Bates College

Bates College

Motto	Amore Ac Studio (Latin)
Motto in English	"With Ardor and Devotion," or "Through Zeal and Study," by Charles Sumner
Type	Private liberal arts college
Established	March 16, 1855 (1855-03-16)
Endowment	$263.8 million (2014)
President	Clayton Spencer
Academic staff	204
Undergraduates	1,773
Location	Lewiston , Maine , U.S.
Campus	133-acre Main Campus Suburban 600-acre Bates-Morse Mountain campus 80-acre Coastal Center in Shortridge
Colors	Garnet
Affiliations	Annapolis Group Colby-Bates-Bowdoin CLAC NAICU NEASC Oberlin Group
Mascot	Bobcat
Website	www.bates.edu

Bates College is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. The college was founded in 1855, by prominent abolitionists, and established with the funds of Benjamin E. Bates. Bates is the second oldest coeducational college in United States and the oldest in New England.

Bates provides undergraduate instruction in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. It offers 35 departmental and interdisciplinary program majors and 25 secondary concentrations. The college enrolls 1,773 students, 200 of whom study abroad each semester. Bates competes in the New England Small College Athletic Conference, and is often referred to as one of the Little Ivies.

The main Bates campus is located near the Androscoggin River. In addition to its Lewiston campus, Bates also owns an 80-acre coastal studies center in Shortridge and the 600-acre Bates Morse Mountain in Phippsburg, Maine.

History

Founding

Parsonsfield Seminary Hall

While attending Parsonsfield Seminary, a Freewill Baptist divinity school, Oren B. Cheney lamented the racial segregation and religious oppression that was embedded in American educational institutions. He subsequently sought to create an educational institution that catered to everyone that required it; and that that would take the form of a rigorous and academically prominent school. In 1836, Cheney enrolled in Dartmouth College (after briefly attending Brown), due to Dartmouth's significant support of the abolitionist cause against slavery. Abolitionism would become a foundational aspect of the future Bates College. After graduating, Cheney was ordained a Baptist minister and began to establish himself as an educational and religious scholar. News that the Parsonsfield Seminary burned down in 1853, allegedly due to arson by opponents of abolition, caused Cheney to advocate for the building of a new seminary in a more central part of Maine.

Cheney House, named after Oren B. Cheney

In 1855, Maine State Seminary was established in Lewiston, Maine. The campus ran parallel to Frye Street, an area that was part of an affluent residential district of Lewiston. Soon after establishment, multiple donors stepped forward to finance portions of the school, such as Seth Hathorn, who donated the first library, which was renamed Hathorn Hall. The school gained academic prominence through its intellectual focus, including maintaining three literary societies: the Literary Fraternity, Philomathean Society and Ladies' Athenaeum. The college was affected by the financial panic of the later 1850s and required additional funding to remain operational.

Cheney's impact in Maine was noted by Boston business magnate Benjamin E. Bates who developed an interest in the college. Mr. Bates extended $100,000 (in 2016 worth $3.0 million) to the endowment of the college. The school was renamed Bates College in his honor in 1863 and was chartered to offer a liberal arts curriculum beyond its original theological focus. Bates College already had a reputation for academic rigor and social inclusion and it primarily educated the middle and working classes from the State of Maine.

Benefactor placard of Hathorn Hall

The college began instruction with a six-person faculty tasked with the teaching of moral philosophy and the classics. Historically, Bates College served as an alternative to a more traditional Bowdoin College. There is a long tradition of rivalry and competitiveness between the two colleges, revolving around socioeconomic class, academic quality, and collegiate athletics. The original faculty were abolitionists and several of the institution's first students were African Americans and women. Some members of the faculty voiced concern over the college's prestige when the first black and female students arrived, but the inclusive ethos of Bates as a relatively progressive institution prevailed. The college, under the direction of Cheney, rejected fraternities and sororities on grounds of unwarranted exclusivity. Cheney was a friend of U.S. Senator Charles Sumner who was among the most radical of the abolitionists in the U.S. Congress. Sumner also believed in integrated schools and equal rights for all races. Cheney asked Sumner to create a collegiate motto for Bates and he suggested the Latin phrase amore ac studio which he translated as "with love for learning." During the American Civil War, Bates played an important role in advocating for the rights of African Americans. Many alumni fought or otherwise served in the Civil War. During this time, the Bates Board of Fellows was established. Notable members included James Blaine and Nelson Dingley.

