Initiative Overview

Concept

Many of us are walking around with “what if” ideas in our heads:

• What if we had a way to engage meaningfully with artistic expression and environmental sustainability?
• What if we used AI to create new forms of educational content to engage our students?
• What if we activated our public spaces differently to create a more inclusive campus? 

Vision

The “What If” Initiative is a platform to explore and develop new ideas through interdisciplinary innovation, emphasize the creative spirit of a liberal arts education, and provide the ability to test transformative concepts — turning speculative “What If” ideas into tangible advances that shape the future of education. The “What If” Initiative is designed to support ideas from the Hamilton community that experiment with new ways for students to experience learning, for faculty to innovate their teaching, for staff to explore new ways to support students, and for enhancing our campus community’s creative commitment to expression, fostering belonging, and connection, through the practice of the liberal arts and the spirit of creative exchange. “What If” propels our community to remain a dynamic force, continuously evolving, imagining, and influencing the broader educational landscape.

Eligibility

All currently enrolled students and current employees of the Hamilton College community are eligible to submit “What If” ideas and propositions.

Intended Outcomes

• Foster a creative and experimental campus culture by emphasizing cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration that helps students navigate and innovate across boundaries, enhancing their ability to make positive change in the world.
• Support diverse and ambitious ideas, from small-scale experiments to larger collaborative efforts that involve disparate parts of the Hamilton community, that break down division/department/office silos on campus.
• Allow the community to test an idea or pilot a project with support to further refine, develop, and implement an idea.
• Promote the growth and ongoing development of nontraditional, successful initiatives that contribute to lasting transformations at the College.
• Enable projects that enhance our capacity for inclusion, community, and belonging on campus through propositions that bring together people and departments that might not typically collaborate.

Questions? Please email the committee at whatif@hamilton.edu.

“What If” Proposition Application

The application portal will be available in early November. Applications will require:

• The “What If” idea phrased in a “What If” question
• Three to four sentences to “pitch” the idea
• An expanded executive summary (2-3 paragraphs) that summarizes the “What If” idea and addresses how it meets the Intended Outcomes
• The type of proposition being proposed (per the categories listed above)
• A draft budget (see Funding Guidelines)
• A list of current partners with an expanded list of potential future collaborators

Accepted Propositions: Next Steps

Notification of accepted proposals will be before the start of the spring 2025 semester.

Spark and Catalyst Propositions

Accepted propositions in these categories will receive funding to begin work on the idea. A follow-up report will be due within one month of the proposition being implemented, addressing the Intended Outcomes of the “What If” Initiative. Follow-up reports must be submitted before the end of the funding period (see Funding Guidelines).

Transformational Propositions

Accepted propositions will be invited to two workshops and a presentation of the proposition in the spring and fall of 2025. Workshops for selected propositions will focus on developing areas related to the Proposal Evaluation criteria, which will be shared when the Call for Proposals opens.

Transformational Proposition Development Workshop #1

This workshop will take place in January/February 2025 and help participants:

• Make additional connections/collaborations for each proposition
• Further develop the proposition and elevator pitch
• Provide time to work with collaborators on drafting/revising/adding to their proposition

Transformational Proposition Development Workshop #2

This workshop will take place in the summer of 2025 and help participants explore the breadth and requirements to implement each proposition and to further develop a timeline, budget, and long-term planning strategy.

Participants will gather at an off-campus location for two days and one night; transportation, lodging, reimbursement by receipt for reasonable child care, and meals will be covered by Hamilton. More details to come.

Fall 2025 “What If” Festival

Accepted “What If” proposition collaborators will be invited to present to the Hamilton community. More details to come.

"What If" Initiative Committee

• Nathan Goodale, Professor of Anthropology, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs; co-chair
• Lisa Magnarelli '96, Director of College Events & Scheduling; co-chair
• Travis Hill, Dean of Campus Life
• Meg Keniston, Executive Director of Content Strategy
• Lisa McFall, Director of Digital Initiatives, Scholarship & Collaboration
• Jennifer Mendiola, Executive Director of Alumni & Parent Engagement, Events & Promotion
• Jerry Tylutki, Director of Information Security & Privacy