Three new members of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Services Board of Advisors Selina Chow (J 78), Stephen Demirjian (LA 83) and Diane Hessan (J 76) officially began their terms on Oct. 22.
According to Interim Dean of Tisch College Nancy Wilson, Chow, Demirjian and Hessan bring diverse active citizenship experience to the board.
We look for board members who will serve as support systems of advice to the Tisch College, Wilson said. The board members come from fields and backgrounds that are relevant to the work that we are doing.
The new appointments bring the total number of board members to 27, Wilson said. Each member works to set a high standard for higher educations role in civic engagement.
Wilson explained that, when selecting new board members, Tisch College looks for people who will serve as ambassadors for the college, provide financial support and give advice. While the three new members happen to be alumni, members do not have to be graduates of the university to be considered for the position, she said.
The new board members come to Tisch College with different philanthropic and employment backgrounds, according to Wilson. Chow serves as board president of the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, an organization that services over 2,300 people in the Chinatown and Quincy areas. Demirjian is on the Board of Directors of the Frances Ouimet Scholarship Fund and serves on the Trust Board of the Perkins School for the Blind. Hessan is a member of the Tufts Board of Trustees and serves on the boards of Panera Bread, the Advertising Research Foundation and Horizons for Homeless Children.
We look to have a diverse board, Wilson said. We dont want all of our members working for non-profits or private sector organizations. We look for a balance between males and females, conservatives and liberals.
Wilson said she generally finds potential board members through current members who know people interested in joining. Other times, people reach out to the college with the hope of getting involved.
Hessan hopes to expand Tisch Colleges impact and demonstrate that active citizenship and giving back is not limited to non-profits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Her goal is to ensure that the college attracts more than just students who are interested in social entrepreneurship or non-profit organizations.
I want people to realize they can do this while working for a for-profit organization, Hessan said. More people should use their positions in the workforce to give back to society and provide for social justice.
Both Demirjian and Hessan plan to help students involved with the Tisch College gain the necessary tools to be engaged in the community.
The most important thing is working with the rest of Tisch Colleges Board of Advisors to make the program even better and to offer more students at Tufts the ability to become active citizens and understand the importance of being involved in the greater community, Demirjian said.
Chow believes that students learn life skills by giving back to the greater Boston community.
When you attend Tufts and are able to be civically engaged and interact with people from different backgrounds, it makes you a much more valuable person, she said.
Wilsons objective over the next several years is to attract a wide range of alumni to the Board of Advisors.
We mostly have people that have graduated with a degree in Arts and Sciences or Engineering, but we would love to have people who graduated from other Tufts programs, she said.
