News
David Wippman inaugurated as 20th Hamilton College President
By Dillon Kelly ’18
October 20, 2016
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On Oct. 8, President David Wippman was officially inaugurated as the 20th president of Hamilton College. The cer- emony took place in the Margaret Scott Bundy Field House with roughly 1,500 people in attendance, including Walter F. Mondale, the 42nd Vice President of the United States under President Jimmy Carter.
A lot of extensive preparation is nec- essary to plan an event on the scale of a presidential inauguration at a college such as Hamilton. Wippman spoke to the planning of the event, stating, “It’s a lot of work. A committee met weekly for several months leading up to the inau- guration to coordinate the program and logistics for the weekend. Members of the committee planned the ceremony; invited the delegates, speakers and other guests; set up the venues; arranged for parking (since we also had alumni, par- ents and admission guests on campus); and took care of many other details. I am grateful for all of the time and care- ful planning that went into making the event successful.”
Despite the event being centered on him, Wippman mentioned feeling over- whelmed by the outpouring of support he received. He spoke about how he felt prior to the ceremony, stating, “I was humbled by the attention and warm wishes, but I also saw this as an opportunity to focus on the people — students, faculty, staff and alumni — who make Hamilton one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the country.” He further commended those who diligently worked on the ceremony, remarking, “So many people worked hard to make the ceremony meaningful and
memorable. All I had to do was show up.” Multiple speakers took the stage at the event, including Wippman himself, who was more occupied with speaking to Hamilton’s excellence than intimidated by the crowd. When asked about his speech, Wippman stated, “I hope I expressed my gratitude for the many people who have put Hamilton on such a positive trajec- tory and my desire to accelerate the for- ward momentum we currently enjoy. I also wanted to reflect what I have been hearing from students, faculty and alumni during my first few months on campus and reinforce the values that are implicit in our mission. Specifically, I sought to reaffirm our commitment to the full and free exchange of ideas but also to fos- tering a positive and respectful learning environment in which all of our students
can thrive.”
President Wippman was thrilled
with the entire weekend in general and was blown away by all the support he received from those in attendance, es- pecially because the inauguration oc- curred on a weekend shared by Family, Fallcoming, and Trustees Weekend all in one. Wippman states, “I was pleased with the entire weekend and thankful for the participation of so many people. I’m es- pecially grateful to my friends and family who traveled great distances to be a part of the weekend, and I was honored that Vice President Mondale would travel here for the ceremony. He is a warm and gra- cious man, and a model public servant. It meant a lot to me that he would be here.”
As a whole, the Hamilton commu- nity seems pleased to officially welcome an understanding, warm president who appreciates Hamilton’s values and will work hard to make the College a better place for all.