Mid-October settled over the Hudson Highlands in brilliant sweeps of crimson and burnt ochre. The autumn rain had washed the dark stone facades of Stony Point, leaving the floor-to-ceiling glass of the newly built secondary wing sparkling under a crisp, pale sun. The river below had turned the color of cold slate, catching the reflection of the fiery forest lining the eastern shore.
Inside the secondary reading hall, the long maple tables were no longer empty. The second international cohort of Governance Fellows had formally taken residence on campus, their voices rising in low, measured discussions across the subterranean gallery. For the first time since the clearing of the foundation grounds, Stony Point operated not as a construction project, but as an active, living institution of h
