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Hamilton College

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Hamilton College is a private, independent liberal arts college located in Clinton, New York. It has been coeducational since 1978, when it merged with Kirkland College.

Hamilton is sometimes referred to as the 'College on the Hill', due to the school's location on top of College Hill, just outside of downtown Clinton. Hamilton College was ranked as the 15th best Liberal Arts College in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report in 2006[#endnote_US_News].

Contents

Academics

Hamilton currently offers the Bachelor of Arts degree in any of over 50 areas of concentration [#endnote_Areas_of_Concentration]. Additionally, Hamilton students may study abroad. There are long-standing programs in China, France, and Spain, as well as programs closer to home in New York City and Washington, DC. The college has a tradition of adherence to an academic honor code. Every student matriculating at Hamilton must sign a pledge to observe the Honor Code, and most examinations are not proctored.

History

Hamilton began in 1793 as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy, a K-12 school, and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812. The college was founded by Samuel Kirkland as part of missions work with the Oneida tribe. The college is named for Alexander Hamilton, who was a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Hamilton-Oneida Academy (though he never set foot on campus). Baron von Steuben, acting as Hamilton's surrogate, laid the college's cornerstone.

In 1978, the all-male Hamilton College merged with the all-female Kirkland College, which had been located adjacent to Hamilton. The primary public reason for the merger was Kirkland's imminent insolvency. This merger was not done lightly, overnight or without loud dissension by some; including large student protests on campus and their occupation of the President's Building for a few hours. It took nearly 7 years to complete the merger; 1979 was the last year in which female students were given the option of receiving a Kirkland diploma instead of a Hamilton diploma. There are still several former Kirkland faculty teaching at Hamilton who fondly remember being part of a very different academic community prior to the merger.

Today, the original Hamilton campus is referred to by students and some school literature as the "light side" or "north side" of the campus. Formerly that side of campus was referred to as the "Stryker Campus" after its former president, [Melancthon Woolsey Stryker] (or incorrectly "Striker Campus"). On the other side of the street separating the two campuses, the former Kirkland campus is referred to as the "dark side" (a reference to the lighting in the Kirkland College buildings).

Hamilton College is the third oldest college established in New York.

Since the 1970s Hamilton has been a member of the NESCAC athletic conference, which includes Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, and Williams.

Campus Life

Starting in the mid 1990s, the administration and the trustees have tried to work together to improve life on the campus. They required all underclassmen to live in college housing (which caused the closure of all of the fraternity houses), created social spaces for student use, improved funding for on-campus events, and pursued several other changes. This process caused a great deal of controversy—mostly surrounding the decision to preclude fraternities from exercising any use of their houses. As a result, the majority of fraternities felt they had no choice but to sell their houses to the college, though some fraternities refused to sell their houses until well into the next decade. As the college purchased the houses, they have carried out extensive renovations. Since the discussion a few fraternities and sororities have had their charters revoked or suspended for extreme behavior (causing additional controversy among the students and alumni). Only one sorority on campus (Omega Phi Beta) has national affiliation.

Housing

Nearly all students now live in college-owned dorms. There are a variety of styles of residence halls, including former fraternity houses, suites, apartment style housing, and more traditional dormitory style housing.

On campus events

The changes have allowed the student community to increase the number and types of activities available on campus. The college has also provided significant funding for student activities through student-run organizations. College-sponsored student-run groups routinely bring music, movies, plays, and other performers to the college.

Annual Events and Traditions

Class and Charter Day: On the last day of spring term classes every year all classes after noon are cancelled for a campus wide picnic and party. Additionally a ceremony is held during which students, faculty, and other members of the Hamilton community are recognized for their academic, leadership, and community development accomplishments. Class and Charter Day is also known as the biggest party day of the year at Hamilton.

Citrus Bowl: The Citrus Bowl is the first men's home hockey game of the season. Traditionally upon the first Hamilton scored goal, oranges and other citrus fruits, smuggled into the rink, were thrown onto the ice. In recent years, the orange throwing has been outlawed, by both the administration and NESCAC officials, but the event is still well attended.

