Public Statements

In the aftermath of the presidential election, emotions continue to run high, on campus and around the country. I have heard directly from students who feel threatened and unsafe, even here on campus, and from students who worry about their families or friends.

Four committees will help draft Hamilton's next strategic plan. The charges for each committee are set out below. In fulfilling its charge, each committee should consult widely with members of the Hamilton community, including alumni. The committees may form working groups to study specific issues, construct focus groups to gather information, or use other appropriate means of gathering data. Whenever possible, the committees should be guided by and use information from current and past faculty and staff efforts to address long-term curricular, faculty and staff planning, facilities, and other issues. Each committee should identify three to five strategic goals, evaluate the costs associated with pursuing those goals, and suggest concrete measures for assessing progress toward achieving those goals. Following each committee charge is a set of questions. These questions are intended to serve as a starting point for discussions, but each committee is free to investigate the most important ideas and issues identified during the course of its deliberations.

Next month, the College will begin a new strategic planning process. A steering committee will oversee the process, and three planning committees will examine issues ranging from curricular change to student success to the sustainability of our business model. Below please find the charges to the four committees. As you will see, the committees have been asked to consult widely, and I hope all of you will take advantage of opportunities to participate. We are in the process of forming the committees and will share the names of committee members soon.

During the past few months, there has been a lot of discussion about how Hamilton responds to and works to prevent sexual misconduct on campus. I am heartened to see how deeply our community—faculty, staff, students and alumni—cares about this important issue, and I am grateful for the active participation of Title IX Coordinator Lisa Magnarelli and the members of SAVES, SMART, Student Assembly and the HSMB. This topic was discussed at length at the board meeting last Friday.

The election campaign has laid bare deep rifts in our society. We can hope that Americans from across the political spectrum will now work to heal some of these divisions.

Welcome to the start of the fall semester. I have had the opportunity to meet many of you during the last two months, and I hope to meet all of you in the months ahead.

I had hoped my first email to you as President of Hamilton College would be to recognize and celebrate one of the many wonderful aspects of our extended community. I write instead in response to the extraordinary sequence of recent tragic events in Orlando, Baton Rouge, St. Paul and Dallas, and in so many other communities around the world, from Iraq to Bangladesh.