University President Larry Bacow spent the first two months of the year settling into his role at Tufts, and last week, he took his show on the road to London, England, and Atlanta,GA to meet with students and alumni in London. He will meet today with representatives from the Mellon Foundation and other potential donors in New York.
Bacow's travels began last Tuesday, when he left for London to meet with Tufts students, alumni, and international overseers. He returned to Tufts on Sunday, and on Monday flew to Atlanta to meet with members of the city's Tufts Club.
After spending Tuesday on campus, Bacow flew to New York this morning and will return tonight. Although Bacow has made previous trips to New York and Washington, this last week was the first time he logged significant mileage since assuming the presidential post this summer.
According to the president's executive associate, Judy Olson, Bacow spent the majority of his first two months in office on Tufts' Boston-area campuses getting to know students, faculty, and staff.
As a new president, Bacow said he was required to travel to introduce himself to Tufts' affiliates. "This is a chance for me to meet Tufts alumni in other cities," he said at a reception for international students and at a meeting with the International Board of Overseers in Ballou Hall last night, adding that he uses the time to recruit support for the University.
Olson would not say how Bacow's travel schedule compared to that of his predecessor, John DiBiaggio.
"Travel is, and probably always will be, part of the president's job," Olson said. "When he does travel, the trips will be designed to address multiple priorities of Tufts," she added, "so that we are making maximum use of his time."
In England, for example, Bacow met with a member of the International Board of Overseers before attending a one-day conference at Cambridge University on the competitiveness of British industry.
When he returned to London, Bacow met with a large group of Tufts overseers, Tufts alumni, and Tufts-in-London students. He also met with Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith, the provost and president of University College London, which hosts Tufts-in-London students.
Bacow's travels resume next week when he will return to New York to meet Tufts alumni. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, he will meet with former students in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Chicago.
