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UPFRONT
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COMMENCEMENT
“Give Back, Push Forward
and Lead”
by Marjorie Howard
Massachusetts Supreme
Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret Marshall challenged
graduates at Tufts’ 147th Commencement to remain
open-minded and curious as they leave Tufts in pursuit
of their dreams.
“You graduate today from one of the world’s
most distinguished and most demanding universities,”
said Marshall. “Your diploma is a testament to
your hard work. It is also a pact between you and the
community that has given you so much. It is a promise
to give back, to push forward, to lead.”
This year’s ceremony unfolded under sunny skies
on May 18, as 2,203 graduates processed into the Academic
Quad, packed with family and friends.Tufts awarded 1,009
graduate degrees and 1,194 undergraduate degrees.
Keynote speaker Marshall, a
former anti-apartheid activist in South Africa, stressed
that diversity of thought is a hallmark of higher education
and a critical element of leadership. “As I look
out on this extraordinary assembly, I see women and
men of all races and all ages. You come from widely
different backgrounds. You come from the United States
and from other countries across our world. No two of
you think alike,” she said. “But you each
have been nurtured and motivated by teachers who are
dedicated, passionately dedicated, to preparing you
to assume leadership roles in our global community.”
She spoke of growing up during
the era of apartheid in South Africa and asked students
to “remember always your experiences at Tufts.
For there has seldom been a more urgent need in this
nation and in this community of nations for leaders
who can disagree without name calling, who can criticize
without destroying, who can be firm without rigidity.
Your teachers have taught you to be open-minded and
curious; they have taught you to be impatient with things
as they are and not to mistake excuses for answers.
They have taught you to work together. They have, in
short, given you the tools to make a difference. How
you use those tools will shape the arc of your own lives
and be the legacy of your generation.”
Tufts also celebrated lives of extraordinary achievement
as it awarded honorary degrees to Marshall; Arthur Mitchell,
founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem; Mario Molina,
a Nobel Prize–winning environmental scientist;
and Agnes Varis, founder and CEO of the New Jersey–based
pharmaceuticals company Agvar Chemicals, Inc.
In addition, Commencement included
individual school ceremonies. At the Fletcher School
of Law and Diplomacy, where 162 degrees were awarded,
Dr. Mohammed ElBaradei, director general of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, which carried out weapons inspections
in Iraq, called for greater interdependence on such
global issues as nuclear weapons. “We think globally
in terms of trade,” he said, “but we continue
to think locally in terms of violent conflicts.”
The Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition
Science and Policy celebrated the 25th anniversary of
the founding of the Institute of Nutrition, the precursor
to the school. Dean Irwin H. Rosenberg toasted the silver
anniversary as he acknowledged the 69 students who received
degrees.
In the ceremony for the Schools of Arts & Sciences
and Engineering, Elaine Wang, winner of the Wendell
Phillips Award, gave the student oration. Faculty-awarded
emeritus certificates were given to Alan J. Clayton,
professor of French; William J. Crochetiere, professor
of mechanical engineering; Pierre H. Laurent, professor
of history; Sarah M. Terry, associate professor of political
science; and George Leger, Robinson Professor of Mathematics.
At the School of Dental Medicine, Dean Lonnie H. Norris
commended the 219 graduates for “maturity and
compassion, for unity, morale and dedication to excellence.”
The School of Medicine granted 210 degrees and the Sackler
School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences 27 diplomas at
their joint Commencement ceremony. Dr. Nicolaos E. Madias,
dean ad interim of the medical school, urged the newly
minted doctors to remain faithful to what he called
the “eternally sacred” doctor-patient relationship.
“Physicians can have only one master, their patients,”
he said.
The School of Veterinary Medicine honored 81 doctors
of veterinary medicine and eight recipients of master’s
degrees. Former veterinary school dean Franklin M. Loew,
who died in April, had been invited to be a speaker
at the Commencement. His speech was read by his wife,
Deborah Digges, professor of English at Tufts.
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Meeting
Climate Change Goals
Tufts is the first university in New England to adopt
the climate change goals of the Conference of New England
Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP), an
international partnership of states and provinces focused
on the environment, economic development, energy and
other issues.
