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Hamilton College is a
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...
in
Clinton, Oneida County, New York Clinton (or ''Ka-dah-wis-dag'', "white field" in Seneca language) is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2010 census. It was named for George Clinton, the first Governor of New York. The Vill ...
. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
, following a proposal brought forward after his death in 1804. Hamilton has been
coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
since 1978, when it merged with its coordinate sister school
Kirkland College Kirkland College was a small, private liberal arts women's college located in Clinton, New York, from 1968 to 1978. It was named for Samuel Kirkland, who founded Hamilton College. Hamilton absorbed Kirkland on June 30, 1978, and now maintains ...
. Hamilton is an exclusively undergraduate institution, enrolling 1,900 students in the fall of 2021. Students may choose from 57 areas of study, including 44 majors, or design an interdisciplinary concentration. Hamilton's student body is 53% female and 47% male, and comes from 45 U.S. states and 46 countries. Hamilton places among the most selective colleges in the country, with an 11.8% acceptance rate. Athletically, Hamilton teams compete in the
New England Small College Athletic Conference The New England Small Collegiate Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference comprising sports teams from eleven highly selective Liberal arts education, liberal arts institutions of high ...
.


History

Hamilton began in 1793 as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy, a seminary founded by Rev.
Samuel Kirkland Samuel Kirkland (December 1, 1741 – February 28, 1808) was a Presbyterian minister and missionary among the Oneida and Tuscarora peoples of present-day central New York State. He was a long-time friend of the Oneida chief Skenandoa. Kirkland g ...
, a
Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...
, as part of his
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
work with the
Oneida tribe The Oneida people (autonym: Onʌyoteˀa·ká·, Onyota'a:ka, ''the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone'', ''Thwahrù·nęʼ'' in Tuscarora) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band. They are one of the five founding nat ...
. The seminary admitted both white and Oneida boys. Kirkland named it in honor of
Treasury Secretary The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
, who was a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Hamilton-Oneida Academy. It was first located in
Whitestown, New York Whitestown is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 18,667 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from Judge Hugh White, an early settler. The town is immediately west of Utica and the New York State Thruway (Inte ...
, incorporated by the New York
Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual col ...
in 1793, and received its charter from them in 1812. A visitor in 1799, who refers to the school as a
seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
, reported that there were "fifty-two students of both sexes under the care of two instructors". By 1825 it had moved to Clinton. The academy became Hamilton College in 1812, making it the third oldest college in New York after Columbia and
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
, after it expanded to a four-year college curriculum. By the end of the nineteenth century, its colorful ninth President
M. Woolsey Stryker Melancthon Woolsey Stryker, D.D., Litt. D., LL.D., (January 7, 1851 – December 6, 1929), an American clergyman, was Pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and President of Hamilton College (New York), Hamilton College in upstate New ...
distanced Hamilton from the
Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
(although he was a minister of that denomination and published many hymns), and sought to make it a more secular institution. In 1978, the all-male Hamilton College merged with the
women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
Kirkland College Kirkland College was a small, private liberal arts women's college located in Clinton, New York, from 1968 to 1978. It was named for Samuel Kirkland, who founded Hamilton College. Hamilton absorbed Kirkland on June 30, 1978, and now maintains ...
, founded by Hamilton across the road in the 1960s. The merger provoked controversy, particularly since Hamilton refused to provide assistance with Kirkland's debts. Hamilton publicly justified the merger as prompted by its desire for co-education. The merger took nearly 7 years to complete; women could still receive a Kirkland diploma instead of a Hamilton diploma until 1979. The original Hamilton campus is often called the "light side" or "north side" of campus. The original side of campus was once called "Stryker Campus" after its former president, Melancthon Woolsey Stryker (misspelled "Striker Campus"). On the other side of College Hill Road, the original Kirkland campus is called the "dark side" or the "south side". Since the 1970s, Hamilton has been a member of the
New England Small College Athletic Conference The New England Small Collegiate Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference comprising sports teams from eleven highly selective Liberal arts education, liberal arts institutions of high ...
(or the NESCAC) (despite technically being outside New England). This conference also includes
Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...
,
Bates Bates may refer to: Places * Bates, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bates, Illinois. an unincorporated community in Sangamon County * Bates, Michigan, a community in Grand Traverse County * Bates, New York, a hamlet in the town of Elli ...
, Bowdoin, Colby,
Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...
, Middlebury,
Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
,
Tufts Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
,
Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...
, and Williams. Rivalries with many of these schools, Middlebury in particular, predate the conference. In 2002, then-President Eugene Tobin resigned after admitting that he had failed to give proper attribution to quoted material in speeches. Also, in 2002, Professor
Robert L. Paquette Robert Louis (Robert) Paquette (born 1951) is an American historian and former Professor of American History at Hamilton College (New York), Hamilton College, and co-founder of the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilizatio ...
complained when an independent student group brought
Annie Sprinkle Annie M. Sprinkle (born Ellen F. Steinberg on July 23, 1954) is an American certified sexologist, performance artist, former sex worker, and advocate for sex work and health care. Citing: Sprinkle has worked as a prostitute, sex educator, femi ...
, an actress and former porn-star, as a speaker. Paquette later led an attempt to create an Alexander Hamilton Center on campus, but it was unsuccessful. The center, renamed the
Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization is an educational institute in Clinton, New York founded in 2007. Judge David Aldrich Nelson was a charter director. One of its board members is Jane Fraser. History History pr ...
, subsequently opened in an off-campus facility located in the village of Clinton.


Campus

Among the more recent developments are the Taylor Science Center, the largest construction project in the college's history (2005); the Charlean and Wayland Blood Fitness and Dance Center (2006); major expansion and renovation of the Kirner-Johnson Building (2009); the Sadove Student Center at Emerson Hall (2010); the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art (2012); and the Kevin and Karen Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts (2014). Hamilton's athletic facilities include an ice rink, swimming pool, several athletics fields, a golf course, a three-story climbing wall, and a ten-court Squash Center. The college was listed as a census-designated place in 2020.


Daniel Burke Library

The Daniel Burke library was completed in 1972 at a cost of more than $5.5 million and designed by architect
Hugh Stubbins Hugh Asher Stubbins Jr. (January 11, 1912 – July 5, 2006) was an architect who designed several high-profile buildings around the world. Biography Hugh Stubbins was born in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, and attended Georgia Institute ...
. It holds 500,000 volumes in approximately 80,000 square feet. The library houses the Information Commons and Information Technology Services, and includes a variety of print and electronic materials.


Kirner-Johnson Building

The Kirner-Johnson Building, or KJ, is home to Hamilton's social science departments, the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center, the Nesbitt-Johnson Writing Center and the Oral Communication Center. The building has a large, naturally-lit, two-story commons that is a popular gathering place for students to study or socialize between classes. In order to create a space that allows for both activities, the inner point of the commons features four small waterfalls that provide just enough white noise to encourage conversation while acoustically insulating those who prefer to study. In 2004, planning for the renovation and expansion of the Kirner-Johnson building received an Award of Merit from the American Institute of Architects. The project was completed in 2008.


Carol Woodhouse Wellin Performance Hall

The 700-seat hall hosts the College Orchestra conducted by
Heather Buchman Heather Buchman is an American conductor and trombonist. She is Professor of Music aHamilton Collegein Clinton, NY, where she serves as director of thHamilton College Orchestraand Chamber Music Program and Chair of thDepartment of Music She has ...
, Hamilton College Choir and College Hill Singers, Jazz Band, and Faculty Dance Concerts as well as guest artists from around the globe.


Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art

The
Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art is a teaching museum on the campus of Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was c ...
is the college's public art museum that also serves as a teaching resource for its students. Exhibits have included contemporary and historical paintings, photography, art and culture, and student exhibitions. The museum building was designed so that the exhibit areas, archives, art storage, conservation workshops, administrative offices, and teaching spaces are all visible to museum visitors. Students are involved many aspects of the museum's functions and the building features classrooms for art and art history courses.


The Sage Rink

Hamilton College's Sage Rink, built in 1921, is the oldest indoor collegiate hockey rink in America. Northeastern University's Matthews Arena is the oldest rink in America for a collegiate team; however, it was originally built as a commercial arena and not purchased by the university until 1979. Sage was financed by the widow of industrialist
Russell Sage Russell Risley Sage (August 4, 1816 – July 22, 1906) was an American financier, railroad executive and Whig politician from New York. As a frequent partner of Jay Gould in various transactions, he amassed a fortune. Olivia Slocum Sage, his s ...
, whose name graces a number of Central New York college edifices, including
Russell Sage College Russell Sage College (often Russell Sage or RSC) is a co-educational college with two campuses located in Albany and Troy, New York, approximately north of New York City in the Capital District. Russell Sage College offers both undergraduate ...
. In addition to Continental men's and women's teams, youth hockey, high school teams, adult amateur efforts and the famous
Clinton Comets The Clinton Comets were an American ice hockey team in Clinton, New York. Founded in 1927–28 as the Clinton Hockey Club and nicknamed the Comets in 1949, the team played primarily at the Clinton Arena from 1949 until 1973. The team was origin ...
, who dominated the semi-professional Eastern Hockey League in the 1960s and early 1970s, have played at the Sage Rink. It was renovated in 1993, when it got better lighting, ice-making equipment, and structural enhancements. The rink houses the college's Men's and Women's varsity and club hockey teams, physical education classes, and local youth hockey games.


Litchfield Observatory

At Litchfield Observatory ( obs. code:
789 __NOTOC__ Year 789 ( DCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 789 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...
), pioneering German–American astronomer
Christian Peters Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters (September 19, 1813 – July 18, 1890) was a German–American university teacher and astronomer at the Litchfield Observatory of Hamilton College, New York, and a pioneer in the study and visual discovery of ...
discovered some 48 asteroids. The observatory burned down but is currently marked on campus by its telescope mount outside of the Siuda Admissions and Financial Aid House. The current observatory, a quarter of a mile from campus, is powered by solar energy and is open for student use. The existing observatory, located 100 feet from College Hill Road, was built with rock from the same quarry as the original building.


Hamilton College Chapel

The
Hamilton College Chapel The Hamilton College Chapel, on the campus of Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, was completed in 1827. Architecture The façade was designed by architect Philip Hooker, notable for his many designs of public buildings in Albany, NY, as well as for ...
is a historically protected landmark and is the only three-story chapel still standing in America.


Kirkland Cottage

The cottage was believed to be the original residence of Samuel Kirkland when he began his missionary work to the Oneida, though some scholars have argued it was built years after Kirkland moved to the area. The cottage is completely original, although it was moved from its original location on Kirkland's property (known today as
Harding Farm Harding Farm is a historic site west of the village of Clinton in Oneida County, New York, United States. It is located on New York State Route 233 (Harding Road) and is situated south of the junction of NY 233 and New York State Route 412 ...
) to its current place on the main quadrangle of the Hamilton Side. The cottage is currently used for matriculation ceremonies.


