Dear Editor,
I am writing in regards to Tessa Gellerson's article, "IGL weathers recession storm," published Jan. 27, 2009, an accurate and well-written piece. I am writing to provide further updated details of the Institute's current financial situation.
In the article, I am quoted as saying, "our Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Distinguished Lecture Series was likewise frozen." This is true -- by Massachusetts law, one cannot withdraw interest from the principal when the endowments are "under water" -- yet the Mayer family has generously decided to provide all operating expenses to bring Dr. Jean Mayer Award recipients to the upcoming EPIIC "Global Cities" symposium, Feb. 18-Feb. 22. They include such notable people as the Mayor of Haifa, Israel, and the former Mayor of Medellin, Colombia. The Mayer Family support is enabling us, despite these uncertain financial times, to recognize these courageous mayors' work in fostering open, tolerant societies in countries and cities affected by conflict and, in the case of Medellin, by the global cocaine pandemic.
And together with our strategic partner, The Project on Justice in Times of Transition, we are also soon going to be able to honor yet another Nobel Laureate for Peace this year, Jose Ramos Horta, Timor-Leste's President. Earlier this year the Mayer grant enabled the Institute to bring Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Peace several weeks later.
Similarly, while the EPIIC symposium will feature relatively more local scholars and practitioners than in past years, the breadth and quality of their expertise is as great as that of our speakers in previous years. Professor Saskia Sassen, of Columbia University and the London School of Economics, who coined the term "global city," will keynote the symposium on Feb. 18. During the ensuing days we will be hosting Dr. Janice Perlman, founder of the MegaCities Project, an expert on the Brazilian favelas who coined the term "mega city," Robert Kiley, Commisioner of Transportation during the 2005 London Bombings, Bernard Amadei, founder of Engineers Without Borders and Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, among many significant others.
In addition to our donors' remarkable generosity that Ms. Gellerson referenced -- and for which we are tremendously grateful -- we are also in a far stronger position than might be imagined, for we never pay honoraria to any of our speakers, including the Mayer Award recipients. For the past 24 years, all of our distinguished guests have come solely to honor Tufts and its students. Often Institute events are totally cost-free, with people responding to the Institute's reputation and mission; witness the mural recently created by Shepard Fairey.
The EPIIC program is now attended by scores of university students from around the world. This year they will still be able to come from countries as diverse as China and Israel, now with frequent flier miles provided by board members. Likewise, we have seen other acts of generosity with the South Korean delegation from Seoul National University providing the funds to allow our South African delegation to be with us.
What is perhaps most rewarding is to see the response of many of our alumni who have given now more than ever. Despite economic stringency, our programs are actually thriving, and they will continue to be both resilient and adaptive.
--Sherman Teichman
Director, Institute for Global Leadership
