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The Winton and Patricia Tolles Scholarship

The Winton and Patricia Tolles Scholarship, established in 1982, is awarded to first-year students who have demonstrated leadership qualities in secondary school and who are identified by the Admission Committee as unusually attractive candidates for matriculation. It is renewable for the sophomore, junior and senior years, depending upon student performance. This scholarship was established by family and friends to commemorate the 25 years of service provided by Dean Tolles, Class of 1928.

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Winton Tolles, born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was a member of the Class of 1928 and Dean of the College for 25 years, beginning in 1947. During his time as a student on the Hill, he earned varsity letters in soccer, basketball, and baseball. In his senior year, he received the Clark Prize in public-speaking, a subject he would later teach at Hamilton. After graduating in 1928, Tolles taught English in several high schools and at Washington College, where he became the chairman of the English department in 1942. During this time, he earned his Ph.D. in English from Columbia University. His dissertation on the Victorian playwright Tom Taylor was republished in 1966, as an outstanding contribution to literary and theatrical history.

Winton served in the U.S. Navy during WWII, and was discharged as Lieutenant Commander in 1946. The following year, he served as the first Dean of Utica College of Syracuse University and later became Dean and Professor of English at Hamilton. He was highly regarded by faculty and friends of the community for his “integrity, kindness… capacity for hard and incessant work, and an interest in and dedication to his job.” His wife, Patricia, was also recognized for supporting and helping her husband in his career. In 1970, the College presented him with the Bell Ringer Award, and at the time of his retirement, in 1972, he received an honorary degree from Hamilton as a Doctor of Humane Letters.

After Hamilton, Winton served as president of Delaware Valley College, where he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters. Aside from his professional career in academia, he served as chairman of more than 25 Middle States Association Accreditation committees and as a member of the board of directors of the Hayes National Bank. Winton died in 1980. He and Patricia’s grandson, Brian Winton, graduated from Hamilton in 1993.

June 2014