David E Shaw awarded honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Bates College

It was a great privilege for me participate in 2014 commencement exercises at Bates College, and to be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree  (Litterarum Humaniorum Doctoris) as part of that event.

I have great admiration for the educational experience provides by Bates including its focus on service learning. It was a pleasure to have an opportunity to interact with members of the 2014 graduating class and members of the Bates College faculty.

VIDEO Bates honorand:

There have been a number of important connections to Bates College in my life including alumni who have been good friends and colleagues. One of these, E. Robert Kinney, served on the board of IDEXX Laboratories, which I founded in 1984. We also served together as trustees of The Jackson Laboratory, a leading mammalian genetics research institute in Maine. I served as board chair at Jackson during a period of transformational change and growth. A tribute to my friend Bob Kinney can be accessed here:

One of many other connections to Bates College is via my great great grandfather Elijah Morrill Shaw who was a leader in the nearby Bates textile mills around the time of the US Civil War.  

Below are two videos from the ceremony:

Bates Ode grad and duet:

EM Shaw Film:

Click through the gallery below: