Kirkland Alumnae

Sharon Rippey

866-729-0314

Kirkland Archives, Media and Publications

Please visit the Kirkland Interactive Archive

About the Committee

Between October 2008 and October 2009, members of the Kirkland Archives, Media, and Publications (AMP) subcommittee gathered to develop their mission.

For an initial meeting in Hamilton's Burke Library, Kirkland alumnae were joined by Professors John O'Neill and Maurice Isserman, Mary O'Neill, Hamilton Archivist Katherine Collett, current Hamilton students, and other interested staff members. Collett detailed items currently housed in the Kirkland Archives, and discussion centered around how to best conserve and share our legacy.

A planning meeting was held in Washington, D.C., and our strategic plan was hammered out. Potential projects were brainstormed and ongoing projects were brought into sharper focus.

The off-campus meeting was followed by a second meeting on the Hill Oct. 3, 2009, during Fallcoming Weekend. Members of AMP shared the strategic plan, displayed proposed web pages for the online exhibit on Kirkland history, and presented an exciting array of ongoing multimedia projects. Hamilton Trustee Susan Skerritt K'77, Penny Watras Dana K'78, and Hamilton's Alumni Council President Julie Ross H'84 were among those in attendance and expressing enthusiasm for the body of projects, which are intended to preserve and protect our legacy and culture.

Kirkland Oral History Project: The Apple Corps

Collect and preserve interviews with former Kirkland faculty, administrators, and alumnae, including oral histories deposited with Barnard College during the late 1970s
Kirkland Archives Project
With the aid of Hamilton College Archivist Katherine Collett, properly identify and catalog existing materials, and initiate improved storage and preservation methodologies
Gather additional Kirkland papers and specific memorabilia to augment the permanent collection
Create exhibits using selected imagery, multimedia projects, and documents
Kirkland Exhibitions
Launch a periodic (quarterly) online exhibit as well as occasional on-campus exhibits. Proposed virtual exhibits include the following topics:
diploma designs/selection
the Kirkland seal and the origin of Kirkland green
Kirkland architecture
Coffee House – music, governance, philosophy
origin of the Keehn Co-op and art co-op
Publications: Particulars, Kirkland Matters
Choral groups (such as Special K)

Work alongside Hamilton's College Bicentennial Committee to produce feature stories, profiles, and digital exhibits of Kirkland's history in the two years leading up to Hamilton's 2012 Bicentennial, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Kirkland's first graduating class
Consider creation of a public access website

Kirkland Publications: Lost Orchard

Kirkland alumnae, faculty, administration, and staff submitted original creative work for an anthology, Lost Orchard: Prose and Poetry from the Kirkland College Community, which is being complied by Jo Pitkin at kirkland@bestweb.net.

Mission

Our mission is to identify, document, make accessible, and breathe life into Kirkland's history using new media opportunities. We want to ensure records and memories of our undergraduate institution are aggregated, maintained, and made available to alumnae and scholars in perpetuity.

Subcommittee

Members of the Kirkland AMP Committee are professional writers, a photo documentarian, professional photographers, print and broadcast journalists, attorneys, activists and an archivist.

Co-chairs: Judy Silverstein Gray, K'78, Jennifer Morris, K'72
Jo Pitkin, K'78 Editor, Lost Orchard
Constance Halporn, K'78
Susan Malkin Kelly, K'77
Rebecca Pressman, K'78 Permissions and Copyright
Shelley Cowan, K'77
Barb Swartwout P'02, P'05, P'12
Woody Root, K'72
Susie Hartman, K'74
Anne Albright, K'76
Zan Tewksbury K'79
Melanie Sutherland K'79
Kendra Anderson H'80
Rachel Pohl H'11
Katherine Collett Hamilton College Assistant Archivist
Mary O'Neill, Hamilton College Writing Center staff
Barb Swartwout, Hamilton College Admission Office On-campus photography
Dr. Maurice Isserman, Hamilton College

Funding

Currently, the committee has no budget although a recently-submitted grant proposal was crafted to help defray initial professional transcription costs. The sub-committee is seeking donations to help fund a documentary and exhibition and perhaps, a lecture series.

If you have questions or ideas about Kirkland Archives, please e-mail the AMP Co-chairs at Karchive@hamilton.edu. We look forward to hearing from you.