Hamilton College

Six members of the Class of 2023 were recently named winners of annual senior athletic awards. The awards were presented on May 16 at the Jack B. Riffle Celebration for senior varsity athletes.

Hamilton's annual Class & Charter Day took place on May 9. Established in 1950, the event combines the traditional Class Day celebrating the end of classes with a commemoration of the granting of the College's charter on May 26, 1812. The ceremony features an address by a historian, trustee, graduate, or faculty member whose topic is related to Hamilton's history and traditions. Academic and scholarly achievement prizes are awarded to students and faculty. More than 150 students were honored, and faculty were recognized for having received teaching awards and dean's scholarly achievement prizes.

Six students received Class of 1979 Student Travel Awards for the 2022-23 academic year. The awards, established by alumni from Hamilton's Class of 1979, offer financial assistance to certain outstanding Hamilton students who wish to pursue extensive research projects in different parts of the world or present their work at conferences.

Fifteen students were awarded grants from The Steven Daniel Smallen Memorial Fund for the 2022-23 academic year. The fund is designed to encourage creativity among Hamilton students by providing grants for projects displaying originality, expressiveness, and imagination. Final projects must lead to something that can be displayed and enjoyed by the Hamilton community. The Fund was established in 1993 by former Vice President for Libraries and Information Technology David Smallen and his wife Ann in memory of their son Steven. Steven Smallen studied at Hamilton for a year while receiving treatment for leukemia, before losing his battle with cancer in 1992.

A cast and crew of more than 70 students participated in eight sold-out performances of the Spring Theatre production of Jonathan Larson's "Rent." The groundbreaking Tony and Pulitzer Prize Award-winning show reinvented musicals when it debuted in 1996. An inspiring story about friends and artists struggling in New York City's East Village, "Rent" tackles addiction, poverty, AIDS, and most of all, love. The production was directed by Professor of Theatre Mark Cryer.

Thirty-six Hamilton students performed in the Dance and Movement Studies Department's annual spring dance concert. The performance was choreographed by Hamilton faculty Sarah Jacobs, Biboti Ouikahilo, Kingsley Pipim, and Julia Shove, along with guest choreographers rayven armijo and Matthew Powell, and Hamilton students Deanna Durben, Reagan Flores, Ailis Hayden, Gabriela Munoz Rojas, and Elizabeth Oakes.

Hamilton's Community Outreach and Opportunity Program (COOP) Service Internship Program began in fall 2009 to connect students with area service organizations. During their first two years at Hamilton, service interns work at least six hours per week on site at their non-profit agencies, helping them identify skills and interests and explore career options. When a group of interns "graduates" after their sophomore year, they're on the road to becoming leaders in the community.

The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art joins traditional object-based learning with advances in interdisciplinary approaches. With more than 6,000 works of art and artifacts, the Wellin's collection represents a broad range of cultures, historical periods, artistic practices, and movements. The Wellin's student docents are integral to the work of the museum and participate in various aspects of museum operation. They lead tours, collaborate with Hamilton faculty to provide customized, interdisciplinary gallery programs that support teaching and learning, and work on specialized projects within a specific museum department.

Fourteen students are participating in Hamilton's New York City Program this spring. The program is structured so that students spend four days a week as interns in a firm or organization, attend weekly seminars on the semester's topic, and complete an independent project. About two-thirds of Hamilton students study off campus for a semester or longer through opportunities that can include language programs, internships, and field research.

Developing the ability to communicate clearly and effectively is a cornerstone value of the liberal arts education at Hamilton College. To help all students strengthen their writing abilities, the College established the Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center in 1987. The central focus of the Center's services for students is peer review provided through writing conferences. Writing Center tutors are trained to review such aspects of student work as clarifying ideas, developing a thesis, organizing stages of an argument, and strengthening specific language.

The Hamilton College Academic Year in Madrid, Spain, offers students the opportunity to develop true linguistic proficiency and to experience the many facets of Spanish life. Through personal contact with the culture, language, ideals, and customs of another country, participants step beyond the familiarity and comforts of their own environment to gain a new perspective on international affairs and a greater respect for and understanding of another people. About two-thirds of Hamilton students study off campus for a semester or longer through opportunities that can include language programs, internships, and field research.

Hamilton's Quantitative & Symbolic Reasoning (QSR) Center supports students in the development of their academic skills, and fosters collaborative learning and intellectual growth. The QSR tutors are students who excel in one or more areas of quantitative and symbolic reasoning and have been recommended by the departments for which they tutor.

Seventy-seven Hamilton College student-athletes from 10 varsity teams were named to the 2023 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) winter All-Academic Team. To be eligible, a student must have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher. The NESCAC, established in 1971, includes 11 highly selective colleges and universities located in the Northeast, and sponsors 27 conference championship sports. Hamilton is home to 29 intercollegiate varsity teams and competes at the NCAA Division III level. Roughly a third of the College's 2,000 undergraduate students participate in at least one varsity sport.

