Tufts' Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) - one of the University's major centers of student leadership, learning and research - will soon enjoy an affiliation with the Provost's Office that will allow for greater inter-school collaboration.
"We're finally legal," IGL Director Sherman Teichman said. "It's fun to think of life ahead."
IGL, which formerly reported to the School of Arts and Sciences, will now report directly to the provost. According to a press release issued last month, this decision is designed to "enhance the interdisciplinary quality and engaged nature of a Tufts education."
Because the Provost's Office "oversees the seven schools, the University College and cross-school programs," leadership under the Provost's Office was appropriate for the IGL's increasingly interdisciplinary programs, according to Associate Provost Vincent Manno, who oversaw the change.
"As IGL grew and its activities came to involve multiple schools, it became more appropriate to move IGL from Arts and Sciences to the broader University umbrella," he said.
This change in status has several implications for IGL.
For one, it may now offer its programs to a greater number of students.
IGL Associate Director Heather Barry emphasized that the IGL will remain an undergraduate-only program, but now may "develop cross-school initiatives," enabling the Institute to continue its growth.
University Provost Jamshed Bharucha agreed. "The new arrangement provides the Institute with greater opportunity to be an incubator of innovative ways to engage our community in the global enterprise," he said.
As a result of the change, Manno said, Teichman may connect directly with the "academic leadership of the entire University," allowing his staff to expand IGL's programs at Tufts.
With this new capability, Teichman has already expressed interest in several new initiatives, including the establishment of a chapter of Physicians for Human Rights at Tufts and expansion of the Engineers Without Borders Program.
With the IGL's new status, programs like these would be available to students in all Tufts schools.
The IGL parents several high-profile programs at Tufts, including Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC), an interdisciplinary International Relations program, and the Tufts Institute for Leadership and International Perspective (TILIP), an student exchange and research program focusing on China.
The IGL works with approximately 100-150 Tufts students every year. According to Barry, it aims to "provide students with opportunities to engage in international issues with leading experts, and also provide these students with the opportunity to do their own research."
She said that the teaching style is one of "experiential education," in which students conduct independent projects, travel and participate in hands-on activities useful for post-graduate life.
According to the Institute's profile, students participate in "global research, internships, workshops, simulations and international symposia - all involving national and international leaders from the public and private sectors."
Manno explained that every program in the University is considered for the same change of residence as the IGL, and the search for deserving programs is ongoing.
According to Manno, the Provost's Office's "goal is to ensure that our administrative structure changes as the University itself grows and changes in order to advance academic excellence."
