President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

Best Wishes for the Start of Hamilton’s 205th Year

August 25, 2016

Tags Public Statements

Dear Members of the Hamilton Community,

Welcome to the start of the fall semester. I have had the opportunity to meet many of you during the last two months, and I hope to meet all of you in the months ahead.

A little over a week ago, we welcomed 475 first-year students and 23 transfers; we now have students from 47 states and 46 countries. Our new students bring new excitement and energy to the campus; I know this from personal experience, having gone cycling with seven of them during Orientation. We also welcomed 25 new members of the faculty and 21 new staff members, and those I have met are just as excited as the students to be here.

As our new students and their families drove up College Hill Road on the first day of Orientation, they were greeted by an enthusiastic band of colorfully costumed returning students, dancing, cheering and holding up cardboard signs. One sign cheerfully instructed parents to “Give us your kid,” another warned “Winter is coming!” With that reception, the new students felt right at home.

As I mentioned at Convocation yesterday, although we come from around the country and around the world, we are one Hamilton—an engaged learning community that delivers one of the country’s finest liberal arts educations.

But we are also part of the larger outside community and we cannot ignore what we witness on the news every day. Recent months have seen a near-constant stream of tragic events. Political polarization is widespread and core values seem up for debate. Members of our community will experience these events differently.

In keeping with Hamilton’s tradition of open and respectful dialogue, we will have multiple opportunities this year to consider the implications and significance of the kind of events that have transpired this summer and, unfortunately, likely will recur in the days ahead. We will be holding a variety of programs intended to address these issues, including lectures, panel discussions and community conversations. Upcoming events will be posted on the College’s events webpage and announced by email.

The free and open exchanges of views on important social issues are central to our mission. I plan to attend as many of these events as my schedule will allow, and I hope you will participate too.

I am thrilled to have started my own Hamilton education and I look forward to seeing what we can do together.

Best wishes for a wonderful academic year,

David