Two Tufts students who passed away in the past year will beawarded posthumous degrees by the University, pending approval fromthe Board of Trustees.
At its commencement ceremony in May, the political sciencedepartment will present a degree to Peter Vabulas, who diedsuddenly Dec. 3 of a heart condition.
At the awards ceremony for the Graduate School of Arts andSciences this Friday, the parents of Sarah Plummer, a graduatestudent in classical archaeology who died of a seizure last June,will receive her degree.
According to Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, universities oftenaward degrees to students who passed away close to theirgraduation.
"When a student is very close to the completion of the degreeand tragically doesn't have the ability to receive the degreebecause of death, it's not unusual for the university to award thedegree either posthumously, or to the family," Reitman said.
The department overseeing the student's study must first make arecommendation to the Board of Trustees that a posthumous degree beawarded.
"The Trustees actually have to vote any degree that's awarded,including one that's awarded posthumously," Reitman said.
Vabulas was in the first semester of his senior year when hedied suddenly of a heart condition after collapsing behind MillerHall.
At a memorial service held Jan. 29, Dean of the School of Arts,Sciences, and Engineering Susan Ernst said the political sciencedepartment was working to have Vabulas' degree awarded atcommencement.
"Everyone here expected Peter to be here at Tufts, finishing hisstudies," Ernst said at the service. "Sadly, he is not."
Plummer had only to complete her final paper to receive aMasters degree. Her death was "completely" unexpected, according toclassics department administrator David Proctor.
"She had epilepsy, since she was sixteen or so," he said. "Itwas something she battled all the while she was with us, it was amassive seizure that took her life."
According to Proctor, Plummer was scheduled to graduate lastAugust, and the completion of her degree was almost certain.
"There was every indication and we all knew she was going tograduate in August," he said. "Essentially, Sarah had completed allthe requirements for her degree. It was a final paper defense thathadn't happened yet. Her final paper had been moving along verynicely."
Both students have had memorial awards set up in theirnames.
Vabulas' family began a scholarship in at his high school inPort Washington, N.Y. The scholarship, announced at the memorialservice, will be given annually to the student who has improved themost.
The Sarah Plummer Memorial Prize will be awarded at the sametime as her degree at the Graduate School award ceremony. Accordingto Proctor, the scholarship "goes to a classics or classicalarchaeology [graduate] student who has overcome significantfinancial, personal, or medical impediments in order to pursuetheir education at Tufts."
