Read the Spring 2016 Tufts Parents Giving Program

Pachyderm Parents News
Spring 2016
Tufts University
Parents Giving Program
Gina A. DeSalvo
Director
Craig O’Donnell
Associate Director
Linda Levin-Scherz,
A09P, M16P
Assistant Director
Deborah Hand
Staff Assistant
Articles written by
Linda Levin-Scherz
Photos: Tufts photographers
Kelvin Ma and Alonso Nichols
[email protected]
giving.tufts.edu/parents
Happy Spring!
We did it again! Tufts has reached another
Admissions milestone, and while the
final numbers weren’t out at print time,
we do know that there were a record
number of applicants vying for admissions. I see how remarkable the students
here are, young people like future world
changer Ananda Paez, A16 (page 6), who
wants to work on post-conflict development when a country emerges from
war; and Michael Turi, A11 (page 4), who
attended Harvard Law School after he
graduated from Tufts and is using his
legal skills to help immigrants find their
voices. Both students cite the same
things that everyone I meet here says:
Tufts professors and students are the
most influential people in their lives.
This Jumbo pride, respect, civic
engagement, and intelligence are what
set the university apart. We are all
grateful here that parents choose to
support enriching and enhancing all
students so that Ananda, Michael, and
your Jumbo can make a difference in
the world. Thank you for considering
making a gift to
Tufts today!
Warm Jumbo
wishes,
Gina A. DeSalvo,
Director
617-627-3798
Visit us on Facebook:
Tufts Parents Giving
Program
Follow us on Twitter:
TuftsParentsGiving
Tufts Travel-Learn
Expand the reaches of your
education with the Tufts
Travel-Learn Program’s
exceptional journeys. Engage
in stimulating discussions
about history and current
events, experience local
culture, and explore some of
our world’s most impressive
destinations. Crafted by
leading travel partners, our
journeys are open to parents,
alumni, family, and friends.
For more information
please contact:
Usha Nand Sellers, Ed. D.,
Director
[email protected]
or 617-627-5323
Sports Highlights
Tufts Athletics has enjoyed a very successful
winter sports season. As of mid-February,
Women’s Basketball had a 22–2 record, after
finishing its third straight 10–0 conference
season. Men’s Basketball is enjoying its best
season since 2005–06 with a 20–5 record to
date. Both teams are ranked in the national
top 20.
The Men’s Swimming & Diving team
recently placed second at the conference
championship meet with four individuals
winning league titles. An improving Women’s Swimming & Diving squad broke five
school records during its conference meet.
Men’s Track & Field, under the guidance of
new head coach Joel Williams, placed third at
the New England Division III Indoor Championships as Jumbos won two events. The
Women’s Track & Field team finished tied for
fourth at that meet with one event win.
The Men’s Ice Hockey team, under first-year
head coach Pat Norton, held a 9–9–6 overall
record heading into the conference tournament. Women’s Fencing finished fourth at the
New England Championships out of 13 teams.
With 13 victories, the Women’s Squash
team had the most of any team in program
history during the 2000s. Men’s Squash
won the Chaffee Cup at the annual College
Squash Association Team Championships.
Jumbo athletes have also been very involved
in community service with events hosted in
support of Autism Awareness, the American Brain Tumor Association, Green Dot
program, and Special Olympics during the
winter season.
Squash senior captain Paget Stanco, A16
To stay up-to-date with Jumbo sports, visit
GoTuftsJumbos.com.
—Paul Sweeney,
Sports Information Director
Save the Dates!
Commencement is May 22, 2016, and Parents and Family Weekend 2016 is October 21–22.
Shaping the Future
Engineering Dean Jianmin Qu on Technology, Teamwork, and Parent Advice
It’s Parents and Family Weekend 2015,
and an adoring crowd of parents surrounds the new Dean of the School
of Engineering Jianmin Qu after his
participation in a deans’ panel discussion. Qu had shared his thoughts on
topics ranging from computer science
to experiential learning, but pauses to
tell a self-deprecating anecdote about
he and his wife’s ill-fated attempt to
impose a curfew on their college-aged
daughter. “Let go,” he advises, laughing. “Your children are adults now.”
Undergraduates also have unparalleled
access to faculty and research, Qu says.
“While the student has to take the initiative and talk to a professor, there are many
opportunities working with faculty. The
limiting factor is funding; we have more
students interested in research than we have
funds.”
