{"id":119854,"date":"2018-10-31T14:47:25","date_gmt":"2018-10-31T18:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=119854"},"modified":"2024-07-08T13:46:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T17:46:15","slug":"news-media-coverage-tells-the-compelling-story-of-purposeful-work-at-bates-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2018\/10\/31\/news-media-coverage-tells-the-compelling-story-of-purposeful-work-at-bates-college\/","title":{"rendered":"News media coverage tells the compelling story of Purposeful Work at Bates College"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Updated June 4, 2019<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Attracted by its innovative approach to helping students find work that delivers deep personal meaning and the promise of professional success, news media outlets are telling the compelling story of the Purposeful Work program at Bates College.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5><em>April 10, 2019<\/em>: Media outlets report Bates-Gallup study&#8217;s &#8220;purpose gap&#8221; among college graduates<\/h5>\n<p>National media outlets quickly picked up on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2019\/04\/11\/bates-gallup-study-finds-purpose-gap-between-what-college-graduates-want-and-find-in-work\/\">April 10 announcement of a Bates-Gallup study<\/a> exploring the role that purpose plays in the working lives of college graduates.<\/p>\n<p>One of the first stories, by\u00a0<em>Quartz <\/em>reporter Jenny Anderson, explained why Bates commissioned the study: to\u00a0test the founding premise of the college&#8217;s Purposeful Work program, specifically, &#8220;that happiness and fulfillment&#8221; among college graduates &#8220;comes in large part from finding meaningful work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_123656\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2019\/04\/0M7A0252.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-123656\" class=\"wp-image-123656 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2019\/04\/0M7A0252-900x600.jpg\" alt=\"Bates College and Gallup released findings from a nationally representative survey examining the role that purpose plays in the work lives of college graduates. \u201cForging Pathways to Purposeful Work: The Role of Higher Education\u201d. The data provides insight into the importance of purpose in work, for both individuals and employers, and how colleges and universities can better prepare graduates to succeed in a complex, global market. Gallup hosted an event to release the report at their world headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. (Photo by Cheriss May)\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2019\/04\/0M7A0252-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2019\/04\/0M7A0252-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2019\/04\/0M7A0252-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2019\/04\/0M7A0252.jpg 1919w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-123656\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bates College President Clayton Spencer speaks with <em>New York Times <\/em>assistant managing editor Carolyn Ryan \u201986 at the announcement of the results of a Bates-Gallup survey examining the role of purpose in college graduates\u2019 working lives. (Photo by Cheriss May)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Specifically, the Gallup study sought to &#8220;find out how important meaning was to their work, whether they had found it, and what undergraduate experiences helped most in shaping that meaning.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As Anderson notes, the study shows that Bates is onto something big: &#8220;A whopping 80 percent of college graduates said that it is very important or extremely important to derive a sense of purpose from their work. Less than half had succeeded in finding it. The report&#8230;dubs this the &#8216;purpose gap.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Read the stories:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/1590270\/how-to-turn-a-liberal-arts-degree-into-a-meaningful-job\/\">The thing that turns a liberal arts education into a meaningful job<\/a>,\u201d <i>Quartz, <\/i>April 10, 2019<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sunjournal.com\/2019\/04\/10\/bates-college-leads-effort-to-give-purpose-to-work\/\">Bates College, Gallup report: Grads want \u2018purposeful\u2019 work<\/a>,\u201d <i>Sun Journal, <\/i>April 10, 2019<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/brandonbusteed\/2019\/04\/10\/whats-the-purpose-of-college\/#4bc34fa3354e\">What\u2019s the purpose of college?<\/a>\u201d <i>Forbes, <\/i>April 10, 2019<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/news\/2019\/04\/11\/gallup-bates-report-shows-graduates-want-sense-purpose-careers\">Purpose as well as paycheck<\/a>,\u201d <i>Inside Higher Ed, <\/i>April 11, 2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h5><em>Jan. 17, 2019: Washington Post<\/em> interviews Clayton Spencer about Purposeful Work innovations<\/h5>\n<p>Joining a select group of nine U.S. education leaders for an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2019\/01\/18\/video-clayton-spencer-outlines-purposeful-work-innovations-with-washington-post\/\">edition of Washington Post Live<\/a> on Jan. 17, 2019, President Clayton Spencer explained that Bates&#8217; Purposeful Work initiative meets a major \u2014 though not always fulfilled \u2014 responsibility of a liberal arts college: helping students find jobs that feel meaningful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBates is a classic liberal arts college, but we also recognize and embrace the fact that college has always been about preparing students for life and work,\u201d Spencer said.