At the sixth annual Tufts Presidential Symposium on Friday, faculty, students and community members reflected on the shared burdens they face during the economic downturn.
In particular, the attendees focused on ways to maximize the benefits of town-gown partnerships, even as the university and local neighborhoods are working with declining resources.
"These days, we are dealing with the same set of challenges; all our budgets are getting smaller," University President Lawrence Bacow said at the event, which took place at Tufts Hillel.
During his opening remarks, Bacow emphasized the importance of collaboration. "We have to work smarter and help each other," he said. "So let's have more time to network and less time for talking heads."
Bacow also highlighted Tufts' response to the bleak economic outlook, reiterating the university's commitment to financial aid.
Despite an endowment that is down by 30 percent, the university has increased next year's financial aid budget by 12 percent — the school's only policy-driven budget increase. "We put students first," Bacow said.
A particularly salient theme for symposium attendees was the prevalence of volunteer opportunities that could benefit both the university and the community.
As such, organizers reminded participants about ways to locate service projects. They focused on the Web site outreach.tufts.edu and on volunteer opportunities listed at TuftsLife.com.
Beyond that, participants also used the event to build philanthropic connections.
"I am excited to meet community partners," junior Fred Huang, co-president of the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS), told the Daily. "They are looking for volunteers, and we are hoping to help."
Apart from LCS, Tufts Community Union senators and Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service Scholars also represented the student body at the symposium and took part in its two networking sessions. Each session lasted around 30 minutes and featured small group discussions.
The first session addressed community topics such as social services, arts and the media, environmental reform and youth development while the second gave participants free rein to discuss issues of importance, such as cost-sharing initiatives and volunteer recruitment.
Shirley Mark, the director of the Lincoln Filene Center for Community Partnerships at the Tisch College, was the symposium's main planner.
She told the Daily that the overarching goal of the event was to "facilitate broader networking between the campus and our local community."
Participants expressed confidence that the symposium, like others in years past, was successful in meeting that goal.
"I like the give and take," Diane McLeod, Medford's diversity director, told the Daily. "President Bacow is so open [about making] things better, and I always leave here feeling energized."