Development

Starting in the 1870s, Bates formed a rivalry with Bowdoin College and Colby College, known as the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin consortium. All three of the schools compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and share one of the ten oldest football rivalries in the United States. Prominent since establishment, the debate society of Bates College began to compete internationally and became the first intercollegiate international debate team in the United States.

Pettengill Hall

In 1894, George Colby Chase led Bates to increased regional recognition. During the Chase presidency, the college's debate team became intercollegiate and associated with the college's academic reputation. In 1920, the Bates Outing Club was founded and is one of the oldest collegiate outing clubs in the country, the first at a private college to include both men and women from inception, and one of the few outing clubs that remains entirely student run.

In February 1920, Bates College's Brooks Quimby Debate Council, the college's debate team, defeated Harvard College during the national debate tournament held at Lewiston City Hall. After this, Bates was established as a dominant force in collegiate debate. In 1921, the college's debate team participated in the first intercontinental collegiate debate in history against the Oxford Union's debate team at the University of Oxford. In 1922, The New York Times would proclaim Bates “the power centre of college debating in America.” Oxford's first ever debate in the United States was against Bates in Lewiston, Maine, in September 1923. Also in 1923, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge was given an honorary degree by Bates upon his election to the presidency. In addition, numerous academic buildings were constructed throughout the 1920s.

Robert F. Kennedy, in front of Smith Hall (1943)

During 1943, the V-12 Navy College Training Program was introduced at Bates. Bates maintained a considerable female student body and "did not suffer [lack in student enrollment due to military service involvement] as much as male-only institutions such as Bowdoin and Dartmouth." It was during this time that future U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy enrolled along with hundreds of other sailor-students.

In 1967, President Thomas Hedley Reynolds promoted the idea of teacher-scholars at Bates and secured the construction of numerous academic and recreational buildings. Most notably, Reynolds was integral to the acquisition of the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area. Under Reynolds, Bates ceased being identified with any particular religion. Although never a sectarian college, Bates has historic ties to the Northern Freewill Baptist denomination whose members were instrumental in its founding. It maintained a nominal link to the Baptist tradition for 115 years (1855-1970). In 1970, that link ended when the college catalog no longer described Bates as a "Christian college."

Bates College contributed to the movement to make standardized testing scores optional for college admission. In 1984, it became one of the first liberal arts colleges to make the SAT and ACT optional in the admission process.

Due to the rejection of fraternities and sororities on campus, the college has provided campus houses that are open to all students. During her inauguration in 2012, the 8th and current President, Clayton Spencer, stated "we never had fraternities or sororities because they ran against our egalitarian grain."

Academics

Hathorn Hall, the first academic building of Bates

Bates, a liberal arts institution, offers 35 departmental and interdisciplinary program majors and 25 secondary concentrations, and confers Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees. Bates College enrolls approximately 1,800 students, 300 of whom study abroad each semester. The college operates in a 4–4–1 academic calendar. This includes two semesters, plus a Short Term consisting of five weeks in the Spring. Two Short Terms are required for graduation, with a maximum of three. The student-faculty ratio is 10:1, and 100% of tenured faculty possess the highest degree in their field.

The largest social science academic department at Bates College is its Economics department, followed by Psychology, Politics, and History. The largest natural science academic department is the Biology department, followed by Mathematics, Physics, and Geology. Bates College's Economics Department was the most cited of liberal arts colleges in the United States in 2001.

Bates College offers a Liberal Arts-Engineering Dual Degree Program with Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science. The program consists of three years at Bates and a followed two years at the school of engineering resulting in a degree from Bates and the school of engineering.

In 2015, Bates has produced 19 Bates students who received Fulbright fellowships, attaining the distinction of "Fulbright Top Producer".

One of the first courses a first-year at Bates will take is their First-year Seminar. This seminar provides a template for the rest of the four years at Bates, academically. The student selects a specific topic offered by the college, and works together in a small class with a scholar-in-field professor of that topic, to study and critically analyze the subject. All first-year seminars stress writing ability, and composition in order to facilitate the process of complex and fluid ideas being put down on paper. Seminars range from Constitutional analysis to mathematical theorizing. After three complete years at Bates, each student participates in a senior thesis or capstone that demonstrates expertise and overall knowledge of the Major, Minor or General Education Concentrations (GECs). The Senior Thesis is an intensive program that begins with the skills taught in the First-year program and concludes with a compiled thesis that stresses research and innovation.

