Dear Members of the Bates Community,

All summer long, I have found myself reflecting on what an extraordinary year we had at Bates in 2023–24. While we had moments of challenge and tragedy, we also had abundant cause for celebration, myriad accomplishments — and so much to be proud of. 

Because none of this good news is possible without each and every member of the wonderful Bates community, I wanted to send you a quick note to remind you of the amazing year just past — and to thank you for being part of it. 

Admission

Bates is in demand. When it comes to undergraduate education, the highly selective, residential liberal arts experience is the gold standard. And what Bates does is second to none: We provide an educational experience where students can best learn, grow, and thrive in the classroom and beyond. 

The numbers tell the story: Applications rose 12 percent this year. For the third straight year, Bates broke its own record for the number of applications for admission, with more than 10,000 prospective students applying for admission to the Bates Class of 2028. These applications came to us from all 50 states and 138 countries around the world. At the end of the month, Bates looks forward to welcoming 491 new first-year students who were selected from this highly competitive and record-setting applicant pool.

Fulbright and Post-Graduate Fellowship Success

We continue to have outstanding success in winning Fulbright and other prestigious awards for graduating seniors and recent alumni. For the 13th year in a row, Bates was named a “Top Producer” of Fulbright student awards. This year, five students received awards: to teach English in Bulgaria, Taiwan, and Thailand, and to conduct research in Cyprus and Norway. In addition, one of our juniors won a prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship to fund her medical and clinical research aspirations. 

Our success with Fulbrights and other major national awards is just one indicator not only of the exceptional quality of a Bates education, but of our deliberate, strategic approach to working with students. We help them start thinking early in their college careers about their interests and goals, and help them learn about the various opportunities available to them.   

Faculty Awards, Promotions, and Hires

Numbering approximately 200, the Bates faculty added to humanity’s knowledge and understanding in 2023–24 through hundreds of scholarly achievements — writing 162 books, book chapters, and scholarly papers; giving 184 presentations and invited talks; and creating 45 artistic productions and exhibitions.

The Bates faculty throughout the curriculum — in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, and interdisciplinary studies — earned noteworthy external recognition, including the following:

• Associate Professor of American Studies Myron Beasley received the Maine Humanities Council’s biennial public humanities award for his “innovative leadership in conversations around art, his care in connecting audiences, and the breadth and depth he brings to his creative projects.”
  
• Associate Professor of Religious Studies Alison Melnick Dyer’s The Tibetan Nun Mingyur Peldron: A Woman of Power and Privilege won a best first-book award from the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies.
  
• Professor of Mathematics Adriana Salerno received one of the Mathematical Association of America’s highest teaching awards. 

• Griffith Professor of Environmental Studies Sonja Pieck won a PROSE Award for excellence from the Association of American Publishers for Mnemonic Ecologies: Memory and Nature Conservation Along the Former Iron Curtain, her book about Germany’s Green Belt, the once-militarized Iron Curtain border between the former East and West Germany.

The Bates faculty continues to work to make their disciplines more welcoming and equitable to any student who wishes to pursue studies in any major. At the national level, troubling gaps persist between the percentage of students who arrive at college hoping to major in a STEM field and the much lower percentage who graduate with such a major. At Bates, however, new approaches to teaching STEM subjects have yielded dramatic results over the last six years: improved retention outcomes for all students and particularly within the college’s Black and Hispanic students.  

Progress is also seen in the humanities and social sciences thanks to a $1.2 million grant awarded to Bates several years ago by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. For example, the theater production of The Gravediggers Union was highlighted by a “humanity-first” focus by director Kevin R. Free that resonated deeply with students, creating a collaborative and supportive environment allowing all students, including LGBTQ+ and BIPOC students, to authentically engage with the source material in unique ways.

Last year also saw the promotions of eight professors; Malcolm Hill, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, praised them as “stellar examples of what the Bates faculty as a whole brings to this community: the ability to balance phenomenal scholarly and creative work with a commitment to undergraduate education.” This fall, underscoring the strategic work to renew the Bates faculty as retirement arrives for a significant cohort of professors, the college will welcome 13 new tenured or tenure-track members of the Bates faculty.

Career Readiness and Student Success

Bates continues to be a national leader in supporting students through both their college careers and whatever comes next. Our Center for Purposeful Work prepares Bates students uniquely well for the worlds of work and social contribution — helping students discover what interests and inspires them, identify internship and job shadow opportunities while they are still in college, and successfully apply for jobs and graduate and professional programs as they approach the end of their time at Bates. 

This year Bates will report a graduation rate of 91 percent, which is among the very best, even compared to other top-ranked liberal arts colleges. Members of the Class of 2024 went on to continue their education in graduate programs in chemistry, urban and environmental planning, journalism, business administration, and engineering at places like MIT, Columbia, Emory, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Virginia, Harvard, and Yale; they launched careers in teaching in Madrid, healthcare in Boston, finance in New York City, consulting in Washington, D.C., and law in Chicago. This summer, Purposeful Work supported 128 interns around the world, providing $450,000 in financial support to ensure that all interested students had access to these important opportunities, stepping in with funding when an internship was previously unpaid.  

