President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

Year-End Message

June 1, 2018

Tags Public Statements

Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends,

Now that the semester has ended, I thought I would review with you a few of the Hamilton highlights of the past year and discuss how we are responding to some difficult challenges.

We observed the end of the College's 206th year, of course, with Commencement weekend, which was marked by some of the best speeches I have heard at such ceremonies. On that Saturday, Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and CEO of New America, delivered a stirring Baccalaureate address on the meaning of true equality. On Sunday, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker encouraged students to embrace history — good and bad — and lead the way forward with empathy, courage, and compassion. Soper-Merrill Prize recipient Marquis Palmer of Utica, N.Y., and Class Speaker Eleni Neyland of Boxborough, Mass., also delivered thought-provoking speeches in an admirable display of Hamilton's commitment to effective oral expression. It was humbling, inspiring, and a lot of fun to preside at such occasions.

Commencement also called to mind some of the tragedies we experienced during the year, including the death of a beloved faculty member in a cycling accident and the suicide of a sophomore from Massachusetts. In a small, close-knit community such as ours, these losses are felt deeply.

Last fall's suicide was the second at Hamilton in two years. As you may know, anxiety and depression are the most common mental health diagnoses among teens and young adults in the United States, and the numbers are growing. Suicidal thoughts and acts of self-harm are rising among college students, and the rates are even higher for the same age population not in college. Because of the tragedies that have visited our campus, I want you to know how we are responding.

As I shared with the campus in early April, Hamilton has taken the following steps since 2016:

• Commissioned an external review of our processes and structures for supporting students by experts from Duke University
• Moved to a case-management model to assist students and hired an associate dean for student support services
• Implemented recommendations from the JED Foundation, an organization devoted to suicide prevention
• Instituted gatekeeper training for faculty and staff to help them recognize and respond to students in distress
• Expanded the physical space in the new counseling center (which will open in the fall), and added new programming and personnel, including a full-time psychiatrist
• Launched a Community of Care Initiative for students, faculty, and staff to support each other in healing and in action following a student death
• Instituted 24/7/365 crisis coverage that students can access on campus, at home, while studying off campus, and during vacations
• Added a peer counseling program that provides peer-to-peer counseling sessions, support groups, wellness workshops, and suicide gatekeeper training

Ongoing discussions will lead to additional action. All of us at Hamilton are committed to addressing student mental health issues with care, compassion, and concern.

While we continue to mourn the members of our community who passed away this year, we also celebrate the many recent accomplishments at Hamilton. Our distinguished faculty hosted international conferences, earned professional recognition, and published prolifically, and we enjoyed a host of concerts, theatre productions, readings, art exhibitions, and athletic contests that showcased our extraordinary students. Most noteworthy, four Hamilton seniors received prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowships – the most ever. Seven were also awarded Fulbright English Language Teaching Assistantships. In the fall we launched an extremely well attended Common Ground series featuring David Axelrod and Karl Rove, and followed that in the spring with a combined Sacerdote Great Names and Common Ground event with Susan Rice and Condoleezza Rice. We also celebrated the 100th anniversary of hockey on College Hill and shared in Clinton's designation as Hockeyville USA.

Hamilton continues to be among the most popular choices for high-achieving high school students. A record 6,240 applicants sought to join the Class of 2022, 10 percent more than a year ago, and just 21 percent were accepted, also a record. We joined two new programs, QuestBridge and the American Talent Initiative, that help colleges identify and enroll some of America's brightest students from low-income backgrounds, further strengthening Hamilton's reputation as a school of opportunity.

These initiatives are consistent with an important goal of our recently completed strategic plan: ensuring that deserving students have equal access to a Hamilton education. The plan also calls for us to transform the ways in which we teach, learn, and operate the College, with digitally intensive courses and emerging digital technologies; develop a model residential program; and establish a new organizational framework for experiential and community learning opportunities. We also intend to expand existing initiatives focused on teaching and advising.

I welcome your thoughts and suggestions on all things Hamilton. Please feel free to contact me at dwippman@hamilton.edu or by mail at 198 College Hill Road, Clinton, NY 13323.

Warmest wishes for a wonderful summer,

David