The summer of 2023 was wet. It was also wonderful. Bates’ ninth president Garry W. Jenkins joined us on July 1, and off we went. Our summer campus was relatively quiet but the Bates Dance Festival, student-faculty researchers, and hundreds of prospective students kept our verdant environment humming with energy to spare. The conclusion of campus improvements at Chase Hall and Garcelon Field added a hopeful air of more good things to come. Check out some of our favorite scenes from This Summer at Bates.
‘Good Energy’
On his fifth day as Bates’ president, Garry W. Jenkins took to the shore of Lake Andrews to mingle and enjoy a snack with the Bates community, including Francisco “Franky” Urueta, a member of the Facility Services custodial team, who greeted Jenkins with his trademark enthusiasm. “He has a big smile and good energy,” said Urueta. “I’m thinking it’s going to be a good chapter.”
Read the story of Jenkin’s first campus tour as president in BatesNews.
Shall We Dance?
Clad in yellow, Bates Dance Festival faculty member and choreographer Duane Lee Holland Jr. leads a Hip Hop Class in the Gray Athletic Building. It’s a combined class of Hip Hop and Modern, joined into one because of a COVID outbreak within the BDF community.
After warming up, the dancers rehearsed a series of movements that mimicked football, as they pretended to pass and run with a ball.
‘Lab’ Days of Summer
From left, Professor of Biology Lori Banks, Joaquin Torres ‘25, Vova Sosnovskii ’26, Logan Strauss ‘24, Leith Chikh Rouhou ‘26, Hayden Kittell, Blessing Akinmade ’25, and Starr Bradley ‘25 at the center, pose for a portrait in Banks’ laboratory in the Bonney Science Center.
The students spent their summer working with Banks in the lab, “testing functional differences in drug target proteins from clinical strains of rotavirus,” Banks explained.
High-flying Friends
Kendall Jones ‘25 (left) of Plymouth, N.H., and Sebenele Lukhele ’26 of Manzini, Eswatini, rock a gorgeous summer day on July 13, on the Historic Quad during their Purposeful Work internship in Admissions. Jones, a biochemistry major, said the work of storytelling in Admissions was a remarkable way to learn from other people. Likewise, Lukhele honed his interpersonal skills while meeting people from around the world, a worthy exercise for an aspiring doctor.
“I felt immense fulfillment in helping everyone, each with different needs and perspectives, and helping to reduce the stress that comes with the challenge of choosing a college,” Lukhele said.
You can read more in the BatesNews story.
Keys to the Past
These two skeleton keys, sitting in a display case at the entrance of the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, were presented by Physical Plant (now Facility Services) to Bates’ seventh president, Elaine Tuttle Hansen, at her 2002 Inauguration.
Ready to Pounce
This Bobcat sculpture, designed by Maine artist Forest Hart and set atop a boulder near Leahey Field, greets Bates students — and especially the athletes — rain or shine, on their way to Merrill Gymnasium or Underhill Arena.
Food for Thought
Nimco Jama ’24 of Hargeisa, Somalia, (right) works at a food pantry on Aug. 3, 2023, at the Trinity Jubilee Center in Lewiston alongside Tonya Sands, the manager of the center’s day shelter, during her Purposeful Work internship. Jama helped the secular community center that provides comprehensive support in Lewiston through such services as a soup kitchen, food pantry, medical clinic, and refugee integration program. One day while shadowing a doctor, Jama helped lower the language barrier within her community.
“As a Somali student, I was able to help interpret for Somali patients, while learning more about the basic procedures that a doctor goes through with each patient.”
You can read more about Jama in our BatesNews story.
Orange Crush
Orange day lilies lie on the ground next to the Carnegie Science Center after a particularly strong summer storm.
Lake of Shining Waters
Early summer mornings in front of the Olin Arts Center can be foggy, like this one, or gloriously sunny — but both offer a respite along the calm surface of Lake Andrews.
Safety First, Safety Second, Safety Third
Campus Safety Supervisor Mark Cayer flashes a grin on Alumni Walk, on the second Summer Visit Day this year, hosted by the Office of Admissions. The day’s events had 160 visitors take campus tours, dine at Commons, and attend information sessions and panel discussions. Throughout they learned about the unique experience of current students, and the range of resources available that empower Bates students through their academic journey.
The Scenic Route
A group of visitors pass the Peter J. Gomes Chapel on the Historic Quad, one stop on their campus tour, and an iconic element of a Summer Visit Day at Bates.
