Our Work
The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) is responsible for advancing the college’s commitment to inclusive excellence and educational justice. As an institutional partner, the OEI works to promote a welcoming and inclusive culture so that all members of our campus community can thrive in their individual and collective pursuits.
The OEI is committed to identifying systemic barriers to access, success, and belonging for members of historically marginalized groups and working collaboratively to create opportunities for staff, faculty and students to build the skills and capacity needed to center equity and justice in all programs and policies.
Living the Legacy of Inclusive Excellence
Bates College is committed to living up to the aspirations of our founding. From the beginning, Bates welcomed women, young people from Maine farms and factory towns, former slaves, and immigrants, because we understood the diversity of our campus community as a essential to the college’s mission:
Since 1855, Bates College has been dedicated to the emancipating potential of the liberal arts. Bates educates the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. With ardor and devotion — Amore ac Studio — we engage the transformative power of our differences, cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action. Preparing leaders sustained by a love of learning and a commitment to responsible stewardship of the wider world, Bates is a college for coming times.
The Charter and Bylaws of Bates College. Revised May 7, 2021.
Today, Bates remains committed to the principles of social justice, equity, and freedom. This work is never done and takes a fully engaged and willing community.