By TINA IYER
Features Editor
 

Assistant Dean of Students Dan Ludden, a 1986 graduate, has been working at Bates since November of 1993. A music major, Ludden first began his professional duties at the college as the housing coordinator until 1996, when he was promoted to his current position.

Ludden's decision to pursue a different career path coincided with the time when his partner decided to take at job at Cole Haan in Yarmouth. Ludden knew that he wanted "to give something back to Bates." All other jobs seemed fruitless to him, and he knew that working at Bates would provide him with a purposeful job.

"I knew I wanted to work in academia, it's an environment that I feel comfortable in," said Ludden.

A phone call to F. Celeste Branham, dean of students, gave Ludden a window of opportunity. The position of housing coordinator was about to be vacated, and Ludden was hired as the interim housing coordinator. "They liked me and I liked them and the rest is history," Ludden said of the decision to hire him as permanent staff.

Ludden is not the only Bates graduate who was hired almost as a matter of "good timing."

Katie Moran, assistant dean of admissions, lifeguarded at the Bates pool her senior year, and Dean of Admissions Wylie Mitchell swam there every day. A year after Moran graduated in 1993 with a degree in English, Mitchell called and offered her a job.

Having worked in Portland for a year and ready to leave her job, Moran accepted.

Moran's colleague Reese Madden, also an assistant dean of admissions, has been employed by Bates since October of 1996. A political science major, Madden lived in Boston for a year following his graduation in 1993 before moving out to Colorado. After two years, Madden wanted to move back to Maine and possibly work for L.L. Bean.

"I interviewed there (L.L. Bean), and then drove over to Bates just for kicks. Pedro (Gutierrez, former assistant dean of admissions) had just given his notice, and I got to meet everyone in the office," said Madden, who was asked what he was then doing for employment.

Madden was temporarily hired as an admissions counselor and then permanently hired last May.

In the eleven years since he was a student, and in the four that he has been employed by Bates, Ludden has seen plenty of changes take place at the college.

Sarah Potter, the bookstore director and contract officer for the Bates College Store, was a 1977 graduate of Bates. Potter returned to work at Bates in 1979 after walking into the bookstore to buy a pad of paper and being asked to fill the position that the textbook manager had just vacated. She has been at Bates ever since.

While Potter herself did not spend much time away from Bates before she began working for the college, Ludden is thankful for the time that he had away from Bates, recognizing the possible difficulties that can arise by going straight from being amongst peers to being responsible for peers.

Madden also views his three years between graduation and being an employee as helpful. Had he began working at Bates immediately after graduated, Madden feels that he may have had to confront the challenges of being considered a student and not being able to distinguish himself.

Starting work at Bates so soon after graduation, Moran made an effort to not be on campus all the time. In fact, Moran has seen a need to remove herself and her experiences from her admissions work. "Only when its appropriate do I talk about my experiences at Bates," Moran said, and she finds herself doing this less and less with time.

Vice President for Administrative Services Bill Hiss '66 had twelve years away from Bates before he started working for the college. An English major who originally thought that he might go into acting professionally, Hiss describes himself as the "classic liberal arts grad" who thought about pursuing everything career-wise.

After teaching at Hebron Academy for five years, Hiss was hired as the Acting Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid.

Hiss experienced no discomfort at working for Bates, because of the twelve years that had passed since graduation.

These Bates employees have witnessed many changes at Bates since their time at Bates.

"The facilities are much improved now," Ludden mentioned. The Olin Arts Center was just being completed when Ludden graduated, Carnegie had yet to be renovated, there was no ice arena.

Susan Murphy '70, of integrated applications in information services, and her husband James Murphy '69, an assistant professor of physical education, returned to their alma mater two-and-a-half years ago. Although removed from Bates for fifteen years, both the Murphy's were actively involved in alumni activities and maintained their connections to Bates.

Susan Murphy '70 also mentions the physical changes of the campus, such as the building of Ladd Library, and the greater availability of resources because of these changes.

Bates has undergone more than merely physical changes. "The curriculum is much more diverse and interesting than when I was here," explained Ludden. Since his graduation, the curriculum has added African American Studies, American Cultural Studies, and Women's Studies.

"There are still many places to go [in terms of curricula], but the valid effort is there," Ludden said.

There has also been a diversification in the faculty; more women and people of color are employed by Bates now than there were ten years ago. "It proves that the college is attempting to be a player in the modern world."

The changes that Moran mentions are "a much greater commitment to diversity," as well as a far greater emphasis on Service-Learning. "I think Bates needs to change with the times."

"Bates will always hopefully be changing," said Moran. But while Moran has seen a number of change since her time as a student, she notes that part of these change may simply be her own difference in perception as a staff member. As a student, Moran did not need to be as aware of resources and opportunities as she does now working in admissions.

