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Bates College announces goal to add eight new permanent faculty positions

January 23, 2023

Expanding the Bates faculty “is a matter of central importance to the strength and vitality of our academic program,” said Malcolm Hill, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty.

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January 20, 2023

Picture story: ‘You are the bringer of light and change’

Is it OK to target iconic works of art in the name of social justice? That’s what students from Bates and @morehouse1867 debated at the annual Rev. Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays, Class of 1920, Debate as part of the college’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day programming. Seen above, Chijindum Dike (left) shares a post-debate celebration with John Curry. Both are students from Morehouse College, and traveled to Bates for the debate. The Bates community and friends crowded into the Olin Arts Center for a much-anticipated part of Bates’ Martin Luther King Jr. Day programming: the debate between four students; two from Morehouse, and two from Bates. The tradition honors Mays, who served as the president of Morehouse College for 27 years. King, then a student at Morehouse, referred to Mays as his “spiritual mentor.” Throughout the debate, the students responded to this year’s motion, “This house believes that the targeting of iconic works of art to advance social justice is justified,” and responded to each other and opinions from the audience. Manuel Machorro ’25 of Mexico City, a politics and philosophy double major, opened the debate on the government side with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. “Dr. King said ‘if you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but by all means, keep moving.’ The claim that we’re gonna make from the government, is that when you’re not listened [to] by anyone, and when the government monopolizes power to destroy you, any way that you see fit is to some capacity justified in pursuing social justice.” Machorro was joined by Dike, a sophomore and double major in psychology and Chinese. The opposition was presented by Curry, a senior and triple major in philosophy, religion, and Chinese, and Andrew Montieth ’24 of Monroe, Wash., a philosophy major. The debaters referenced recent demonstrations, arguing that social justice is furthered by reclaiming spaces and public attention, and the opposition argued that some social activist action diverts attention away from the problem, and onto the targeted object.

January 20, 2023

Video: ‘Whatever wilderness you wander, you are all creatives’

January 20, 2023

Bates Magazine: Fall 2022

2pm | All These Sons Screening and discussion. Chicago’s West and South sides are infamous for their high murder rates. In this documentary directed by Bing Liu and Joshua Altman, Marshall Hatch Jr. ’10 and Billy Moore (who served 20 years in prison for murder) create healing spaces for young men to reimagine themselves, find redemption, and embrace causes worth fighting for. Hatch, the subject of a cover story by Bates Magazine in 2021, will introduce the film. (2021; 88 min.) Sponsored by the Program in American Studies, Department of Anthropology, Department of Hispanic Studies, and Department of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies. Location: Olin Concert Hall

January 20, 2023

Bates in the News: Jan. 20, 2023

January 17, 2023

‘Say yes’: MLK keynote address at Bates College

January 17, 2023

Campus Construction Update: Jan. 19, 2023

January 13, 2023

Take care, Dr. Shah

January 13, 2023

Professor Emeritus of English Lewis A. Turlish dies at age 80

January 12, 2023

‘Art & Activism’: The story behind this year’s two MLK Day posters

January 12, 2023

38 items in the Bates library’s lost and found on Jan. 11, 2023

January 10, 2023

Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2023 at Bates: Creative offerings explore ‘Art and Activism’

December 20, 2022

Leana E. Amáez to join Bates College as vice president for equity and inclusion

December 16, 2022

‘Ba-ha-ha Mitzvah’: Thesis binding with Frances White ’23

December 15, 2022

Bates’ top 10 Instagram and Facebook posts in 2022

“Peace begins with us.”That was the theme of this year’s United World College Day that a group of Davis United World Scholars at Bates celebrated by gathering with staff from the Center for Global Education in front of Roger Williams Hall. UWC Day is the annual global celebration of the UWC mission and values, which takes place on Sept. 21 every year, to coincide with the UN International Day of Peace. Each year, UWC Day is celebrated by thousands of people worldwide, including students and staff at UWC schools and colleges, national committees, UWC alumni and friends. Associate Dean for International Student Programs James Reese likes to recognize the day at Bates with a photograph and gathering.The spirit of friendship was in the air as students broke up from their large group to exchange hugs and words with classmates. Newcomers Rosina Makwabe ’26 of Arusha, Tanzania, and Verina Chatata ’26 of Blantyre, Malawi, who met at Bates, laughed and hugged. “I’m happy to have a friend,” Makwabe said.A $5 million scholarship gift to Bates College has expanded access for talented international students who come to Bates from the highly respected secondary schools of the United World Colleges movement.The gift, from Jonathan Blair Frank ‘89 and Tena Fishman Frank ’89, provides need-based financial aid for UWC students at Bates under the Davis United World College Scholars Program.The world’s largest international undergraduate scholarship initiative, the Davis UWC Scholars Program is dedicated to bringing together “promising students from diverse cultures and supporting their undergraduate educations at selected American colleges and universities…to create greater international understanding among the world’s future decision makers.”Bates is among 99 U.S. colleges and universities that have partnered with the Davis UWC Scholars Program, which helps provide college access to 3,800 students from 165 nations.(Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)Yvonne Chu ’25 of Changzhou, China, with Alan Wang ’24 of Henan, China

December 15, 2022

Bates photographers’ favorite images of 2022

Bates’ 148th Commencement ceremony itself takes place at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 25, on the Historic Quad, Campus Avenue and College Street (or Merrill Gym in case of rain). Some 448 students will receive bachelor’s degrees, and President A. Clayton Spencer will confer honorary degrees on four notable Americans: John Seely Brown, visionary thinker and computer scientist; Glenn Close, renowned actress; David Shaw P’00, leading entrepreneur; Isabel Wilkerson, Commencement speaker and author of the acclaimed social history The Warmth of Other Suns.

December 14, 2022

‘Moments from the fall’: Meet 13 new Bates College professors

December 13, 2022

Campus Construction Update: Dec. 13, 2022

From left, Wilder Geier ‘22, Lars Schuster ’20, and Julian Cook ’20 take a look at a pileated woodpecker in Lewiston’s Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary..Nick Lund of Maine Audubon @maineaudubon spotted the bird as he led Clark A. Griffith Professor of Environmental Studies Jane Costlow and students in her “Living With Animals” course on a midday birding excursion during their last class session.

December 8, 2022

Bates in the News: Dec. 9, 2022

December 8, 2022

The 10 most-viewed BatesNews stories of 2022

December 8, 2022

And now: The answer to how ancient plants could live on dry land