![\"XX](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2013\/07\/web-E_130526_Commencement_1625.jpg\")
<\/a>Senior Gift co-chairs Henry Geng ’13 and Nancy Weidner ’13 present the Class Gift at Commencement as honorary degree recipient William Cronon and President Clayton Spencer applaud. With 92 percent participation, the Class of 2013 beat the previous participation record, held by the Class of 2012. Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College.<\/p><\/div>\n
At 50 percent participation for the second year in a row, Bates is one of a handful of U.S. colleges that can boast alumni giving at this elite level.<\/p>\n
Rising from 40 percent participation as recently as 2009, Bates has the top-ranked growth in this giving category among highly selective liberal arts colleges.<\/p>\n
Overall giving, including gifts to the college endowment, totaled a little more than $12 million in fiscal year 2013.<\/p>\n
“I am so grateful to the thousands of alumni, parents and friends who make Bates a philanthropic priority,\u201d said Sarah Pearson, vice president for college advancement and herself a member of the Class of 1975. \u201cA gift to the Bates Fund is an enormous vote of confidence in the college and its mission.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, Pearson added, these gifts \u201chave a tremendous impact on the work of our students and faculty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCreating a culture of engagement and financial support among alumni and parents is crucial.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cThis level of giving represents a terrific showing of support for Bates,\u201d said President Clayton Spencer. \u201cWe rely on annual giving to sustain our basic operations, and we have had a wonderful year \u2014 in admissions, athletics and all measures of academic achievement and success. Creating a culture of engagement and financial support among alumni and parents is crucial to the long-term future of the college, and I am so grateful for the generosity of so many in the Bates family in moving us forward in such a positive way.\u201d<\/p>\n
A terrific year:<\/h3>\n\t\n\t
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David Harning '13 of Rye, N.H., talks about his sediment core research in New Zealand during the 2013 Mount David Summit. Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t
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Ingrid Olivia Norrm\u00e9n-Smith \u201913 received a prestigious Watson Fellowship to research perceptions of stroke in Africa and Asia. Mike Bradley\/Bates College.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t
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In a season dedicated to late teammate Troy Pappas \u201916, the football team won the CBB title, posted its best record since 1981 and saw head coach Mark Harriman named NESCAC Co-Coach of the Year. Mike Bradley\/Bates College.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t
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A series of events around the country welcoming President Spencer drew record numbers of alumni, parents and friends to iconic venues like the Boston Museum of Science (here) and the New York Public Library. Photograph by Jared Charney.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t
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Known as a top producer of prestigious Fulbright award recipients, Bates graduated 11 such seniors in the Class of 2013. They will use their grants to study and teach abroad.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t
<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nBates\u2019 newest alumni \u2014 graduates of the Class of 2013 \u2014 broke records with 92 percent participation in their Senior Class Gift, toppling the previous record of 87 percent set by their immediate predecessors, the Class of 2012.<\/p>\n
In addition to this year\u2019s Senior Class Gift campaign, other milestones included a victory by young alumni in a competition known as March Mania and a successful one-day giving campaign in May<\/a><\/strong>, the first of its kind at Bates.<\/p>\n