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Hamilton College

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For other colleges with the same name, see Hamilton College (disambiguation).
Hamilton College
File:Hamilton College seal.jpg
MottoΓνῶθι Σεαυτόν (Know Thyself)
TypePrivate coeducational
Established1793 as Hamilton-Oneida Academy, 1812 as Hamilton College
Endowment$505,278,910 [1]
PresidentJoan Hinde Stewart
Academic staff
183
Undergraduates1,780
Address
198 College Hill Road
,
Clinton
,
NY
,
USA
CampusRural
Annual Fees$49,860(2009–2010)[2]
ColorsBuff   and Blue  
NicknameContinentals
Hamiltonians
AffiliationsMAISA; AAU
Websitewww.hamilton.edu

Hamilton College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in Clinton, New York. The school was founded in 1793, chartered as Hamilton College in 1812, and 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 is one of the "Little Ivies."

History

Hamilton began in 1793 as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy, a K-12 school, and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812, making it the third oldest college established in New York, after Columbia and Union. Samuel Kirkland founded the College as part of his 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). It was in fact Baron von Steuben, acting as Hamilton's surrogate, who 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 and founded by Hamilton; the primary public reason for the merger was Kirkland's imminent insolvency. It took nearly 7 years to fully complete the merger; female students were given the option of receiving a Kirkland diploma instead of a Hamilton diploma until 1979. Several former Kirkland faculty members teaching at Hamilton still fondly remember being part of a very different academic community prior to the merger.[citation needed]

Since the 1970s, Hamilton has been a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (or the NESCAC) (despite technically being located outside of New England). This conference also includes Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, and Williams. Rivalries with many of these schools, Middlebury in particular, predate the establishment of the conference.

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, the original 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 College Hill Road, the original Kirkland campus is referred to affectionately as the "dark side" or as the "south side."

Hamilton College president Joan Stewart and faculty members celebrated the establishment of the Alexander Hamilton Center, an effort to promote the study of America's first treasury secretary with lectures and conferences, but the affiliation broke down over opposition.[3][4][5] The center is now independent and occupies the building formerly used as the Alexander Hamilton Inn in Clinton, New York.

Campus

During the summer of 2006, the school completed a 56 million dollar science building. The art department has separate studios for each of the studio arts taught, most of which are in the midst a 37.5 million dollar renovation project. Hamilton's athletic facilities include an ice rink, swimming pool, several athletics fields, a golf course, a three-story climbing wall, and a 10 Court Squash Center.

Carol Woodhouse Wellin Performance Hall

The 700 seat hall hosts the College Orchestra conducted by Heather Buchman, Choir, Jazz Band, Oratorio Society, and Faculty Dance Concerts as well as guest artists from around the globe.

The Sage Rink

Hamilton College’s Sage Rink is America's second oldest indoor collegiate hockey rink after Northeastern University's Matthews Arena[6]. It was financed by the widow of industrialist Russell Sage, whose name graces a number of Central New York college edifices, including Russell Sage College. In addition to Continental mens and women's teams, youth hockey, high school teams, adult amateur efforts and the famous Clinton Comets, who dominated the semi-professional Eastern Hockey League in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, have played at the Sage Rink.[6] 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

Completed 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.[citation needed]

Steuben Field

Home to the Hamilton College football team, Steuben Field was founded in 1897, and is one of the ten oldest collegiate football fields in the United States.[7]

Litchfield Observatory

IAU code 789, from which C. H. F. Peters discovered some 48 asteroids[citation needed]. The observatory burned down but is currently marked on campus by its telescope mount outside of the Sigma Phi fraternity house. The current observatory, a quarter of a mile from campus, is powered by solar energy and is open for student use. The existing observatory, located 100 feet from College Hill Road, was build with rock from the same quarry as the original building.

Hamilton College Chapel

The college's chapel is a historically protected landmark and is the only three story chapel still standing in America.[8] 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.[citation needed]

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, although it was moved from its original location on Kirkland's property (known today as Harding Farm) to its current place on the main quadrangle of the Hamilton 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, 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 1912 Nobel Peace Prize. The house currently serves as office space for the President of the College and the Dean of Faculty.