<\/p>\n<p>Here, President Spencer explains how Purposeful Work helps Bates students align their interests with work that brings them meaning in life:<\/p>\n\n<iframe style=\"width:100%;height:460px\" seamless frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/video\/c\/embed\/dda8c24a-a54c-421c-8cc1-20393b8a6443\" class=\"\"><\/iframe>\n\n<hr \/>\n<h5>Sept. 20, 2018: <em>Christian Science Monitor<\/em> reports how colleges appeal to students with \u2018purposeful work\u2019<\/h5>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.csmonitor.com\/EqualEd\/2018\/0920\/Liberal-arts-watch-Colleges-appeal-to-students-with-purposeful-work\">story in <em>The<\/em> <em>Christian Science Monitor<\/em> says that Bates is leading the way<\/a> in responding to the challenges facing liberal arts colleges.<\/p>\n<p>Bates&#8217; response, Purposeful Work, focuses on helping students explore career aspirations in ways that feel personally meaningful and also lead to career success.<\/p>\n<p>At Bates, Purposeful Work includes significant investment in internships.\u00a0 James Lee &#8217;19, a biochemistry major from Brooklyn, N.Y.,\u00a0 has twice received summer funding through Purposeful Work to further his work interests, specifically to find work that will feel meaningful to him.<\/p>\n<p>The story noted that Lee&#8217;s Purposeful Work experience, including summer funding, has successfully helped him discover what he&#8217;s interested in: the business and industry sides of the medical field, rather than research.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When I work in industry, I can see where the research is being applied,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes when you\u2019re working in a lab, it\u2019s very easy to lose track of what the bigger picture is. But when you\u2019re working on the front lines, all of the research that you\u2019re doing is applicable.\u201d<b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5>Sept. 2, 2018:\u00a0\u00a0<i>The Chronicle of Higher Education reports h<\/i>ow colleges help students find purpose in their work\u00a0<i><br \/>\n<\/i><\/h5>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/How-Colleges-Help-Students\/244421\">major feature story in <i>The Chronicle of Higher Education<\/i><\/a> on Sept. 2, 2018, concludes that Purposeful Work helps students &#8220;clarify the connections between classroom and career&#8221; while preparing them &#8220;for lives of meaningful work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Purposeful Work stands apart for how it &#8220;blends the philosophical and the pragmatic.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Purposeful Work is particularly valuable because it helps to &#8220;increase graduates\u2019 confidence that they can succeed in an increasingly technical work force, and to dispel parents\u2019 and policy makers\u2019 doubts about the returns on an expensive liberal-arts degree.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While many colleges are launching similar programs, Purposeful Work stands apart for how it &#8220;blends the philosophical and the pragmatic, offering students both concrete skills and an overarching theory of work: namely, that it ought to have both personal meaning and societal relevance.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5>April 29, 2018: <em>Quartz<\/em> reports how Bates has designed a liberal arts education fit for the future of work<\/h5>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/1260478\/this-college-is-moving-beyond-what-color-is-your-parachute-and-designing-for-students-to-find-purposeful-work\/\">feature story in <em>Quartz<\/em> on April 29, 2018<\/a>, looks at the link between work and happiness, and how Purposeful Work helps students build the latter by finding the former.<\/p>\n<p>With happiness and well-being a challenge to come by in today&#8217;s society, <em>Quartz<\/em> notes, it&#8217;s no wonder that many colleges are doubling down on how best to prepare students to find post-graduation happiness.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Bates teaches students &#8220;how to figure out the work they want to do&#8221; in their work lives \u2014 a &#8220;key factor in creating happiness.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The brilliance of what&#8217;s happening at Bates under President Clayton Spencer, explains reporter Jenny Anderson, is that it focuses on work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you get love and work right,\u201d Spencer tells Anderson, paraphrasing Sigmund Freud, \u201cyou\u2019ve sort of figured it all out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In other words, writes Anderson, Bates isn&#8217;t just trying to &#8220;teach kids how to be happy.