As the 2023–24 school year comes to a close, so too does the tenure of Hamilton’s 20th college president, David Wippman, near its end. President Wippman, who joined the Hamilton community in July 2016, will officially retire from his office in Buttrick Hall on June 30, 2024, with President-Elect Steven Tepper set to step in the very next day. Now in the last full week of classes in the spring semester, President Wippman expressed in a conversation with The Spectator, “I think I’m in the position of a lot of seniors. When I ask seniors how they’re feeling, the word I hear over and over is bittersweet. They’re excited about what’s coming up, but they’re sad to be leaving a place that’s meant so much to them. And that’s how I feel. Over eight years, I’ve certainly come to love the College.”
Under President Wippman’s leadership, the College has seen significant strides in a multitude of efforts, whether in the renovation of campus facilities, investments in faculty and staff, or in the development of programs such as Common Ground and the establishment of resources such as the ALEX network — all of which are designed to promote student experiences and accelerate the College’s goals of producing engaged and capable citizens. Additionally, the Because Hamilton campaign, which concluded just less than a year ago, exceeded its goal of $400 million, more than double that of any prior Hamilton fundraising endeavor, and according to the College website, includes over $120 million in student scholarship aid. In the last eight years, the College has also taken critical steps toward increasing the socioeconomic, geographic, and demographic diversity of its students, hiring the first Vice President of DEI, and continually expanding the capacities of this office. While community members are likely familiar with these accomplishments, the admissions office has also embraced the College’s most selective pools of applicants in recent years, with record breaking application numbers and yield rates — a testament to prospective students also taking note.
In response to President Wippman’s May 2023 retirement announcement, Chair of the Board of Trustees David Solomon offered, “From his first days on campus, [Wippman] embraced Hamilton’s long-standing commitments to access and opportunity, and the College’s mission to prepare students to become active citizens by encouraging them to confront new ideas and consider other perspectives.” When asked about how his perception of Hamilton may have changed from the time he took office, President Wippman remarked, “I’ve learned a lot — about higher education, about liberal arts colleges, about the kind of education we provide — and what I thought at the beginning was all true, more or less. I really came in thinking that in many ways the kind of deeply engaged, personalized education that a place like Hamilton provides is the gold standard, but I have a much better understanding of what that means now.”
In addition to his being a fiercely dedicated champion of the liberal arts model, President Wippman is also a prolific author on the value of higher education as a whole, having authored and co-authored dozens of pieces in esteemed outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Inside Higher Ed, and even The Spectator during his time at Hamilton. While reflecting on the last eight years, President Wippman discussed how he has seen the state of higher education as a whole evolve, and the responsibility we bear as a college community to combat a declining public perception of its value. “I think the environment for higher education has changed dramatically, and not for the better,” President Wippman remarked. He explained that, “when we as a sector lose the public’s trust, there’s an enormous range of potential consequences.”
Many of these consequences arrive in the form of proposed legislation, and President Wippman, a lawyer by training, expressed concern for the ways in which such measures, if implemented, would restrict the the ways in which schools like Hamilton can operate. President Wippman warned of “proposed legislation that would impose all kinds of restrictions on the kinds of things that can be taught around race, and gender, and sexual orientation,” which, at the moment, are taking effect in many red states around the country. Given the current events unfolding in the Middle East, President Wippman also described “a proposal to have the Education Department send monitors to college campuses to look for evidence of anti-semitism, and if they find it, to insist on changes and to take away federal funding if colleges don’t comply.” Additionally, here in the state of New York, according to President Wippman, “In Governor Hochul’s most recent budget, schools with endowments over $750 million, which includes Hamilton, [are] losing Bundy Aid, which is unrestricted aid that the government provides to colleges and universities, and I don’t think that would have happened in a different environment for higher ed.”
Institutions for higher education are currently under the spotlight in national and global news outlets, as protests over the Israel-Palestine conflict envelop the campuses of colleges and universities nationwide. According to CNN, more than 1,500 people have been arrested on college and university campuses since April 18, with active police intervention most prominently seen at schools such as Columbia, UT Austin, UCLA, and USC, the last of which has already canceled its commencement ceremonies. At this critical moment, for many, Wippman fears, trust in higher education may decrease further. Wippman expressed, “We’re seeing challenges to free speech and academic freedom, and I’m concerned that the environment is deteriorating rather than improving, so I think it’s vital that those of us who care about higher ed and think that the mission that we are pursuing is incredibly valuable, not just to the students who benefit from it directly, but to society as a whole…have an obligation to really try to change the narrative, and articulate for people why what we do is so important for the United States.”
