Bates Commencement 2011
Words, photographs and video capturing the happy assembly of scholars, students, family and friends at Commencement 2011.
Commencement report: The only failure is the failure to persist
“You will fail — you should fail,” Evelynn Hammonds, dean of Harvard College, told the Bates College class of 2011 on May 29. “But if you stick with it, and let your peculiarities become assets, you will succeed.” Read more…
Scholar-Athlete Society inducts 28 seniors, four alums and retired coach Chick Leahey ’52
In addition to its inductees, the seventh annual ceremony of the Bates College Scholar-Athlete Society welcomed Dan Lebowitz, the executive director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, who delivered the keynote address and received honorary membership to the society. Read more…
Video: Seniors gathering for Commencement describe Bates in a word
Videographer Josh Ajamu ’14 of Breinigsville, Pa., and Bates Magazine editor Jay Burns headed out to Alumni Walk at 9 a.m. on Commencement day to ask one question of a few graduating seniors (and one nonagenarian): What one word best describes Bates? Watch more…
Slide show: Commencement Day 2011
Always uplifting, the 2011 Commencement ceremony had a conversational, convivial spirit, as presenters on stage passed laughs around, friends and families jostled for camera angles and cheered on their graduates, and the clouds finally parted, allowing unfiltered sunshine to illuminate the 145th Bates College Commencement. Watch more…
Slide show: Baccalaureate 2011
Graduates and their families enjoyed the annual Baccalaureate service, a religious and spiritual event that featured “Foundations That Move Us” as its theme. Watch more…
Video: Seniors reflect on defining Bates experiences
At a recent Trustee luncheon, nine Bates seniors reflect on their defining Bates experiences.
The Baccalaureate Service
President Hansen’s final Baccalaurate address offers thoughts on the how a liberal arts education helps graduates answer the pivotal career question: “What comes next?” Also, see the Baccalaureate Program and the blessings offered to graduates from family and friends.
Video: President Hansen’s Commencement 2011 welcome
President Hansen offers the Commencement welcoming, noting that the happy day “honors you, Bates graduates. It honors the skills and values you have fashioned during these years of self-construction, and it honors our enduring faith in your to lead us into the future.” Watch more…
Video: Commencement 2011 honorand remarks
Video of Commencement 2011 remarks by honorary degree recipients Frank Glazer, pianist and Bates artist in residence; Evelynn Hammonds, scholar of science and race who is dean of Harvard College; and Robert Langer, MIT bioengineer and prolific inventor: Watch more…
“What I hope for you, like the strongest of your forbearers, is that you will do what is right for you and what is right for the world.”
Evelynn Hammonds, Doctor of Humane Letters
Commencement 2011: Transcripts of honorand remarks
Transcripts of Commencement 2011 remarks by honorary degree recipients Frank Glazer, pianist Bates artist in residence; Evelynn Hammonds, scholar and dean of Harvard College; and Robert Langer, MIT bioengineer and prolific inventor. Read more…
“Each of us is unique. We are dealt a certain hand a birth, over which we have no control. But we have a lot to say about how we play the game.”
Frank Glazer, Doctor of Music
Video: Commencement 2011 honorand panel discussion
The evening before Commencement, the honorary degree recipients gather in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall to share personal insights into their achievements.
Commencement 2011: Who are the honorands?
An internationally renowned pianist based at Bates, a leading scholar on the intersection of science and race, and a distinguished MIT researcher and inventor spoke and received honorary degrees during Bates College’s 145th commencement ceremony on May 29. Read more…
“Maybe the only thing that I had going for me was that I just hadn’t read the literature saying that it was impossible.”
Robert Langer, Doctor of Science
The Class of 2011: Who they are, where they’re from, what they studied
Of the 437 students that Bates College graduated on Sunday, May 29, 240 are women and 197 are men. According to figures released on May 27, 44 of the students are from Maine and 29 from foreign countries. Thirty-seven of the United States are represented in the class of 2011. Read more…