Bates College has commissioned a history book, plans a photo display of “Bates Greats” in the library and has scheduled several events to honor its 150-year anniversary.

Charles Clark, an emeritus professor at the University of New Hampshire and 1951 Bates grad, authored “Bates through the years: An illustrated history,” to be published in the fall.

To mark the occasion, old yearbooks and bound copies of the “Bates Student” newspaper have also been brought to the forefront of the college’s library for easier access, said Bill Hiss, vice president of external communications.

Programming this year will include panels that encourage people to look into the future, added Hiss, also chair of the Sesquicentennial Steering Committee.

Former U.S. Sen. and Maine Gov. Edmund Muskie graduated from Bates in 1936. Hiss called his federal clean air and clean water laws “one of the best five sets of legislation in the last century.”

Now, the challenge: “How do we prepare people to go on and be part of the 21st century and produce the equivalent of the Clean Air Act?” Hiss said.

The college has also created a Web site for the sesquicentennial, offering information and archival pictures about the college and its history: www.bates.edu/150-years.xml.