FebFest: Rooted in the long standing tradition of the winter carnival at Hamilton, FebFest is a relatively recent development at Hamilton. A week-long combination of performances, parties, and various other events, FebFest intends to keep student morale high during the winter.

May Day Music Festival: Started in 2004, May Day is an outdoor music festival sponsored by several on-campus organizations including:

Past performers have included: The Pharcyde, Dead Meadow, Tim Reynolds, The Virginia Coalition, Jennifer Gentle, Rainer Maria, Ted Leo, The Unicorns, J-Live, Catch-22 and Sleater-Kinney. It should be noted that the name "May Day" has no association with other May Day events and activities elsewhere in the world. Rather, the name simply refers to the fact that the festival is staged in early May or late April.

HamTrek: Started in 2004, HamTrek is an annual sprint-triathlon consisting of a 525-yard swim, 9-mile bike ride, and 3.1-mile run. Participants can compete individually, in unisex teams of 3, or co-ed teams of 3. Prizes are awarded to the winners of the different competing groups. Also, many athletic coaches now require their teams to compete. HamTrek takes place on Class and Charter day.

Diversity

Like most small colleges in the United States, Hamilton struggles to achieve diversity, particularly when it comes to race. The college has an aggressive Affirmative Action program to try to attract African American students.

See Statistics for more information.

Athletics

Hamilton is a NCAA Division III school and has been a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference since 1971. The college sports teams are known as the Hamilton Continentals. Hamilton sponsors 28 sports, including: Baseball (M), Basketball (M&W), Crew (M&W), Cross Country (M&W), Field Hockey (W), Football (M), Golf (M), Ice Hockey (M&W), Lacrosse (M&W), Outdoor and Indoor Track & Field (M&W), Soccer (M&W), Softball (W), Squash (M&W), Swimming & Diving (M&W), Tennis (M&W), Volleyball (W).

About 30% of the Hamilton student body participates on the athletics program. In addition to varsity sports, Hamilton sponsors several club sports and intramural activities each year. All students have the opportunity to participate at a level enjoyable to them. Including the creation of a Streaking team in 2002. The [Hamilton Streaking Team] received favorable coverage from the New York Times in 2004. Hamilton College remained undefeated in their collegiate record until the Williams College springstreakers soundly defeated Hamilton in spring 2005. Fifteen members of the Williams team made a full circuit of the Hamilton library the night before their final exams began, streaking about 200 people and giving the Hamilton team their first loss.

Facilities

Over the last few years, Hamilton has worked to greatly improve the academic and dorm facilities. Hamilton has an impressive library for a school of its size. The science building has recently undergone a multimillion dollar renovation. The art department has separate studios for each of the studio arts taught, which are well regarded by the student's majoring in those departments. In addition to the standard fields for soccer, football, etc., Hamilton's athletic facilities include an ice rink, swimming pool, several athletics fields, a golf course, all of which are open to use by the student body. Hamilton also has a concert hall named,

Carol Woodhouse Wellin Performance Hall

The 700 seat hall features some of the best acoustics on the Eastern Coast of the United States. Wellin Hall hosts the College Orchestra, Choir, Jazz Band, or Oratorio Society perform, as well as guest artists from around the globe. It is rumored that several rock acts (most notably Phish and Dave Matthews) have reached out to the college to use Wellin Hall as a recording facility; however, the grants which funded the hall prohibit use of the space for performance or recording of rock or pop music.

The Sage Rink

The Sage Rink is the nation's oldest indoor college hockey rink, though it was renovated in 1993, when it received better lighting, ice-making equipment, and structural enhancements. The rink houses the college's Men's and Women's varsity hockey teams, intramural ice hockey, physical education classes, and local youth hockey games.

Bristol Swimming Pool

Complete in 1988, the pool was christened by a Guinness Book of World Records setting event in April 1989 when the world's longest swim relay was completed in the Bristol pool.

