The 10 Most-Clicked News Stories of 2021

Analytics, charts, graphs — Hamilton’s Communications & Marketing content team pays attention to it all, but is greatly interested to learn what our readers want to read most. So, following are the top 10 most-clicked news stories from 2021.

1. The most read story of 2021 featured 14 faculty members who retired in 2020-21 and 2019-20. Since Hamilton’s 2020 Commencement was canceled due to the pandemic, the printed program that typically recognizes retiring faculty was not published; this article that paid tribute to all 14 retirees received a whopping 12,539 clicks.
2. Hamilton life trustee and former Wall Street executive Keith Wellin ’50 died in 2014. In April 2021, the College announced an estate gift of nearly $22 million — the single largest gift in Hamilton’s history.
3. In the third spot was news that David Solomon ’84, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, was unanimously elected as chair of Hamilton’s Board of Trustees. Solomon is a charter trustee and co-chair of the Because Hamilton campaign.
4. In dreary February, news site readers were eager to read about movies and TV shows with Hamilton connections.
5. Coming in at No. 5 was news that Café Opus — a beloved campus institution for 26 years — was closing its two locations with the retirement of co-managers Larry Bender and Sarah Goldstein.
6. Construction of a new $2 million boathouse on the Erie Canal in Rome, made possible by the generosity of alumni rowers, was cause for celebration and many clicks!
7. Next we have news of student success. A March announcement of our three Watson fellowship recipients received an enthusiastic response from readers.
8. As the Fulbright Program celebrated its 75^th anniversary, Hamilton was honored as one of “nine baccalaureate institutions [that] have been top producers of Fulbright U.S. students every year for the past 10 years.” The College’s consistent success was of great interest to readers.
9. Alumni and the campus community were thrilled to read about Tampa Bay Times reporter Kat McGrory ’05, who won a Pulitzer Prize in the local reporting category.
10. On a more somber note, readers were interested in the perspectives of 12 faculty members who reflected on rules of governance after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.