Impressions

In focus

• Academic rigor
  • In their academic work, Bates students are challenged to attain intellectual achievement and to develop powers of critical assessment, analysis, expression, aesthetics and independent thought. If you ask Bates graduates what they value most about their time here, as often as not they'll say something like, "Bates taught me how to think."
• Individual achievement, responsibility
  • Students who can demonstrate the intellectual soundness and potential value of an initiative — whether it's for a senior thesis project, a performance or an independent study — will receive every possible backing from the College. In turn, Bates expects each student to take full responsibility for his or her conduct and for meeting academic requirements.
• Social responsibility
  • Bates has long understood that the privilege of education carries with it responsibility to others. Learning at Bates is connected to action and to others beyond the self. Bates faculty routinely incorporate service-learning into their courses, and about half of students take part in community-based projects in the Lewiston-Auburn region.
• Freedom of expression
  • The founders of Bates protested the status quo of the 19th-century by insisting on access to higher education for all who could benefit from it. By carrying forward this belief in freedom and civil rights, Bates assures the dignity of each individual and access to its programs and opportunities by qualified learners.

Interests

• Bates history
  • A brief Bates history
  • Historical essay on Bates values
  • Honors thesis: the College's progressive tradition
• Diversity and inclusion
  • Diversity and inclusion
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance

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