The announcement was made by President Lawrence S. Bacow
on May 12 at the Climate Solutions for the Northeast
Conference. The climate change goals, set by the NEG/ECP
Conference in August 2001, require a reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2010, and ultimately
an emissions reduction of 75 to 80 percent.
“Tufts has long understood the negative environmental
impacts of climate change, and we believe it’s important
to take our environmental responsibilities seriously
while also looking for solutions,” said Bacow. “At Tufts
we strive to couple our scholarship with active citizenship—this
commitment is one way we are doing this.”
In 1999, Tufts became the first university that pledged
to meet or beat the goals of the Kyoto Protocol—an international
agreement ratified by more than 180 countries to reduce
worldwide greenhouse gas emissions—by pledging to reduce
the University’s own greenhouse gas emissions. The NEG/ECP
regional goals are consistent with the Tufts’ Kyoto
pledge in the short term, but more aggressive in the
long term. Tufts already has taken a number of significant
steps to operate more efficiently on its campuses by
reducing the emission of greenhouse gases.
Measures have included the installation of energy-efficient
lighting, room occupancy sensors, vending machine “energy
misers,” solar hot-water systems and front-loading washing
machines in existing buildings. Tufts also plans to
build a new dormitory that will feature photovoltaic
panels to power the building, solar-heated water and
other environmentally friendly design features.
At the conference in Hartford, Connecticut, Tufts was
given a 2003 Northeast Climate Champion Award from Clean
Air-Cool Planet. The award recognizes institutions of
higher education, businesses and municipalities that
have adopted the kinds of policies and actions that
need to be universally accepted if the U.S. is to effectively
address the urgent problem of climate change. “Tufts
is an environmental role model to universities throughout
New England and around the country,” said Clean Air-Cool
Planet executive director Adam Markham.
“Tufts’ groundbreaking leadership through the Tufts
Climate Initiative, its outstanding environmental research,
and its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions
make it a very worthy recipient of one of our inaugural
Climate Champion Awards.” |
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ENVIRONMENT
Element
at Risk
by Laura Ferguson
Water is a finite resource without
which life could not survive. But for much of the world’s
developing population, water does not come from a faucet,
quench thirst, cook food or contribute to health and cleanliness.
Some 1.1 billion people lack access to improved water
services, 2.4 billion are without improved sanitation,
and 3 billion children die from waterborne diseases each
year.
The severity of that global water challenge, and the complexity
of new solutions, was underscored at Tufts recently with
a visit from Dr. Vahid Alavian, senior water resources
specialist at the World Bank.
Invited to speak on May 1 at the first Water Resources
Leadership Lecture, Alavian described the urgent need
for interdisciplinary approaches to water issues—approaches
that include the input of socioeconomic experts as well
as engineers, scientists and health experts.
Polluted water sources for drinking and bathing, water
scarcity, rapid industrialization and ecological disasters
have all contributed to a mounting international alarm
about water resources and public health, said Alavian.
The event, sponsored by the Office of the Provost and
the Steering Committee of Water: Systems, Science and
Society, brought together more than 150 people from across
the University as well as water management officials from
Massachusetts and the federal government to learn about
pressing water resources problems and the role of integrated
assessment in managing them.
Water problems have been a consistent theme at international
human development and environmental conferences in the
last 30 years, said Paul Kirshen, research professor in
civil and environmental engineering.
“We are pleased that Dr. Alavian agreed to visit
us and help draw attention to a concern that many of us
at Tufts share,” said Kirshen. “Stresses on
our water resources are either a major cause or a result
of other problems the U.S. and the world now face—population
growth, public health, biodiversity, terrorism, national
conflicts, food security, energy and climate change. Those
of us working in water resources must understand and work
with other disciplines to better respond to these and
water resource problems.”
The event comes at a time when Tufts is rapidly shaping
broad solutions to the water crisis. A cross-school graduate
program on integrated water resources management, Water:
Systems, Science and Society (WSSS), is expected to start
this fall, pending funding.
