Alumni honored at 2013 Homecoming recognition ceremony

Bates and the Alumni Association honored 12 alumni for their service to the college and their communities, including Bill Hiss ’66, P’15, P’16, who received the Papaioanou Award for Distinguished Service to Bates, and Ken Snow ’62, who received the Alumni Community Service Award.

Both the Papaioanou and Alumni Community Service awards are distributed by the Alumni Association. Recipients are nominated by their peers.

From the college came 10 Bates’ Best awards, recognizing Bates’ leading volunteers of the past year.

Read the full citations for Hiss and Snow, and a list of Bates’ Best recipients, below.

Helen A. Papaioanou ’49 Award for Extraordinary Service to Bates

William C. Hiss ’66, P’15, P’16
Presented by Jennifer Lemkin Bouchard ’99, president of the Alumni Council

The Helen A. Papaioanou ’49 Award for Extraordinary Service to Bates recognizes service to our college that is truly distinguished in both quantity and quality.

On behalf of the Alumni Association, it is my honor to bestow the Papaioanou Award upon William C. Hiss of the Class of 1966.

When Bill arrived as Bates’ new dean of admission in 1978, then-President Thomas Hedley Reynolds gave him the following directive: Take the applicant pool up and down the social and economic ladders.

Reynolds recognized that for Bates to remain a bastion of excellence and opportunity, to stay true to its deepest founding principles and remain competitive, it needed to be accessible to talented students of all backgrounds.

And Bill brought rigor and passion to his task. Though he finished his doctorate, this self-proclaimed seminary school dropout drew from his years as a social worker and teacher in the South Bronx, where he got an advanced education in our country’s rampant racial and socioeconomic disparities.

As Dean of Admission, Bill quickly became a leading voice in the national debate over standardized testing in college admissions, arguing that quantitative scores like the SATs are not only ineffective measures of student potential, but are also inherently biased against underrepresented minorities.

“Colleges like Bates,” Bill once said, “ought to act as elevators in society.”

Armed with this simple truth, Bill led a 20-year study at Bates from 1984 to 2004 to see what would happen when the college made the SAT and other standardized tests optional. The results were revolutionary for Bates. The applicant pool nearly doubled and included more talented students from working class, minority and immigrant households than ever before.

Bill put a fine point on the issue when he presented his findings on these students’ academic performance:

“Over the 20-year history of the [optional testing] policy, the difference in Bates GPAs between submitters and non-submitters is .05 of a GPA point. And the difference in graduation rates is 0.1%.

“.05% of a GPA point, and one-tenth of one percent difference in graduation rates! On this we hang the national sluice gate system about who gets into college and where they go?”

Ever since, Bill has made the rounds as a national expert on college access, his name or byline appearing in countless news outlets and scholarly journals. He has acted as consultant to the College Board and from 1990 to 1997 served on the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Aid Assistance, advising Congress and the Secretary of Education on national financial aid matters. In the process he elevated Bates into the national spotlight and affirmed our historic commitment to inclusivity and progressivism.

And a fun fact: Bill’s media and publicity files fill five boxes in Muskie Archives!

But Bill’s most profound legacy is heard in the countless stories of the students he personally helped bring to Bates. Having learned and benefited from the guidance of that other great Bates admission figure, Dean Milt Lindholm ’35, Bill is an unfailing champion for every student who finds a home at Bates. He has written personally to donors to solicit scholarship support for talented but financially needy students, and he continues to reach into his vast Rolodex to connect promising scholars with life-changing internship and career opportunities.

Marcus Bruce ’77, the Benjamin Mays Professor of Religious Studies, put it best at Bill’s retirement celebration this spring when he said, “Whatever Bill sets his hand to, whatever he feels called to address, he engages fully with his full heart, mind and energy.”

Today, Bill, there are few corners of campus that you haven’t touched. Like Lindholm before you, your legacy is not limited to your many years of service to Bates, but rather will live on as the students you mentored grow into the next generation of Bates leaders. We cannot thank you enough for your dedication to Bates and the “emancipating potential of the liberal arts.” It is my honor to present to you the Helen A. Papaioanou Award for Extraordinary Service to Bates.

