The Bates Family Study Center in Bates Hall is the realization of a 30-year dream and a concerted 8-year effort at planning, fundraising, and building. The Center is a 15,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility housing programs of research, instruction and outreach designed to benefit individuals and families. The Center is the first of its kind in the United States and the only academic building among the seven institutions of the Oregon System of Higher Education to be built entirely from private funds. The facility received a Community Beautification Award from the city of Corvallis for enhancing the visual quality of the community.

The Bates Family Study Center houses a variety of programs including the Child Development Center and the Family Policy Program. It supports interdisciplinary and collaborative early childhood programs and research and evaluation projects directed by Dr. Clara Pratt, holder of the Knudsen Endowed Chair in Family Policy. Students and researchers observe development of young children; investigate current issues of family relations, health and economics; and present a model preschool and family services demonstration program for today's society. The Center offers advanced technology for observation of young children, for video/audio recording and editing and for telephone assisted data collection in surveys of the public.

The Child Development Center provides model preschool care and education programs for parents in Corvallis, and families enrolled through the Oregon (Head Start) Prekindergarten Program. University students participate in service learning activities through internships with the Family Services Team, working alongside the Health and Nutrition Coordinator, and through their practicum teaching in the preschool classrooms working under the guidance of their mentor teacher. The administrative aspects of the program also builds opportunities for students to gain experience in program design and development, monitoring, and accountability.

Bates Hall, a testimony to the importance of the family unit in our society, recognizes the generosity of Mercedes A. Bates. She was a 1936 alumna of the Oregon State University College of Home Economics and donor to the college. Miss Bates dedicated her career to the significance of the family. The first female Vice President of General Mills, Inc., through product development, nutrition education and consumer education, she served as a role model for a myriad of professionals who care about families. All those who come to the Family Study Center to work, study, or visit sense the commitment of the many dedicated individuals who made this facility possible.