“If there is nothing else that I have learned from this campus,” 乐播传媒 senior Alex Bolden told a gymnasium full of people gathered to see him and his classmates graduate, “it is that there are no bounds to the change a community can effect when it is grounded in love.”

In the Senior Address that Bolden, a double major in philosophy and rhetoric from Cleveland, offered at 乐播传媒’ 149th Commencement, he explored the kind of love that bonds a class with a college and the classmates with each other, and how that love should now be directed outwardly.

“It is out of love that we have become allies to those who are struggling,” he said, “and it is out of love that we stand for those who cannot stand for themselves.”

But Bolden’s speech was charged with love of a more immediate kind, too. He said, “I want to give special recognition to my fianc茅e,” classmate Jamilia Davis of Oak Park, Ill. “Thanks for saying ‘yes’ last night.”

That was one of several peak moments in a May 31 ceremony also highlighted by a Commencement address by honorary degree recipient and award-winning mathematician Manjul Bhargava.

In his talk, Princeton professor and Fields Medal recipient Bhargava celebrated the liberal arts education through an exploration of his own fascination with the unities among music, poetry, and math.

Receiving honorary degrees in addition to Bhargava were two internationally acclaimed Mainers, furniture designer Thomas Moser and Olympic runner and environmentalist Joan Benoit Samuelson; and Mark Abelson, a ophthalmological researcher responsible for numerous eye remedies.

The college conferred bachelor’s of arts and of science degrees on 484 乐播传媒 graduates.

Held in Merrill Gymnasium because of rain, the ceremony began with a welcome from President Clayton Spencer. Perhaps inspired by Bhargava, a specialist in the properties of whole numbers, Spencer quantified some of the accomplishments of the graduating class 鈥� which contains, for example, 14 Fulbright Fellows, 93 double majors and one triple major, 37 honors thesis students, and 69 NESCAC All-Academic athletes.

That last figure, by the way, gave the president a chance for a shout-out to the women’s rowing team, whose win in the NCAA Division III championship yesterday in Gold River, Calif., gave 乐播传媒 its first-ever NCAA team championship.

In another memorable development, Professor of Sociology Sawyer Sylvester, appointed to the faculty in 1969, carried the college mace for the last time.

As senior member of the faculty, Sylvester had the honor of bearing the mace at the head of the academic procession. But he is retiring this year, so while he carried the ceremonial mace into Commencement, he didn’t leave with it.

As he led the academic procession from the stage during the recessional, Sylvester handed over the mace to his successor, Charles Franklin Phillips Professor of Economics Michael Murray.

“The surprising unity of all fields of human endeavor.”

Bhargava began his address in a light vein. “When you all exited your last class here at 乐播传媒 and were getting ready for graduation, you probably weren鈥檛 thinking, ‘I wish I could have had one more math class!’ ” he said. “In case you were thinking this, your dream has just come true.”

But not really. Bhargava devoted most of his time at the podium to an examination of, in his words, “the relationships that exist between mathematics and art, between sciences and the humanities 鈥� and more generally the surprising unity of all fields of human endeavor 鈥� and what this all means in terms of the value of a liberal arts education.”

Bhargava is known as a theorist who perceives math’s complexities in the context of a greater whole in which, for him, music and ancient Sanskrit poetry also figure prominently.

He told the 乐播传媒 audience a bit about the numerical relationships that determine which frequencies of sound are pleasing to the ear, and therefore musical.

He pointed out that several central concepts in mathematics, such as Fibonacci numbers, “were first discovered . . . in the context of poetry.” In fact, the structure of the Sanskrit poetry that Bhargava studied with his grandfather “naturally led early poets and linguists to consider various mathematical and scientific questions that one might not immediately expect from a poet.”

In fact, hundreds of years ago math was taught through poetry, Bhargava said, offering an example of a poem from 1150 that uses jasmine, a fragrant lotus blossom and the buzz felt between a male and a female bee to teach square roots and fractions.

In one of several generous references to his fellow honorands, Bhargava cited ophthalmologist Abelson to exemplify how concepts from outside one’s own discipline can catalyze important breakthroughs 鈥� disciplines, in Abelson’s case, including pharmacology, pathophysiology, economics, chemistry, and cellular biology.

A second example was the mathematician and Nobel Laureate John Nash, subject of the film A Beautiful Mind and creator of so-called Nash equilibrium, a broadly useful theory for analyzing competitive situations. Clearly moved by the recent deaths of Nash, a colleague from Princeton, and his wife in a car crash, Bhargava said that Nash equilibrium was not only a mathematical masterpiece, “but also contained extremely artistic, creative ideas and constructions that were inspired by phenomena in neighboring disciplines.”

