Thank you!

Thank you for making 2019-2020 another record-breaking year for Bates. Alumni, families, and friends contributed $33,704,979 million to the college during the fiscal year ending June 30, setting new records for both overall giving and Bates Fund giving. Because of your generosity, the Bates Campaign has now passed the $245 million mark—a significant milestone in our effort to secure Bates’ financial future.

We are exceptionally grateful to every community member who chose to give back to Bates this year, whether by donating, volunteering, or connecting with the college.

Thank you to our donors and volunteers…

This year, your generosity supported…

Financial Aid

“I say this with so much gratitude and aloha, thank you for allowing me to follow my dreams.”—Anna Marie ’23, Honolulu, HI

Financial Aid

43% of students received Bates financial aid in 2019-2020
$37 million: total amount Bates awarded in grants in 2019-2020
$47,069: average need-based grant in 2019-2020
100% of financial need met – for all four years
$13,552: average federal student loan debt for Bates students who graduated in 2019 – less than half the national average

“Without financial aid, I would definitely not have the opportunity to attend an incredible place like Bates. I think college is about much more than just an education, and Bates is able to provide that to me and so many other students.”—Nick ’20, Lake Oswego, OR

The Bates campus shows off fall colors on the Historic Quad late in the afternoon on Oct. 15, 2019. Emma Soler '20 of Bethesda, Md., and Ian Rashleigh McNally '20 of Tiverton, R.I., say they "just got to have a break" as they found the light on the Quad and enjoyed some recreational reading before October Break. She was reading "The Namesake," a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, he Guy Paulsen's memoir "Winterdance."

After dinner at Commons, Luis Orozco '23, Thomas Zhu '23 and Will Symmans '23 head to Pettengill for a study session. ⁣ ⁣ See them at work in the second floor classical and medieval studies lounge, where Orozco and and Zhu tackled film studies, Symmans chemistry. ⁣ ⁣

The Bates campus shows off fall colors on the mid-day on Oct. 15, 2019.

Financial Aid

Bates' COVID-19 Response

The COVID-19 pandemic has "given us a real sense of urgency to stay connected."—Nick '20 and Lila '20

Bates’ COVID-19 Response

Gifts to the COVID-19 Fund helped us offset this spring’s unexpected expenses, including travel assistance for our highest-need students and work-study supplements for aided students.
Within ten days of students’ departure from campus, faculty transitioned to a remote teaching and learning environment.
We invested in technology to support remote learning, including: a VPN upgrade to allow students access to specialized software, Zoom Pro licenses, webcams for faculty and staff, and equipment like video transmission cameras to prepare classrooms for fall term.

“These are some of the toughest goodbyes we’ve ever had to make. But it’s taught us to hold each other close, and given us a real sense of urgency to stay connected.”—Nick ’20 and Lila ’20, writing to BatesNews

“The number one thing that hasn’t changed is that we care about each other, quite deeply. We’re a community.”—Rebecca Fraser-Thill, Visiting Instructor in Psychology and Director of Faculty Engagement and Outreach for Purposeful Work

Students gather in front of Chase Hall to take two buses that will take them on the first leg of their trips home. One is a Concord Trailways bus, regularly scheduled daily for 3:30 p.m. pickup. The other is a bus chartered by the College.

Campus scenes in the early morning on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Lake Andrews

Associate Professor of Theater Christine McDowell leads a team of Bates students who are living in the Village in the Costume Shop in an effort to make coronavirus masks for members of the Bates community in the theater department's costume shop. Her mother, a quilter, has donated much of the fabric for the masks.

Bates' COVID-19 Response

Academic Programs

“One thing that hasn’t changed is the joy of thinking alongside the students.”—Prof. Joshua Rubin

Academic Programs

150 faculty worked with students on research projects in 2019-2020. Faculty members received recognition and grant support for their work on diversity in children’s books, the synthesis of new molecules with pharmaceutical promise, open educational resources, cyanobacteria growth in lakes, and the creation of a visual database to support the study human behavior, among many other topics.
61 students conducted research this summer, almost all of them remotely, while another 13 pursued remote or in-person environmental internships with agencies around the United States. Student research focused on a wide range of topics, from disease to comparative literature to immigration studies.
Bates looks to invigorate our STEM program by building the Bonney Science Center, which opens in Fall 2021. In fiscal year 2020, six families made special gifts to support research labs, work spaces, and areas designed to promote study and interaction in our STEM facilities.
Bates was the #1 producer of Fulbright student award recipients among U.S. liberal arts colleges in 2019-2020, and 10 students and young alumni were recently offered Fulbright Awards for the 2020-2021 academic year.

“Organic Chemistry was the most exciting course I have ever taken at Bates. It means everything when you take a course being taught by someone who lives and loves what he teaches.” —Munashe ‘21

Olin Arts Center / Pamela Johnson and senior art thesis students will be wrapping up a writing assignment. They then disperse to work in their Olin studios.

Students in Assistant Professor of Art and Visual Culture Carolina Gonzalez Valencia's AVC 209 - Video: Moving Image as an Artistic Practice," held in Commons 221 for a VR screening (see below).This course introduces video as a medium for artistic expression and social investigation. Students gain an understanding of video production, including the video camera, sound, lighting, and editing (e.g., Adobe Premiere), with emphasis placed on the relationship among the camera, the maker, and the subject. Students explore video making and its broad possibilities within contemporary art. Screenings and readings of work by contemporary artists are analyzed.The screening: "Returning to Dadaab: A Somali Refugee Returns from Lewiston to Kenya" During the screening of this virtual reality video, viewers will accompany Maine resident Shuab Mahat on a journey to the Dadaab Refugee Complex in eastern Kenya. Returning to Dadaab for the first time since being resettled in the U.S. 15 years ago, Mahat goes there to reconnect with his mother, siblings, and grandmother. He wants to understand why his family, along with a quarter of a million other refugees, are stuck in the desert with scarcely any possibility of getting out. There will be six individual VR screening stations, each with headsets and earphones. The video lasts 13 minutes. Filmmakers Mahat and Daniel Quintanilla will be present for informal discussions with viewers.

Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Matthew Côté with students in his first-year seminar. FYS 336 - Nanotechnology Project: Manipulating Atoms A hands-on introduction to the interdisciplinary field of nanotechnology-technology based on nanometer-scale structures. Students break into groups and become "specialists" to complete a class-wide collaborative nanotechnology project. Possible projects include designing and building a simplified scanned probe microscope, and fabricating and characterizing nanostructures. Students learn to identify and organize the tasks required of a long-term project. Clear and effective communication is emphasized as students work within and among groups, give brief talks, and write more formal papers. No previous experience is assumed, but the collaborative nature of the seminar requires the full and active participation of all participants. After building a scanning tunneling microscope, in lieu of a final exam, the students, in three groups -- computer programming, electronics,, and mechanical design -- gathered in Carnegie Science to prepare posters of their work for the 2020 Mount David Summit and receive feedback from the other groups to finalize their presentations. Three students looking at the mechanical piece are Vangjel Xhollo '23 of Turner, Maine (in black hoodie), Kyle Weinman '23 of Towson, Md., and Kaleah Haddock '23 of Junueau, Alaska. Students in first group, photographed the most together, from left to right are: Jeff Gao, Kyle Weinman, Kaleadh Haddock, Jacob Lion, Hank Lion, and Kevin Wu. Second group are Megan Strynar, in grey sweater, Gleb Tkachenko, in grey sweatshirt, Carson Pottle in black jacket and Andy Wu (white crew neck)

Academic Programs

Athletics

Teammates "challenge me to be a better student, a better teammate, and a better human."—Kaley '22

Athletics

2,554 donors made a gift as part of the FBA Giving Challenge in May.
645 students (33%) played on 31 varsity athletic teams.
421 students (22%) participated in club sports, across 13 teams.
22 varsity athletes were awarded a combined total of 34 All-America honors.
We cheered the Bobcats to victory as the football team pulled off the biggest comeback win for the program since 1969, and a team-record 11 student-athletes from the Bates women’s swim team qualified for the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships.

“For so many student-athletes, their positive experiences at Bates are clearly tied to their identity as members of their respective athletic teams, which play an important role in promoting respect and inclusion while working to build community amongst our students.”—Jason Fein, Director of Athletics

Men's Lacrosse defeats Hamilton 17-9 on Garcelon Field.

Athletics

Purposeful Work

"Bates prepared us with the tools to take on the world and this Purposeful Work internship showed that."—Jason '20

Purposeful Work

72% of students (1,481 students) participated in Purposeful Work programming in 2019-20, including internships, infusion classes, job shadows, and advising appointments.
93% of the Class of 2020 had at least one Purposeful Work experience during their time at Bates.
999 students enrolled in the 66 different Purposeful Work Infusion courses offered during the 2019-2020 academic year.
108 Bates students were awarded funding for Purposeful Work Internships—both in-person and virtual—in summer 2020. Read more at BatesNews.
Purposeful Work offered internship funding to graduating seniors for the first time, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This senior cohort made up 25% of the internship funding recipients.

“If there was ever a time that a liberal arts education was needed, it’s now. Bates prepared us with the tools to take on the world and this Purposeful Work internship showed that.”—Jason ’20

“We can really engage with students one by one—what is the opportunity they’re looking for; what are their strengths, interests, and values; and how can we align those with the world of work?”—Allen Delong, Senior Associate Dean, Purposeful Work

Back To Bates Weekend 3-4pm Purposeful Work Summer Internship Showcase Bates students explore their interests, deepen their skills, and build their networks in diverse worlds of work. View posters and talk with students about their Purposeful Work summer internships. Pettengill Hall, Perry Atrium

“I got into this because I was thinking about how to use film for humanitarian purposes. I’m learning how I fit into the world of documentary film. . -- Jackson FrenchRobitaille ’18, a rhetoric major, with a concentration in film, from Wilbraham, Mass., has a summer internship with @RetroReport, a New York City-based Emmy award-winning nonprofit, which has produced a series of more than 100 short documentaries for “the digital generation.” These mini-documentaries provide a fresh examination of historic news stories that continue to influence today’s world. . Focusing on archival and post-production work, FrenchRobitaille’s summer assignments include creating a b-roll library for the firm and working on formatting scripts and inserting archival references for upcoming productions. He’ll also be joining film crews on location. His internship is supported, in part, by Bates’ Purposeful Work Internship Program.

Purposeful Work

Endowment

Your gifts help ensure Bates' financial sustainability in perpetuity

Endowment

Since 2015, we have raised $95 million toward the Bates Campaign’s goal of adding $160 million to the endowment. By growing the endowment, we are working to secure in perpetuity financial support for Bates’ strategic priorities and ongoing operations.
Bates’ endowment value has grown by 31% in the last three years, and 25% over the last five years–and this growth has been further augmented by increased giving.

“Endowments are meant to provide a revenue stream to the college in perpetuity, so that future generations of students have access to a Bates education equivalent in scope and quality to the experience of today’s students.”—President Clayton Spencer