is Garry Jenkins, who took office in July 2023. There have been nine presidents of Bates College, and one interim president. The president is ex officio a member and president of the board of trustees, chief executive officer of the corporation, and principal academic of the college. There are 37 members on the Bates College board of trustees. The board chair is CEO of PineBridge Investments, Gregory Ehret ('81).
=== Endowment and fundraising ===
As a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, Bates is classified under section 501(c) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. The endowment surpasses the national average, yet has been seen as a laggard compared to its direct peers. During the first half-century of the college, the endowment grew at an exponentially high rate, topping off at $1 million in 1910, as Yale University, then 207 years old, stood at $12 million. "Lackluster fundraising, poor governance, and divestments" from the 1960s to 1980s, "cost Bates hundreds of millions" according to a 2019–20 The Student/BCIC …