The WSSS program bears testimony to Tufts’ growing
interdisciplinary focus on water. In the past five years,
Tufts researchers have received more than $15 million
in funding because of their leadership in tackling a wide
range of water issues. Researchers at the School of Medicine,
the School of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Engineering,
for instance, have been researching the pathogen cryptosporidium,
a contributor to more than 2.2 million deaths per year.
Tufts researchers most recently received two three-year
grants from the EPA totaling more than $1.2 million to
study how to control the destructive effects of excessive
nutrients in waterways. Steven Chapra, the Louis Berger
Chair of Computing and Engineering, said the computer
modeling project will leverage Tufts’ expertise
in developing computer models “that will reflect
the ways in which nutrients—such as lawn fertilizer,
animal waste and other substances—enter America’s
waterways.”
Some of the digital modeling tools are being developed
with colleagues from MIT and North Carolina State University
to help local communities in the Mystic River watershed
map out their watersheds, identify trouble spots and take
cost-effective steps to manage the nutrients entering
the water. The Tufts team also will develop similar computer
models that will be used by the Environmental Protection
Agency and state governments. Such modeling efforts with
a combined focus on engineering and socioeconomic issues
are also the types of tools that will be necessary to
address water management issues in the developing world.
Members of the Tufts WaterSHED Center, a focal point for
interdisciplinary water resources activities, also will
be exploring potential applications of such tools this
summer in West Africa.
According to Alavian, development goals are implicitly
linked with water scarcity and safety. Consequently, solutions
call for a concerted effort on all fronts of the human
condition: eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving
universal primary education, promoting gender equality
and empowering women, and ensuring environmental stability,
among others.
The outlook, he said, remains daunting. But international
players are coming together around a sharper recognition
of water as a “top item on the global agenda.”
Tufts, he added, is already taking the lead through its
growing commitment to developing water-related educational
and outreach activities. “Tufts programs and those
like them are evidence that we need alternatives to the
traditional responses to water issues,” he said.
“In the past, the answers were largely driven by
engineering projects, technology, economic gain. But we
know that this approach has often impeded problem solving.
I am hopeful that such programs will set a new standard
for finding inspiring answers to global water issues.”
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NUTRITION
& HEALTH
A Summit for “Strong Women”
Miriam Nelson, N85, N87, who has
reached over a million women through her Strong Women
book series, and Erin Brockovich, an environmental activist
whose story was the subject of an Oscar-winning film,
will be among those who speak at a benefit this fall for
the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition
Science and Policy.
The Stonyfield Farm Strong Women Summit will be held at
the Mohonk Mountain House, near New Paltz, New York, from
November 14 to 16.
Nelson, associate professor of nutrition at the Friedman
School of Nutrition Science and Policy and director of
the Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Tufts,
is the author of international best-sellers, including
Strong Women Stay Young and Strong Women Stay Slim. For
the past 15 years she has been principal investigator
of studies on exercise and nutrition for older adults.
For years, said Nelson, women have asked her to organize
a Strong Women event “where women from around the
country could come together to learn and get inspired
to make changes in their lives, in their family’s
lives and in the communities in which they live.”
Recently, Nelson found a supporter and sponsor in Stonyfield
Farm, the leading manufacturer of all-natural and organic
yogurt in the U.S. Nelson said that she can now help plan
an event “to celebrate, educate and motivate women
to believe that positive thinking and activism begins
with health, good nutrition, exercise and attitude.”
Other speakers include Emmy Award–winning comedienne
Loretta LaRoche and Linda Mason, chair and founder of
Bright Horizons Family Solutions, the world’s largest
provider of employer-sponsored child care and early education.
All four speakers will address how they overcame obstacles
to become successful leaders in their fields. Attendees
will also work out with a group of exceptional athletes
and hear their inspirational stories.
Net proceeds from the event will benefit the Friedman
School of Nutrition Science and Policy. For more information
or to register, go to www.stonyfield.com/strongwomen
or call 1-800-PRO-COWS.
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THE
CLASSROOM
This Semester:
Latin American Literature and Film
Instructor:
Claudia Mejía, Spanish Department Lecturer
Topic:
Latin American Literature and Film
First of all—why
film and literature?
