President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

March 2023 Board Meeting Update

March 7, 2023

Tags Board Meeting Updates

Dear Members of the Hamilton Community,

The Board of Trustees met on campus for its annual spring meeting, March 2-4. Thursday evening, trustees and members of senior staff had dinner with the Hamilton Athletics coaches. Spirits were high in celebration of the recent winter sports successes.

On Friday, Vice President for Enrollment Monica Inzer presented an overview of the applicants for the Class of 2027. The offices of Admission and Financial Aid are gearing up to mail acceptance letters later this month. Ngoni Munemo, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, shared data regarding faculty recruitment, retention, growth, and composition. He discussed the faculty teaching load and highlighted several new initiatives intended to support rebuilding community, including the faculty and staff lunch service, the new faculty lecture series “Conversations Across Disciplines,” and faculty roundtables for sharing works in progress.

Stimson Associates gave a progress report on the campus Landscape Master Plan, one of several planning projects that eventually will roll up to a new Campus Master Plan.

Several board committees met throughout the day. The Committee on Student Affairs heard from Chris Card, vice president and dean of students, regarding current and planned investments in student social spaces, such as a renovation to the basement of Sadove Student Center. Salwa Sidahmed ’23 and Jackie Prunier ’23 spoke to the Committee on Academic Affairs about their experiences studying abroad through Hamilton’s programs in France and Spain, respectively. Director of Engaged Education KinHo Chan gave an update on the ALEX program. Vice President for Advancement Lori Dennison ’87, P’16 shared that Because Hamilton is on target to reach and likely exceed the fundraising goal of $400 million. And later in the afternoon, several trustees had the opportunity to meet with members of Academic Council and the chairs of the committees on Academic Policy (CAP) and Appointments (COA).

The annual senior reception took place on Friday evening in the Fillius Events Barn, and faculty members joined trustees for dinner in the Taylor Science Center.

The formal board meeting was held on Saturday morning. I spoke about several current topics in higher education and shared the good news that the Village of Clinton and the Town of Kirkland were awarded a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant by New York State. After the various board committee reports, Associate Professor of Psychology Siobhan Robinson, Hope Obolanle ’25, and Ben Coffey ’23 spoke about their research experiences.

The board voted to approve several resolutions, including the FY24 budget, tuition and fees for the 2023-24 academic year, honorary degrees for the commencement and baccalaureate speakers, and the interment rules for the College cemetery. Trustees also approved tenure and promotion to associate professor for 10 faculty members effective July 1, 2023. Please join me in congratulating:

• Ryan Carter, Music
• Jose Ceniceros, Mathematics and Statistics
• Alexsia Chan, Government
• Justin Clark, Philosophy
• Matthew Grace, Sociology
• Thomas Helmuth ’09, Computer Science
• Natalie Nannas, Biology
• Colin Quinn, Anthropology
• Anne Valente, Literature and Creative Writing
• Keelah Williams, Psychology

The next board meeting will take place June 9-10 in conjunction with Reunion Weekend. Best wishes for a safe and enjoyable spring break.

David