Alumni Community Service Award

Kendall Snow ’62
Presented by Jennifer Lemkin Bouchard ’99, president of the Alumni Council

Speaking about his colleague and fellow Bates graduate Ken Snow, Mark Boegel of the Class of 1976 once said, “I have wondered how one person can do so much for his community and do it with such energy and joy. I even found myself wishing I could be more like him.”

Ken is a determined and steadfast advocate in his community. A sociology major at Bates, he earned a master’s in social work from Boston University, became a practicing psychiatric social worker and never looked back.

In a sector characterized by high employee “burnout” and at times beset by devastating budget cuts, Ken remains a steady leader in his field and an inspirational and supportive figure to individuals and families struggling with mental illness.

For 47 years he has worked deep “in the vineyards” at The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, working his way from social worker to director of community services and vice president of community relations.

Ken brings to this important work the belief that a community thrives when all its members, including those with mental illness, have the support and resources to lead their fullest lives.

In 1972, when hospitals began releasing waves of psychiatric patients back into their communities, Ken initiated the first Community Support Program in New Hampshire to care for patients discharged from New Hampshire Hospital, and to help others affected by serious and persistent mental illness.

Ken gives generously of his personal time to causes that directly enrich the lives of all citizens. He has served on the board of the local Big Brothers, Big Sisters and has lent his expertise on a variety of committees, including the Manchester Housing Authority committees and the Governor’s Commission on Laws Affecting Children.

Ken excels at bringing people together. As founder and now chair of the board for the Greater Manchester Association of Social Agencies, he supports a coordinated community response for New Hampshire’s most vulnerable populations.

Many others have also recognized Ken for the empathy and skill he brings to his work. To list just a few examples: He was named New Hampshire Social Worker of the Year in 1993 and awarded the Lifetime Service Award in 2005 by the Heritage United Way.

In 2010 he received the Outstanding Career in Social Work Award from the Boston University School of Social Work Alumni Association, where he was lauded for “effectively advocating for New Hampshire legislative changes that improved access for mental health services and helped shape the community-based system of care New Hampshire has today.”

Ken, you demonstrate incredible empathy and compassion for the men and women you serve, reducing the stigma of mental illness and fostering understanding between neighbors. You do all this with a vigor and conviction that is a credit to you and an inspiration to your fellow Bates alumni. It is an honor to present you the Alumni Community Service Award.

Jane Parsons Norris ’46, Bates’ Best

Jane Parsons Norris of the Class of 1946, you are an exemplary ambassador for Bates in the local community. An economics major, you were active as a member of La Petite Academie, the Jordan Ramsdell Society and Lambda Alpha, and honed your leadership skills on various campus committees: Publicity Committee, Reconstruction Committee, Religious Committee.

It’s no surprise that you went on to become a trailblazer in your professional life and in Maine: Starting as a teller at Mechanics Savings Bank in Lewiston-Auburn, you ascended the ranks to become its CEO in 1971 — the only female CEO of a Maine bank at the time — before rising to president and chairman.

Fortunately for Bates, you have applied much of that same drive and spirit to your volunteer work on behalf of the college. President Emeritus Donald Harward once praised you as a “strong community builder” who is committed to Bates’ role in Lewiston-Auburn. It’s easy to see why.

Over the years you have been a valued member of the Bates Board of Trustees, Alumni Council and College Key. You rallied classmates to become philanthropically engaged with Bates as a class agent and member of the Bates Fund Committee. As “Decade Captain” for alumni of the 1940s, you lead that decade’s fundraising efforts with amazing vigor and success.

And when Reunion time rolls around, the committees call your name again. Whether serving on a gift or a social committee, you never fail to inspire other graduates in the Class of 1946 to come back — and give back — to Bates.

You have shared your many talents and insights as a leader for organizations like Central Maine Medical Center and the Auburn Public Library, and in 1988 you were named the Auburn Business Association’s Citizen of the Year.

Jane, you have been an inspiration in your community, and we at Bates consider ourselves lucky to have you as an alumna and leader — and as a neighbor and friend. For your inspirational leadership, your loyalty and dedication to your class, and for your service to the campus community at large, you are one of Bates’ Best.

Richard “Dick” Coughlin ’53, Bates’ Best

Richard Coughlin of the Class of 1953, you are a pragmatist who speaks plainly and loves Bates dearly.

As you once said, “I am very proud of what Bates does but we happen to live with a fast crowd, so we have to run to stay even.”

