Introduction
Skidmore College is an educational community committed to learning and personal development. The offices and programs in Student Affairs support, deepen, and extend the academic program by providing cocurricular and residential programs that promote academic accomplishment, citizenship, diversity, leadership, and personal responsibility.
The cocurricular and residential programs at Skidmore consider students to be adults ready to take responsibility for their learning, the quality of their social environment, and their daily life. We support your rights to privacy, freedom of inquiry and expression, and your participation in College governance. We also expect you to meet high standards for academic integrity and personal conduct.
Staff members in the offices and programs in Student Affairs work with students as mentors, coaches, advisors, tutors, guides, and confidants. They help you assess your academic and personal needs, point out opportunities, and facilitate your access to those opportunities. They will work with you to foster a social environment conducive to learning, and they will expect you to observe the Honor Code, expectations for academic integrity, the Code of Social Conduct, and other College policies and regulations. They will also hold you accountable for any misconduct.
The first section of this handbook discusses the Honor Code, expectations for academic integrity, the Code of Social Conduct, and the College conduct processes. It describes the College’s expectations and your obligations as members of the community. Please review the Honor Code, expectations for academic integrity, and the Code of Social Conduct, and make a commitment to integrity and personal responsibility. The health and vitality of our learning community rests on the honor system.
The second section of the handbook presents the Student Bill of Rights. The third section describes various College policies and information about personal safety. Take the time to review this material.
The final section of the handbook lists College offices and programs. This section includes information about how to contact these offices.
A NOTE ON PRONOUN USE
Skidmore College is committed to principles of equal opportunity and diversity. An extension of this commitment is creating a community that is welcoming and inclusive to individuals of all gender identities and expressions. One measure of this extension is using a third-person plural personal pronoun (they/them/their) to refer to a single individual.
Letter from the President
To the Students of Skidmore College,
Greetings and best wishes to you. Whether you are returning for the next stage in your Skidmore journey or are arriving for your initial experience here as a new student, please know that you are a valuable member of this very special community. Skidmore is YOUR College; it is where you belong.
My hope is that, over the coming year, you will take full advantage of what the College has to offer and experience the many ways in which “Creative Thought Matters.” Our broad liberal arts curriculum represents virtually the full spectrum of human cultural and intellectual accomplishment. Explore it!
Learn how the disciplines represented here interrogate the world – how they ask and answer questions, and how they relate to one another. Learn from the pervasive presence of the visual and performing arts throughout our campus. Join – and contribute to – student organizations (especially those dedicated to making a positive difference in the Skidmore community), in the Saratoga region, or in the world at large. Discover your own cause, your own way of leaving the world a better place than you found it. Participate in a sport, either as a member of a varsity, club, or intramural team or as an individual seeking to enhance your own health and wellness. And be sure to take advantage of our setting in the vibrant small city of Saratoga Springs and our proximity to the unparalleled opportunities afforded by the Adirondacks.
Seize the opportunity to get to know your Skidmore professors. These teacher-scholars are here to share their expertise – indeed, their passion – for their disciplines that has led them to choose the life of a college professor. They write scholarly books and articles; they author acclaimed novels and books of poetry; they create lasting works of art. In doing so, they contribute to national and international conversations that advance human knowledge. They want to include you in those conversations as well: to engage you in your own search for knowledge and help you see connections across the disciplines, to prepare you to make your own contribution as a novelist, scientist, historian, business or political leader, or educator in your own right.
Get to know one another. Your fellow students will become friends you will cherish for a lifetime, but only if you take the time to know them for the individuals they are. As we work on becoming a more diverse and inclusive community, one that is open to the many ways of constructing a human life, do your own part to stretch yourself – to go beyond the boundaries of your personal history. Reach out to someone whose experiences may have been different from your own, and get to know her or him as a friend. Take responsibility for your own actions, and look out for one another. Above all, approach one another in a spirit of respect: expect respect from others; give your respect to them. The Skidmore Honor Code sets out your basic obligations as members of this academic community. It is a privilege to be at Skidmore, not a right. Show that you understand the responsibilities entailed by this privilege by taking our values to heart – not just during your brief sojourn here but as a foundation for your entire life as a Skidmore graduate.
My wife Marie Glotzbach and I want to get to know you as well. We look forward to meeting you on campus, at a play, at a Fireside Chat, or open President’s office hours, at an athletic contest, at a lecture, or just hanging out in the dining hall.
Eleanor Roosevelt once advised, “Do something every day that scares you.” I would say it this way: Do something every day that challenges you, something that takes you out of your comfort zone. Let Skidmore help you take one more step on your journey toward becoming the person you most want to become.
Cordially,
Philip A. Glotzbach
President