The “limitless curiosities” of Bates’ Watson finalists

Meredith McCarroll

Stories by Meredith McCarroll

The “limitless curiosities” of Bates’ Watson finalists

Thursday, February 26, 2026 3:57 pm

Four Bates seniors are hoping to get the chance to spend the next year seeking answers to some big questions. Finalists for the Watson Fellowship, these students are exploring differing approaches to work across cultures, persistent traditions amid changing political boundaries, how meaning can be made from movement, and community-driven approaches to power grids.

Bates announces tenure and promotion for nine faculty members

Thursday, February 26, 2026 3:56 pm

Nine members of the faculty have received promotions, including seven tenure awards, effective Feb. 6. The promotions were recommended by the Faculty Personnel Committee and approved by the Bates College Board of Trustees.

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.

Mohammed M. Obaid Shwani ’24 selected as Schwarzman Scholar

Friday, January 23, 2026 2:53 pm

Mohammed M. Obaid Shwani ’24 has been a world traveler and an award winner since he was a teenager. In 2016, he first came to the United States after being named an Iraqi Young Leader through a State Department program, then traveled to Bosnia to attend United World College on a scholarship before landing in Maine for college.

New funding pushes Carolina González Valencia’s film toward the finish line

Friday, December 19, 2025 11:30 am

Associate Professor of Art and Visual Culture Carolina González Valencia's feature-length film How to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps will be complete by the end of the year.

They are jumping for joy. Women’s varsity rowing teammates Oli Seline ’24 (left) of Delaware, Ohio, and Olivia Dekker ’24 of Bethesda, Md., high five it at the conclusion of their last-ever Bates lab in Bonney 360. The teammates are students in Assistant Professor of Biochemistry Geneva Laurita’s Short Term course, “Chemistry and the Arts.” Seline is a biochemistry major with a GEC in “Visible Ideas,” while Dekker is a biochemistry major with a minor in art and visual culture. The course explores the connection between chemistry and various topics in the arts and arts-related fields. The students learn about the chemistry behind these topics, exploring the literature behind various artistic practices, and applying hands-on techniques in the laboratory involved in various art processes This year, Laurita asked students to focus on the origins of color, different crafts, print making, jewelry making, dyeing, and art conservation. Laurita is the recipient of a major National Science Foundation grant of $581,984. The NSF CAREER award, considered to be one of the foundation’s most prestigious awards for faculty members who are just beginning their teaching and research careers, is based on both her scientific research in solid state materials and how she brings undergraduates into that vital area of scientific exploration. 3:18 What the particular lab was about...the lab handout. Kate Baumler, intern for Geneva’s NSF grant, wearing, black shirt Benji Richards, ’27, wearing tan shirt Finian Gunny ’27, gray pullover and blond hair Charlotte Maffie ’25 with pink tie dyed and hair in bun Sister Alice Maffie ’27 in t-shirt and pony tail Nina Greeley ’24 with hair in bun and pink t-shirt Riley Lund ’26 in gray sweatshirt Jahan Baker-Wainwright ’25 in green golf Rohini Kandasamy ’27 in dark tan Life is cool t-shirt and low bun Chemistry and the Arts S28, the origin of different crafts, print making, jewelry making, dyeing and art soncserv

Faculty member Geneva Laurita wins national teaching award

Thursday, December 11, 2025 4:04 pm

Geneva Laurita, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, was recently named a Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar — one of only eight to receive this national award — in recognition of her commitment to scholarship and undergraduate research.

In the News: December 2025

Thursday, December 4, 2025 5:03 pm

A selection of recent mentions of Bates people in the news, including coverage of a mother-daughter basketball record, an alumna winning big on reality television, alumni new and faculty updates.

The logics of acceptance: Francesco Duina in conversation about his new book and the sociology of economic inequality

Thursday, November 13, 2025 3:27 pm

In Francesco Duina's latest collection, The Social Acceptance of Inequality: On the Logics of a More Unequal World (Oxford 2025), co-edited with Luca Storti, contributors ask why people across the world accept economic inequalities.

Meet new faculty in chemistry, religious studies, and rhetoric

Thursday, October 30, 2025 4:03 pm

New faculty join Bates in chemistry, religious studies, and rhetoric. Bates is welcoming a large group of new faculty this year. Seventeen tenured or tenure-track professors will join the college over the course of the 2025-2026 academic year. Bates News is introducing them in groups over this semester. Part 1 ran in our newsletter of September 25, part 2 went out in our October 3 newsletter and Part 3 appeared in our October 10 newsletter.

Radiohead Trending: Bates students jam in Olin with professional tribute band Fitter Happier

Thursday, October 30, 2025 3:56 pm

Her electric violin at the ready on her right shoulder, Mavy Ho-Le ’26 started to slowly tap her foot on the stage at Olin Arts Center. It was Saturday Oct. 25 and the first strains of Radiohead’s 2016 song “Daydreaming,” were beginning to emerge from Fitter Happier, a Radiohead tribute band based in Portland.