Stories - 2023 in Review: National Media Coverage

Major national and international media outlets and leading publications from the higher education industry turned to Hamilton College faculty, staff, and alumni for their expertise and thought leadership on a broad range of topics in 2023.

Groundbreaking scholarly research and innovative creative endeavors by Hamilton’s faculty and staff not only advance knowledge in their fields, but can often also help broader audiences further understand the world’s most pressing issues. When media outlets feature faculty discoveries and accomplishments, it helps strengthen Hamilton’s reputation as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country.

2023 BY THE NUMBERS

9,500+

articles featured Hamilton

1,400+

broadcasts featured Hamilton

40+

faculty experts and 20+ academic departments were highlighted

Research & Expertise

Both new and ongoing research happening on the Hill perennially attracts journalists to Hamilton faculty from a broad swath of disciplines.

**Interest Rates:** “How much should interest rates keep rising? Fed officials now disagree” – American Public Media’s *Marketplace*, Jan. 23
Professor of Economics Ann Owen, a former Federal Reserve Board of Governors economist, contributed multiple times this year to American Public Media’s Marketplace program. In this segment she discussed how the Fed was at a turning point, deciding when to stop pushing up interest rates and how long to keep them elevated.

**Russo–Ukrainian War:** “The Putin Mastermind Myth Has Been Brutally Exposed” – *Newsweek,* July 13
Associate Professor of Government David Rivera commented on the war in Ukraine in several *Newsweek* stories. Here he discussed deceased Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin’s outspoken views on the war with Ukraine. “Prigozhin’s lengthy video justifying his ‘march for justice’ expressed many truths about the war that Putin would not want the public to hear,” Rivera said.

**Dolly Parton:** “Who is Dolly Parton?” – Fox Nation, Nov. 21
Professor of Music Lydia Hamessley discussed the music of singer-songwriter Dolly Parton throughout this documentary.

**Government Takeovers:** “Coups Are on the Rise. Why?” – *The New York Times,* Sept. 13
Associate Professor of Government Erica De Bruin, author of *How to Prevent Coups d’état,* discussed the recent process used to achieve government takeovers. “Seize power, hang onto it long enough to hold elections, use electoral manipulation and other resources of leadership to win them, and then relax as sanctions on your no-longer-coup-installed regime are lifted.”

Steve Wu — **Difficult-to-pronounce Names:** “What’s in an American Name?” – *The Washington Post*, March 17
This podcast referenced Professor of Economics Stephen Wu’s research in which he revealed that difficulty in pronouncing an applicant’s name negatively affects job placement opportunities.

**Home-schooling:** “America’s Culture Wars Have Liberal Parents Opting for Home-Schooling,” Bloomberg *BusinessWeek,* Oct. 30
Assistant Professor of Sociology Mahala Stewart commented on the shifting demographics in home-schooling. “As integration brought White and Black students together, there was a White flight happening, as parents removed kids from those schools in order to home-school,” she said.

Ty Seidule in front of KJ — **Renaming Confederate Relics:** “A former general’s mission to rename military bases” – NPR’s *Here & Now,* Feb. 28. Visiting Professor of History Ty Seidule once revered Confederates, especially Robert E. Lee. During his tenure in the military, he realized that they weren't patriots. This led to Seidule’s ultimate mission to rename military assets honoring the Confederacy and his vice chairmanship of the nation’s Naming Commission charged with that assignment.

**Life in Prison:** “For the American Prison Writing Archive, a ‘shadow canon’ sheds light” — *The New York Times,* April 17. Professor of Literature and Creative Writing Doran Larson discussed how the archive and his book *Fourth City: Essays From The Prison in America* evolved out of a writing class he taught for 11 years in Attica prison.

Leading by Example

Major media outlets and higher education journalists highlighted innovative campus programs that are tackling issues and bringing people together.

Utica Court House — ***The Chronicle of Higher Education;*** “Teaching in an age of ‘militant apathy’” (Levitt Center’s Justice Lab)

Career Center Interview — ***Inside Higher Ed;*** “Student Industry Coordinators Serve as Alumni Network Bridge” (Career Center’s Connect Program)

***Wall Street Journal;*** “With therapists in short supply, college students counsel each other” (Counseling Center’s Peer Counselors)

President Wippman

David Wippman

President

President Wippman co-wrote more than a dozen op-eds and letters to the editor that were published by major publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Hill. One of those essays detailed the history of civics education in the United States and the need for an increased focus on it. “We have a civics education crisis — and deep divisions on how to solve it” – Washington Post, May 31

Students in the News

Student endeavors and research also attracted media attention.

“The Chess World’s New Villain: A Cat Named Mittens” – *The Wall Street Journal,* Jan. 18.
Will Whalen ’23 created a chess avatar, Mittens, for Chess.com, a popular chess platform for which he worked while attending the College. In Mittens’ introductory month, Chess.com averaged 27.5 million games played per day and was on track for more than 850 million games that month—40% more than any month in the company’s history.

Weathered Books — “Moms for Liberty’s vision for America is narrow and dark. Why not help kids?” - *USA Today Network,* Dec. 7.
Hadley Noonan ’25 wrote an op-ed that appeared in many newspapers across the country. Her essay was based on summer research she conducted as part of a Levitt grant investigating book banning.

Alex Statue and Ukrainian Flag — “When Will the War in Ukraine End?” – *The Wall Street Journal,* July 19. In a lengthy letter to the editor, Will Rampe ’24 wrote, “Ukraine’s defense of its territory is righteous. The Ukrainian people deserve praise for their valor and love of country. But that doesn’t make Ukrainian victory and Russian defeat a vital U.S. interest.”

Alumni in the News

Alumni often mention their Hamilton credentials in interviews and essays, and sometimes add Hamilton swag to their bookshelves in the background of their television interviews.

Michael Nelson ’16 In an essay published on Mother’s Day in the *Boston Globe*, Nelson wrote about the women at Hamilton, as well as his own mother, who supported him during college. Nelson lost his mom while he was studying at Hamilton.

Media Coverage

Related Content

See more examples of media coverage from 2023.

Hamilton in the News

Hamilton News Highlights – Second Quarter

Articles include expert commentary on wars in Ukraine and Sudan, opinions on civic education, and an explanation of how the concept of race evolved in the Renaissance, among others.

Hamilton in the News - First Quarter

Highlights include several essays co-authored by President Wippman, expert commentary on a variety of topics from the Federal Reserve to butterflies, and feature stories on counseling center, career center, and Levitt Center programs.

2023 in Review: National Media Coverage