The Hamilton College Alumni Council awarded the inaugural Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award to President Eugene M. Tobin. The purpose of the award is to recognize an employee who has substantially contributed to Hamilton through distinguished performance in his or her position and through involvement in student, alumni or other activities in the college community.
The Alumni Council each year will act on the nomination put forward by its Nominations Committee. Public recognition of Tobin as the Distinguished Service Award recipient took place at a ceremony held during the Alumni Council Weekend, April 25-27.
Dean Abelon who is the executive director of western region and alumni secretary said, "Alumni carry with them a lifelong appreciation for a special group of people with whom they shared four years on College Hill--the employees of Hamilton. In recognition of this, the Alumni Council and its Nominations Committee created the Distinguished Service Award which, by honoring one employee each year, will pay tribute to all whose lives are dedicated to Hamilton and to its students."
Tobin is leaving Hamilton on June 30 after 10 years as its president and will join the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as a senior advisor. During the course of Tobin's presidency, Hamilton has invested aggressively and strategically in its programs, facilities, faculty and students. In addition to increasing the size of the faculty by 17 percent since 1993, Hamilton has more than doubled the amount of college-funded financial aid, unveiled a new curriculum, added extracurricular options for students, opened new programs in New York and Beijing, and added and renovated facilities for academic, residential and social purposes. Currently, the college is investing $56 million in a new science complex that will nearly double the amount of space devoted to science instruction.
Tobin is a scholar of recent American political history. He has authored or edited three books and dozens of essays and articles on the period from the Progressive Era through the Cold War.
