Cory Hamilton

Credentials: he/him

Position title: Assistant Director of Leadership Development

Email: cory.hamilton@wisc.edu

Areas of Specialty:

Leadership Development; Leadership Education; Organizational Theory; Experiential Education; Adventure Education; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Academic background:

BS in Sociology from Texas A&M University; MS in Experiential Education from Minnesota State University – Mankato; SOON to have: PhD in Educational Leadership from Eastern Michigan University

Areas of interest:

Biking, Baking, Rock-Climbing, Cooking, Civic Engagement, Community Organizing & Asset Mapping

Personal biography:

I grew up splitting time between my two very different hometowns. The school year was spent in Austin, Texas while the summers meant time on the family farm in southwest Minnesota. I am completing my Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at Eastern Michigan University, where I taught and designed curriculum for the undergraduate inter-disciplinary leadership minor. I also have experience working as an academic and career advisor and served independently as a certified cognitive coach. Prior to working in higher education I spent close to a decade in the north woods of Wisconsin teaching leadership as a camp director and adventure educator, leading backpacking, canoeing, rock-climbing, and ropes course experiences for participants aged 5 to adult. Along with the experience as an outdoor educator, I hold degrees in sociology and experiential education and use these to create engaging leadership curriculum focused on cultural intelligence, inclusion, anti-racism, allyship, and civility. Most recently, I worked for Texas Tech University’s Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, where I spent the past 3 years launching a new department geared toward peer-led leadership development. I am excited to be back in Madison where I can bike to work and escape for some rock climbing at Devil’s Lake whenever possible.

Favorite quotes:

It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences. Ιt is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction. (Audre Lorde)

What every student should know about the UW-Madison campus?

You belong here. You are welcome here. If ever you feel disconnected or left out, reach out and say something. There is a community of support within the faculty, staff, and students that sometimes takes a bit of time to uncover, but there are people here that need you in this community and will do everything they can to support your success as a student and your success as a person.