Last Sunday, we received the sad news that Tom Mulder passed away on December 19th. He suffered from ALS and was only 51 years old.
Tom has definitely left his unique mark at the UT and his works is still an important pillar in the innovation of our education. As a senior adviser and strategist, he was a visionary who inspired and encouraged colleagues and students to think. He always had new ideas, challenging questions and creative thoughts on social developments and the future of higher education and in particular of the UT. Moreover, he was also a very good listener and had a great sense of what was really going on. Things were always moving inside his mind and around his person. He brought enthusiasm, energy and humour and could be found everywhere on campus.
Tom played an important role in the development and implementation of the Twente Education Model (TEM). He was one of the founders of the TEM philosophy. This was an intense process that had to be looked at and implemented from many different angles. Tom was able to connect all colleagues and students who were involved, whether for administrative, organisational, or content-related reasons.
Tom had his own way of dealing with his agenda; with appointments and deadlines. He wanted to make agreements and also promised from his optimistic nature that he would do his share before a certain deadline, but he would usually leave people in the dark about him actually being able to keep his promises for a long time. With this characteristic, he unknowingly caused people to await his input eagerly. In addition, Tom had a striking appearance that appeared somewhat absent-minded. On many occasions, he would dish up a great story about what had happened to him that had caused him to finish his contribution in the nick of time (right before or just after the deadline). The thrill of waiting was almost always rewarded with an original, eloquent contribution.
Tom was also a good performer: he was an eloquent speaker of Dutch and English, who was a great representative of UT on all kinds of national and international stages (at the request of the Executive Board). Especially at other universities, he was able to articulate the ideas behind TEM very well, thereby forming the best ambassador the UT could wish for.
At the same time, Tom was a man with clear principles, autonomous in his thinking and doing. His wife and children were his first priority: for them, he would do anything. Also, he wanted to deal with his condition for them as long as he could. He did so very bravely.
He was able to deal with his illness admirably. He was able to 'park' his condition mentally and remained interested in others and also the goings-on at UT, with humour and sense of perspective. He was a hero, an example. We will miss him sorely.
We are saddened by Tom's passing and we wish Ans, Bas and Roos a lot of strength in dealing with this great loss. His passing is also a great loss for all of his colleagues and the University of Twente.
Because a party to celebrate Tom is not possible now, we say goodbye in a small group.
Condolence opportunities will become available after Christmas
Correspondence: tommulder@mac.com
