Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Primary Sources

A history course digs into the Colleges’ past.

BY ANDREW WICKENDEN '09

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.

Professor of History Clifton Hood admits that titling a course “History of HWS Colleges” was “bait” — a hook to draw students into a course structured around archival research and writing — but it worked. The class filled quickly, mostly with seniors in their final semester who were “intrigued by learning the history of the place literally under their feet, in part, I think, as a way of ending their time as students,” says Hood, the George E. Paulsen ’49 Professor of American History and Government.

The course lived up to its research-intensive billing as students waded into the HWS archives in search of the narratives, told and untold, that have shaped the Colleges. Guided by Archivist Tricia McEldowney and Archives Technician Brandon Moblo, students pored over precious documents and artifacts. Relying on diary and yearbook entries by early William Smith students, Quin Kenny ’22 examined courtship in the early 20th century and “the pressures women felt to marry” — a project inspired by her grandfather’s memories of his years on campus. Kenny, whose father is also a Hobart grad, says the “deep dive” into HWS history, and “what the Colleges were like when my family attended,” proved to be “enlightening and a great way to connect to them.” Molly O’Toole ’23 notes that the reading list helped “situate our research into a larger context,” supplementing archival materials “with historical studies about higher ed and other institutions.” The workshop-style classroom critiques — and “the leeway to have fun and explore” — was especially rewarding as she drafted her essay, examining the impacts of !rst wave feminism on the founding of William Smith and the coordinate system.

Other projects looked back at student protests in the ’60s and ’70s, town-gown tensions, the waxing and waning of the Episcopal Church’s presence on campus, the Air Force ROTC, the impact of World War II, the emergence of women’s athletics, the evolution of the Dance Department and the role of campus spaces in shaping social cohesion. The wide range of topics spurred “in-depth conversations about HWS and how we would like to see it change for the better,” Kenny says. “By reflecting on the past, we can see how much HWS has grown as an institution…and how much potential it has to grow even more.”