President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

Campus Update and Town Hall Meetings

April 21, 2020

Tags Public Statements

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues,

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.

Now we are transitioning from that initial, emergency-response phase to a new phase focused on successful completion of this semester and contingency planning for this summer and fall. Last week, we informed students intending to study in New York City this fall that the program has been suspended due to low enrollment, concerns about securing internships, and uncertainty about when the city would resume normal operations. We are continuing to evaluate the status of Hamilton’s fall programs in Washington, D.C., France, Spain, and China, and will provide updates as soon as they are available.

Several decisions have been made about summer activity on campus. We reported earlier that student summer research can continue, but only if it is conducted remotely and does not involve travel. Students who received approval to do research this summer should check with their supervisor to determine whether their project can move forward. Similarly, at this time, we do not anticipate hiring any student workers for the summer unless their job responsibilities are deemed essential.

We hope, of course, to be able to resume normal operations at the start of the 2020-21 academic year in August, but senior staff and several ad hoc committees are developing contingency plans for alternate scenarios. Hamilton’s planning continues to be guided by the direction we receive from public health authorities and government officials. As you know, for example, last week Governor Cuomo extended social distancing requirements through May 15. Relaxation of those requirements will help determine when we might move from Minimal Operating Status back to modified or normal operating status.

We will not know the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Hamilton’s current and future operating budgets for some time, but we were pleased to learn recently that the College is eligible for about $1.2 million in student emergency support funds under the CARES act. The first half of any funding received under this legislation must be used for “direct payment of grants to students for their expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care.” Hamilton will use any funds it receives under the first tranche of CARES Act funding to augment support the College is already providing to students with need. The College is awaiting DOE guidance on how the second half of the funding should be used.

As our planning evolves, we will continue to provide regular updates. We recognize, however, that many members of our community still have questions, so we are scheduling a series of online town hall gatherings for students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and prospective students; the meetings for faculty and staff will take place next week. You will receive a Zoom invitation soon.

Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for our students and for Hamilton.

David