The new dean also is looking to the future,
imagining a space open 24/7 where all students can gather to create, using imagination, knowledge, and tools like 3-D printers
and lasers.
Qu, whose research in ultrasonic non“This space would promote the kind of
destruction evaluation has led to safer
active, experiential learning that encourages
aviation and more efficient energy
Dean of Engineering Jianmin Qu
students to be creative and retain informaconversion storage devices for fuel
tion not done in more traditional classes.
cells and batteries, joined Tufts in August 2015. He spent
This approach forces students to make connections. One of
three decades in academia including holding key posiour goals should be to educate young people to be knowltions at Georgia Institute of Technology and Northwestern,
edge contributors, not just takers,” he emphasizes.
where he was the Walter P. Murphy Professor and chair of
“Perhaps an art student designs something useful and aesthe Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
thetically pleasing, an engineering student manufactures it,
Qu has also been the principal investigator on more than
and students from the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program
$16 million in research projects funded by the National
look at ways to bring it to market. Having a place like that
Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Air
would promote interaction and put creative ideas together
Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Office of Naval
and practice teamwork skills with different knowledge.”
Research, co-authored two textbooks, and his publications
have been cited more than 6,000 times.
Qu is enthusiastic about his new challenge, citing talented,
smart students and dedicated faculty doing cutting-edge
research. Pointing to a recent meeting with the first-place
winners of Tufts’ Hybrid Racing Team and donors, he notes
how impressed the donors were with the students’ maturity,
talent, and ability to communicate. “Not all were engineering students, but they spoke the same language, took classes
together, worked as a team,” he says.
It is that intersection between engineering and liberal arts
that guides research, Qu says. “There is technology behind
everything we do now.
“Knowledge allows students to try new things,” he continues. “It’s important that the wall between engineering and
liberal arts is permeable to provide a platform for students
to be exposed to new proficiencies. Liberal arts and engineering students take classes freely between schools; the
infrastructure was set up to allow it.”
Qu is confident in the talent of students and faculty to make
such a space viable and necessary. “Put young, talented,
energetic students together to think, give them the tools,
and they will come up with something that surprises everyone,” he says.
Knowing the benefits of experiential learning, Qu shares
one more story for parents: he and his wife became
extremely concerned that their two-day-old daughter was
spitting up too much so they brought her to the emergency
department where a doctor told them she was perfectly fine
and not to worry.
“It’s a hard lesson for parents,” Qu says, noting that his
daughter will receive her Ph.D. soon. “I understand why
parents are so uptight, but I wish we had been more relaxed
and enjoyed the experience more. Kids make mistakes, but
so what? It’s not the end of the world. Tufts students are
smart, well educated, and make good choices. Let go,” he
repeats with a smile.
spring 2016
Pachyderm Parents News 3
In the Public’s Interest
Tufts Graduate Michael Turi Helps Immigrants Find Their Voices
Michael Turi, A11, proudly tells the story of the hurdles his
father, Zoltan Turi, A11P, overcame when he emigrated from
Hungary in 1956 with no money or English skills. Every
couple of years, Turi and his parents returned to Hungary
to witness the country’s changes and see how people were
adjusting to the post-Communist era. “It certainly influenced
how I see the world and the experiences of immigrant
families,” he says.
“Jie Yang, the director of the Tufts-in-China Program, was
extremely helpful. He went out of his way to make students
feel comfortable but also urged them to take the initiative and
explore,” Turi states.
The language choice proved to be fortuitous, guiding Turi to
his post-college job with AmeriCorps, where he was placed
with the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center. There, he
streamlined the citizenship training program, taught English,
and prepared immigrants for the citizenship test.
Drawing on his own life’s experiences and education, Turi
now fights for immigrant workers’ rights at AALDEF. “Wage
theft is a huge concern in the community. These are people
who may have a Ph.D. in Asia but are here now working in
awful conditions,” he states.
As a Harvard Law student, Turi pursued the nonprofit path
that he began as an undergraduate. “The defining experience
for me was working at Greater Boston Legal Services, where
I took on two asylum cases with clients from Uganda and
Mexico and assisted a few additional clients with other
immigration issues,” he says.
Grateful for their son’s experience, Zoltan and Adele Turi,
A11P, generously support the Chinese program, noting the
strong impact it had on their son’s education and career.
