President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

I write to address issues of serious concern to every member of the Hamilton community. Recently, Professor Paul Gottfried appeared as a guest speaker in two classes, one dealing with modern conservative politics and the other with European history. A number of students protested outside the classes in which he spoke.

Last week our community experienced the tragic loss of one of our students, Isaiah Carpenter-Winch. His passing left many of us confused, frustrated, and helpless. We have received numerous emails from community members asking how we can better address mental health issues and foster a stronger sense of wholeness and connectedness in our community. Now is a time when we can each pause to ask what we, as individuals, can do to support and enhance our community while at the same time address as an institution the societal issues that affect the lives of our students.

The Trump administration today announced that it would begin to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, with a six-month window during which Congress may act to continue the program. DACA protects nearly 800,000 "Dreamers" — undocumented young people who entered the country before age 16. The DACA program enabled many promising and talented young people to attend college and begin careers. Despite the assurances they received, their future may now be in doubt.

Welcome to our new students, faculty and staff, and welcome back to those of you who are returning to College Hill for your second, third and fourth years or, in the case of some faculty and staff, your second, third or fourth decades. With the exception of move-in day last Tuesday, when an enthusiastic band of colorfully costumed Continentals greeted our new students by dancing, cheering and holding up cardboard signs, the campus was quiet this summer.

On Tuesday, we welcomed the class of 2021 and our new transfer students. One of the joys of working at a place like Hamilton is witnessing the warmth and enthusiasm of the newest members of our community as they get to know each other, the College, and the community.

This spring three committees of faculty, staff, students, and trustees engaged with the Hamilton community in generating ideas for Hamilton’s strategic planning process. These committees were focused around issues of student success, academic vision, and transformative ideas for the College as a whole. The process generated hundreds of ideas and suggestions. Thank you to everyone who took the time to engage in this process, most particularly the members of the three committees and their chairs—Monica Inzer, Marianne Janack, and Onno Oerlemans.

In December, I convened a Sexual Misconduct Working Group and asked it to review the College's sexual misconduct policies and practices. The working group met with numerous groups and individuals on campus. Although concluding that our current policy is in most respects "comprehensive and consistent with current law and best practices," the working group has made a number of valuable recommendations. Its report is available online.

I am pleased to announce that Hamilton will begin partnering with QuestBridge, a national organization that connects talented, high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds with highly selective colleges and universities. Six other NESCAC colleges and six of the eight Ivy League institutions are among QuestBridge's 38 current members.

As you know, recent changes to federal immigration law and policy have caused concern on both of our campuses, and across the nation. Although federal courts have temporarily blocked implementation of President Trump's January 27th executive order, new changes to federal law are under consideration, in both the executive branch and the Congress.

President Trump recently issued an executive order restricting or blocking entry into this country for at least 90 days of nationals from the predominantly Muslim countries of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Additional countries may be added to this list in the near future.