About Kirkland
Kirkland College was founded in 1965 in Clinton, NY, as an undergraduate liberal arts institution, admitting only women. It merged with Hamilton College, a long established male-only school in 1978. A wonderful synopsis of its significance was delivered by Susan Skerritt, K’77, at Hamilton’s 2007 Class and Charter Day Address. A video of Skerritt’s speech can be viewed here.
The institutional history of Kirkland College has been documented in the book Limited Engagement, authored by Kirkland’s first and only president, Samuel Fisher Babbitt. In its Foreward he wrote:
What is missing, unfortunately, is the texture of the place as seen and felt by students and faculty in and out of the classrooms and residence halls and offices. . . .But those memories and experiences are for others to write about in their turn.
This site is an effort to address that gap in Kirkland’s beguiling and important history, culture, and traditions. We hope the storytelling, imagery, and narratives here will deepen your appreciation of the unique history of Kirkland College.
Kirkland College 
sam was my academic advisor, english professor as well as my college president. his freshman english was the 1st place were any teacher of mine asked the class WHAT WE THOUGHT about our texts. his message above makes me recall his approach to our learning and his pedagogy. a number of us in the kirkland alumnae group have talked about possible ways to draw more kirkland women into our conversations and document each woman’s personal experience of her life on the hill. my observation was that the kirkland alumnae “yearbook” that was created for the 35th anniversary of the kirkland charter class was an excellent device for this–an extension of “open mike”. speaking for myself, this publication pulled me “out of mothballs”–a 30 year silence & distance from all that was kirkland to me. i was struck by how many of the recorded memories on each page recalled the beauty of the many snowstorms “…the texture of the place as seen and felt by students…”..Those memories and experiences are for us to write about..it IS our turn..thank you so much for you invitation,sam! we are now “those others”.
xopam shipley k’78
My years at Kirkland as a staff member were both exciting and ‘educational’ in many ways – those ways, I’m sure, some students remember. I’d love to hear from any that remember.
Joan