Tufts's Board of Trustees convened last weekend at Babson College's Executive Conference Center for its annual fall meeting to strategize on increasing the University's institutional quality and financial base.
Tufts Trustees fine-tuned President Larry Bacow's vision for Tufts' future, which he articulated in a piece published last spring in Tufts Magazine, entitled "A University Poised."
The four principal areas of importance Bacow stressed for the next capital campaign were "great people," a diverse learning environment, interdisciplinary thinking and the integration of teaching and high-quality research.
The primary goal on President Bacow's agenda was need-blind admissions - discussed extensively over the course of the meeting.
Bill Bowen, former president of Princeton University and expert on socioeconomic issues in higher education, delivered a presentation describing the great potential of applicants from lower-income families - and the extra help that institutions should provide to help them reach their goals.
Tufts current status of "need sensitive" means the Univeristy must sometimes deny talented students admission because they require too much financial aid.
Dean of Admissions Lee Coffin made a presentation to this effect, showing the application information of nine "wonderful" students who all had to be denied to Tufts because of financial constraints.
"The case was made," Secretary of the Trustees Linda Dixon said, adding that the trustees were convinced of the importance of the need-blind goal.
Tufts' Master Plan, which Dixon described as a physical manifestation of Bacow's academic vision, was also discussed and the architectural firm William Rawn & Associates shared the results of their fall planning.
Trustees in charge of finance unveiled an important new tool called the "Integrated Resource Model" that reduces for risks in long-term financial planning.
A new initiative was also announced to ensure the constancy of Tufts media relations to ensure that all Tufts publications and press releases depict a unified and consistent message.
Two trustees, Joyce Barsen, and Monte Heyman, retired this year, and four retired trustees, Edward Budd, Marilyn Ducksworth, Nathan Gantcher and Michael Jaharis, were officially voted in as trustees emeritus.
Two new trustees were also voted into the Board, but their names have not been released because they have not formally accepted the position.
This year's meeting took the form of a weekend retreat to allow trustees to interact and socialize as well as to conduct business affairs.
Formal meetings and discussions were complemented with an informal "fireside chat" with Medical School Professor Dan Jay, who conducted a talk on the human genome and the expanding field of genomics.