Stueben Field

Home to the Hamilton College football team, Stueben Field was founded in 1897, and is the eighth oldest football field in the United States.

Campus Speakers

Hamilton hosts many different speakers on many different subjects. While the college has often had a diverse collection of speakers on many different topics, this has not been without controversy.

Early in 2005, the college received national media attention in the United States when a scheduled appearance by Professor Ward Churchill was cancelled after the college received threats of violence protesting his speech. In an essay written in 2001, Churchill compared victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to "Little Eichmanns," referring to Adolf Hitler's genocide architect Adolf Eichmann. The public and many alumni voiced disapproval of Churchill's statements and his $3500 speaking fee. The Hamilton administration emphasized its concerns about placing limits on academic freedom and censoring speech. The College issued [a statement] at the time of the panel's cancellation. According to the campus newspaper, [The Spectator], the Kirkland Project, the sponsor of the event, paid Churchill's fee even though the event was cancelled.

The Sacerdote Series Great Names at Hamilton

Starting in 1996 the Sacerdote Series Great Names at Hamilton has brought some of the most sought after speakers to campus for presentations. While most of these have been in the form of speeches, they have also included a concert by B. B. King.

To-date the speakers that have been part of this series are:

College Statistics

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General Information:
Applicants for class of 2009 ~4200
Enrollment: ~1,780
Percentage Male: 50%
Percentage Female: 50%
Target Entering Class Size: 470
Applicants for class of 2008: 4,444
Acceptance Rate: 36%
SAT Scores:
-75th percentile: 1480
-25th percentile: 1320
High School Rank: 79% were in the top 10%
High School public to private ratio: 60-40

Ethnic Diversity:
International 5%
African-American 5%
Native American 1%
Asian/Pacific Islander 8%
Hispanic 4%
Caucasian 69%
Unknown 8%
Geographic Diversity: Hamilton students come from 43 U.S. states and 40 countries [#endnote_2]

Historical Landmarks on Campus

Hamilton College Chapel

The college's chapel is a historically protected landmark and is the only three story chapel still standing in New York. The chapel is topped by a signature quill pen weather vane, which represents Hamilton College's long standing commitment to producing graduates with exceptional writing and communication abilities.

Kirkland Cottage

The cottage was the original residence of Samuel Kirkland when he began his missionary work to the Oneida that resulted in the founding of the Hamilton-Oneida Academy. The cottage itself is completely original, however it was moved from its original location to its current place on the main quadrangle of the Light Side. The cottage is currently used for matriculation ceremonies.

Birthplace of Elihu Root

This house originally belonged to the Root family and was the birthplace of Secretary of State Elihu Root. The house has since been renamed Buttrick Hall. Originally built in 1812 as the student dining hall, Buttrick Hall is as old as the College itself. In 1834 it became the home of Horatio Buttrick, then superintendent of the Buildings and Grounds Department as well as registrar. Through Oren Root’s marriage to a daughter of Horatio Buttrick, the building became the birthplace of Elihu Root, U.S. secretary of state and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. The house currently serves as office space for the President of the College and the Dean of Faculty.[2]

Elihu Root House

This house originally belonged to Elihu Root and served as his summer home. It currently houses the Office of Admission, though it will house the president's offices when the Office of Admission is relocated to the former Sigma Phi house.

Alumni Achievements

In the two centuries that Hamilton College has been educating young men and, more recently, young women, thousands of graduates have gone on to make remarkable contributions across the entire spectrum of human endeavor, from science to politics, and from the arts to commerce. Hamilton counts Nobel laureates, a Secretary of State, the diplomat who brokered the Panama Canal Treaty, several members of Congress, Governors, authors, inventors, scientists, poets, teachers, and captains of industry as alumni, from the 1800s to the present day. This list, due to length, is now maintained under List of Hamilton College people.

College Trivia

References

  1. ↑  [US News & World Report Ratings]
  2. ↑  [Hamilton College]
  3. ↑  [Hamilton College - Academics]

College songs

External links

 

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