Hobart and William Smith Colleges

August 29, 2025

Dear Members of the HWS Community,

As we begin the 2025–2026 academic year, I am filled with excitement, gratitude and pride for all that we’ve accomplished together, and all that we are poised to achieve in the year ahead.

This fall, we welcome 536 new students to Hobart and William Smith, arriving from 30 states and six continents – from Ghana to Vietnam, and Australia to Egypt. Their presence, perspectives and ambitions enrich our campus and community, and we are eager to see the many ways they will shape our future.

Our academic year officially begins at Convocation on Sunday, August 31 at 4:30 p.m. on Stern Lawn, where we will gather as a community to mark the start of this new chapter. I hope you’ll join us as we welcome keynote speaker Richard “Toby” Pugh ’67, a Walt Disney Imagineering Architect and this year’s recipient of the Hobart Medal of Excellence, the Alumni Association’s highest honor.

Classes begin Monday, September 1, and with them comes a renewed sense of purpose and possibility. This year, we have much to look forward to – from new academic offerings to transformative capital projects and expanded opportunities to participate in dialogue. 

As our clubs and organizations begin meeting, we also look forward with great anticipation to the fall athletic season. Our teams have completed their pre-season training, and games begin this weekend.

We will have an important and valuable opportunity in October to engage in cross-ideological conversation with some of the most prominent thinkers on the U.S. Supreme Court and the American judicial system. Journalists Ruth Marcus and Hugh Hewitt will be featured guests of the Stern Family Forum in a discussion hosted by “60 Minutes” Correspondent and HWS Trustee Bill Whitaker ’73, L.H.D.’97. Marcus and Hewitt have spent their careers examining the judicial system and there’s no one better than Bill Whitaker to moderate what will no doubt be a thought-provoking session.

The Stern Family Forum will be one of many such opportunities for open dialogue on complex issues – a cornerstone of the HWS educational experience. With the leadership of Vice President Chevy DeVaney, in September we will launch a series of monthly conversations designed to unpack challenging topics. These more casual and intimate discussions will allow us to exercise our ability to understand other perspectives and better appreciate our shared humanity. The first one will happen in my living room this semester with others occurring in spaces across campus.   

One of the most significant developments we will see in the upcoming year will be the groundbreaking for the new Fish Center for the Sciences. Over the summer, major renovations were completed in Gulick Hall, now home to Psychological Science, Physics and Computer Science, and in the basement of Rosenberg Hall, where new physics labs have been added. These enhancements set the stage for the planned January 2026 demolition of Eaton Hall, allowing us to fully realize a unified, integrated hub for the sciences and technology.

This fall also marks the beginning of two initiatives made possible by a historic $70 million gift from Tom Melly ’52 and his wife, Judy Melly, whose vision and generosity will shape generations of HWS students. First, we will launch the Melly Institute for Business, Innovation and Leadership – a forward-thinking resource designed to prepare students for success in a rapidly evolving economy. Second, we are excited to announce the Melly Scholarship. Beginning with the Class of 2030, this program will recognize 15–20 exceptional first-year students each year with our largest merit aid – a transformative investment in talent and leadership made possible by the Mellys.

The momentum we are building is being recognized beyond our campus. This summer, The Princeton Review ranked Hobart and William Smith among the top colleges in the country for alumni network, career services, community service and student support, among many other categories. I encourage you to read more about these recognitions here and here.

As we embark on this exciting new year, I want to thank each of you – faculty, staff and students – for your contributions to this community. Your work, curiosity, energy and commitment are what make Hobart and William Smith such an extraordinary place to learn and grow.

Sincerely,

Mark D. Gearan
President