Hamilton students and community members will hear from former President Barack H. Obama on Thursday, April 3 at 7 p.m. in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House. President Obama will participate in a conversation on campus as part of the Sacerdote Great Names Speaker Series, as announced in a campus-wide email the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 18.
A Conversation with President Barack Obama is a free event, though tickets are required to attend. While there is some concern among students about how competitive it might be to get tickets, the event will be held in the Field House which has a capacity of 5100 seats. Students and members of the Hamilton campus community will have first priority to get tickets, starting at 9 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 24. Later, public access to the event will open up if tickets are still available.
The Great Names announcement comes after two weeks of speculation around campus about a potential presidential visit. Some students claimed to see an early email with the announcement that was promptly deleted. In response to these rumors, one of Hamilton’s satire publications, The Daily Bull, distributed an issue titled “BARAK [sic] OBAMA IS COMING TO HAMILTON!” on Jan. 30 of this year.
Tuesday’s official announcement sparked conversation among the Hamilton community in-person and online. After posting the news, Hamilton’s official social media posts about the event garnered a total of 5649 likes, 183 comments and 2368 shares across Instagram, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook—a sharp increase from the College’s typical social media engagement. On campus, students in the KJ Atrium and elsewhere discussed the news throughout the afternoon, and anyone walking through McEwen at dinnertime could hear questions like “How did they get Obama?” emanating from several tables.
Lisa Magnarelli, Director of College Events and Scheduling, told The Spectator that Hamilton coordinates speakers for this series in a standard process of extending invitations through agencies that work with high-profile individuals. “President Obama has been at the top of our list for years, and securing his participation is another milestone for the Great Names Series,” said Magnarelli, referring to a committee of faculty, administrators and two student ambassadors. She shared her belief that Hamilton’s “reputation as a respected lecture series played a role in getting our invitation in front of President Obama’s team.”
Though she did not disclose the precise number, Magnarelli shared that President Obama will be compensated through an honorarium “made possible by the generosity of the family of Alex Sacerdote, a 1994 Hamilton graduate” who “has enabled the College to host a diverse array of distinguished guests.”
The former president spent much of the past few years stumping at campaign rallies and participating in political speaking engagements, but President Obama is no stranger to speaking to college campuses. During his time in office, President Obama delivered 26 commencement addresses, the most commencement addresses any president has given during an administration.
President Obama will join a distinguished list of former presidents who participated in Hamilton’s Sacerdote Great Names Speaker series. President Jimmy Carter came to the Hamilton campus in April of 2001 to discuss his time in the Oval Office, peace with the Middle East, relations with China and Taiwan, the Panama Canal and the U.S. political system. During his lecture, President Carter shared that he saw “the growing chasm between the rich people and poor people on the Earth” as the greatest challenge in the world, the College shared on social media on Dec. 30, 2024, following President Carter’s passing.
President Bill Clinton also visited Hamilton on Nov. 9, 2004 in his first public appearance after undergoing quadruple heart bypass surgery in September of that year. During the event, President Clinton discussed why the Democratic party lost the presidential election that took place just one week earlier, Hamilton College News reported at the time. He explained that Democrats faltered in getting out their message. At the same time, there was a major turnout of evangelical Christian voters “who said they were voting on moral values. I do not believe either party has a monopoly on morality,” President Clinton shared. He also critiqued the Bush Administration’s budget deficits, “Every day the United States of America borrows from the central banks of China and Japan to cover my tax cut. Now if you think that’s good economic policy, go support it. A lot of people apparently do.”
There is no specific topic for President Obama’s remarks, but Magnarelli provided some insight into what the former president might discuss. Speaking on behalf of the Great Names committee, she said, “President Obama’s visit is an extraordinary opportunity for our community to hear firsthand about leadership and the power of service. We hope attendees walk away with insights that resonate beyond politics — lessons about decision-making, navigating challenges, and making an impact in their own lives and communities.”
James S. Sherman Professor of Government Philip Klinkner was on campus during President Carter’s and President Clinton’s events. While recalling these past presidential visits, Professor Klinkner also noted that Hamilton has hosted two speakers who won the popular vote in a presidential election but did not become president; Former Vice President Al Gore spoke on campus in 2006, and former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton spoke on campus in 2013.
Reflecting on Tuesday’s news, Professor Klinkner stated, “Obama is probably the most sought after personality in the world right now. Either him or Beyonce. Getting him at Hamilton is a big deal.” However, Professor Klinkner later shared that “honestly, Obama’s kind of a letdown after we were promised Matthew McConaughey,” referring to a Spring 2024 Great Names event with the actor that was postponed and is yet to be rescheduled.