You also realize that the race is a long one, and steadiness the key.

During your 18 years of service on the Board of Trustees, you were the longtime chair of what was then called the Grounds and Buildings Committee.

In that leadership capacity, you knew when Bates should play it safe and when it was time to be bold, as was the case with the development of Pettengill Hall in the 1990. After its completion in 1999, then-President Donald Harward praised you for “moving the college away from lesser alternatives to a signature project that captures what is special about student and faculty relationships at Bates.”

You are as persistent and effective a fundraiser as you are a fierce competitor, and you once beat a classmate in a golf match, then asked him to make a life-income gift on the way to the 19th hole. And he said yes.

You have led many Reunion Gift efforts, and this past June the Class of 1953 again responded to your call, stepping up with a class gift of $441,000 for your 60th Reunion.

As a couple, you and your wife, Norma Crooks Coughlin, of the Class of 1952, are members of the Benjamin Bates Society by virtue of your more than $1 million of personal philanthropy to Bates.

Your gifts have been many, and their purposes have been diverse, but your goal has always been singular. As you said, “Bates provides each and every student with a strong background and opportunity to achieve in life. A big part of that is accomplished by philanthropy.”

Dick, you have shown anyone who has been paying attention over the last half-century — and many of us have— how to be a great Bates citizen. For showing us how philanthropy and service are a path for the individual to feel even greater pride in our great college, you are one of Bates’ Best.

James “Jim” Callahan ’65, Bates’ Best

Jim Callahan of the Class of 1965, it’s clear to all who know you that your dedication to Bates is a deep and important part of who you are. As a student, you were a true scholar-athlete, majoring in economics and joining the Economics Club while playing intramural sports and varsity football. After Bates, you began a long and fruitful career with the auditing and consulting firm Arthur Anderson, steadily rising through the ranks for 34 years.

Spanning decades and administrations, as a former Bates trustee and current co-chair of the Cheney Society, you have been an important partner to college leaders. When we prepared to welcome President Clayton Spencer to Bates, you were an active part of the Inaugural Year Advisory Committee, connecting the college’s rich history and traditions and the new and exciting initiatives that lay ahead.

Your invaluable guidance on the “big picture” forces that shape Bates and the landscape of higher education ensures that our outstanding community will thrive and be a leader in the years to come.

And your vision has always been focused on those who are most affected by our work — the students.

As an Admission volunteer for many years, you helped prospective students discover opportunities for intellectual and personal exploration at Bates. Through the Bates Business Network committee and career development programs, you gave students an inside look at the world of work and created opportunities for alumni to form lasting connections. And as chair of the Bates Fund, you elevated annual giving and ensured that Bates continues to provide an exceptional education for all students.

Fellow Bates athletes of all generations enjoy the annual Football Golf Outing thanks in large part to you, and you were a driving force behind the Stephen B. Ritter Award honoring football players who bring as much determination to the classroom as they do to the gridiron.

You once said your greatest hope for Bates was that the college “excel in all aspects and remain accessible to all socio-economic levels.” You’re true to your word: Your leadership in all things Bates keeps our mission vital and makes it possible for students of all backgrounds to enjoy this life-changing education. Jim Callahan, you are one of Bates’ Best.

Tim Haarmann ’95, Bates’ Best

Tim Haarmann of the Class of 1995, the ability to lead and a drive to succeed just seem to come naturally to you. An English major, you served in Bates Student Government and excelled on the football team. Indeed, you distinguished yourself early on the gridiron and went on to become team co-captain your junior year, receiving both the Alan C. Goddard Award for Achievement in Football and the Stephen B. Ritter ’65 Football Academic Award.

Your coaches saw great leadership in you — a “determined young man” who inspires his fellow Bobcats and is a “dominating force” on and off the field.

Today you are a dominating force among the college’s volunteers. One of Bates’ leading lights in marketing, you readily share your extensive industry know-how as a member of the Bates Fund Executive Committee, where you have served as marketing co-chair since 2010.

In that role you quickly established yourself as an authentic voice for the college, drawing on your passion and grasp of the Bates ethos to support the necessary and considerable task of promoting philanthropy to Bates. You always bring engaging material to the table, your fellow committee members note, and your critical insight and expertise have helped steer many conversations about best practices and engagement.

