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Tufts updates fall COVID-19 protocol, ends mask mandate and surveillance testing

By Amelia Colafati | September 6

In anticipation of welcoming students back to campus, Tufts announced its fall 2022 COVID-19 protocols in an email on Aug. 10. According to the email, the updated measures include the end of surveillance testing as well as the removal of a mask mandate. Infected students will also be directed to isolate in their rooms as opposed to the temporary housing on-campus students were asked to isolate in last academic year.

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Monkeypox: Prevention, vaccination and misconceptions

By Aaron Gruen | September 6

As monkeypox continues to spread in the United States, Tufts health personnel have shared advice with the Daily on ways students can avoid contracting the disease. A rare disease that is endemic to several Central and West African countries, monkeypox was reported in Europe earlier this year. Since then, the disease has spread to the United States.

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BREAKING: Scheri Fultineer announced as next SMFA dean

By Emily Thompson | September 1

Scheri Fultineer will become the next dean of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, beginning on Jan. 1, 2023.James Glaser, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and Caroline Genco, provost and senior vice president ad interim, announced the decision in an email sent to the Tufts community on Sept. 1.

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Tufts dissolves Institute for Global Leadership

By Aaron Gruen | August 4

Tufts announced on July 21 that it will disband the Institute for Global Leadership. The institute, founded in 1999, supports global education and scholarship through 28 program offerings, including student-led clubs, international exchange programs, research opportunities and alumni mentoring. The news came as a shock to IGL students and alumni, who have since mounted a campaign urging the university to reverse its decision.

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BREAKING: Kyongbum Lee appointed School of Engineering dean

By Emily Thompson | June 28

Kyongbum Lee, dean ad interim of the School of Engineering, has been chosen to become the school’s next dean following a national search to fill the position, as announced in an email to the Arts, Sciences and Engineering community on June 28. Lee’s term begins July 1. 

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Q&A: Monaco talks expansion, mental health, anti-racism initiatives, Gifford House bunnies

By Chloe Courtney Bohl and Alexander Janoff | May 22

University President Anthony Monaco sat down with the Daily to discuss Tufts’ ongoing expansion, pandemic response, mental health and diversity, among other topics. Monaco also offered updates on the university’s finances and outlined his goals for the remaining year of his presidency.

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TCU President-elect Jaden Pena talks diversity, mental health

By Tess Harmon | May 22

Jaden Pena was elected as the next president of the Tufts Community Union on April 27. He will serve as TCU president for the 2022–23 academic year.

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Cover to cover: Class of 2022's 4 years on campus, reviewed

By Rebecca Barker | May 21

Editor’s note: The 2018–19, 2019–20 and 2020–21 recaps in this article are reprinted from the2020–21 Commencement Issue of the Daily.

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Dean Cunningham, Tisch College reflect on year of civic engagement, community involvement

By Madeline Wilson | May 20

The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life has worked this year to integrate civic engagement into higher education, private and public institutions and active community involvement. Under the leadership of Dayna Cunningham, who just concluded her first academic year as dean, Tisch College has been focusing its research and initiatives on building a multiracial democracy through civic education. The college houses several research institutes, hosts events and leads an array of community initiatives, all of which progressed in their work amid the turbulence of the past year.

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Q&A: New chaplains reflect on accomplishments from their first year on the Hill

By Madeline Mueller | May 20

As the Class of 2025 finishes its first year on campus, three members of the University Chaplaincy staff are also able to look back at their first year at Tufts. Buddhist Chaplain Ji Hyang Padma and Humanist Chaplain Anthony Cruz Pantojas joined the chaplaincy in summer 2021, while Muslim Chaplain Najiba Akbar started in fall 2021. The three chaplains reflected on their first year in interviews with the Daily.

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TUPD makes policy reforms under new leadership

By Aaron Gruen | May 19

The Tufts University Police Department has made reforms related to arming and mental health under the new leadership of Yolanda Smith, the first Black woman to directly oversee TUPD. The reforms, which have been met with mixed reception, stem from suggestions made by the WorkingGroup on Campus Safety and Policing which was assembled as part of the Tufts as an Anti-Racist Institution initiative.

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Ed Markey, Gina McCarthy visit Tufts for climate conference

By Aaron Gruen | May 19

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey (H’19) and White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy (AG’81) visited Tufts to discuss measures in combating climate change on April 29. 

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Indigenous Students’ Organization at Tufts, new Indigenous Center build community together

By Olivia Field | May 19

The Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion announced a new identity center for Indigenous students at Tufts last fall, following recommendations from a workstream report the university published in early 2021. More recently, the university hired Vernon Miller to direct the center.

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Tufts professor Erin Kelly wins Pulitzer Prize

By Emily Thompson | May 10

Professor of Philosophy Erin Kelly won a  Pulitzer Prize in the biography category for “Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist’s Memoir of the Jim Crow South” (2022),which Kelly co-authored with Winfred Rembert, the biography’s subject. Rembert, who died in 2021, received the prize posthumously.

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Students, community members protest Raytheon career event at School of Engineering

By Chloe Courtney Bohl | May 6

Students and community members protested a Raytheon BBN career event hosted by the School of Engineering in Halligan Hall on May 2. The protest was the second demonstration against a defense contractor on Tufts’ campus in less than a week. 

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BREAKING: Tufts will require masking through May 31, testing through May 6

By Chloe Courtney Bohl | May 3

Tufts will continue to require indoor masking through May 31, according to a May 3 email from University Infection Control Health Director Michael Jordan. The university will also transition from required COVID-19 surveillance testing to voluntary testing on May 6.

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Jaden Pena wins TCU presidential election

By Emily Thompson | April 29

With 58% of the vote, Jaden Pena won the Tufts Community Union Senate presidential election on April 26–27. Both referendums on the ballot passed this year: one in favor of giving TCU the power to establish additional community senator seats, the other in favor of permitting the addition of two Indigenous community senator seats. 

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Tisch College recognizes 19 students with Presidential Award for Civic Life

By Evelyn Altschuler | April 29

The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life recognized the service and leadership of 19 undergraduate and graduate students with Presidential Awards for Civic Life at an April 22 ceremony in Breed Memorial Hall. Amber Asumda, Claudia Guetta, Emma Downs, Jay-Miguel Fonticella, Leanne Loo and Maycon Santos, all seniors, are this year’s undergraduate winners. Ricardo Moreno, Delia Burns, Lark Escobar,Avis Carrero, Logan Schwartz, Iris Montes, Joshua McLinden, Qimei Liu,Cora Evans, Charles Christopher Hines III, Anshelle Reen Tucker, Tara Ahmadi and Alex Coston are this year’s graduate winners. 

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University Chaplaincy seeks to fill Africana spirituality chaplain position

By Simran Patel | April 29

The University Chaplaincy is hiring for the role of Africana spirituality chaplain. Its goal is to find a staff member who can aid in creating a space for worship and fellowship that is welcoming to students, staff and faculty who identify as members of the African diaspora.

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Protesters shut down recruiting event for top defense contractor General Dynamics

By Chloe Courtney Bohl | April 27

A General Dynamics Mission Systems recruiting event in the Science and Engineering Complex was cut short on Monday evening when student and community protestors disrupted the event with chanting and civil disobedience.

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