Admissions head Cuttino to leave at end of year

David Cuttino, the dean of undergraduate admissions, enrollment, and external affairs, will retire at the end of this academic year after 16 years in the position. During his years at Tufts, admission to the institution became increasingly competitive and joined the ranks of other elite universities.

Cuttino called this year the "most convenient time" to vacate his position, based on other early retirements he has seen. "If I don't do it now, it's likely that I might not do it at all," he said.

Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Ernst and Dean of Engineering Ioannis Miaoulis recently notified administrators and faculty of Cuttino's decision via e-mail. A search committee for a replacement has not been established yet, although Ernst and Miaoulis are expected to head the effort.

Cuttino has no specific post-retirement plans but wants to "explore other ways in which [he] can use [his] time and effort in support of some of the things [he is] curious about and interested in." He said he may venture into public service or education, two areas which interest him.

The various choices he faces are similar to those that college students encounter, he said. "Part of this is really taking the time to explore some of those options, just in the same way that students here are thinking about what they're going to do when they leave the University," he said.

Cuttino came to Tufts' admissions office in 1986 from Georgetown University. He decided to come to Tufts because he was excited to take part in a campaign of growth and development for the University's future, he said.

"I'd been a part of that kind of development at Georgetown, and it was intriguing to think about being involved in the process of change and development at Tufts," he said.

Admissions Officers at Tufts praised the work Cuttino has done for the University.

He has "lots of ideas, he's very much a forward thinker," admissions officer Susan Ardizzoni said. "He's thinking about the future, and wants us to be sort of out there on the front lines of what's happening in the field of admissions."

During Cuttino's tenure, Tufts steadily became more selective in choosing which students to admit. Over 14,000 applications were received for 1,285 spots in the class of 2006, representing more than an 84 percent increase since the late 1980s. In 1986, the average SAT score of incoming students was 1216, while this year's incoming freshman class heralded an average of 1336.

The increase in both racial and geographic diversity among the student body has been the crowning achievement of Cuttino's career at Tufts. "He's worked very hard at making sure the incoming class is diverse," Ardizzoni said.

Numbers of African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American students rose dramatically over the past 20 years. International students now make up 7.5 percent of the enrollment, as opposed to 4.1 percent in 1985.

"I think that [diversity] has been a goal for the members of the University community," Cuttino said. "We recognize that we're dealing with students who expect to become leaders in their field, recognized authorities. You don't do that by studying with people who come from the same perspective or same background."

Cuttino was also active in establishing the Institute for Global Leadership, which now encompasses the Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) program and the national high school Inquiry program. He also helped create the Institute for Leadership and International Perspective (TILIP) whose participants come from Tufts, Hong Kong and Beijing. Relationships built from TILIP's initiatives helped bring more Chinese and Hong Kong students to Tufts.

The Dean also worked on developing Tufts' image across the country and the world. Tufts' recognition had long been limited to the Northeast, but Cuttino spread Tufts' name to high school students, teachers and guidance counselors.

This "network" helps prospective students understand "some of the special characteristics of the University," and have "a clear recognition of the excellence of the students," Cuttino said.

Cuttino's resignation follows a number of administrative changes over the past two years. President Larry Bacow took office last fall, replacing John DiBiaggio, and Jamshed Bharucha took over the position of Provost, formerly held by Sol Gittleman, this August.

After the departure of former Vice President Mel Bernstein, who became Provost of Brandeis University, Bacow overhauled and streamlined the administrative system. As a result, many administrators are relatively new to their positions.

But Cuttino does not think that the change in administration is a trend. "I think it was a different set of personal circumstances for those who were involved," he said. He called it a "very positive transition to excellent leaders" that will help Tufts in the future.