Minutes
Tufts University Council on Graduate Education
January 20, 2006 12:30 PM-4:30 PM
Medford Campus
The meeting was called to order at 12:50 PM. Present were David Walt (Chair), Shafiqul Islam, Vin Manno, Bill Moomaw, Bea Rogers and Art Donohue-Rolfe.Minutes
Minutes of the November meeting were amended and the new document approved.
Discussion concerning the doctoral programs
· David Walt met with President Bacow and communicated the Council’s discussion on potential barriers to growth in the Sackler and Fletcher doctoral programs.
· Bill Moomaw indicated that at Fletcher there appears to be some “confusion” about the relative emphasis of PhD versus MS education. It appears that doctoral education does not show up as a strong emphasis in the overall planning documents at Fletcher.
· In Arts and Sciences, the school message of strengthening the graduate programs at all levels is being emphasized by the Dean.
Discussion concerning the Office of Research Management
David Walt met with Peggy Newell and discussed policies and personnel issues at the Office of Research Management. Peggy Newell was very receptive and indicated that she would address the issues raised. Bill Moomaw mentioned that the IRB issues related to Fletcher have been resolved.
The ‘Operational Changes to Build Excellence in Graduate Education’ document
Vin reported that the Operational Changes document is with the Provost and will be distributed to the Deans with an opening memo from Vin within the next few weeks.
Agenda Item 1: Criteria for ‘New Doctoral Programs” document
Criteria for new doctoral programs were discussed and revised. Key criteria for a successful new doctoral program are:
1. A strong faculty advocate within the department or program.
2. A critical mass of committed faculty members who are involved in the program and have a track record of collaboration.
3. A distinctive niche or unmet need.
4. The ability to leverage other strengths at Tufts.
5. Have good support from the administration.
6. An undergraduate research component. If the opportunity exists for undergraduate and doctoral education to be synergistic, that opportunity should be taken.
7. A comprehensive financial plan that addresses the viability and sustainability of the program.
Vin will integrate these criteria into the “Guidelines for proposing new degree programs at Tufts University”. It was suggested that these criteria could serve as a preamble to the guidelines document. Vin will bring the revised document to the next meeting.
Agenda item #2 – Interdisciplinary doctoral and postdoctoral programs
Shafik Islam distributed a “Draft” proposal on “Tufts Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Fellowship”.
The key idea is to create an Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Fellows program to encourage vigorous intellectual engagement -- at the intersection of science, technology, policy, and diplomacy as well as health, management, and the humanities – to address contemporary societal problems and provide creative solutions. The Interdisciplinary Fellows will work for two years with two Tufts faculty members in any school or department to create new knowledge and strengthen connections across the university’s academic disciplines and professional schools. Preference will be given to projects that represent one or more of the following: (a) High-risk, transformative ideas that represent new interdisciplinary collaborations among faculty who have not previously worked together and, in particular, form intellectual communities that have not been active at Tufts to date; and (b) Cross-cutting issues which are relevant to the strategic focal areas.
Discussion focused around the cost-benefit (relative benefits were weighed of investing in postdocs vs. graduate student stipends vs. Provost Fellowships) and difficulties of implementation of such an initiative because post-docs will have to identify two faculty members from Tufts. An alternative model that initiates the process from “inside Tufts” was suggested and discussed. In such a model, two faculty from Tufts will make a proposal to work together on a high-risk and cross-cutting topic. Shafik Islam will revise the draft proposal based on the discussion and distribute it for further deliberation.
Next meeting will take place on February 28 at Fletcher from 1PM to 5PM.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:45PM.
