2023-24 in Photos

From the excitement of first days to the bittersweetness of last ones and everything in between, the past year was packed with unforgettable moments. Take a look back at the 2023-24 academic year at Hamilton.

Celebrating Community

2023 Orientation — Welcome to the Hill! Not even a little Move-in Day rain could keep Orientation Leaders from greeting new students as they arrived on campus in August. Photo: Nancy L. Ford

Holi celebration — Holi, a Hindu "festival of colors" that celebrates the start of spring, was one of the many cultural events that students hosted and celebrated throughout the year. Students from the Asian Student Union made this April event possible. Photo: Jasper DeWitt '27

Class & Charter Day 2024 — At Hamilton’s annual Class & Charter Day convocation in May, 152 students were honored with academic prizes and scholarships, while faculty teaching award recipients were recognized. This time-honored tradition, which first took place in 1950, is held on the afternoon of the last day of classes. Photo: Zack Stanek

Parkhurst cooking class — Students learn some basic knife skills from Chef Al at McEwen Dining Hall. Cooking classes held throughout the semester included making chocolate truffles, learning three easy ways to cook chicken, making chocolate-dipped strawberries, and more. Photo: Yunhai (Oliver) Zhao ’24

2024 lighting our village — The annual Lighting of Our Village takes place as the fall semester winds down celebrating what light means to different cultural and faith traditions and its value as a symbol of hope. The event featured prizes, a cappella performances, snacks — and, of course, sparklers. Photo: Yunhai (Oliver) Zhao ’24

Operation Big Splash 2 was a big success as the Hamilton Outing Club maneuvered 42 of the club’s boats onto the KTSA pond at the same time. There were 25 kayaks, 12 canoes, and five nondescript inflatables operated by 65 students on a sun-splashed afternoon. The first Big Splash took place in 2014. Photo: Yunhai (Oliver) Zhao ’24

Baseball vs. Clarkson - 2024 — Taylor Kaufman ’24 brought the hype to Loop Road Athletic Complex just before the first game of the 2024 baseball season got underway. (And they won, too!) Photo: Josh McKee

Recent Renovations

Our Beautiful Campus

Hamilton’s campus is filled with historic buildings and modern spaces. In the last 15 years, the College has invested more than $370 million to renovate and expand our academic, residential, and recreational facilities.

Campus Facilities

Although Root Hall’s exterior has been preserved, the interior was entirely reconstructed to offer comfortable and inviting spaces for students to study and collaborate with professors and each other, to address accessibility issues, and further sustainability goals. Photo: Kevin M. Waldron

Todd Franklin teaching in Root Hall — Professor of Philosophy and Africana Studies Todd Franklin teaches in the renovated Root Hall, which now houses the Africana Studies, Classics, Religious Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies departments. The building features 20 offices, five classrooms, four meeting spaces, and additional areas for studying and collaborating. Photo: Bob Handelman

makerspace in Burke Library — A large portion of Burke Library underwent a major renovation to its 17,000-square-foot first floor during the summer of 2023 that now enables students to explore Hamilton’s digital learning resources in new ways thanks to enhanced collaborative work spaces, including the College's first fully enclosed makerspace. Photo: Nancy L. Ford

Screenshot of Burke Library walk-through video — The Burke Library renovation also added permanent exhibit spaces and areas to highlight the library’s physical collections, a new movable glass partition in the All-Night Reading Room to improve programming use, all new finishes such as furniture and carpet, a new Circulation/IT Help Desk and Research/Digital Media Desk, and more. Take a tour with dani Bernstein ’24! Video: Zack Stanek

A little fresh paint goes a long way! Commons Dining Hall got an upgrade over spring break and the flags representing each international student’s home country returned to the space. Photo: Bob Handelman

Showstoppers

Lydia Bullock '26 and the Women's Hockey team celebrate after their win against Nazareth. — For the second straight season, Hamilton’s nationally ranked women’s ice hockey team earned a postseason berth in the NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Championship. Forward Lydia Bullock ’26, right, and teammates celebrate after their NCAA first-round win against Nazareth College. Photo: Josh McKee

2024 Class & Charter Day Concert — This year’s Class & Charter Day Concert had everything we needed: good weather, great music, and the best of friends. Photo: Zack Stanek

Angels in America production — The Theatre Department presented *Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches* as its spring 2024 mainstage production. The Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning drama written by Tony Kushner explores American politics, gay identity, and mythology, and a personal story of love and loyalty. Hamilton’s production was directed by Professor of Theatre Mark Cryer and featured a cast of 22 students. Photo: Nancy L. Ford

2024 Hamtrek — It’s HamTrek time! The annual tradition, which takes place in April, features a sprint triathlon that includes swimming 21 lengths of the pool, biking nine miles, and running five kilometers of the cross-country course. More than 200 competitors took part, including 61 individuals and 49 three-person relay teams, while an additional 100 community members participated in the Wellness Walk. Photo: Jasper Dewitt ’27