Buttrick Hall, the birthplace of Elihu Root

At one time serving as the residence of the Oren Root family, the house was the birthplace of
Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from N ...
, who served as Secretary of State and War and won the 1912
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
. Built in 1812, the house served as the student dining hall for Hamilton College. In 1834 it was adapted as a residence for Horatio Buttrick, superintendent of the Buildings and Grounds Department and college registrar. After his daughter married Oren Root, he allowed the young couple to take over the house. Their son Elihu Root was born there. The house has since been renamed Buttrick Hall. It serves as office space for the President of the college and the Dean of Faculty.


Elihu Root House

The Elihu Root House originally belonged to
Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from N ...
, who used it as his summer house. It was next used by the Office of Admission. As of September 2009, it housed the Dean of Students Office, the Registrar, and the department of Residential Life.


Days-Massolo Center

In 2011, Hamilton opened the Days-Massolo Center with the goal of promoting diversity awareness and fostering dialogue among the wide variety of cultures represented on campus. The center is dedicated to trustees
Drew S. Days III Drew Saunders Days III (August 29, 1941 – November 15, 2020) was an American legal scholar who served as Solicitor General of the United States from 1993 to 1996 under President Bill Clinton. He also served as the first African American Assistan ...
and fellow Hamilton trustee Arthur J. Massolo.


The Root Glen

The Root Glen is a wooded garden on the campus of Hamilton College. The walking area is a result of three generations of the Root family, who are known for their work in scholarships, diplomacy, and art collecting. The Root Glen is a walk along formal gardens and forest trails. The Homestead, a building named and bought by Oren Root in the 1850s, was built adjacent to the Root Glen. Oren and his wife Grace decided to plant various trees, shrubs, and flowers around the building. Then Oren's son
Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from N ...
inherited the property, and the Roots expanded the gardens. In 1937 Edward Root took over the garden from his father. Grace Root established the Root Glen Foundation after her husband died, which was established to use the land for educational purposes and to promote interest in the study of birds. In 1971, the foundation dissolved and Grace decided to give ownership to Hamilton College. The Root Glen is now maintained by the horticultural grounds staff of the college, and an advisory committee is responsible for the selection of new shrubs and flowers as needed. The Root Glen contains over 65 species of trees, dozens of shrubs, and a wide variety of flowers. Located on the south side of the Glen is a display of trees and plants native to the area.


Academics

Hamilton currently offers the
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
(stylized A.B or B.A.) degree for 55 areas of study. Hamilton also participates in engineering dual-degree programs with the
Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (popularly known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering; previously known as Columbia School of Mines) is the engineering and applied science school of Columbia University. It was founded as th ...
at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
and the
Thayer School of Engineering Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth (Dartmouth Engineering) offers graduate and undergraduate education in engineering sciences at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The school was established in 1867 with funds from C ...
at
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
. Hamilton is well known for its flexible curriculum, for which there are no distribution requirements. Beyond the courses required for a concentration, students have near total freedom over their course selection. While there are no distribution requirements, students do have to complete a quantitative and symbolic reasoning requirement, which can be fulfilled through courses in a variety of departments, and a writing requirement, for which students must take at least three writing intensive courses. Additionally, Hamilton students may study abroad. The college administers programs in China, France, and Spain, as well as domestic programs in the
Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular d ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
The college has long adhered to an
academic honor code An academic honor code or honor system in the United States is a set of rules or ethical principles governing an academic community based on ideals that define what constitutes honorable behaviour within that community. The use of an honor co ...
. Every student matriculating at Hamilton must sign a pledge to observe the honor code and many examinations are not proctored. Hamilton has been part of the SAT optional movement for undergraduate admission since 2002. Hamilton offers applicants different ways to meet their standardized testing requirements, including a choice of the SAT I, the ACT, or a combination of three SAT Subject Tests.


Admissions

For the Class of 2025 (enrolling fall 2021), Hamilton received 9,380 applications and accepted 1,320 (14.1%), and 533 enrolled. The Class of 2025 is 50% women, 50% men; 32.6% students of color from the U.S. and 7.3% international.


Rankings

The annual ranking for 2021 by '' U.S. News & World Report'' categorizes Hamilton as "most selective" in admissions and ranks the college tied for ninth overall and tied for 28th in "Best Undergraduate Teaching" among "National Liberal Arts Colleges". ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' in 2019 rated it 59th in its America's Top Colleges ranking of 650 schools, which includes military academies, national universities and liberal arts colleges, and 25th among liberal arts colleges. ''
Kiplinger's Personal Finance ''Kiplinger's Personal Finance'' ( ) is an American personal finance magazine published by Kiplinger since 1947. It claims to be the first American personal finance magazine and to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language". It ...
'' places Hamilton 11th in its 2019 ranking of best value liberal arts colleges in the United States. Hamilton is ranked 17th in a similar measure by ''U.S. News & World Report.''


Student life and traditions

The current Hamilton College campus consists of the combined Hamilton and Kirkland College campuses. It has three large wooded areas, known as the Root glen, Rogers glen, and the Kirkland glen. In the mid-1990s, the administration required all underclassmen to live on campus in college housing rather than in fraternity or sorority houses, ultimately resulting in the closure of all fraternity houses and the Emerson Literary Society's house in 1995. It created new social spaces for student use, improved funding for on-campus events, and pursued several other social life changes. The new policy was controversial, especially the administration's decision to prohibit the fraternities from using their houses. Thus, the majority of fraternities concluded they had no choice but to sell their houses to the college, though some fraternities refused to sell their houses until well into the next decade. As the college purchased the houses, it has carried out extensive renovations, in order to turn the buildings into dormitories. The college has revoked or suspended the charters of a few fraternities for extreme behavior, as recently as 2015, because of their causing additional controversy among the students and alumni.


