Task Force releases swine flu update

6/29/09 10:40 PM

Tufts' university-wide Task Force on Pandemic Planning notified the Tufts community in an e-mail today that the H1N1 strain of influenza, commonly known as swine flu, should not be cause for panic, even though it has formally been declared a pandemic as of June 11. "The pandemic declaration does not indicate that this disease is severe, in fact, it has been relatively mild," the e-mail said. "Rather, the pandemic designation reflects that H1N1 is a novel strain of influenza that spreads easily from person to person, with increasing and sustained transmission in multiple parts of world.  At this point, the illness displays the same degree of severity as seen in the typical seasonal winter flu." Task force members, including task force...

Fletcher alum tapped for Muslim envoy position

6/27/09 11:51 AM

The State Department confirmed on Thursday that Farah Pandith, a 1995 graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, has been named as Special Representative to Muslim Communities. Pandith is the first individual named to the position, which was created as part of President Barack Obama's efforts to improve relations with the Muslim world. "Farah brings years of experience to the job, and she will play a leading role in our efforts to engage Muslims around the world,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement. This will not be new territory for Pandith, who previously served in the State Department as senior advisor on Muslim engagement in the European and Eurasian region. She has also worked with the U.S. Agency for International...

GDAE announces Leontief Prize winners

6/25/09 9:54 PM

Tufts' Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE) yesterday announced the two winners of its annual Leontief Prize. Bina Agarwal, professor of economics at Delhi University in India, and Daniel Kahneman, a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, will receive the award at a ceremony in Spring 2010. The Leontief Prize recognizes individuals who advance the social and environmental frontiers of economics. Agarwal, who currently serves on the U.N. Committee for Development Policy, has been "expanding issues of economic thought for a long time," Tim Wise, deputy director of the GDAE, told the Daily. She is considered a leader in the fields of land reform, property rights and gender, particularly...

Somerville wins All America City award

6/24/09 10:35 PM

The National Civic League on Friday named the city of Somerville as one of ten winners of the 2009 All America City (AAC) awards. Somerville was one of 30 cities selected to compete for the title from over thousands of candidate cities. The city sent a 40-member delegation comprised of residents, government officials and business owners to present its qualifications for the award during a three-day series of events in Tampa, FL. Somerville’s presentation concluded with a 10-minute skit on the city’s effort to prepare for the Green Line Extension Project. The award is one of the most competitive community recognition awards in the country, honoring cities where members of different parts of the community such as government, businesses and nonprofit organizations work together...

Harvard layoffs begin, cost-cutting deepens

6/23/09 11:52 PM

Harvard University announced this morning that it will begin laying off 275 employees and implement a reduction in working hours for other employees as part of an effort to cut costs and curb expenditures. The university is projecting a 30 percent decline in its endowment. In a letter to the Harvard community posted on the Harvard Magazine Web site, Harvard President Drew Faust said that previous actions such as the offer of an early retirement program and fixed salaries had helped but were not sufficient. She stressed that the layoffs are comparatively small when looking at the entire Harvard labor force.   “In the coming days, [Harvard] will be carrying out a reduction in the size of our workforce - modest in comparison to the overall size of our University-wide staff, but...

Update: Nealley and Rodriguez plead guilty, sentenced to jail time

6/20/09 11:01 AM

Jodie Nealley, former director of Tufts' Office of Student Activities (OSA), and Ray Rodriguez, former OSA Budget and Fiscal Coordinator, pleaded guilty yesterday to two separate larceny schemes. They each received a sentence of two years in State Prison, followed by five years of probation. Woburn Superior Court Judge Sandra Hamlin also ordered them to pay full restitution.

Nealley stole $372,576 from Tufts' student activity funds. Her attorney, Howard Lewis, told the Daily last month that this was driven by a gambling addiction, for which she is seeking help. Rodriguez stole $604,873 from student activity accounts in a separate scheme, a large part of which was spent on luxury items.

--Alexandra Bogus

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Update: Nealley trial pushed back to June 19

6/10/09 10:50 PM

Former Office of Student Activities (OSA) Director Jodie Nealley is expected to plead guilty to stealing over $300,000 from Tufts at the court hearing, which was originally scheduled for tomorrow. She will receive her sentence at the June 19 hearing. Ray Rodriguez, the former OSA budget and fiscal coordinator who is charged with stealing over $600,000 from the university, has not publicly stated whether he will plead guilty. Check back for further details.

Somerville eliminates 24 city positions to reduce budget shortfall

6/9/09 11:10 PM

     Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone announced yesterday that he eliminated 24 positions within the city’s office in light of a budget shortfall for fiscal year 2010 that may reach as high as $13 million. Fourteen employees were laid off on Friday, while the remaining 10 positions, which are currently vacant, will be eliminated.      The eliminated positions are projected to save the city over $1.1 million in FY 2010, according to a June 8 Somerville press release.      "It won’t be easy, but we’ll make it work,” Curtatone said. “These are dedicated, professional employees and we will be sorry to lose their services, but their jobs must be eliminated to help close the budget gap.” ...

Harvard first to endow LGBT professorship

6/6/09 9:21 PM

Harvard University announced on Thursday that it will endow a visiting professorship in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) studies. The F.O. Matthiessen Visiting Professorship of Gender and Sexuality will be the first endowed chair of LGBT studies in the nation. The Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus offered a $1.5 million gift to the university to make the position possible. The professorship aims to bring leading scholars of “sexuality or sexual minorities” to campus each semester, according to Harvard’s online Gazette. The position is named for F.O. Matthiessen, a well-known gay Harvard faculty member and prominent literary critic of the mid-20th century. “The Matthiessen Professorship is an important milestone for LGBT studies at Harvard,” Harvard...