Customer Reviews

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

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Let's face it - if you're looking at this book you are either a Tufts graduate or a Tufts supporter. Dr. Gittleman's book comprises the third volume of the history of Tufts University. And with nothing against Russell Miller's two volumes of Light on the Hill, Sol's book reads a lot more lively in no small part because it is written by someone who was on the inside during this transformative period rather than researching it from the outside. Gittleman was in the middle of the changes he talks about and brings an immediate and inside view of the Mayer and DiBiaggio presidencies. While not a "tell all" book, it does contain a lot of comments, stories and insights that would not be found in researching archives. The problems of the Mayer years is not glossed over - the turbulence of Mayer's forceful management style and the havoc he wrought as he changed the school is presented in detail. And despite his position on the Hill, Gittleman is able to speak of the other schools - the battles being waged by (sometimes petty jealous and power hungry) players at the medical school, the unique relations of the Fletcher School and the tumultuous births of the school of nutrition and the veterinarian school. For anyone who lived through the era, it is interesting to see if your own perceptions and memories align with the story Dr. Gittleman tells. The book is the right length, and extremely readable. A must for Tufts friends, and a worthy successor to Light on the Hill.