Bates College
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Bates College is committed to the principle of equal opportunity and providing an educational and work environment free from discrimination. The college prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status and other legally protected statuses in the recruitment and admission of its students, in the administration of its education policies and programs, or in the recruitment of its faculty and staff. Bates College adheres to all applicable state and federal equal opportunity laws and regulations. All Bates College faculty, staff, students, contractors, consultants, and volunteers are responsible for understanding and complying with the Non-Discrimination Policy. The college is dedicated to ensuring access, fairness and equity for all persons in its educational programs, related activities and employment, including those groups who have faced historical barriers to full and fair integration and participation. Bates College maintains a continuing commitment to identify and eliminate discriminatory practices in every phase of college operations. The Director of Title IX and Civil Rights Compliance, Gwen Lexow, coordinates the college’s efforts to comply with any and all federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of one or more of the protected characteristics listed above. This includes coordinating its efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 as amended (“Title IX”). Title IX prohibits discrimination in educational programs on the basis of sex. Prohibited sex discrimination includes sexual harassment and sexual misconduct (including sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking) as defined by the college’s policies. Inquiries concerning the college’s policies, compliance with applicable laws, statutes, and regulations (such as Title VII, Title IX, ADA/Section 504, and Maine Human Rights Act), and complaints may be directed to Gwen Lexow, Director of Title IX and Civil Rights Compliance, Lane Hall 202A. Non-Retaliation Retaliation against an individual who has raised claims of illegal discrimination or has cooperated with an investigation of such claims is prohibited. An individual who retaliates against someone who has reported a claim of illegal discrimination in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment and/or dismissal from the college. Everyone is different; at Bates, we embrace and learn from that difference. At Bates, we acknowledge and celebrate the plurality of identities, social positions, cultural perspectives and individual abilities that contribute to human difference. We believe in the emancipating potential of education to help all members of our community promote, respect and embrace diversity – broadly defined – and to preserve and advocate for human dignity. As we avow in the Bates mission statement, “With ardor and devotion — Amore ac Studio — we engage the transformative power of our differences, cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action” to prepare leaders who are “sustained by a love of learning and a commitment to responsible stewardship of the wider world.” https://www.bates.edu/here-to-help/policies/non-discrimination-policy-statement/

https://www.bates.edu/equity-inclusion/bias-incidents-hate-crimes/#reporting-an-incident https://www.bates.edu/equity-inclusion/bias-incidents-hate-crimes/ As the Director of Title IX and Civil Rights Compliance, Gwen Lexow will work with individuals to investigate and resolve any incidents of bias, discrimination, or harassment. The college encourages individuals to report all incidents of bias and takes all reports seriously. Reporting can assist the college in assessing patterns and addressing behaviors that are antithetical to our community values. Reports may be resolved through informal and formal means, depending on the nature of the incident and considering the needs and desires of the reporting party. Individuals who report incidents will not be compelled to participate in any formal action. Individual privacy and agency are important aspects of our resolution process. The college follows procedures that are consistent with state and federal law. These procedures include the preparation of annual disclosure of crime statistics in The Bates Annual Security Report. In addition, all incidents that may be considered hate crimes must be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office.

The emerging scholars program is a collaboration between the Dean of Faculty’s office, the Office of Equity and Inclusion along with funds from the Mellon Foundation. The program provides financial support to departments and programs to bring historically underrepresented and marginalized scholars to Bates College to participate in a variety of academic and student development activities. The emerging scholars program is a collaboration between the offices of the Dean of Faculty and the Vice President of Equity and Inclusion. The chief goals of the program are: to introduce Bates faculty and undergraduate students to historically underrepresented and marginalized scholars and the fields and areas of study those scholars occupy, to broaden our institutional networks, to catalyze and normalize the inclusion of scholars from historically underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds in the intellectual life of departments and programs, and to help students from historically underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds imagine Bates College and Higher Education as a place they can persist and thrive. https://www.bates.edu/equity-inclusion/emerging-scholars-program/ We also have a Bobcat First program, where first generation students are recruited to attend our school. The Bobcat First! Program seeks to foster a greater sense of well-being, belonging, and self-empowerment among first generation to college students. Through a pre-orientation program, workshops, co-curricular activities, and alumni events, first-year students will build strong connections with one another, faculty, and staff. For parents, programs are offered to build a community of support. The Bobcat First! Program is based on an opt-in cohort model, where students develop community through social and educational experiences. https://www.bates.edu/oie/bobcat-first/ As a side note, under Maine law, we are not allowed to preferentially hire staff and faculty of underrepresented groups, but we do make sure our recruitment of candidates from underrepresented groups is robust.

