Woodbridge student named Phillips Student Fellow at Bates
John Lichtman, a Bates College junior from Woodbridge, Conn., has been named a 2000 Phillips Student Fellow and will receive a grant of up to $10,000 to examine the intersection of environmental preservation and economic development in Kenya this summer.
Lichtman, an environmental studies major at Bates, will travel to Kakamega Township, under the auspices of Globalroutes, to serve as a teaching and activist volunteer in a culturally rich community that finds itself at an environmental and economic crossroads. He will examine the impact of deforestation, overpopulation, agricultural development and energy needs on indigenous peoples’ communities, livelihoods and perceptions of the natural world.
Phillips Student Fellows each receive grants of up to $10,000 for summer projects in service-learning, career exploration, research or some combination of the three in international and other culturally distinct settings. The Phillips Student Fellowships, along with the Phillips Faculty Fellowships and Phillips Professorships at Bates, are part of the Phillips Endowment Program, an ambitious initiative of awards, honors and opportunities for faculty and students funded by a $9-million endowment bequest to the college from former Bates President Charles F. Phillips, and his wife, Evelyn Minard Phillips, in 1999.
The Phillips bequest is believed to be the largest gift ever from a U.S. college president and spouse to his or her institution. The Phillipses, longtime Auburn residents, officially served Bates from 1944 through 1966; Charles F. died in March 1999 just months after the death of Evelyn M., his wife of 65 years.
Also named 2000 Phillips Student Fellows are Sze Wei Ang ’01 of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Kathryn Dutille ’01 of Lebanon, N.H.; Margot Fine ’03 of Scarsdale, N.Y.; Kristin Hines ’02 of East Granby, Conn.; Christian McTighe ’02 of Delmar, N.Y.; Jesse Minor ’02 of Wilmington, N.C.; and Mindy Newman ’01 of Atlanta, Ga.
A dean’s list student at Bates, Minor has been a member of the college’s Environmental Coalition, Outing Club and Maine Youth Campfire Collective as well as a resident of Bates’ Environmental House. A 1998 graduate of Hopkins High School, Lichtman is the son of John and Barbara Lichtman, 14 Grove Hill Road, Woodbridge.