Michael Turi, A11
As a graduate of Tufts and Harvard Law School, Turi has
dedicated his career to assisting immigrants, providing
direct legal representation to low-wage immigrant workers
challenging labor law violations at the Asian American Legal
Defense and Education Fund in New York (AALDEF). Turi’s
position is funded by the Skadden Fellowship Program where
he is one of 28 Skadden Fellows in the country who devote
their professional lives to providing legal services to the poor.
The young lawyer came to Tufts because it attracted a certain
type of student who wanted to be part of something greater.
“I understood life as a newcomer, having lived in three states
and two countries by the time I matriculated at Tufts. I got
the sense that Tufts attracts explorers, people interested in
living outside of their comfort zone.” Initially daunted by
Tufts’ language requirement, Turi decided to venture beyond
the familiar Hungarian and French he had been exposed to
and began taking Chinese “on a whim.”
Turi never intended to go beyond the six semester language
requirement, but ended up taking 15 classes and spending
a semester in China with the Tufts-in-China Program.
4 Pachyderm Parents News
spring 2016
“The faculty not only inspired our son but us as well. We
visited Hangzhou and were impressed by the quality and
dedication of the faculty both at Tufts and in China, and we
like donating to this small program where we feel that the
contribution can make at least a tiny difference for the next
generation of students,” Zoltan says.
Mingquan Wang, senior lecturer and language coordinator
in the Chinese Program, was “most impressed with Michael’s
sense of purpose, thoughtfulness, and consideration for
others.”
Professor Xueping Zhong was equally effusive, noting Turi’s
exceptional intellectual capability. “He took ‘Confucianism
and Modern China’, a seminar course required for Chinese
majors, and I was especially impressed by his choice of topic
for the research paper and the paper itself,” she says.
For Turi, his Tufts professors and friends are among the most
influential people in his life. “My experience at Tufts allowed
me to embrace liberal arts and think beyond the classroom,
he says.
“My job helps give marginalized people a voice,” Turi states.
“Tufts students are well positioned to make the same impact.”
Scaling New Heights
Tufts European Center in France Encourages Students to Step Beyond Boundaries
When the Tufts European Center in Talloires, France, was
recognized as one of the top 10 branch campuses of colleges
and universities, Director Gabriella Goldstein, as well as many
alumni and parents, weren’t surprised.
with a smile. “He became a World War I pilot after graduating from Tufts, which opened up his whole world. He decided
to continue his studies in Paris, eventually opening his own
school for international children outside of the city.”
“The Tufts European Center in Talloires is a magical place,”
says Goldstein. A thousand years of history resonate through
the walls of this incredible building, which was once part of an
11th-century Benedictine monastery. Nestled in a small village under lush mountains and next to cerulean Lake Annecy,
Tufts’ campus in the foothills of the Alps in southeastern
France offers students unique opportunities to learn inside
and outside of the classroom.
Eventually, MacJannet purchased land on Lake Annecy where
he opened the MacJannet Summer Camps for boys and girls,
attracting students such as Prince Philip, Indira Gandhi, and
even Rob Hollister, founding dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch
College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts.
The building, also known as “the Priory,” was purchased in
1958 by Donald MacJannet, who graduated Tufts in 1916, and
his wife, Charlotte, who lovingly restored it and then donated
it to Tufts in 1979. “These days, we have academic programs
for undergraduate and high school students; we welcome
alumni, parents, and even host weddings,” Goldstein says,
displaying photos from a recent Jumbo-filled reception. The
Alpine campus also serves as an international meeting site,
hosting meetings and seminars for participants from around
the world.
“We’ve tried to ingrain the MacJannets’ philosophy into everything we do, from including an experiential component to all
of our academic programs to being good and active members
of our Talloires community,” Goldstein says.
Each year, the Tufts European Center receives gifts from
friends and alumni to help fund student scholarships. Goldstein feels that it is important to make the Talloires experience
Tufts in Talloires, the summer program designed for undergraduates, features classes taught by Tufts faculty. The
for-credit classes, taught in English, represent a range of
disciplines, from French literature to Alpine botany to global
health. All of the classes make use of regional resources, which
provides an interesting experiential component to complement the classroom work.
