A View from College Hill

Founding Father

By President Joan Hinde Stewart

When we gathered for Convocation in Wellin Hall and ceremonially marked the start of the College’s 204th academic year, Alexander Hamilton was, as it happened, in the news.

Jacob Lew, distant successor to Alexander Hamilton as secretary of the treasury, had earlier in the summer proposed to sacrifice Hamilton’s prominence on the $10 bill to the otherwise commendable idea of recognizing an American woman on our currency. What at first appeared to be a fait accompli, however, prompted an outcry. By all means, many said, let’s honor a woman, but let’s not in the process diminish the very worthy Hamilton.

At about the same time, Hamilton, one of the most highly acclaimed musical shows in recent years, opened on Broadway. It stars and was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who took part in the fall 2011 launch of our College’s bicentennial, performing a dazzling rap that was, in fact, the embryo of the Broadway hit.

I have on occasion used my Convocation remarks to introduce our newest students to their College’s namesake, and the current buzz moved me to do so again.

There is, first of all, what’s been described as Hamilton’s “rags-to-riches” story, that is to say, his personification of what many have called the American dream. Born on a Caribbean island, he lost his parents early: His father deserted the family, and his mother died soon afterward. Poverty, desertion, death — he had experienced all this before he was out of his middle teens, a period during which he also saw up close the horrors of slavery and acquired a lifelong loathing for it. Despite all the odds, Hamilton rose to become one of the most influential men of the early republic. A disadvantaged immigrant, he succeeded by dint of initiative, determination and sheer unrelenting effort. These are, naturally, qualities that we would like to inspire in students.

But there’s another thing that connects Hamilton the man to Hamilton the college, and that is his understanding of the efficacy of language. His speeches and publications were boldly conceived, carefully researched and reasoned, and beautifully cadenced. As principal aide to General Washington, as primary author of the Federalist Papers, as secretary of the treasury and chief advisor to President Washington, he wielded words with mastery. The impact of his writing teaches us reams about the irresistibility of good prose. At the college that bears his name, we care deeply about sound reasoning and effective communication, both oral and written.

Hamilton would not have had such success and influence without the enabling support of residents of St. Croix, who recognized his talents and wanted to give him a chance. That sort of philanthropic foresight sustains us today. A college such as ours would not exist were it not for the generosity of those who support us collectively and our students individually. We spend about $26,000 more annually to educate each student than is directly reflected in the charges for tuition, room and board. That difference is essentially covered by gifts from people who believe in our students, for the most part people who know the value of a Hamilton education and want to make it accessible to others. Without philanthropy, we would not have had the greatest of the Founding Fathers, nor would we have his namesake college.

We are the moral heirs of this man who left us as custodians of his name. Founded as a college of opportunity, Hamilton College stands for the things for which the man whose face is on the $10 bill also stood: effective communication, courage, service.

Adapted from Convocation address, Aug. 26, 2015.