President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

Welcome and Welcome Back

January 18, 2022

Tags Public Statements

Dear Members of the Hamilton Community,

Welcome back, and to those joining us for the first time, I extend special greetings. I hope you have all had a relaxing break and are looking forward to a rewarding and fulfilling new year.

The campus has been quiet following the end of final exams last month, but a lot of important work at the College has continued. The two search committees created to recruit a chief diversity officer and a vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty have continued to meet and confer with our search consultants, and position descriptions are in the final stages of development. In Siuda House, the Admission Team has been busy processing and reviewing roughly 9,900 applications for the Class of 2026, a remarkable figure that represents a 5.5 percent increase over last year’s record total. Across College Hill Road, gift processors in the Advancement Office have recorded year-end donations that pushed the Because Hamilton campaign total to $340 million toward our $400 million goal. The tally includes more than $112 million for student scholarship aid, two new endowed professorships in computer science to support Digital Hamilton, and a naming gift for a new facility to house the Digital Hamilton program. And finally, in recent weeks, student-athletes have returned to campus and resumed practice and intercollegiate competition, signaling the pending start of the spring semester.

All this activity is taking place against the backdrop of a pandemic that has proven to be remarkably persistent and variable. COVID-19 case numbers are far higher than last semester, both locally and nationally, although so far cases on campus have mostly been asymptomatic or mild. As you know from our task force’s message on Jan. 5, we have adjusted our safety protocols, including our policies on testing and masking. We can expect high case numbers in the coming weeks, but with vaccines, boosters, and experience, we know how to live with and work through and around the coronavirus. At the same time, we know that the stresses of the pandemic are cumulative, so it’s more important than ever that we all do what we can to support each other.

Please read carefully any new guidance from our COVID-19 Task Force and adhere to any new precautions that are deemed necessary to ensure your safety and that of others on campus. We are learning more about the virus every day, so you can expect that our guidelines will be modified to incorporate emerging best practices. We are doing everything we can to preserve as much of the Hamilton experience as possible while taking appropriate actions to keep the community safe.

Best wishes for another safe, productive, and rewarding semester.

David