Summer News and Updates

September 4, 2008

Dear Members of the Tufts Community:

The beginning of the academic year is always an especially exciting time here. Summer generates its own share of news, however, which I wanted to share with you.

Education, Research, and Administration

Under the leadership of Provost Jamshed Bharucha and the Deans, Tufts continues to innovate in education and research. This year sees the launch of the new University Seminar program sponsored by the Provost. The first two of these Seminars, which combine interdisciplinary research with civic engagement, will focus on global health and the role of water rights in international relations. Each of the seminars will bring faculty from three of our schools together with undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to model new approaches to learning across traditional boundaries.

Members of the Tufts faculty are distinguished by their excellence as both teachers and scholars. One who exemplifies this combination is Professor David Walt, who was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his development of revolutionary sensors that can simultaneously image and perform biochemical analyses. Professor Robert Russell has been another of Tufts' outstanding researchers; before his retirement as director of our Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at the end of July, he received the David Kritchevsky Career Achievement Award in Nutrition from his colleagues in the American Society for Nutrition.

Tufts strives for excellence in its administrative operations as well as in the classroom and lab. The summer began with a welcome opportunity to celebrate exceptional Tufts staff and faculty at the inaugural Tufts Distinction Awards. We were privileged to honor twelve individuals and two teams, from all three campuses, for extraordinary service to the university. I encourage you to learn more about these inspiring winners on the web at http://distinctionawards.tufts.edu/. It was a real pleasure to celebrate all they do for Tufts. The Distinction Awards will be presented annually; look for more information during the winter about awards for this academic year.

Staff, faculty, and students across Tufts are working together to make sustainability a guiding principle in all our operations. We are committed to meeting the greenhouse gas emissions targets of the Kyoto protocols and are well on our way to doing so. Our position of leadership among America's "greenest" campuses was recognized this summer by the Sierra Club and in major college and university rankings.

The Economy and Tufts

Directly or indirectly, the economy and the investment markets affect almost everything we do. While we continue to monitor economic developments closely, Tufts remains strong financially and is well positioned to thrive in the years ahead.

Despite negative economic news, the university once again achieved a new record in its fundraising success, with a total of almost $243 million raised during the last fiscal year, including the largest gift in Tufts' history, a bequest of $136 million from the late Frank C. Doble E11. The efforts of dedicated academic and volunteer leadership across the university have now raised total achievement for Beyond Boundaries: The Campaign for Tufts to $912 million. More than 92,000 alumni and friends are actively helping to transform Tufts through their participation in the campaign. Their extraordinary generosity is allowing us to build on our strengths, and today Tufts is extending its scholarly accomplishments, raising its academic profile, and most important, having an even greater impact in the world.

The performance of our endowment last year demonstrated, even more than usual, the value of strong investment management: We posted a negative return of only 0.77% for the fiscal year, while the S&P 500 dropped 13.20%. When the comparative figures are available we are likely to look very good relative to our peers. It is important to keep a long term perspective: Our trailing five-year returns are 11.5%, and the university's total net assets grew by 2.5% last year in spite of the negative investment return.

Facilities and Operations

On all three of our campuses, new construction and renovation projects are supporting academic initiatives and helping build campus community.

We continue our planning for two transformational projects on the Medford/Somerville campus: a major expansion of our athletics and fitness facilities and an interdisciplinary laboratory complex for our biologists and engineers. A varied range of construction and renovation projects went forward on the campus this summer. In November, we will open a spectacular new garden on the roof of Tisch Library, offering a beautiful space for both contemplation and conversation. The renovation of 51 Winthrop Street into a flexible multi-purpose function space is scheduled to be finished in December. Packard Hall, an icon of the Academic Quad and the second-oldest building on campus, has been open to the elements most of the summer. Its complete exterior restoration and interior renovation for use by the School of Arts & Sciences will be complete next March.

We are making progress on our systematic plan to address deferred maintenance needs and accessibility. This summer, these investments benefited Eaton Hall, a number of student residences (Metcalf, South, and West halls), and our electrical and mechanical systems. Lane Hall 100 was divided and renovated into two up-to-date classrooms. In an important sustainability initiative, Dowling Hall became the first garage in New England to be lit with LED lights, which use less than half the electricity of typical garage lighting.

At the Tufts University School of Medicine, renovations have been completed this summer in the Sackler Center to accommodate the new curriculum in the M.D. program, while a new clinical skills center is ready to open in 35 Kneeland Street. Work continues in Sackler to provide new community spaces and a fitness center for our Boston campus. Just around the corner, construction is well underway on the vertical expansion that will add five additional floors to the Dental School's 10-story tower, with completion scheduled for December 2009. The downtown will also soon benefit from additional green space adjacent to the Jaharis Building. We will also be installing banners and kiosks to provide a cohesive visual identity for our entire Boston campus and our colleagues at the Tufts Medical Center.

In June, the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine opened a new ambulatory clinic in Woodstock, Connecticut, to support clinical rotations. On September 23, in Grafton, we will dedicate the school's new Agnes Varis Campus Center, whose facilities give the campus a new focal point for community activity. A new 180-seat teaching auditorium and continuing education facility, adjacent to the Varis Campus Center, should be complete by the end of 2008. We will also complete work on the school's new Regional Biosafety Lab in December. Planning is underway for a new large-animal isolation facility for the treatment of infectious diseases.

Last month Tufts' custodial contractor, OneSource, successfully concluded contract negotiations with the janitors who work at Tufts. The new five-year contract, which was ratified by an overwhelming majority, provides for wage increases, greater employer contributions for health care, and increases in the number of paid holidays and sick/personal days the janitors receive. Tufts will continue to work with OneSource to maximize the level of full-time employment consistent with the university's operational needs. The OneSource employees who work at Tufts are valued members of our university community, and we are pleased that the negotiations have resulted in a fair and equitable agreement.

Looking Ahead

A number of events in the upcoming weeks will offer opportunities to share Tufts' accomplishments with others. The Cummings School will hold its annual Open House in Grafton this Saturday, September 6, while Community Day will take place on the Medford/Somerville campus on Sunday, October 5. This year we mark the 75th anniversary of the Fletcher School with a gala celebration in Washington, DC, on October 11.

Leadership is on all our minds in this Presidential election year. On the afternoon of September 25, we will host a roundtable on Compassionate Leadership with three remarkable panelists: Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan; the Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, the head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage; and Rabbi Irwin Kula, President of CLAL, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. We will also learn about leadership at this fall's Richard E. Snyder Presidential Lecture on October 16. Former Viacom CEO Tom Freston, who revolutionized television as one of the founders of MTV, will share insights gained during a remarkable career in the media business.

One final note: Nothing is more important to me than ensuring the safety of Tufts community. On September 8, your Tufts email will include an invitation to submit or update your contact information for the Tufts Emergency Alert System. Please help us bring our campus security to an even higher level by responding right away.

I hope that the new academic year is off to a great start for all of you.

Warm regards,

Lawrence S. Bacow
President