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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 19th best Liberal Arts College in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report in 2005.
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. In 1978, the all-male Hamilton College merged with the all-female Kirkland College, which had been located adjacent to Hamilton. Today, the original Hamilton campus is referred to by students and some school literature as the "light side" or the "Striker Campus" while the former Kirkland campus referred to as the "dark side" (a reference to the lighting in the Kirkland College buildings). Hamilton College is the third oldest college established in New York.
The college received national media attention early in 2005 when a scheduled appearance by radical Professor Ward Churchill was cancelled after the college received numerous complaints about a Churchill essay in which he compared some of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks attacks to Nazis. [1] (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/education/article/0,1299,DRMN_957_3501617,00.html) [2] (http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/02/02/speaker.protest.ap/)
Academics
Hamilton currently offers several areas of study (this list from the schoolÂ’s website):
Addintionally Hamilton students may study aboard. There are long standing programs in China and France. Some students also choose to study at other institutions with in the United States, including the option to take part in long standing programs in New York City and Washington, DC.
Campus Life
Starting in the late 1990s, the administration and the trustees have worked together to improve life on the campus. Nearly all students now live in college-owned dorms, including several dorms that were formerly fraternity houses. A few fraternities and sororities have had their charters revoked for extreme behavior (causing a great deal of controversy among the students).
The changes have allowed the student community to increase the number and types of activities avialable on campus. The college has also provided significant funding for student actvivies through student-run organizations. College-sponsored student-run groups frequently bring music, movies, plays, and other proformers to the college.
Like most small colleges in the United States, ethnic diversity is an ongoing struggle for the college.
Athletics
Hamilton is a NCAA Division III school and has been a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference since 1971. The college sports teams are known as the Hamilton Continentals. Hamilton sponsors 28 sports, including: Baseball (M), Basketball (M&W), Crew (M&W), Cross Country (M&W), Field Hockey (W), Football (M), Golf (M), Ice Hockey (M&W), Lacrosse (M&W), Outdoor and Indoor Track & Field (M&W), Soccer (M&W), Softball (W), Squash (M&W), Swimming & Diving (M&W), Tennis (M&W), Volleyball (W).
About 30% of the Hamilton student body participates on the athletics program. In addition to varsity sports, Hamilton sponsors several club sports and intramural activities each year. All students have the opportunity to participate at a level enjoyable to them. Including the creation of a Streaking team in 2002, which claims an undefeated record. The streaking team received favorable coverage from the New York Times in 2004.
Facilities
Over the last few years, Hamilton has worked to greatly improve the academic and dorm facilities. Hamilton has an impressive library for a school of its size. The science building has recently undergone a multimillion dollar renovation, along with the creating a new building for the Computer Science department. The art department has separate studios for each of the studio arts taught, which are well regarded by the student's majoring in those departments. In addition to the standard fields for soccer, football, etc., Hamilton's athletic facilities include an ice rink, swimming pool, several athletics fields, a golf course, all of which are open to use by the student body.
Famous Alumni
Notable alumni of Hamilton College include:
The Numbers
| General Information: |
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| Enrollment: | ~1,750 |
| Percentage Male: | 49% |
| Percentage Female: | 51% |
| Average Entering Class Size: | 475 |
| Applicants for class of 2007: | 4,405 |
| Acceptance Rate: | 35% |
| Applicants for class of 2008: | 4,444 |
| Acceptance Rate: | 34% |
| SAT Scores: | |
| -75th percentile: | 1430 |
| -Mean: | 1360 |
| -25th percentile: | 1310 |
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| Ethnic Diversity: |
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| International | 6% |
| African-American | 6% |
| Native American | 1% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 6% |
| Hispanic | 3% |
| Caucasian | 78% |
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External links
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