An Entrepreneurial University: The Transformation of Tufts, 1976-2002

In 1981, Sol Gittleman was named Provost of Tufts University. He retired in 2002, after twenty-one years of service, the longest-serving Provost in the history of American higher education. In An Entrepreneurial University Gittleman leads the reader on an entertaining journey through the sometimes turbulent history of Tufts University since the 1970s, placing Tufts’ growth in the context of the ever-evolving world of American higher education. These often tumultuous years were dominated by the challenges presented by the rise of multiculturalism and affirmative action, financial crisis in higher education, student activism, and the changing face of American higher education. During his tenure as Provost, Gittleman administered the typical University arts, sciences, and engineering programs, he also oversaw significant growth and change in Tufts’ specialized fields—the School of Medicine, the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Nutrition, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and the School of Veterinary Medicine—as well as Tufts’ expanding overseas opportunities, its proliferating of Ph.D. programs, and its burgeoning academic reputation. This evolution naturally sparked academic and personal rivalries and collaborations, which are explored in An Entrepreneurial University. Gittleman served with distinction under three very stylistically different presidents, the extraordinary Jean Mayer, John DiBiaggio, and Lawrence Bacow, who arrived in May 2001. The book focuses on Tufts University and beyond its campus to American higher education in general, through the eyes of one of the most significant players, Provost Gittleman.