SIT community mourns the passing of beloved professor

August 19th, 2021   |   School for International Training

William Alan Hodson, a passionate proponent of sustainability and environmentalism, was a long-time professor and director of the World Issues Program, SIT’s former undergraduate degree program.

The following obituary is reprinted with permission from the Brattleboro Reformer.

William Alan Hodson (known as "Alan" throughout his life), 76, died on June 22, 2021, after a life filled with loving friends, family and an affinity for the outdoors and the environment. He was born to Sonia Chase Hodson and William "Punch" Hodson on Oct. 22, 1944, in Chicago, Ill. Soon after, he moved to Versailles, France, where his father worked as the Chief Program and Budget Director for UNESCO. He lived in France with his parents and two sisters until he was 9, when, in 1954, his father died tragically in a plane crash, after which Alan and his family relocated to Hollin Hills in Alexandria, VA.

Alan valued education deeply. He graduated from Harvard University in 1967 with a BA in International Affairs, after which he joined the Peace Corps, volunteering in Malaysia. Upon returning to the US, he received a master's in education from Antioch University, and in 1981 he received his PhD in education from UMass Amherst, where he developed novel methods to test the learning techniques of grade-school children.

Alan dedicated his life to teaching in the Brattleboro-Putney area. After receiving his PhD, he worked at the Winston Prouty Center in Brattleboro and then spent two decades at the School for International Training as both a professor and the director of the World Issues Program (WIP).

He was a proponent of sustainability and environmentalism, two things that he shared with his maternal grandfather, Stuart Chase, a noted economist and advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Alan finished his career at Landmark College in Putney, Vermont, where he worked as a professor and academic advisor.

He leaves behind his three children: Bryce Hodson and his wife, Louise, of Putney, Vermont; Nicholas Hodson and his wife, Tara, of Putney, Vermont; and daughter, Phoebe Hodson, of Keene, NH. He also leaves his three grandchildren, Isabella Hodson, Eliza Hodson and Kaydin Hodson. He was predeceased by his mother, Sonia Chase Hodson of Abiquiu, NM, and his sister, Kristin Maloney of Chilmark, Mass. He will be dearly missed by his family and many friends and colleagues from around the world.

Originally published by the Brattleboro Reformer on July 3, 2021.