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Tufts University

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Tufts University is located in Medford, Massachusetts (near Boston). In 1852, Charles Tufts founded Tufts College, and donated the land for the campus on Walnut Hill, the highest point in Medford. Tufts said that he wanted to set a "light on the hill." Originally affiliated with the Universalist Church, Tufts is now non-sectarian. The name changed to "Tufts University" in 1954, although the corporate name remains "the Trustees of Tufts College."

As of 2003, Tufts University enrolls nearly 9,000 full-time students on three campuses. The Medford/Somerville campus is the main campus, home to the School of Arts and Sciences (including the College of Liberal Arts and Jackson College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the Summer Session); the School of Engineering; and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

The Boston campus emphasizes medical and life sciences, with the School of Medicine; the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences; the School of Dental Medicine; the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy; and the USDA Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. At the Grafton campus west of Boston, Tufts runs the only veterinary school in New England.

Summer programs in Europe are coordinated through the a satellite campus in Talloires, France. Tufts has dual degree programs with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and the New England Conservatory of Music. Some of the strongest areas at Tufts include Economics and International Relations. Tufts has a significant amount of international students (roughly 10%) and a large Jewish population (roughly 25%).

In 1910, the Jackson College for Women was established as a "coordinate" college adjacent to the Tufts campus. Jackson College was later integrated with Tufts College, but is recognized in the name of the undergraduate arts and sciences division, the "College of Liberal Arts and Jackson College." The campus land that was Jackson College is in the city of Somerville.

Culture

The Tufts school mascot is Jumbo the elephant, in honor of a major donation from circus owner P.T. Barnum in 1882. The stuffed remains of Barnum's Jumbo the elephant were on display in the basement of Barnum Hall, until the building burned down in 1974. Currently a plaster-statue likeness of Jumbo resides on the academic quad.

Every year, right before the reading period preceding winter exams, there is a Naked Quad Run. It involves several hundred intoxicated students getting naked and running around the quad for perhaps a half-hour. The run has been held for many years now, although the 2002 run generated some controversy and fears of its end when several students were injured and President Bacow publicly denounced it. In 2003 the administration worked to ensure the safety of the event.

Right before the reading period preceding spring exams, there is also the annual Spring Fling. This event is always quite expensive (in the tens of thousands of dollars) and many bands are invited to play for the student body outside, free of charge. There was much disappointment when the 2003 show was unceremoniously canceled because of rain. In 2004, The Roots, Less Than Jake, and several other bands made an appearance.

Famous alumni

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