Chase Hall

The 2023–24 academic year launched with a newly revitalized Chase Hall, following a year of intensive renovation. The offices and programs that most directly serve students are now centralized in this space at the heart of campus, including Campus Life, Residence Life and Health Education, the Office of Intercultural Education, and the Center for Purposeful Work. Spaces for students to study, meet, and socialize abound. And of course the Bobcat Den is still keeping our campus well fueled with Bates Burgers, tater tots, and mozzarella sticks.

Healing and Community

Following the tragic shootings in Lewiston on Oct. 25, 2023, and the three-day lockdown that ensued, the local community — including our college community — was ready for the kind of healing and relief that comes from being together in a safe and welcoming space. And in so many ways, Bates was there to take meaningful action. 

Among these was a quickly conceived and coordinated effort to offer trick-or-treating for local children on Halloween — just four days after the shelter-in-place order was lifted. On Halloween day, children and families from across the greater Lewiston-Auburn area made their way to our campus in their costumes to trick-or-treat on Alumni Walk. Bates students, many of them in their own costumes and proudly representing their Bates teams, programs, and activities, lined the paths to offer sweet treats to the trick-or-treaters. It was exactly the sort of gathering the moment demanded — and it was wonderful to see Bates answering the call, and we plan to offer this expression of Bates–community spirit again this year.

Inauguration

The late-October events in Lewiston required a postponement of our planned inauguration celebration. But the festivities that eventually took place in early May were nothing less than spectacular. On Saturday, May 4, the Bates College community, joined by representatives from dozens of other colleges, universities, and academic organizations, came together to celebrate the next chapter in our institution’s 169-year story. I was deeply honored and profoundly moved by the warm welcome of all those in attendance, and pleased to have so many alumni, family, and friends on campus to be part of the celebrations. It was a great day for Bates — an affirmation of all that this college is, all that it has accomplished, and the bright future before us.

Athletics Success and Facility Upgrades

The 2023–24 academic year was a strong one for Bates athletics, with an outstanding performance by the field hockey team, ranked seventh nationally and earning a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time. The women’s basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament for the first time in almost 20 years, hosting two games in Alumni Gym along the way, calling the experience “Alumni Magic.” And in the spring, the Bates men’s rowing team earned their fourth consecutive invitation to the IRA National Championship Regatta, where they placed fifth among all Division III schools.

Among individuals, runner Ned Farrington ’24 and swimmer Grace Wenger ’24 earned Athlete of the Year honors from the men’s and women’s teams, respectively. Ned is the first Bates male athlete to earn All-America honors in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track in the same school year. A double major in environmental studies and history, he’s beginning an MBA program at the University of Maine. Grace finished her career as a multiple record holder and 14-time All-American and was Bates’ nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year. A biological chemistry major, she is headed to Montana to work in a university research lab that investigates viruses and biofilms before tackling graduate school in the future.

Looking ahead, we are focused on improving the spaces and facilities that our athletes — varsity, club, and recreational — need and use. This summer we are making transformational changes to the Russell Street Field, a multi-million dollar project including the installation of multipurpose turf, lighting, and a scoreboard. This project will be wrapping up soon and the field will be ready during the fall season. We are also in the planning stages for additional athletics, fitness, and recreation projects that will vastly improve the resources available to our athletic teams as well as any and all Bates students who seek the best possible spaces for fitness and wellness. Look for more information about these projects in the months ahead.

Support for Bates

The thousands of Bates alumni, parents, and friends continue to make all these successes and more possible through their generosity to the college. Gifts of every size make an immediate impact and provide significant, reliable support for all aspects of the college’s operations.

As of the close of the 2024 fiscal year on June 30, this generosity amounted to a fantastic $31.2 million investment of gifts and pledges in Bates people and programs. Other fundraising highlights from the year include:

• A record $7.8 million in gifts to the Bates Fund;
• A record $1.34 million in gifts to Friends of Bates Athletics;
• $8.2 million in gifts toward endowed financial aid.

These figures — along with the broad participation among alumni and parents — are powerful indicators that we are doing something right here at Bates. And they encourage all of us here on campus to do even more and better.

I hope that you share my immense pride in Bates and its people — along with deep confidence in all that is yet to come. We begin the 2024–25 academic year in just a couple of weeks poised for even greater achievements and ready to face whatever challenges come our way. And in all that we do here on this beautiful campus in Lewiston, we are buoyed by the enthusiasm and support of our alumni, families, and friends across the globe. For that, I am profoundly grateful.

Warmly,

Garry W. Jenkins
President