A Closer Look: Anson “Tuck” Hines ’69, 2024 Blaisdell Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient

Photos of Anson Hines Class of 1969 and Blaisdell Alumni Award Winner — "The Blaisdell Award validates our vision to engage rigorous environmental science in real-world solutions across the fabric of society," says Anson "Tuck" Hines on receiving the Blaisdell Award.

Thursday, July 25, 2024

Three Questions

How has your �鶹Ӱ�� experience played a role in where you are today?

My few years at Pomona were formative in four ways. First, Pomona’s intensely competitive academics taught me how to study and learn in depth. Second, several key professors gave me informal opportunities to experience how a career in ecological research would engage me for life. Third, the spectrum of backgrounds, intellects and creativity of the Pomona student body directed my curiosity about the vast world to be discovered and experienced. And fourth, Pomona gave me a foundation of friends who have supported me far beyond my college years.

What is your favorite Pomona memory?

I really enjoyed the zoology field trips to the regional ecosystems—deserts, mountains, chaparral, shores. The camaraderie of the outdoors and learning how to sample accurately to better understand ecological functions.

What advice do you have for current Pomona students?

My advice is to get busy—there is LOTs to do. Take advantage of the amazing academic and cultural opportunity the Pomona community offers, but also to learn by doing and learn from mistakes. This sounds trite but applying that array of experience to meet big challenges is intensely rewarding.

As the executive director of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), Anson "Tuck" Hines ’69 and his team tackle crucial ecological research to inform environmental policies at all levels of government. Read about 2024 Blaisdell Distinguished Alumni Award winner Tuck Hines, the latest story in the "A Closer Look" series, featuring 2024 Alumni Award winners. Hines was honored along with fellow Blaisdell Award recipients and spoke at Alumni Weekend this past spring.

As the executive director of the for nearly 20 years, Anson “Tuck” Hines works with passion and vision to build one of the world’s leading ecological research centers focused on environmental issues in coastal zones, where close to 70 percent of the world’s population lives. His expansive team of some 200 ecologists and support staff tackles climate change, invasive species, pollution and conservation—providing critical data to inform environmental policies and laws at all levels of government.

Focused on advancing SERC’s land conservation program, Hines has led efforts to save 2,654 acres of the Rhode River watershed and 15 miles of shoreline for environmental research and public education—the largest contiguous block of land devoted to science and education on the Chesapeake Bay.

Hines received his B.A. in zoology at �鶹Ӱ�� and a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley. Since joining SERC in 1979 as a marine ecologist and principal investigator, his research has led him to study coastal ecosystems in Chesapeake Bay, Florida, California, Alaska, Belize, Japan and New Zealand. An expert on blue crabs, he has studied the biology of crabs around the world and published more than 160 reviewed articles. Hines is also an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, and he served as an advisor and mentor for 165+ undergraduate interns, 24 master’s degree and doctoral students and 22 postdoctoral students.

“I am very pleased to receive this honor. While the award comes to me, it recognizes the sustained commitment and achievements of a collaborative team of smart, dedicated people driven to make life on this planet sustainable. Instilled by Pomona’s mission, the Blaisdell Award validates our vision to engage rigorous environmental science in real-world solutions across the fabric of society,” Hines said.

Hines celebrated his 55th reunion with the Class of 1969 this past spring at Alumni Weekend 2024.

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