2020-21 Statements

Planning for the Fall

May 21, 2020

Tags Public Statements

On Sunday, we will celebrate our seniors’ successful completion of their Hamilton education. We take great pride in their accomplishments and in the strength and resilience they and all members of our community have shown in managing the challenges of a semester unlike any other.

If we have learned anything these past few months, it is just how much our students love being on campus. Students, we know you are eager to return, and we are just as eager to bring you back. And we can’t wait to welcome the Class of 2024 to College Hill.

We are still waiting for the green light from New York state officials, but our goal is to welcome all of you to campus this fall. We probably won’t have all the answers we need to finalize our plans for several weeks or more, but I want you to know how we are thinking about the decisions ahead.

Student Health and Safety
Keeping everyone safe remains our top priority. I hope you are already following the physical distancing and other advice of government officials and health professionals. We are daily incorporating emerging best practices into our reopening plans. Among the possibilities we are considering for the fall are regular health screenings, periodic diagnostic testing, carefully tailored physical distancing rules, and new health education programming. We have identified space on and off campus for isolation and quarantine purposes if needed. The rigorous cleaning and disinfectant protocols that Facilities Management instituted so effectively earlier this year will become standard practice in the future, so part of our planning includes ensuring we have adequate supplies of hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, personal protection equipment, and other cleaning materials. Face coverings are likely to become a regular feature of campus attire.

Academic Life
We pride ourselves on delivering a rigorous, personalized, transformative education, and we want this fall to be no exception. We are actively studying how best to do that in a world in which we are all advised to stay six feet apart. One consequence may be fewer people at any given time in classrooms, labs, studios, the library, and other spaces. We are examining every classroom to determine its capacity and exploring options from a revised class schedule to transforming large gathering spaces into temporary classrooms.

All faculty members have been asked to prepare their courses for some form of hybrid or blended learning, in which some students are physically present and others join remotely. We think this approach offers the greatest flexibility. It enables us to meet the needs of students who cannot attend class in person, and prepares us for the possibility that we might have to return to remote instruction should a pandemic second wave occur.

Residential Life
Earlier this week, Terry Martinez announced that new student orientation is being modified in ways that we hope will preserve the richness of the orientation experience but still ensure student safety. We are also working on ways to meet physical distancing guidelines in the dining halls, residence halls, common areas, and study spaces throughout campus. The goal is to preserve the special and serendipitous learning and interaction that residential colleges foster so successfully, while doing everything we can to protect student health and safety. As part of this effort, we are building some modular housing units this summer, giving us greater flexibility in managing physical distancing requirements.

Extracurricular Activities and Athletics
I recognize that, for many of our students, the full breadth of a Hamilton education includes participating in student clubs, organizations, athletics, and the broad range of other programs that make for such a rich cocurricular and extracurricular experience. The impact of physical distancing requirements will, of course, vary depending on the activity. Intercollegiate athletics, in particular, involves a shared approach with other colleges, especially our NESCAC peers. Our Athletics Director, Jon Hind ’80, is chairing a committee of his NESCAC counterparts working on a plan for varsity sports in the fall. We will share more information on plans for athletics when Jon’s committee completes its work.

Moving Forward
We are doing everything we can to prepare for an on-time, in-person start, but our decisions must ultimately be guided by the advice of health professionals and directives from state and other public officials. Equally important, all members of our community will need to do their part. We can demonstrate the concern we have for one another by following the guidelines set forth by our colleagues on campus, public health authorities, and government officials.

Thank You
Over the past two months—has it really been only two months?—our students, faculty, and staff have met every challenge with ingenuity, resilience, and flexibility. That gives me confidence Hamilton will be ready for whatever the future brings. We talk often about this College as a place where people care deeply about one another. Never has that extraordinary sense of community been clearer to me than it is today. I know I can rely on the continued cooperation of everyone, on campus and off, to return Hamilton to being fully Hamilton.

Best wishes for a safe and healthy summer,

David