Elihu Root House

The Elihu Root House house originally belonged to Elihu Root and served as his summer home. Formerly the home of the Office of Admission, it as of September 2009 is home to the Dean of Students Office, the Registrar, and the department of Residential Life.

Academics

Hamilton currently offers the Bachelor of Arts degree in any of over 50 areas of concentration.[9] Additionally, Hamilton students may study abroad. The College runs programs in China, France, and Spain, as well as programs closer to home in New York City and Washington, DC. Hamilton is well known for its "open" curriculum, for which there are no distributional requirements; students have nearly total freedom over their course selection. Hamilton College, Brown University and Smith College are institutions with such a policy. 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 many examinations are not proctored. Hamilton has been part of the SAT optional movement for undergraduate admission since 2002.[10]

In 2009, U.S. News & World Report ranked Hamilton the 21st best liberal arts college in the United States.[11] Forbes Magazine ranked Hamilton the #49th Best College in the United States in 2009 out of 600 institutions.

Student life and traditions

The current Hamilton College campus consists of the original Hamilton College campus and the neighboring former campus of Kirkland College.

In the mid 1990s, the administration enacted a policy requiring all underclassmen to live in college housing (resulting in the closure of all fraternity houses and the Emerson Literary Society's house), and created social spaces for student use, improved funding for on-campus events, and pursued several other social life 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, it has 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).

Housing

Nearly all students 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. Hamilton currently offers a cooperative living option to students, as well as substance-free and quiet housing.[12] All residence halls are co-ed, though some have single-sex floors.

Societies

There are currently eleven fraternities, seven sororities, and one co-ed society active on the Hamilton College campus. Greek organizations still provide significant social capital even though the college took over the buildings of the fraternities in 1995. These fraternities comprise some of the oldest and most exclusive collegiate social organizations in the country; most with chapters only at elite eastern Colleges, including two of the "Union Triad" : Delta Phi and Sigma Phi. They consist of Alpha Delta Phi ( founded at Hamilton College ), Chi Psi, Delta Chi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Delta Phi, Delta Upsilon, Lambda Upsilon Lambda, Psi Upsilon, Sigma Phi, Tau Kappa Epsilon and Theta Delta Chi. The sororities are Alpha Chi Lambda, Alpha Theta Chi, Gamma Xi, Kappa Delta Omega, Kappa Sigma Alpha, Sigma Lambda Upsilon, and Phi Beta Chi.

While all of the fraternities on campus are affiliated with national organizations, only one sorority (Omega Phi Beta) has a national affiliation. The other six sororities are unique to Hamilton.

Lambda Chi Alpha existed at Hamilton until 1958.

Hamilton also has a co-ed, non-Greek social society, the Emerson Literary Society.

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. The Hamilton College Student Assembly allocates over one quarter of a million dollars to student groups each year. The Student Activities Office, the President's Office, and other College offices provide additional funds for student groups.[citation needed]

Campus media

WHCL-FM: During the academic year, Hamilton students, faculty, and community members produce a variety of music, news, sports, and talk radio programs at FM frequency 88.7 The station is available through most of the Mohawk Valley region and online. It is the only radio station in Clinton.

The Spectator: Hamilton College's primary news publication is published weekly and is freely available in the campus dining halls, mail center, and library. The Spectator covers campus, local, and national news as well as Hamilton sports and campus life. It is older than the New York Times,[citation needed] which is the paper's official slogan.

The Daily Bull: A daily bulletin that features humor pieces, campus satire, cultural commentary, classified advertisements, literary experiments, and local weather. The Daily Bull is noted for being printed on yellow legal size paper, and is distributed on dining hall tables every morning.

The Wag: Hamilton's semi-annual satire magazine, published near the end of every semester. It features written and graphical satire of campus news and life. The Wag has also produced short feature films about the "Hamilton experience" in the past.

The Duel Observer: Founded by Tom Keane '03 and David Schwartz '02, The Duel Observer is a weekly humor and satire publication that adopts the format of a parody newspaper (i.e. the Onion). The name "Duel Observer" is a reference to the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton which resulted in Hamilton's death.

HamPoll: Hamilton's Polling organization regularly surveys students and faculty. Recent surveys have asked about relationship dynamics, evaluations of academic departments, recycling habits, as well as political and social affiliations.

