President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

Today is Juneteenth, which commemorates the day African Americans enslaved in Texas 155 years ago learned of their freedom. Consistent with my message earlier this week, and in light of the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and many others, I encourage all members of our community to reflect on today’s significance and commit to taking action against racism and discrimination whenever and wherever we encounter it.

Over the past several months, we have been working hard to prepare for the fall semester. Our goal is to provide our students with the best possible in-person experience, while protecting the health and safety of all members of our community, on campus and in the Village of Clinton.

Since my statement on May 30, I have heard your reactions to recent community posts. I have also heard your demands for the College to do more. I want to express my deep regret for the pain inflicted on an already hurting community. My initial communication and the two posts did not state unequivocally that Black Lives Matter, contained language many found insufficient or confusing and, most importantly, did not identify any action steps. I know that Hamilton must do better – and we will.

In recent days, I have watched with grief and dismay the news from my hometown, Minneapolis. Despite its progressive history and the civil rights advocacy of leaders like former vice presidents Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, Minneapolis has continued to be plagued by racism and police violence. The video of George Floyd’s death is shocking, but, alas, also unsurprising, given the country’s failure to address systemic racism and inequality.

On Sunday, we will celebrate our seniors’ successful completion of their Hamilton education. We take great pride in their accomplishments and in the strength and resilience they and all members of our community have shown in managing the challenges of a semester unlike any other.

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education issued updated Title IX regulations, set to take effect on August 14, 2020. The regulations and accompanying Department guidance are lengthy — over 2,000 pages — and will require careful review. Hamilton remains committed to ensuring that Title IX complaints are handled as fairly, sensitively, and expeditiously as possible.

For more than two centuries, Hamilton’s Commencement has been one of the most meaningful and significant traditions in the life of our College. Despite the extraordinary circumstances in which we find ourselves, that longstanding ritual will continue. I am writing on behalf of the Board of Trustees, our esteemed faculty, and the valued members of our staff to invite you and members of your family to join us online on Sunday, May 24, at 10:30 a.m. ET to celebrate your graduation from Hamilton College.

We have entered a new phase in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the past six weeks, most of our efforts have centered on responding to the emergency immediately before us. With all the energy, talent, and dedication we have come to expect from our community, we shuttered our campus, moved to remote instruction, shifted our student support services and engagement activities online, reinvented our admission and fundraising processes, and answered countless queries from all corners of our community.

As the weather warms and the semester nears its end, all of us are starting to feel keenly the constraints of life in the shadow of a pandemic. Many of you have written to ask whether we can resume on-campus instruction this fall. The short answer is that it is too soon to know.

A little over a month ago, I announced that we would transition to remote instruction. I am grateful to all of you for the speed, skill, and care with which you have adapted to this extraordinary shift in our work. Four primary goals have guided our response over these past few weeks: protect the health and safety of our employees and the students who remain on campus; prepare and deliver remote instruction to enable seniors to graduate on time and all other students to make appropriate progress toward their degree; preserve our facilities and grounds; and bring in next-year’s first-year class.