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“The perfect applied and collaborative project for a semester wrecked by the pandemic.” That’s how Associate Professor of Literature Pavitra Sundar described the fortuitous route her Lit 230 Bollywood Film course took this semester.

The Communications and Marketing Office staff writes hundreds of stories each year for Hamilton’s news page. And although 2020 was a year like no other, creative and resourceful students, faculty, and staff still managed to create, collaborate, volunteer, and celebrate. Here are a few of our staff’s favorite stories of 2020.

How does a service internship program provide service during a pandemic? If you’re a COOP (Community Outreach and Opportunity Project) service intern you adjust, adapt, and take to Zoom. And then you expand programming to engage other Hamilton students eager to take on volunteering.

Resident Advisors (RAs) have a lot of responsibility, acting as peer counselors and leaders in the residence halls. But this year they added another task to their duties – serving as social directors during a time when COVID-19 restrictions limited gatherings and interaction among students. Hamilton RAs proved to be up to the task, planning and orchestrating a variety of programs for residents throughout the semester. For example, Desiree Pico’22, an RA in Minor, held a program called “Let’s Start from Scratch!”

“Professor Balkan goes above and beyond to help his students engage in the classroom, on campus, and in the local community.”

Hamilton College President David Wippman announced the death of Life Trustee Drew Days ‘63 in an email to the Hamilton community on Nov. 16

Oh, the beloved comfy couch. A place to read, watch TV, check your social media … and take a college campus tour? At Hamilton, yes, thanks to a new Admission Office initiative called Tours From Your Sofa.

It took some elaborate planning and extraordinary safety measures, but the Music Department hosted a porch concert featuring Hamilton musicians and members of the College Choir at the Babbitt Pavilion on Sept. 29.

The Physics Department is taking learning out of the lab and into the field. Physics 100/200 and Physics 190 classes have been experimenting with launching pressure rockets behind the campus athletic fields. Faculty members Kristen Burson, Viva Horowitz, and Seth Major, and Director of Laboratories/Head Technician Adam Lark are making the most of this outdoor lab to teach the concepts of pressure and distance.

Suzanne Keen, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, announced the appointment of new faculty for the 2020-21 academic year, including seven tenure-track appointments.