Housing

Nearly all students live in college-owned dorms. The residence halls have a variety of styles, including former fraternity houses, suites, apartment style housing, co-ops and traditional dormitory-style housing. Hamilton offers a cooperative living option to students, as well as substance-free and quiet housing. All residence halls are co-ed; some have single-sex floors. In October 2010, the college adopted a
gender-neutral housing Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, Gender-neutral language, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) ...
policy, wherein students of either sex may room together in rooms designated for two or more students.


Societies

Eight fraternities, four sororities, and one co-ed society are active on the Hamilton College campus. Greek organizations maintain a significant (but not overwhelming) social presence, despite being non-residential. These fraternities include two of the "
Union Triad The term Triad is used to designate certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America. Union Triad The Union Triad is a group of the three oldest existing Greek-letter social fraternities in North America that were founde ...
",
Sigma Phi The Sigma Phi Society () was founded on the Fourth of March in the year 1827, on the campus of Union College as a part of the Union Triad in Schenectady, New York. It is the second Greek fraternal organization founded in the United States.
and
Delta Phi Delta Phi () is a fraternity founded in 1827 at Union College in Schenectady, New York consisting of ten active chapters along the East Coast of the United States. The fraternity also uses the names "St. Elmo," "St. Elmo Hall," or merely "Elmo" ...
. They consist of
Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Delt, ADPhi, A-Delt, or ADP, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Alpha Delta Phi was originally founded as a literary society by Samuel Eells in 1832 at Hamilton College in Cli ...
(founded at Hamilton College),
Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternity consisting of active chapters (known as "Alphas") at 33 American colleges and universities. The mission of Chi Psi is to create and maintain an enduring society which encourages the sharing of traditions and values, res ...
,
Delta Chi Delta Chi () is an international Fraternities and sororities, Greek letter collegiate social fraternity formed on October 13, 1890, at Cornell University, initially as a professional fraternity for law students. On April 30, 1922, Delta Chi be ...
,
Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...
,
Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834 at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek Letter Organizations#Greek letters, Greek-let ...
,
Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...
, and
Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making the Fraternity an internat ...
.
Theta Delta Chi Theta Delta Chi () is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College, New York, United States. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are TDX, Thete, Theta Delt, and Thump ...
disbanded in 2015 following a suspension by the president of the college. The sororities are Alpha Theta Chi, Gamma Xi, Kappa Sigma Alpha, and Phi Beta Chi. Hamilton is also the home of two Nationally Recognized Latino Greek organizations, La Unidad Latina, Fraternity, Inc. and Sigma Lambda Upsilon, Sorority Inc. While all of the fraternities on campus are affiliated with national organizations, the sororities are unique to Hamilton.
Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...
existed at Hamilton until 1958, when the local chapter, Gamma Eta Zeta, left the national organization in a dispute over the admission of a black member. Gamma Eta Zeta became an independent fraternity called Gryphon, which remained in existence for more than 20 years. Generally, events sponsored by Greek organizations occur on campus and are open to all students. Hamilton also has a co-ed, non-Greek social society: the
Emerson Literary Society The Emerson Literary Society (ELS) is a co-ed, non-exclusive social society at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. Since 1882, ELS has operated on the Hamilton campus. From 1884-1995, the society operated a residence, open to all members. Sin ...
.


Campus media

WHCL-FM - During the academic year, Hamilton students, faculty, and community members produce a variety of music, news, sports, and talk radio programs at FM frequency 88.7. The station is available through most of the
Mohawk Valley The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, th ...
region and online at whcl.org. It is the only radio station in Clinton. ''The Hamilton College Spectator'', known simply as ''The Spectator'' or the ''Spec'' on campus, is Hamilton College's primary weekly news publication. It is distributed in the campus dining halls, mail center, and library. ''The Spectator'' covers campus, local, and national news as well as Hamilton sports and campus life. The paper can be found online. The earliest Hamilton College literary magazine, ''The Talisman'', appeared between 1832 and 1834. Another student publication, ''The Radiator'', which ''The Spectator'' marks as its origin, appeared in 1848. A weekly publication, ''The Radiator'' described itself as, "A Weekly Miscellany of General Literature, Science, and Foreign and Domestic Intelligence". The publication was a collection of short stories, historical sketches, poetry and news excerpts gathered from both foreign and domestic news outlets. The college yearbook, ''The Hamiltonian'' was first published in 1858. The literary journal, ''The Hamilton Literary Monthly'', began publication in 1866. ''The Campus'', which was published between 1866 and 1870, was succeeded in 1899 by another campus newspaper, ''Hamilton Life''. In 1942, ''Hamilton Life'' was succeeded by ''Hamiltonews'', and in 1947, ''Hamiltonews'' became ''The Spectator''. ''Enquiry'' is a weekly publication published by the Alexander Hamilton Institute's undergraduate fellows. The publication features political editorials and essays by Hamilton College students. ''The Monitor'' is a bi-weekly publication started in 2015 that features student essays and editorials pertaining to politics, current events and social justice. ''The Duel Observer'' is a weekly humor and satire publication. Founded by Tom Keane '03, David Schwartz '02, and James Robbins '05, it has adopted the format of a
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
(e.g., ''
The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on August 2 ...
''). The name refers to the
duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...
between
Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
and
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
which resulted in Hamilton's death. ''The Daily Bull'' is a daily bulletin that caters to campus counterculture. It is noted for being printed on yellow
legal size Paper size standards govern the size of sheets of paper used as writing paper, stationery, cards, and for some printed documents. The ISO 216 standard, which includes the commonly used A4 size, is the international standard for paper size. I ...
paper, and is distributed on dining hall tables every morning. ''The Continental'' is a student-run magazine published a few times a semester; it features fashion advice, party photos, and articles on a variety of subjects. ''Red Weather'' is the college literary magazine, dedicated to promoting the literary arts on campus by printing a variety of student-authored poetry and fiction; it is published twice a year. ''The Green Apple'' is named for one of the symbols of Kirkland College; it features short stories, poetry, and op-eds, and is printed on green legal-sized paper.