You were instrumental in developing and carrying Bates through the wildly successful “We’re In” campaign, which secured an unprecedented increase in alumni Bates Fund participation in 2012. You also spearheaded last year’s Bates Fund survey, which revealed critical insights about what motivates alumni to give to Bates.

Tim, you help Bates communicate the importance and value of annual giving. Your competitive spirit and keen sense of humor move Bates steadily forward in the constantly shifting landscape of higher education. For your invaluable guidance and generosity, you are one of Bates’ Best.

Preston Carey ’96, Bates’ Best

Preston Carey of the Class of 1996, you have never believed in half-measures. As a student you excelled as a double major in biology and psychology, deftly balancing your academic commitments with participation on the Chase Hall Committee and men’s squash team. You rose to every challenge, graduating cum laude and becoming a member of Sigma Xi National Honor Society.

Since then, you have become a leading digital marketing guru and consultant, working these days with Russian Internet powerhouse Yandex, the world’s fourth-largest search engine. You brought all that expertise and corporate savvy home to Bates in 2010 when you became marketing co-chair of the Bates Fund Executive Committee, the strategic planning group for the Bates Fund.

Together with your fellow BFEC members, you have elevated the college’s fundraising efforts and set “big picture” objectives that have helped make Bates a national leader in both alumni and parent giving. On a day-to-day basis, you lend your social media skills to helping Bates alumni connect with the college and each other online.

You are a results-oriented kind of guy, so it must have been particularly gratifying when, in 2012, you and marketing co-chair Tim Haarmann, Class of 1995, provided critical insight and guidance for the Bates Fund “We’re In” campaign, which was not only a rallying point for alumni pride but also secured an unprecedented increase in alumni Bates Fund participation. You built upon that success with last year’s Bates Fund survey, which provided valuable information about what motivates alumni to give to Bates.

Today, Bates is among the top 10 colleges for alumni participation in annual giving, and total dollars to the Bates Fund have increased dramatically in the last four years.

Pat Cosquer, Class of 1997, a former squash teammate and current Bates head coach, described you as “a consummate teammate, competitor and friend” who helps out “whenever and wherever he can.”

Preston, with your characteristic no-nonsense attitude, you ensure that Bates communicates the importance and value of annual giving consistently and effectively. Your commitment to a strong and thriving Bates is apparent in everything you do. For your invaluable leadership and support, you are one of Bates’ Best.

Victoria Wyeth ’01, Bates’ Best

Victoria Browning Wyeth of the Class of 2001, you have shared your passions and enthusiasm with Bates from the moment you set foot on campus.

As an American cultural studies major you became deeply involved with mentoring local children in Lewiston’s public schools and community organizations.

Peggy Rotundo of the Bates Harward Center recalls how excited you were to be teaching and working with children — you even encouraged your friends to sign up to mentor.

Fortunately for Bates, you continue to enrich campus today as an ambassador for and expert on the artwork of your grandfather Andrew Wyeth and uncle Jamie Wyeth. You generously make time to share their art and inspiration at Bates events as near as Olin Arts Center and as far away as Paris.

Through the years you have been a favorite speaker at various Bates Reunions and gallery talks at the Bates College Museum of Art. Bates students have been able to reflect on the beauty and brilliance of Wyeth art thanks to the exhibitions and works that you have brought to campus.

Though the “family business,” as you call it, keeps you busy, it is clear that you relish the connections you make with people of all ages and from all walks of life. Whether speaking at a prestigious gallery or a local retirement community, your personal stories — delivered with your characteristic humor and energy — delight audiences wherever you go.

At your first exhibition of your grandfather’s work here at Bates, you said, “I want people, particularly children, to see him as a person, to see how he worked through his ideas.” Indeed, your emphasis on the human side of genius shines through in all you do.

Victoria, your critical insights and irrepressible energy are helping generations discover the power and beauty of art in the world. You enrich all of us at Bates intellectually, creatively and spiritually. For your continued dedication to alma mater, you are one of Bates’ Best.

Marshall Hatch ’10, Bates’ Best

Marshall Hatch of the Class of 2010, there are joiners, and then there are the people who make it possible for others to join in. As a student, you brought your insight and good humor to every corner of campus, whether in the politics department where you pursued your major, in Amandla!, on your Senior Gift Committee or on the basketball court. Wherever you went, you brought people together.