I am passionate not just about stories but about the way
they are told. Gabriel García Márquez once
said, which I quote in the course syllabus, “The
only thing I care about in this world is the act of creation.
How is it that a simple desire to tell stories can inspire
such passion? How mysterious that one would die for this
passion that, if we think about it, no one can see or
touch and at the end has no use at all.” This course
highlights Latin American literary works which have been
adapted to the screen and allows us the opportunity to
analyze how the same story can be told in two different
languages: cinema and literature. Also, art is the perfect
medium for spreading and understanding culture. Film speaks
to everybody. When you watch a film, you listen to the
language, hear the nuance of inflection, and see the gestures,
the clothes, the houses, aspects of everyday life which
immerse the viewer not only in the culture of the story,
but of the storyteller as well. The use of the two mediums
helps the student understand more clearly the passion
for creativity of the author, the screenwriter and the
film director.
How do you structure the course?
We begin with an introduction to the history of Latin
American cinema, paying special attention to the evolution
of the new Latin American cinema. We also briefly cover
the language of cinema, the camera, the lighting, the
sound, etc. After this introduction, the course is divided
into two parts. The first part is focused on the directors.
I show two movies per director from different countries:
Cuba, Argentina, Colombia. The last part of the class
has a focus on Gabriel García Márquez. My
students usually have read him but aren’t familiar
with his long relationship with cinema. He studied cinema
in Italy, and then worked for a time as a screenwriter
in México. He has stayed closely involved with
film: teaching a screenwriting workshop in the School
for Cinema and TV of San Antonio de los Baños in
Cuba, and as founder and president of the Fundación
del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano.
The students prepare for class by reading a short story
or novel, reviews about the movie adapted from the literary
work, and interviews with the directors/writers. We then
show the movie and discuss the approach to literary adaptation.
What are some of the films you study?
I show around ten movies, such as Rodrigo D, No Future
by the Colombian director Víctor Gaviria, Strawberry
and Chocolate by Cuban director Tomás Gutiérrez
Alea, and the Argentinean movie I Don’t Want
to Talk About It by Maria Luisa Bemberg. We also
watch some adaptations of García Márquez
works such as Miracle in Rome and No One
Writes to the Colonel.
You have also hosted
a Colombian Film Festival at Tufts since 2000. What led
you to start the festival?
Colombia has been living in an unprecedented period of
violence since the early ’90s. This violence has
forced thousands to seek refuge abroad, and the U.S. is
a prime destination for many. Right now, in New England,
the Colombian population is growing rapidly, so I created
the festival, with the collaboration of the Colombian
Consulate in Boston, as a way to bring together this diaspora.
In this way, our University serves as a needed forum for
dialogue among Tufts students, the immigrant Colombian
population and the community at large. This is the only
festival of this type in New England and has been extremely
well attended. I am thrilled to see the level of support
for Colombian cinema and to see the students’ growing
interest in becoming familiar with Colombian culture and
themes.
Do you have a sense of obligation to your country?
I do, I do. That’s why I also developed a course
called Colombian Art and Culture. I’m trying to
open the minds of my students to my country. Sometimes
they just know what they see on TV—drugs and violence;
but Colombia is a much more complex society. I want my
students to also experience the richness of Colombian
culture—its renowned writers, singers, painters,
filmmakers. I’ve also invited Colombian people to
come to Tufts. This spring, as part of the Center for
Interdisciplinary Studies Film Series, we hosted a filmmaker,
Marta Rodríguez, who has documented the lives of
internal refugees following massacres that took place
in 1997 near Panamá. Also last year, I invited
Lisandro Duque, a filmmaker who worked closely with García
Márquez in the movie Miracle in Rome.
So it’s not just a matter of giving a course, but
also opening the eyes of the whole community to a wider
vision of Colombia. I am currently working on a dream
that I have had to strengthen educational connections
with Colombia by hosting a virtual exchange between my
students here at Tufts and a university in Colombia via
teleconferences or email. For me, it’s extremely
important to nurture dialogue between cultures, and now
it is possible by taking advantage of the new technology.
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