Under the pall of COVID-19, summer at Bates was quieter (and warmer) than usual. Still, the sun continued to rise and set each day of June, July, and August.
Students engaged in Bates-funded research and internships, essential employees cared for the campus, and administrators and faculty planned for the soon-to-arrive Class of 2024 — and the beginning of a fall semester like no other.
Top of the World
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
Michael Bonney ’80 greets a friend just before the traditional topping-off ceremony for the Bonney Science Center on Campus Avenue. Harkening back to medieval Scandinavian tradition, the idea is to bring good luck to the new building, and maybe some public recognition to the folks involved.
“It is our sincere hope that for the decades to come, the students and faculty who come through the center will include the folks who figure out how to deal with our most vexing problems,” said Bonney.
‘Something I said?’
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
Some of our four-legged friends are making the most of their Bates summer, including this squirrel who returned the photographer’s stare in a tree overlooking Lake Andrews.
Summer Solstice
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
The sun throws long shadows on the Historic Quad the day before the summer solstice.
Egg Man
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
In June, Jesse Laflamme ’00, owner and CEO of Pete and Gerry’s Organics, posed for a Facetime portrait in Quechee, Vt., with some of his company’s organic eggs. Through the spring, stay-at-home orders during the pandemic fueled unprecedented egg purchasing. “We’ve been focused on meeting the demand while keeping our workforce healthy,” Laflamme said in June. “We are selling every single egg we produce.”
Great Falls
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
It’s a sunny day at the Great Falls after several days of soaking rain in early July swelled the river.
Presidential Preparation
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
Seated in Pettengill Hall’s Perry Atrium, President Clayton Spencer prepares to record video welcome remarks for the Class of 2024’s arrival. All students arrive at Bates between Aug. 25 and 27.
Flower Power
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
A sea of black-eyed Susans planted next to Pettengill Hall accents Hedge Hall in the distance.
Mouse Memories
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
Working in the lab of Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Andrew Kennedy, chemistry major Gabriele Gucagaite ’21 of Kaunas, Lithuania, does funded research that sounds like science fiction. She’s creating slides and images that display, through fluorescent imaging of brain proteins, actual mouse memories, such as a specific taste or smell. The lab’s neuroscience research also involves altering or enhancing the memories that a mouse has.
His First Year
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Tyler Harper arrives at Hedge Hall, where he opens the door to his new office (it formerly belonged to Jane Costlow, now retired) for the first time. He had just picked up the key at Security and Campus Safety.
The Closer You Get
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
This rudbeckia laciniata, also known as a green-headed coneflower, provides decorative color for Carnegie Science on Campus Avenue.
Love During the Time of COVID-19
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
The Rev. Erica Long ’12 poses for a Facetime portrait at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where she is a chaplain. An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister with a degree from Harvard Divinity School, Long ministers to patients and their families, often at a distance, during a time of intense fear and suffering.
Bound Books
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
A pile of books focused on 19th-century political history — delivered as part of the give-away from Ladd Library’s offsite storage — sits in front of the door of Associate Professor of Politics John Baughman’s first-floor Pettengill Hall office, awaiting his return to campus.
Food Security
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
Religious studies major Anna Maheu ’21 of New York City poses in front of the Wood Street Garden greenhouse, a project of St. Mary’s Nutrition Center. A Harward Summer Civic Fellow, Maheu works with the center and its Good Food Bus, a mobile market that brings locally sourced produce to various neighborhoods.
Welcome Back
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
A banner hangs on the Library Terrace, ready for the return of students between Aug. 25 and 27.
Expert Care
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
Debbie Houle of Facility Services vacuums Perry Atrium. She’s one of the “frontline custodians who are providing a clean, healthy and safe environment for all returning in the fall,” says Vivian Snyder, custodial supervisor for facility services custodians taking care of Pettengill Hall.
The Medium is the Message
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
“It will always be a great day to be a Bobcat.” The Mouthpiece provides the message on the Historic Quad, looking toward the Peter J. Gomes Chapel.
Lakeside Chat
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
A couple enjoys an end-of-day chat overlooking Lake Andrews. The lake, encircled by Burgoyne Walkway, is a favorite spot for members of the college and Lewiston-Auburn communities for walking, jogging, and birdwatching.
Campus Gateway
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
Morning light illuminates the Class of 1910 Gate.
The Sun Also Rises
Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College
A fallen tree branch on the Historic Quad the morning after Tropical Storm Isaias moved through Lewiston-Auburn on the evening of Aug. 4. The storm only produced a ho-hum top gust of 43 mph in the area. But with trees having full canopies, which tend to catch the wind leading to more limb damage, it still caused 100,000 power outages statewide.
