Donald W. Harward provided the
context in which Bates words, concepts, and ideals could be made
more real and available to everyone connected to the College,"
wrote Bates Trustee Jeanne Dell’Osso Cohen ’73 upon the
retirement of Bates’ sixth president, who served from 1989 to
2002.
Through expanded academic programs and campus facilities,
spirited efforts to reach out beyond Bates, and a near-constant
encouragement to the Bates community to engage in the work of
the College collaboratively and with civility, Harward helped
Bates discover ways to translate a traditional culture of hard
work, egalitarianism, and social justice into greater excellence
and national reputation.
"There are no spectator sports at Bates," he once said. "The
College depends on participation and involvement." Bates created
22 significant new facilities and two dozen new academic
programs during Harward’s tenure. Through increased study-abroad
programs, more support for student-faculty collaborations, and a
renowned service-learning program, students and faculty explored
the world outside the traditional ivory tower, including
Lewiston-Auburn.
"We reaffirmed the notion that learning carries a responsibility
to the outside world," Harward said. The LA Excels collaboration
established under Harward, called "the most extensive community
development project in the history of the state" by then-Maine
Gov. Angus King, inspired Bates and the community to recast
their relationship and identify shared aspirations; upon his
retirement, the Bates Board of Trustees endowed the Donald W.
and Ann M. Harward Center for Community Partnerships.
Prior to the Bates presidency, Harward taught and served at the
University of Delaware, where he designed the University Honors
Program, and then was vice president for academic affairs at The
College of Wooster. He earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from the
University of Maryland, and among his areas of published
research are the foundations of mathematics, analytical
philosophy, epistemology, and logic.
He is a senior advisor for the American Council on Education
Fellows Program and a senior fellow with the American
Association of American Colleges and Universities. He and his
wife, Ann, have two children.
