Index
Scholarships
The Mac Bristol Scholarship
The Mac Bristol Scholarship is awarded to that sophomore who is a strong student, an active participant in the classroom and in extracurricular activities, and who possesses high ideals and demonstrates community leadership. It was established in 1991 in honor of William M. Bristol, III, Class of 1943 and chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1977 to 1990.
William M. Bristol, III, better known as “Mac,” was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. His great-great-great grandfather was Joel Bristol, one of the first contributors to the fledgling Hamilton-Oneida Academy and one of the first trustees of Hamilton College. Mac’s grandfather, William McLaren, was a member of Hamilton’s Class of 1882 and the founder of Clinton Pharmaceutical Company, which eventually became Bristol-Myers Squibb. Mac’s father, William McLaren Bristol, Jr., Class of 1917, served as executive vice president of the company.
Mac, like his forebears, matriculated at Hamilton. He majored in Latin and received nine varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball. However, he left Hamilton before graduation in 1943 to serve as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, for which he fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima. After his discharge in 1946 as a first lieutenant, Mac served as an executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb. In 1965, he joined Hamilton’s Board of Trustees, serving as board chairman for 13 of the 44 years he was a member. During this time, he concentrated his boundless energies and enthusiasm on the College’s modern transformation, helping to increase the endowment and enhance the physical plant. Mac Bristol, chairman emeritus of the Board of Trustees, died in 2009. He was the fifth of seven generations of Bristols to attend the College through its bicentennial year. Hamilton still remembers him with fondness and admiration as a visible and spiritual presence on College Hill.
June 2014
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.
