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September 23, 2010

To the Tufts Community:

Rob Hollister, founding dean and Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Professor at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, has announced that he will step down at the end of the current academic year, in June 2011. Dean Hollister will then return to the faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences after a year-long sabbatical spent at the Tufts European Center and in other international travel and research.

Dean Hollister has been a true active citizen of Tufts for more than thirty years. He has initiated a host of innovative programs and policies that have had an impressive cumulative impact on the quality of our academic programs, the diversity of our community, and the reputation of our university. He previously served as founding chair of our Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, as director of the Lincoln Filene Center for Citizenship and Public Affairs, and as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He has led by example through his broadly inclusive approach to institution-building and his generous mentoring of countless colleagues and students. In the words of President Lawrence S. Bacow, "Tufts has always embraced a vision of active citizenship. Rob Hollister has been the catalyst in transforming how we put that vision into practice. He has played a unique and indispensible role in making Tisch College central to Tufts, and he has helped establish a new model for engaged universities around the world."

Thanks to Dean Hollister's dedication, Tisch College is well-established and poised to continue its important work in integrating active citizenship throughout the curriculum, supporting faculty members in the development of new knowledge to benefit communities, and helping students become active citizens who seek to find effective, sustainable solutions to community problems.

Deborah Jospin and Jonathan Tisch, founding members of the Tisch College Board of Advocates, expressed their deep appreciation for Dean Hollister's work: "Ten years ago, Rob shared with us his vision for making Tufts a leading voice for active citizenship. We, along with several others, signed on to support him and what a wonderful and fulfilling journey it has been. Under Rob?s committed and passionate leadership, the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service has grown exponentially and today is a national leader in civic education, whose model and research are setting the standard for higher education's role in civic engagement. Tisch College and active citizenship are now engrained in the heart of the university. As we begin to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tisch College, we are committed to supporting what Rob has nurtured over the past decade and thank him for his dedication and friendship. We wish him all the best in his next endeavors."

I will be appointing a search committee that will reflect Tisch College's diverse constituencies. We will work with a search firm to ensure that we consider outstanding candidates from the academic disciplines as well as the world of practice.

Please join President Bacow and me in thanking Dean Hollister for his many and varied contributions to Tufts.

Jamshed Bharucha, Provost and Senior Vice President