Teaching

The Peter J. Gomes Chapel

Bates College has a 10:1 student-faculty ratio and the average class size is about fifteen students. All members of the faculty are scholars who work to innovate their teaching program and fields. Bates also priorities student interaction with peers in the form of collaboration and self-directed course instruction. The academic culture at Bates stresses collaboration, innovation and critical analysis. Many of the teachers and students are involved in each others research and course work. Notable faculty of the college include:

• Oren B. Cheney, Theology and general religious studies professor
• Lawrence Kimball, Politics professor
• Ebenezer Knowlton, instructor
• John Jay Butler, instructor
• Alonzo Garcelon, English professor
• Margaret S. Creighton, American Art Historian
• Leonard Burman, American economist, tax policy expert

Purposeful work

Bates has a college-wide initiative that focuses on students identifying and cultivating their interests and strengths to acquire the knowledge, experiences, necessary to pursue their aspirations with academic integrity, and innovation. This one of a kind program applies to all majors across all fields of study to encourage collaboration and risk-taking. It includes skill-specific course instruction by leading scholars, accomplished alumni, and industry leaders.

Admissions

The college extended admission to 1,208 students out of 5,636. U.S. News & World Report classifies Bates as "most selective". The average SAT Score was a 2135, and the average ACT score was a 32. Bates has a Test Optional Policy, which gives the applicant the choice to not send in their standardized test scores. Bates' non-submitting students averaged only 0.05 points lower on their collegiate Grade Point Average. Bates College has an regular decision applicant acceptance rate of 17.8% for the academic year 2014/2015. Its combined early-decision rate was 21.4%. Bates has an acceptance rate of 2% for transfer students, as of 2013.

Student body composition of Bates College

	Undergraduate
White American	71.9%
African American	4.8%
Asian American	4.6%
Hispanic American	6.8%
Native American	0.2%
International student	6.9%

The comprehensive fee for the 2014/2015 academic year was $64,590. Bates covers 100% of financial need for students, and has an average financial package of $42,217. As of 2014, 44% of students utilize financial aid.

As of 2015, the gender demographic of Bates College breaks down to 49% male and 51% female. 22% of U.S. students are students of color and 12% of admitted students are first generation to college.

The educational background for admitted students are mixed. 49% of students hail from public schools and 51% hail from private schools, and about 80% of students who apply are in the top 10% of their class.

Bates has a 95% freshman retention rate. Although all 50 states are represented, a significant portion of 45% of all applicants, transfer and non-transfer, hail from New England.

Rankings

University rankings
National
Forbes	70
Global
Liberal arts colleges
U.S. News & World Report	25
Washington Monthly	8

In 2009, Newsweek described Bates as a "Hidden Ivy", one of a number of elite colleges and universities outside of the Ivy League. It is currently one of the highest ranked colleges in Maine.

Coram Library, houses 150,000+ volumes for the college

Bates College was ranked 8th among liberal arts colleges in the country by the Washington Monthly, in 2015. In 2016, Niche, formerly College Prowler, graded Bates with an 'A+' for academics, 'A+' for campus food, 'A' for technology, and an 'A' for campus quality.

Bates was ranked 1st for 'Best Value' by Princeton Review in 2005. Forbes awarded Bates College a "Forbes Financial Grade" of an 'A'. Newsweek ranked Bates #6 out of the "25 Best Schools for Do-Gooders" in 2010. The college selected 10 colleges as its peers, namely Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Yale, Williams, Wellesley, Middlebury, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Wesleyan.

Bates ranked 8th nationally in 2015 according to the National Collegiate Scouting Association's annual report, which ranks colleges based on student-athlete graduation rates, academic strength, and athletic prowess.

As of 2015, Alumni Factor, which measures alumni success, ranks Bates 1st in Maine and was named among the top schools nationally

For the 2015/2016 year, Bates College was ranked as the twenty-fifth best liberal arts college in the United States.

For 2014/2015, Forbes ranked Bates as the 70th best college in the United States in its list of 650 Top Colleges putting Bates in the top 10% of all colleges in the nation.

Campus

Dana Chemistry Hall, named after Charles A. Dana

Bates was ranked #6 in CollegeNET's "50 Most Beautiful College Quads" in 2015.

Bates has a 133-acre main campus, in Lewiston, Maine. It also maintains a 600-acre Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area, and an 80-acre Coastal Center fresh water habitat at Shortridge. The eastern campus is situated around Lake Andrews, where many residential halls are located. The quad of the campus connects academic buildings, athletics arenas, and residential halls.