Event traditions

Class and Charter Day On the last day of spring term classes, all afternoon classes are canceled for a campus wide picnic and party. Additionally, a ceremony is held during which students, faculty, and other members of the Hamilton community are recognized for their academic, leadership, and community-development accomplishments. Class and Charter Day is also the biggest party day of the year at Hamilton. The popular "G-Road" party which took place on this day became so infamous for underage drinking and over-indulgence that the college chose to ban the party for Class and Charter Day '09. The college instead provided a free concert for the student body, coordinated by the Student Activities Office and the student-run Campus Activities Board. Concerts have included groups such as
The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM- pop duo achieved a breakthrough with the ...
, Passion Pit,
Galantis Galantis is a Swedish electronic dance music production, songwriting and DJ duo consisting of Christian Karlsson (DJ), Christian Karlsson and Style of Eye, Linus Eklöw. Karlsson is also known as Bloodshy as part of two other musical groups, a d ...
, White Panda,
Sammy Adams Samuel Adams Wisner (born August 14, 1987) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Early years Sammy Adams was born as Samuel Adams Wisner on August 14, 1987, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Kata Hull and Chuck Wisner. He and his family m ...
, and
Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lewi ...
. The concert featured co-hosts WHCL-FM and Social Traditions until 2019 (another student-run organization). Citrus Bowl The Citrus Bowl is the first men's hockey home game of the season. Traditionally the game was called the Orange Bowl, and upon the first Hamilton-scored goal, oranges that students had smuggled into the rink were thrown onto the ice at the visiting goalie. This often resulted in a delay-of-game penalty against Hamilton while the ice was cleaned. In recent years, the orange throwing has been banned by the college administration and by NESCAC officials, but the event is still well attended. Orange T-shirts commemorating the event have been distributed in recent years. FebFest Rooted in the long-standing tradition of the winter carnival at Hamilton, FebFest is a relatively recent revival. A week-long combination of performances, parties, free food, fireworks, and various other events, FebFest intends to keep student morale high during the winter. Over the years, bands ranging from the
Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles t ...
to
Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...
have performed as a part of festivities. May Day Music Festival Started in 2004, May Day is an outdoor music festival sponsored by several on-campus organizations, including the Hamilton College Independent Music Fund, WHCL, and the Hamilton College Campus Activities Board. Past performers have included:
Citizen Cope Clarence Greenwood (born May 20, 1968), also known by his stage name, Citizen Cope, is an American songwriter, producer and singer. His music is commonly described as a mix of blues, soul, folk, and rock. Citizen Cope's compositions have been r ...
,
The New Pornographers The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band has released eight studio albums to critical acclaim for th ...
,
The Pharcyde The Pharcyde (currently known as The Far Side) is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown ...
,
Dead Meadow Dead Meadow is an American psychedelic rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1998 and currently composed of vocalist and guitarist Jason Simon, bassist Steve Kille, and drummer Mark Laughlin. The band have released seven studio albums, two liv ...
,
Tim Reynolds Tim Reynolds (born 15 December 1957) is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as a lead guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band. AllMusic critic MacKenzie Wilson has called Reynolds "an under-rated master". ...
,
Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. , the band has rele ...
,
Jennifer Gentle Jennifer Gentle is an Italian psychedelic rock band. The band's name derives from a verse of the song "Lucifer Sam" by Syd Barrett. History Jennifer Gentle was formed by Marco Fasolo and Alessio Gastaldello in early 2000, after the breakup of ...
,
Rainer Maria Rainer Maria is an American emo band from Madison, Wisconsin, later residing in Brooklyn, New York. The band was originally active from 1995 to 2006 and reunited in 2014. History Caithlin De Marrais, Kaia Fischer and William Kuehn formed the b ...
,
Ted Leo Theodore Francis Leo is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both. Early life Born in South Bend, In ...
,
The Unicorns ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
,
J-Live Jean-Jacques Cadet (born February 22, 1976), better known by his stage name J-Live, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. Life and career J-Live released his debut studio album, '' The Best Part'', in 2001. It featured production by ...
,
Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chr ...
, and
Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member J ...
. The name refers to the fact that the festival is staged in early May or late April. In recent years as the Class and Charter Day Concert, also held near the end of the spring semester, has become tradition a separate May Day Music Festival has ceased activity. HamTrek Begun in 2004, HamTrek is an annual sprint-triathlon consisting of a 525-yard swim, 9-mile bike ride, and 3.1-mile run. Participants can compete individually, in unisex teams of 3, or co-ed teams of 3. Prizes are awarded to the winners of the different competing groups. In the late 2000s, HamTrek introduced a fundraising component to benefit the Shawn Grady Memorial Fund. Also, many athletic coaches now require their teams to compete. HamTrek takes place on Class and Charter Day. Reunions Every June, alumni, faculty and friends of the college take over the Hamilton campus for an extended weekend of parties, lectures, panel discussions, performances, hikes, games and happy hours.


