The Office for Service Learning and Community Based Research assists students in acquiring skills and experiences to become active and engaged leaders in their communities.
Service Learning Projects in the Community: The Levitt Center sponsors several ongoing community projects that are based in academic coursework. Students and faculty may be engaged with refugees and immigrants, youth, or low-income families.
Research Projects in the Community: A Community Based Research (CBR) grant connects the Levitt Center to a network of colleges and universities that provide research projects and reports for the surrounding community.
Bonner Leaders: Bonner Leaders at Hamilton work very closely for extended periods of time with community agencies, connecting academic learning to real life experiences.
A Glance at the Local Community
Hamilton College is located in the village of Clinton (population 1,952) and near the City of Utica (population 60,651), in which most of the sites frequented by students and faculty are located. Utica is an old industrial center whose population peaked around the turn of the century. It was an important transportation center on the Erie Canal and then the railroad. Today, Utica is marketed as the "Gateway to the Adirondacks", but the manufacturing businesses have moved south. Utica is home to many of the poor and minority residents of Oneida County (population 235, 469). The suburbs, small towns, and villages of Oneida County are largely white and less diverse, but there is still significant rural poverty.
