Williams College

10/09/2026

Yay for Mountain Day! 💜 🐮 💛

10/09/2026

It's Mountain Day!!!

On Friday, Oct. 9, President Maud Mandel canceled classes, and the bells rang out “The Mountains,” signifying the start of Mountain Day 2026.

10/09/2026

IT’S MOUNTAIN DAY!!! Take the day to get outside and enjoy nature, c***r donuts, performances and more. Full schedule linked below. See you out there, Ephs!

https://woc.williams.edu/mountainday/

10/07/2026

Gordon Davis ’63, a New York lawyer and renowned civic leader, passed away on Oct. 4. He was 85.

As a student at Williams, Davis co-founded the Williams College Civil Rights Committee along with his advocacy to abolish fraternities on campus and his leadership of the Gargoyle Society. He is the son of W. Allison Davis ’24 and the nephew of John A. Davis ’33, the brothers for whom the college’s Davis Center is named.

An obituary published in The New York Times heralded Davis as “a scion of Chicago’s Black aristocracy” whose legacy includes “the establishment of the Central Park Conservancy, a successful public-private partnership, to restore and protect Manhattan’s 843-acre verdant oasis, and the founding of Jazz at Lincoln Center,” among other accomplishments.

Read more about Davis’s life and legacy in the fall 2020 issue of Williams Magazine: https://bit.ly/4ib8nWP

How two generations of the Davis family helped pave the way for Williams’ ongoing work on equity, inclusion, social justice and community building.

09/29/2026

"On the Log In the Cube" with President Maud S. Mandel 🪵

Maud sat down (on the log, in the YouCube) with Daniel Chanis Carrizo '29 for one of three, 15-minute sessions of conversations on topics ranging from birthday cake flavors to the challenges facing higher education.

Although the Year of the Log has officially wrapped, the spirit of the initiative and the power of face-to-face conversation lives on at Williams.

The YouCube, stationed outside the 62 Center for Theatre and Dance, was designed by Assistant Professor of Theatre Anya Klepikov for creative expression of any kind. The Williams community can reserve a time to act, sing, share, dance, read, play music, or just sit, while an audience observes through the cracks in the cube's walls.

More information here: https://events.williams.edu/event/youcube-activation

09/25/2026

This year's six Bicentennial Medalists joined President Maud S. Mandel for a panel ahead of Convocation to discuss their Williams experience and what inspires them to serve. Watch the full conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZEysQKh0cY

As the United States marks two-and-a-half centuries since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Williams awarded this year's Bicentennial Medal to individuals who are dedicated to the multifaceted work of sustaining a healthy, functioning democracy, and whose impact demonstrates the ways in which this ongoing and noble endeavor is shared and strengthened across every sector of American society.

2026 Bicentennial Medal Recipients:
The Honorable Arne Carlson '57
Katherine Sharpe '79
The Honorable Jeffrey Sutton '83
The Honorable Edwina Frances Martin '86
The Honorable Christine Wormuth '91
Hannah Fried '04

09/23/2026

Did you miss Convocation? Watch the ceremonies on YouTube here:

Fall Convocation is the ceremonial opening of the academic year, celebrating all students who are expected to receive a degree in June, including the Senior ...

09/23/2026

Two "lost" Stephen Sondheim '50 songs from his Williams College years have resurfaced in a new podcast hosted by two of the composer's long-time friends.

Before his death, Sondheim sent a particularly "obtuse" song to one of the hosts, writing, “Now you know why I omitted it from the book. Remember I was only 18, which in 1948 meant 12. Don’t show it to anyone. In fact, once you’ve read it, burn this email.”

Read more from the Berkshire Eagle [subscription required]: https://bit.ly/4y698a8

A new podcast about Stephen Sondheim features two songs he wrote as a Williams College student nearly 80 years ago, offering a rare glimpse into the young composer and his

09/22/2026

President Maud S. Mandel spoke with the The Boston Globe about the challenges ahead for higher education and an effort on campus to encourage difficult, important conversations.

In the Q&A she says, “Is there politics to broadening out areas of inquiry? Maybe. New political commitments get societies to think about and look at new questions. To call something entirely political misses the fact that in opening up a new question, you see new things.”

Read more: https://bit.ly/3V49u2x

09/22/2026

Convocation photos are on now on Flickr! Check out the full album here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/williamscollege/albums/72177720335750463