1. Commencement 2005 in words and images
Five honorary degree recipients, including NBC's Brian Williams, offered advice ranging from the personal to the political to 517 graduating seniors on Memorial Day. Visit the Commencement 2005 multimedia site at: www.bates.edu/commencement.xml

Look for Bates in a commencement collage that NBC Nightly News plans to air on June 9 or 10. (Please be aware that world events could bump it, of course.) C-SPAN also taped commencement and confirmed June 18 as the air date, but no specific time was available at our deadline.

2. Update on the new dining commons and residence hall
The architectural firm Sasaki Associates of Watertown, Mass., has been selected to design the new dining commons, while Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott of Boston will design the new residential cluster. Read the report from the Steering Committee. www.bates.edu/x66319.xml

3. Class of 2009 comes from 34 states, 23 countries
Bates received a record number of applications (4,508), of whom 28.8 percent were offered admission. Dean of Admissions Wylie Mitchell reported to Trustees that 510 new students have submitted deposits for September 2005. This includes 488 first-year students and 25 transfer students. The new students come from 34 states, with the top 10 in this order: Massachusetts, New York, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont, California, New Jersey and Maryland. Nine percent are from Maine. Our new students also represent 23 countries, from Azerbaijan to Vietnam. "The admissions committee was impressed with the diversity of passions and experiences of these students; their extraordinary interests and enthusiasm for their academic and extracurricular endeavors; and their high level of interest in Bates," said Mitchell.

4. Bates on the West Coast
In June, West Coast alumni, parents and friends have three events to look forward to. Two take place June 23: join alumni, parents and friends for the third annual Bates Night at The Opera. Bates Trustee Karl Mills '82, president of the San Francisco Opera, invites you to enjoy "The Pearl Fishers." You can start the day with Dean of Faculty Jill Reich at a Bates San Francisco Business Network Breakfast Meeting. As the architect of the College's academic program, Jill offers an incomparable perspective on curriculum and faculty. On June 25, Reich heads north to join the Seattle Bates Club on San Juan Island at the home of Bates Trustee Trish Morse '60. Plan to enjoy whale watching, a Bates update from Reich, dinner and lively discussion. To RSVP and for directions and more information, please contact Leigh Graham '82 at lgraham@bates.edu or at 207-786-8255. For more events information, go to: www.bates.edu/alumni-events.xml

5. Two papers on Berlin places
The spring Bates Magazine features a photo essay by Phyllis Graber Jensen, who focused her camera on 10 students studying in Berlin last fall. Guided by history professors Elizabeth Tobin and Steve Hochstadt, each student investigated a specific location in Berlin. The students wrote papers about their places, and we've posted two: Kathryn Clark '06 describes Mauerpark, or Wall Park, which features one of the few remaining original pieces of the Berlin Wall, while Michael Wilson '07 writes about his favorite cafe, Torpedokäfer, an homage to 1920s revolutionary Franz Jung and named after the grimly determined "torpedo beetle." www.bates.edu/x64547.xml

6. Baker named first Papaioanou Professor
Bates College has named Pamela Baker, a biology professor known for her research into periodontal disease, as the college's first Helen A. Papaioanou Professor of Biological Sciences. This endowed professorship honors Dr. Papaioanou, of Grosse Pointe City, Mich. A member of the Bates class of 1949 and a trustee emerita, Papaioanou is a longtime allergy, asthma and immunology specialist in the Detroit area. The Papaioanou chair was established with a gift from Ralph Perry, class of 1951, and his wife, Mary Louise Seldenfleur, of Orrs Island. www.bates.edu/x65694.xml

