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Computing and Technology at Hamilton

Overview

Hamilton’s relationship with computing spans more than five decades, from a Burke Library basement terminal linked to Cornell’s mainframe in the late 1960s through a campus-wide ethernet network in the mid-1990s, wireless internet expansion in the mid-2000s, and a modern web content management system by 2010. The arrival of Apple Macintosh personal computers in 1985 marked the first turning point; the campus network rollout of 1992–1996 marked the second; the Multimedia Processing Center, web-based library catalogs, and administrative portals of the early 2000s marked the third. Information Technology Services (ITS) — led during the critical expansion era by staff member Jim Huang and Director (later Vice President) David Smallen — was the institutional engine of every stage of this transformation. A posthumous memorial fund in Smallen’s name later supported student creative work, marking his lasting imprint on campus life. The college’s engagement with computing as scholarship, rather than infrastructure, culminated in the Digital Humanities Initiative of 2010–2013.

Key Points

A Computer in Burke Library Basement, 1974

The earliest direct Spectator reference to an on-campus computer at Hamilton comes from May 1974, when the Board of Trustees allocated $20,000 to install “the college’s forthcoming computer in the basement of the Daniel Burke Library.” This was a single institutional machine, not a lab, and its acquisition was approved alongside a $25,000 engineering study for a Chemistry Building renovation — suggesting the Board viewed computing as a significant but still supplementary capital investment. (Spectator, May 23, 1974)

Cornell Mainframe Link and the Burke Library Computer Center, Late 1960s–Early 1980s

A retrospective item in the September 1989 Spectator, under the heading “Twenty Years Ago,” noted that “the computer center in Burke Library opened, linking Kirkland and Hamilton Colleges to Cornell University’s mainframe.” This places the founding of an on-campus computing facility to approximately 1969, predating the May 1974 Trustees allocation for a standalone college computer. By the early 1980s the infrastructure had evolved: Terak terminals connected to a main computer at Cornell University, supplemented by a small number of personal computers. The Computer Center was still located in the basement of Burke Library, and by February 1982 it was pressing for additional classroom space — the Audio-Visual department’s planned move to the James Library was expected to free space for expanded computing facilities. The 1983 Curriculum Commission, chaired by Professor Robin Kinnel (Chemistry), reported being “pleased with the growth of computer literacy among students, but would hope to see more in the future,” reflecting a college-wide sense that computing skills were becoming essential but remained underdeveloped. (Spectator, February 12, 1982; Spectator, April 8, 1983; Spectator, September 8, 1989)

Plans for Macintoshes, CS Minor, and a New Phone System, Spring 1985

By March 1985, Hamilton had created a computer science minor (the previous year, 1984) and was planning a major purchase of twenty Macintosh personal computers for the Computer Science Center in Burke Library. An article headlined “20 Mac Attack” in the March 8 Spectator quoted Frank Price, Coordinator of Academic Computing, as saying the Macintosh “provides the best environment for teaching Pascal” and also had advantages for graphics and word processing. Stuart Hirshfield, the only computer scientist on the faculty and an associate professor of mathematics, articulated the national trend in liberal arts computing: teaching “fundamental principles in an ever changing field” and tying computers into other disciplines “like chemistry and sociology.” Hirshfield was working toward establishing a formal computer science major, describing it as near-term. Upper-level courses would continue to be taught on the Terak terminals using UCSA PASCAL while the new Macs served introductory instruction. Student John Lorde ‘86 envisioned the Macs as the first step toward a campus-wide computer system where students could access assignments and send messages from dormitory terminals. In the same month, a separate Trustees report noted that a new campus telephone system ($0.5–$0.75 million estimated cost) would provide “enhanced voice and data transmission capacity, thus better equipping the campus for data processing and computing expansion in the future.” (Spectator, March 8, 1985; Spectator, March 1, 1985)

Arrival of Macintoshes and Anne Ludington, Fall 1985

The most consequential single event in Hamilton’s early computing history was the purchase of eighteen Apple Macintosh personal computers for the Computer Science Center in fall 1985. (The March 1985 article had announced twenty Macs; the final purchase was eighteen.) Anne Ludington, head of the Math and Computer Science Department, explained that the primary purpose was instruction — particularly for CS 141 (Macintosh Pascal) and CS 242. She envisioned the Macs replacing reliance on the Cornell connection for statistical work and described plans to offer a formal computer science concentration “within a couple of years.” She was also among the first faculty to use the Macintosh for her own academic writing, replacing longhand drafts. Academic Computer Coordinator Frank Price — an avid Macintosh enthusiast — predicted word processing would dominate campus use: “most of what we do here at Hamilton is process words,” and described the Mac as “for the first time… a computer that is powerful enough and versatile enough for everyone to use.” Student reactions ranged from enthusiasm (an English major called MacWrite “the only word processor on campus worth using”) to skepticism (an IBM partisan dismissed the Mac as “one of the greatest toys Hamilton College has ever bought”). (Spectator, September 13, 1985)

