Hamilton College is making final preparations for a major capital campaign that will be launched later this year.
The final goal for the new campaign will be set in the next several months. Hamilton's previous campaign, The New Century Campaign, raised $108 million from 1996-2001.
"We are still finalizing our needs, monitoring the state of the economy, and talking with our donors," said Vice President for Communications and Development Richard C. Tantillo.
Current planning calls for a series of on-campus receptions in November to introduce the campaign to students and employees, followed by a gala celebration for alumni, trustees and other friends of the college at the New-York Historical Society in Manhattan on December 3. The historical society was chosen because it is the site of a major exhibition on Alexander Hamilton, the college's namesake.
George F. Little II, a 1971 Hamilton graduate and a member of the board of trustees, will chair the campaign, which will run through June 2008. He also chaired The New Century Campaign.
"Excelsior: The Campaign for Hamilton" will focus on securing scholarship aid for students and funds to support faculty development activities, Tantillo said. "But more than any other campaign in recent history," he added, "we will be asking donors to support major new construction and renovation on campus. Some projects may not get completed if we are unable to secure adequate funding, but we remain optimistic that our donors will respond to the needs we've identified."
Top priorities for the campaign include new and renovated academic facilities, especially for the social sciences and the arts. Including the Science Center, which is scheduled to be completed next summer and is being funded through bonds and funds raised during the previous campaign, Hamilton plans to invest more than $100 million in academic facilities in the next decade. Architects have already been hired to work with faculty members to design the new facilities.
In the social sciences, Hamilton will renovate and expand the Kirner-Johnson Building, which was built more than 30 years ago for a smaller student body and a smaller faculty. Over time, the college has grown and the pedagogy has changed, so that current facilities no longer match current teaching styles. Professor of Economics Christophre Georges has spearheaded faculty planning for the renovated facility, which will feature a "center of centers," including spaces for the Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center, the Oral Communication Center and the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center.
The college also plans major investments in the visual and performing arts. Top needs include a new gallery and theatre and improved spaces for studio art students, Tantillo said. Student interest in the arts remains high, but the facilities limit the number of students who can be accommodated in classes and studios. Professor of Music Samuel Pellman is the faculty member coordinating planning for the arts project.
"Our educational mission is driving our planning for new and renovated facilities," said Hamilton President Joan Hinde Stewart. "The quality of the faculty and the quality of the students must be complemented by the physical spaces in which they work."
In addition to more than $45 million in academic facilities, the Excelsior campaign will seek to raise additional funds to renovate Emerson Hall into a café and space for student clubs and organizations. Upgrades in the college's fitness, sports medicine, and intercollegiate and intramural athletic facilities will also be part of the campaign.
"Our top priorities are student scholarship aid, endowed professorships and facilities for the social sciences and the arts, but we face other pressing facilities needs," said Tantillo. "Construction will be determined, to some extent, by the number and types of gifts we receive.
"For many of our donors, the Annual Fund will provide the best opportunity to participate in the Excelsior campaign."