The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) is an institutional partner in the advancement of the college’s commitment to inclusive excellence and educational justice. Through close collaboration with the campus community, the OEI works to create a welcoming, inclusive, physically safe, and appreciative educational experience for all constituents. The OEI is engaged in the work of cultivating a culture of equity, inclusion, access and freedom from domestic violence and sexual assault as excellence through our work with Title IX, Accessible Education, Human Resources, Admissions, Advancement, Alumni Engagement, Student Affairs, Campus Activities, The Office of Intercultural Education, Athletics, Academic Affairs, Curricular Design, Human Resources, New Employee Recruitment/Hiring/Retention, Security, Facilities, Campus Events and Dining, Lewiston Police Department, Purposeful Work, International Programs and more… The OEI is committed to training and development of all campus community members. As a thought leader in our racial and equity work, the OEI is supporting faculty and staff as they move through the first stages of racial equity training, members from the office helped lead the first year Centering Racial Equity workshop for the class of 2023 and will be developing a strategic plan for training and workforce development moving forward. Mission Statement of Bates College Since 1855, Bates College has been dedicated to the emancipating potential of the liberal arts. Bates educates the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. With ardor and devotion — Amore ac Studio — we engage the transformative power of our differences, cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action. Preparing leaders sustained by a love of learning and a commitment to responsible stewardship of the wider world, Bates is a college for coming times. Living the Legacy of Inclusive Excellence Since its founding in 1855 by Maine free will baptists who were involved in the abolitionist movement, Bates has welcomed students from diverse racial, ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds. Bates was, and is, committed to the principles of social justice, equity, and freedom. Great efforts are ongoing in designing and perpetuating the institution to ensure that no qualified student will be turned away because they could not afford the cost of a Bates education. From the beginning, Bates welcomed young people from Maine farms and factory towns, former slaves, and immigrants. The leadership at Bates College is committed to living up to the aspirations of our founding. This is work is never done and takes a fully engaged and willing community. Along with racial equity training for faculty, staff, students and senior administrators, the college has hired their first Vice President of Equity and Inclusion to help frame the next iteration of this work as a senior administrator. The VPEI will build on the good work of colleagues, previous and current, in meeting the every changing and growing diversity of needs in the campus community. Bates College continues to assure that all organizations on campus are open to everyone along with the continual review and adjustment of academic, social, student, staff and communal programming and educational spaces. Bates is a member of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute consortium, which seeks inclusive education of underrepresented groups: Inclusive Excellence The goal of our program is for any student at Bates who is interested in STEM to be provided with an inclusive curriculum, support structures, and dedicated faculty and staff mentors to ensure that they have the opportunity to thrive. We are especially committed to working for an equitable and inclusive learning environment for STEM interested students from historically marginalized or minoritized backgrounds that will promote their success in STEM. https://www.bates.edu/dof/hhmi-inclusive-excellence/

Bates is a member of the Creating Connections Consortium—C3—which brings together liberal arts colleges with diversity officers (LADO colleges) with leading research universities to help develop the next generation of professors and scholars. The C3 Undergraduate Fellowships program provides graduate-level research experience as well as mentoring toward applying to and succeeding in graduate school. https://www.bates.edu/academics/student-research/summer/c3-undergraduate-fellowships/ Also: Faculty and staff are committed to the success of students interested in STEM. We are working to develop internal expertise, through workshops, learning groups, communities of practice, and attendance at external conferences in inclusive pedagogical practices and in an understanding of critical race theory and anti-racist approaches. Examples of Activities: Social Justice and Racial Equity Workshop (3 days) led by Heather Hackman of Hackman Consulting (Fall 2018) Context Diversity Workshop led by Roberto Ibarra and Gary Weissmann (Friday, September 13th, from 4 to 6pm, in Carnegie 339) Structure Matters-21 Teaching Strategies to Promote Student Engagement and Cultivate Classroom Equity Workshop led by Kimberly Tanner (Fall 2019) Inclusive Pedagogy Workshop led by Bryan Dewsbury (planned Winter 2020) STEM Scholars Cohort/Mentoring Learning Community led by John Smedley and April Hill (Winter 2019) Supporting Faculty development through supporting attendance at External Workshops and Institutes Course Based Research Experience workshops for faculty (Five workshops led by April Hill and Bev Johnson, from February through July, 2019). https://www.bates.edu/dof/commitment-to-student-success/