Athletics

Hamilton is an
NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...
school and has been a member of the
New England Small College Athletic Conference The New England Small Collegiate Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference comprising sports teams from eleven highly selective Liberal arts education, liberal arts institutions of high ...
since 1971. The college sports teams are known as the Hamilton Continentals. Hamilton sponsors 29 sports, including:
Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
(M),
Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
(M&W),
Crew A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involve ...
(M&W), Cross Country (M&W),
Field Hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
(W),
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
(M),
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
(M&W),
Ice Hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
(M&W),
Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
(M&W), Outdoor and Indoor Track & Field (M&W),
Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
(M&W),
Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
(W),
Squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
(M&W),
Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
&
Diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...
(M&W),
Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
(M&W),
Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
(W). Before the 1993–94 academic year, Hamilton's sports teams could not participate in any national postseason tournaments. The rule was changed that year, allowing Hamilton to participate in Division III tournaments in various sports. On May 18, 2008, Hamilton won its first NCAA championship, when its women's lacrosse team defeated
Franklin & Marshall Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Frankli ...
13–6 in the finals of the NCAA tournament. About 35% of Hamilton's student body participate in its varsity athletic programs. In addition to varsity sports, Hamilton sponsors several club and intramural sports. Club sports include
alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
,
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
,
equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
,
figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
, men's
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
, women's rugby,
tae kwon do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...
,
ultimate frisbee Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its ath ...
, and women's
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
. In 2008 the men's rugby team placed fourth in the national Division III tournament. Hamilton's mascot is a Continental, a soldier in America's
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
of the Revolutionary War. The college's colors are
buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional wr ...
and
blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...
, likely derived from the colors of the 1779 Continental Army's New York regimental coats, which were blue with buff facings. The college's eponym,
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
, played a central role in the Continental Army as General
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
's Chief of Staff. At many sporting events, Hamilton is represented by the Al-Ham (an abbreviation of Alexander Hamilton) pig. The pig, large, anthropomorphic, and dressed in a Hamilton basketball jersey and a Continental soldier's tricorn hat, was introduced in the early 2000s in an attempt to boost school spirit and interest in Hamilton's athletics programs. Rocking Chair Classic: Hamilton's football rivalry with
Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
dates to 1911. Since 1980, the annual football game between Hamilton and Middlebury has been designated the Rocking Chair Classic. The winning team keeps the Mac-Jack Rocking Chair during the following year. The rivalry has been dominated by Middlebury, which has won the last 14 matches.


Demographics

Hamilton typically enrolls about 1,900 students; in 2019 47% are male and 53% are female. About 60% of students come from
public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
s, and 40% come from
private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
s. Hamilton's 2019 students come from 45 U.S. states and 46 countries. A recent year reported that 5% of Hamilton students were described as international, 5% as African-American, 1% as Native American, 8% as Asian/Pacific Islander, 4% Hispanic, 70% White, and 9% as unknown ethnicity.


