The Tufts University Chaplaincy held its annual Russell Lecture on Spiritual Life on March 7, with a lecture by Ofelia Zepeda, a 2021 Tufts honorary degree recipient. Zepeda, a poet and scholar, lectured on the intersection of language and spirituality, and the role of poetry in reviving indigenous languages.
University President Anthony Monaco hosted an event in Ballou Hall on Wednesday to present the inaugural Youniss Family Professorship of Innovation to Professor Lawrence Uricchio.
The TCU Senate approved a resolution at their weekly meeting on March 5 calling on Tufts to create a center for Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) students and a resolution calling on Tufts professors to heighten transparency of course costs on all SIS course pages. At the same meeting, senators introduced a full-text resolution calling on the university to commit to institutional climate justice, created a new subcommittee focused on sexual assault prevention and approved eight supplementary funding requests.
Morphoceuticals, a biotech company co-founded by Tufts professors Michael Levin and David Kaplan, recently received $8 million in seed funding from Prime Movers Lab and Juvenescence. The company is taking a new approach to the challenge of regenerative medicine by exploring the bioelectric controls of the human body to induce the regeneration of tissue, limbs and organs. Levin hopes their work can revolutionize regenerative applications and help millions of people with various injuries and health conditions.
Tufts aims to purchase former Zeta Psi building at 80 Professors Row
The Fletcher School hosted a panel titled “How Has the Russia-Ukraine War Changed the International Security Environment?” on Feb. 27. Chaired by Monica Toft, the director of Fletcher’s Center for Strategic Studies, the discussion included Professors Daniel Drezner and Kelly Greenhill, and visiting scholars Pavel Luzin and Volodymyr Dubovyk, who is affiliated with Odesa I. Mechnikov National University in Ukraine.
Students gathered outside of the Mayer Campus Center on March 3, before the Global Climate Strike in Boston, to protest Tufts’ fossil fuel investments and rising global carbon emissions. Rachel Kyte, dean of The Fletcher School, spoke at the rally, offering support to protesters calling for divestment.
The Tufts Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies recently announced changes to its major requirements, including increasing flexibility in terms of electives and a decrease in certain required classes. Students matriculating in fall 2023 will be the first class required to adhere to the new curriculum for TDPS.
The Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism will return to Tufts for the first time since 2018 at noon on April 3 with CNN’s Abby Phillip slated as this year’s speaker. Sponsored by Tisch College’s Solomont Speaker Series, Phillip will discuss her work at CNN with Tufts alumnus and trustee Neil Shapiro (A’80).
Over 100 students, workers and union leaders rallied for a new contract for Tufts Dining Services union employees outside the Mayer Campus Center on March 1.
The Tufts Community Union Senate held a weekly meeting on Feb. 26, hearing an abstract calling on the university to fully divest from fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. During the meeting, roughly 20 students gathered in the Joyce Cummings Center atrium outside the meeting room holding posters with phrases such as “protect the right to protest.”
Tufts Community Union Senate debated and approved JumboCast’s request for supplementary funding to cover new cameras on Feb. 20. They also introduced abstract proposals calling on the university to create a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) space on campus and divulge all course costs on SIS enrollment pages.
Editor’s note: The Daily’s editorial department acknowledges that this article is premised on a conflict of interest. This article is a special feature for Daily Week that does not represent the Daily’s standard journalistic practices.
Tufts recently announced the “Champions Scholars Fund” scholarship, which aims to increase educational access and equity. The scholarship is a part of the Women Impact Tufts and was endowed by four alums: Kalahn Taylor-Clark (LA’99), Joy Ebanks-Frederick (LA’95), Lanique Eubanks (LA’99) and Danika Tynes (LA’98).
Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and The Fletcher School hosted a conversation with former President of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado Quesada on Feb. 15. Moderated by Alnoor Ebrahim, professor of management at Fletcher and Tisch College, the event focused on the critical role of small countries in the climate crisis, given that conversations about climate change are typically dominated by larger nations.
Protestors disrupted an Israel-Palestine discussion event in Tisch Library on Tuesday evening.
In the weeks following a deadly earthquake in Turkey, the Tufts Students of Turkey club has organized several fundraising events, including a bake sale and a supply drive, to support victims of the disaster. So far, the club has raised more than $16,000 for survivors.
Chris Campbell began work in January after he was appointed the new director of the FIRST Resource Center. Campbell comes to Tufts from the College of the Holy Cross, where he served as the director of student inclusion and belonging.
Tisch College’s Susan and Alan Solomont Distinguished Speaker Series began on Feb. 9 with a Civic Life Lunch with writer, activist and Tufts alumna Sabrina Cartan (A'15). Titled “Activists, Assemble!,” the talk focused on how pop culture fandoms can integrate into spaces for activism and social change.
Hodgdon Food-On-The-Run, commonly known as “Hodge,” will close for renovations after March 9, according to Patti Klos, director of dining and business services at Tufts. The popular dining location is set to be revitalized with a new layout designed to minimize overcrowding and streamline the grab-and-go system.