Nash’s example “clearly show[s] that creativity and technical know-how are both needed in this world, and are needed together, and creativity or inspiration often comes from the connections, relations, and analogies that one sees with other subjects.”

“Keep learning about other disciplines,” Bhargava told the graduates. “And don鈥檛 just appreciate the connections between different realms of human endeavor that you find but actively look for them 鈥� because they鈥檙e definitely out there.”

Directed and accompanied by music faculty member John Corrie, the Commencement Choir followed Bhargava with a performance of Stephen Schwartz鈥檚 song 鈥淔or Good鈥� from the musical Wicked. It was another way for the Class of of 2015 to offer a more-than-fond farewell: 鈥淏ecause I knew you / I have been changed / For good.鈥�

“What was the moment you fell in love with 乐播传媒?”

At the top of the ceremony, Bolden was pointed and eloquent in describing how the love 乐播传媒 students feel for each other and their school is, or should be, “a love that can change the world.”

“What was the moment you fell in love with 乐播传媒?” he asked his classmates. He explained how his own introduction to 乐播传媒 differed sharply from those of many 乐播传媒 students. Unmoved by the beautiful campus, respected professors, and so on, Bolden came instead for financial reasons, wishing he could attend a big city university instead.

For him, falling in love with 乐播传媒 was a gradual accretion of details: things like a party invitation in his second week at 乐播传媒 and a film course taught by Charles Nero that forever changed how Bolden interprets media.

But it was a love that Bolden awoke to only during study abroad thousands of miles away, studying in New Zealand.

“It was at that point that I realized that 乐播传媒 was not only the right choice for me, but where I belonged.”

Asking his classmates again when they fell in love with 乐播传媒, Bolden said:

“I challenge you to share the love of that moment . . . with those who need it the most, whether that be by writing a scholarly dissertation on women鈥檚 rights, reassuring that little boy or girl in your City Year or Teach for America class that ‘it gets better,’ or organizing a rally against fracking 鈥� or simply sharing on social media the fact that black lives do and have always mattered.

“Do it all with the same love that made you fall in love with those here next to you today.”

Students celebrate receiving their degrees last May. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

乐播传媒 will confer honorary degrees on four leaders in medicine, mathematics, American furniture design and athletics during the college鈥檚 149th Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 31.

Manjul Bhargava, winner of the 2014 Fields Medal for mathematics and a professor at Princeton University, will deliver the Commencement address.

During Commencement, which begins at 10 a.m. in Merrill Gymnasium (due to inclement weather) and will be livestreamed at bates.edu/live, the college will also confer honorary degrees on:

• Dr. Mark Abelson P鈥�97, pioneering ophthalmologist whose research and work has led to dozens of new eye treatments and cures;
• Thomas Moser, master craftsman whose handmade furniture beautifies public spaces around the world;
• Joan Benoit Samuelson P鈥�10, Olympic gold medalist and environmentalist.

乐播传媒 President Clayton Spencer will confer the honorary degrees.

鈥淭hese four individuals approach their work with passion, creativity and extraordinary dedication,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淚n so doing, they have become leaders in their fields and models of the values we seek to instill in our students and embody in all aspects of the 乐播传媒 experience.鈥�

Commencement concludes the undergraduate careers of the 484聽members of the 乐播传媒 Class of 2015, representing 32 U.S. states and 31聽countries.

More about the 2015 honorands

Manjul Bhargava, Doctor of Science

Manjul Bhargava

Manjul Bhargava is celebrated for his achievements in mathematical research, achievements that聽last year earned him , a coveted honor for mathematics that goes to three or four under-40 mathematicians every four years.

鈥淏hargava’s work in number theory has had a profound influence on the field,鈥� the in announcing Bhargava’s award. 鈥淎 mathematician of extraordinary creativity, he has a taste for simple problems of timeless beauty, which he has solved by developing elegant and powerful new methods that offer deep insights.鈥�

Bhargava’s breakthroughs in number theory are the products of an intellect that perceives math’s intricate complexities in the context of a greater whole.

