On the afternoon of March 7, the Bates community welcomed incoming President Garry W. Jenkins to campus.

Chair of the Bates Board of Trustees and Member of the Presidential Search Committee John Gillespie ’80 and Co-Chair of the Search Committee Andrea Conklin Bueschel ’90 kicked off the event by thanking the 17-member search committee comprised of Bates faculty, alumni and students, as well as Isaacson Miller Executive Search Firm for their help over the course of the five-month hiring process. 

Gillespie and Bueschel also expressed their profound gratitude to President Clayton Spencer for her 12 years of service to the school. 

Following their thanks, Bueschel introduced Jenkins, noting that it was a “unanimous consensus” to choose Jenkins as the 10th President of Bates College. 

A liberal-arts grad himself, “he just gets Bates,” touted Bueschel. 

Jenkins immediately took to the stage with a palpable energy and a contagious grin. “Dreams do come true,” he said. 

Having kept an eye on the liberal arts, he noted that he “watched Bates’ great strides with admiration.” 

Raised in northern New Jersey by parents who worked in higher education, Jenkins “developed a strong belief and passion for higher education.” After graduating from Haverford College, Jenkins attended the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Law School. 

He remarked on his own transformative liberal arts experience and how it truly shaped his life.