Q&a: Monaco sits for final annual interview with the daily, reflects on accomplishments, hopes for the future of Tufts

by Julia Shannon-Grillo and Aaron Gruen Editor in Chief and Executive News Editor

As his 12-year tenure as president of Tufts University comes to a close, Anthony Monaco sat down with the Daily to discuss his legacy, accomplishments and hopes for the university’s future.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Tufts Daily (TD): President Monaco, thank you so much. We’re so honored to be doing your end-of-year interview. The first question we had was — knowing that your time as president would be coming to a close at the end of this year — what kind of experience has the last year been for you?

Anthony Monaco (AM): It’s been an experience which I would describe as normal but not normal. We as a community went back to many in-person traditions. The Joyce Cummings Center and the opening of the Green Line featured quite prominently in our sense of coming back. There were many more events at the Cummings Center, the views were wonder- ful, the spaces were great for students and the ballroom as an open space for either student- or university-run events really made a difference. It was a moment of pride coming out of the pandemic that we could accomplish that. It really changed the nucleus of activity in a sense.

I would say that the TCU Senate and the events they organized really made us feel like we were back to normal, and people were interacting well. But at the same time, it’s on a