April 28, 2010

To: The Campus Community
From: Gene Lucas, Executive Vice Chancellor

 

A Professor of French at UCSB since 1969 and Associate Vice Chancellor, Office of Academic Programs since 1989, Professor Ron Tobin will retire on June 30, 2010.  Professor Tobin has agreed to be recalled on a part time basis next year to help transition the leadership of the Office of Academic Programs.

In his capacity as Associate Vice Chancellor, he has been a passionate advocate of instructional innovation and quality, and he has been a deft manager of a diverse portfolio of campus instructional functions and services, ranging from Summer Sessions, to Education Abroad, to Extended Learning Services, to Instructional Development and Instructional Computing.

As an academic, his work in the field of French and Francophone studies has led to fourteen books and editions, and over 150 journal and dictionary articles, book reviews, and prefaces.  He has served as Editor of The French Review, and has organized numerous scholarly meetings.

His work has gained him many awards and recognitions, including:

  • Awarded the Grand Prix du Rayonnement de la Langue et de la Littérature françaises (2006)  by the Académie Française
  • Named Sociétaire (2004) by Société d'Histoire Littéraire de la France
  • Decorated as Chevalier (1972), Officier (1987), and Commandeur (2005) in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French Government
  • Awarded the medal of Chevalier de l'ordre du mérite national (1984) and the medal of Che-valier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1998)
  • Inducted into the Ordre des francophones d'Amérique by the Quebec government (1999).


In 1984 he was named Professor of the Year by the Mortar Board Society; and the University has recognized his efforts on behalf of the well-being of the students by awarding him, in June 2006, the Certificate for Contributions to Housing and Residential Life.


Please join me in thanking Professor Tobin for a brilliant career, his devotion to students and learning, and his leadership in the Office of Academic Programs. We all wish him well in his retirement.