Tufts will lose many valued faculty members at the end of this academic year, as numerous professors, department heads, and administrators step down from their positions.
At a May 17 faculty meeting, the retirements of Hugo Bedau, Rocco Carzo, Sylvia Feinburg, Martine Loutfi, Charles Nelson, and James William (Bill) Schlesinger were announced. A champagne toast was held in their honor at the end of the meeting.
In an unexpected move, Walter Swapp, Dean of the Colleges, announced that he will resign at the end of this calendar year. Swapp will take a year off, during which time he will complete his book on neuroscience, When Sparks Fly, and begin work on another. Swapp will return to Tufts in 2001 as a professor of psychology.
"It's really a question of returning to what I do, which is psychology research," Swapp said. No replacement has been named yet.
Dean of Students Bobbie Knable, who announced her retirement at an April 30 press conference, was also mentioned at the faculty meeting. She will be replaced next fall by Associate Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, but she will not resign from the University. There is no replacement in line for Reitman's position.
Hugo Bedau, philosophy professor for 33 years, will not return in the fall and expects to pursue other interests. (see accompanying article.)
Former Tufts' football coach and current Athletic Director Rocco (Rocky) Carzo announced his resignation earlier in the year. He will continue to lead Commencement planning and work on documenting the history of athletics at Tufts.
Sylvia Feinburg, professor of child development and long-time associate of the Eliot Pearson School since its inception, will be leaving Tufts this spring after 32 years. Feinburg, who was originally trained as an artist and art educator, twice served as the chair of the child development department. She spent a good portion of the past three decades working to further the role of art in evaluating early childhood development.
Feinburg was described by a colleague as "a brilliant, original, and truly inspired teacher as it should be, but often is not, for those who are training our future teachers."
In Feinberg's retirement, her collegaue said the Eliot Pearson school will "lose a major source of the heart and soul of this department." A fund is being created in Feinburg's honor.
French Professor Martine Loutfi will also be retiring at the end of the year. Loutfi, who has spent 26 years at Tufts, taught French film, culture, and literature, and worked at the Tufts European Center in Talloires.
Loutfi made an impact on students and faculty members alike. "She brought fresh air on all of our lives," one colleague said.
Another faculty member whose absence will be noted next year is Charles Nelson, German professor, former chair of both the German and the art history departments, and former dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Nelson served in the 87th infantry division in World War II and fought in the famed Battle of the Bulge. After serving time as an American civil servant in Germany and Austria, Nelson returned to the United States to raise three young sons. Provost Sol Gittleman, who studied with Nelson at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, praised Nelson's lifetime accomplishments. "He is our Captain Kirk, going where others fear to go," he said.
Mathematics professor James William (Bill) Schlesinger will be retiring after 40 years of teaching at Tufts. Schlesinger served as the department chair from 1969 until 1973. He was instrumental in introducing the computer science department and was, for many years, Tufts' "computer guru," according to a colleague.
