On Friday, June 7, Associate Professor of Sociology Mitchell Stevens moderated a forum of Hamilton professors, faculty members, students and alumni in a discussion entitled
Today's Hamilton. Stevens opened the discussion with his thoughts on organizational change from a sociologist's perspective. He told the audience of approximately 35 alumni and their family members that all good organizations change over time and adapt to shifts in society. He continued by saying that Hamilton has also had to adapt to a new world, and that life at Hamilton is different from the time when the alumni in the audience were "on the hill". Mitchell did though add that the basic ideals and characteristics that where so important to the Hamilton community in the alumni's time, are still intact and thrive today.
Some of the highlights of this discussion included debate on the new curriculum with fewer requirements, the Sophomore seminar and the new breed of Hamilton students. One alumnus asked why Hamilton was even bothering to recruit a diverse population from all over the country and world.
The forum was informally concluded with a reaction from Eldred Ross '40, who went to school each September, as a student or an educator, for over 70 years. He praised the current Hamilton generation in their continuing efforts to make Hamilton an outstanding institution through every facet of the school. Ross also noted that of all the colleges he visited through the years as professor and later as an educational consultant, he has never tasted better food than that served at Hamilton!