But while you have always loved Bates for its close-knit community, you knew we could be better. You saw a need for greater diversity and worked to elevate the multicultural voices that make Bates a more dynamic and accessible place for all.

As an Admission counselor you helped countless students discover opportunities for intellectual and personal growth at Bates.

You lent your support as a volunteer caller for an Alumni Council pilot project to reach out to admitted multicultural students, offering congratulations and information, and encouraging them to attend welcome receptions—and of course, to choose Bates!

Your personal touch helped forge important connections between these talented students and the college.

After your stint in Admission you continued to advocate for college access, returning to your native Chicago to become a college counselor at Urban Prep Academies. But Bates called you back: You returned this spring as keynote speaker for the annual G.A.M.E. Day event, encouraging current student athletes to see the skills they learn on Bates teams as assets for meaningful careers.

Your friend Bill Hiss, Class of 1966, once described you as a “wonderful, promising person — reflective” and “open.” You are, he said, “a star, plain and simple.”

Marshall, you are our star. Your passion for Bates has helped students from diverse backgrounds participate more fully in this very special community. A steward of the Bates legacy of inclusion and opportunity, you are one of Bates’ Best.

Henry “Hank” Geng ’13, Bates’ Best

Hank Geng, of the Class of 2013, Bates helped you learn to express yourself and discover more about who you are, but for everything you gained, you gave back to the Bates community tenfold. An environmental studies major, you were an active member of the Bates College Choir and OUTFront. You also lent your voice to the burgeoning a cappella group TakeNote — which continues to delight audiences and enliven campus.

As if a legacy of music and fellowship wasn’t enough, you became co-chair of the Senior Class Gift, your class’s first opportunity to make its philanthropic mark on the college — and boy, did they ever! Thanks to your leadership with co-chair Nancy Weidner, a record 92 percent of your classmates made gifts, raising nearly $18,000 for the Bates Fund.

As you said at your Commencement this spring, “Bates has given us so much, and we have begun a tradition of giving back with this first investment in our alma mater.”

Today you continue the important work of supporting Bates as a lead class agent for the Bates Fund. Whether educating your classmates about the critical impact of financial aid or reminiscing about Sunday morning chicken patties in Commons, you help the youngest members of the Alumni Association feel close to Bates in many ways.

You even chose to pursue philanthropy in your professional life, joining the development team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston after graduation.

It’s good for Bates that you haven’t strayed too far from campus. You are well-loved by your classmates. One anonymous admirer once wrote that you “are responsible, caring, a great friend and a booming bass. Never change.”

We sincerely hope you never change, too.

Hank, you have already done much to rally the enthusiasm and pride of your fellow Bates alumni. We can’t wait to see what you accomplish in the years to come. For your humor, creativity and leadership, you are one of Bates’ Best.

Nancy Weidner ’13, Bates’ Best

Nancy Weidner of the Class of 2013, you embraced all that Bates has to offer and you gave back in profound ways from your earliest moments on campus. A double major in politics and in women’s and gender studies, you balanced an excellent academic record — and two senior theses! — while serving as president of The Strange Bedfellows improv comedy group.

It’s been said that when you feel passionate about something, you are completely committed to its success — and the proof is all over campus.

During your senior year, a time when most students are beginning to turn their attention to their lives after Bates, you took on the important and demanding task of co-chairing your Senior Class Gift. An enthusiastic leader, you brought wonderful insight and energy to this effort.

Together with co-chair Hank Geng, you led a committee of senior volunteers to a stunning senior gift, achieving a record 92 percent participation and raising nearly $18,000 for the Bates Fund.

You said it best when presenting the gift at your Commencement in May: “We are graduating from college today, but we will always be a part of the Bates community. Our Senior Gift demonstrates our commitment to the future of our college.”

You continue to demonstrate your commitment as a lead agent for the Class of 2013. In that role, you have already helped many of your classmates navigate the bittersweet transition from life on the Bates campus to the “real world.”

Now working in the President’s Office, you are getting an advanced and insider’s education in Bates life and college leadership, which will no doubt serve you well in what we hope will be many years of service to, and partnership with, Bates.

Nancy, you inspire the best in your peers with your grace and confidence. We strongly suspect that not red but Bates Garnet runs through your veins. For your generous spirit and undeniable love for your alma mater, you are one of Bates’ Best.