It’s that time of the year for “top 10” and “best of” lists. Here’s a look at what Hamilton news site readers were most interested in during 2018.
Beloved Hamilton philosophy professor and golf coach Bob Simon lost his lengthy battle with cancer on May 31. Tributes to and remembrances of Bob poured in via all forms of social media after the announcement appeared on the news site.
The announcement of a record four Watson Fellows attracted many readers in March. None of the other 40 peer schools eligible had more than three recipients. Kureem Nugent ’18, Isabel O'Malley ’18, Paula Ortiz ’18, and Marquis Palmer ’18 are currently traveling the world, working on independent projects.
A highlight of the summer was opening of an 1890 time capsule that was discovered due to the careful work of the road crew during campus construction. The opening of the box in July revealed a college catalogue, an issue of Hamilton Literary Monthly, newspapers and the Hamiltonian yearbook for the Class of 1890.
The Hamilton community was interested in reading about new faculty who joined the College in the 2018-19 academic year.
In February Hamilton announced that NBC News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell would moderate the combined Great Names/Common Ground discussion between Condoleezza Rice and Susan Rice at Hamilton on April 11.
With the fall semester came the announcement of a Blue Ribbon committee aimed at strengthening Greek life at Hamilton. The committee was convened by Vice President and Dean of Students Terry Martinez following an external review of Greek life that took place during the spring 2018 semester.
The dedication of the Joel and Elizabeth Johnson Center for Health and Wellness was a highlight of Hamilton's 2018 Fall Weekend. The building, in the center of campus near the Beinecke Student Activities Village, is named for Joel W. Johnson ’65, P ’93 and his wife Rev. Dr. Elizabeth B. Johnson P’93, for providing the leadership gift for the center.
Hamilton alumnus and Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph ’80 visited campus in October for a talk titled “That’s the Stupidest Thing I’ve Ever Heard ... And Other Lessons Learned from 40 Years as an Entrepreneur.” Randolph had a key piece of advice about the world of business: “Nobody knows anything.”
In April Susan Rice, former U.S. ambassador to the UN and national security advisor to President Obama, and Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State and national security advisor to President George W. Bush, discussed politics across the aisle in a Common Ground event that was combined with the Sacerdote Great Names series.
Matt Lebowitz ’18 reported on Hamilton's spring break trip to the Mt. Everest base camp. Members of the nine-person group were enrolled in Professor Maurice Isserman's History of the Himalayan Mountaineering course.
