All News

As long as she has been a student at Hamilton, Mary Hurner ’24 has been passionate about building community both on and off the Hill, and this summer was no exception. Hurner was recently recognized as an inaugural awardee of the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, also known as the Voyager Scholarship. The scholarship granted her a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing to pursue a self-designed work-travel experience.

In the second installment of Hamilton’s 2023-24 Common Ground series, moderator Michael J. Grygiel ’79, P’23 united legal experts Eric Olson, Hila Keren, and Dale Carpenter for a discussion on the intersection of free speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

Walk through the List Building on a Wednesday night, and you might hear a group of students discussing telephone poles, bollards, road signs, and the position of the sun in the sky. These students are not working on homework for an urban planning class. They are studying up on strategies for the game Geoguessr.

Jonathan Dong ’21 has always been intrigued by the world of aquaculture. He began breeding fish in middle school, and grew to wonder at the life history of the species with which he worked. When he entered Hamilton, originally on a pre-med track, he found new ways to explore this passion. He founded the Aquaponics Club with three other students during his sophomore year. He began taking more environmental studies and biology courses, and during his study abroad in Australia he contributed to a research paper on invasive fish species.

More than 125 Hamilton students conducted research with faculty this summer, and the results of that work were on display in poster sessions held during Fallcoming. Some student researchers in the sciences and the Levitt Public Affairs Center talked with student writer Dana Blatte ’26 about what they learned.

Hamilton President David Wippman shared a message with the Hamilton community addressing the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel.

The grand reopening of Burke Library’s first floor, a celebration of the 30th anniversary of Fallcoming Jazz, and poster sessions of students’ science and Levitt Center summer research were among the highlights of a Fallcoming Weekend that brought nearly 1,000 family members and alumni, along with rain and chilly weather, to the Hill, Oct. 5-8.

Sean Bennett, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, shared a message with members of the Hamilton community on Oct. 10 addressing the escalating Arab-Israeli conflict.

In its first meeting of the 2023-24 academic year, the Hamilton Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa elected 10 members of the Class of 2024.

September’s news highlights ranged from coverage of the Wellin Museum to discussions of agricultural policies and coups d’état.