Students stay with local host families who are vetted by Goldstein and her staff, and most have been hosting Tufts students
for years, Goldstein states. The host family experience allows
students a unique way to observe and learn about another
culture.
The programs organize a number of activities intended to
help students make the most of their time in Talloires, including hikes in the local mountains. “This is not really a summer
camp experience,” Goldstein cautions, “but we want students
to enjoy themselves. Many have never traveled before and this
is their first time abroad. Our goal is to ensure that everyone
has a lot of support and a good international experience.”
Following in the MacJannets’ footsteps, the staff works hard to
cultivate good relationships with the people of Talloires, hosting local conference groups as well as a weekly lecture series.
“MacJannet was Tufts’ original global citizen,” Goldstein says
Tufts students hiking in Talloires, France
accessible to students from all economic and social backgrounds and each year, the European Center provides 40 to 50
students with financial support.
Sol Gittleman, Alice and Nathan Gantcher University Professor and guest speaker at Talloires events, says, “Talloires is the
best-kept educational secret at Tufts. It is a paradise where faculty, students, alumni, and parents have spent time learning,
studying, and experiencing one of the most beautiful places on
earth. It is an authentic educational paradise.”
For more information about the Tufts European Center
and its academic programs, please see http://ase.tufts.edu/
europeanCenter/.
spring 2016
Pachyderm Parents News 5
Golden Opportunities
World Experience Plays a Big Part in Ananda Paez’s Education
Tufts University was not on Ananda Paez’s, A16, radar as a
high school student in Ecuador. Then her uncle became a
presidential candidate and Paez learned of a student helping him with the campaign through Tufts’ Institute for Global
Leadership (IGL) program and she became intrigued.
“I was very interested in attending a university with a strong
international focus. I decided that if the school attracts someone who would travel to Ecuador to work on a presidential
election, I could have the kinds of
opportunities I was looking for,”
Paez says.
Paying for a U.S. education has
been a serious hurdle, which was
why she was overjoyed to learn
she was the recipient of the Poma
Family Endowed Scholarship,
established by former Tufts Parents Leadership Council members
Ernesto and Cecelia Poma, A13P,
to provide need-based financial
aid for undergraduates, with a
preference for students from
Latin America. “I was studying
in Hong Kong for the semester
when I got the news,” she says.
When Paez returned to Ecuador, she was able to put the
Pomas’ mission of giving back directly into action. As a
member of IGL’s Empower program, which allows students
to engage in experiential learning in social entrepreneurship,
Paez became involved with shelters for adolescents and started
a project developing entrepreneurial skills so residents can
sustain themselves.
Tufts has provided Paez with several opportunities to have
impactful experiences around the world. Traveling to Jordan
at the cusp of its newly enacted
democratic forms in 2014, as part
of IGL’s New Initiative for Middle
East Peace program, Paez was
part of a collaborative dialogue
and research group studying the
Middle East. There, she researched
the intersection of economic
crisis and reforms. The experience
helped clarify her future goals—
Paez intends to work on post-conflict development after a country
emerges from war. “There’s a
golden opportunity to change
history and become more than a
failed state,” she explains.
As an Oslo Scholar, Paez traveled
to Serbia to research the organization involved in overthrowing
Milosevic and has had internships
in India, where she worked at a Tibetan women’s center, and at
the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
Ananda Paez, A16, in front of the Potala Palace
in Lhasa, Tibet, in May 2015
“It’s always been a struggle to
be here. I was very touched that
Latin American parents want to encourage young people to
get an education. I am grateful for their support,” Paez says.
Ernesto Poma states that he, his wife, Cecelia, and family feel
privileged to help someone as special as Paez.
“We feel a special connection to Tufts, and great respect for
its excellent academic standards,” says Poma. “Our daughter
Sofia attended Tufts, and we were able to witness the positive
impact that her college experience had on her, and how it has
enriched her life.
During her study abroad semester, Paez was invited to become
a youth delegate at the United Nations Commission for Social
Development. “The International Relations department paid
for my ticket to New York,” she states. Her initiative and
research earned her a coveted spot in the five-year dual degree
program with the Fletcher School, where she’ll enroll next fall
for the Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy.
“Being strong believers in education, we are thrilled to be able
to help deserving students pursue their dreams through their
academic careers, and eventually be able to give back to their
home countries.”
