"What Can I Give?"

“In some organizations,” observed Troy Eggers, SIPA’s departing senior associate dean, “people always ask ‘what can I get.’ But the ethos of ‘what can I give’ permeates the culture of this place. The people in this community — students, faculty, staff – share an incredible passion for making the world a better place. And SIPA actually has the capacity, the capabilities, the talent, the intellect, and the drive to do it.”

Eggers has been described as chief of staff to the SIPA dean, with responsibilities that included strategic planning, student affairs, and all SIPA administrative matters. On December 1 he’ll become the University’s vice provost for administration and planning, a capacity in which he will again work closely with Provost John Coatsworth, SIPA’s former dean.

In a letter to the community announcing Eggers’s departure, Dean Robert Lieberman wrote that “Troy has been a forward-thinking, determined agent for change at SIPA, as well as a friend and source of good humor for us all, and we wish him all the best.”

As Eggers began his final week at SIPA, he looked back on two and a half years at the School, sharing insights and noting a few achievements of which he is especially proud.

Among other things, Eggers said he was pleased to help the school “expand its intellectual footprint” by adding space for faculty and for teaching; to improve the fellowship process; and to use the student satisfaction survey as a tool to address student concerns.

Above all, he concluded, he’ll miss the people here: “It sounds trite, but it’s a relatively small team of people with a shared mission, rowing in the same direction.”

Good luck to Troy from your friends and colleagues at SIPA!