Senior Advisor

Senior Advisor of USRN provides USRN expert advice and recommendations on the development of the Network and facilitates the development of USRN in different priority areas.

Professor Robert Hollister, previous Executive Director of the Talloires Network of Engaged Universities, and founding Dean of Tisch College of Civic Life of Tufts University, has served as Senior Advisor of USRN since 2017.

Professor Robert Hollister

Professor Emeritus
Tufts University

Robert M. Hollister is Professor Emeritus, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University, and Senior Advisor to the University Social Responsibility Network. An influential pioneer in the engaged university movement, the focus of his work is to encourage and support universities to move beyond the ivory tower. As the first chair of his home department, he built it into a top graduate program, widely recognized for educating “practical visionaries.” As founding dean of the Tisch College of Civic Life (2000 to 2011), he led the creation and development of Tufts University’s uniquely comprehensive university-wide program to prepare students in all fields for lifetimes of active citizenship.

In 2005, Professor Hollister co-led organization of the conference in Talloires, France, of university heads from around the world that launched the Talloires Network. He then guided the growth and development of the Network, and from 2011-2016 served as its Executive Director. The Network now numbers 417 member universities in 79 countries and is a premier global coalition advancing university social engagement and social responsibility.

Professor Hollister is co-editor of University Social Responsibility and Quality of Life: A Global Survey of Concepts and Experiences, co-author of The Engaged University: International Perspectives on Civic Engagement and of Development Politics, and co-editor and contributing author of Governing, Leading and Managing Nonprofit Organizations; Cities of the Mind; Neighborhood Policy and Planning; and Neighborhood Health Centers.