In the email below sent to the Hamilton community on Jan. 17, 2017, President David Wippman announced the death of Lecturer in Communication Tom Phelan.
"I write with the very sad news that Lecturer in Communication Tom Phelan suffered a heart attack this morning and passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Professor Catherine Phelan, and family.
Tom was a kind, thoughtful and generous man. He taught courses in crisis communications and public information and outreach, especially in virtual and digital formats, and traveled and spoke internationally about emergency preparedness. At Hamilton, Tom often served as an evaluator for the annual drills conducted by the Hamilton Emergency Response Team, always providing valuable feedback that was used to improve the College's response in the event of an emergency on campus. Recently, he worked with Utica College to develop a crisis management team.
The recipient of a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at New Paltz, a master's degree from SUNY Albany and an Ed.D. from Syracuse University, Tom earned a professional certificate in education from Harvard University. He was the author of Emergency Management and Tactical Response Operations: Bridging the Gap.
Tom will be remembered for his warm personality, pleasant demeanor, and work to assist with the safety of our campus and the many other communities he served."
