President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

Hamilton’s 208th Year

August 26, 2019

Tags Public Statements

Dear Members of the Hamilton Community,

To the returning members of our community, welcome back. To our new students, faculty, and staff, welcome to Hamilton! You have joined a warm and engaged learning community that values your perspectives, experiences, and talents. We look forward to the contributions you will make. I look forward to meeting each of you.

A residential liberal arts college is a special place, with unparalleled opportunities for intellectual development and personal growth. Hamiltonians come from around the country and around the world, to learn from and about one another. We occupy a space and share an identity that has been formed by and across many generations, and we inherit traditions of academic rigor, open and respectful dialogue, generosity of spirit, and commitment to the transformative possibilities of a liberal arts education.

Hamilton educates students for lives of meaning, purpose, and active citizenship. This implies a responsibility to effect positive change in this community and beyond.

There will be plenty of opportunities to exercise that responsibility. We begin another academic year amidst divisions exacerbated by the U.S. presidential campaign and recent outbreaks of violence. In your classes and in the lectures, panel discussions, and formal and informal conversations that will take place daily throughout the year, you will have many occasions to explore what it means to be an informed and engaged citizen. I encourage you to participate fully and with conviction, confront new ideas, and consider other perspectives, even those with which you are uncomfortable.

And, yes, I encourage you to have some fun. Best wishes for a wonderful and exciting new year.

David