If the Hathorn Hall bell has a slightly different tone these days, it’s due to a new mechanism that rings the bell in a slightly different manner.
The new bell ringer is like much of what’s “new” at Bates in any given year. Sure, there are some brand new things. But there are also older things that have been updated a bit, and other things that have been renamed — like a campus community center that got its start 32 years ago.
To help our Bates community on and off campus navigate these changes, here is a comprehensive A to Z list of what’s new for 2024–25.
A is for Alexander
The number waxes and wanes, but typically around 70 student clubs and organizations are recognized by Student Government each year. Among the new student clubs and organizations is a Bates chapter of the Alexander Hamilton Society. Other new clubs that recently emerged are:
- Badminton Club
- Bates Robotics Club
- Classics Club
- Club Pool
- Club Table Tennis
- Disc Golf Club
- DJ Club
- Southeast Asian Society
- Students for Justice in Palestine
B is for Belonging
The space and programming in Chase Hall dedicated to creating belonging and community now has a name that communicates exactly that. As of yesterday, the former Office of Intercultural Education is now the Student Center for Belonging and Community.
What’s in a name? History, for one. Thirty-one years ago, six student groups came together to push the college to create a multicultural center. On Thursday, at a reception to announce the new name and celebrate the new year, Tonya Bailey-Curry, an associate dean and director of the center, noted how the new name honors all Bates people who have worked to create belonging and community for students over the years.
“There are people and deep experiences tied to this space, and that was not missed on us during this process. Each iteration of this space and the people before us is important and woven into where we are today,” she said.
C is for Courses
Bates professors are constantly reworking existing courses or developing new ones. For example, Associate Professor of Sociology Heidi Taylor will teach a new course during the winter semester on the sociology of grief and loss.
The course draws on research that Taylor presented at a professional conference in 2023, on how “conversation around grief is silenced, and how bereaved people are shunned and socially isolated.” Joining Taylor in the research were sociology graduate Emily DiBartolo ’23 and artist Mindy Stricke.
D is for Difficult Discussions
With the high tension of the presidential election fast approaching, the Bates Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning has kicked off a reading group, meeting every two weeks, to support campus educators who are navigating issues of free speech, academic freedom, and political correctness, among others. Readings will include papers on discussing emotionally charged news in the classroom, tension between free speech and prejudicial speech, and famously banned books, like Fahrenheit 451.
“We hope these get-togethers become a place to work through local, national, and international challenges and opportunities in our educational spaces,” says Lindsey Hamilton ’05, CITL director.
E is for EVs and EMS
Bates has added eight new electric vehicles to the college’s fleet: a new Ford Lightning, two Nissan Leafs, a Ford E-Transit van, a Chevrolet Blazer, and three low-speed vehicles for around campus.
Thanks goes in part to the Bates Eco Reps who helped with funding sources for the investment. “The students helped us identify state and federal funding for a total reduction of $62,000,” said Tom Twist, assistant director of sustainability.
Speaking of vehicles, student-run Bates Emergency Medical Services has a new-to-them vehicle: a 2022 Ford SUV, similar to a Ford Explorer, that replaces their 2007 Toyota Highlander, affectionately known as “Heidi the Highlander” by Bates EMS students.
F is for Faculty
This fall, Bates welcomes 13 new tenured or tenure-track faculty members in these programs and departments: art and visual culture, anthropology, chemistry, digital and computational studies, earth and climate sciences (formerly geology), environmental studies, mathematics, music, neuroscience, physics, politics (two hires), and theater and dance.
G is for Generative AI
A team from Bates was selected to join an inaugural institute on generative AI and higher education sponsored by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. The team will attend five training sessions this semester and receive other support in developing a comprehensive campus plan for addressing the challenges posed by the rise of generative AI.
H is for Hathorn
Since July 30, a new striker mechanism has been tolling the noon hour every day on the venerable Hathorn Hall bell.