"There is more debate now on campus about campus issues," said Madden, "I never saw the discussions when I as a student here." Although he acknowledges that such discussions must have taken place, Madden feels that they took place in more isolated pockets.

A member of GLA (Gay-Lesbian Alliance) as a student, Ludden feels that the climate at Bates for homosexuals is much more open now. "The college is more supportive, too" said Ludden with respect to the college's stated policies on sexual orientation.

The addition of the Multicultural Center has also added support to what is now GLBA (Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual Alliance), and Ludden believes that the organization has a bigger presence on campus now, and there is more of a community for gay, lesbian, and bisexual students to belong to.

One of the most formative experiences for Hiss was spending his junior year abroad at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. While the JYA program has always been central to Bates, Hiss notes that the sheer volume of students going abroad has increased over the years.

Hiss also mentioned that the bulk of students during his time went to Great Britain or Western Europe, and to spend a year in Japan was considered adventurous. Now students traverse the globe.

Perhaps the greatest progress that Bates has made in its policy toward female students.

In the 1960's Bates was "across the board an appallingly sexist school," said Hiss. Although Hiss comments that Bates was in this sense no different from other comparable colleges, it was still a shame. "Bates is far less parochial now than it was in the 1960's."

"Bates in those days had an extremely limited and sexist sports program," said Hiss, mentioning that there were no competitive sports for women at all.

A field hockey player during her time at Bates, Murphy recalls the sexism in Bates athletics. Women did not get physical education credit for playing a sport the way that male athletes did, and Murphy said, "As I remember, we weren't allowed to travel. Other teams had to come to us."

Now, Murphy believes that "opportunities for women are just amazing."

Some negative changes have taken place at Bates as well. "There's not a real economic diversity anymore," Ludden said. However, he does not know if the narrower economic range of students in past years is the institution's fault or the societal pressure of college in general being more costly.

Ludden also noted that the social feel of Bates is different now because of the rise in drinking age, and the stricter alcohol policy. When Ludden was a student, the drinking age in Maine was 18, and so "alcohol wasn't a driving force in social life. There wasn't that hunt for alcohol on the weekends," said Ludden.

Potter mentioned that she doesn't not get the same "joy of knowing your alma mater from a distance." She does not get to see Bates grow from a distance and be surprised by its changes.

Marc Glass, a staff writer for college relations, is a 1988 graduate of the college. Also an English major, Glass began working full-time for Bates in April of 1997 . Glass began working at Bates for the practical reason of wanting to be able to share the commute to work with his wife Wendy, who is the Associate Director in the Financial Aid Office.

Furthermore, Glass said, "Professionally, in the type of work that I'm in, I have an easier time doing public relations work for a cause, an institution, that I believe in."

Nonetheless, Glass shares some of Potter's sentiments about being "too close" to Bates. Glass feels somewhat that the "the luster has worn off on me."

One aspect of Bates that Glass notices more as an employee is the "collegiality of the institution. The group effort is valued more than the individual."

While Glass appreciated this as a student, "It has taken a different manifestation for me as an employee. Things are so egalitarian that no one can stand out."

Madden sees this lack of emphasis on individual success from his position as a recruiter for the college. "When you're recruiting you want to tout successes, and sometimes its difficult to find success documented."

While the general philosophy at Bates is that no one individual should stand out, according to Madden, "sometimes its o.k. to be better than average."

Both Glass and Madden feel that an acknowledgement of individual success could be of value to the college. "It could make a lot of people feel really good about what came before them and what they are a part of," said Madden.

However, the pillars of Bates, the "core good values" have remained the same, according to Hiss. He lists the academic rigor and the egalitarianism - the lack of fraternities and sororities that Bates has always prided itself on. Although Hiss admits the imperfection of Bates' egalitarianism, he acknowledges that it is less stuff, cliquey and judgmental than other schools of its caliber.

Ludden also asserts that the basic issues of college life, such as academic pressure, are no different than they were ten or so years ago. Furthermore, "the types of student hasn't really changed much in terms of what is important to them," Ludden said.

Although in his current position, and also as housing coordinator, Ludden deals with students all of the time - often times with students who have complaints, Ludden knows that he cannot use his own Bates experience "against" students. He holds back from saying, "Believe me that it will be o.k. I know."

"One of the benefits that I have is that I remember what it was like to be a student. I like to think that I'm empathetic," said Potter. Keeping in mind her own expectations as a student, Potter bases much of her suggestions for the bookstore on her own experience.

Certainly these Bates grads and employees are aware of their position "on the other side of the fence."

"I used to be completely afraid of the deans, because they were the deans," said Ludden, "Now I'm one of them."