While the Hamilton community has been transformed in many ways over the course of the last eight years, there are many more initiatives the College is ready to tackle, and that we as a community can work toward achieving. As Wippman expressed, “There are a lot of things that are unfinished and there will be new programs and ideas and goals that the College will evolve over time.” Wippman spoke of the upcoming development of an innovation center as part of the digital component of the school’s strategic plan that is underway, as well as highlighted the continued work centered around the DEI mission. Additionally, as Wippman described, “We are in the process of completing a campus master plan, but that’s just the first step in what I think will turn out to be a much broader strategic planning process…there’s a lot of needs identified in that plan — residence halls, dining halls, athletic facilities, and many others — but that’s just one component of a larger set of needs that the College has.” Wippman also spoke on the priority of student mental health and the expansion of resources therein, as well as the idea of a new fundraising campaign in the future. “It’s an ongoing process, always,” he remarked.
For the Hamilton community, that process will be continued under the stewardship of a new president beginning this summer. When asked if there was any advice he wished he had received on his way into office to impart onto President-Elect Tepper, Wippman responded, “Steven and I speak regularly, I think he’s going to be fantastic, I honestly couldn’t be happier that he will be my successor here. My advice is not so much for him but for the community. I really hope people will support him, and understand that these jobs are challenging, that different segments of our community feel very strongly about some issues, but they go in different directions, and it’s not an easy role…I’m hoping the community will welcome him, and do everything they can to support him.”
As he prepares for his departure from the Hill, President Wippman reflected on some personal highlights from his time at Hamilton. He expressed that there are many memories with not only faculty and staff, but with students that he will take away. Wippman recalled the many videos on which he collaborated with students, noting, “When we did the carpool karaoke and the students were singing and we had faculty singing and staff…it was just a hoot, and I will definitely remember those moments.” Additionally, Wippman offered, “I’ll remember just sitting with students in the dining hall and having conversations or on the sides of a game or at a concert. I will remember the theater productions, which have just been amazing…the caliber of performances and really everything associated with the productions. I will really miss going to those.”
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic remains a core feature of President Wippman’s tenure here at Hamilton. Wippman reflected on the efforts of the community as a whole during this challenging time, recalling, “That was a moment where the College really rose to the occasion in a pretty extraordinary way, and it was a full community effort.” Though acknowledging that the pandemic already feels like history given how quickly and effectively campus has restored regular operations, Wippman described how the community “really had to reorganize how we operated, and students had to change their expectations around what college life should be, and faculty had to go through multiple teaching modalities, and staff had to physically reconfigure the campus.” Though a challenging time period for Hamilton, and for institutions of higher education around the world, Wippman applauded the efforts of our community members, remarking, “It was an enormous lift, and I think Hamilton did it as well as any and better than most, and that was something that really stands out to me.”
While President Wippman’s tenure has undoubtedly fallen in a time period within which the challenges toward institutions of higher education have never been greater, Wippman’s impression of his time on the Hill represents an enduring spirit, and as he concludes his presidency, he reflected, “I will miss the rhythms of academic life, the beauty of the campus, but fundamentally it’s the people I’ll miss, and I’ve had the opportunity to get to know and learn from and really appreciate so many different people here and in our alumni community.” When asked how he plans to indulge his free time moving forward, Wippman responded, “Spending a lot of time with my now-16-month-old grandson. I bought a house that’s an eight minute walk from where he is, and coincidentally his parents live, so I’ll be doing that. I’ll be doing a number of higher ed projects, but on a much more relaxed schedule. I’ll keep writing about higher education because I care about those issues, and I’ll devote a fair amount of time to recreation.”
President Wippman, just like other seniors here at Hamilton, will soon find that his time on the Hill has reached its end. Looking to the future, Wippman noted, “I have a lot of memories…that I will take away with me, and I hope that I will maintain my relationship with Hamilton so I hope that it’s not coming to a complete halt. My predecessors have remained engaged with the College and I hope to, but in the way they have — when asked.”
