Category: Fall 2020

An exciting part of our newly established year three of the Wilson Leadership Fellows program is a mentorship component. Mentorship is one of our three pedagogical pillars. The others are reflection and practice, along with community. Throughout the program, fellows are mentored by upperclassmen at various sessions, service projects, and workshops, as well as by their leadership advisors, who work with the same fellows for their entire four years. At the start of year three, fellows are also assigned an alumni/trustee mentor whom they will work with for two years. These mentors are engaged Wilson Center volunteers, members of the Board of Advisors, or members of the James Madison Society (a group of former Hampden-Sydney trustees who are committed to serving the College and its outstanding young men).

A key purpose of this alumni mentorship component is to ensure our fellows know they are supported fully by the larger Hampden-Sydney community. Specifically, mentors work with fellows to support their entry into a chosen profession and the Hampden-Sydney alumni network. Matches were made virtually (unfortunately, because of COVID-19 precautions) at the start of the academic year. We do hope to host a mentor/mentee in-person outing this spring at Red Hill, Patrick Henry’s Charlotte County home. 

Mentor and mentee discussions may include specific class work that supports entrance into a given profession or graduate school, academic/co-curricular balance, professional networking, and entrance into the Hampden-Sydney alumni network. We are excited about the development of these relationships, and we thank our mentors for making an investment in the lives of our outstanding young men!

Sixty-eight outstanding young men started their journeys as Wilson Fellows on Monday, August 17^th.  These fellows were student body presidents, Eagle Scouts, Boys State participants, decorated athletes and scholars. More importantly, they are earnest, hard-working, and decent young men. We are very excited to work with them.

During their pre-term Martin Leadership Program workshop, fellows heard from Dr. James Pontuso and Dr. Gene Hickok, hiked the Wilson trail, engaged in case studies, had fun on our ropes course, and built a sense of community. Since the start of classes, fellows have learned about leadership from President Stimpert; learned lessons from the tragedy of September 11^th, 2001, in a discussion with Wheat Professor John Hillen; and engaged in workshops with the American Shakespeare Center. Later this semester they will take the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator and learn about emotional intelligence in hopes that each fellow will become more self-aware and prepared to be part of successful teams.

Each fellow is paired with a leadership advisor who will work with the young man for four years, helping him connect his classroom work to his co-curricular pursuits so that he may get the most out of his time on the Hill. All fellows are placed into a foundational leadership class designed specifically for Wilson Fellows. Class topics include leadership in antiquity; interfaith leadership; modern American leaders; U.S. military and national security; leadership and personality; and labor camps, crime, and leadership in the Soviet Union. 

Our fellows are eager to become the very best versions of themselves. It is a calling to work with these “men of character” who will lead “lives of consequence.” Foundational program goals include ethical decision-making, civil discourse, leadership in diverse contexts, and active citizenship.

The Martin Leadership Program is year one of the four-year Wilson Leadership Fellows program, named in honor of David Martin ’52. A smart, creative, and successful advertising executive, David was a consummate Hampden-Sydney man and it is fitting that the program is named in his memory. His wife, Louise Martin, remains active with the program and the Wilson Center. She currently serves on the Wilson Center Board of Advisors.

Upon his passing in the summer of 2017, General Wilson’s family donated all of his writings, awards, books, and memorabilia to Hampden-Sydney College—a treasure trove that includes pictures, U.S. Army papers, diplomatic passports, personal notes, and other artifacts. The depth and breadth of this collection is astounding, encompassing military history from WWII to the Global War on Terror, the building of our current national security infrastructure, higher education, Virginia politics, and local civic life.  

A small group of alumni and friends made generous gifts to support the hiring of a full-time term archivist—Dr. Colin Woodward, who began his work in July 2019—to digitize and catalogue the collection. In so doing, they ensured that General Wilson’s memory will continue to teach and inspire generations of Hampden-Sydney men as well as others across the Commonwealth and the nation. 

As of September 2020, much progress has been made on the Sam Wilson Papers. Over the summer, Dr. Woodward took a detailed inventory of the major sections of the collection. Most of General Sam’s papers cover his life and career from 1970 until his death in 2017. This inventory, which spans more than 70 pages, includes notes on all of General Wilson’s correspondence, covering his world travel, teaching, and professional activities. His papers contain much discussion of politics, the military, and other important events that have taken place since Richard Nixon’s election as president.

In March, COVID-19 forced Hampden-Sydney College to cancel in-person classes and staff members were encouraged to work from home. Dr. Woodward took the opportunity to start a blog dedicated to the Wilson project. There you will find articles on General Sam, transcriptions of interesting and historic letters written by him and his family, and photographs from the collection. A recent update features government photos documenting the wartime experiences of Merrill’s Marauders in Burma in 1943 and 1944. All blog posts are free and available to the public.

In the spring, Dr. Woodward began an interview series on General Wilson, talking with those who knew Sam well. His first guest was Drew Prehmus ’08 who wrote the General’s one and only biography. Another guest has been Joe Galloway, author of We Were Soldiers Once and Young and a close friend of Sam’s. These podcast are available on the WordPress blog referenced above. Dr. Woodward is also getting the word out on the Wilson project. This summer, he wrote an article on the Wilson papers for the Society of American Archivists’ online publication Archival Outlook. He also wrote a piece on Wilson for the FarmvilleHerald. Although he was scheduled to present a paper on General Wilson at the Virginia Forum in September, the conference has been rescheduled for March 2021 due to the pandemic.

Now more than ever the world needs leaders who the display the traits and bedrock values evidenced in the life of Lt. General Samuel Wilson and embedded in the ethos of Hampden-Sydney College and the Wilson Center. 

Support our outstanding young men and this worthy endeavor of preparing “men of character for lives of consequence.”

While we are disappointed to not have visiting speakers on campus this fall because of COVID-19 precautions, we are excited to offer a variety of zoom discussions this fall. We are confident these outstanding speakers will help our students connect theory and practice while providing great insight on current events. Alumni, parents, and friends are more than welcome to join the following discussions: 

• Henrik Rasmussen ’03 – Constitution Day – September 23, 7:30 pm
• Chris Peace ’98 – Current State of VA Politics – September 30, 7:30 pm
• Chris Stirewalt ’97 – The 2020 Election – Monday, October 5, 7:30 pm 
• Dr. John Hillen – Dueling Visions: America’s Role in the World and the 2020 Election – October 7, 7:30 pm
• Dr. Heinemann and Dr. Marion – Pros and Cons of our Electoral College – October 21, 7:30 pm