7. Bates alumni support lags behind Maine peers
Last year, 55.3 percent of Bowdoin alumni supported their college by making a gift to the alumni fund. Fifty percent of Colby alums did the same. Bates lagged behind with only 41.5 percent of alumni making a gift to the Bates Fund. This year, Bates ranked No. 1 over 80 other schools in The Princeton Review's America's Best Value Colleges. Bates was also ranked in the top 5 percent of schools in the winter 2005 NCAA Division III rankings of athletic excellence. Colby and Bowdoin don't come close to Bates in the above rankings. But they have Bates beat when it comes to alumni support for the annual fund. Bates alumni, this is your race to run—and it ends for this fiscal year on June 30. Make a gift at this secure Web site: https://transact.bates.edu/pay/development/

8. Making the world a better place, one Batesie at a time
More than 200 Bates alumni, parents, students, friends, and prospective students contributed over 1,000 hours of service April 30 in the College's first-ever National Day of Service. These great Bates folks spent their day sorting donated food, preparing meals for the homeless, building sheds and stairs, painting houses, repairing a leaky roof, and having a great time! For more information and to see the pictures, go to: www.bates.edu/x58388.xml

9. Class of 2005 achieves gift goal
With help from an anonymous matching donor, the class raised more than $20,000 from 65 percent of its members towards the Senior Gift of a Staff Emergency Fund. The class chose this gift to signify it's gratitude to the hourly staff at Bates, who have made them feel at home for four years. The class set a goal of $20,000 (including the match) and 65 percent participation and managed to reach their goal just days after Commencement! www.bates.edu/seniorgift-2005.xml

10. Okeke '51 wins humanitarian award
"This is a good opportunity to serve my people," wrote Nlogha "Dennis" Okeke '51 in a brief note to Bates. The note, penned in 1976, told of his decision to close his surgical practice in New Bedford, Mass., and return to his homeland: post-civil war Nigeria. There, Okeke rebuilt the Eastern Nigerian Medical Center, which he had founded in 1962. In May, Boston University Medical School, where Okeke earned his M.D. in 1955, awarded him its Humanitarian Award. www.bates.edu/x65665.xml

11. Reunion Weekend next week
The schedule is packed with exciting programming including fireworks, a lobster bake, a talk about campus master planning with President Hansen, a faculty reception, lectures by your classmates, a fun run, and even a yoga session. Don't miss out, register now to come back for Reunion at: www.bates.edu/reunion.xml

12. This Month in Bates History: First-ever Alumni Parade
The start of a college tradition can be like the moment of high tide: You only know it's occurred in hindsight. Some traditions, however, are well-chronicled from Day 1. We know that Milt Lindholm '35 invented Mayoralty in 1934. And 20 years earlier, the very first Alumni Parade, advertised in The Bates Student as an "historico-humorous parade of classes about the field," took place on June 23, 1914. Over time, Reunion has proven that alums might dress like dwarves and wear odd hats in the morning but then collect themselves for a serious lecture or two in the afternoon.

A story about the origins of the first parade: www.bates.edu/x65957.xml

A slide show of Reunions past offered by the Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library: www.bates.edu/historical-photos.xml

13. Campaign goal: $35.2 million in next 13 months
As of May 31, the College has $35.2 million to raise in 13 months in the $120 million comprehensive campaign. Ben '00 and Bernadette Shaw graciously opened their home to 50 alumni and parents on May 15, screening the recently produced video on the new Dining Commons, the top capital priority in the Campaign. www.bates.edu/x64664.xml

14. Bates People in the News
As commencement drew near, the Portland Press Herald talked to Career Services director A. Charles Kovacs about increasingly rosy job prospects for new grads. Meanwhile, Bates' David Anixter was one of several 2004 graduates from various schools reflecting on the year since graduation for The New York Times. Men's lacrosse coach Peter Lasagna, named New England Small College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, was quoted in Sports Illustrated about the effects of his sport's exploding popularity. Finally, alumni (and brothers) Allen Harvie and Keith Harvie recalled for the Maine Sunday Telegram their experiences during the 1965 Liston-Ali world heavyweight championship fight. www.bates.edu/bates-in-the-news.xml