Great in Grayscale
A visitor to campus holds a welcome booklet, given by the Office of Admissions to prospective students and their families when they arrive on campus. The booklet holds a wealth of information about the college between its gray cover, including “next steps” for applying to Bates.
Teamwork
Bates Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences Beverly Johnson poses with her team of summer research assistants who helped contribute data to Johnson’s study of blue carbon, the carbon sequestered in vegetated coastal habitats. This summer Johnson was a co-author on the Environmental Protection Agency’s first-ever regional assessment of blue carbon in the northeast, between Long Island, N.Y., and Maine.
Many of Johnson’s undergraduate research assistants, like the team shown above, helped to contribute data to the report.
From left: Kate Dickson ’24, Anna Sarrazin ’24, Hayden Eckblom ’25, Evelyn Marchand ’26, Fiona Wilson ’25, and Johnson.
Read the stories on the report and on Johnson’s research in BatesNews.
Knowledge is Power
Senior Associate Dean of Admission Jared Rivers delivers an information session to prospective students and their parents upstairs in Commons during Admission’s Summer Visit Day on July 21. Information sessions cover academics, admission, financial aid, and, of course, student life.
A Good Egg
This boba-eyed cutie in the purple dress is Egg, held aloft by Ella Caron ’27 of Lewiston, Maine.
Caron posed on the Historic Quad with the 3-year-old family pet. She calls herself Egg’s “auntie” as the rabbit belongs to Caron’s older sister Zoë. Caron visits the Quad regularly with Egg, who enjoys hanging out in and nibbling on the grass. “She has fun out here. And she’s surprisingly chill.”
Caron is looking forward to “exploring different options at Bates, and seeing what interests me and what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Field of Dreams
Garcelon Field gets an overall as its 13-year-old playing surface is replaced by R.A.D. Sports, the Massachusetts company that installed the old FieldTurf back in 2010. The arena also got a new black fence to complete its snappy new look. It is regarded as one of the 10 oldest college football fields in the United States.
Read the story on the field in BatesNews.
‘A Transformative Experience’
Lucy Whitelam ’26 of Reading, Mass., describes her experience taking classes with the 2023 The Bates Dance Festival Professional Training Program as “an amazing and transformative experience.”
As a member of Bates’ Hip Hop club, 2BEATS, Whitelam took hip-hop classes from BDF faculty member and choreographer Duane Lee Holland Jr., and she’s looking forward to sharing what she’s learned with fellow club members when they reconnect this fall.
“Hip Hop at BDF has been incredibly fun and joyful,” she says, “and I have loved getting to groove with the other members of my class, watching us all grow and learn together. Duane has created such a supportive and energetic class environment.”
Job Well Done
Clockwise from left, Associate Director for Employer Engagement and Internships Beverly Vari, Jamil Mouehla ’25 of Harrington Park, N.J., Izzy Beck ’25 of Montclair, N.J., Director of Operations, Marketing, and Outreach Sheila Anderson, Alexandra (ARose) Long ’25 of Newtown; Pa., and Luke Dai ’25 of West Hartford, Conn., gather on the steps of 146 Wood Street to commemorate their last day together working as facilitators in Purposeful Work.
Day’s End
Admission Counselors Erin Lachance (left) and Jeremy McFarland end their day with a stroll through the Class of 1906 Gate, a Campus Avenue entry to the Historic Quad. Their summer was busy with preparing and conducting Summer Visit Days.
Hold the Door!
Senior Associate Dean of Purposeful Work Allen Delong holds open a door on August 29 as the Purposeful Work staff moved into their new space on the first floor of the remodeled Chase Hall, along with the Offices of Intercultural Education, Residential Life, Student Activities, Campus Life, and more.
Balloon Bonanza
A hot-air balloon sets a colorful contrast to the clouds, almost appearing to rest on the Bates Mill’s iconic smokestack, as the 2023 Great Falls Balloon Festival launched for the first time this year at 6 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 20, from the Simard-Payne Memorial Park in Lewiston, Maine.
‘Nooks and Crannies’
Hoi Ning Ngai, director of employer engagement and business advising in the Center for Purposeful Work, takes a break from helping move the Center’s operations into the newly remodeled Chase Hall. The team is “exploring every nook and cranny” of their new space, and they are “so excited” to have a new base camp for the upcoming academic year, says Ngai.
