Provost’s Message to Faculty: Office Hours,Tufts Century Ride and Reception

Dear Tufts Faculty,

I have greatly enjoyed my first month as Provost of Tufts University. Much of my time has been spent learning about our outstanding university—its accomplishments, its potential, and its challenges. I look forward to the years ahead.

In the coming weeks I will send a more detailed message to the Tufts community, but for now I am writing to the faculty because you will be an important part of my tenure here and I have not had the opportunity to meet many of you. My strong belief is that to be an effective administrator, especially an effective provost, one must get to know the faculty and interact with them on a regular basis. This will be easier in the fall, when the university resumes its full slate of activities, and I begin attending school and departmental faculty meetings.

In addition to formal interactions, I also look forward to meeting you in small groups and in less formal venues. I am pleased to invite you to three such events in August.

First, I will be holding office hours in Ballou Hall as follows:

* Tuesday, August 14, 10:00 – 11:00 am

* Wednesday, August 15, 3:00 – 4:00 pm

* Tuesday, August 21, 2:00 – 3:00 pm

* Thursday, August 23, 12:30 – 1:30 pm

Second, I will be hosting a bike ride for faculty on August 22 (rain date August 24). The full ride will be about 100 miles, with stops on the Medford/Somerville, Grafton, and Boston campuses (i.e., Tufts Century). We have designed the ride such that people can join for as much or as little as they like. Please see the pdf below for more details about the rides. If you’re interested, please RSVP to provost@tufts.edu and let us know which legs of the ride you plan to join. Tufts Century Ride Information PDF, click here.

Lastly, all faculty are welcome to attend a closing reception for the bike ride on August 22 from 4:35-5:30pm. The bike ride ends ends at the new Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center on the Medford/Somerville Campus and the reception will be held in room 201. If you are not able to join us for the ride, it would be wonderful to see you during one of our campus stops or at the closing reception.

I am honored to be the Provost of Tufts University, and look forward to working with you to enhance our already great university. I hope to see you in August—at office hours, as part of the ride, the reception, or around campus.

Best,

David