Alumni and Parent Recognition
Bates is proud to recognize the achievements and volunteer contributions of our alumni, parents, and friends through a program of awards and honors. Below you can learn about these awards and about the Bates people who have made this college — and the world — better through their time, efforts, and talents.
+Alumni Community Service Award
The Alumni Community Service Award is given annually to an alum who has demonstrated distinguished leadership and commitment to serving the community in which they live or work. The award is designed to recognize the values of service and civic responsibility that are fundamental to the Bates education.
Recent Recipients | Full Recipient List
| 2024 | Michael Schlechter ’99 |
| 2023 | Catherine “Cat” Lathrop Strahan ’86 |
| 2023 | Nathan Harrington ’05 |
| 2022 | Carolyn McNamara ‘08 |
| 2022 | Amanda Webb Dickerson ‘01 |
| 2020 | William “Bud” Schultz ’81 |
| 2019 | Benjamin R. Ayers ’99 |
| 2019 | Patricia Sullivan Doyle ’79, P’09 |
| 2019 | Chomba Kaluba ’11 |
| 2018 | Win Brown ’89, P’21 |
| 2017 | Nathaniel Boone ’52, P’82 |
| 2016 | Sylvia Stuber Heap ’50 |
+Alumni Professional Recognition Award
The Alumni Professional Recognition Award is given annually to an alum that has demonstrated outstanding professional success and achievement in any field or endeavor. This award is designed to recognize the exceptional career accomplishments that exemplify the ideals and spirit of Bates College.
| 2024 | Robin Hodgskin ’76 |
| 2024 | David Wilcox ’74 |
| 2023 | Jeffrey Roy ’83 P’12 |
| 2023 | Aditi Vaidya ’00 |
| 2022 | Natalie Adler ‘92 |
| 2022 | Lisa Marshall-Schwiebert ‘86 |
+Bates’ Best Award
Bates’ Bests are awarded annually to dedicated alumni volunteers who express a passion and commitment for advancing the mission of the college.
Recent Recipients | Full Recipient List
+The Benjamin E. Mays Medal
The Benjamin E. Mays Medal award was established during Mays’ lifetime, and he was the inaugural recipient of the award in 1982. It is the highest alumni award of the college and is presented to an alumna or alumnus who has performed distinguished service to the larger (worldwide) community and been deemed a Bates graduate of outstanding accomplishment. It is an occasional award that has been presented only 19 times.
Recent Recipient List | Full Recipient List
| 2023 | Douglas Evans ’78 |
| 2019 | James Owens ’87 |
+Bruce Stangle ’70, P’96, GP’26 Award for Distinguished Service
The Bruce Stangle ’70, P’96, GP’26 Award for Distinguished Service to the Bates Community was established in honor of Bruce for his decades of remarkable service. It is an occasional award that will be given in recognition of Bates leaders whose body of work has touched countless Bates people and helped them become better professionals in their careers or in their volunteer work.
Award Recipients
| 2024 | Ira Waldman ’73 |
| 2023 | Nate Walton ’08 |
| 2022 | David Morris ’89 |
| 2021 | Sara Cummings ‘89 & Beth Tener ‘89 |
| 2020 | Dr. Ben Lowenstein ’92 P’23 |
| 2019 | Kathleen Ann Burke ’03 |
| 2017 | Robert E. Cramer ’79, P’13, P’14 |
| 2016 | Edmund J. Wilson ’62 |
| 2015 | Jennifer Guckel Porter ’88, P’15 |
| 2014 | Stuart B. Abelson ’97 |
| 2013 | Bradford A. Adams ’92 |
| 2012 | Bruce Stangle ’70, P’96 |
+David G. Russell ’66 Award
The Office of Admission presents the David G. Russell ’66 Award to exemplary Alumni in Admission volunteers. Usually presented during Back to Bates: Homecoming & Family Weekend or Reunion Weekend, the David G. Russell Award is named in honor of the late Chair for the Worcester region. David was devoted to the AIA program, and this award is intended to celebrate those in AIA who embody his same loyalty to Bates.
| 2023 | Gary Silverman ’83 |
| 2018 | Sarah Bartos Smith ’98 |
| 2018 | Jessica Backer Brand ’95 |
| 2016 | Cat Djang ’13 |
| 2016 | Jill Kopicki Blankenhorn ’03 |
+Distinguished Young Alumni Award
Established in 1987, the Distinguished Young Alumni Award is presented to a young graduate (usually not more than 15 years out) for exceptional volunteer service to Bates and distinction in their career.
Recent Recipients | Full Recipient List
| 2024 | Alexandria Onuoha ’20 |
| 2023 | Ainsley Jamieson ’18 |
| 2022 | Allen Kendunga ‘18 |
| 2022 | Michael “Mikey” Pasek ’12 |
| 2021 | Marshall Hatch ‘10 * |
| 2021 | Marsha Larned ‘07 * |
| 2020 | Maggie Reilly Fidler ’12 |
| 2020 | Sangita Murali ’12 |
| 2019 | Meredith G. Traquina ’13 |
| 2018 | Zak Ray ’07 |
| 2016 | Bradley McGraw ’10 |
| 2015 | Emma A. Sprague ’10 |
+Helen A. Papaioanou ’49 Distinguished Alumni Service Award
Inaugurated in 1981, the Helen A. Papaioanou ’49 Distinguished Alumni Service Award is awarded to a graduate or graduates (usually greater than 25 years) for truly distinguished service — both in quantity and quality. Historically known as the Distinguished Alumni Service Award, the 1999 award was renamed the Helen A. Papaioanou Distinguished Alumni Service Award, to honor Helen Papaioanou, M.D., class of 1949, for her decades of service to Bates and to the board of trustees from 1965 to 1999.
Recent Recipients | Full Recipient List
+Scholar-Athlete Society
The Bates Scholar-Athlete Society honors dedication to excellence in scholarship and sportsmanship. It celebrates the ways in which the game fits into the overall collegiate experience by honoring those who do it best.
+Sesquicentennial Prize
The Sesquicentennial Prize was established in 2005 in honor of the college’s 150th anniversary. It is awarded to an alumna/us for a single academic, artistic, or scientific achievement. It is conferred at the discretion of the Alumni Council.
Award Recipients
| 2023 | Alisa Amador ’18 * |
| 2022 | Jeffrey K. Tulis ‘72 |
| 2021 | Charles Perou ‘87 |
| 2020 | Amy Bass ’92 |
| 2019 | Emily S. Buchanan ’89 |
| 2018 | Louis Weinstein ’68 |
| 2015 | Lisa M. Genova ’92 |
| 2010 | Elizabeth S. Strout ’77, LL.D.’10, P’94 |
| 2007 | John M. Carrafa ’76 |
Older content is available upon request by contacting the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement at alumni@bates.edu. Please also visit Muskie Archives to access or request other historical documents.