President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

Yesterday, an 18-year-old White gunman espousing White supremacist ideology killed 10 people and wounded three others, most of them Black, at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in what the Erie County Sheriff has described as “a straight-up racially motivated hate crime.”

The Board of Trustees held its annual March meeting last weekend, and for the first time in two years the trustees enjoyed the opportunity to gather on campus.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine represents one of the most flagrant breaches of the fundamental norms governing the international order since the United Nations Charter was signed in 1945, and it has created a humanitarian and geopolitical crisis that is just beginning.

I am pleased that the following people have agreed to serve on the search committee for Hamilton’s next Vice President and Dean of Students:

I am writing to share the news that Vice President and Dean of Students Terry Martinez will retire at the end of the academic year.

Today, we unite with the world community in remembering the victims of the Holocaust and join the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in affirming our “unwavering commitment to counter antisemitism, racism, and other forms of intolerance that may lead to group-targeted violence.”

Yesterday’s PCR testing yielded 18 student and 2 employee positives out of 2127 tests, with 27 tests still outstanding and 19 “abnormal” results requiring a re-test.

Two years ago this week, our ACC China program shut down early because of a “novel coronavirus.” We have been working hard to strike the right balance between safety and normalcy ever since. I understand the disappointments and frustrations that come with a college experience so heavily shaped by COVID-19. Some members of our community have lost family members or friends, many have encountered financial hardships, and all of us are tired of the burdens and restrictions of pandemic life. The next few weeks may prove particularly challenging, but I’m confident in the ability of our community to manage whatever comes.

Welcome back, and to those joining us for the first time, I extend special greetings.

Today we join with people across the United States and around the world to remember the life and legacy of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.