Faculty Remembrances
Here we share tributes, recollections, and reflections on the lives of those Bates colleagues recently lost. These may be memorial minutes or more in-depth remembrances of our colleagues. These passages contain respectful recognition of their contributions to knowledge and liberal arts education along with fond acknowledgement of ways they cultivated love of learning and stewardship of their communities beyond Bates. While retirement is the occasion for loss of daily contact, faculty and staff with whom we have taught, served, debated, and shared challenging as well as proud moments in the life of the College remain in our memories. If you wish to submit a remembrance, please email Mary Meserve (mmeserve @ bates.edu) or Matt Duvall (mduvall @ bates.edu).
2024
Pamela Johnson (2024)
Pamela, … provided instruction not only on “how best to mix paint on a palette,” but also, more broadly, on how to “lead a creative life.” Read the full remembrance
2020
Jim Boyles (2020)
“A counselor to those exploring careers in the sciences, a patient and encouraging teacher, and an active scholar and community citizen” Read the full remembrance
Don Lent (2020)
“He was a true educator — dedicated to quietly helping each of us develop our own artistic expressions and expand our knowledge and experience.” Read the full remembrance
Tina Malcolmson (2020)
“To ‘happily disagree’ was the mark of Tina’s vivacity and intellect – a strength of her scholarship – and one of the many traits that [we] will sorely miss.” Lillian Nayder’s remembrance of Tina.
Joyce Seligman (2020)
“In her tireless advocacy of writing as an essential skill of an educated person and in her celebration of the sheer joy of writing, [Joyce] has helped us chart this course for future generations of Bates students.” Read the full remembrance
2019
Carl Straub (2019)
“Carl was a pivotal figure in shaping the academic character of the Bates we inhabit today. He was adventurous, interdisciplinary, and, to borrow a phrase he used nearly 55 years ago, a leader with ‘an audacious spirit of experimentation.’” Carl Benton Straub, professor and dean with a pivotal effect on Bates . . .