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| LETTERS |
Reaffirming Presence
Thank you for writing and re-publishing the article
on Gloria White-Hammond in the winter 2005 issue of
Tufts Magazine. As an alum, I am happy to be associated
with an institution in which masterful leaders such
as Ms. White-Hammond reside and/or get their training.
While the intimate tone of the article is effective
in communicating the person-to-person nature of the
work she does, there is a subtle aspect that is superficial
and inappropriate. Readers are indeed able to focus
on a leader’s good work without being exposed
to an enchantment with her physical form.
To illustrate, consider perhaps the cover article.
In it, Dean Linda Abriola’s accomplishments,
vision, and personal thoughts about her journey are
clearly conveyed, without mention of her physical form.
And we notice in each picture, she wears jewelry and
a beaming countenance.
Naisha Walton, J96
Brooklyn, NY
I recently read the article on Dr. Gloria White-Hammond
and was so moved by the story of this quiet woman with
her steel resolve and an even stronger (titanium?)
heart, I had to write to thank you for such a well-written
and inspiring piece. Is there any way to reach Dr.
White-Hammond? I’d like to tell her how much
her story touched my heart and find out the best ways
to support her efforts in the Sudan. It would seem
to me, she’d make a wonderful nominee for the
MacArthur “Genius” Award—the proceeds
of which she might like to put to good use in the Sudan.
Linda Bing, G75
Virginia Beach, VA
I read the article about Dr. Gloria White-Hammond
and I must say, the telling of her story by Bruce Morgan
was amazing, inspirational, brilliant, affirming, and
spectacular! Do you have an address where I can get
in touch with her? In Philadelphia I am the child and
adolescent public-policy director for a nonprofit organization
that works in the area of mental health advocacy, education,
and consumer support. I would love to connect with
her, as I plan on going to South Africa in 2006 to
work on HIV/AIDS issues affecting children and youth.
Thank you so much for such a resoundingly positive
article that truly reaffirms my commitment to working
with our diverse communities here in Philadelphia.
Eric D. Ashton, G99
Philadelphia, PA
To contact Dr. Gloria White-Hammond,
email her at pastorglo@aol.com.
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Major Leap Upwards
Thank you for the article on Dr. Mayer (“The
Accidental President,” winter 2005). As an older
alumnus, I have been interested over the years in watching
as Tufts College became Tufts University, and as its
status in the academic world kept rising after Dr.
Mayer became president. I am sure that most of us had
little or no idea of what went on behind the scenes,
as Dr. Gittleman so aptly tells us. From the days of “you
know—Tufts—fifty with every toothbrush” to
today has been a major leap upward.
Ralph C. Palange, E36
Shrewsbury, MA
When I first started reading Professor Gittleman’s
story of Jean Mayer’s presidency of Tufts,
I thought I was reading an exposé with a Hollywood
film flavor. Soon I realized that Mayer may
have been one of the most exciting and revolutionary
leaders of the university. I wonder if any past
Tufts presidents have equally interesting skeletons
in their closets. Perhaps Professor Gittleman
can rediscover them for us!
One point I would like to make is that the author failed
to mention that the veterinary college in Waltham,
Massachusetts, became Brandeis University in 1948.
Frank Lindauer, A55
Tucker, GA
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Heartened by Humanities
Regarding the winter 2005 edition, I was heartened to
read several features highlighting Tufts faculty and
student achievements in the humanities (i.e., the “Professor’s
Row,” “Upfront,” and “Spotlight” sections).
All too often, high-profile, profiteering sectors of
the academy, like the sciences, eclipse the steady yet
imperative deliberations that occur within the humanities.
By recognizing the delicate, vital place of the liberal
arts within the larger academic ecosystem, Tufts Magazine
provides an exemplary paradigm that I hope the university
at large adopts.
John Corso, G02, Museum 02
Ithaca, NY
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Another Side to Coal
As a professional engineer in the energy production field
since graduating from Tufts in 1958, I was troubled to
see pictures of student activities (“Cleaning Up
the Energy Act,” winter 2005) in your magazine.
I’m sure these two clowns have no idea where the
electricity comes from for their cell phone and laptop
chargers, TVs, stereos, and room hotplates other than
the plug in the wall and some distant windmill.
They should take a walk to the bottom of the hill, where
the engineering students are learning about all forms
of energy and maybe those two would have the windmill
hugging the smokestack crying, “Thank you for making
this country more energy independent.” They would
also learn that more than 50 percent of the electricity
generated in the U.S.A. comes from coal and that each
American consumes about 7,500 pounds of coal-produced
energy per year. Wind energy has some problems with bird
whacking, noise and scenic pollution, etc., and needs
more study.
It’s too bad that coal takes a bad rap, maybe because
it’s black and dirty, but tremendous progress has
occurred, funded by the utility companies (your electric
costs) to develop clean coal technologies in the last
50 years. Visit the website of Electric Power Research
Institute, Palo Alto, CA (www.epri.com) to learn more.
Maybe the two students in the photo will someday “come
up with a smart idea,” this time focusing on the
progress of electric generation technology in concert
and partnership with the environmental regulations rather
than mocking king coal and other fossil fuel emissions
from smokestacks.
Peter F. Stanley, E58
Whitefish, MT
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An Incredible Legacy
Your article about term scholarships (“Gifts to
Grow On,” winter 2005) brought back many memories
for me of my own scholarship experience at Tufts. A small-town
Maine girl, I was able to go to Tufts due to the generosity
of Ruth Haskell and her husband. When I was informed
that I was the recipient of the Haskell Scholarship and
encouraged to write to Mrs. Haskell, I did so in the
most formal, polite, and careful letter I could compose.
Not long after, I received a note from Mrs. Haskell,
saying, “Well, that was very nice, but now tell
me what you are really like!” That began a relationship
that lasted until she died. She invited me and my fiancé to
dine with her at Longwood Towers in Boston one Sunday,
an experience indelibly marked in my memory by the menu
item “sweetbreads,” which I certainly had
never tasted, and by a look at Brahmin Boston that I
would never have come across in my circle. During the
summer she invited my mother and me to her home in Rockport,
Maine. As we pulled up to the back door, the custom where
I grew up, the butler met us and asked us to go around
to the front. We were treated to a lovely tea on fine
china with petits fours, and sparkling conversation with
this remarkable lady. The next summer she invited my
fiancé and me to her “cottage” in
Thomaston, Maine. We had a “politician’s
luncheon” (her words—chicken and peas) with
views of the bay beyond. She was interested in everything
about Tufts and what the young folks were up to. Although
she was by then very elderly, there was nothing old about
her spirit and interest in being up to date. She attended
our wedding, gave us a wedding gift that funded an entire
living room set (in 1968), and sent anonymously every
Christmas after that until she died a place setting of
our silver pattern. I think of her often, usually with
chagrin that I was so young and inexperienced that I
did not appreciate what a treasure she was, so full of
wisdom and so generous with both time and money. I wish
I had gotten to know her better, that I had developed
a more personal relationship with her. But I also like
to think that she would be proud that I have continued
my relationship with Tufts over the years, used my Tufts
education in teaching Latin and in leadership in foreign
language education for 25 years, and in encouraging and
mentoring young people, many of whom have chosen to attend
Tufts over the years. To those you profiled and the others
who have given to term scholarships, kudos—your
good deeds will be remembered always.
Carlene Weber Craib, J68, G94
Westford, MA
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