Garry W. Jenkins is a scholar and educator widely recognized for his contributions to law, policy, and education. Throughout a cross-sector career, he has held senior leadership roles in law, business, philanthropy, and higher education.

Jenkins has served as the 9th president of Bates College since 2023. As president, he is charged with setting a vision and strategy for Bates, enhancing academic excellence, managing all institutional affairs, developing and maintaining relationships with constituents across the college community and beyond, and representing Bates externally as its chief ambassador.

Since President Jenkins arrived on campus, Bates has made significant gains in attracting highly qualified students, faculty, and staff; added a new residence hall; and begun construction on the Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center and renovation of the historic Alumni Gym. The college has also bolstered its interdisciplinary concentration offerings, infusing the liberal arts with enhanced professional preparation; launched key strategic collaborations with major research universities, nonprofits, and investment firms; invested in student culture, community, and belonging, including athletic facilities; advanced its commitment to making Bates an excellent place to work; and deepened engagement with Lewiston and the surrounding region.   

In 2025, President Jenkins initiated a comprehensive strategic planning process to champion the power of the liberal arts for the 21st century, extend Bates’ impact and leadership in higher education, and chart a course toward an even stronger future.

A respected authority on nonprofit organizations, corporate governance, lawyers as leaders, and higher education, President Jenkins has published scholarship in leading publications, including the Southern California Law Review, North Carolina Law Review, Tulane Law Review, and Stanford Social Innovation Review. His scholarly writing has earned honors and awards in the fields of nonprofit law, global justice, and corporate law. He has also received a number of awards for his administrative leadership. President Jenkins is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and he was awarded an honorary degree from Albany Law School for his contributions to legal and higher education.

Prior to Bates, President Jenkins served for seven years as dean and William S. Pattee Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School. As the law school’s chief academic and administrative officer, he helped to enhance the school’s overall ranking, academic quality, and the diversity of the student body (reaching record highs on all measures). The law school’s endowment nearly doubled during his deanship, and he successfully completed the largest fundraising campaign in the school’s history. During his tenure, he also expanded experiential learning by creating new law clinics in areas ranging from racial justice to immigration to gun violence prevention, improved student employment and bar passage outcomes, and increased resources for student mental health and well-being.

President Jenkins previously served as the associate dean for academic affairs and John C. Elam/Vorys Sater Professor of Law at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. He co-founded and directed the Program on Law and Leadership, one of the first leadership development programs at a U.S. law school. He was also chief operating officer and general counsel of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, whose goal is the betterment of humanity worldwide, focusing on health and education, and an attorney with the New York City–based law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, where he counseled public charities and private foundations, formed private investment funds, and negotiated mergers and acquisitions. He began his professional career with Prudential Financial, Inc.

Originally from New Jersey, President Jenkins graduated from Haverford College, where he was a Charles A. Dana Scholar. He earned a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a juris doctorate, cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review. He clerked for the Honorable Timothy K. Lewis on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

President Jenkins has served on several national and local nonprofit boards in education, the arts, and social justice, including Haverford College, where he was vice chair for eight years and accepted the AGB Nason Award for innovation and exemplary leadership on the board’s behalf. He currently sits on the board of the National Women’s Law Center and the Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges.

President Jenkins resides in the President’s House on campus with his husband, Jon J. Lee, a law professor.