December 20, 2023
Dear Tufts community members,
We are writing to share that after 33 years of service to the university, James "Jim" M. Glaser, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences (A&S), will be leaving Tufts at the end of this academic year to become the next executive vice president and provost of Santa Clara University. Please join us in congratulating Dean Glaser on this tremendous accomplishment. Jim's message to the Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (AS&E) faculty and staff is shared below, and please read more about Jim's contributions to the university on Tufts Now.
Jim has spent his entire academic career at Tufts, first joining A&S in 1991 as an assistant professor of political science and advancing to associate professor in 1997 and professor in 2005. In addition, he took on several leadership roles, serving as the dean of undergraduate education from 2003 to 2010 and dean of academic affairs from 2010 to 2014 before assuming the deanship of the school in 2014.
As dean, Jim has led the school through multiple milestones and challenges. This has included developing, leading, and implementing the school's 2015 strategic plan, supporting significant efforts to increase the diversity of the student body and faculty, and fundraising for the Brighter World campaign, of which A&S raised over half a billion dollars and led to the establishment of more than 30 new A&S professorships. He played an instrumental role when, in 2016, Tufts assumed the operations of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and he guided the A&S faculty and staff through the myriad challenges of the pandemic. More recently, one of his primary areas of focus has been the school's climate initiative, which includes strategic faculty hires and curriculum enhancements in the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences, supporting a new university-wide effort on climate solutions, and co-locating related units to create a climate-focused hub on campus.
Demonstrating a strong commitment to student support and inclusive excellence, Jim also worked closely with his counterpart at the School of Engineering to revamp and reorganize AS&E's student-facing divisions, including Student Life, Student Services, Undergraduate Education, Admissions, Tisch Library, and the newly formed Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion.
Jim is an accomplished political scientist whose work examines American politics, electoral politics, and political behavior. In 2013, he co-authored his third book (with former student Timothy J. Ryan) Changing Minds, if Not Hearts: Political Remedies to Racial Issues, which showed how attitudes toward racial issues are actually quite flexible and how political strategies that mitigate a common impulse to understand political issues in a "group conflict frame" can build white support for minorities. In the past few years, he has published half a dozen articles and written a book manuscript (now under review) with colleagues Jeffrey Berry and Deborah Schildkraut. Throughout his entire time as dean, Jim has continued to teach an annual course in political science, a source of great pleasure for him.
Jim is the proud father of two Jumbos and his investment in Tufts runs deep. As his message below to AS&E faculty and staff mentions, his new role will allow him to be closer to family, many of whom are now on the West Coast.
We will share our leadership transition plan in the spring semester and the process of searching for the new dean of the school.
However, today is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate Jim for his tireless dedication to enhancing the student experience, furthering inclusive excellence, and the pursuit of creative solutions to the complex challenges of higher education. We thank him for his decades of service to Tufts and wish him the best in his next role at Santa Clara University, which is truly fortunate to have him as their next chief academic officer.
Warm regards,
Sunil Kumar
President
Caroline Attardo Genco
Provost and Senior Vice President
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A personal note from Dean James M. Glaser to AS&E faculty and staff
Dear colleagues:
I write to let you know that I will be stepping down as the dean of Arts and Sciences at the end of this academic year. I will be moving to Santa Clara University in California, where I will serve as provost and executive vice president starting this summer. There will be a university announcement sent to the wider Tufts community at 2 p.m. EST. I trust you to please keep this information confidential until then.
After 33 years at Tufts–21 of them as a dean, and a decade of them in my current role–it will be very hard to leave. Tufts has been so good to me, and I will be leaving many dear friends, people with whom I have shared so much.
Santa Clara is a very exciting university in the heart of Silicon Valley. There will be a lot to do in my new position, and I am very eager to take on some new challenges. The chance to move back to California, close to my son and to my wife’s family, is also a big attraction. Pam and I met in the Bay Area and spent six great years there. When we first moved to New England, we thought it would be for a short period of time. That, of course, did not happen because Tufts turned out to be such a fantastic home for us, a place with talented, caring colleagues, a place to grow and lead, and a place that would educate both our children. We are looking forward to a new chapter in our lives but will truly savor our time at Tufts.
One thing I know is that the team of people around me is extraordinary, and that when I leave, the school will be in great hands. And with our exceptional new president and provost, the university will be well-led.
Over the next six months, I will have a chance to say goodbye. But I will use this missive to say thank you to everyone who has made this experience so special to me.
With gratitude,
Jim
James M. Glaser
Dean, School of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Political Science
