The Presidential Search Committee this week held two open forums on the Medford/Somerville campus to gather student input for the university president selection process.
The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate sponsored on Tuesday the first forum, whose major theme was finding a candidate in the wake of the legacy of University President Lawrence Bacow.
"As difficult as I think it would be to follow Larry Bacow, I think a lot of the students — and frankly, I think that's why a lot of the students aren't here today — trust everyone to make a good decision because being a university president requires you to put your own spin and your own personality in the job," TCU President Brandon Rattiner, a senior, said.
The first forum saw a low turnout of six students, some of whom questioned whether or not some of Bacow's qualities, especially his intimacy with the student body, should necessarily be what the committee looks out for.
"Do we maybe look for someone who won't be as engaged in student life but who will be engaged in other facets of the university, be it fundraising, be it the academic tone of the university?" senior Adam Weldai, the Senate's trustee representative on university advancement, said.
Search Committee Chair Peter Dolan (A '78), vice chair of the Board of Trustees, concurred that the search should not be for someone who does the job like Bacow, but rather someone who can continue a flourishing university's success.
"I think it's an extraordinary opportunity for someone to lead, doing the job with the unique mix of what their strengths are and continuing to build on what positively has taken place over the course of the last five or 10 years," Dolan said.
Committee member Bernard Harleston, trustee Emeritus and former dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said that the challenge is to find another president of equal caliber but with different qualities.
Students also discussed the new president's role, expressing their hopes for Tufts' future.
"A priority for the next university president is to re−engage or to make alumni more accessible for current undergraduates," Rattiner said. "I know that I've found the alumni to be a little bit more inaccessible for a school of this caliber."
Other concerns included the quality of facilities, in particular the dormitories and athletic facilities.
"In my admissions experience and for a lot of my friends who are looking at Tufts, the biggest downside was the housing," sophomore Jay Farber said. "It's sort of a perennial concern."
Weldai suggested selecting someone from within the university. "I'm a big fan of promoting from within … I'm thinking someone who has been a part of Tufts and has seen where we've been, where we were, and where we are and where we're going," Weldai said.
Among the qualities sought by the students present were a strong, grounded presence, accessibility to students, ambition, intellect, quirkiness and good fundraising skills.
The second forum, sponsored by the Dean of Student Affairs, yesterday drew a higher turnout of approximately 35 people. The student−dominated discussion centered primarily on diversity issues, as students and faculty discussed how a university president could contribute to dialogue on race.
Seniors Marie−Gabrielle Isidore and Dan Stone cited a lack of communication between students and the administration as a major problem.
"One of the biggest issues that I see here is the lack of dialogue between faculty and students and the Board of Trustees, which I think hinders Tufts' ability to rise in the rankings," Isidore said. "I think faculty and the Board of Trustees really need to come and talk to students."
"That's a lot of what I've been hearing, is that there's this huge removal of the official Tufts administrative processes from the student body," Stone said.
CJ Mourning, a senior, felt students were dissatisfied by the lack of responsiveness to sensitive issues. "With the diversity conversation, maybe students are reacting to it, but they don't feel administrators are having a very strong reaction," she said. "I know Tufts hires people that are dedicated to the students, but I don't feel as though there are enough of these people hired."
Sophomore Gabrielle Horton said that a lack of diversity dialogue contributes to the isolation of minority students. "Not only do we not promote racial dialogue, we do not realize how necessary it is," she said.
Senior Jenny Lau hopes the new president will recognize and respond to racial issues.
"Students of color and the very few faculty of color at Tufts feel this burden to do the work that administrators should be doing in creating a supportive environment," she said. "I would like a president who's more dedicated and invested in creating a supportive environment for the diverse students on this campus."
Freshman Adam Sax said he wanted a president who would be honest. "I would want a leader who's not afraid to express [his] own opinion," he said.
Committee member and trustee Alfred Tauber stressed that students' input would be given weight. "I appreciate the honesty of the comments, and I think it's going to influence the process," he said. "I think you should walk out of here knowing your voices are going to be heard."
