Executive Director of Institutional Diversity Appointed

January 12, 2007

Dear Members of the Tufts Community:

I am delighted to announce an important appointment at Tufts in the newly created Office of Institutional Diversity. Lisa M. Coleman, the director of the Africana Center in the Division of Arts, Sciences and Engineering became Tufts' executive director of the Office of Institutional Diversity effective January 1, 2007. Lisa reports directly to me, with a joint reporting relationship to the vice president for human resources, Kathe Cronin, and a dotted line relationship to Provost Bharucha. She will serve on my senior leadership team, on Academic Council, composed of all school deans and vice presidents, and on the Provost's Council.

Many of you are familiar with my presentation 'A University Poised,'in which I laid out some of Tufts' strengths and the opportunities we have to take Tufts to the next level of excellence. We have made great advances as a university since I gave that talk, but there is still work to do, and one area where we can do better is in expanding and enhancing the diversity of our community. I firmly believe that a great university must embrace diversity in every possible dimension. We must sample from the full range of human capital available to us, and invest more in proactive efforts like departmental training and education so that Tufts can enjoy a broadly representative and inclusive community.

The Office of Institutional Diversity will be a catalyst for these efforts. It reflects Tufts' commitment to do more, to do better. Under Lisa's direction, the office will continue to oversee the Office of Equal Opportunity and its related functions while utilizing new resources to expand outreach across the university and to enhance campus climate.

I am pleased that we welcome an experienced and effective leader to the executive director's position. In the seven years that she has directed the Africana Center at Tufts, Lisa Coleman has earned the respect of students and colleagues for her ability to build a culture of collaboration and teamwork. In her teaching through the American Studies and Women's Studies programs and in her service to numerous campus committees, she has modeled a commitment to open-mindedness, appreciation for differences among people, and community engagement - all qualities that will serve her well as executive director of institutional diversity.

Before coming to Tufts in 1998, Lisa taught within the City University of New York system. She also worked with the Ohio State University and the University of Michigan's Centers for Teaching Excellence, with Merrill Lynch and the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers. She has presented numerous papers focusing on diversity and in 2002 participated in the National Endowment for the Humanities Speaker's Series for her work in ethnic studies. Lisa also co-chaired the National American Studies Association Minorities Scholars Committee. At Tufts, Lisa has contributed substantially to committees that seek to enhance diversity on campus, including the EEOC Committee, the Diversity Funding Committee and the Minority and Women in Sciences and Engineering Committee. She has advised the Balfour Scholarship Program, co-chaired the Black Cultural Studies Committee and served as a Sexual Harassment Resource contact person.

We have a great opportunity with the establishment of the Office of Institutional Diversity to express in even more clear and concrete ways Tufts' commitment to diversity in all of its dimensions. I encourage individuals and departments, committees and programs to work with Lisa and learn more about the contributions you can make to strengthen the Tufts community. Thank you for your support.

Best regards,

Larry Bacow
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Lawrence S. Bacow
President
Tufts University
Ballou Hall
Medford, MA 02155
617.627.3300

Please reply to bacow@tufts.edu