The Passing of T. Alexander Pond

September 2, 2010

Members of the Rutgers Community:

I am sad to report the passing of Dr. T. Alexander Pond, former executive vice president and one of the most important academic leaders in Rutgers' history.

Alec Pond, who died August 29 at his home in Vermont, served for 15 years in the Rutgers administration and as a member of the physics department, including a year as acting president. He was appointed by president Ed Bloustein in 1982 as executive vice president and chief academic officer after a 20-year tenure at Stony Brook University, where he had built its physics department into one with an international reputation.

Dr. Pond worked closely with President Bloustein to attract world-class scholars, develop strong relationships with then-governor Thomas H. Kean and the legislature, and establish highly regarded centers of ceramics, optic materials, and advanced food technology research, among other achievements. Their collaboration with our faculty propelled Rutgers to a new level of excellence as a research institution and acceptance into the Association of American Universities in 1989. I commend to you the excellent article by Carla Cantor in Rutgers Today about Dr. Pond:
http://news.rutgers.edu/special-content/summer_2010/t-alexander-pond-for-20100831.

In addition to these transformative accomplishments, Alec Pond was a delightful colleague who is remembered warmly and well by those of us who worked with him. Blessed with a brilliant mind and a prodigious vocabulary, Alec also had a common touch and a twinkle in his eye.

The Rutgers of 2010 owes much to the visionary leadership of Alec Pond, and as we mourn his death, we celebrate his remarkable, productive life with admiration and appreciation.

Sincerely yours,

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey