Index

Search Scholarships

The Barrett-Briggs Scholarship Fund

The Barrett-Briggs Scholarship Fund, established in 1999 by Thomas J. Schwarz, Class of 1966, in honor of Edwin Barrett and Austin Briggs, long-standing and distinguished professors of English at Hamilton, is awarded to rising juniors or seniors majoring in English who have demonstrated outstanding academic excellence, superior writing abilities and significant financial need.

---

Edwin Barrett, a professor of English and theatre at Hamilton for 37 years, was born in Browns Valley, Minn. He earned his A.B. from Macalester College in 1943 and joined the U.S. Army shortly afterward. He participated in the invasion of Germany and occupation of Nuremberg before his discharge in 1946. He became a full professor at Hamilton in 1967. For many years, he offered the College’s only courses in theatre and its history, serving as the first chairman of the Theatre and Dance Department from 1978 until his retirement in 1987. Former College President Eugene Tobin described Ed as a “remarkably gentle, thoughtful, and affectionate man who gave much of himself to colleagues and students.” Barrett died in the spring of 1995.

Austin Briggs, a professor of English literature at Hamilton for 43 years, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1963. He is the author of The Novels of Harold Frederic and an expert on 19th-century American and modern British literature. He is particularly well known for his expertise regarding the works of James Joyce. He retired as the Hamilton B. Tompkins Professor of English Literature in 2000, at which time he was named as Tompkins Professor Emeritus. He continues to teach, including an annual seminar on Joyce at Hamilton. He and his wife belong to a vibrant community in Mexico.

Thomas J. Schwarz graduated from Hamilton in 1966 as an economics major. He went on to earn a J.D., cum laude, from Fordham University, where he served as editor of The Fordham Law Review. A life trustee of the College, who joined the board in 1987, he also served for six months as acting president. During his tenure on the board, he chaired the Trustee Planning Committee and was a member of the Buildings and Grounds and the Finance committees. Following a distinguished career as a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, he was named as acting president of the State University of New York College at Purchase in 2001. He became Purchase’s fifth president a year later.

June 2014