The weather might have been unpredictable for Reunions '07 but one thing attendees could count on was an abundance of things to do during the weekend of May 31-June 3. From history classes to art exhibits, musical performances to sports discussions, building tours to a golf tournament, the weekend was packed with 86 activities from the sedate to the stimulating. Sixty-seven members of the class of 1957 were on hand to celebrate their half-century reunion. A total of more than 1,600 participants came to campus. Here's a brief account of a few of the weekend's events.
Frank Lorenz – "Giants in the Ground" – Hamilton cemetery tour
Despite the heat, humidity and black flies, a large group of alumni followed Alumni Review editor emeritus Frank Lorenz through the Hamilton cemetery as he told one story after another about well known and lesser known alumni, professors and college leaders buried there. Beginning with an explanation of the varied markers – stone balls and tilted squares, for instance – scattered throughout the grounds, Lorenz explained that they are late 19th century class markers rearranged by Leigh Keno '79, a regular on PBS' "Antiques Roadshow" when he was a student. Hamilton President Martin Carovano and the head of groundskeeping both assumed the other had approved Keno's artistic rearrangement of these markers that had long resided in a forgotten pile in the library basement.
The tour's next stop was at the grave sites of Chief Skenandoa and Samuel Kirkland, founder of Hamilton-Oneida Academy. Skenandoa, because of his deep friendship with Kirkland who had converted him to Christianity, requested that he be buried near Kirkland. At the time of the "great resurrection," Skenandoa hoped, because of his proximity to Kirkland, he would be able to ascend with Kirkland by grabbing his hem.
As Lorenz told dozens of engaging stories, Hamilton's history continued to unfold, from Azel Backus, Hamilton's first president, to the Root family to peonies hybridizer and chemistry professor Arthur Percy "Stink" Saunders to Algonquin Round Table founder Alexander Woollcott '09.
Dan Chambliss- "Assessing the Value of a Hamilton Education"
Despite its rather dry title, sociology professor Dan Chambliss' presentation on his years-long research on what and how students learn at Hamilton was fascinating. Funded since 1999 by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to assess student outcomes in a liberal arts setting, Chambliss has discovered many important elements that contribute to a superlative experience at Hamilton. Along the way, he has also uncovered information related to what students value about their education here, the significance of two or three good friendships in ensuring a satisfactory four years on campus, the role of advising, the extent to which student writing skills improve, how oral presentation skills are valued and even what influence having dinner with a professor may have on enduring student attitudes.
One significant portion of Chambliss' research involves independent evaluation of student papers stripped of identifiers provided by more than 100 students over a five-year period, from high school through college graduation. The process proved conclusively that writing skills among Hamilton students improved to the extent that an independent reviewer could pick up five papers from five years and place them in chronological order based on the changes in the quality of writing.
Chambliss provided other quick snapshots of related studies and questioned some conventional campus logic. For instance, he cast doubts on the value of some of the elements on which prospective students focus most. Residence halls, for instance, that offer a great deal of privacy and personal space are not necessarily conducive to the evolution of friendships that prove critical to a satisfactory experience on campus. Classes with very limited enrollment likewise are not necessarily the keys to academic happiness.
Panel – "'Say it Ain't So': Ethical Dilemmas in Sports"
Ninety minutes wasn't enough time to discuss the range of topics addressed by a panel of alumni and other sports experts to an engaged audience in the Kennedy Science Center Auditorium on Friday. The panel included Marjorie and Robert W. McEwen Professor of Philosophy Robert Simon; Mason Ashe '85, president of Ashe Sports and Entertainment Consulting; Emily Helm '92, managing director of MetroLacrosse; Steve Wulf '72, executive editor, ESPN The Magazine; and Buster Olney, senior writer, ESPN The Magazine.
Simon, former men's varsity golf coach and author of Fair Play, noted that athletes are obligated to honor the ethic of meeting the challenge. "The opponent should be respected; there should be respect for the game and the athletes should want to meet the challenge," he said. Simon mentioned the book The Game of Life by William G. Bowen and James L. Shulman, which debates whether athletics enhances or detracts from academics. Simon noted "a lot depends on how you integrate academics and athletics."
Ashe discussed the role of the representative or agent of talented athletes, noting that a deal should benefit both the team and the client. Ashe drew laughs from his comment that he often needs to protect his clients from their well-meaning but misguided loved ones who feel "that they got drafted too."
Helm described MetroLacrosse as an organization that involves around 550 children in lacrosse from the urban Boston area. "We focus on youth development and balance competition with sportsmanship," she said. She noted that only 20 percent of urban children participate in sports versus 80 percent of those who live in suburbs.
Wulf, who described himself as an "amateur ethicist," referenced recent events from the sports world that could be termed unethical. New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez's shout of "mine" as an opponent attempted to catch a fly ball was "a bush league maneuver" according to Wulf. "A-Rod broke an unwritten rule of baseball," he said.
Olney, a baseball writer who has a Hall of Fame vote, discussed steroid use. "Everyone in baseball knew what was going on with steroids," he said, citing "a pyramid of blame," that includes the players who used them, the union leaders, the commissioner of baseball and the baseball writers. "I have a difficult time projecting retroactive morality when the entire institution knew what was going on," Olney said.
Doug Ambrose and Rob Martin- The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton
Douglas Ambrose, the Sidney Wertimer Associate Professor of History, and Associate Professor of Government Robert Martin, co-editors of The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton: The Life and Legacy of America's Most Elusive Founding Father, presented an Alumni College session based on their book.
Ambrose began with a brief overview of the process that eventually resulted in the publication of The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton, originally inspired by a conference on the founder at Hamilton College, underwritten by former Hamilton trustee Carl Menges '51 and hosted by Ambrose and Martin in April 2001.
Ambrose noted that the 2001 conference took an interdisciplinary look at Hamilton, combining historians and political scientists for a synergistic review of Hamilton's impact on American political, economic and intellectual life.
Martin then took the floor to discuss Hamilton, his time and contemporaries and their relevance to today's political scene. Focusing on Hamilton's life-long effort to answer the question, "How can a people rule themselves?" Martin pointed out that Hamilton and the other founders were concerned more with the impact of their actions on future generations than immediate personal or political gain.
Responding to audience questions, Martin praised the forward thinking of such a philosophy, while members of the audience commented that they would like to see more such thinking from today's politicians.
Another audience question directed at Ambrose asked him to tie Hamilton's thoughts on education to the College today. While acknowledging that Hamilton did not write extensively on education, Ambrose did draw a connection between Hamilton's career as a writer and the College's focus on writing. He also noted that Hamilton thought that education was one means by which those with talent and industry could rise and contribute to republican society, a concept echoed by the College in its challenge to present-day students "…to think, write and speak critically, creatively and analytically, so that upon graduation they may distinguish themselves in both their professions and their communities."
All-Kirkland Reunion
The All-Kirkland reunion was the largest gathering of Kirkland alumnae to date. Highlights included the groundbreaking for the Kirner-Johnson renovation and expansion and an All-Kirkland Reunion Conversation led by Kirkland College President Sam Babbitt. The conversation began with a showing of Indomitable Spirits: The Road Less Taken, an audio/visual presentation on Kirkland College and its people. Other highlights included "Kirkland Echoes," a series of under-10-minute plays written by Kirkland and Hamilton women and read by alumni and alumnae.
