New Undergraduate and Graduate Education Initiatives

Date: October 29, 2001

New Leadership for Arts, Sciences and Engineering

Medford/Somerville, MA (Oct. 29, 2001) -- Tufts University President Lawrence Bacow and Provost Sol Gittleman today announced new initiatives in undergraduate and graduate education, and a new leadership structure for the University's Schools of Arts and Sciences as well as Engineering (AS&E). In addition, two individuals will increase their current responsibilities by assuming two new University-wide Associate Provost positions.

And with those key organizational structures realigned, Gittleman said he plans to step down as perhaps the longest serving provost (21 years) in the United States. In the months to come, he will continue to teach and to serve as Provost and Senior Vice President until his replacement is named. He will then continue to teach and hold the Alice and Nathan Gantcher Chair of Judaic Studies.

"I've asked President Bacow to begin a national search for my replacement," Gittleman said. "The last 20 years as Provost have been extremely rewarding and invigorating. But at this stage in my career, I'm ready to continue teaching here, spend more time with my grandchildren, visit some of the retro baseball parks and maybe write a book."

--- New Initiatives ---

To take a fresh look at how our undergraduates live and learn, President Bacow announced the creation of a new Task Force on the Undergraduate Experience. Gilbert Metcalf, Professor of Economics, will chair this effort, which will be co-chaired by Kristine Dillon, Dean of Academic Services and Student Affairs, and Charles Inouye, Dean of the Colleges of Undergraduate Education. Other faculty and students will be appointed to the Task Force in the near future.

President Bacow said, "Much has changed since our last comprehensive review of undergraduate life over 20 years ago. Our student body is much more diverse and talented. Our graduates are entering a world that is more tightly integrated economically, socially, and culturally. Technology gives us an opportunity to rethink how we teach. Our competitors are making significant investments in residential life. The time is ripe to reexamine both our curriculum and life outside the classroom. We should take a searching look at the totality of the Tufts undergraduate experience so we can define what we want a Tufts education to be in the 21st century."

The Task Force will build on the findings and lessons of the Higher Education Initiative. It will report directly to the President.

The President and the Provost also announced the appointment of David Walt, Professor of Chemistry, as the chair of a new University Council on Graduate Education.

"Over the summer, June Aprille led a group that reviewed graduate education at Tufts," Gittleman explained. "The group recommended the creation of a new University Council on Graduate Education. I believe this Council will bring greater clarity to graduate education throughout the University and address the observations and recommendations made by an outside visiting committee last year."

The President added, "We must sharply articulate a vision for graduate education at Tufts, especially in Arts, Sciences and Engineering. We must capitalize on opportunities to create synergy across graduate programs on all three of our campuses. This will be the primary mission of the Council."

--- New AS&E Leadership ---

Gittleman said that President Bacow's first few months at Tufts have included considerable consultation with faculty and staff across the University--especially in AS&E.

"He's worked hard to understand AS&E priorities and structures," he said. "He and I have met regularly to discuss what he's learned, and how we might rethink the organization to achieve a number of objectives. These include taking a fresh look at the undergraduate experience, enhancing graduate education, flattening the administrative structure, strengthening the roles of deans with primary responsibility for the faculty, and building stronger ties between AS&E and the other schools at Tufts."

The Provost added that he and the President have carefully considered possibilities for improving the organizational structure while looking for ways to save money.

"Larry is committed to enhancing faculty salaries," Gittleman said. "We plan to direct the savings from this restructuring towards the faculty salary pool."

Gittleman said he and the President are aligning the leadership of AS&E to empower the deans to address both undergraduate and graduate education issues in a comprehensive way. In addition, these deans will be placed "at the table" with the other school deans at Tufts to promote collaboration across disciplines.

Effective November 1, Susan Ernst will become the Dean of Arts and Sciences. Ernst, who holds bachelor's and doctorate degrees in zoology, joined Tufts in 1979 as an assistant professor in the Biology Department. Prior to coming to Tufts, she did postdoctoral work at Case Western Reserve and the California Institute of Technology. Her teaching and research interests have continued in developmental biology, and she is currently serving as retiring Chair for Biological Sciences and a member of the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Effective immediately, she will serve on the President's Council along with Ioannis Miaoulis, dean of the School of Engineering, and the deans of the other schools. All deans will continue to report to the Provost.