Expansion of Lab Computing, Mid-to-Late 1980s

A standalone computer room was constructed in the Biology Department around 1985, reflecting computing’s spread beyond the Computer Science Center into the science disciplines. By fall 1987, Apple was advertising Macintosh Plus and Macintosh 512K Enhanced computers (bundled with Microsoft Works) directly to Hamilton students in the Spectator at educational discount prices, signaling that personal computer ownership was becoming a mainstream student expectation rather than a specialist’s tool. (Spectator, February 13, 1987)

Pew Memorial Trust Grant and Computing in the Classroom, 1987

In fall 1987, Hamilton received a Pew Memorial Trust grant of approximately $500,000 titled “Technology and the Service of the Liberal Arts.” While the grant’s primary purposes included improving speech facilities and establishing a Reading and Writing Center, a portion was directed toward developing a computer-assisted instructional program. Stuart Hirshfield (mathematics/computer science) collaborated with Associate Professor of Government David Paris and Associate Professor of English Nathaniel Strout to design a program in which professors built interactive exercise sequences on the computer and students completed them before class — enabling more substantive class discussion. The program was in “live testing” in Paris’s Government 117 and Strout’s English 200 sections in fall 1987. Apple Computer, Inc. expressed interest in the program’s potential. The grant also stipulated that Hamilton offer a summer course teaching the program to faculty from other institutions. In October 1987, Hirshfield, Paris, Strout, and Richard Decker delivered a Sigma Xi lecture titled “Machiavelli, the MacIntosh, and the Miller’s Tale: Computers and the Liberal Arts.” That same fall, the Board of Trustees heard plans for additional computer storage space in the Burke Library basement “to be used by advanced computer students in their studies,” to be equipped with “state of the art McIntosh computers.” (Spectator, October 2, 1987)

Computer Center Demonstrations and Student Operators, 1988–1989

By April 1988, the Computer Center was hosting public demonstrations of emerging multimedia technology — including HyperCard software, Apple video-disk players, and interactive educational disks (such as National Gallery of Art images and Stanford theater productions). An advertisement for “Student Computer Operating” positions ran in the same issue, with applications due at the Computer Center window in the Burke Library basement. The Computer Center was by this point actively staffed by student operators working for the public. (Spectator, April 15, 1988)

Campus Network Rollout and Jim Huang, 1992–1996

The most rapid transformation of Hamilton’s computing infrastructure occurred in the mid-1990s under the leadership of ITS staff member Jim Huang. Huang arrived at Hamilton in summer 1992 in general microcomputer support, but the campus networking effort soon became his primary work. The Science building was the first campus structure connected to the email system, in late 1992 or early 1993. Campus-wide networking formally broke ground in fall 1994. By September 1995, the $3 million campus network was in its final testing stages and set to go live during the week of September 18. Director of Information Technology Services David Smallen reported that 50 to 100 students would be initially connected — primarily those who already owned computers with ethernet cards. A nationwide shortage of computer parts and supplies had delayed deliveries of ethernet cards and new computers ordered through the College Store. The College sponsored installation fairs where students could bring their computers to have ethernet cards and software installed. By February 1996, when the Spectator profiled Huang under the headline “Jim Huang: The man behind the campus network,” his team had deployed ethernet cards and network software to buildings across the entire campus and connected 527 students to the network — along with nearly all faculty. The first shipment of networked computers arrived and was installed perfectly: not a single support call came in that afternoon. Huang described Hamilton’s effort as unprecedented in scope: “Out of all the schools, this is the most intense networking effort.” Most colleges networked one building at a time; Hamilton networked the entire campus in roughly two years. His aspiration at the time was to eventually add a video network enabling interactive lectures across campus. (The Spectator, September 8, 1995; The Spectator, February 9, 1996)

ITS as an Organization

By February 1996, Information Technology Services employed approximately 35 student Service Assistants, each working roughly 10 hours per week. ITS defined its mission as providing “assistance to all members of the Hamilton College community in their use of computers, networks and telephones.” The organization actively recruited student Service Assistants, emphasizing the role as a way to “develop technical and interpersonal skills.” Applications were available on the campus Software Server in both WriteNow and Microsoft Word (RTF) formats — itself a signal of how networked the institution had become. By fall 1996, students could order personal computers through the college store and access computers from the library basement as a public resource. (The Spectator, February 23, 1996; The Spectator, September 6, 1996)

