To compliment the offline celebrations, a new website has been created to allow Jumbos from across the globe to participate in Tufts' 150th anniversary celebration. The Web Central team and the Publications Office introduced the website on Jan. 1 to celebrate 150 years of Tufts history.
Facts, photos, a University timeline, and a calendar of upcoming sesquicentennial events make the site "key" to the 150th anniversary celebration, Associate to the President Judy Olson said. She serves as Chair to the Sesquicentennial Steering Committee.
"It allows our extended Tufts family...to participate with us, via the web," Olson said. She hopes that "visitors will utilize the interactive areas...to join in the celebration and help build a site."
But the site - which can be accessed at http://celebrate150.tufts.edu. - is only one part of the festivities, which have taken place over the course of the academic year. Highlights from the fall semester, including the Flag Raising Ceremony and Homecoming 2001, are featured on the site.
The website's "Ask the Expert" forum, where participants were able to post questions for President Larry Bacow and Vice President of Information Technology Bruce Metz, debuted this month. Five other campus figures will participate throughout the semester.
During his stint on the forum, Bacow addressed a variety of topics ranging from his goals for the University to his leisure activities. His said his priorities include increasing financial support for students and faculty, more strongly integrating Tufts' eight different schools, and improving the diversity of the faculty and staff.
Metz has overseen the website's development. During his on- forum, which began yesterday and will continue for a week, he will discuss past and future changes in information technology. He said the site and the celebration are important tools in perpetuating a sense of community.
"Given the fast pace of our society today, we tend to focus on tomorrow," he said. "Taking the time to remember the past together can be very helpful in strengthening community, renewing existing commitments, and informing us about possible directions for the future."
Other academic activities created in celebration of the sesquicentennial include online study rooms and panels. Drama Professor Barbara Grossman is hosting a discussion of American Musicals in one study room. Future topics will include "Feeding Children well in the 21st Century" and "Global Warming, Climate Change, and Sustainability."
Two other events will cap off the yearlong celebration. Bacow, now five months into his presidency, will be officially inaugurated on April 19 at Ellis Oval. Tuftonia's Day, Apr. 21, will feature the Alumni Association's dedication of a time capsule. Students are invited to submit ideas for items to be placed in the capsule by contacting timecapsule@tufts.edu.
