Greetings, Colleagues,

Here are this week’s announcements and upcoming events.

Tyler Harper wrote on behalf of the MLK committee with the exciting news that our keynote speaker for this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration will be Keith Hamilton Cobb. Cobb is an actor and playwright known for his critically acclaimed play American Moor, as well as his roles in various television and stage productions. 

Our theme for Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2023 is “Arts and Activism.” As you know, MLK Day traditionally begins with the keynote event, followed by an afternoon filled with thought-provoking and inspiring workshops. These workshops are organized by Bates students, staff, and faculty, and can focus on topic areas related to the year’s theme, or to other subjects in the spirit of Dr. King’s work and legacy. 

The deadline for proposal submissions this year is November 1st. Proposals should be submitted through this form by that deadline. Members of the MLK committee will be tabling in front of Commons on Monday, Oct. 24th, and we will also be hosting a drop-in workshop brainstorming session on Wednesday, Oct. 26th. Information on these events will be sent in a separate email. If you would like to discuss workshop ideas with us, please stop in and say hello, or feel free to email me, my co-chair Justin Moriarty, or any other member of the committee.

Tyler will send reminders about the Nov. 1 workshop deadline in the coming weeks. In the interim, do not hesitate to be in touch with any questions or clarifications.

Brittany Pleau-Richardson from Human Resources wrote with information for Bates College Medical Plan participants who are eligible for Medicare or will become eligible for Medicare in 2023.

Each year there is an enrollment period for Medicare Part D. For 2022 this period begins on October 15th and ends on December 7th. You may have heard that if you do not sign up for Medicare Part D when you are first eligible that you will have to pay more for it in the future. This is true with one exception as explained below.

As long as you are covered under a plan that has “Creditable Coverage” then you will not be penalized for enrolling at a later date. If you currently participate in a Bates College medical plan through Aetna, the prescription drug coverage provided is considered to be “Creditable Coverage”. If your Aetna coverage ends you will no longer have “Creditable Coverage”. At that time you will have 63 days to enroll in Medicare Part D without penalty. 

You will need to keep a copy of the Certificate of Creditable Coverage for each year you do not choose Medicare Part D after first becoming eligible for the plan. The 2022 Notice of Creditable Coverage and the previous year’s notices can be found on the Human Resources website or by contacting Human Resources.

For more information about Medicare Part D coverage and enrollment periods, please reference the 2023 Medicare Handbook. 

Kristen Cloutier of the Harward Center wrote with information for students interested in applying for a 2023 Davis Projects for Peace award (info below).  Students should plan on attending an informational meeting on Monday, October 24th at 4 pm at the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, 161 Wood Street.  

The Davis United World Scholars Program has decided to re-fund “Davis Projects for Peace” at Bates for the upcoming summer.  The awards will be made to a student or group of students at each college who design the most promising and doable project, funded at $10,000 each, which they will implement during the summer of 2023 anywhere in the world.

The objective is “to encourage and support today’s motivated youth to create and try out their own ideas for building peace in the 21^st century.”  The grants are made possible by a gift of $1M for this purpose by Mrs. Kathryn Wasserman Davis.  She wants today’s students—tomorrow’s leaders—to be challenged to design and test their own ideas for world peace.

This is a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in the world.  Information and particulars on the project are available at the project website:  http://www.davisprojectsforpeace.org/

Krista Aronson of the Dean of Faculty’s office sent a Request for Proposals for Short Term Innovative Pedagogy (STIP) Grants.  STIP courses provide faculty with the time and support to explore the literature on teaching and learning as well as available models for pedagogical innovation within their fields and integrate that exploration with a specific course design or redesign project. Up to 5 STIP courses will be supported during short term ‘23.

This program seeks to support curricular renewal through the transformation of our curriculum and pedagogical approaches. Participating faculty will be those interested in implementing this work at the level of a course, but also interested in sharing insights from their work as a contribution to curricular renewal and innovations in teaching and learning at the institutional level. For more detailed information about the program and the proposal process, please visit this page. Proposals are due on or before November 21st, 2022. 

Malcolm Hill from the Dean of Faculty’s office shared the news that Edili Lopez joined the Dean of the Faculty’s office this week to begin her role as Assistant Dean of the Faculty for Academic Programs. Edili will be filling Kerry O’Brien’s position; the two will work together over the next three weeks so that Edili can get a thorough introduction to the office.

Edili joins us from Bowdoin College where she had been a major contributor to the THRIVE program serving as the Assistant Director for the last two years. Prior to that, she was Assistant Dean at Hofstra University for 4.5 years working on a number of support systems for students. 

Edili impressed the search committee with her strong leadership qualities and keen focus on supporting the academic mission. She earned her MPA in 2012 and is finishing her Doctor of Education in leadership policy. She has excellent project management skills and training, is focused on student success, and will bring new perspectives, leadership, and enthusiasm to our office’s support of academic systems. 

We are all very excited to have Edili join us. Over the next several weeks, we will find opportunities for colleagues to get to know her. Please join me in welcoming Edili to Bates!

Next, upcoming events.

Historic Bates Campus Tour
Riverside Cemetery Tour
Friday, October 28, 10 am
Meet inside the front gates of the cemetery.
Sign up here: https://forms.gle/3syTD1X3YRNtM7vy8
Sponsored by the Muskie Archives staff

Workshop on the use of Mentimeter as an inclusive engagement tool
Tuesday, October 18 – 4:15-5:15 pm
Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning
Dana Hall, Room 219
(Register here). Upon registration, you will receive a calendar invite to the session.
You may register in advance and we will send you a calendar invitation but all are welcome to attend without registering! Hosted by The Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning.