&#8221; Instead, through Purposeful Work, Bates teaches students &#8220;how to figure out the work they want to do&#8221; in their work lives \u2014 a &#8220;key factor in creating happiness.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5>Jan. 17, 2018: 12 Lessons on Purposeful Work from <em>Maine Calling<\/em><\/h5>\n<p>Maine Public&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mainepublic.org\/post\/purposeful-work#stream\/0\"><em>Maine Calling<\/em> welcomed a Bates panel<\/a> to share ideas and insights into the college&#8217;s Purposeful Work program.<\/p>\n<p>President Clayton Spencer, Lecturer in Psychology Rebecca Fraser-Thill, and Reed Mszar &#8217;18 talked about how Bates&#8217; Purposeful Work program helps students find what gives them purpose. From their discussion, here are 12 insights about how a sense of purpose in your work helps create well-being in life.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>A sense of purpose in one&#8217;s work is a powerful force for life satisfaction.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>For one, a sense of purpose and well-being in one&#8217;s work is a powerful force for life satisfaction. \u201cWhen people have that purpose or career well-being, that predicts all the others,\u201d Fraser-Thill said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If we\u2019re liking what we do every day and we\u2019re doing things we\u2019re good at, we\u2019re more likely to be healthy and have great relationships and feel part of our community and have money.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5>June 4, 2018: WGBH-FM reports on new focus on purposeful work at Bates<\/h5>\n<p>Boston public radio station <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wgbh.org\/news\/education\/2018\/06\/04\/at-bates-college-new-focus-on-purposeful-work\">WGBH-FM profiled Purposeful Work<\/a>, a signature Bates program that helps students discover work that aligns with their interests and values.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe recognize that liberal arts students can do anything.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The story quoted Peter Bysshe &#8217;93, a Brooklyn-based brand consultant who teaches Practitioner-Taught Courses.<\/p>\n<p>Offered during Short Term as part of the Purposeful Work program, the courses allow <span class=\"st\">students to explore more practical and applied areas of study outside the traditional core liberal arts curriculum. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe recognize that liberal arts students can do anything,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have them do real things so they can feel what it&#8217;s like, so it&#8217;s not just rhetoric anymore.&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5>Dec. 11, 2017:\u00a0MaineBiz reports how\u00a0Bates prepares students for work that fits their skills and interests<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mainebiz.biz\/article\/20171211\/CURRENTEDITION\/312069994\/purposeful-work:-bates-college-prepares-students-for-work-that-fits-their-skills-and-interests\">A feature story in <em>MaineBiz<\/em> praised the college&#8217;s Purposeful Work initiative<\/a> for &#8220;helping students discover how &#8216;work&#8217; \u2014 the activity that will fill most of their adult hours \u2014 goes far beyond simply collecting a paycheck.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The story explained how the program weaves questions about work, identity, and purpose into the college&#8217;s curriculum and co-curricular programs.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;There is a very natural interest in the program&#8221; among donors, said President Spencer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Funded internships in Maine and worldwide are a strong part of program&#8217;s fabric. The story pointed to support from the Portland-based Libra Foundation, whose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/campaign\/catalyzing-student-success\/purposeful-work-programming\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$250,000 grant to the Bates Campaign<\/a> will fund more than a dozen annual internships in Maine alone in the coming years.<\/p>\n<p>The program is &#8220;looking at the bridge between college and the rest of each student&#8217;s life. So there is a very natural interest in the program&#8221; among donors, said President Spencer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Attracted by its innovative approach to helping students find work that delivers deep personal meaning and the promise of professional success, news media outlets are telling the story of the college&#8217;s Purposeful Work program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":117988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[4,224,11009],"tags":[12356,10935],"class_list":["post-119854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","category-society-culture","category-the-college","tag-center-for-purposeful-work","tag-clayton-spencer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119854"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125230,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119854\/revisions\/125230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}