President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

With profound sadness, I write to inform you about a terrible tragedy involving one of our students. Annalise Curtis '18 passed away yesterday in Washington, D.C., where she had been studying as part of our Semester in Washington Program. The cause of her death is not yet known, and may be related to a medical complication.

The Hamilton Board of Trustees held its quarterly meeting on campus last weekend.

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 Wippman announces the framework for a process that will examine issues ranging from curricular change to student success to the sustainability of Hamilton’s business model.

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.

I write with deep sadness and profound heartache to inform you of the tragic death of a member of our community. Graham Burton, a member of the Class of 2019 from Toronto, Canada, died this morning in his residence hall room. It is not possible to express in words the deep sense of loss we feel for such an unexpected tragedy.

In the aftermath of the presidential election, emotions continue to run high, on campus and around the country. I have heard directly from students who feel threatened and unsafe, even here on campus, and from students who worry about their families or friends.

The Hamilton Board of Trustees met on Friday, Dec. 2, in New York City in conjunction with the 19th Annual 1812 Leadership Circle Weekend. More than 400 alumni, parents and friends participated in the weekend’s events. I am especially grateful to the members of the faculty and staff who led seminars and related programs during the weekend, including Phil Klinkner, Andrea Townsend, Tracy Adler and Sharon Rivera, who was assisted by James Bryan ’16 and Hunter Sobczak ’17. We also enjoyed the talents of the College Hill Singers, under the direction of Rob Kolb.

Four committees will help draft Hamilton's next strategic plan. The charges for each committee are set out below. In fulfilling its charge, each committee should consult widely with members of the Hamilton community, including alumni. The committees may form working groups to study specific issues, construct focus groups to gather information, or use other appropriate means of gathering data. Whenever possible, the committees should be guided by and use information from current and past faculty and staff efforts to address long-term curricular, faculty and staff planning, facilities, and other issues. Each committee should identify three to five strategic goals, evaluate the costs associated with pursuing those goals, and suggest concrete measures for assessing progress toward achieving those goals. Following each committee charge is a set of questions. These questions are intended to serve as a starting point for discussions, but each committee is free to investigate the most important ideas and issues identified during the course of its deliberations.

During the past few months, there has been a lot of discussion about how Hamilton responds to and works to prevent sexual misconduct on campus. I am heartened to see how deeply our community—faculty, staff, students and alumni—cares about this important issue, and I am grateful for the active participation of Title IX Coordinator Lisa Magnarelli and the members of SAVES, SMART, Student Assembly and the HSMB. This topic was discussed at length at the board meeting last Friday.