The annual Rob Hollister Award for Community Service and Citizenship, named in honor of the dean of Tisch College, was awarded last month to a graduate student in the Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning program for his work as a youth and community organizer and to the Occupational Therapy Gulf Support Group for its work with Hurricane Katrina victims.
This award recognizes graduate students who have contributed their time and effort to the community outside of Tufts. This contribution could be in the form of volunteer work, activism in community issues, or participation in public service activities. Nominees may be individuals or groups of students enrolled in either the School of Arts & Sciences or the School of Engineering.
Edward Franklin Frazier Miller, a candidate for a Masters of Public Policy in Urban, Environmental, Policy and Planning, serves as coordinator for the Youth Force Program in the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation. Recently, he was awarded a Rising Star Award by the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations
Franklin has also been a key organizer in his local community and was recognized as the 2006 Boston Crime fighter of the Year for his leadership in Crime watch
The occupational therapy group included eight students from the Occupational Therapy (OT) department that volunteered significant time and energy to support residents of New Orleans affected by the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005. They are Heather Bailey, Mike Ferrelli, Amanda Hamm, Paula Querido Kahn, Theresa Leed, Lindsay Malarky, Gayle Offenberg & Amy Urquhart.
The group was recognized for the significant time and energy its members spent raising funds and awareness of the various ways in which occupational therapy could be of help to disaster survivors
The OT students also donated personal care kits that they made up, cleaned and gutted buildings homes and assisted health care practioners with getting service back on track. Last January they returned to New Orleans, bringing a group of six more students to assist in recovery efforts
Hollister Receives GSC Service Award
At the awards ceremony, the Graduate Student Council gave a GSC Service Award to Rob Hollister in recognition of his leadership as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 1996 – 2001, and his continuing efforts, to strengthen graduate programs and to enhance the experience of graduate students.
Originally published May 2007