鈥淏hargava’s mathematical tastes, formed in his earliest days, are infused with music and poetry,鈥� Erica Klarreich wrote in Quanta Magazine. 鈥淗e approaches all three realms with the same goal, he says: 鈥榯o express truths about ourselves and the world around us.鈥欌��

For Bhargava, wrote Klarreich, 鈥渢he counting numbers don鈥檛 simply line themselves up in a demure row. Instead, they take up positions in space. … And they move through time, in the rhythms of a Sanskrit poem or a tabla drumming sequence.鈥�

Manjul Bhargava uses math 鈥榯o express truths about ourselves and the world around us.鈥�

Number theory is the study of the properties of whole numbers. Bhargava has made important contributions to the field in such areas as composition laws pertaining to binary quadratic forms, which were the topic of his dissertation at Princeton University, and in the field known as the geometry of numbers, where his contributions merited the Fields Medal.

Born in Canada in 1974 to parents of Indian origin, Bhargava grew up primarily in the United States. When he was a young child, his mother, Hofstra University mathematics professor Mira Bhargava, found that she could keep him occupied by asking him to add or multiply large numbers. He also spent time with his family in India, where through his grandfather he discovered ancient Sanskrit poetry, whose mathematical qualities captivated him 鈥� and provided early insights into number theory.

Mira Bhargava also introduced her son to the Indian hand drums known as tabla, and today he is a dedicated and highly accomplished player with a sideline as a concert performer. He also plays guitar, violin and sitar.

Manjul Bhargava graduated from Harvard University in 1996 and received his doctorate from Princeton in 2001. He became a professor at Princeton two years later, and today is the there. He is also the Stieltjes Professor of Number Theory at in the Netherlands.

In addition to the 2014 Fields Medal, his other honors include the Merten M. Hasse Prize of the Mathematical Association of America (2003), the Blumenthal Award for the Advancement of Research in Pure Mathematics (2005), the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize (2005), the Cole Prize in Number Theory of the American Mathematical Society (2008), the Fermat Prize (2011) and the Infosys Prize (2012). He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2013.

Bhargava was awarded the , India’s third highest civilian honor, this year.

Mark Abelson, Doctor of Science

Mark Abelson

If you have ever been prescribed an eye medication or treatment for an external eye disease, it鈥檚 likely that you have benefited from the lifelong work of Dr. Mark Abelson, one of the world鈥檚 leading eye doctors. His groundbreaking research in how clinical trials are structured has led to the development of some of the most prescribed drugs currently available for the treatment of eye diseases.

When it comes to bringing a new drug to market, the rigor and scientific methods used to study and ensure its safety and effectiveness are just as important as the science behind the drug itself. Abelson recognized this more than 40 years ago and began his lifelong work to improve the drug development process, which lead to the founding of .

Abelson currently serves as chief scientific officer of Ora, the world鈥檚 leading ophthalmic research and product development firm. Ora and its clients have, over the past 30 years, earned nearly three dozen approvals for medical treatments and devices marketed globally.

Born in Montreal, Canada, Abelson earned bachelor鈥檚 and medical degrees from McGill University. He is a member of the board of trustees at the , clinical professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and surgeon emeritus at . In addition, he served 10 years on the Medical Advisory Board to the Dean of McGill Medical School.

By applying creative problem solving across a range of disciplines, Abelson exemplifies a life of purposeful work.

Abelson has received numerous awards over the course of his career and has written more than 600 publications and abstracts, including a textbook, Allergic Diseases of the Eye. Abelson also started , one of the country鈥檚 first multi-specialty eye care private practices.

乐播传媒 believes that preparing students for lives of purposeful work lies at the heart of the liberal arts mission, and Abelson exemplifies a life of purposeful work. By applying creative problem solving across a range of disciplines, he has built a healthy, respected business while simultaneously improving the health care of millions of people worldwide.

Further, he and his son Stuart, a member of the 乐播传媒 Class of 1997 and 乐播传媒 trustee, have offered many 乐播传媒 graduates the opportunity to explore the medicinal drug industry through both jobs and internships at Ora over the past two decades. They note that these young workers are able to apply their creativity and analytical skills to conduct and publish research while working with top pharmaceutical scientists to move drug development forward.

When he鈥檚 not working, Abelson divides his time between competitive skate-skiing in the winter and competitive rowing in the summer.

Thomas Moser, Doctor of Humane Letters

Thomas Moser

Thomas Moser has earned an international reputation as a designer and maker of handmade American furniture. While his company鈥檚 Maine-made work graces homes, businesses, colleges, libraries and public spaces around the world, 鈥淚’ve never looked at our efforts as being in the furniture industry,鈥� he has said 鈥� indeed, his work is more about the careful and elegant joining of art, craft and talent.

