Tobin has been at the college for 22 years, the last nine serving as president of the institution in Clinton, N.Y. He announced his resignation, effective June 30, 2003, at a faculty meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
According to a number of reports, the Hamilton community has responded to the resignation with mixed emotions; some were shocked and disappointed, while others supported Tobin's decision.
"He's a beloved figured, a lovely person, very moral," said President Tom Gerety.
In his convocation speech on Sept. 1, Tobin talked about books that he had read over the summer. According to the Utica Observer-Dispatch, Professor of Music G. Roberts Kolb expressed interest in a certain book that Tobin had mentioned and Tobin directed him to Amazon.com, where Kolb discovered similarities between the book reviews posted on the site and the president's speech.
Once Kolb made his discovery of the similarities public, Tobin decided to issue a letter of apology to the Hamilton community. In the letter Tobin said that when writing speeches he tried to limit internal references, footnotes and direct quotations typically required in formal scholarly work, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Hamilton spokesman Michael Debraggio told the Chronicle of Higher Education that Tobin's lack of attribution was "an unintentional error of omission."
"The idea that somebody could make a mistake and forget to quote in a speech is very forgivable. [However,] I gather it's a pattern," said Gerety.
"I have anguished over the embarrassment my speechwriting process has brought to our community," Tobin said in a statement. "Ultimately, I concluded that it is in Hamilton's best interest that I step down as president."
Several hundred students and faculty members participated in a rally to show their support for president Tobin last Wednesday, the Observer-Dispatch reported. According to the same report, many were disheartened to see the president leave.
"We feel the voice of the campus community might be able to turn around this tragedy," said the acting president of the student assembly, senior Maurice Michaane, to the Observer-Dispatch. "We respect his decision but we need to let him know he has our support. Maybe he didn't know we were behind him. That might help him reconsider."
Senior Dave Lyons, president of the Hamilton media board, praised Tobin's "strong, effective leadership." According to Lyons, under the leadership of Tobin, the institution has "significantly improved its rank, increased its endowment, attracted higher quality students and faculty members and undergone enormous facility projects."