The new striker whacks the outside of the 167-year-old bell, in contrast to the old-school cable-and-winch system it replaced, which rang the bell by swinging it so that a clapper would strike the inside. The old mechanism posed a risk of dislodging the bell from its mounting, and had fallen into disrepair.
I is for Insights
The staff at the Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library is expanding its walking tours to provide even more insights into Bates history. Walking tours now include Bates athletics, campus trees, Frye Street’s historic houses, and Bates founders’ graves at Riverside Cemetery.
J is for Just Ask
When a Bates student or employee needs support from Facility Services — whether it’s a broken bathroom hand dryer or no hot water — it’s easier than ever to just ask. A new facilities management system, powered by Brightly, replaces the prior system and features inventory tracking, GIS functionality, and an enhanced mobile app.
K is for Keys
Bates has a new key-tracking system that keeps a detailed inventory of all keys on campus — all 5,200 keys for 8,500 locks on campus. Driven by the software SimpleK, the system helps track key issuance and return, and can easily identify the owner of each and every lost-then-found key.
For the last two decades, Bates used a home-grown system, developed by the college locksmith, for tracking room keys.
L is for Lights
The transformation of the Russell Street Field into a multipurpose athletic field includes the installation of Musco lights, which will extend the field’s playability into the evening. Similar to how you can program lights at home while at work or elsewhere, these new lights are fully programmable.
M is for Menus
In Commons, menu items offered at the various stations have long been printed on card stock, which means swapping out the display for every meal. This year, Dining Services is implementing a digital system, called Nutrislice, that displays menu items on screens.
N is for Networking
For many students, the idea of “networking” — the relational kind — is vague and intimidating. “Many students don’t know how to take full advantage of the strong Bates alumni network,” explains Allen Delong, who is senior associate dean with the Center for Purposeful Work.
So, his team has developed in-person and Zoom training sessions, plus written materials, to teach students the ins and outs of networking. “The training offers tips on everything from how to talk about yourself and carry a conversation to balancing a small plate and a drink while shaking hands!”
O is for Openings at Olin
At the Bates College Museum of Art, located in the Olin Arts Center, the new exhibition Across Common Grounds opens on Oct. 24. The exhibition of contemporary art presents the idea that “the most engaging and relevant artwork being made in or about America today relates to places that often exist outside of exclusive urban art centers.” The exhibition promises to confront “assumptions placed on rural living regarding scarcity, authenticity, tradition, or simplicity.”
The organizing curator is Samantha Sigmon, assistant curator of the Museum of Art, with support from the museum’s curatorial and exhibition intern, Clara Kennedy ’25 of Harrison, N.Y.
P is for Presentation and Pitches
Ladd Library has three renovated rooms where students, aided by multimedia technology, can practice, review, and record their presentations and pitches. The rooms have a full suite of AV equipment, including a presentation video screen, mics, recording equipment, speakers, and a whiteboard.
“The spaces help students practice and receive feedback and support on their speaking and presentation assignments and goals,” such as honors thesis defenses and Mount David Summit presentations, says Bridget Fullerton, director of student writing.
Q is for Questions
Somewhere right now, a Bates student in a Bates classroom is asking a novel question, one never before asked. More of that is always needed, said Convocation speaker Sonja Pieck, Griffith Professor of Environmental Studies.
Students should “foster curiosity about the hows and whys of the world and the hows and whys of the people in this Bates community. In a most immediate sense, this might mean asking lots and lots of questions in your classes and listening with open-mindedness to the responses. Classes at Bates are not one way transfers of information. Classes should be vibrant, challenging, caring, and forgiving learning communities that we all create together.”
R is for Russell Street Field
The renovation of Russell Street Field is wrapping up soon. Formerly a grass field mostly for varsity soccer, it’s being transformed into a multipurpose facility with FieldTurf and stadium lights for day and night activity. Bates teams are expected to take the field on the completed project in October.
