James Stavridis, dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and David Harris, provost and senior vice president, informed The Fletcher School's community on Tuesday morning that Anthony Scaramucci (LA ’86) had resigned from his position on the Board of Advisors.
“We thank Mr. Scaramucci for his past service to Tufts and wish him well,” they wrote in an email.
This news was the culmination of several weeks of back-and-forth between Scaramucci and members of the Fletcher community, which all began when Carter Banker, a second-year Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) student, started a petition to have him removed from the Fletcher Board of Advisors.
Scaramucci had been on the Fletcher Board of Advisors since June 2016.
Scaramucci’s resignation followed the publication of a public letter to The Fletcher School students and faculty that he posted online on Monday night.
cancelled threat threatBanker added that she did not think Scaramucci completely understood why she and other community members were upset. She noted that in his open letter, Scaramucci was trying to address multiple people and that in the process, the narratives all became entangled.
“I honestly think that him coming to have a conversation — which would have happened if he hadn’t threatened to sue people — could have been very helpful for his understanding," she said.
Not all students supported Banker's petition to remove Scaramucci, as evidenced by first-year MALD student Alex Henrie’sNov. 20 op-ed.
Banker said Fletcher School Executive Associate Dean Gerard Sheehan sent her a message Tuesday morning congratulating her for her tenacity throughout the entire process.
Fletcher Professor of International Politics Daniel Drezner, who has been engaged in a Twitter feud with Scaramucci over the past few days, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that Scaramucci has not fulfilled his duties as a member of the Board of Advisors.
“A Fletcher administrator and Scaramucci confirmed to me that since being appointed, he has neither attended an advisory board meeting nor given a single dollar to the school,” Drezner wrote.
Advisors are supposed to provide advice to the deans, philanthropically support the university and serve as ambassadors of the university, Board of Advisors Program Director Jonathan Kaplan said at a Nov. 16 conversation between students and administrators regarding the petition to remove Scaramucci.
ACLU Responds to Scaramucci
responded Samuel J. Lieberman, the lawyer retained by Scaramucci. Legal Director Matthew Segal Senior Attorney Ruth Bourquin called such criticism 'baby-ish,' rhetoricBanker wished Scaramucci well but said she had one question left unanswered.
“I would want to know why he wanted to be on the Fletcher board and why he held on for so long. What does it mean to him? Do you see it as prestigious?" she said. "That’s one of many things about this man that baffles me."