The campus provides 33 Victorian Houses, 6 residential halls, and three residential villages.

Bates College houses over 1 million volumes of articles, papers, subscriptions, audio/video items and government articles among all three libraries and all academic buildings. The George and Helen Ladd Library houses 620,000 catalogued volumes, 2,500 serial subscriptions and 27,000 audio/video items. Coram Library houses almost 200,000 volumes of articles, subscriptions and audio/video items. Approximately 150,000 volumes of texts, papers, and alumnus work are housed within academic buildings. The libraries hold a complete run of the Morning Star, (1826–1911), the single most important Freewill Baptist newspaper, copies of the original Maine State Constitution, and large collections of prominent religious, political and economic figures.

The college maintains 12 academic buildings, including: 73–75 Campus Avenue, Canham House, Carnegie Science Hall, Dana Chemistry Hall, Hathorn Hall, Hedge Hall, Ladd Library, Olin Arts Center, Pettigrew Hall, Pettengill Hall, Roger Williams, and Schaeffer Theatre.

Lane Hall serves as the administration building on campus, housing the offices of the president, Dean of the Faculty, registrar, and provost, among others.

Bates College's Olin Arts Center

Bates is located on the outskirts of Lewiston, Maine. As a former mill town, Lewiston has a large French Canadian ethnic presence due to migration from Quebec in the 19th century. Lewiston is situated on the Androscoggin River in south-central Maine.

Olin Arts Center

The Olin Arts Center maintains three teaching sound proof studios, five class rooms, five seminar rooms, ten practice rooms with pianos, and a 300-seat grand recital hall. It holds the college's Steinway concert grand piano, Disklavier, William Dowd harpsichord, and their 18th century replica forte piano. The studios are modernized with computers, synthesizers, and various recording equipment.

Museum of Art

Main article: Bates College Museum of Art

Founded in 1955, the Bates College Museum of Art (MoA) holds contemporary and historic pieces. In the 1930s, the college secured a private holding from the Museum of Modern Art of Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night, for students participating in the 'Bates Plan'. It holds 5,000 pieces and objects of contemporary domestic and international art. The museum holds over 100 original artworks, photographs and sketches from Marsden Hartley. The MoA offers numerous lectures, artist symposiums, and workshops. The entire space is split into three components, the larger Upper Gallery, smaller Lower Gallery, and the Synergy Gallery which is primarily used for student exhibits and research. Almost 20,000 visitors are attracted to the MoA annually.

Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area

This conservation area of 600 acres is available to Bates students for academic, extracurricular, and research purposes. This area is mainly salt marshes and coastal uplands. The college participates in preserving the plants, animals and natural ecosystems within this area as a part of their Community-Engaged Learning Program. Due to overall size, the site is frequently used by other Maine schools such as Bowdoin College for their Nordic Skiing practices.

Bates College Coastal Center at Shortridge

This coastal center owned by Bates College, provides various academic programs, lectures, extracurricular activities, and research endeavors for students. 80 acres of wetlands, and woodlands with a fresh water pond, are available to numerous science departments and programs at Bates. There are two buildings on the land, a conference building, which can accommodate 15 people over night, and a laboratory structured with an art studio on the upper floor. This area is also home to the The Shortridge Summer Residency Program which provides students, faculty and researchers to work and study on the coastal land of Shortridge during the summer. Science majors and faculty work on site-based issues such as coastal changes, sea level fluctuations and public policy.

Student life and traditions

280 Hall, first-year residential dorm

Bates was ranked 8th in the country for their dining services among all universities and colleges nationally, by Usatoday in 2015. The college's dining services received the grade of 'A+' by Niche in the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. In 2005, Princeton Review ranked Bates as #7 out of "351 Colleges for Great Food". The college holds one dining hall to encourage "a familial sense of its community", and offers two floors of seating. The college also institutes 'The Napkin Board' "a place where students can leave comments, complaints, and suggestions—ensures that students actually have a lot of say in what Commons [the dining hall] serves".

Bates was ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the country in The Daily Meal's "75 Best Colleges for Food in America" ranking for 2014. The college also holds an annual "Harvest Dinner" during Thanksgiving that features a school wide dining experience including a buffet and life musical performances. In 2015, shortly before the commencement of the Harvest Dinner, American rapper, T-Pain, performed.

