May People Notes

John Baronian, A50, trustee emeritus at Tufts University, was honored at ceremonies at the Massachusetts State House on April 23 to commemorate the 89th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. The event was organized by four Bay State lawmakers, and the keynote speaker was J. Michael Hagopian, founder and chairman of the Armenian Film Foundation.

Stephen W. Bosworth, dean of the Fletcher School and former U. S. ambassador to South Korea, weighed in on U.S.–South Korea relations in a new report issued by the RAND Corp. According to the study, South Korea’s long-term support for its alliance with the United States is threatened by differences over how to deal with North Korea’s nuclear threat. The report also found South Koreans increasingly torn between the danger posed by the nuclear threat and the possible promise of reconciliation and reunification with the North. Uncertainty among South Koreans is heightened by a growing belief that tough U.S. policies toward the North Korean government constitute a threat that rivals the one from the North, the study says.

Wayne Bouchard, executive administrative dean of finance, budget and personnel for Arts, Sciences & Engineering, left Tufts on May 1 to become chief operating officer for the Boston Museum of Science. Bouchard came to Tufts 23 years ago and worked as a clinic accountant at the School of Dental Medicine and the budget and fiscal officer for the School of Veterinary Medicine before moving to Arts, Sciences and Engineering in the early 1990s. In 2000, he was instrumental in the transition of Student Services into Dowling Hall.

Deborah Digges, professor of English, read from her recently published book, Trapeze, at the American Academy of Poets in New York on April 28.

Bess Dopkeen, Rachel Hoff and Tali Paransky, all graduating seniors in the School of Arts & Sciences, have been awarded Dan Dutko Fellowships for 2004–05. This non-partisan public policy management education program provides 10-month public policy internships in Washington, D.C., for graduating Tufts seniors. The program is sponsored by the Dan Dutko Memorial Foundation in partnership with the University College of Citizenship and Public Service. The Dan Dutko Fellowship Program was created by Dan’s wife, Deb Jospin, J80, and the Dutko Group, in memory of Dan after his death in 1999.

Mark Gonthier, associate dean of admissions and student affairs at the School of Dental Medicine, was elected chair of the student affairs section of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) at the organization’s annual session in Seattle. He will chair the admissions, financial aid and student affairs meeting of ADEA when it meets in Chapel Hill, N.C., in late October.

As a result of their outstanding undergraduate work in the sciences, six Tufts seniors and/or recent graduates have been awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships. The recipients are Nancy L. Green in political science, Julie Litzenberger in mechanical engineering, Emily Mower in electrical engineering, Amy Mozlin in microbiology, Adrianna Muir in ecology and Philip Vitorino in pharmacology. The 900 National Science Foundation fellowships awarded each year provide three years of support for advanced study to graduate students in the mathematical, physical, biological, engineering and behavioral and social sciences. Each fellow receives a stipend of $30,000 for a 12-month tenure and an annual allowance of $10,500.

Dr. Jeffrey K. Griffiths, associate professor of family medicine and community health, received one of only 11 grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health’s new Health, Environment and Economic Development Program. Part of an elite group of scientists to receive funding, Griffiths will work with a scientist in Ecuador. Their research is expected to generate new data on the costs, risks and benefits of public policy responses to air and water quality problems in a heavily polluted urban area in Ecuador. In this first round of awards, five projects will be conducted in Africa, three in Latin America, one in India, one in China and one in Syria.

Sharon Mead Halverson, J65, and William R. O’Reilly Jr., A77, were elected to the university’s Board of Trustees in an online alumni election in April. Each will serve a five-year term on the board beginning in May. “Sharon and Bill are both very accomplished and active alumni, and I am thrilled they are joining the board,” said trustee Chairman James Stern, A72. Halverson was most recently executive director of the Council of Community Services in Port Chester/Rye, N.Y. Since 1977, she has worked closely with the Tufts Alumni Council, the governing body of the alumni association, played a central role in her Class of 1965 Reunion Committee and volunteered as an alumni interviewer. O’Reilly is vice chair of the real estate department for the Boston law firm Hale and Dorr. An active member of the alumni association since 1983, O’Reilly helped shape the organization’s goals and objectives as its president from 2000–02. He also served on the Tufts Presidential Search Committee, chaired his 20th Reunion class gift committee and helped found the Boston Tufts Alliance.

Juliana Hsu, D07, has been elected a regional representative to the Council of Students of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). Regional representatives are responsible for coordinating and improving ADEA activities and representation within the schools from their region.

Mary Lee Jacobs, who served as the university’s general counsel for 20 years, left Tufts in April. During her tenure, she advocated for and protected the legal interests of the university, providing advice in-house as well as managing the use of outside counsel.

David Kahle, director of Academic Technology; Gregory Colati, university archivist; and Eliot Wilczek, university records manager, gave a presentation titled “All Things to All People: Combining Resources to Build an Integrated Digital Repository” at the Preservation and Access for Electronic College and University Records conference at Arizona State University in March.

Michael Kahn, professor of oral pathology at the School of Dental Medicine, is one of 21 fellows selected to participate in the 2004–05 American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Leadership Institute, a year-long faculty development program for dental and allied dental education program faculty and administrators. “These individuals are among the nation’s finest dental school educators,” said Dr. Richard W. Valachovic, executive director of ADEA. “They are the trailblazers who will lead our institutions in the future.”

Dr. Gretchen Kaufman, assistant professor of environmental and population health at the School of Veterinary Medicine, has been awarded a Fulbright Senior Specialists grant in environmental science. The award will fund two trips to Nepal this year. This Fulbright program supports experienced faculty while they teach and assist educational institutions in more than 140 developing countries around the world. The national veterinary school at the Institute for Agriculture and Animal Science in Rampur has arranged for Kaufman to teach a course in conservation medicine and assist this young school with curriculum development.

Susan Kouguell, lecturer in the Department of Drama and Dance, is teaching a “Business of Writing” course at the Conservatory of Theatre Arts and Film at Purchase College, SUNY. On June 4, she will be a pitching panelist, listening to screenwriters and filmmakers “pitch” their projects and providing feedback to prepare them for actual pitch sessions with film executives. On June 5, she will present a “Query Letter Workshop” for Scr(i)pt Magazine’s New York City Pitch Xchange.

Dr. John Kulig, professor of pediatrics, family medicine and community health, was elected president of the Society for Adolescent Medicine at the organization’s annual meeting in St. Louis. He will lead the organization from 2005–06. The society is a multidisciplinary organization of 1,350 U.S. and international health professionals.

Richard M. Lerner, Bergstrom Chair in Applied Developmental Science, attended the “Re-imaging After-School” conference at Harvard University in April. He also spoke at the Pasadena Asset Development Conference in Pasadena, Calif. And at Tufts, Lerner hosted a visit by Nancy Hoit, former director of Family Re-Union and former policy consultant and advisor to Vice President Al Gore. The Encyclopedia of Human Ecology, which was edited by Lerner, Pamela M. Anderson, a doctoral student in child study, and Julia R. Miller and Lawrence B. Schiamberg of Michigan State, was selected by Library Journal as a “Best Reference Source of 2003.” In June, Lerner will be speaking at Cornell University’s forum on “Evidence-Based Practice and the Land Grant University: The Challenge for Extension and Outreach,” and he also will attend the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development board meeting.

Vincent P. Manno, associate dean of the School of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering, was elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The distinction—awarded to only two percent of ASME’s 100,000 members—recognizes significant achievement and contributions to the engineering profession. Manno was elected for his contributions to engineering education and research and development.