Trustee representatives from the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate last Friday presented recommendations to the Board of Trustees concerning the quality of teaching at Tufts, renovations to the Mayer Campus Center, and integration with host communities.
The representatives, seniors Adam Weldai, Duncan Pickard and Emily Maretsky, reported encouraging reactions from the trustees.
"It really went phenomenally," Weldai said.
Each representative focused on a different issue in his or her presentation to the board's committees.
Pickard secured the approval of the board's Administration and Finance Committee for renovations to the campus center lobby.
"It wasn't the whole committee, but there was general support for the project," Pickard said. "Now it's down to getting the dollars."
According to Pickard, the renovation is expected to cost $150,000.
The proposed work is part of ongoing renovations that started with this summer's reworking of the Rez. Renovating the lobby is a natural next step because of its central location, according to Pickard.
"It's continuous to the Rez, it's where tour groups come, it's one of the first things you see when you enter the building," he said.
Pickard hopes that the project will improve the information booth — which, he said, is cramped and lacking a sufficient number of electrical outlets — add white vinyl to columns to match the Rez, introduce carpeting and also replace the light fixture, which has been untouched since it was built in the 1980s.
Maretsky, who is also a features editor for the Daily, presented to the Academic Affairs Committee on a more controversial topic — students' perceptions of the research-teaching balance at the university.
Maretsky felt that it was inaccurate to assume that doing quality research and being an exemplary teacher go hand−in−hand, although they often do.
"Tufts says a teacher who's excited about research will bring that excitement into the classroom," Maretsky said. "Just because a teacher is a good researcher doesn't mean he is going to be a good teacher."
University Provost and Senior Vice President Jamshed Bharucha, however, stressed the value researchers bring to Tufts.
"Our students deserve no less than to learn from teachers that are thought leaders at the cutting edge of their fields," he said.
This point, Bharucha said, needed to be better highlighted to students. "We … need to communicate more how research can advance teaching," he said.
Bharucha added that over the last eight years, student satisfaction with teaching quality has increased.
According to Maretsky however, some students feel that Tufts emphasizes research over teaching ability when hiring professors and considering them for tenure.
She said that students believe that regardless of teaching ability, professors who put out research are more likely to be offered tenure than are good teachers with a low research output.
Though Tufts gives out more faculty awards for teaching than anything else, students are more likely to remember a bad teacher who got tenure than a good one who received an award, according to Maretsky.
"Negative examples carry more publicity, unfortunately, for the university," she said.
Maretsky also brought up the issue of course evaluations, pointing out 57 percent of respondents to the Senate's fall survey felt that course evaluations, which students fill out at the end of the semester, have little to no impact on professors or departments.
Bharucha said that course evaluations are submitted to TCU Senate for analysis when a professor is considered for tenure. Letters from students who have done independent work with the professor are also taken into consideration.
Maretsky suggested posting course evaluations online, which she said would allow students to make better−informed decisions. She applauded the Tufts University School of Medicine's (TUSM) practice of hiring a specialist to analyze course evaluations and review them with professors.
Another of Maretsky's recommendations was to expand the Professors of the Practice program, which hires non−academic industry professionals to teach in classrooms.
Weldai's presentation focused on changing Tufts students' relationships with local communities.
"As Tufts kids, we are oriented to think of our communities as volunteer communities," he said. "These should be places to live."
Part of the problem, Weldai said, is that Tufts never formally introduces students to their host communities of Medford and Somerville. An orientation program, which he is designing with the administration, aims to do just that for incoming freshmen in September.
The Board of Trustees' Committee for University Advancement fully endorsed Weldai's plan.
"Whenever you're able to identify a need and address that, people really respond positively," he said.
Weldai explained that, according to current plans, the program will take place over two weekends. For the first, half the freshman class will attend a performance by Tufts and community groups in Medford, while the other half will attend a similar performance in Somerville. The next weekend they will switch locations.
Freshmen will receive a coupon book for restaurants in each city and hear from the two cities' mayors.
This program will involve collaborating with community organizations, according to Weldai.
"A big part of this was working with the Chambers of Commerce of Somerville and Medford," he said. "Everybody loves an opportunity to collaborate."
It is unclear if the program will be made mandatory for all freshmen, and organizers are considering offering incentives to encourage attendance.
