TCU Senate Update

Interim Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences James Glaser opened up Sunday's Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate meeting by announcing tentative ideas to create new on-campus undergraduate student housing as part of the T10 Strategic Plan.

"There will be some sort of undergraduate housing that's considered," he said. "It's not going to happen in your time here. It takes way too much time and money to do that. But we're listening."

At the Nov. 23 TCU Senate meeting, Glaser also outlined several construction projects the university will prioritize in the next 10 years, beginning in 2015. In addition to the creation of a new on-campus dormitory -- the location of which has yet to be determined -- Tisch Library will undergo renovations in order to modernize the building and its technology, according to Glaser. The T10 plan also prioritizes the ongoing renovations at 574 Boston Ave., as well as the construction at Robinson Hall and Anderson Hall, which are set to become part of a new science and engineering complex.

Glaser said the school will focus on "address[ing] unevenness in graduate programs and elevate them across the board," over the next 10 years. Although he did not mention specific goals, Glaser said the plan also includes goals for better accessibility, including an emphasis on financial aid and making the Medford/Somerville campus more "disability-friendly."

"We have a very ambitious year ahead," he said. "We're hoping to make some real progress."

The university will not be hiring any additional faculty in the next 10 years, according to Glaser. While the last T10 plan -- initiated in 2005 -- set a goal to hire 60 new faculty members, Glaser said Tufts has since surpassed that threshold and re-prioritized itself for the coming decade.

TCU Senators also asked Glaser questions about administrative plans not included in the T10 plan. He explained that there are no plans for modifications to the distribution requirements, although plans are in the works for expanding the Department of Computer Science.

Senate also passed a resolution 21-2-2 that would create a program through which undergraduates could take a semester or a year off campus for public service-related work. Resolution authors, first-year Rati Srinivasan and seniors Michael Maskin, Devyn Curley, Sean Gunn, Joseph Reiff and Joe Phillipson, said they plan to take the proposal, dubbed "Equals 5," to administrators for consideration.

Unlike the 1+4 Bridge Service Learning Program, which is offered only to incoming first-year students before they begin their four years at Tufts, Equals 5 allows students to do the service work amid their undergraduate career. Like Northeastern University's co-op program, which allows students to take a year or semester off to work off campus, students' participation in Equals 5 would be part of the Tufts curriculum -- as opposed to taking a leave of absence in order to work full time as students are currently required, according to the resolution authors.

The resolution states that students who participate in Equals 5 would help teach a workshop about active citizenship when they return. While the resolution did not set specific numbers for the required monetary support for participating students, it included a clause recommending tuition assistance and other forms of aid.

“The main thing is being able to work in an area you might not otherwise be able to because of financial restraints,” Maskin said.

The Senate also passed 11 money requests from student organizations that totaled $25,230.14. Fund requests included $5,623.14 to JumboCast for new technological equipment, $2,452 to Tufts Quidditch to attend the World Cup -- for which the team recently qualified -- and $4,000 for Entertainment Board to bring in talent for a spring lecture and comedian. The Senate will host its final meeting of the semester on Dec. 7.