Athletics

The college's official mascot is the bobcat, and official color is garnet. The college athletically competed in what is colloquially known as the Little Ivy League or the NCAA Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), which also includes Amherst, Conn College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, Williams, and Maine rivals Bowdoin and Colby in the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium (CBB). This is one of the oldest football rivalries in the United States. The men's football team competes against teams in the NESCAC, and is in the CBB consortium. This consortium is a series of highly competitive football games ending in the championship game between the three schools. Bates has won this championship at total of eleven times including 2014, and in 2015, beat Bowdoin 31–0 after their 34–28 overtime home victory over Colby. In 2015, the Women's Rowing Team was ranked 3rd nationally. In the same year, they won the NCAA Division III Women's Rowing, NESCAC, and New England Rowing championships along with the President's Cup Regatta, Head of Charles Regatta, and the Bates' Invitational. The men's rowing team placed first in the ECAC/NIRC Regatta and the Bates Invitational. Alumni, Andrew Byrnes (class of 2005), won the Olympic Gold Medal while rowing for the Canadian National Team, in 2008 in the Beijing Olympics.

Bates maintains 31 varsity teams, and 9 club teams, including sailing, cycling, ice hockey, rugby, and water polo.

Athletic facilities

Football game on Garcelon Field against Amherst College.

Bates has athletic facilities that include:

• Alumni Gymnasium & the Merrill Indoor Gymnasium
• Bates Squash Center & the Wallach Tennis Center
• Campus Avenue Field & Garcelon Field
• Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building & the Davis Fitness Center
• Leahey Baseball Pitch & the Lafayette Street Pitch
• Underhill Arena Ice Rink
• Rowing Boathouse
• Russell Street Track
• Tarbell Pool

Student organizations and traditions

Bates College, since conception, has rejected fraternities and sororities. The college's resources, faculty, and rigorous academic life allow the college to offer students 110 clubs and organizations on campus. Among those is the competitive eating club, the Fat Cats, Ultimate Frisbee, and the Student Government. The largest club is the Outing Club, which leads canoeing, kayaking, rafting, camping and backpacking trips throughout Maine. The Bates College Outing Club is one of the oldest in the country.

The Bates Student, the oldest coed college newspaper in the nation.

Student media

Bates College's oldest operating newspaper is The Bates Student, created in 1873. It is one of the oldest continuously-published college weeklies in the United States, and the oldest co-ed college weekly in the country. Alumni of the student media programs at Bates have won the Pulitzer Prize, and have their later work featured on major news sources. It circulates approximately 1,900 copies around the campus and Lewiston area. Since 1990, there has been an electronic version of the newspaper online. The newspaper provides access free of charge to a searchable database of articles stretching back to its inception on its website.

WRBC is the college radio station of Bates College and was first aired in 1958. It is currently ranked by The Princeton Review as the 12th best college radio station in the United States and Canada, making it the top college radio in the New England Small College Athletic Conference.

Brooks Quimby Debate Council

Arguably the most prestigious student organization at Bates is the Brooks Quimby Debate Council, due to endowment allocation, relative participation rate, awards and historical significance. The formation of the team predates the establishment of the college itself as the debate society was founded within the Maine State Seminary. It was headed by Bates alumnus and teacher F. Brooks Quimby and became the first intercollegiate international debate team in the United States. During the 1930s, the debate society was subject to 'The Quimby Institute' which pitted each and every debate student against Brooks Quimby himself. This is where he began to engage heated debate with them that stressed "flawless assertions" and resulted in every error made by the student to be carefully scrutinized and teased. Bates has an annual and traditional debate with Oxford, Cambridge and Dartmouth College. It competes in the American Parliamentary Debate Association domestically, and competes in the World Universities Debating Championships, internationally. As of 2013, the debate council was ranked 5th, nationally.

A capella

There are four a cappella groups on campus. The Manic Optimists and the Deansmen are all-male, the Merminaders are all female and the coed group is known as TakeNote. All groups have performed all over Maine and the Northeast.

Puddle Jump

On a day near Saint Patricks Day, March 17, the Bates College Outing Club initiates the annual Puddle Jump. A hole is cut by a chainsaw or by the original axe used in the inaugural Puddle Jump of 1975, in Lake Andrews. Students from all class years jump into the hole, sometimes in costumes, to celebrate, "exuberance at the end of a hard winter." By mid-evening, they celebrate with donuts, cider and a cappella performances.

Presidents of Bates College

Bates is governed by the President and the Board of Trustees which collectively form the corporation of Bates College. The president is the chief executive officer of the corporation and principal academic officer of the college. She or he is ex officio a member of the Board of Trustees.

