1. Update: Economic climate and Bates
In a second letter to the Bates community, President Elaine Tuttle Hansen provides more insight on the College's financial management and planning strategies, and the "people, structures, habits and values already in place to guide us." www.bates.edu/go/news/2008-12-01

See a video of Commencement addresses by Professor Imber and President Elaine Tuttle Hansen. www.bates.edu/go/news/2008-10-01b

2. Robert Kinney '39 awarded Mays Medal at Benjamin Bates Society meeting
E. Robert Kinney '39, LL.D. '85, has been awarded Bates' highest alumni honor, the Benjamin Elijah Mays Medal, for distinguished service to the College and to the larger community worldwide. Kinney, a former CEO of General Mills, received the honor from the Alumni Council Nov. 8 in Minneapolis, at the third gathering of the Benjamin Bates Society, philanthropists who have given $1 million or more in lifetime gifts to the College. www.bates.edu/go/news/2008-12-02

3. Graduate health programs accept 81 percent of Bates applicants
Eighty-one percent of Bates students and alumni who worked with the College's Medical Studies Committee in applying to health care-related graduate programs for fall 2008 matriculation were accepted. According to a report issued this week by the committee, 19 of 25 (76 percent) of Bates applicants were accepted to allopathic or osteopathic schools, ranging from Albert Einstein College of Medicine to the Yale University School of Medicine. Another 10 out of 11 (91 percent) of Bates applicants were accepted into dental, nursing, veterinary and other health-related programs. Nationally, about 43 percent of applicants were accepted at allopathic schools and 38 percent at osteopathic schools. www.bates.edu/go/news/2008-10-03

4. Wenzel awarded NSF grant to change online chemistry curriculum
Thomas Wenzel, Charles A. Dana Professor of Chemistry, will use a nearly $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to help create an online curriculum in analytical chemistry that eschews "lecture mode" and "cookbook labs." www.bates.edu/go/news/2008-12-04

5. Sargent explores disconnect between our principles and actual judgments
Taking part in a worldwide scholarly project on the nature of wisdom, Associate Professor of Psychology Michael Sargent researches the inconsistency between our moral principles and the specific judgments we make. www.bates.edu/go/news/2008-12-05

6. Make your 2008 tax-deductible contribution to Bates
In good times and bad, people want to invest in the things that are important. For many Bates donors, December is the ideal time to make an annual gift to the College for tax advantages. With Dec. 31 quickly approaching, please visit the Web page below to learn how to make your gift to Bates. www.bates.edu/go/news/2008-12-06

7. Bigger, better vegan station draws even the carnivores
The opening of the new dining Commons in February lifted the quality and variety of Dining Services' offerings even higher. And the vegan bar, a longtime Bates staple, now serves some of the most ethnically diverse and delicious food in all of Commons. Read this story and others on the "Nourishing Body and Mind: Bates Contemplates Food" Web site. www.bates.edu/go/news/2008-12-07

8. Did You Know?
The first documentary film about influential artist Marsden Hartley had its world premiere at Bates College's Olin Arts Center with free public showings. Maine Gov. John Baldacci also honored the Lewiston native, designating Sept. 25 as Marsden Hartley Day. "Hartley is the most important of the Early American modernists," Mark Bessire, director of the college's Museum of Art, said in an interview with the Lewiston Sun Journal. The Bates museum is home to the world's largest collection of Hartley artifacts. www.bates.edu/go/news/2008-12-08

9. Bates People in the News
Retired federal judge Frank Coffin '40, the rare U.S. citizen who has served in all three branches of federal government plus the military, was profiled by Maine Public Radio for his contributions to legal aid for the poor. The literary Virginia Quarterly Review published a satirical piece of fiction by Charles Antin '02 about "the most popular improvisational dramedy on television," and Bates College Museum of Art director Mark Bessire helped Portland Press Herald readers appreciate the ascendancy of artist Marsden Hartley. www.bates.edu/go/news/2008-12-09