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Consistent with Bates’ mission and values, we seek to cultivate a faculty that brings new theoretical approaches, currently underrepresented specialties, or intellectual perspectives or viewpoints to the college. As we navigate this period of generational turnover in our faculty, these efforts are bearing fruit. 

The Dean of Faculty continues to collaborate with the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion and our faculty to improve processes. After a year of data gathering in 2023-24, the college created new hiring guidelines for faculty positions in the fall of 2024 aimed at hiring an excellent faculty, as defined in our tenure and promotion criteria (see the Faculty Handbook for details on the criteria).

Growing Efforts to Support our Faculty: Faculty Mentoring:

• In the summer of 2018, Bates purchased an institutional membership to the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD). The center provides third party mentoring services designed to help faculty succeed in the academy. Faculty gain access to these materials through online resources and there is potential for them to attend in-person workshops as well.
• In the past four years, Bates has begun to change how it provides mentoring to its faculty. Until now the dominant model has been an apprenticeship model with very little structure or support from the institution. This approach leaves those faculty unable to find compatible mentors without advocates and guidance as they construct their career at Bates. In the 2020-21 academic year, Associate Dean of the Faculty Krista Aronson has brought support, intention, and structure to the program, and the lessons learned from these initial changes will inform further development in the coming years.