Alan D. Solomont currently serves as the Dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. The only university-wide college of its kind, Tisch College teaches, studies and promotes the civic and political engagement of young people at Tufts University and beyond. It is the nation’s leading authority on youth voting.
Throughout his career, Alan has embraced the power of social activism, civic engagement and public service to benefit society and promote the common good.
He was appointed by President Obama to serve as United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra from 2009 – 2013. Before his posting in Madrid, Alan chaired the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the home of domestic service programs such as AmeriCorps, VISTA and Senior Corps. He also served as National Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee and is a veteran of six presidential campaigns.
After graduating from Tufts in 1970 with a B.A. in political science and urban studies, Alan was awarded a Watson Fellowship for post graduate study and travel abroad. Interested in the plight of American cities since his undergraduate days as a student of Jackson College Dean Antonia Chayes, Alan worked for several years as a community organizer in Lowell, Massachusetts. He also enrolled at UMass Lowell, and after earning a degree in nursing, he spent the next thirty years in the senior care business.
Alan returned to Tufts in 2000 as the founding board chair of what is today the Tisch College of Civic Life. He has also been a Trustee of Tufts University, a visiting instructor in political science and a Tufts parent. President Larry Bacow presented Alan with the Tufts President’s Medal in 2010.
Alan is married to Susan Lewis Solomont, AG81, A08P, and they are the parents of two grown daughters, Stephanie and Becca, A08, and a sixteen-year-old cockapoo, Stella Blu.
Alan D. Solomont, A70, A08P