail to Class of 2011
On March 28, Bates Admissions mailed letters of acceptance to 1,137 students in 44 states and 49 countries. By May 1, when accepted students across the country must make their college choice, Bates hopes to enroll 465 students in the Class of 2011. Already, 180 students are members of the class by virtue of early decision actions over the winter. Including early decision, 4,648 students applied to Bates this year. In April, Admissions staff will welcome accepted students at on-campus receptions on April 6 and 23, and will host off-campus receptions in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

4. President Hansen to host symposium on diversity and changing demographics in higher education
As part of the College's ongoing efforts to examine pressing issues related to diversity and the rapidly-changing demographics of prospective college students, President Elaine Tuttle Hansen will host "A College for 'Coming Time': Diversity and Changing Demographics in Higher Education" 1:30 - 5:30 p.m. May 10. The program will include presentations by national experts Jamie Merisotis '86, Bates Trustee and president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, and Blenda Wilson, former president and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, as well as small group discussions. To register, please contact Alicia Richard at arichard@bates.edu or 207-786-6336. www.bates.edu/x157692.xml

5. Bates student receives Watson Fellowship for Vietnamese youth research
Khoa Pham, a Bates College senior from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, has received one of 50 prestigious research fellowships awarded by the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Program to undertake a research project titled "Exploring Global Vietnamese Youth in Search of Identity." www.bates.edu/x157804.xml

6. More than 300 signed up for April 21 National Day of Service
Service to others has been a hallmark of the Bates tradition, as much a part of our identity as the sound of the Hathorn Hall bell, for over 150 years. So far, nearly 300 Bates alumni, parents, students and friends have signed up for the National Day of Service, which will be celebrated with events in 18 communities across the country this year. There's still time to register for most cities by clicking here: www.tinyurl.com/2hfcfn

7. Join Bates alumni, parents, faculty, and staff in exciting travel
Alumni and parents, join Bates for educational opportunities abroad! Rebecca J. Corrie, Phillips Professor of Art and Visual Culture and Mark Bessire, director of the Museum of Art, will be joining two of our Campus Abroad trips this year. Corrie will travel with alumni and parents to Italy's Magnificent Lake District July 15-25, 2007. Bessire will travel to South America on our Treasures of Peru with Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca program Oct. 22-Nov. 1. For more information and day-by-day itineraries: www.bates.edu/alumni-travel.xml

8. Did You Know?
Out of the schools that made "The Kiplinger 100" list of best values in private colleges and universities, published in the March 2007 issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Bates ranked 18th among U.S. liberal arts colleges. The magazine says that in compiling the list, it measured "academic quality and affordability, with quality accounting for two-thirds of the total." www.bates.edu/x155880.xml

9. Reunion 2007 is just around the corner
Classes that end in '2 and '7: Reunion is June 8-10! The weekend is rich with presentations by alumni and faculty, fun events for families, time to catch up with your friends and, of course, lots of lobster for everyone. If you register by midnight on May 1, you will be entered into a drawing to win the cost of your entire weekend for free. Learn more about Reunion and register online now. www.bates.edu/reunion.xml

10. Spring planning workshops for Reunion 2008
Even though registration packets are in the mail for Reunion 2007, planning has already begun for Reunion 2008. In order to start building enthusiasm for the June 2008 celebration, Bates is hosting three regional planning sessions this spring in addition to the traditional planning event during Homecoming Weekend. Alumni can choose to participate in events held in Hartford on April 25, New York City on April 26, or in Boston on May 9. community.bates.edu/events

11. Campus Construction Update
Conquering some amazing mud and an unnerving climb up a three-story scaffold, Campus Construction Update sees the future of Bates residential life in an up-close-and-personal tour of the new student housing. www.bates.edu/x157612.xml

12. Tickets available to Bates alumni for Wiesel speech in Rhode Island
Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel will deliver a speech titled "The Role of Youth in World Peace" at 7 p.m. April 18 at the Rhode Island Convention Center. The event is hosted by Bates Trustee Dan Doyle '72, and Doyle's Institute for International Sport at URI. Doyle is providing a block of complimentary tickets to Bates graduates on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested Bates graduates should contact Tim Hillman '81 at the IIS, tdhillman@internationalsport.com, or 401-874-2375.

13. Some students taking alternative spring break in Biloxi
Twenty-five Bates College students will head to Biloxi, Miss., April 15-20 for an "Alternative Spring Break" as volunteers in a hurricane-ravaged community. www.bates.edu/x157803.xml

14. Harward Center receives grant for community-based research
Thanks to the efforts of Harward Center for Community Partnerships, Bates College is one of 11 institutions of higher education named by the National Community-based Research Network Initiative to receive funding for innovative community-based research. www.bates.edu/x157802.xml

15. Bates People in the News
The war in Iraq has brought Bates alumni into the news. Investor's Business Daily visited Marine Capt. Jason Schauble '97, whose heroism in battle won him the Silver Star, but at serious physical cost. Meanwhile, National Public Radio was one of the news organizations that spoke with Maj. Jesse Miller '92, an attorney working to untangle problems in the military disability system. Closer to home, two Bates students reminisced in the Portland Press Herald about Maine's heady high school hoops season, and the local NBC affiliate covered a landmark Bates-Maine Music Society concert. www.bates.edu/bates-in-the-news.xml