Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Celebrating Hobart’s 200th

IN PERSON, ONLINE, EVERY DAY, ALL YEAR.

Festivities began this winter and continue throughout 2022, with tributes to Hobart history, virtual forums, events on and off-campus, and of course the October gala celebration.

Commencement

During the Bicentennial year Commencement ceremonies, three distinguished members of the HWS community were recognized with honorary degrees for their demonstrated excellence in their respective fields and their embodiment of the Colleges’ commitment to natural and social sciences, athletics and the arts. In addition, the President of Ukraine was recognized with an honorary degree in absentia.

Dr. Christopher Beyrer ’81, Sc.D. ’22, who delivered the 2022 Commencement address, is an epidemiologist who has worked on the frontlines of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19. Recently named the director of the Duke University Global Health Institute, Beyrer is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and a past president of the International AIDS Society. He previously served as the inaugural Desmond M. Tutu Professor in Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He was the founding director of the Bloomberg School’s Center for Public Health and Human Rights and served as associate director of the university’s Center for Global Health and Center for AIDS Research.

Eric Andersen ’65, L.H.D. ’22 is an award-winning singer, songwriter and musician whose work has been recorded and performed by Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, The Grateful Dead and Linda Ronstadt among many others. Andersen was enrolled in pre-medical studies at Hobart before leaving school in 1963. In his musical career since, he has recorded dozens of albums and performed and toured internationally with other renowned artists. Called an “American master” by New York Times’ music critic Robert Palmer, Andersen is currently writing his memoir and an episodic novel called Bastardo.

Aliceann Wilber P’12, L.H.D. ’22 has been the only head coach during William Smith soccer’s 40-plus years as a varsity sport. She led the Herons to two national championships and a Division III-record 30 NCAA tournament appearances. In 2021, she became the second coach — and first woman — in NCAA soccer ever to hit the 600-win milestone. She is the recipient of the 2021 United Soccer Coaches’ Women’s Soccer Award of Excellence and was inducted to the organization’s Hall of Fame in 2018. She is the first woman to receive the United Soccer Coaches’ prestigious Bill Jeffrey Award for her service to the collegiate game.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy L.H.D. ’22 was elected President of Ukraine in 2019 and has led the country against the unprovoked invasion by Russia. Before his election, he was a comedian best known for his television role as an ordinary schoolteacher accidentally catapulted into political power. President Jacobsen said earlier this year, “In awarding this degree to President Zelenskyy, Hobart and William Smith honor not only his courage but also the bravery of all Ukrainians, including those under attack in their country or recently exiled, and who call Upstate New York home.”

FROM THE ARCHIVES

For many years, Hobart College’s permanent charter sat dormant in a box atop a storage rack in the library archives — until Archivist and Special Collections Librarian Tricia McEldowney and Archives Technician Brandon Moblo uncovered it in 2019. The parchment was hard to read, but between the date and the embossed seal from the Board of Regents, it was quickly apparent that they had uncovered the official certificate that granted Geneva Academy status as a college. While the document was well-secured in an environmentally controlled space, it was not cataloged. On the cusp of the Bicentennial, the surprise discovery offered a chance “to reflect on that time in history when the hope for a college in Geneva first became a reality,” McEldowney says. “It connects us to our past in a physical way.” Due to COVID-related delays, the charter’s restoration took nearly two years, but it returned to campus in 2021 following a thorough cleaning and a humidification process that made it flatter and more legible. It is now housed in a 28” x 31” preservation package on display in the library’s Bicentennial Gallery — and yes, it’s cataloged.

STILL TO COME

Bishop John Henry Hobart Day Lecture and Symposium On Sept. 12, explore the life and legacy of John Henry Hobart with the Rt. Rev. R. William Franklin, a church historian and Assisting Bishop of Long Island, and the Rev. Canon Kelly Brown Douglas, Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary. Two Cities Reunion SEPT. 29 - OCT. 2

Homecoming and Family Weekend SEPT. 30 - OCT. 2

Bicentennial Gala SATURDAY, OCT. 22

MORE

For a timeline of the College, Hobart lore and the extended schedule of Bicentennial events, visit hws.edu/hobart-bicentennial.