Filmmaker’s visit creates a full circle moment

Stories from 2026

Filmmaker Sandi DuBowski screen his film Sabbath Queens to members of the Bates community on Feb. 4, 2026 in the Keck Classroom of Pettengill Hall. Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies Stephanie Pridgeon introduced the film and launched a conversation with the filmmaker that included a Q&A with audience members, who included members of the Religion Department Cynthia Baker, Alison Melnick, and Halla Attallah. SABBATH QUEEN, a feature documentary filmed over 21 years, follows Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s epic journey as the dynastic heir of 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis including the Chief Rabbis of Israel. He is torn between rejecting and embracing his destiny and becomes a drag-queen rebel, a queer bio-dad and the founder of Lab/Shul—an everybody-friendly, God-optional, artist-driven, pop-up experimental congregation. SABBATH QUEEN joins Amichai on a lifelong quest to creatively and radically reinvent religion and ritual, challenge patriarchy and supremacy, champion interfaith love, and stand up for peace, ceasefire, and an end to the Occupation in Israel/Palestine. The film interrogates what Jewish survival means in a difficult rapidly changing 21st century. SABBATH QUEEN is directed and produced by Sandi DuBowski

Filmmaker’s visit creates a full circle moment

Thursday, February 12, 2026 3:35 pm

When she was a college student, Stephanie Pridgeon fell hard for a documentary by award-winning director Sandi DuBowski. In this full circle moment, she introduced her students to DuBowski's work through his latest acclaimed film.

‘Frost and Furious’: Time again to celebrate the annual Winter Carnival

Thursday, February 12, 2026 3:21 pm

During Winter Carnival at Bates, the community comes together not despite the winter but in celebration of all that it enables, with traditions like the beloved Puddle Jump.

In the News: February 2026

Thursday, February 12, 2026 3:16 pm

A selection of recent mentions of Bates people in the news, including music and arts achievements, coverage of Bates MLK Day observance, and op-eds on rural education from a Bates professor.

LOVE/ SICK By John Cariani Directed by Martin Andrucki Scenery and Costume Design by Christine McDowell Lighting Design by Michael Reidy PLAYWRIGHT'S NOTE: LOVE/SICK is a .. . nine-play cycle about love and loss-but mostly loss. Each play has its own arc and tells the story of a couple at a crossroads in their relationship. Since each relationship is more advanced than the previous relationship, a larger arc emerges and the individual plays work together to create a satisfying whole that chronicles the life cycle of a typical relationship from meeting through divorce ... and afterwards. TIME: 7:30 pm on a Friday night in June. PLACE: An alternate suburban reality. Play 1. "Obsessive Impulsive." WOMAN, Emily Diaz '23; MAN, Brady Chilson '23 Play 2. "The Singing Telegram." LOUISE, Alex Gilbertson '22; TELEGRAM MAN, Losseni Barry '22, Play 3. "What?!?" ANDY, Noah Pott '22; BEN, Lucas Allen '22 Play 4. "The Answer." KEITH, Kush Sharma '23; CELIA, Sadie Basila '23 Play 5. "Uh-Oh." SARAH, Emily Diaz '23; BILL, Rishi Madnani '23 INTERMISSION Play 6. "Lunch and Dinner." MARK, Brady Chilson '23; KELLY, Sadie, Basila '23 Play 7. "Forgot." KEVIN, Kush Sharma '23; JILL, Olivia Dimond '22 Play 8. "Where Was 17" LIZ, Muskan Verma '21; ABBIE, Hale Murch '22 Play 9. "Destiny." JAKE, Rishi Madnani '23; EMILY, Alex Gilbertson '22

Beloved and brilliant Martin Andrucki, Dana Professor Emeritus of Theater at Bates, dies at age 80

Thursday, February 12, 2026 12:56 pm

A beloved and brilliant teacher and scholar who secured a seat at the liberal arts table for Bates theater, Andrucki died Feb. 8, 2026, at age 80. A faculty member for 47 years, he was among the longest-serving Bates professors in the college’s history.

Meet new faculty in physics, economics, and earth and climate sciences

Thursday, February 12, 2026 12:46 pm

Bates has welcomed a large group of new faculty this year. Seventeen tenured or tenure-track professors joined the college during the 2025-2026 academic year.

Bates named a Fulbright Student top producer for 15th straight year

Tuesday, February 3, 2026 8:23 am

For the 15th consecutive year, Bates has been recognized as a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Student awards.

A tale of two trees (and one map)

Thursday, January 29, 2026 4:06 pm

For at least 151 years, a hemlock and its close neighbor, a red oak, have grown up together on the Bates campus, close enough to overlap branches, while buildings popped up around them. Their survival is a mystery but thanks to a new interactive historic map of Bates, their shared history can at least be glimpsed.

December and January at Bates

Thursday, January 29, 2026 3:59 pm

Photography from the big snow of Jan. 25 (and 26), back to the joys of a December Makers Market, and tons of athletics. Plus, thesis binding season for the Class of 2026 is here, big time.

MLK Day 2026

Thursday, January 29, 2026 3:32 pm

Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Bates is not a “day off” — it’s a “day on,” where classes are canceled and faculty, staff, and students instead participate in a day of programming around MLK’s enduring legacy and teachings. This year's theme was “Love, Anger and the Struggle for Justice.”

On a chilly night in December, students from Associate Professor of Theater Courtney Smith’s Introduction to Digital Media course presented their final project on Lisbon Street, the heart of Lewiston's historic downtown, and the subject of this interdiscliplinary course (cross listed between theater and digital and computational studies). For their work in this community engaged learning experience, they explored resources that included the Muskie Archives on campus and the Androscoggin Historical Society, to create a multimedia portrait of Lisbon Street, dating back to the days of electric trolley cars. In attendance at the big reveal included Professor Emeritus Doug Hodgkin, Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline, and Darby Ray, who collaborated with Smith. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

National recognition for Bates’ ‘exemplary’ success in community engagement as well as its return on investment for graduates

Friday, January 23, 2026 3:07 pm

Bates has once again been recognized by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for its deep level of commitment to community engagement, an honor the college first achieved in 2008 and again in 2015. Recently Bates was also lauded by ACE and Carnegie for its success in providing paths for graduates to earn competitive wages.