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The Sidney Wertimer Scholarship

The Sidney Wertimer Scholarship is awarded in certain years to students who reflect the values of caring for others and mentoring that Professor Wertimer manifested during his lifetime.

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Sidney Wertimer joined the Hamilton faculty in 1952 as assistant professor of economics. It is noted that the offer for this position was made via transatlantic phone line. Over the next four decades, Professor Wertimer left his mark on the College Hill community, frequently providing career advice, other life counseling and mentoring to his students. He was also known for his numerous academic achievements and life-long commitment and fidelity to Hamilton.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Sidney was valedictorian of his high school class (1938) at the Nichols School. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (1942), following which he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served as an ensign aboard the U.S.S. William D. Porter, a destroyer, and later as a supply officer on aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Boxer. Discharged with the rank of lieutenant in 1946, he served one year as a teaching fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1947, he married Eleanor Walsh, a Smith College graduate who had earned an L.L.B. at the University of Buffalo, and began a three-year stint as an instructor at UB. Earning an M.A. in economics from UB, he went on to complete study for a Ph.D. in economic history at the London School of Economics (1952).

Professor Wertimer’s arrival on the Hill was succeeded by the birth of his second and third child; a fourth would join the family in 1960. In 1956, he was named as an associate professor at the College and, just a year later, as Associate Dean, a position he served for the next eight years. In 1959, with John S. Gambs, he published Economics of Man, a college textbook that became used nationally. Promoted to full professor in 1964, he went on to chair the Economics Department from 1965 to 1975. At Class and Charter Day 1965, he presented an address titled, “Undergraduate Advice, 2,259 Students Later.”

From 1975 to 1980, Professor Wertimer served as College Provost, and was subsequently named as the Marjorie and Robert W. McEwen Professor of Economics (1987). After turning 70 in 1991, he joined the ranks of Professor Emeriti, continuing to teach accounting each fall. From 1980 to 1991, he served as College Marshal, presiding at all official ceremonies and was presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Hamilton in 1996.

In the local community, Professor Wertimer’s service was equally legendary. For more than 40 years, he was a volunteer member of the Clinton Fire Department. He also served on the Oneida County Heart Committee, including a term as president, the Kirkland Art Center board, A Better Chance Clinton board, the Oneida County Economic Development and Growth Enterprise (EDGE) board and the Hospice Care Foundation board.

January 2017