LEWISTON — The man chosen to serve as the next president of Bates College said Wednesday it’s important to him to deepen the longstanding ties between the college and Lewiston and Auburn.

“We thrive together, the college and L/A,” Garry Jenkins said.

Garry Jenkins will be the next president of Bates College. University of Minnesota Law School

He said that strengthening the “deep and important” connections between the college and the community is crucial to the success of Bates and the two cities.

Jenkins said he has a lot to learn, but he is convinced of the necessity of searching for “ever more opportunities” to find ways to develop relations between the college and community.

“We need to listen to each other,” Jenkins said, so “we can rise together.”

He said that as dean of the University of Minnesota Law School, he’s used to legal clinics that are constantly reaching out to the people who live in Minneapolis, St. Paul and beyond.

“We can work together to build the kind of community we want,” Jenkins said.