Tufts University received both a higher volume and higher quality of external news media coverage during the 2005-06 fiscal year, according to Director of Public Relations Kim Thurler.
"Every school at Tufts is on the forefront of impressive work that can impact the lives of people around the world," Thurler said. "So having good stories to tell and amazing people behind those stories is a large part of our success."
On average, Tufts appeared in some of the nation's most influential papers, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post, at least 14 times per month, Thurler said. The Associated Press, which reaches hundreds of media outlets, carried stories about Tufts an average of seven times per month.
Thurler said that Tufts registered over 7,000 media hits - mentions of the university or notable students, professors and alumni in major media - during the 2005-06 fiscal year, a two percent increase from the previous fiscal year.
"Successful media relations is a cooperative effort that involves faculty, administrators and students," Thurler said in an e-mail to the Daily. She said that media hits range from coverage of professors doing groundbreaking research to students participating in community service activities.
"When our faculty are engaged in leading edge research and scholarship and involved in the important issues of the day, from avian influenza to midterm elections, and are able to share their work with news media and the public, we have a recipe for success," Thurler said.
Tufts received significant media coverage last year when eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam (LA '88 and '89),donated $100 million to Tufts to create the Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance fund.
"Similarly, when our students take time from a vacation break to help hurricane victims in Mississippi, or when the university embarks on a unique microfinance initiative thanks to a gift from a farsighted alumnus, we have a great story to share with the media," she said.
In August this year, Tufts was named in a Newsweek article as one of "25 New Ivies." Tufts also ranked No. 27 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of America's best national universities, tying with the University of Southern California and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The increased media attention means a lot for Tufts, Thurler said. "It strengthens relationships with Tufts' audience and host communities. It's always good to show that we're good neighbors."
Tufts also recently distinguished itself in the academic community when Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Sternberg announced that the School of Arts and Sciences would shake up the admissions process by including questions that test prospective students' creativity.
Thurler said in an e-mail that the university wants students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni to be proud to be associated with it.
"We also want our host communities, public officials and the higher education community to recognize Tufts as a leading institution that is committed both globally and locally to making a difference in the world," she said.
Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin said the connection between admissions and media coverage is undeniable.
"Each feeds the other; the media spotlight on Tufts attracts new applicants, and the increasing quality of our admission profile begets more media attention," Coffin said.
Many students are pleased at the university's improving media profile. "Exposure often translates to more school pride, more endowments from alumni and more key name speakers and professors," sophomore Curt Campbell said.
"[An increased media profile] means employers will know about Tufts and also that Tufts can get more selective with its students," senior Kenji Kaneko said.
Freshman Chris Giliberti, however, believes that the school could make more substantive efforts to increase its media exposure. Giliberti ran for the (Tufts Community Union) TCU Senate on the platform of improving Tufts' reputation and media image.
"If you do a New York Times Web search, you will find that Tufts University yields approximately half the number of hits of prominent overlaps [like] Georgetown University and Cornell University," Giliberti said. "I feel like Tufts could be doing a better job at getting its name out there."
Giliberti also said that school rankings are important for motivating students. "Nobody wants to be playing their hardest on an unknown team," he said.
"Positive coverage of Tufts in the news media helps strengthen our relationships with audiences that are important to us," Thurler said.
