Forman’s fond farewell

BY B.J. ALMOND
Rice News staff

“We will miss you” was the recurring theme at the May 10 farewell reception for Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman, who will become dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Emory University July 1.

	JEFF FITLOW
	Robin Forman, dean of undergraduates, was honored at a reception May 10 at Cohen House. He will become dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Emory University July 1.

Members of the faculty and administration who spoke at the Cohen House gathering reminisced about Forman’s achievements during his 24 years at Rice and assured the departing Owl that he won’t be forgotten.

President David Leebron recalled that Forman was one of the first people he met during the search committee process that brought him to Rice.

Leebron lauded Forman’s “steadiness, wisdom, thoughtfulness and humor” and said he infused “an appreciation of our students with traditional academic leadership” and valued “the importance of the undergraduate experience in all its dimensions.”

Forman’s new role at Emory, which includes overseeing the strategic, academic and financial planning for 48 departments and programs, reflects his success at Rice, Leebron said. “The fact that a peer university says this is the person we want to lead a much broader effort says a lot about his accomplishments.”

Leebron joked that he will no longer have to worry about being the speaker who has to follow the “riotously funny” Forman, who performed standup comedy shortly after coming to Rice in 1987.

Kathleen Matthews, the Stewart Memorial Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, noted the many roles Forman has served during his career at Rice — from professor and chair of mathematics to master of Jones College to Rice’s first dean of undergraduates. “We will miss you in so many dimensions,” she said.

Brendan Hassett, professor and chair of mathematics, called Forman a “great teacher and mentor” and paid tribute to his professional achievements in building a reputable Department of Mathematics at Rice.

Baker College master Jose Aranda, associate professor and chair of French and Hispanic studies, commended Forman for his compassion and intelligence during those “anguished moments when students have to confront somber realities” — from financial to spiritual to mental health issues.

Provost Eugene Levy characterized Forman as “a thoughtful advocate for deliberate change” and thanked him for his “manifold contributions” to Rice.

Forman observed that having been at Rice for 24 years, he has spent his entire adult life here. “I’ve never been an adult anywhere else,” he said.

He found the Mathematics Department to be a “tremendously exciting intellectual home” and said that Rice mathematicians do not follow trends. “They are much more adventurous, blazing new trails that become the focus of others who come later.”

Forman joked that his three years as a college master “seemed much longer.” Although at times it could be “intense,” he said, the experience was “tremendously fun and exciting, and an incredible opportunity to engage with a remarkable community of wonderfully smart, talented, creative and ambitious young men and women.”

“The thing I’m proudest of is the role I played in assembling a team that did such wonderful work,” Forman said. “It is because of their presence that I know that I’m leaving Rice a better place than I found it.”

He noted, however, that he’s not really saying “goodbye” to Rice. “I’ve been at Rice long enough to retire, so I will become a professor emeritus and have a tree planted in my name on campus.”

He will also receive an official Rice University wooden chair. “You will always have a place to sit that says ‘Rice,'” Leebron said.