Index
Scholarships
The Thomas B. Wheeler Scholarship
The Thomas B. Wheeler Scholarship was established by the friends of Thomas Wheeler ’68 to provide financial support to students with preference given to students from northern Minnesota, particularly Duluth.
This scholarship was established by the friends of Thomas “Tom” B. Wheeler, Class of 1968 (April 22, 1946 – June 26, 2020). The Fund honors the profound influence Tom had while at Hamilton as a student, as an athlete, and as a friend.
Born and raised in Duluth, MN, Tom was a gifted athlete. While he could have played hockey at the highest collegiate level, he chose to play for Hamilton, a team that struggled during Tom’s first two years to fill its roster. During his tenure, the team played traditional small college rivals, including Williams, Bowdoin, and Middlebury, as well as national and regional powerhouses such as Cornell, Colgate, and RPI. By graduation, Tom had been named to the Eastern College Athletic Conference second team in 1967 when he ranked fifth in scoring and first team in 1968. A gifted stickhandler, Tom was the highest-scoring American-born player in the country.
Tom was awarded a B.A. in History in 1968. Following graduation from Hamilton, Tom played hockey professionally in Sweden and Austria where he made lifelong friends and mastered the Swedish and German languages. He later returned to Duluth and joined his father, and eventually his brother, Jim, at Wheeler Associates, where they built a successful financial services firm. In Duluth, Tom was a philanthropist to many community organizations. Tom was also a loyal alumnus to Hamilton College, supporting the Hamilton Fund, the Career Center, and the Hockey program, for which he helped to recruit several strong players from his own state.
Tom learned at the age of 18 that he had a heart condition, and with that knowledge, he considered each day a gift. When things got tough, he was wont to say, “In times like these, it is important to remember there have been times like these.”
With the creation of this Fund, Tom’s friends wish to encourage talented youth from Minnesota to attend Hamilton College where they can pursue top-notch academics, participate in competitive athletics, and make life-long friends.
Please note: The named scholarships profiled on these pages support the College’s generous need-based financial aid commitment. These donor-funded scholarships help ensure the Hamilton promise of keeping education affordable through meeting a student’s full demonstrated financial need.