The Continental: A student-run magazine published a few times a semester. The magazine features fashion advice, party photos, and articles on a variety of subjects.

Red Weather: Hamilton's literary magazine, dedicated to promoting the literary arts on campus by printing a variety of student-authored poetry and fiction, published twice a year.

The Green Apple: Named for one of the symbols of Kirkland College, this publication is printed on green legal-sized paper and features short stories, poetry, and op-eds.

Traditions

Class and Charter Day: On the last day of spring term classes, all afternoon classes 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. During the ceremony, chosen students are also inducted into Hamilton's three prestigious honor societies: Doers and Thinkers (13 rising sophomores), Was Los (6 rising juniors), and Pentagon (5 rising seniors). Class and Charter Day is also the biggest party day of the year at Hamilton. The popular "G-Road" party which took place on this day became so infamous for underage drinking and over-indulgence that the college chose to ban the party for Class and Charter Day '09.

Citrus Bowl: The Citrus Bowl is the first men's home hockey game of the season. Traditionally the game was called the Orange Bowl, and upon the first Hamilton-scored goal, oranges that students had smuggled into the rink were thrown onto the ice at the visiting goalie. This often resulted in a delay-of-game penalty against Hamilton while the ice was cleaned. In recent years, the orange throwing has been banned by the College administration and by NESCAC officials, but the event is still well attended. Orange T-shirts commemorating the event have been distributed in recent years.

FebFest: Rooted in the long standing tradition of the winter carnival at Hamilton, FebFest is a relatively recent revival at Hamilton. A week-long combination of performances, parties, free food, fireworks, and various other events, FebFest intends to keep student morale high during the winter. Over the years, bands ranging from the Steve Miller Band to Ghostface Killah have performed as a part of festivities.

May Day Music Festival: Started in 2004, May Day is an outdoor music festival sponsored by several on-campus organizations including the Hamilton College Independent Music Fund, WHCL, and the Hamilton College Campus Activities Board. Past performers have included: Citizen Cope, The New Pornographers, The Pharcyde, Dead Meadow, Tim Reynolds, Chromeo, 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.

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).

Prior to the 1993-94 academic year, Hamilton sports teams could not participate in any national postseason tournaments. The rule was changed that year, allowing Hamilton to participate in Division III tournaments in various sports. On May 18, 2008, Hamilton won its first NCAA championship, when the women's lacrosse team defeated Franklin & Marshall 13-6 in the finals of the NCAA tournament.

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. Club sports include alpine skiing, curling, equestrian, figure skating, men's rugby, women's rugby, tae kwon do, ultimate frisbee, and women's golf. In 2008 the men's rugby team received fourth place in the national Division III tournament.[13] All students have the opportunity to participate at a level enjoyable to them, including the creation of a streaking team in 2002.

Hamilton's mascot is a Continental, a soldier in America's Continental Army of the Revolutionary War. The college's colors are buff and blue, the colors of the Continental Army's uniforms. The college's namegiver, Alexander Hamilton played a central role in the Continental Army as General George Washington's Chief of Staff. At many sporting events Hamilton is represented by the Al-Ham (an abbreviation of Alexander Hamilton) pig. A large, anthropomorphic pig attired in a Hamilton basketball jersey and a Continental soldier's tri-corner hat, the pig was introduced in the early 2000s in attempt to positively boost school spirit and interest in Hamilton's athletics program.

Rocking Chair Classic

Since 1980, the annual football game between Hamilton and Middlebury has been designated the Rocking Chair Classic. The winning team keeps the Mac-Jack Rocking Chair for the following year. The rivalry has been rather one-sided as of late, with Middlebury having won the last 14 matches.

Campus speakers

Hamilton hosts many different speakers on many different subjects. Notable recent speakers have included Salman Rushdie, Jared Diamond, Stanley Lombardo, Peter Meineck, Kenneth Miller, David Corn and the speakers of the Great Names series (see below).

The Sacerdote Great Names Series at Hamilton

Starting in 1996 the Sacerdote Great Names Series 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 concerts by B. B. King and Aretha Franklin.

