Update on the School of Arts and Sciences

1
Update on the School of Arts and Sciences

• ASE Faculty Meeting
• November 1, 2006
• Robert J. Sternberg
• Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences

2
Vision for the School of Arts and Sciences

• New leaders for a changing world
• Produce leaders who exemplify the elements of
  leadership
• Creative skills, analytical/critical skills,
  practical skills, and wisdom
• Enhance faculty leadership in teaching and
  scholarship

3
Arts and Sciences Steering Committee

• Brigette Bryant, Senior Development Officer for
  Arts and Sciences
• Lee Coffin, Dean of Admissions and Enrollment
  Management for ASE
• Margery Davies, Director of Diversity Education
  Development for ASE
• Jillian Dubman, Executive Assistant to the Dean
  of Arts and Sciences
• Jim Glaser, Dean of Undergraduate Education for
  ASE
• Andrew McClellan, Dean of Academic Affairs
• Leah McIntosh, Executive Administrative Dean
• Lynne Pepall, Interim Dean of the Graduate School
• Bob Sternberg, Dean of the School of Arts and
  Sciences
• Vickie Sullivan, Dean of Academic Affairs

4
New Faculty Information

• AS faculty size increased by 4 positions to 273
• Hired 16 tenure-track faculty
• 6 have been or will go through the tenure process
  in AY 06-07
• 10 men and 6 women were hired
• Hired 9 non-tenure track faculty

5
New Hires for AY 2006-2007

• David Art, Assistant Professor, Political Science
• Joseph Auner, Professor, Music
• Rana Abdul-Aziz, Lecturer, German, Russian and
  Asian Languages and Literature
• José Blanco-Pillado, Assistant Professor, Physics
  and Astronomy
• Margo Caddell, Lecturer, Drama and Dance
• Benjamin Carp, Assistant Professor, History
• Rajeev Dehejia, Associate Professor, Economics
• Karyn Esielonis, Lecturer, Art and Art History
• Jianping Feng, Lecturer, German, Russian and
  Asian Languages and Literature

6
New Hires for AY 2006-2007Continued

• Joshua Fischman, Assistant Professor, Economics
• Patrick Forber, Assistant Professor, Philosophy
• Justin Hollander, Instructor, Urban and
  Environmental Policy and Planning
• Oidinposha Imamkhodjaeva, Lecturer, Comparative
  Religion
• Virginia Jackson, Associate Professor, English
• Richard Jankowsky, Assistant Professor, Music
• Sergiy Kryatov, Lecturer, Chemistry
• Monica McTighe, Assistant Professor, Art and Art
  History
• Sergei Mirken, Professor, Biology

7
New Hires for AY 2006-2007Continued

• Susan Napier, Visiting Professor, German, Russian
  and Asian Languages and Literature
• Barbara Parmenter, Lecturer, Urban and
  Environmental Policy and Planning
• Linda Tickle-Degnen, Associate Professor,
  Occupational Therapy
• Sabina Vaught, Assistant Professor, Education
• Genevieve Walsh, Assistant Professor, Mathematics
• Shaomei Wang, Lecturer, German, Russian and Asian
  Languages and Literature
• Jing Zhang, Visiting Lecturer, German, Russian
  and Asian Languages and Literature

8
AS Admissions UpdateClass of 2010

• Record applicant pool for undergraduate
  admissions in 12 of the past 13 years
• 15,294 candidates for admission
• 13,505 applications to AS second only to last
  year's record pool of 13,690
• AS matriculated 1,100 freshmen

9
AS Admissions UpdateClass of 2010 Continued

• Overall acceptance rate of 26, consistent with
  last year
• Mean SAT was 1403, up 6 points from the Class of
  '09 and 103 points from the Class of '05
• '10 is the first AS class to enroll with a mean
  SAT greater than 1400
• 83 rank in the top 10 of their high school
  class, versus 79 last year and 57 five years
  ago
• 57 of AS applicants applied for financial aid,
  which reinforces the need for additional aid
  resources at Tufts 32 received grant aid

10
The Tufts Admissions ProjectKaleidoscope

• Implemented pilot of Tufts-specific application
  testing for creative, analytical, practical, and
  wisdom-related skills
• Analytical, creative, practical, and
  wisdom-related essays are now part of the Tufts
  University-specific admissions applicationessays
  of the following types

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The Tufts Admissions ProjectKaleidoscope