Computer Theft and Physical Security, 1996

As computing hardware became ubiquitous, physical security emerged as a problem. In November 1996, two laptop computers were stolen from the Fuqua science building — visitors had left them in a room and returned to find them missing. Campus Safety reported that 25 computers total had been stolen from various locations on campus, most of them laptops. The incident reflected both the increasing value and portability of campus computing equipment and the difficulty of securing it. (The Spectator, November 22, 1996)

Remote Collaboration Facility and the Mellon Project, 1997

In April 1997, Hamilton received a $75,000 grant from the George I. Alden Trust to equip its Remote Collaboration Facility (RCF) with laptop computers. The RCF was designed to support electronic seminars linking Hamilton faculty and students with counterparts at other colleges, businesses, and government offices; allow faculty at one location to teach students at multiple sites; and connect visiting experts — legislators, journalists, artists, CEOs — to Hamilton classes via videoteleconference. President Eugene Tobin described it as enabling “entire classes using the RCF [to] go on-line simultaneously.” The facility represented one of the earliest implementations of interactive video-based collaborative teaching at a small liberal arts college. The RCF was funded as part of a larger $847,000 Carnegie Mellon Foundation grant received jointly by Hamilton and Colgate in 1995 — the total cost of facilities at both colleges approximately $200,000. Courses offered through the collaboration included an advanced parallel computing course. David Smallen, by then Director of ITS, called the RCF rooms “a creative and exciting aspect of the Mellon project.” Representatives from Hamilton, Colgate, Middlebury, and Skidmore held demonstrations of the facility’s capabilities in spring 1997. (The Spectator, April 11, 1997; The Spectator, November 14, 1997)

David Smallen and Mass Email Abuse, 1997

In October 1997, campus email became a flashpoint in a broader controversy over anonymous communication. Students used email aliases and public computers to send anonymous mass messages during a period of campus unrest (including a contested smoking ban and a parking lot incident that sparked gay and anti-gay reactions). ITS Director David Smallen sent a campus-wide email warning that ITS was “in the process of putting in place procedures that may help us identify the senders of offending e-mails,” and that violators’ names would be turned over to judicial committees. The Spectator’s own online forum, launched as an alternative venue, was shut down within two weeks due to libel concerns over anonymous posts. The Committee on Information Technology convened to address email policy. Smallen asked the community to assume that messages marked “[Unverified]” were false and to delete them. The episode illustrated how rapidly email had moved from a technical infrastructure to a site of social and political contestation. (The Spectator, October 24, 1997)

Y2K Preparedness, 1998–1999

The November 1998 Spectator ran a detailed article on Hamilton’s preparedness for the Y2K problem. Smallen explained the core technical issue — pre-mid-1990s systems recorded the year in two digits, so “2000” would read as “1900” — and warned that “some systems will fail, or applications will continue to function but give wrong and misleading information.” Computer Science professor Mark Bailey stated that “the only solution to the problem is to re-write the software and rebuild the hardware.” ITS was conducting systematic research on methods used at other institutions and maintained a dedicated website with Y2K information and links. Smallen expressed cautious optimism that Hamilton would “identify all critical systems and prepare them for Year 2000 compliance” but acknowledged that “the biggest unknown is the relationships we have with other organizations in this interconnected world.” The areas of concern were central business systems, desktop systems, systems with embedded computer chips, and Hamilton’s relationships with outside organizations. The article also surveyed the national landscape: the Social Security Administration received an A+ grade, while the Department of Transportation and several others received Fs. Hamilton expected most systems to be compliant by January 2000. (The Spectator, November 20, 1998)

Laptop Adoption and the Broader National Trend, 1998–2001

By fall 1998, other institutions were beginning to require student laptop ownership. Northern Michigan University planned to require students to lease IBM laptops at $600/year by fall 2000. Michigan State had a proposal to require network-compatible laptops for all students matriculating from 2001. The Spectator covered this trend in the same November 1998 issue as the Y2K article, without reporting that Hamilton had adopted a similar policy. By January 2001, some off-campus students participating in a college program received “take-home computers” as part of their benefit package. By April 2002, Hamilton had deployed web-based course registration (WebAdvisor), with student complaints about bugs in the new system, and KJ 220 was opened as a drop-in computer room for students registering near the Registrar’s Office — an indication of how central networked computer access had become to routine academic administration. (The Spectator, November 20, 1998; The Spectator, January 19, 2001; The Spectator, April 19, 2002)