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

Demographics

Hamilton typically enrolls about 1775 students. Fifty percent are male, and fifty percent are female. The middle 50% of SAT scores for students at Hamilton is 1350 to 1500. About 60% of students came from public schools, and 40% from private schools, and students come from 46 U.S. states and 46 countries.[14] Of the applicants who applied to be in the Class of 2012, 28% were accepted.

Student ethnicities
International 5%
African-American 5%
Native American 1%
Asian/Pacific Islander 8%
Hispanic 4%
White 70%
Unknown 8%

Geographic diversity:

Hamilton College alums can be found in a variety of sectors and places. Among them are thought leaders, winners of Nobel, Pulitzer and Tony awards, leading authors, artistic legends, the CEOs of major corporations (Procter & Gamble, LinkedIn,Saks Fifth Avenue and famous financiers).

Faculty

Among the many distinguished members of the Hamilton faculty are:

Among former members of the faculty (permanent and visiting) of particular renown are:

Former faculty member and college president Eugene Tobin resigned after a plagiarism scandal.[15]

Controversies

Efforts to bring Ward Churchill to speak on campus were controversial.[16][17][18] also controversial was the 2004 decision to hire former political radical and ex-convict Sue Rosenberg - who spent 16 years in Federal prison for possession of explosives and weapons and was implicated in the 1981 Brinks robbery.[19] There was also a protest by Professor Bob Paquette over bringing an actress and former porn-star as a speaker[20]

College songs

  • Carissima
  • We Never Will Forget Thee, the fight song of Hamilton College, often performed by the Hamilton College Buffers, an all-male student a cappella group. The Hamilton College Football team also sings a slightly modified version of this song upon winning a football game.

Alumni

Main article: List of Hamilton College people

Notable Hamilton alumni include US Secretary of State Elihu Root (1864), US Vice President James S. Sherman (1878), Poet Ezra Pound (1905), Nobel Prize Winner Paul Greengard (1948), US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (1972), actor Tony Goldwyn (1982), and actor and writer for The Office Paul Lieberstein (1989).

References

  1. ^ http://www.hamilton.edu/hamilton_at_a_glance/financial_information.html
  2. ^ http://www.hamilton.edu/hamilton_at_a_glance/financial_information.html
  3. ^ Rejected by NY college, conservative center sets up off campus September 18, 2007 Higher Education News
  4. ^ Vanessa EbbelingHamilton Center to resurface at Inn Posted Sep 13, 2007 Observer-Dispatch
  5. ^ Miller, John J. The death of the Hamilton Center: a case in upstate New York has implications all over March 5, 2007 National Review
  6. ^ a b Hamilton College - Campus Tour - Tour Pages Cite error: The named reference "History" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ NESCAC Football Record Book
  8. ^ Hamilton College - Campus Tour - Tour Pages
  9. ^ Hamilton College Website, Academics Overview
  10. ^ Hamilton College Website, Standardized Testing Requirements
  11. ^ "Liberal Arts Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
  12. ^ Hamilton College Website, "Virtual Tour"
  13. ^ HCRFC Website.
  14. ^ Facts About Hamilton: The Student Body
  15. ^ Glenn Coin College president lifted lines in past; Hamilton's Eugene Tobin admits not attributing parts of speeches over nine years October 3, 2002 The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) Article
  16. ^ Brennan, Charlie 'OTHER VOICES' TO JOIN CHURCHILL ON N.Y. PANEL. More January 29, 2005 Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
  17. ^ Steven K. Paulson COLO. ASTIR OVER STANCE; STATE LEGISLATORS TARGET CU PROFESSOR WHOSE HAMILTON COLLEGE TALK WAS CANCELED The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) February 3, 2005 The Associated Press
  18. ^ RADICAL PROFESSOR IGNITES FUROR WITH 9/11 CRITICISM CONTROVERSY ERUPTS AFTER HE COMPARES WORLD TRADE CENTER VICTIMS TO NAZIS A7 MAIN February 5, 2005 St. Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota)
  19. ^ Brad Vivacqua New hire sparks controversy on Hamilton College campus November 14, 2004 News 10 Now
  20. ^ Glenn Coin The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) Article date:September 25, 2002
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