Burton Crosby Hallowell, Tufts University's 9th president, passed away on Nov. 21st. He was 91.
"Tufts has lost a great friend," University President Lawrence Bacow said in a statement yesterday. "We spoke often about the challenges that he and other presidents faced in the 1960s."
Hallowell is remembered for his leadership during the dramatic changes mid-century that sent shock waves through the higher education community.
"Burt Hallowell walked in and found himself in the midst of a whirlwind," former provost Sol Gittleman, who has taught at Tufts since 1964, said. "He was brave, courageous and I don't think there was an American university president who knew what to do. He just hung on for dear life and tried to keep the university steady."
The period between his inauguration in 1967, to his resignation, in 1976, was a tumultuous time for the nation, included the civil rights movement and the Vietnam war, and became a time of dramatic changes in higher education.
"Anybody who became president during [that time] probably wasn't aware of what was going to explode around him," Gittleman said. "In 1964, I don't even think women were allowed to wear slacks."
Things changed very quickly. "By 1967, the place had blown up; every campus had blown up," he said. "Everything ended in 1967, anything that had to do with tradition and Alma mater ended.
"There were insurrections, drug busts, women living in men's dorms, men living in women's dorms," Gittleman explained. "The students morphed into a different creature, and no university president was prepared for that."
Tufts had its own "construction site crisis," in which students protested the absence of minority construction workers on dormitory construction sites.
Senior Assistant to the Provost Elizabeth Canny was there, and she recalled how students took over Ballou Hall in support of their cause. "The students felt that Tufts should've done a better job in ensuring a more diverse work force, even though it was the responsibility of the construction company," she said. "I remember some of the telephone lines were cut ... students were in the stairs, in the halls; there were wall-to-wall bodies. If you wanted to get up the stairs, you literally had to walk over people."
Hallowell was succeeded by Jean Mayer, who was president from 1976 to 1992.
While Tufts held its own during this period, it did not expand as dramatically as during Mayer's presidency.
According to Physics Professor Jacob Schneps, "[Hallowell's presidency] was a period in which Tufts sort of held its own. I wouldn't say that there were great advances made during that time."
After his resignation, Hallowell went on to direct "a major financial fund," according to Gittleman.
He stayed at the fund for many years and then joined the boards of several foundations. "He had a huge life after he left Tufts, where he was very successful in both the foundation world and in the investment world," Gittleman said.
According to Secretary of the Trustees Linda Dixon, Hallowell was most recently associated with the Davis Educational Foundation.
Bacow spoke fondly of Hallowell's guidance.
"Burt Hallowell was a wonderful mentor; from the day I arrived at Tufts, he was generous with his time and very thoughtful with his advice," Bacow said. "[He] always maintained a great perspective on his presidency and the evolution of both Tufts and higher education over the years."
Hallowell is survived by his second wife Joyce and his son Robert.
Born in Orleans, Mass., on May 2, 1915, Hallowell graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in 1936 and an M.A. in 1938.
He completed his doctorate at Princeton University in 1949 and received honorary degrees from Wesleyan University, Boston University, Northeastern University and American International College, according to Tufts' Web site.
The west building of the Hillsides Apartments (that closest to Dowling Hall) is named in his honor.
-James Bologna contributed reporting to this article.