His medium is wood, a 鈥渃reative compass,鈥� in the words of The Portland Press Herald, that has guided, formed and defined Moser鈥檚 and his company鈥檚 creativity and self-identity over the past 43 years. In 1972, Moser was a tenured associate professor of rhetoric and director of debate at 乐播传媒 when he resigned from the faculty to pursue his woodworking. 鈥淚 want to be a doer,鈥� he said. Thus having dismantled the framework of one career, he set about to design and assemble another.

“I never started with the notion this could be successful,鈥� he told USA Today in 1993. 鈥淚 had no sense of turning it into a business. I just wanted to make truly well-made things of wood.”

Moser recalls the epiphany on a bright September morning in 1971 when, after inspecting a table he had made in his cellar woodshop, he concluded that 鈥渢his was a good table.鈥� In that moment, he discovered purposeful work 鈥� how 鈥渢here was enough artistry in me to produce something that people would pay for鈥� and, 鈥渕ore importantly, those people would be getting their money鈥檚 worth.鈥�

‘I just wanted to make truly well-made things of wood.’

He began his business, , in an old grange hall in New Gloucester, Maine. His wife, Mary, managed the selling and finances, while their four sons trained as apprentices (all four have worked for the company). The company鈥檚 first advertisement, in Maine鈥檚 Down East magazine, read, 鈥淥ur furniture is inspired by traditional design, constructed with pride and executed by hand, restoring a relationship between man and his practical art.鈥� Self-taught, as are most of his designers and builders today, Moser drew from Shaker, Queen Anne, Pennsylvania Dutch and other traditions for his early designs. Today, the Thos. Moser style reflects design movements in various cultures and eras that share, in his words, 鈥渁 distaste for ornament and ostentatious display…[and are] respectful of materials [that]聽celebrate the work of the human hand.鈥�

Moser pieces are at home in public libraries from Atlantic City to Vinalhaven, Maine; in colleges from 乐播传媒 to UCLA, and in public spaces from the Thoreau Institute at Walden Pond to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. 鈥淲e are in the business of creating tomorrow鈥檚 heirlooms,鈥� he said in 1982. In 1987 the company built a new workshop facility in Auburn, Maine, not far from its original location, and today employs some 70 cabinetmakers and 130 employees total. The company聽has showrooms in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., in addition to Freeport, Maine.

Joan Benoit Samuelson, Doctor of Humane Letters

Joan Benoit Samuelson

Joan Benoit Samuelson is among the most recognized and decorated athletes ever to emerge from the state of Maine. A native of Cape Elizabeth, Samuelson is an Olympic gold medalist, a two-time winner of the Boston Marathon and a world record holder many times over. She was the subject of a Nike advertising campaign titled, 鈥淭here is no finish line,鈥� and was named by Sports Illustrated one of the top female athletes of the 20th century. Beyond sports, she is an environmentalist, a mother, coach, author and philanthropist.

And, at age 58, she is showing no signs of slowing down or looking back.

Looking back, in fact, is something Samuelson almost never does, especially when she is running. 鈥淲hen you look back, you are conceding the race,鈥� she says.

Although her dominating win in the inaugural women鈥檚 marathon at the is often thought to be Samuelson鈥檚 crowning achievement, it鈥檚 through her involvement and work in Maine that most people have come to know 鈥淛oanie.鈥� A resident of Freeport, Samuelson has coached at the town鈥檚 middle school and served on public boards and commissions dedicated to issues she feels passionately about 鈥� protecting the environment, and nutrition and physical fitness for children. She is a longtime and active board member of , which works to improve and protect the bay鈥檚 environmental health. Samuelson is also on the senior leadership team of , a nonprofit dedicated to reducing childhood obesity. Over the years she has lent her name and talents to the YMCA and to many other charities and nonprofit organizations.

Joan Benoit Samuelson is an environmentalist, a mother, coach, author and philanthropist.

Samuelson is the founder and chair of the , run each summer in support of Maine charities. This summer, the race will benefit the Good Shepherd Food-Bank in Auburn. Samuelson is also a trustee at Bowdoin College, from which she graduated in 1979 with a joint major in history and environmental studies.

Samuelson鈥檚 daughter, Abigail, 乐播传媒 Class of 2010, majored in sociology and was elected to the College Key. She was a member of the college鈥檚 Nordic skiing and cross-country teams.

A champion for young women everywhere, Samuelson has blazed a path for others to pursue their dreams and to push themselves beyond the bounds of what they thought possible. Samuelson鈥檚 outlook on running translates perfectly to everyday life: Keep moving forward. Be comfortable with yourself. Believe in your accomplishments. But most importantly, run your own race.