Hamilton College

Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college located in Clinton, New York. It is sometimes referred to as the 'School on the Hill', due to the school's location on top of College Hill, just outside of downtown Clinton. Hamilton College was ranked as the 15th best Liberal Arts College in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report in 2006{{an|1}}.

History

Hamilton began in 1793 as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy, and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812. The college was founded by Samuel Kirkland as part of missions work with the Oneida tribe. The college is named for Alexander Hamilton, who was a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Hamilton-Oneida Academy.

Related Topics:
1793 - 1812 - Samuel Kirkland - Oneida tribe - Alexander Hamilton

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In 1978, the all-male Hamilton College merged with the all-female Kirkland College, which had been located adjacent to Hamilton. The primary public reason for the merger was Kirkland's imminent insolvency. This merger was not done lightly, overnight or without loud dissension by some; including large student protests on campus and their occupation of the President's Building for a few hours. It took nearly 7 years to complete the merger; 1985 was the last year in which female students were given the option of receiving a Kirkland diploma instead of a Hamilton diploma. There are still several former Kirkland faculty teaching at Hamilton that fondly remember being part of a very different academic community prior to the merger.

Related Topics:
1978 - Kirkland College - 1985

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Today, the original Hamilton campus is referred to by students and some school literature as the "light side" or "north side" of the campus. Formerly that side of campus was referred to as the "Stryker Campus" after its former president, Melancthon Woolsey Stryker (or incorrectly "Striker Campus"). On the other side of the street separating the two campuses, the former Kirkland campus is referred to as the "dark side" (a reference to the lighting in the Kirkland College buildings).

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Hamilton College is the third oldest college established in New York.

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