"Larry and I are convinced this approach will serve us well into the future, having seen how well the AS&E team has worked since Mel Bernstein's departure," he added. "Susan and Ioannis are fortunate to have a terrific team of colleagues in Wayne Bouchard, Kristine Dillon, David Cuttino and Charles Inouye to draw upon.

"This actually was the model of governance employed at Tufts in the 1960s," Gittleman explained. "It worked well back then, and was a more agile structure that generated few complaints of 'administrative bloat.'

At the University level, Gittleman said a number of other structural changes will become effective November 1. He said he and President Bacow are particularly pleased to appoint both Dean Miaoulis and Dr. Mary Y. Lee to the senior leadership team as Associate Provosts at Tufts. They are both "triple Jumbos" who have played leading roles in nationally recognized initiatives.

"From the beginning, Larry has stressed the importance of 'knitting together' our seven schools-which June Aprille as Associate Provost pursued with great enthusiasm and success," said Gittleman. "In addition to his primary responsibility for implementing significant change in the Engineering School's curriculum, we're asking Ioannis to carry forward June's growing list of collaborative programs, ranging from child development and aging to the environment and Africa. His creativity, energy and 'possibility thinking' can now be leveraged beyond engineering to encompass these growing collaborative programs."

Miaoulis, who holds undergraduate, master's and PhD. degrees from Tufts as well as a master's degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, this year played a leading role in Massachusetts' decision to include engineering courses in the state's K-12 curriculum-a move now being considered by other states. Tufts' Engineering School also holds the distinction of being one of the only engineering schools to see the number of graduates increase rather than decrease from initial enrollments.

In addition, the President and Provost have asked Dr. Mary Y. Lee, the Medical School's Dean for Educational Affairs, to assume additional responsibilities as an Associate Provost. Dr. Lee will focus initially on better integration of educational programs in the health sciences as well as promoting other University-wide teaching initiatives.

Dr. Lee has played a leadership role in the development of the University's unique health sciences database, which helped land Tufts' distinction as the only university in the "top 100 most innovative institutions" in the U.S. by CIO Magazine. She also has been one of the principal organizers of the University-wide teaching initiative and has been particularly active in promoting faculty development.

"Mary grew up in Somerville and holds undergraduate and Medical School degrees from Tufts, where she also received post-graduate medical training," Gittleman said. She also has a master's degree from Stanford in Asian studies. Bacow added, "Mary will help us to create stronger ties between the Medical School, the Friedman School of Nutrition, the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, the Dental School, and the Veterinary School."

--- Gittleman's Plans ---

With respect to his own plans for the future, Gittleman beamed. "I've been teaching at Tufts for 37 years, I've worked with three Presidents as Provost, and I'm not burned out yet," he said. "As we begin to celebrate Tufts' 150th anniversary, I feel particularly privileged to have served at a time when the faculty, student body and those who help administer this University have made an enormous impact on the quality of the academic enterprise. We've never been in a stronger position, and we have a new President who fully appreciates Tufts and its people."

President Bacow noted Gittleman's many contributions to Tufts, "Sol is the heart and soul of this university. For generations of students, their Tufts education has not been complete until they took a course from him. During his 21 years as Provost Sol has never lost his enthusiasm, his patience, or his sense of humor. He has always personified all that is great about Tufts: a passion for students, a commitment to the scholarly enterprise, and a deep-seeded concern for people.

"Like students and young faculty before me," Bacow continued, "I have found him to be a wonderful mentor. He is a true mensch, an expression that all those who have taken Sol's course in Yiddish Literature will understand. He may be stepping down as Provost but he will continue play an important role in the life of Tufts."

Gittleman added: "I love teaching undergraduates, but my current freshmen are exactly 50 years younger than I am. They're great, but I also would like to teach some of the others who have graduated from this institution who haven't learned everything they need to know yet. And if they happen to be living near a new baseball park, that's even better!"

And Nathan Gantcher, chairman of Tufts' Board of Trustees, underscored the importance of Gittleman's continuing role in the Tufts community. "Sol has been-and will continue to be-an important and popular Tufts link with students long after they graduate. As Provost, he's played a major role in building our academic and research strengths, and we're fortunate he'll also continue to be an outstanding teacher here as well."