Endowed Chairs

The Charles A. Dana Professor of Politics

The Dana Professorship is the longest-standing endowed chair program at Bates. In 1966 the Charles A. Dana Foundation of New York awarded the college a matching grant to establish an endowed professorship fund that would recognize exceptional teacher-scholars among the Bates faculty. The first Dana professor was named in 1968. Over the next half century, a distinguished group of faculty members has been honored with Dana professorships and recognized for their exemplary teaching, the value of their research, and their service to the college. Dana professors may hail from any discipline, underscoring the depth of talent of the Bates faculty.

Stephen M. Engel, Professor of Politics

Professor Engel arrived at Bates in 2011 from Marquette University where he was an assistant professor of political science. He is also an affiliated scholar of the American Bar Foundation, and he served the college as an associate dean of faculty from 2022 to 2025. Professor Engel’s research and teaching focuses on American political development, constitutional law, and social movements, particularly LGBTQ+ socio-political and legal mobilization. 

He has authored four books: The Unfinished Revolution: Social Movement Theory and the Gay and Lesbian Movement (Cambridge University Press 2001), American Politicians Confront the Courts: Opposition Politics and Changing Responses to Judicial Power (Cambridge University Press 2011), Fragmented Citizens: The Changing Landscape of Gay and Lesbian Lives (NYU Press 2016), and Disrupting Dignity: Rethinking Power and Progress in LGBTQ+ Lives, co-authored with Timothy Lyle (NYU Press, 2021). He has also co-edited The Progressives’ Century: Political Reform, Constitutional Government, and the Making of the American State (Yale University Press 2016). His articles have been published in Studies in American Political Development, Perspectives on Politics, Constitutional Studies, and Law & Social Inquiry. His research has been supported by grants from and fellowships with the National Science Foundation, American Bar Foundation, among others. 

At Bates, Professor Engel has received the Kroepsch Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has served as chair and co-chair of the Politics Department.