Jumbo will have to get out his party hat this year, as Tufts prepares to celebrate its 150th birthday. But instead of partying like the students do on their birthdays, Tufts administrators have planned a slew of events aimed at connecting students and alumni and educating them about University history.
The celebration officially began at the freshmen matriculation ceremony last month and will continue through the spring. Major events include a caf?© atop Tisch Library, as well as online chat rooms, expanded homecoming and parents' weekends activities, a gallery of Tufts memorabilia, and an art exhibition run by alumni. Several speakers will address students in classes and host open discussions, and various academic departments will host several symposia throughout the fall.
In the midst of the anniversary will be President Larry Bacow's inauguration ceremony, which will take place on April 19.
The traditional exhibitions and events on campus will be complemented with efforts to connect students on-campus and across the globe. Online chat rooms and forums will be held at various points throughout the year. Lectures and University figures will also lead online discussions, with Bacow slated to host a chat in the spring.
In January, the a steering committee on the celebration will unveil the Tufts 150th anniversary website, which will display several aspects of Tufts life. The committee will also release a screen saver depicting campus history and student life this winter.
"We wanted to bring some departments and activities together," said Tisch Library Director Jo-Ann Michalak, who has been active in planning the sesquicentennial celebration. "Other proposals... focused on one student's activity or one department's activity."
Online sesquicentennial galleries can currently be accessed from the library website. The library archives also features a list of notable events in Tufts history.
Tisch Library recently opened a photo exhibit created by library depicting several aspects of campus life. The library has been especially active in sesquicentennial planning, creating events meant to bridge different aspects of campus life.
"We think [the photos are] great," Michalak said. "We don't have any professional photo mounters or even an exhibit designer. We had volunteers from the staff do different parts of this."
One of the larger sesquicentennial events is a day-long "tea ceremony" atop Tisch's roof. The event will feature speakers from several departments, student artwork, and possibly student musical groups. The library, which will host the event, hopes to see student, faculty, and community involvement in the ceremony.
Another important time for the sesquicentennial will be April Open House, Michalak said, when alumni and prospective students flood campus. "There'll be students here and faculty. We want to reach out to Friends of Tufts Libraries, which are mainly alums," she said.
Steering Committee Judy Olsen, Bacow's executive secretary, emphasized that the 150th anniversary events will celebrate Tufts' past, present, and future. While featuring accomplishments the University has made over the years, present and future projects and goals will also be addressed.
The committee began planning last spring and solicited ideas from various University departments and groups to create a series of events highlighting Tufts' history and community.
Special attention is being paid to this year's senior class because graduating classes can play a large role in shaping the University. The class that graduated during Tufts 100th anniversary in 1952 is the most active in staying connected to the University, according to senior Erin Ross, who has been working with the committee through the Senior Leadership Core.
"The goal of the sesquicentennial committee is to really emphasize that Tufts is at a critical point and this senior class will play an important role in Tufts' future," Ross said. "It's giving opportunities to this class to have a lot of say in how Tufts is recorded to the future."
While Bacow would not comment on what the University has planned for next year's commencement, he said it would be nice to have a Tufts-related person be the keynote speaker.
The steering committee will highlight sesquicentennial celebration events in their press releases for the coming year. Events designated as "official" will receive more advertising in alumni publications and on the website dedicated to the 150th anniversary. Departments also applied for funding from the committee for certain events.
Sesquicentennial celebrations will be posted online at http://celebrate150.tufts.edu/events until the official 150th Anniversary website debuts.