• What book would you definitely like to have in
  your library and why? (Analytical)
• Suppose Rosa Parks had given up her seat on the
  bus. Describe how the world would be today if a
  particular historical event had come out
  differently. (Creative)
• Create a story using one of the following titles
  (Creative)
• The End of MTV
• The Professor Disappeared

12
The Tufts Admissions Project

• Draw an advertisement for a new product.
  (creative nonverbal)
• How have you convinced your friends to accept a
  viewpoint they did not initially accept?
  (practical)
• Describe an intellectual passion that you have
  been unable to fulfill in school. How could you
  fulfill this passion and then turn it toward a
  common good? (wisdom)

13
Faculty Development Initiatives

• 1000 research stipend
• 2-semester leave for junior faculty
• New Directions in Research (FRAC)
• Awards between 5,000 and 25,000
• 14 applications received
• Increase in benefits for new chairs
• Increase in raise from 3000 to 5000 when
  promoted from Associate Professor to Professor
  (effective 9/1/06)
• Equity pool for existing full professors
  (effective 9/1/07)

14
Research and Teaching Initiatives

• Deans Faculty Forum
• Daniel Dennett April 10, 2006
• Peter Der Manuelian Sept. 20, 2006
• Maryanne Wolf Spring 2007

15
Research and Teaching Initiatives

• Center for the Enhancement of Learning and
  Teaching (CELT)
• 1st seminar in Spring 2007
• Seminars for leaders of programs to enhance
  teaching
• Home for various teaching initiatives
• Newsletter

16
Academic Advancements

• Implementation of a uniform plagiarism policy
• Some proposed programs
• New graduate programs
• Major in Cognitive and Brain Sciences
• Leadership Minor

17
School-Wide Initiatives

• Need-Blind Financial Aid Initiative
• AS Suggestion Box
• http//suggestionbox.as.tufts.edu/
• 40 suggestions received
• Town Hall Meeting
• Intellectual life on campus in the context of the
  freshman-year experience (October 3rd)
• Value-Added Assessment of Leadership Skills

18
Update on Undergraduate Education

• Retention and Probation
• Increase in the number of undergraduates by
  almost 300 in 4 years
• 83 of students graduate in 4 years and 90
  graduate in 6 years
• 14 drop in the number of students on academic
  probation since 2001

19
Undergraduate Achievement2005-2006

• 48 Summer Scholars and 25 Funded Internships
  combined, a 140 increase since 2003
• 13 Fulbrights and 6 recipients of other major
  scholarships and fellowships
• 25 increase in completed honors theses since
  2003
• 78 acceptance to medical school (04-05) compared
  to national average of 48 that year

20
Update on Graduate Education 2006 Highlights

• Largest number of graduate students at Tufts with
  an average enrollment of 1000 students
• In 2006, 36 doctoral degrees awarded, 28 more
  than ten years ago and 332 masters degrees
  awarded, an increase of 17
• Research News
• Mathematics, Science, Technology, and Engineering
  Education created the Fulcrum Institute received
  5 million grant from NSF
• NSF is funding the creation of a Scientific
  Visualization Facility at Tufts for doctoral
  research in mathematics, computer science and
  engineering

21
Graduate Student Development

• Summer Institute on College Teaching awarded 12
  Fellowships
• Anticipated collaboration with CELT to promote
  excellence in teaching among graduate students
• Graduate Student Research Award Committee (GRAC)
  26 awards to fund graduate student research
• GSAS Travel Awards 185 awards for domestic and
  international travel to present their research

22
AS Budget Information

• AS closed FY06 on a sound financial footing
• Financial challenges over the next few years
  include
• Demand for resources to support PhD programs
• Need to invest in revitalizing space
• Possibility of continuing instability in energy
  prices
• Ongoing upward pressure on cost of health
  benefits

23
Moving Forward

• Pursue new undergraduate academic programs
• Increase the diversity and size of the faculty
• Explore new PhD programs
• Conduct external evaluations of academic
  departments
• Evaluate the implementation of the AS Strategic
  Plan
• Review space needs
• Creation of AS Website
• Fundraising for the Capital Campaign

24
Finally

• Your advice and suggestions are always welcome.
  Please send them either to the Deans Suggestion
  Box or e-mail them to me directly. All
  suggestions are considered and all signed
  suggestions are answered. Thank you!