Dear Hamilton Community,
I am delighted to announce that Miriam Merrill, director of athletics and chair of physical education at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges will return to Hamilton on July 1 as chief of staff and secretary to the Board of Trustees. Before moving to California, Miriam was associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator at Hamilton from 2017 to 2020.
As chief of staff, Miriam will serve as an officer of the College, coordinate the activities of the senior staff and the President’s Office, and advise me on institutional priorities and issues of strategic importance. In her dual role as secretary to the board, she will be responsible for planning and implementing trustee meetings, serving as the trustees’ primary point of contact with the College, and advising on policy decisions, board management, and College procedures.
Miriam was chosen from an extremely strong and well-qualified pool of candidates. She impressed the search committee with her integrity, innovation, diverse experience in higher education, demonstrated ability to partner collaboratively with colleagues, and commitment to building productive relationships with a range of constituencies. Furthermore, having spent much of her career in athletic administration, she is familiar with building effective teams, working toward a common goal, accountability to others, and establishing high expectations — all skills that will serve her well in this new role.
I’d also like to take this opportunity, on behalf of all of us, to thank Mike Klapmeyer for serving in this role since January while continuing as associate vice president for facilities and planning. Only someone with Mike’s energy, extraordinary organizational skills, and enthusiasm for serving our students, faculty, and staff could have juggled both jobs so seamlessly. He will continue his dual responsibilities until Miriam arrives this summer. I am looking forward to working with Miriam, and I’m sure our community will as well.
Steven
