Several members of the Rutgers Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy community have shared tributes following the passing of Professor Briavel Holcomb. Colleagues and former students reflected on her influence as a mentor, educator, and scholar.
Robert W. Lake, Professor Emeritus at Rutgers Bloustein School, said, “Bria was already on the faculty when I arrived at Rutgers in 1974. She was a generous and welcoming presence from the start, a gift that was extremely valued by a young faculty member just out of graduate school. For the next forty or so years, Bria was unrelenting in her mentoring, support, encouragement, and unfailing good humor that she extended unreservedly to all those around her, from entering students to senior faculty.
She repeatedly opened her home for parties and get-togethers that forged a community among otherwise disparate and disconnected souls. Her research on community development, tourism, and women’s urban experience was inspirational, coupling clear-eyed observation with political commitment, and her writing had a formative effect on discourse and practice in the fields of planning, geography, and urban studies. Her retirement from the faculty left a void that was never adequately filled, and her passing marks a generational shift in the field. Bria was a gem, and she will be sorely missed.”
Frank Popper—Professor Emeritus at Rutgers Bloustein School and Professor at Princeton University—remarked: “Bria was always a quiet force for common sense, fairness, and love of teaching and learning. Her benevolent imprint on other Bloustein lives will be permanent.”
James DeFilippis, Professor at Rutgers Bloustein School who first met Holcomb as a graduate student in geography during the mid-1990s said: “I met Bria when I was a graduate student in geography at Rutgers in the mid-1990s... Her house in Highland Park was a secondary lounge for graduate students then. We were all always there.
Being a PhD student can be – and was for me – filled with anxiety and with the feelings of not being good enough and not belonging. And the warmth Bria consistently showed to all of us did so much to break down those feelings and allow us to grow and develop... She was also a model of how to be an engaged scholar... And she was a model of how to take our jobs as educators... seriously without taking ourselves too seriously.
We can read and think and teach... without losing the twinkle in our eyes that indicates our joy in doing the work we do. Bria was the best model of that I have ever encountered...”
Kathe Newman—Professor at Rutgers Bloustein School; Director of Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement—added: “Bria was an outstanding resource for early-career faculty and students. She provided the glue that held urbanists together across Rutgers and the world. She was the first person many of us reached out to when we had questions about teaching... Her intelligence, warmth, and generosity of spirit will be missed.”
Mi Shih (Ph.D., 2010), Associate Professor at Rutgers Bloustein School; Director of Urban Planning & Policy Development Program recalled: “I have always felt grateful that I have found an intellectual home at Bloustein... And Bria was a mentor who helped me navigate what... felt like unbridgeable gaps in work and life... Bria’s scholarship on tourism, urban geography,... reminded me cities confront not so dissimilar challenges whether they are in Global South or North.” Shih continued: “Kathe Newman once said ‘Bria is wicked good’ at teaching—and she was indeed an incredible teacher.”
Deborah Popper—Visiting Professor at Princeton University; Professor Emerita at College of Staten Island/Graduate Center CUNY; Vice President American Geographical Society—noted: “My sentiment is simple—Bria was the heart of her department with such openness and generosity...” Popper also serves as co-editor for FOCUS on Geography (http://focusongeography.org).
Former doctoral advisee Hsiu-Tzu Betty Chang (Ph.D., 2011), now Associate Professor at National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan), wrote: “Bria always supported us with the warmest smile... As an international student,... words of encouragement added so much color ... Bria ... had a special way of sparking lively discussions while guiding us toward deeper reflection ... On my academic crossroads,... unwavering support remained with me all ... To me,... more like family,... kind ‘foreign grandma’ to my two children...” Chang concluded: “Looking back on more than ten years ... you have always been role model shaping my vision ... Thank you from bottom my heart.”
Yen-Wen Sandra Peng (Ph.D., 2004), now Professor at National Sun Yat-sen University (Taiwan) reflected: “During my doctoral years,... thoughtful feedback ... constant encouragement gave me confidence to carry on.... Sometimes,... share with my students memory having once been guided by such generous teacher.”
Those wishing to contribute their own remembrance may email webmaster@ejb.rutgers.edu
