Rev. Rob Benson will join Bates as the college’s multifaith chaplain, effective Aug. 3, the college announced today. Benson currently serves as the lead pastor at Bar Harbor Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Bar Harbor, Maine. 

“I am delighted to welcome Rev. Rob Benson to the Bates community, and look forward to seeing how he will bring his deep experience in inclusive ministry and spiritual leadership to his work with our Multifaith Chaplaincy,” said Bates President Garry W. Jenkins. “Rob seems to intuitively understand what makes Bates, Bates — our tight-knit community, our commitment to responsible stewardship of the greater world, and our immensely thoughtful, engaged, and talented students.”

As the leader of the Multifaith Chaplaincy — a campus hub for spiritual discovery, community building, and compassionate support — Benson, who uses he/him pronouns, looks forward to welcoming all Bates community members, whether it be to explore spiritual traditions and identities, build community, or interrogate the meaning of purposeful work.

“From the moment I stepped on campus I could sense Bates’ friendly, inclusive vibe, the deep engagement, and the passion for connecting academic learning with the world’s pressing needs,” Benson said. “Bates’ aspiration to be ‘a college for the coming times’ echoes the legacies of the politically engaged faiths of William Stringfellow and Peter Gomes, among many others, which seems crucial for times like these.” 

Benson brings nearly 30 years of experience in ministry and chaplaincy to the role. He began his career in hospital chaplaincy, where he developed a multifaith foundational approach to ministry.

In his role at Bar Harbor, Benson co-founded the Mount Desert Island Racial Equity Working Group and the MDI Backpack Program, which serve to foster racial justice and address food security among students on the island. He also finalized the church’s adoption of an “open and affirming covenant,” a commitment to welcome and affirm congregants of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and expressions. Additionally, he volunteers as chaplain with the Bar Harbor Fire Department. 

“At Bates it feels like I can be open — with myself and with others — and not have to apologize for wanting to foster equity and pursue justice,” Benson said. “Bates feels like a great ‘fit.’” 

A graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., Benson is intimately familiar with and embraces the small liberal arts environment that Bates offers. He previously served as an adjunct professor and spiritual counselor for students across faith traditions at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor and worked as a middle and high school teacher and swim coach.

“I cherish students’ honesty and enthusiasm. Life matters, and we don’t have time to waste on superficiality or irrelevance,” Benson said. “Questions of who we are, what to do and say, how to live together, how to cultivate hope and joy, how to tend the earth — questions of meaning, purpose, justice, and belonging — aren’t just abstract concepts, but pressing, real-life pursuits. I’m inspired by students’ willingness to try new things, challenge outdated systems, and forge together a better world for all.”

Benson previously spent 12 years as an outer island pastor with the Maine Seacoast Mission, serving five remote island communities with pastoral care, interfaith worship opportunities, and multi-generational programming. 

Before moving to Maine in 2002, he served as a program and communications associate for the Faith and Politics Institute in Washington, D.C., and a hospice chaplain for Hospice Care of the District of Columbia and Hospice of Northern Virginia. He holds a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School and he completed his clinical pastoral training at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Georgetown University Medical Center.

Benson succeeds Rev. Dr. Raymond Clothier, who has served as interim multifaith chaplain since the departure of Rev. Dr. Brittany Longsdorf in December 2024.

“I’m excited to meet students, faculty, and staff, to share the joys and challenges of life, and to explore practices that deepen peace and nurture hope and right action,” Benson said. “And I’m anxiously anticipating the Puddle Jump next winter.”