Hamilton College - Hamiltonian Yearbook (Clinton, NY)

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Harry Payne became Hamilton Colr Iegels ITth president on July I, IQSS. He succeeded Martin Caravano, who was Hamilton's president for I4 years. Payne graduated summa cum laude from Yale lJni'ltersit'ger in l969. and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He also earned his PhD. from Yale in IQTS. He began teaehng that year at Colgate as instructor of history. and was later elevated to professor of history. While at Colgate, Payne was also ap- pointed Director of the Division of Social Sciences and Acting Dean of the Faculty and Provost. In l935 Payne moved to Haverford; while there he was professor of history and Provost. and later. in IQST. he was ap- pointed acting President of the Col- lege. vember. he spoke about his philos- ophy of education. the real mo- ments he experienced while getting to know Hamilton College. and. most important. his goals for the College. Many of us may think that nothing needs to be done, but according to Payne. Because it lHamiltonl is so strong, the College can dream of be- ing stronger. Consequently, Payne came with suggestions and plans to make Hamilton stronger. These plans are as follows: It To build a new student activities space and a unifyr ing pedestrian pathway; 2:1 to in- crease Hamilton's selectivity in ad- missions: St to increase diversity on campus in such areas as the curricu- lum. student body. faculty. and ad- ministration. including the establish- ment of a program whereby students from neighboring colleges attend Hamilton during the summer; 4t to maintain and improve the academic facilities; and St to increase the en- dowment for academic and financial aid purposes. The year has also seen the creation of a planning process to look at the College's longuterm needs. The One Campus Planning Committee. work- ing in conjunction with the Board Committee. has been assessing pos- 26 sibie capital proieets. The results will not be final until the summer, but the report will put heavy emphasis on the endowment. Other capital projects which loom large are new student ac- tivities and scientific laboratories. improved instructional space. and renovation of Sage Rink. Another plan Payne has put to work is getting more minority students on campus. Recently, Hamilton received a $25,000 grant designed to bring stu- dents from such community colleges as Mohawk Valley, Onondaga. and the State Univesity of New York of Agriculture and Technology at Mor+ risville. The program is supposed to last for five weeks, starting the sum- mer of I990, and to continue for two years. According to The Spectator Paynejs overview of this program is. the College is looking to provide greater diversity of experience and perspective to its student population, Iandl to establish cooperative rela tions with the public institutions in the Mohawk Valley and Central New York. Payne's goal to increase diversity on the Hill is also becoming a reality. The Spectator reported that Payne began to draft an affirmative action policy, because he felt that 'iHamilton will be a better place if there would be a stronger presence of women and minorities . . . lthe affirmative action polioyl solidifies the idea that this is what the College needs. Thus. by formally establishing such a pre- viously implicit policy. Payne hopes that Hamilton will become stron- ger.

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YEAR IN RE VIEW CONTINUO US 6W F rom the inauguration of President Payne in No- vember to the graduation of the Class of T89 in May, the I983-89 school year was full of changes. The new Schambach center provided state-ofuthe-art facilities and equipment for music scholars and the Bristol pool brought an end to the swim teamsi' commuter practices, as well as a stunning new world record. Students spoke out on the issues of divestment, rape. and private societies in a fervor not seen in years. Student participation in campus activities reached an all time high. The heightened interest was seen in the grand success of organizations such as HAVOC and the student publications released this year. . The l988-39 school year marked a transition period on the Hamilton campus. This section provides an overview of the major events and cap- tures the changing spirit on the Hill. I .11.- '..- 1:31; : '12::11g t-d.::-.:-t-.;;.- .: 25

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President Payne has expressed deep satisfaction with his first year. He has found positive energy on cam- pus and among the many graduates he met on the road. Especially satis- fying were the deep commitment to teaching shown by the Faculty in all of the reviews; the tremendous scholarly success, witnessed in publi- cations, grants and fellowships; the Watson. Fulbright. and NSF Fellow- ships garnered by the students; the substantial progress in minority ad- missions this year; the good commu- nication between the Board of Trusts ees and the campus, especially in the planning process; the impressive sue- eess of HAVOC in stimulating 1wuznlun- teer outreach; the great creative en- ergy shown in such events as the Hunger Cleanup, the BLSLI 20th Annir versary Weekend, the marathon swim reiay, the ReotrJessup events, and the performances of the theater, dance and music programs: success- ful grant applications for starting for- mal Chinese and Japanese language eeurses, initiating relationships with tweryear colleges, and purchasing important scientific equipment; pre- gress toward significant enhance- ment of student sietiiiitiyr space. and much, much more. Payne. along with his wife Deborah and two children Samuel, IO, and Jonathan, I3, came to Hamilton from Haverford. His wife is currently working with the Higher Edueaiten Oppnrtunityr Program tHEOPi and the Quantitative Literacy Program on campus. Their children attend Clinton Central Schools. Having lived twelve years previously in the region, they are happy to be back in Central New York. Diane Lynch I.