Fourteen members of ROOTS, Hamilton's Society for Students of Color in STEM, attended the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Students (ABRCMS) in Anaheim, Calif. Funding for the trip was provided by Hamilton's Dean of Faculty Office and a grant from Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The students were accompanied by Associate Professor of Chemistry Max Majireck and Assistant Professor of Biology Rhea Datta.

The Hamilton Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa is pleased to announce the election of 15 members of the Class of 2023. Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honorary society in the United States, honors students for both excellence in academic achievement and breadth of intellectual study.

More than 1,170 students have been named to the fall 2022 Dean's List. To be named to the Dean's List, a student must have carried a course load of four or more graded credits throughout the semester and earned an average of 3.5 or above on a 4.0 scale.

Seventy Hamilton College student-athletes from seven varsity teams were named to the 2022 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) fall All-Academic Team. To be eligible, a student must have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher. The NESCAC, established in 1971, includes 11 highly selective colleges and universities located in the Northeast, and sponsors 27 conference championship sports. Hamilton is home to 29 intercollegiate varsity teams and competes at the NCAA Division III level. Roughly a third of the College's 2,000 undergraduate students participate in at least one varsity sport.

A cast and crew of more than 50 students participated in the Fall Theatre production of William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, a play about political discord, morality, authenticity, and a woman's right to control her body, a topic that continues to resonate today. The production was directed by Professor of Theatre Craig Latrell.

The Hamilton College Emergency Medical Service (HCEMS) is a New York State certified agency that is made up of 25 student emergency medical technicians (EMT) who provide 24-hour emergency service to the campus community during the academic year. Along with the rest of the nation, Hamilton recognizes the achievements of its EMTs during National Collegiate EMS Week, the week of November 7.

Twenty-nine Hamilton students performed in the Dance and Movement Studies Department's fall dance concert on Oct. 28 and 29. The performance was choreographed by Hamilton faculty Sarah Jacobs, Julia Shove, Bruce Walczyk, and Paris Wilcox. Also included was a dance choreographed by Leslie Norton, and restaged by Wilcox. Norton, a Hamilton dance professor for 27 years, died in 2011.

The Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center was established in 1987 to help all Hamilton students strengthen their writing abilities. Writing Center tutors are trained to review such aspects of student work as clarifying ideas, developing a thesis, organizing stages of an argument, and strengthening specific language.

The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art joins traditional object-based learning with advances in interdisciplinary approaches. With more than 6,000 works of art and artifacts, the Wellin's collection represents a broad range of cultures, historical periods, artistic practices, and movements. The Wellin's student docents are integral to the work of the museum and participate in various aspects of museum operation. They lead tours, collaborate with Hamilton faculty to provide customized, interdisciplinary gallery programs that support teaching and learning, and work on specialized projects within a specific museum department.

Eleven students are participating in Hamilton's New York City Program this fall. The program is structured so that students spend four days a week as interns in a business or organization, attend weekly seminars on the semester's topic, and complete an independent project.

Hamilton in France provides students an international academic experience that reflects Hamilton's commitment to the liberal arts and personal exploration. The program is based in central Paris; students stay in (carefully chosen) French-speaking homes where they can live the language and culture. The program includes organized excursions/study trips to various regions in France and in and around Paris. These trips help build up the student experience in France beyond the classroom in meaningful, and fun, ways.

The Hamilton College Academic Year in Madrid, Spain, offers students the opportunity to develop true linguistic proficiency and to experience the many facets of Spanish life. Through personal contact with the culture, language, ideals, and customs of another country, participants step beyond the familiarity and comforts of their own environment to gain a new perspective on international affairs and a greater respect for and understanding of another people.

Hamilton's Quantitative & Symbolic Reasoning (QSR) Center supports students in the development of their academic skills, and fosters collaborative learning and intellectual growth. More than 40 students are serving as peer tutors in the QSR Center.

The Oral Communication Center's (OCC) mission is to support Hamilton's "Communication and Expression" educational goal by developing students' abilities to express themselves with clarity and eloquence in a variety of manners. The OCC offers assistance to students working on specific oral communication projects or general communication concerns. Students serving as peer consultants provide coaching and advice on a variety of assignment types including oral presentations and exams, debates, panel discussions, podcasts, readings, interviews, poster presentations, and more.

The Hamilton Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa is pleased to announce the election of 10 members of the Class of 2023. Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honorary society in the United States, honors students for both excellence in academic achievement and breadth of intellectual study.

Nine students are participating in the Hamilton Program in Washington this fall. The program provides a combination of academic study and experience in national government. Students in the program conduct research and attend two seminars led by a resident member of Hamilton's government department, and at the same time work full time in congressional or executive offices, think tanks, NGOs, non-profits, and lobbying and consulting firms.

Hamilton recently welcomed approximately 480 new students to the college community. They were selected from a pool of 9,899 applicants from 35 states and 26 countries.