S is for Sleep Research
Sleep, and interactions between sunlight and air pollution, are two research topics that spurred the creation of specialized lab spaces during the summer. Robotics is a third, as new faculty bring new research to Bates — and with it the need to create specialized spaces — in this case, in Carnegie Science Hall and Pettengill Hall — to support that research.
T is for Transformation
The brick building at 96 Campus Avenue has been transformed into a student residence with 65 student beds. Built in 1977 by the St. Mary’s Health System, the building served a residence for nuns in the Society of the Sisters of Charity order for years. Bates bought the building in 2021 and last year, began converting it into a residence.
U is for Upgrades
Every summer, Bates implements various upgrades, large and small, visible and behind the scenes. Here are some:
- Major upgrade to Garnet Gateway, the employee, student, faculty, and financial aid self-service system that handles everything from employee time sheets to parent tuition payments.
- New Mac Studio computers to replace iMacs in the two main Mac labs on campus in Pettigrew and Roger Williams;
- New monitors with built-in mics and cameras for language students in Roger Williams;
- New state-of-the-art peripherals for the Digital Media Studios’ audio and video editing suites in Pettigrew Hall;
- New student printers across campus;
- New licenses for Mathematica and Matlab allowing students and faculty to install the computational and data analysis mathematics software on their personal computers;
- New bright white trim on Hathorn Hall, including the Corinthian columns;
- Restored bathroom tiles in Rand Hall as pilot for a new type of high-tech acrylic seal coating;
- New kilns for the pottery studio in Olin Arts Center;
- New upholstery for the classic Thomas Moser furniture in Perry Atrium;
- Total floor covering replacement and new furniture for Parker Hall.
V is for Voting
Reflecting the college’s commitment to fostering informed civic action are expanded and new initiatives to support student engagement and voting in the 2024 U.S. elections, whether it’s a new “I Voted” sticker contest or creating spaces to foster conversations about values and to explore political identity.
At Bates, the student voter registration rate (88.4 percent in 2022) is higher than the national average (76.1 percent), but there’s always room and a reason for improvement, says Jenna Dela Cruz Vendil ’06, associate director of democratic engagement and student activism with the Harward Center for Community Partnerships.
“Across generations and over many elections, our collective experiences may differ about what it means to vote and why.”
“While people vote for many different reasons, at the Harward Center we’re leaning into the idea that voting is an act of care for one’s community — regardless of party, ideology, or candidate. The young adult years are vital for cultivating lifelong civic habits, and we aim to make the most of this opportunity.”
W is for Whiteboards
While iconic, traditional blackboards are giving way to whiteboards across campus. Pettengill Hall’s Keck Classroom now sports 84 linear feet of new whiteboard. Keck also has new and more easily moveable tables and chairs, making the college’s largest classroom much more friendly for active learning.
X is for Zerox (really)
Zerox Machine, a history of punk, post-punk and fanzines in Britain from 1976 to 1988, is among the newly acquired books in the Bates library. (In the title, the word is spelled with a Z, like the song by Adam and the Ants.)
In a typical year, Ladd Library acquires about 4,700 books. Titles are typically identified and acquired through the college’s “approval plan” and by the library’s subject liaisons.
A library approval plan is designed so that a library consistently acquires new books that fit specific criteria set by the college. The Bates plan is about 60 pages long and designed around Library of Congress classification.
Y is for Yield
Bates is getting a bigger vegetable and herbs yield from the Bates Garden thanks to the addition of a new plot, the fourth. The garden has grown by 400 percent since its founding in 2018.
Z is for Zotero
Depending on your era, organizing your research might’ve included 3-by-5 cards and lots of composition notebooks.
Like so much else, there’s a software to the rescue. New to Bates this year is Zotero, is a free and open-source research management tool for saving, organizing, citing, and sharing research sources. Students, faculty, and staff can locate Zotero in the Bates library and online, and since Zotero is open-source, anyone — alumni and parents too — can use it.