A group of Hamilton College students look up at the 2024 total solar eclipse. — More than 1,000 campus community members took part in the historic Great American Solar Eclipse in April. Burke Library hosted an on-campus event in Clinton, which experienced 99.4% eclipse coverage, while several hundred headed to the Adirondacks for Hamilton’s eclipse event at White-Otter Fish & Game Club in Woodgate, N.Y., to experience totality (pictured above). Photo: Yunhai (Oliver) Zhao ’24

New Faces & Fond Farewells

David Wippman at Orientation — President David Wippman made his way down the welcome tunnel one last time during Move-in Day in August. At the end of the 2022-23 academic year, Wippman announced that he would retire in June 2024 after completing eight years as as Hamilton’s 20th president. Photo: Nancy L. Ford

Steven Tepper at the podium — The Board of Trustees announced on Feb. 7 that Steven Tepper, the dean and director of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University (ASU), will be Hamilton’s 21st president beginning July 1, 2024. Tepper offered his first remarks to the community during a day-long campus visit on Feb. 29. Photo: Nancy L. Ford

graduates on the map — Even though commencement is over, there’s still one more assignment for new Hamilton graduates: go take your first steps on the Bronze Map. Photo: Nancy L. Ford; Video: Zack Stanek

graduates stand on the bronze map — A tip of the (graduation) cap to the 493 members of Hamilton’s Class of 2024! Photo: Nancy L. Ford

College Marshal at the 2024 Commencement — Lisa Trivedi (right), the Christian A. Johnson Excellence in Teaching Professor of History, took over as College Marshal this academic year from Margaret Thickstun (center), the Jane Watson Irwin Professor of Literature, who had served in the role since 2010. Photo: Nancy L. Ford

Hill Stops

More than 100 experts, performers, writers, and artists visit Hamilton each year — and that’s in addition to the dozens of alumni who return to offer students career-related advice.

Recent Campus Visitors

screenshot of Venus Williams video shout out — Legendary tennis champion Venus Williams drew the Hamilton College community into her orbit on April 18 as the latest speaker in the Sacerdote Great Names series. Video: Zack Stanek

Cookies and Common Ground — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack ’72 and Rep. G.T. Thompson, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, kicked off a robust slate of Common Ground events this year with a discussion about bipartisanship, agriculture, and climate. Common Ground guests also visit classes and meet with students during their time on the Hill. Photo: Nancy L. Ford

Artist René Treviño spoke as part of an Artists in Conversation panel at Hamilton's Wellin Museum of Art in conjunction with his exhibition, “René Treviño: Stab of Guilt.” Photo: Janelle Rodriguez

UN Diplomats — “Can small member states seize the moment and save the world?” Hamilton welcomed four United Nations diplomats to campus in April for a panel discussion that addressed this question. Panelists included (from left) Diplomat Kristel Lõuk, Ambassador H.E Inga Rhonda King, Ambassador H.E. Michael Imran Kanu and Hamilton's Sol M. Linowitz Visiting Professor of International Affairs Vandi Minah, who served as moderator. Ambassador Burhan Gafoor (not pictured) was also a panelist. Photo: Nancy L. Ford

War Club Live — This year’s Tolles Lecture featured a fusion of hip-hop, power, protest, and humanity thanks to award-winning Indigenous DJ and producer Dan “DJ Shub” General. Known as a joyful collaborator and non-stop creator who skillfully weaves craft, message, and heritage, Shub visited campus in February to host a conversation and immersive event that offered attendees the chance to learn from Shub and take part in various Native dances, like smoke dancing. Photo & Video: Zack Stanek

Gina McCarthy, left, shares her thoughts with moderator Aaron Strong, center, and Christine Todd Whitman. — Gina McCarthy (left), former White House national climate advisor and former EPA administrator (2013-17), and former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman (right), administrator of the EPA (2001-03), compared their visions for the transformation to renewable energy during a Common Ground event in November. Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Aaron Strong (center) moderated the discussion. Photo: Nancy L. Ford

With 10 teams in, action, the spring sports semester was a busy one, capped off with honors for senior athletes. Here’s a look at some of photographer Josh McKee's favorite action shots from the spring. To read more about Hamilton's successes during the spring sports season, visit the Athletics site.

Seeing Infrared

Using a digital camera that’s been modified to capture infrared light, Hamilton graphic designer Kevin Waldron snapped these images of campus scenes. “Infrared light strongly reflects off of living vegetation, making the flora a key character in many of these photos,” he notes.

Celebrating Community

Recent Renovations

Showstoppers

New Faces & Fond Farewells

Hill Stops

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