Joseph C. Palamountain Jr.
Joseph Cornwall Palamountain Jr.’s 22-year legacy as Skidmore College’s fourth president is rich with milestones in the institution’s history.
During his tenure from 1965 to 1987, the 650-acre Jonsson Campus was constructed, and the College moved from downtown Saratoga Springs to its current location on North Broadway; Skidmore transitioned from an all-women’s college to a coeducational institution; Skidmore’s enrollment nearly doubled to about 2,100; and the College’s endowment and net worth significantly increased.
Months after retiring from Skidmore in June 1987, Palamountain died at age 66 on Nov. 23, 1987, in Saratoga Springs, the result of a heart condition.
Palamountain was born Nov. 26, 1920, in West Newton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1942 and served in the Navy during World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander. He earned master's and doctoral degrees in political economy and government from Harvard University in 1948 and 1951, respectively. After teaching in Harvard’s government department until 1955, he joined Wesleyan University, becoming a full professor in 1959 and then provost in 1961.
Palamountain’s more than two decades of leadership at Skidmore began in 1965 and saw the College through a period of significant change. In addition to the doubling of the student body, the near-doubling of Skidmore’s faculty, the move to a new campus and the shift to a coeducational institution, his tenure saw the creation of one of the first external degree programs in New York state, the University Without Walls, as well as innovative changes in curriculum, the chartering of a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and a major boost to Skidmore’s financial health, due in part to the $25 million Celebration Campaign launched in 1985.
He was also known as a strong champion of student interests, supporter of the arts, accessible and concerned administrator and sensitive diplomat, according to colleagues.
“It is impossible to separate the leadership of Joe Palamountain from the extraordinary achievements of Skidmore during his presidency,” said David W. Marcell, then provost and vice president for academic affairs at the College, at the time of Palamountain’s passing.
At his final commencement as Skidmore’s president, Palamountain was bid farewell as a member of the Class of 1987, the recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Laws. “It has taken you, the Class of 1987, less than four years to earn your Skidmore degree, while it has taken me 22,” he said in his final address. “I am obviously a slow learner, and more than this, I couldn’t have earned it without the constant help, counsel and tutelage of my wife, Anne.”
Anne Palamountain, who died Jan. 24, 2015, was a leader in building endowment for financial aid at Skidmore and continued such work after her husband’s passing. In 1979 she spearheaded the launch of one of the College’s major fundraising events, the annual Palamountain Scholarship Benefit, which remains a highlight of Saratoga Springs’ summer scene.
Joseph Palamountain was the author or co-author of several books on politics and the economy and wrote ''The Story of Skidmore College,'' published in 1971.
Also an avid participant in community and cultural affairs, he served on the boards of Adirondack Trust Company, Albany Medical Center, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, artists’ retreat Yaddo and Saratoga Springs City Center. He was also a trustee of the State Higher Education Services Corporation.
Skidmore’s Palamountain Hall is named in his honor.