Multimedia Processing Center and Web-Based Library Catalog, 2002

In fall 2002, ITS transformed the former all-night reading room at Burke Library into the Multimedia Processing Center (MPC), a $200,000 facility containing eight high-end Power Macintosh workstations, two servers, two large-format printers, two laser printers, seven scanners, and eight digital cameras. Jesse Thomas, ITS Multimedia Specialist and Manager of the MPC, described it as designed “to offer not only hardware and software, but a full range of support services for the entire process of creating multimedia enhanced presentations, from planning to actual delivery.” Janet Simons, Instructional Technology Specialist for ITS, hoped the facility would enable students to “explore what they can do and see what they can be creative with.” Vice President for Information Technology David Smallen stated the cost included hardware, software, networking, and staffing. The MPC offered two tiers of software: “Tier 1” for beginners and “Tier 2” professional-level tools. Student Technology Consultants (STCs) were available during all operating hours. The same fall, the library replaced its 14-year-old VTLS catalog system with a new web-based system designed by Endeavor Information Systems, Inc. The new system linked to the CourseInfo Blackboard platform and the new “My Hamilton Portal,” and allowed off-campus students to access course reserves using their Hamilton ID numbers. Course reserves became accessible from off-campus for the first time. By 2002, Smallen’s title had advanced to Vice President for Information Technology. (Spectator, September 6, 2002)

Wireless Network Expansion, 2007

By fall 2007, ITS was completing a major expansion of the campus wireless network, made possible by a $370,000 gift from charter trustee David Solomon ‘84 and his wife Mary Solomon (donated January 2007). Planning for the expansion began in fall 2006, with hardware installation starting in March 2007. The project introduced a secure, authenticated wireless network available to students and employees, while also providing an open unsecured network for visitors at select locations. By fall 2007, approximately 90 percent of the student population had wireless-capable laptops. Over 1,000 people had already configured their computers to use the secure network, with more than 700 simultaneous users at peak times daily. The expansion was led by Dave Roback, ITS Network/System Administrator, with contractors TAG Solutions (wiring and hardware) and IP Logic (software configuration and building surveys). Buildings still to be completed included the fitness center, gym, squash courts, Buttrick Hall, Benedict Hall, List and Shambach Halls, Minor Theatre, and the Molly Root House. Outdoor coverage was largely complete except for athletic fields. Dave Smallen, by this point Vice President for Information Technology, was quoted as the authorizing administrator. (Spectator, September 7, 2007)

Website and Content Management Infrastructure, 2010

By fall 2010, ITS had migrated the Hamilton website to a SiteManager content management system extended to student organizations and faculty. The New Media team and Web Services unit within ITS managed the transition, which experienced bugs in web applications and some lost or corrupted content. ITS offered training classes to SiteManager editors. The transition indicated a second-generation institutional web presence, moving from centrally maintained HTML to a distributed CMS model. (The Spectator, September 23, 2010)

The Steven Daniel Smallen Memorial Fund

By spring 2009, a memorial fund named after David Smallen — “The Steven Daniel Smallen Memorial Fund for Student Creativity” — had been established and was awarding grants to student creative projects. A student band received $1,500 from the fund to help finance a studio recording. The fund’s existence and the use of “Steven Daniel” rather than “David” suggests either a different person or a formal name discrepancy; however, the memorial context confirms that the Smallen who led ITS in the 1990s had died sometime before 2009. (The Spectator, May 8, 2009)

Digital Humanities as a Later Chapter

The later arc of Hamilton’s engagement with technology shifted from infrastructure to scholarship. The Digital Humanities Initiative (DHi), co-directed by Angel Nieves and Janet Simons, received two Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grants totaling $1.6 million between 2010 and 2013, funding projects including the Soweto Historical GIS Project, a Mohawk Valley refugee documentary, and a Comparative Japanese Film Archive. This work built on the computing and networking infrastructure assembled in the 1990s and represented a shift in how faculty used digital tools — from communication and word processing to research methodology. See also the Digital Humanities Initiative topic page.

Open Questions

• The March 1985 Spectator says Hamilton created a CS minor “last year” (1984); when was the formal Computer Science major established? Stuart Hirshfield described it as near-term in 1985, and a March 1985 article places it as in progress.
• The March 1985 article plans 20 Macs; the September 1985 article records 18. What accounts for the discrepancy — budget adjustment or a subsequent allocation?
• Did the Y2K transition on January 1, 2000 produce any documented disruptions to Hamilton systems? No Spectator post-mortem has yet been located.
• What happened to Jim Huang after the campus network completion? Did he remain at ITS through the Smallen era?
• When did the college adopt a student printing quota or conservation policy, and what was the stated rationale?
• Is the “Steven Daniel Smallen Memorial Fund” the same person as David Smallen, Director/Vice President of ITS — and if so, when did he die?
• Did Hamilton require or strongly encourage laptop ownership at any point, and when?

Sources

Related Topics

• Digital Humanities Initiative
• The Hamilton College Spectator Archive
• Campus Buildings and Physical Plant
• Faculty Governance and Academic Affairs
• Campus Life and Culture

Related Entities

• Information Technology Services (ITS)
• Anne Ludington
• Stuart Hirshfield
• David Smallen