On Saturday, September 28, College President David Wippman gave his annual State of the College Address to parents and students as part of Fallcoming and Family Weekend.

To lighten the mood, President Wippman opened the Address with a fun video showcasing some of his interactions and relationships with students on campus while wearing an Alexander Hamilton costume. After the video ended, President Wippman gave the audience a brief snapshot of what he would discuss in the address, including the College’s direction, as well as the state of its students, applicants, faculty, finances, and finally, mental health policies and initiatives.

In recent years, President Wippman said, the College has developed the campus rapidly by adding new buildings and facilities. Although these developments improve the physical layout of campus, they also shifts the focus away from the existing buildings that are fifty-plus years old. Recently, Wippman said, the College discovered that the Chapel steeple needs repairs. In addition to this important restoration, the College will begin remodeling the List Art Center in the upcoming year to house the Literature and Music Departments while other humanities buildings are updated.

After discussing infrastructure, Wippman shifted to discussing prospective student applications and the demographics of the student body. He happily relayed to the audience the steadily rising number of applications and subsequently lower acceptance rate, which was a record-low 16.4 percent for the Class of 2023.

Wippman said recent years have also shown that as the student applications increase, the diversity of the class year does as well. Since 2010, when the College became need-blind, the number of students of color has increased from 17 percent of the student body to 25 percent. Wippman attributed these outcomes in part to the work of the College’s senior staff and trustees, as well as the better national recognition of the College for its academic programs.

To give the audience an idea of finances, President Wippman broke down how the College spends its money and where it comes from. Some of the top costs include financial aid, benefits and salary, and academic departments. Wippman emphasized the importance of these costs because they all include benefits for the people of the College. He also pointed out that these costs contribute to the rise of tuition costs because they support people and enhance the academic experience at Hamilton. In the financial breakdown of the College, tuition accounts for a little over half of the revenue, with philanthropy and the endowment falling close behind.

President Wippman closed his address with the issues that “keep him up at night,” which included issues of mental health among the student body and the wider community. He cited the rising demand for counseling services, an effort the College has begun to focus on in the past several years.

To help find a solution to the problem, Wippman said the College has increased its services and number of counseling staff with the new health center and will continue to focus on how mental health conditions on the campus can improve.

One parent who attended the address said it “was super informative” and, as a parent, “[I] really appreciate it.” She also thought that “approaching mental health right off the bat was so great and really important.”

Overall, President Wippman’s address communicated to the audience the challenges that the College faces, as well as the opportunities for the campus that come with them.