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THE TUFTS DAILY
Where You Read It First Est. 1980 TUFTSDAILY.COM
VOLUME LXI, NUMBER 28
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
University this summer to begin process of replacing SIS
Bob Woodward, of Watergate fame, to give this semester’s Snyder Lecture
by
Marissa Gallerani Senior Staff Writer
University Information Technology (UIT) and Student Services staff on July 1 will begin an almost two-year project to create a replacement for the current Student Information System (SIS) in an effort to link Tufts’ campuses under one new uniform technology for functions like class registration, transcript requests and billing. The project will involve UIT staff and representatives from across the university and necessitate the construction of a temporary building behind Jackson Gym and Pearson Hall to house operations, according to Vice President for Operations Dick Reynolds. Tufts’ current information system has long been obsolete, according to Executive Director of Planning and Administration Martha Pokras. “Our current system is outdated and cumbersome and doesn’t interface well with other new modern systems, like the new [online] housing system,” she said. The system has also been a hindrance to the universitywide consolidation of passwords that will begin this semester alongside the ongoing student and faculty transition to the Microsoft Exchange e-mail platform, according to Director of Communications and Organizational Effectiveness for UIT Dawn Irish. Pokras said that uniformity across the school’s campuses is the main goal in the push for a new system. “It is terribly important at a place like Tufts, with a lot of
different schools, to have one system for the whole university,” she said. Tufts’ peer universities have been updating their student information systems since the first generation of SIS systems became obsolete eight years ago, Irish said, adding that the new system’s developers will be able to learn from other school’s mistakes when upgrading Tufts’ systems. “We’re trying to see as many bumps as possible so we can avoid them, and one thing that our peer institutions have done has been sharing their experiences with us,” Pokras said. “We’re learning from their successes and mistakes and are going to try very hard to avoid as many mistakes as we can.” The current SIS has been in use at Tufts for 30 years and the system’s original vendor no longer supports the system, according to Irish. The university will design a replacement system with students’ needs and the need for uniformity in mind. “A lot has changed in technology in the last thirty years,” she said. “We’re now looking for systems with a lot more functionality and integration between systems.” “Tufts is a little behind many of our peer institutions in putting in a new student information system,” Pokras added. “We want to be in a position to provide the students and faculty with the most accurate, timely and secure information.” In the replacement process’s initial phase, university staff see SIS, page 2
by
Ben Gittleson
Daily Editorial Board
Bob Woodward, part of the pair of reporters who broke the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post in the early 1970s, will next month deliver this semester’s Richard E. Snyder President’s Lecture, according to James Glaser, dean of academic affairs for arts and sciences. The Snyder lecture series has historically provided a forum for speakers to present provocative viewpoints on significant issues. Woodward, a prolific journalist and author who is now an associate editor at the Post, will on April 25 give a talk in Cohen Auditorium titled “From Nixon to Obama.” “He established his career by challenging a president — an administration — and as a result, he changed journalism and he and his partner had a profound impact on the course of history,” Glaser said. “There are very few people out there like that.” Woodward’s investigative reporting with Carl Bernstein on the Watergate scandal in the 1970s led to the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon and a Pulitzer Prize for the Post. Since then, Woodward has served in a number of capacities at the newspaper and written numerous bestselling books on American politics. Woodward and Bernstein’s 1974 book about their role in revealing the Watergate scandal, “All the President’s Men,” was subsequently made into an eponymous feature-length film featuring Robert Redford. Glaser said he hopes to arrange a screening of the award-winning movie the
Leontief Prize awarded to Stern, Weitzman
MCT
Famed journalist Bob Woodward will deliver this semester’s Snyder Lecture with a talk titled “From Nixon to Obama.” week before Woodward’s visit. The famous investigative reporter’s nonfiction writing has focused in particular on recent U.S. presidents, with four volumes in the last decade about the George W. Bush administration’s foreign policy. His most recent book, “Obama’s Wars” (2010), explores President Barack Obama’s role in
Tralins
Contributing Writer
Ashley Seenauth/Tufts Daily
Inside this issue
see WOODWARD, page 2
Students discuss local policy issues, contribution to Mass2040 Blueprint by Sarah
Nicholas Stern, of the London School of Economics, right, last night accepted the annual Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought along with fellow winner Martin Weitzman, left, a professor of economics at Harvard University. Tufts’ Global Development and Environment Institute recognized the two economists’ contributions to the field of study relating to the economic feasibility of reducing greenhouse gases. See full coverage of the event in tomorrow’s Daily.
the war on terror and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a 2000 book evaluated the impact of the Watergate scandal on the five presidents who followed Nixon. The sponsor of the lecture series, former Simon and Schuster
Students last night discussed sustainable policy ideas to improve the country in the next 30 years in a forum hosted by the Tufts chapter of the Roosevelt Institute. The ideas sparked by the discussion will later be fleshed out into policy proposals and submitted for inclusion in the Mass2040 Blueprint for the Millennial Massachusetts, a platform that showcases policy issues and facilitates student collaboration on future policy. The forum was the last of a three-part series sponsored by the Tufts chapter as part of the Think 2040 initiative, a project that aims to foster political dialogue and encourage students to contribute to developing policy in their respective states, according to Roosevelt co-President Regina Smedinghoff, a junior. The project also provides students with the resources to write policy and promote their ideas on a national level. The discussion last night focused on students’ desires for policy change in education, energy and equal justice. Students debated what issues to focus on in the Blueprint and
examined what has gone into the Blueprints compiled by other states as part of the national Think2040 campaign. Smedinghoff and the chapter’s other coPresident Sigourney Norman, a junior, led the discussion. Freshman Josette West spoke about environmental justice issues in transportation. She and Norman discussed the environmental implications of subway expansion and the effects it has on surrounding neighborhoods. West also emphasized the importance of widespread research on environmental policy. “I think it’s important to really focus on the ideas and not discount anything because it’s too specific,” West said about environmental policy changes. “These are problems to face everywhere.” In regards to education, the students debated the effectiveness of standardized school funding. Such an approach, according to Smedinghoff, would evenly distribute tax money to public schools all over Massachusetts, rather than the tax money see BLUEPRINT, page 2
Today’s Sections
California natives often have a tough time adapting to East Coast living.
Restaurant Week offers Boston high-end food at not-so-high prices.
see FEATURES, page 3
see ARTS, page 5
News Features Arts | Living Editorial | Letters
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Op-Ed Comics Sports Classifieds
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