[591] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Bacow named president of Tufts
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Kenneth D. Campbell)
Wed May 9 14:10:42 2001
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Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 14:10:14 -0500
To: kdc@MIT.EDU
From: "Kenneth D. Campbell" <kdc@MIT.EDU>
http://www.tufts.edu/communications/stories/050901TuftsNamesNewPresident.htm
Tufts Taps MIT Chancellor As Next President
Larry Bacow To Broaden University's
International Impact in Scholarship,
Research, Public Policy
Boston [05.09.01] -- Tufts University's
Board of Trustees today announced that
MIT Chancellor Lawrence S. Bacow, 49,
will become the 12th president of the
four-campus institution. He will succeed
John DiBiaggio,
Tufts' president since 1992, who announced
his plans to step
down last September. Bacow will assume the
Tufts presidency
in August, at the beginning of the fall
semester.
"Larry's first-rate credentials as a
scholar, educator and
administrator enable him to bring a wealth
of experience to
Tufts," said Nathan Gantcher, a Tufts
graduate and chairman
of the University's Board of Trustees.
"Among other things, his
vision for MIT's collaboration with the
University of
Cambridge impressed the search committee,
which was
looking for a leader in creating new models
for the global
academic and research institution of the
21st century."
Bacow has served as MIT's chancellor for
the past three
years, while also holding an endowed
professorship in
environmental studies. As chancellor, he has
been responsible
for undergraduate and graduate education,
research policy
and oversight of the Institute's large-scale
industrial and
international partnerships. Prior to his
current post, he chaired
the MIT faculty.
Best known for his scholarship on
alternative dispute
resolution, Bacow is also widely regarded as
a gifted teacher.
"Larry is deeply committed to both
teaching and research,"
Gantcher said. "At the same time, he's an
innovative leader
with a global perspective."
Bacow worked collaboratively with Sir
Alec Broers, the
head of the University of Cambridge, and MIT
President
Charles Vest to create the Cambridge-MIT
Institute, a strategic
partnership between MIT and the University
of Cambridge
that supports joint research, curriculum
development and
teaching, as well as student, faculty and
staff exchanges. The
Cambridge-MIT Institute is funded by $135
million from the
British government and British industry.
Bacow will assume the Tufts presidency at
"the strongest
position in our nearly 150-year history,"
Gantcher added. "We
believe Larry will further advance Tufts by
honing our focus
and also broadening the impact of our
scientific research, our
high-profile programs in international
relations, nutrition and
the health sciences, and our undergraduate
arts, sciences and
engineering schools."
MIT President Charles Vest said Bacow
"will be an
outstanding university president." He
credited Bacow with
numerous achievements, including "an
enhanced learning
environment, design of a new vision for our
residential system,
new rigor to campus space planning, and
major institutional
partnerships with universities and industry
worldwide."
Vest added, "He is a talented academic
leader and an
exceptional colleague. His dedication to the
highest values of
the academy, combined with his outstanding
organizational
and diplomatic skills, has been demonstrated
in countless
ways. He is masterful at energizing people
and helping to
achieve common vision, and he is a steadfast
voice of
conscience and reason."
Bacow said he is impressed by Tufts'
progress under John
DiBiaggio's leadership.
"During his tenure, John has strengthened
Tufts in every
meaningful dimension. It takes two things to
make a truly
great university - great students and great
faculty. Under his
leadership, Tufts is now competing for the
very best students
and faculty in the country. John has also
greatly strengthened
the research infrastructure that supports
the faculty. Tufts'
future is incredibly bright."
He added that he has special regard for
Tufts' international
focus.
"Increasingly, some of the most important
scholarly
questions lie at the edges, not the center
of traditional
disciplines," he said. "Tough problems do
not respect
geographic or disciplinary boundaries. Tufts
is fortunate to
have a history of working across traditional
boundaries to
make a difference in the world. I look
forward to working with
my new colleagues on all four of Tufts'
campuses to build a
University-wide approach to research,
teaching, and common
problem solving.
"The world today is being influenced by a
number of
common trends: a growing public awareness of the
importance of the environment; increasing
concern for quality,
affordable health care; globalization; and a
heightened interest
in volunteerism among young people," he
added. "With great
strength in the environment, the health
sciences, international
relations, and its commitment to public
service, Tufts is
incredibly well positioned to respond to
each of these trends."
Bacow has an extensive list of personal
civic commitments,
including service as a trustee at Wheaton
College and Hebrew
College, and as director of the Jewish
Community Housing for
the Elderly.
His career at MIT began in 1977 as
assistant professor of
law and environmental policy. He earned a
bachelor's degree
in economics from MIT, a law degree from
Harvard and a
master's degree and Ph.D. in public policy
from Harvard's
Kennedy School.
In addition, Bacow has held visiting
professorships at the
University of Amsterdam, The Tinbergen
Institute in
Amsterdam, Gabriela Mistral University in
Santiago, Chile, the
Politecnico di Bari (Italy), Politecnico di
Torino (Italy) and the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He recently
received the first
honorary degree given in 30 years by the
Politecnico di Bari.
Tufts' president-elect also has a long
track record of
working closely with government, industry,
and the nonprofit
sector throughout his career.
He's served on a number of boards and as
a consultant and
advisor for a number of organizations, including
Massachusetts General Hospital, the RAND
Corporation,
Arthur Andersen & Co., the Russian Ministry
of Housing and
Construction, the National Governors'
Association, and the
U.S. Department of Labor.
He's authored four books and numerous
articles, and has
served on the editorial board of the Journal
of Hazardous
Waste and Environmental Impact Assessment
Review.
Bacow, a native of Pontiac, Mich., and
his wife, Adele Fleet
Bacow, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., live
in Newton, Mass. His
wife is president of Community Partners
Consultants, Inc., a
firm that specializes in community economic
and cultural
development. She holds a bachelor's degree
in urban design
from Wellesley College, a master's degree in
city planning
from MIT, and is the author of Designing the
City: A Guide
for Advocates and Public Officials.
Their sons Jay, 21, and Kenneth, 19,
attend MIT and the
University of Pennsylvania, respectively.
