Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Great Names visit to Hamilton in October drew a great deal of interest from local – and national – media during 2013. Student research and volunteering garnered significant local attention, and faculty members and administrators offered expertise on timely news topics throughout the year.
Several local news outlets reported on the arrival of first-year students in January. This broadcast included interviews with several students and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Monica Inzer. WUTR (ABC affiliate - Utica, N.Y.) and the Utica Observer-Dispatch (OD) had similar reports.
A WUTR news segment focused on Hamilton students who spent a week shadowing physicians at a local hospital. The story also aired on WFXV (FOX affiliate - Utica, N.Y.), and the Rome Daily Sentinel reported the story.
Associate Professor of Government Peter Cannavò addressed issues related to regional development patterns in the Syracuse area in an opinion piece in the Syracuse Post Standard, and Assistant Director of Grounds, Horticulture and Arboretum Terry Hawkridge was interviewed for a segment on spring 2013 Arboretum Association events on WUTR.
Hamilton alumnus Matthew Zeller ’04 returned to the Hill in February for a lecture about his experience in Afghanistan and was profiled on WUTR.
Local media also reported on the success of the Rome, N.Y., police department’s Community Impact Unit. The unit was developed based on findings from a two-year study by Peter Maher ’13. The CIU’s success was also the subject of a follow-up editorial praising Maher’s work in the Utica OD.
James S. Sherman Professor of Government Philip Klinkner was interviewed for an OD article about the preparation of new legislative boundary maps. A follow-up editorial reiterated Klinkner’s position.
A March Utica OD article featured comments by Newman Chaplain Rev. John Croghan who said the next pope should “respond to the needs of the world for the church” while maintaining “the message of what the church is all about.”
Silas D. Childs Professor of Biology David Gapp and Associate Professor of German and Russian Languages Frank Sciacca discussed their Food for Thought course and other food-related issues on this weekly program focused on the environment and sustainability on WPNR (Utica) radio.
A March article in the Daily Sentinel reported the naming of Joseph Smith ’04, men’s basketball head coach at Morrisville State College, as the D3hoops.com East Region Coach of the Year for the second year.
In April, Professor of History Shoshana Keller was interviewed on WKTV (Utica NBC affiliate) about the political situation in certain areas of Russia and whether issues there may have been contributing factors in the bombing at the Boston Marathon.
An April news segment on WKTV reported on Grammy Award-winner Dan Morgenstern’s visit to Hamilton. Morgenstern presented the Couper Phi Beta Kappa Library Lecture. Local media outlets also covered the Sacerdote Great Names Series event featuring Nobel Peace Prize winners Bernard Kouchner and Shirin Ebadi on April 24.
The Wellin Museum of Art’s Danielle Tegeder exhibit garnered media attention from Syracuse ABC affiliate WSYR’s Bridge Street, WUTR, WKTV and Mohawk Valley Living.
A news segment on WUTR focused on The Underground Café, a program for local teens. The report recognized Haley Reimbold ’06 as a co-founder of the program during her years at Hamilton.
To commemorate the National Day of Prayer in May, Visiting Assistant Professor of History John Ragosta provided a summary of the role of prayer in U.S. history. The Academic Minute is broadcast on many public radio stations across the nation and is featured on InsideHigherEd.com.
Yvonne Schick ’13, senior production specialist at the Hamilton Print Shop, was interviewed for a WKTV feature about her 16-year journey to earning a Hamilton degree. The article was also included in Newsday and Observer-Dispatch reports.
An OD article about controversial coaching techniques included quotes from Madeline “Madie” Harlem ’13, Kevin Grimmer ’81 and Walcott D. Bartlett Professor of Philosophy Robert Simon.
Another June OD article announced the election of Stephen Sadove ’73, P’07, ’10, ’13 as Hamilton Board of Trustees chairman.
Tracy Adler, director of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, discussed the museum’s current and future exhibitions on WAMC/Northeast Public radio in July.
William R. Kenan Professor of Biology Ernest Williams discussed the decline of the monarch butterfly population on WAMC/Northeast Public radio in July. The Academic Minute is broadcast on many public radio stations across the nation and is featured on InsideHigherEd.com.
Benjamin Ligas ’14 and Shea Nagle ’16 were featured in an OD article about their participation in a Levitt Center Group Research project to study local lead exposure and Nagle was also featured in The Times (Little Falls, N.Y.)
The College’s large-scale emergency drill, the fourth in a series of yearly exercises to ensure that the Hamilton Emergency Response Team (HERT) is proficient in handling emergencies, generated significant local media coverage. WUTR, WKTV, OD and WIBX 950 all reported on the July drill.
In an August Syracuse Post-Standard piece, Assistant Vice President for Communications Michael Debraggio pointed to Hamilton’s needs-blind admission policy and commitment to meeting full student need as reasons why Hamilton should rank high in any survey of college affordability.
When the academic year began in August first-year participants in the Hamilton Serves program were interviewed for a WUTR segment at the Humane Society of Rome. The program was also featured by the Daily Sentinel and the Observer-Dispatch. A subsequent OD opinion piece lauded the efforts of Hamilton student volunteers.
Many national and regional outlets reported the announcement of Hamilton’s participation in the Say Yes to Education compact to help children in urban school districts attend college. Media covering this news included American Business Journals, The Post-Standard,WKTV, YNN (statewide cable news), WUTR, the Buffalo News and the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.
On Sept. 24 two local television stations reported on Hamilton’s annual Eat Local Challenge that offered food cultivated within a 150-mile radius of campus.
An October YNN news segment featured Assistant Director of Campus Safety Wayne Gentile as he led a group of Hamilton employees on a tour of “haunted” buildings on campus.
Hundreds of local, national and international outlets reported on Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Great Names appearance before and after the Oct. 4 event. News stories released after her speech focused particularly on her remarks related to the government shutdown, the political divisions in Washington and the importance of international diplomacy.
Subsequent appearances by Clinton at Colgate University and the University of Buffalo triggered additional coverage as media outlets referenced her most recent appearances and comments.
Vice President for Administration and Finance Karen Leach discussed the role of alumni gifts and the College endowment in providing financial aid for students in an OD article in October.
A November OD article announced that the U.S. Track & Field Association Coaches Association named Charles “Adam” Pfander ’16 a Division III national athlete of the week.
A WKTV broadcast reported on the $1.6 million gift received by Hamilton from the estate of Hamilton alumnus and professor David Ellis ’38 and his wife Carolyn. Alexander Hare ’14 and Isabelle “Izzy” Weisman ’15 were featured in a November OD article about their participation in a research expedition to Antarctica.
At the death of former South African President Nelson Mandela in December, Professor of Philosophy Todd Franklin was called upon to share his thoughts about Mandela's legacy in a WUTR news segment. Director of Opportunity Programs Phyllis Breland was also interviewed for the piece.