Alumni and faculty

File:James Schoolcraft Sherman.jpg, James S. Sherman, former
Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
File:Mike Castle official portrait.jpg,
Mike Castle Michael Newbold Castle (born July 2, 1939) is an American lawyer and politician who was governor of Delaware (1985–92) and the U.S. representative for (1993–2011). He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes the entire ...
, former
Governor of Delaware A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
and former
U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from Delaware File:20210427-OSEC-TEW-001 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (51148817903).jpg,
Tom Vilsack Thomas James Vilsack (; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician serving as the 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture in the Biden administration. He previously served in the role from 2009 to 2017 during the Obama administration. ...
,
United States Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...
File:David Solomon.jpg,
David M. Solomon David Michael Solomon (born c. 1962) is an American investment banker and the chief executive officer (CEO) of Goldman Sachs, a position he has held since October 2018. He has also been chairman of the bank since January 2019. Before assuming hi ...
, CEO of
Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
File:Matt Cartwright, official portrait, 113th Congress.jpg,
Matt Cartwright Matthew Alton Cartwright (born May 1, 1961) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative from Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district since 2013. The district, numbered as the 17th district from 2013 through 2019, inc ...
,
U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
File:Joseph Roswell Hawley - Brady-Handy.jpg,
Joseph Roswell Hawley Joseph Roswell Hawley (October 31, 1826March 18, 1905) was the 42nd Governor of Connecticut, a U.S. politician in the Republican and Free Soil parties, a Civil War general, and a journalist and newspaper editor. He served two terms in the Unit ...
, former
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
from Connecticut File:Elihu Root, bw photo portrait, 1902.jpg,
Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from N ...
, former
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
File:Marc Randolph by Gage Skidmore.jpg,
Marc Randolph Marc Bernays Randolph (born April 29, 1958) is an American tech entrepreneur, advisor and speaker. He is the co-founder and first Chief executive officer, CEO of Netflix. A serial entrepreneur who helped found the U.S. edition of ''Macworld'' mag ...
, co-founder of
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
File:Charles H. Duell.jpg, Charles Holland Duell, former Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia
Notable Hamilton alumni include (chronologically listed): * U.S. Congressman, abolitionist activist, and philanthropist
Gerrit Smith Gerrit Smith (March 6, 1797 – December 28, 1874), also spelled Gerritt Smith, was a leading American social reformer, abolitionist, businessman, public intellectual, and philanthropist. Married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh, Smith was a candidat ...
(valedictorian, 1818) * Dean of
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
and first president of the University Club
Theodore William Dwight Theodore William Dwight (1822–1892) was an American jurist and educator, cousin of Theodore Dwight Woolsey and of Timothy Dwight V. Biography Theodore William Dwight was born in Catskill, New York on July 18, 1822. His father was Benjamin Wo ...
(1822) * Railroad entrepreneur and executive
Perry H. Smith Perry H. Smith, Sr., (March 18, 1828March 29, 1885) was an Americans, American judge, politician, and railroad executive. He served two years in the Wisconsin State Senate (1856–1857) and three years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, State ...
(1846) * U.S. Congressman, Senator and Governor of Connecticut
Joseph Roswell Hawley Joseph Roswell Hawley (October 31, 1826March 18, 1905) was the 42nd Governor of Connecticut, a U.S. politician in the Republican and Free Soil parties, a Civil War general, and a journalist and newspaper editor. He served two terms in the Unit ...
(1847) * U.S. Secretary of State and
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
laureate
Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from N ...
(1864) * 27th U.S. Vice President James S. Sherman (1878) * Pharmaceutical entrepreneur
William McLaren Bristol William McLaren Bristol (28July 18601935) was one of the two co-founders of Bristol-Myers, now part of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Myers and Bristol founded the company that would evolve into an international pharmaceutical giant in Bristol's birthplac ...
(1887) * Pharmaceutical entrepreneur John Myers (1887) * Poet
Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...
(1905, Honorary Doctorate 1939) * Drama critic and
Algonquin Round Table The Algonquin Round Table was a group of New York City writers, critics, actors, and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel ...
member
Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio p ...
(1909) * Pioneering advertising executive
Alex Osborn Alex Faickney Osborn (May 24, 1888 – May 5, 1966) was an American advertising executive and the author of the creativity technique named ''brainstorming''. Founding of BBDO In 1919, Osborn joined with Bruce Fairchild Barton and Roy Sarles Dur ...
(1909), credited with the
creativity technique Creativity techniques are methods that encourage creative actions, whether in the arts or sciences. They focus on a variety of aspects of creativity, including techniques for idea generation and divergent thinking, methods of re-framing problems, ...
brainstorming Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members. In other words, brainstorming is a situation where a grou ...
* Jurist and diplomat
Philip Jessup Philip Caryl Jessup (February 5, 1897 – January 31, 1986), also Philip C. Jessup, was a 20th-century American diplomat, scholar, and jurist notable for his accomplishments in the field of international law. Early life and education Philip ...
(1919) * Influential psychologist and social philosopher
B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974. ...
(1926) * Pathologist
Lauren Ackerman Lauren Vedder Ackerman (March 12, 1905 – July 27, 1993) was an American physician and pathologist, who championed the subspecialty of surgical pathology in the mid-20th century. Early life Ackerman was born in March 1905 in Auburn, New York, ...
(1927) * Diplomat
Sol Linowitz Sol Myron Linowitz (December 7, 1913 – March 18, 2005) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and businessman. Early life Linowitz was born to a Jewish family in Trenton, New Jersey. He was a graduate of Trenton Central High School, Hamilton Colleg ...
(1935) * Sexuality researcher
William Masters William Howell Masters (December 27, 1915 – February 16, 2001) was an American gynecologist, best known as the senior member of the Masters and Johnson sexuality research team. Along with his partner Virginia E. Johnson, he pioneered research i ...
(1938) * Prize-winning neuroscientist
Paul Greengard Paul Greengard (December 11, 1925 – April 13, 2019) was an American neuroscientist best known for his work on the molecular and cellular function of neurons. In 2000, Greengard, Arvid Carlsson and Eric Kandel were awarded the Nobel Prize for Ph ...
(1948) * Award-winning writer Thomas Meehan (1951) *
The Bank of New York The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Finan ...
president
J. Carter Bacot John Carter Bacot (; February 7, 1933 – April 7, 2005) was president of The Bank of New York for eight years and he was chairman and CEO for sixteen years. He remained on the Board of Directors until 2003. Biography Bacot spent his early ...
(1955) * Civil rights leader
Bob Moses Robert Moses (1888–1981) was an American city planner. Robert Moses may also refer to: * Bob Moses (activist) (1935–2021), American educator and civil rights activist * Bob Moses, American football player in the 1962 Cotton Bowl Classic * Bob M ...
(1956) *
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
governor
Michael Castle Michael Newbold Castle (born July 2, 1939) is an American lawyer and politician who was governor of Delaware (1985–92) and the U.S. representative for (1993–2011). He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes the entire ...
(1961) * Novelist