GUILT-FREE BOOK CLUB: INCLUSIVE TEACHING

Tuesday October 18, 2022 8-9 am/2-3 pm Dana 216
Join CITL’s inaugural Guilt-free Book Club featuring Kelly A. Hogan and Viji Sathy’s Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom. Join us for coffee/tea, an initial conversation, and to pick up your free copy of the book. If you have not already registered for this, we have 3 slots left!

Northeast Conference on British Studies
October 21-22 – Bates College
The event is free for students, but we will need them to register in advance. Here is the link for the student registration form.

International Open Access week
Tuesday, October 25 – 4:15 pm
Bonney Science Center (first-floor lounge)
Grab a beverage and snacks with your fellow faculty as well as Library, Grants, and Dean’s Office colleagues. The conversation will be lively and prizes (YETI mugs) will be up for grabs!  Please register for this event here.  For more information about publishing Open at Bates, please see our LibGuide: https://libguides.bates.edu/scholarly-communications/publishing-open
This event is co-sponsored by Ladd Library, Dean of the Faculty’s Office, and the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance (SPaRC).

A Group for Compassionate Grieving
Mondays, 4:15-5:15, 163 Wood St.
Oct. 17, 24, 31, Nov. 7
Please sign-up here.
Facilitated by Brittany Longsdorf and Raymond Clothier

KROEPSCH LECTURE

Queerness, An Act of Resistance:
Reading Robert Jones’s The Prophets in Narrativing Slavery and Beyond
Monday, October 24
4:30 PM – Keck Classroom, Pettengill G52
The lecture will be given by Sue Houchins, Associate Professor of Africana and Winner of the Kroepsch Award for Excellence in Teaching

Q&A How your libraries are supporting Open Access on the Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin Campuses.
Tuesday, October 25 at Noon
This will be a Zoom-only event
This will be a 45-minute presentation. We will discuss Read and Publish Agreements (also known as Transformative Agreements), access types across academic journals, and opportunities for making your work open access at no cost. This is a Zoom-only event and does require registration. All faculty and staff at Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin Colleges are welcome to join. Please register here. A recording will be made available to registrants. 

For more information about publishing Open at Bates, please see our LibGuide: https://libguides.bates.edu/scholarly-communications/publishing-open   

International Open Access week
Tuesday, October 25th at 4:15 pm
Bonney Science Center (first-floor lounge)
Grab a beverage and snacks with your fellow faculty as well as Library, Grants, and Dean’s Office colleagues. The conversation will be lively and prizes (YETI mugs) will be up for grabs!   Please register for this event here.  For more information about publishing Open at Bates, please see our LibGuide: https://libguides.bates.edu/scholarly-communications/publishing-open   This event is co-sponsored by Ladd Library, Dean of the Faculty Office and the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance (SPaRC).

ON THE MENU: CHILLING TEACHING TALES
Monday October 31- 12-1 pm
Commons 221
Go through the Commons lunch line (charge CITL) and join us for the first in our On the Menu: Workshop Series. Lindsey Hamilton, CITL Director, will share terrifying teaching horror stories and provide practical tips on how to avoid these sticky situations. There will be Halloween candy if you dare.

Black Queer and Trans Care Practices for a New World:
Black Feminist Practices of Embodied Abolition
Presented by Dr. AK Wright
November 1 – 4:15 pm
Pettengill G52
Sponsored by the GSS Program, the Dean of the Faculty’s Office, and the A.W. Mellon Foundation.

“Being Black in White Space,”
November 10 at 4:15 (online lecture)
Professor Elijah Anderson. Register at https://elijah-anderson-bates.eventbrite.com

• Lessons from Minamata: Environmental activism through lecture and two films
  Screening of the 2020 Andrew Levitas film Minamata
  Wednesday, October 26, 7:30pm
  
• Presentation by Japanese-American photojournalist and activist Aileen Mioko Smith
  Thursday, October 27, 4:15pm
  
• Screening of the 1971 Tsuchimoto Noriaki documentary Minamata: The Victims and their World (Minamata – kanjasan to sono sekai)
  Wednesday, November 2, 7:30pm.
  
  Please refer to the series site for the details of each event. (https://sites.google.com/bates.edu/minamata)

The Program in Asian Studies presents, with co-sponsorships of Film, Rhetoric and Screen Studies Department, and Environmental Studies Program, and the grant from the NEH Language Support Fund, the Humanities Division Lecture Fund, and the Interdisciplinary Divisions Lecture Fund

STUDENT EVALUATION OF TEACHING
Thursday, November 10, 2022
4:15-5:30 pm
Dana 219
This is the first part of a CITL workshop series on student evaluations of teaching. This first session will center around talking with students about evaluations before they complete them. CITL will provide a summary of the research on bias in student evaluations and then share practical tips and suggestions for how to elicit better feedback from students before they fill them out this semester. Snacks will be provided. The second workshop in the series next semester will focus on interpreting student feedback in evaluations.

Bedlam & Eunoia, Middle Eastern-influenced jazz
Saturday, October 29th, 2022 at 7:30 pm

Bates College Orchestra
Saturday, November 12th, 2022 at 7:30 pm

Bates College Choir
Sunday, November 13th, 2022 at 2:00 pm

Rhythm Future Quartet, gypsy jazz
Thursday, November 17th, 2022 at 7:30 pm

The Burnurwurbskek Singers, Native Maine music
Sunday, November 20th, 2022 at 3:00 pm