Tufts has undergone numerous changes since its founding. The next phase of Tufts’ largest academic program, led by Bárbara Brizuela, the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, sets the stage for the future of a liberal arts education as Tufts heads toward its 175th year and beyond.
Interdisciplinarity & Academics
Brizuela has highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary education. As a liberal arts college with the infrastructure and resources of a research university, Tufts is uniquely positioned to foster an environment where students think about more than the utility of their degree. In a society where the importance of a college degree is in question, broadening the fields that students encounter during their time here builds on the value of a Tufts education.
In her interview with the Daily, Brizuela described strategic planning as it relates to hiring new faculty. Beyond scaling hiring for “high-need” classes, Tufts should consider investing in areas already fulfilling the interdisciplinary vision.
One of these programs is architecture. Architecture is growing faster than other fields and offers an organic opportunity to invest in the interdisciplinary. It combines components of the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Now with over 60 declared majors or minors, support of a growing vision is necessary. A few stops down the Red Line at Harvard and MIT, architectural departments are a unifying space looking to tackle some of the most pressing issues related to climate change and address technical challenges our society faces — bringing together a range of disciplines.
Brizuela also discussed the importance of her multilingual background with the Daily. We urge her to support reconsideration of what the language and culture graduation requirements mean beyond a box to check off. Students of varying backgrounds can benefit from being encouraged to learn about other cultures. It is now imperative that Tufts add more language options. Taking courses in languages spoken by immigrant populations in the Greater Boston area would help students engage with their host communities. Tufts should bring back Haitian Creole, Hindi and Urdu while also bolstering the Portuguese and Arabic programs. And since American Sign Language courses are consistently in high demand, Tufts should add more ASL courses and possibly a minor.
We’re confident that Dean Brizuela will continue to support SMFA and its growing presence in the Tufts community under the leadership of Dean Scheri Fultineer. SMFA’s studios and courses could be incorporated into some majors housed in the School of Arts and Sciences or expanded to increase the number of seats accessible for students of other disciplines to exercise their creativity and fulfill arts distributions.
Affordability
Tufts remains one of the most expensive schools in the United States; the School of Arts and Sciences should fundraise to continue its promise to make getting an education here more accessible. To reduce barriers to upward economic mobility, Tufts should offer more grants and support to students in lieu of loans. And Tufts should push toward a return to need-blind admissions. Tufts should also consider fixed-rate tuition, where students pay the same tuition cost for all semesters based on the rate determined for their matriculation year, so they can better plan for the cost of attending.
While many departments offer course credit for independent research, students often undertake unpaid work to gain lab or research experience. All students, regardless of financial need, should have the opportunity to join a lab in a paid position. Tufts and external organizations offer selective summer fellowships, but not everyone can afford to live away from home over the summer. The School of Arts and Sciences, therefore, could also provide stipends over the academic year. A schoolwide initiative would ensure comparable funding across different disciplines and labs, which may not all have the resources to pay students. Students would have time to explore their interests without sacrificing wages from a part-time job. Additionally, the school should increase fundraising for the Summer Scholars program and the Career Center’s unpaid internship grants, which would expand the reach of those programs.
Student Life
Student life is the shared responsibility of the deans of the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. Brizuela’s past roles in the university have focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. The school should prioritize the Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion in the annual budget and in fundraising. The DSDI’s identity-based centers create a crucial sense of belonging for students on campus, especially following the affirmative action ban and the uncertain future of racial diversity on college campuses. Southwest Asian and North African students deserve a permanent center with a full-time director and staff. The recently opened lounge, while a welcome addition, falls short of advocates’ calls for a full center.
Tufts students are in close proximity to Boston and its metropolitan area and everything it has to offer. Tufts should encourage students to explore Massachusetts beyond campus by offering free admission to more museums, events and programs — and develop more social and professional partnerships with our neighbors around the area. All undergraduates, not only SMFA students, should get free admission to the Institute of Contemporary Art and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Judging from the positive impression of the SMFA program, the School of Arts and Sciences should expand unlimited MBTA passes to all undergraduates, using its bulk purchasing power to subsidize the cost by building it into undergraduate fees.
Finally, Brizuela will, of course, be accessible by email and meetings, but we hope for more casual and informal ways to have a conversation. At the end of the day, it’s important that every Tufts student can reach Brizuela. Maybe that looks like office hours in Ballou Hall, a drop-in hour at The Sink — or even group bike rides with the Dean!