Terry Brooks Terence Dean Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two film novelizations. He has written 23 ''New York Times'' bestsellers during his writing career, and has ...
(1966) *
Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
CEO
A.G. Lafley Alan George "A. G." Lafley (born June 13, 1947) is an American businessman who led consumer goods maker Procter & Gamble (P&G) for two separate stints, from 2000 to 2010 and again from 2013 to 2015, during which he served as chairman, president ...
(1969) * Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Nelson (1971) * U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
governor
Tom Vilsack Thomas James Vilsack (; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician serving as the 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture in the Biden administration. He previously served in the role from 2009 to 2017 during the Obama administration. ...
(1972) * Pulitzer Prize-winning composer
Melinda Wagner Melinda Jane Wagner (born 1957 in Philadelphia) is a US composer, and winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize in music. Her undergraduate degree is from Hamilton College. She received her graduates degrees from University of Chicago and University of P ...
(1979) * Cornell Law School professor
William A. Jacobson William A. Jacobson is an American lawyer, Cornell Law School professor, and conservative blogger. Education Jacobson is a 1981 ''summa cum laude'' graduate of Hamilton College (New York), Hamilton College. He received his Juris Doctor, J.D. degr ...
(1981) *
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
co-founder
Marc Randolph Marc Bernays Randolph (born April 29, 1958) is an American tech entrepreneur, advisor and speaker. He is the co-founder and first Chief executive officer, CEO of Netflix. A serial entrepreneur who helped found the U.S. edition of ''Macworld'' mag ...
(1981) * Civil rights advocate
Mary Bonauto Mary L. Bonauto (born June 8, 1961) is an American lawyer and civil rights advocate who has worked to eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and has been referred to by US Representative Barney Frank as "our Thu ...
(1983) * Investment banker and
Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
CEO
David Solomon David Solomon may refer to: * David Solomon (artist) (born 1976), American artist and painter * David Solomon (TV producer), American television director and producer * David Solomon (writer), Australian educator, scholar and writer * David Solomon ...
(1984) * Novelist Amanda Filipacchi (1988) * Actor and writer for ''
The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...
''
Paul Lieberstein Paul Bevan Lieberstein (born February 22, 1967) is an American actor, screenwriter, television director and television producer. A Primetime Emmy Award winner, he is best known as writer, as executive producer, and as supporting cast member Toby ...
(1989) * Election and voting rights attorney
Marc Elias Marc Erik Elias (born February 1, 1969) is an American Democratic Party elections lawyer. In 2021, he left his position as a partner at Perkins Coie to start the Elias Law Group. Elias served as general counsel for the Hillary Clinton 2016 pres ...
(1990) *
Legendary Pictures Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC (doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborated ...
CEO
Thomas Tull Thomas Tull (born June 9, 1970) is an American billionaire businessman, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is the former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Legendary Entertainment. Tull is the founder of Tulco LLC, an investment hold ...
(1992) * College basketball head coach Kyle Smith (1992) * Actress
Sarah Rafferty Sarah Gray Rafferty (born December 6, 1972) is an American actress, widely known for her role as Donna Paulsen on the USA Network legal drama '' Suits''. Early life and education Rafferty grew up as the youngest of four daughters in the Riversi ...
(1993) * Academy Award nominated director
Yance Ford Yance Ford () is an African-American transgender producer and director. Life and career Ford graduated from Hamilton College in 1994. Beginning in 2002 he worked as a series producer at PBS for ten years. In 2011 he was named one of ''Filmmaker ...
(1994) * Novelist
Kamila Shamsie Kamila Shamsie FRSL (born 13 August 1973) is a Pakistani and British writer and novelist who is best known for her award-winning novel '' Home Fire'' (2017). Named on ''Granta'' magazine's list of 20 best young British writers, Shamsie has bee ...
(1994) * Academy Award-winning screenwriter and actor
Nat Faxon Nathaniel Faxon (born October 11, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. A frequent presence on comedic films and TV series, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing ''The Descendants'' (2011) ...
(1997) * Real estate broker and television personality
Ryan Serhant Ryan Matthew Serhant (born July 2, 1984) is an American real estate broker, author, and reality television actor. He currently stars on Bravo's television series ''Million Dollar Listing New York'' and its spin-off ''Sell it Like Serhant.'' Se ...
(2006) * Novelist
Sarah J. Maas Sarah Janet Maas (born March 5, 1986) is an American fantasy author known for her fantasy series '' Throne of Glass'' and '' A Court of Thorns and Roses''. As of 2022, she has sold over twelve million copies of her books and her work has been ...
(2008) Notable enrollees who did not graduate include the abolitionist
Theodore Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best known ...
and actors
Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series ''Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he ...
and
Tony Goldwyn Anthony Howard Goldwyn (born May 20, 1960) is an American actor, singer, producer, director, and political activist. He made his debut appearing as Darren in the slasher film '' Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'' (1986), and had his breakthr ...
. Prominent fictional alumni include the newspaper editor Charles Webb from the
Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...
play ''
Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 throug ...
.'' Notable faculty have included philosophers such as
Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
; writers such as
Natalie Babbitt Natalie Zane Babbitt (née Moore; July 28, 1932 – October 31, 2016) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Her 1975 novel '' Tuck Everlasting'' was adapted into two feature films and a Broadway musical. She received th ...
,
Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and a ...
and poet
Howard Nemerov Howard Nemerov (March 1, 1920 – July 5, 1991) was an American poet. He was twice Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, from 1963 to 1964 and again from 1988 to 1990. For ''The Collected Poems of Howard Nemerov'' (1977 ...
; composers such as
Jay Reise Jay Reise (born 1950) is an American composer. Biography Reise spent his childhood surrounded by classical music and jazz, but began his composition studies with Jimmy Giuffre and Hugh Hartwell in 1970. After graduating at Hamilton College in 1 ...
; and diplomats and politicians such as
Edward S. Walker Edward S. Walker Jr. (born June 13, 1940) is a former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Egypt, and the UAE and is a Middle East specialist. Early life Walker was born in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. at Hamilt ...
,
Jack F. Matlock Jr. Jack Foust Matlock Jr. (born October 1, 1929) is an American former ambassador, career Foreign Service Officer, a teacher, a historian, and a linguist. He was a Soviet and Communist studies, specialist in Soviet affairs during some of the most tu ...
and
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
.


See also

*
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 74 Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 74 (P. Oxy. 74) is a registration of property (ἀπογραφή) like P. Oxy. 72 and P. Oxy. 73. It is concerned with the registration of sheep and goats, and is written in Greek. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the ...
* Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 78


References


External links

* {{authority control 1793 establishments in New York (state)
College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
Educational institutions established in 1793 * Universities and colleges in Oneida County, New York Liberal arts colleges in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Oneida County, New York Private universities and colleges in New York (state)