Presidents' House, in Lewiston, Maine

There have been eight presidents of Bates College:

1. Oren Burbank Cheney (1863–1894)
2. George Colby Chase (1894–1919)
3. Clifton Daggett Gray (1920–1944)
4. Charles Franklin Phillips (1944–1967)
5. Thomas Hedley Reynolds (1967–1989)
6. Donald West Harward (1989–2002)
7. Elaine Tuttle Hansen (2002–2011)
8. Clayton Spencer (2012–present)

Sustainability

Bates College signed onto the American College and University President's Climate Commitment in 2007. In 2010, the college was named one of 15 colleges in the United States named to the "Green Honor Roll", by Princeton Review. In 2005, President Elaine Tuttle Hansen stated, "Bates will purchase its entire electricity supply from renewable energy sources in Maine" and secured a new contract, adding a premium of $76,000 to their energy supply. The United States Environmental Protection Agency honored Bates as a member of the Green Power Leadership Club due to the fact that 96% of energy used on campus is from renewable resources. All newly developed buildings and facilities are built to LEED Silver standards. As of 2015, Bates is constructing a new LEED Silver standard-based residential building, housing 200+ students as a part of their Campus Life Project.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Bates College people

As of 2015, there are 24,000 Bates College Alumni. In 2016, two Bates alumni were featured on the Forbes' 30 Under 30 list.

Many who have studied at Bates College go on to work in the U.S. Government such as: Governor, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Edmund S. Muskie, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court Vincent L. McKusick, U.S. Secretary of State James G. Blaine, and President of the Massachusetts Senate George Smith.

The business world has also a large Bates representation such as COO of Merrill Lynch Joseph T. Willett, CEO of General Mills Robert Kinney, Microsoft vice president Rick Thompson, President of Playtex Rick Powers, and CEO of Medco Health Solutions David B. Snow.

Bates Alumni Rower Andrew Byrnes (2005), won the Gold Medal in the Olympics, World Cup, and World Rowing Championships.

Notable film and television have also studied at Bates such as actress Anna Kendrick, actor David Hasselhoff, and journalist Bryant Gumbel.

The college has produced many academics and college/university Presidents such as: President of Skidmore College Val H. Wilson, President of Morehouse College Benjamin Mays, President of Babson College William Rankin Dill, President of Beloit College H. Scott Bierman and President of Swarthmore College Valerie Smith.

The college has extended honorary degrees to U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, American chef Julia Child, and U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

• 

  United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (Naval Program '44)

• 

  American Actor and Singer David Hasselhoff (Attended '71 )

• 

  U.S. President Calvin Cooldige (Hon. Degree '23)

• 

  U.S. Secretary of State Edmund Muskie (B.A. '36)

• 

  American broadcaster and journalist Bryant Gumbel (B.A. '70)

Alma mater

Benjamin E. Bates, college founder

The Bates College Alma Mater was written by Irving H. Blake in 1911.

"Here's to Bates, our Alma Mater dear,

Proudest and fairest of her peers;

We pledge to her our loyalty,

Our faith and our honor thru the years.

Long may her praises resound.

Long may her sons exalt her name.

May her glory shine while time endures,

Here's to our Alma Mater's fame."

In popular culture

• The Sopranos (1999) — In an episode (S1, E5) entitled "College," Tony Soprano and his daughter Meadow visit colleges in Maine, first visiting Bates College. His daughter, while on campus says, "[Bates College has] a 48-to-52 male-female ratio, which is great, strong liberal arts program and this cool Olin Arts Center for music." Later mentioning Bates College's sexual atmosphere.
• The Simpsons (2015) — In an episode (S27, E8) entitled "Paths of Glory," it is suggested to Lisa Simpson that she transfers to Bates College.

See also

• The Stephens Observatory
• Bates Dance Festival
• Cobb Divinity School
• Frye Street

References

• Alfred Williams Anthony, Bates College and Its Background (Philadelphia: Judson Press, 1936).
• Bates College Catalog 2004–2006, Lewiston, ME: Bates College, 2004.
• Bates Student, 1873–2006
• Emeline Cheney. The Story of the Life and Work of Oren B. Cheney (Boston: Morning Star Publishing, 1907).
• Mabel Eaton ed., General Catalogue of Bates College and Cobb Divinity School: 1864–1930 (Lewiston, ME: Bates College, 1930)

External links

• Official website
• Bates College Athletics website