By virtue of the fact that every human being is somebody's son or daughter, we all have moments where we realize that we're getting to be like our parents. It's an eerie feeling, knowing that we have the same quirks our parents do, and we're likely to make the same mistakes they did. I imagine it's the way Jenna Bush felt when she was put into the back of a police cruiser on alcohol-related charges.
For me, the realization that I'm part of a genetic lineage of similar people happened when I started cutting items out of the Globe. My father is a habitual newspaper-sharer. Sunday mornings were spent listening to him read headlines across the living room. Weekday mornings, I was awakened at 5 a.m. by the soft fluttering of a newspaper coming to rest on my face and my father whispering, "Check out page B3, there's an article in there I think you'll find interesting."
My recent moment of newspaper sharing was a little less creepy. I was eating lunch at the Danish Pastry House, reading the Globe, and wondering how many times I had to mention them in print before I could get one of their delicious mozzarella, tomato, prosciutto and pesto sandwiches for free. I came across an article entitled "A group is sought to save dominance of local colleges." Right then, I realized I had to share that article with you today.
Over the past two years, the Boston Foundation and Tufts' own University College have been examining the state of higher education in the Boston area. They have found that Boston is losing its place as the hub of higher education in the country. The Boston area has fallen from 9th to 34th in higher education spending per student between 2002 and 2004, as other areas such as Philadelphia and North Carolina's Research Triangle have gone to great lengths to attract students and improve colleges.
Northeastern University President Richard M. Freeland said that he's "not worried about Harvard and MIT," but that the "next couple of tiers of institutions do not rest on as secure a footing." That's not just because the Tisch is sinking an inch a year because our engineers forgot to add the weight of books in their original plans. Non-Harvard-and-MIT (NHAM?) schools are in trouble because they've been resting on their Bostonian laurels for decades, relying on the area's reputation to attract great students.
The proposal? The Boston Metropolitan Alliance of College and University Presidents. (BMACUP [How do we pronounce that acronym? Be my A-cup? BM in a cup?]) will work for better relations with host communities and for implementation of state programs that help out local schools.
I hate to gloat when I'm right - at least publicly - but I distinctly remember suggesting a slightly more radical form of this sharing of resources among Boston-area schools in a previous column. Granted, "Close down Tufts and sell it for scrap" might not get me invited to a BMACUP meeting, but it's more optimistic and highly clich?©¤ twin "share our strengths" will certainly have a place at the table. I can just see the NHAM presidents at their first conference at the Doubletree Cambridge, playing the same icebreaker games as a perspectives class.
But it was in another newspaper article that I put my finger on one point that President Bacow can share while he's making a straw tower with Jehuda Reinharz from Brandeis. In fact, it's an op-ed straight from the Prez himself.
"How universities can teach public service" is the title, and Tufts is the model. While the shoulders of Bacow's suit jacket might be a little worn from all the backpatting he's given himself, he made an excellent point. "Universities can act as catalysts to accelerate the trend toward more constant and widespread civic involvement," he said, sounding like the mission statement of SDS rewritten by John Foster Dulles. Optimistic and energetic "young adults have time and time again proven themselves to be powerful, positive forces of change." Really? College students are motivated to help out in the world? Jeez, I haven't seen anything like that since my high school U.S. history class studied the '60s and we watched videos of rioting at UC Berkeley!
Fifty thousand people have died in an earthquake in Pakistan. There's an ongoing genocide in Sudan. Southeast Asia is still reeling from the tsunami. Hurricane Katrina pointed out inequities in our own backyard. There's a war in Iraq. Senators are being charged with ethics violations more often than Bill Romanowski. We have a responsibility to act in the face of these troubling times.
That the BMACUP report came from the University College is no accident. This is one of Tufts' treasures, an academic program that lights a fire under students to actually get up and do something. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the University College were Tufts' undergraduate shining star that differentiated us from every other school and helped raise the bar for education in Boston? I would love to hear students respond to the question, "Why did you choose Tufts?" with, "Because I'm interested in public service." That's something that would not only attract some of the best and brightest to our school, but give it a reputation that we could all be proud of.
I hope BMACUP members, University College professors, and potential students get a chance to read this. If not, I'm sure my father will be sliding a copy under your door.
