At the end of a tenure during which enhancing the university's leadership development has been a main priority, Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Sternberg is leaving the Hill to take up a new challenge.
Sternberg in December announced his plan not to renew his five-year tenure, which concludes June 30, stating that it was an ideal time in his life for a change. He has since accepted the post of provost and senior vice president at Oklahoma State University (OSU), effective this August.
A world-renowned name in the field of psychology, Sternberg is recognized for his Triarchic Theory of Intelligence and more generally for his scholarship on human intellect. Before arriving at Tufts, he was an academic at Yale University.
Sternberg has accomplished much at Tufts as dean of arts of sciences. Most notably, he has dedicated a great deal of effort to expanding the university's focus on fostering leadership and preparing students to take on influential roles in the future.
"My focus is leadership development," Sternberg said. "A question I asked is, ‘How can students develop in a way that would help them make a positive, meaningful and enduring difference in the world?'"
In line with this educational philosophy, Sternberg developed a concrete curriculum to teach students the qualities and knowledge involved in being a leader.
"I created a leadership minor so that students can actually learn how to become leaders in their own chosen field," he said. "We also created a center for learning and teaching that helps professors teach in a way that will promote leadership development among students who have diverse ways of learning and thinking."
Sternberg extended this focus on leadership to the admissions process, working with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to create a set of essay questions that would provide a more accurate assessment of applicants.
He explained that the response questions — based on his theory of intelligence — measure leadership qualities by focusing on key indicators of students' practical, analytic and creative intelligence.
"How do you admit future leaders — people who will make a positive difference?" Sternberg said. "Tufts' message is creating new leaders for a changing world. My issues have been how to operationalize that."
Provost and Senior Vice President Jamshed Bharucha views Sternberg's focus on leadership development as furthering Tufts' long-held emphasis on active citizenship.
"Tufts has always had this characteristic of students being interested in becoming active citizens, and Tufts has certainly produced a lot of successful leaders," Bharucha said. "The leadership minor is a way to bring some of the leadership into curriculum."
Sternberg's influence extended beyond academia to the realm of athletics, as he often rallied alumni support for the renovation of athletic facilities.
Director of Athletics Bill Gehling noted that Sternberg would often attend alumni meetings with him and cited an influential speech titled "Why athletics is necessary and not just nice" that Sternberg delivered.
"Dean Sternberg really appreciates on a deep level the educational value of sport in all of its dimensions," Gehling said. "It comes down to a deep appreciation of why athletics belongs in an educational setting like this. Sternberg believes they're an integral part of an institution like Tufts, which is why he's a strong supporter. His interest in athletics has been very beneficial to us."
Sternberg will now be taking his philosophies to OSU — an institution that he believes shares a passion for many of his ideas.
"The president of OSU has a very similar view to mine," he said. "He's specifically interested in entrepreneurial leadership and … how to develop creativity. So it seemed to be a really good fit."
Sternberg will serve as provost, a position that is new to him, but in which Bharucha believes he is well equipped to succeed.
"Provost is an extremely complex job … It's a demanding job," Bharucha said. "Almost everything at the university comes to the provost's office in one form or another, but Sternberg will thrive on the challenges and the opportunities."
Sternberg noted that he has benefited from working with Bharucha. "Jamshed has given me and will continue to give me very good advice," Sternberg said. "I feel like he has been an invaluable resource."
He is also excited to continue writing psychology publications and currently has six books in press, including "College Admissions for the 21st Century."
Sternberg emphasized that his departure from Tufts does not change the way he feels about the community here.
"I've had a wonderful time at Tufts," he said. "I don't see how it could've been better. [Tufts is] on the way up, with great students and professors who care about students. I've been very happy here."
One of his treasured experiences from his time on the Hill was teaching a leadership course.
"It was a terrific experience," Sternberg said. "I just had great students. Some of them have come back and said that of all the courses taken at Tufts, the one they could most apply to their lives was that one. That's a memory I will always have."
He also cited meeting with students and hearing their concerns as a meaningful experience.
"Being able to have town meetings with students … is a great way to constructively channel students' energy to work on problems of interests to them," he said.
Sternberg expressed excitement not only for his own future but for Tufts' as well.
"This is a place that's modifiable, and it keeps getting better," Sternberg said. "The emphasis on active citizenship is very important, in the context of students seriously caring to use what they learn to make the world a better place. And it doesn't feel like it's gone to where it wants to go yet."
Bharucha said that Sternberg's successor will be announced in June.
