Letter to the Editor

To the editor,

We write to respond to former Latino Center Director Ruben Salinas Stern’s letter published on Sept. 7 raising concerns with the transparency and requirements of the recent Latino Center Director Search process. We have attempted to contact the author to correct his misunderstanding of the process but have not received a response as of this writing, and we feel compelled to set the record straight.

Over the summer, a search committee conducted a thorough national search to identify the most talented and committed candidates for this important leadership role; Latino Center peer leaders and two Group of Six directors sat on the committee itself.Of the 74 candidates who applied, eight had phone interviews with the search committee. Four were then offered campus visits, and two of these candidates elected to come to campus for a full day interview process. More than 40 campus partners, including students, faculty, staff and alumni from the Tufts Latino Alumni Association, met with the finalists; this is in keeping with the Division of Student Affairs’ practice to have as many campus partners as possible engage with finalists for any student-facing leadership role. Co-Chairs Mary Pat McMahon and Rob Mack reviewed feedback carefully from all campus partners.

The position parameters initially required a master’s degree for consideration. The search committee ultimately decided a master’s was preferred but not required. This is consistent with Tufts University hiring policies which allow for experience to be considered in lieu of advanced degrees unless the degree is required by licensure or accreditation standards. The committee then considered several candidates who held bachelor’s degrees and significant experience relevant to this unique role.

From an outstanding candidate pool, we are delighted to welcome the new Latino Center Director, and we look forward to supporting the important work of the Latino Center, the Group of Six, and the Division of Student Affairs in the new academic year.

Sincerely yours,

Jianmin Qu, Dean, School of Engineering Jianmin.Qu@tufts.edu

James M. Glaser, Dean, School of Arts & Sciences James.Glaser@tufts.edu