Clinton, NY -- Joan Hinde Stewart told the audience gathered for her inauguration that she and her family have "found a perfect home" at Hamilton College because both the college and her family share the same core values: a careful attention to writing and communication.
Stewart was inaugurated as Hamilton's 19th president and was presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws during the 75-minute ceremony in the college's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House. Approximately 925 people attended, including delegates from more than 60 colleges, universities and learned societies.
Three former presidents of Hamilton were also in attendance, including John Chandler (president from 1968-73), Martin Carovano (president from 1974-88) and Hank Payne (president from 1988-93). Hamilton's immediate past president, Eugene Tobin (1993-2003), was at a memorial service and was unable to participate, and Kirkland College President Samuel Babbitt was forced to cancel at the last minute.
Stewart began her remarks by paying tribute to three people she said influenced her profoundly: her 92-year-old mother, who was unable to attend the ceremony for health reasons; her late mother-in-law, Lucile Stewart, described by the new president as "a gentle Midwesterner who indirectly taught me -- a provincial girl from Brooklyn -- lessons in discretion and acceptance"; and Georges May, Stewart's late dissertation advisor at Yale, from whom she said she learned "my first lessons in mentoring."
According to Stewart, "Both Lucile and Georges would be proud to know, had they lived just long enough to see it happen, that I am today part of Hamilton, where such great and fruitful emphasis is placed on the kind of nurturing they exemplified."
Stewart said May "found meaning by listening, writing and working with young people. Everything I have seen at Hamilton supports and deepens those values. Even the most superficial acquaintance with the college reveals how completely intertwined with education is the art of expression and of self-expression.
"Writing, conversation, research and living are inextricably interconnected," Stewart continued. "From laboratory reports to poems, what we wish to practice and instill is elegance, clarity and civility -- and I cannot help adding, since I love teaching language, good grammar. But we also want to think, talk and write with passion, with intellectual passion, and with commitment to ideas and ideals.
"Hamilton College underscores the teaching of writing, as an activity at the heart of liberal education," Stewart said.
In a light-hearted moment midway through her brief speech, Stewart recounted a conversation she had with an incoming first-year student her first full day in the office. When Stewart told the student that she had majored in French, the student replied in disbelief, "French? Then how did you get to be president?"
"How did I get to be president?" Stewart said rhetorically. "I am not at all sure. But maybe what the student was getting at was the question of preparedness. How did my career as a student of French prepare me for this new assignment? I will never stop believing that there is no better preparation for any way of life than the study of literature or any of the other choices a liberal education offers."
Prior to Stewart's addresses, greetings to the new president were offered by Student Assembly President Lauren Dentone, on behalf of the students; Faculty Chair and Professor of Theatre Carole Bellini-Sharp, on behalf of the faculty; Stewardship and Research Programs Senior Assistant Elizabeth Spaziani, on behalf of the employees; Kirkland Town Supervisor Annette Foley, on behalf of the local community; Alumni Association President Melissa Joyce-Rosen, on behalf of the alumni; and Charter Trustee Drew Days, on behalf of the Board of Trustees.
Stewart's former colleague, University of South Carolina Professor of History Patrick Maney, offered remarks and reflections in which he lauded the former USC dean as "one of the most positive and creative persons I've ever known."
Maney said Stewart enabled USC "to attract and retain some of the finest scholars and teachers in the country. ... She read our books and articles, and we read hers," he said. "She made us feel part of a supportive intellectual community."
In speaking to Stewart's philosophy of education Maney said she "laid out a challenging and inspiring vision of what a liberal arts education ought to be. ... More effectively than any university leader in my experience, she explained to non-academics why a liberal arts education matters, why it is a preparation for life."
As part of the colorful ceremony, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Heather Buchman conducted the Inauguration Brass Ensemble in a series of pieces, including "Fanfare," composed for the occasion by Hamilton Professor of Music Samuel Pellman, and "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1," composed by Joan Tower. The College Choir, under the direction of Hamilton Professor of Music G. Roberts Kolb, performed Randall Thompson's "Alleluia," and the Mohawk Valley Frasers led the Processional and Recessional, as they do nearly all major college ceremonial occasions.