Paez is grateful that her Tufts education has allowed her to
have these experiences and she credits her peers and faculty
for inspiring her. “I learn so much from them,” she says. Soon,
she’ll be changing the world for the better.
6 Pachyderm Parents News
spring 2016
The Importance of Giving Back
Multigenerational Jumbo Family Helps All Students Succeed
Mark Pollak, A75, A16P, A19P, thought the Tufts tour guide
was helpful, nice, and informative, but he had to offer a minor
correction when the guide reported that the university’s
beloved stuffed Jumbo the elephant was lost in a fire in 1982.
“It was in 1975,” Pollak told the guide. “I know, because I was a
student here then.”
Somehow he managed to sleep through the whole thing, Pollak
adds, laughing. “I was living on campus with a direct view of
Barnum Hall and didn’t know what happened until I opened
my shades the next morning and saw all the fire trucks.”
Mark’s wife, Janet Meyers, also starts to laugh. She has fond
memories of seeing the pachyderm while visiting Tufts. “I was
at another college then, but I felt sad when Jumbo burned.”
When the couple’s daughter Adina, A19, came as an undergraduate, joining her brother Todd, A16, Mark and Janet
made sure to get a photo in front of the new Jumbo, which was
unveiled in April 2015. “Our daughter insisted,” Meyers states.
“I have a warm place in my heart for Tufts, and it’s wonderful
seeing our children thrive there,” Pollak says.
(l-r) Mark Pollak, A75, A16P, A19P, Adina Pollak, A19,
Todd Pollak, A16, and Janet Meyers, A16P, A19P, near Aspen
it wasn’t a hard sell getting their children interested. “The
campus has grown and changed since I was a student,” he
says, noting the new renovated student center, Granoff Music
Center, and the Collaborative Learning and Innovation Complex, an anchor for the new Science and Technology Corridor.
Pollak and Meyers, who are members of Tufts’ Parents Leadership Council, want other students to succeed as well, so they
established a generous matching challenge gift for Tufts’ Student Fund, a student-driven giving initiative for undergraduates. Supported by the Tufts Fund, and led by the Tufts Student
Fund Leadership Corps, the Student Fund holds an annual
campaign to increase awareness of how philanthropic dollars
from alumni, parents, and friends contribute to the student
experience—and the importance of giving back to the university. The fund raises money for financial aid to help ensure that
all students, regardless of financial circumstances, can have
access to a Tufts education.
Pollak, an attorney and executive with a trade association, and
Meyers, a journalist, say they are grateful to be in a position
to support the school and facilitate students to have that same
positive experience.
Returning to Tufts was wonderful, Pollak says, adding that
“They are definitely in the right place,” she says.
Double or Triple Your Gift!
Do you know that many employers offer matching gift
programs? Imagine the even greater impact your gift can make
on your Jumbo’s experience!
If your employer or your partner’s employer has a matching
gift program, your gift to Tufts may be doubled or even tripled.
Hal Stern, E16P, looks at his company’s matching gift
program as a way to double his investment. “It also signals
to my employer the types of causes where there is direct
engagement and return. Typically, I support student
“Tufts formed who I was, helped shape my values, and it’s
where I made some of my best friends,” Pollak states.
They are delighted that the newest Jumbo generation feels
similarly. Meyers says that while Adina hasn’t declared a major
yet, Todd has found passion studying computer science, a
departure from when he arrived thinking he would be a history major.
organizations where doubling my gift has the greatest impact.
There’s a sense of pride seeing my company’s name listed,
knowing that it empowers me to choose my causes and provide
strong financial support,” he says.
Your human resources office can supply you with specific
instructions about its process for matching gifts. If your
company is eligible, request a matching gift form from your
employer, send it completed and signed with your gift, and Tufts
will do the rest. You can check if your employer has a matching
gift policy by looking at www.matchinggifts.com/tufts/.
spring 2016
Pachyderm Parents News 7
The Parents Giving Program
80 George Street, Suite 300
Medford, MA 02155
giving.tufts.edu/parents
Important Dates!
May 2 Reading Period
May 6 Final Exams Begin
May 16 Senior Week
May 22 Commencement
May 25 First Summer
Session Begins
July 5Second Summer
Session Begins
Aug 31 Matriculation
Sept 4 Returning Students
Arrive
Oct 21–22 Parents and Family
Weekend 2016
8 Pachyderm Parents News
spring 2016