Policies

The following policies represent the administrative policy and guidance in use by the Dean of the Faculty. See also the Faculty Handbook and the College Catalog for Legislated Policies.

Advising
The Dean of the Faculty and the AAC established this visiting faculty independent study and thesis advising policy in 2017

Budgets
In collaboration with the chairs, the Dean of the Faculty created a guide to managing academic unit budgets for chairs in Fall of 2025.

Campus Guests
Student Affairs updated the college’s guest access policies in 2025.

Communication & Events
The Dean of the Faculty and Bates Communication and Marketing established policies for moderated content in 2024.

Courseload
The Dean of the Faculty updated its Course release and buyout policy in 2025.

Data Governance
The Data Governance Group updated the college’s data governance policies in 2025.

Emergencies
The VP for Finance and Administration and the Dean of the Faculty established this weather emergencies policy in 2021.

Faculty Lines & Hiring

The AAC updated its long term faculty line retention policy in 2025.
The Dean of the Faculty and the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion updated the policy for target of opportunity hires in 2025.
The Dean of the Faculty created a policy on startup fund extension in 2025.

Grading & In-Class Matters

In January of 2026, the AAC created this policy related to faculty retention of graded student work.
The Dean of the Faculty established this policy in 2016 regarding student academic appeals.

Majors and Minors
The AAC established this policy on Major / minor curricular changes in 2016.

Professional Development & Travel
Accounting updated its travel policies in 2025.

Retirement
The Dean of the Faculty updated the options for faculty retirement plans in 2021.

Short Term
The Dean of faculty and AAC agreed on this policy regarding Short Term courses taught by faculty in their first year of teaching.

News & Updates

February 26, 2026

Bates announces tenure and promotion for nine faculty members

Nine members of the faculty have received promotions, including seven tenure awards, effective Feb. 6. The promotions were recommended by the Faculty Personnel Committee and approved by the Bates College Board of Trustees.

All the way from Greenland, Arctic soil samples give Bates professor, students a glimpse into ancient climate conditions

Hadley Blodgett ’26 of Buckfield, Maine, spends a lot of time thinking about just that — time.

In a laboratory in Carnegie Science Hall, as she conducts research for her senior thesis, Blodgett gazes over 7,000 years of history condensed into a sediment sample extracted from a lake in northern Greenland. As a double major in earth and climate sciences and music, with a minor in religious studies, Blodgett enjoys reflecting on the way that time has constructed and altered her fields of study. Sometimes, when the immensity of the sediment sample’s past hits her, she thinks, “How am I holding this?”
“To think about the scale of what's in front of me is just kind of crazy,” Blodgett says.
How exactly did sediment buried deep beneath Arctic waters find its way to the surface, then to Bates? The story crosses oceans and icebergs, tundras and deserts, but connects to Bates through Blodgett’s thesis advisor, Associate Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences Nick Balascio.

As a paleoclimatologist, Balascio studies how Earth’s climate system has changed across millennia, primarily through analyzing lake sediment cores, which are layers of mud, dirt, and organic material extracted from the bottom of lakes in long tubes.

“Those lakes are natural history books that record what's going on around the watershed of the lake as well as within the lake itself,” Balascio says.

February 26, 2026

Bates professor, students study ancient climate with Arctic s…

Bates students are getting a firsthand look at 7,000 years of ancient climate history with a group of lake sediment cores extracted from northern Greenland.

LOVE/ SICK By John Cariani Directed by Martin Andrucki Scenery and Costume Design by Christine McDowell Lighting Design by Michael Reidy PLAYWRIGHT'S NOTE: LOVE/SICK is a .. . nine-play cycle about love and loss-but mostly loss. Each play has its own arc and tells the story of a couple at a crossroads in their relationship. Since each relationship is more advanced than the previous relationship, a larger arc emerges and the individual plays work together to create a satisfying whole that chronicles the life cycle of a typical relationship from meeting through divorce ... and afterwards. TIME: 7:30 pm on a Friday night in June. PLACE: An alternate suburban reality. Play 1. "Obsessive Impulsive." WOMAN, Emily Diaz '23; MAN, Brady Chilson '23 Play 2. "The Singing Telegram." LOUISE, Alex Gilbertson '22; TELEGRAM MAN, Losseni Barry '22, Play 3. "What?!?" ANDY, Noah Pott '22; BEN, Lucas Allen '22 Play 4. "The Answer." KEITH, Kush Sharma '23; CELIA, Sadie Basila '23 Play 5. "Uh-Oh." SARAH, Emily Diaz '23; BILL, Rishi Madnani '23 INTERMISSION Play 6. "Lunch and Dinner." MARK, Brady Chilson '23; KELLY, Sadie, Basila '23 Play 7. "Forgot." KEVIN, Kush Sharma '23; JILL, Olivia Dimond '22 Play 8. "Where Was 17" LIZ, Muskan Verma '21; ABBIE, Hale Murch '22 Play 9. "Destiny." JAKE, Rishi Madnani '23; EMILY, Alex Gilbertson '22

February 12, 2026

Beloved and brilliant Martin Andrucki, Dana Professor Emeritu…

A beloved and brilliant teacher and scholar who secured a seat at the liberal arts table for Bates theater, Andrucki died Feb. 8, 2026, at age 80. A faculty member for 47 years, he was among the longest-serving Bates professors in the college’s history.

News & Updates

March 5, 2026

First-generation student mentors help peers navigate academic…

In the Student Center for Belonging and Community, first-generation Bates students mentor their younger peers, providing guidance on everything from academics to internships to social life.

March 5, 2026

Bates announces Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center and at…

Bates is embarking on a $45 million project to update two key athletic facilities and construct a new fitness and well-being center. A gift of $10 million from Jon W. Brayshaw ’90, P’25 and Jocelyn Stoddard Brayshaw ’88, P’25 has brought the college a vital step closer to construction. The new facility will be named the Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center.

March 5, 2026

February at Bates

February on campus saw sports successes, several large snowfalls, and our annual Winter Carnival — a week of events celebrating the joys of the chilly season.