Blueprint Spring 2013

New lights take flight

The season for renewing, and celebrating, leadership

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University AdvancementTufts University, 80 George St., 200-3 Medford, MA 02155 USA 617.627.3200 • [email protected]

Chair, Board of TrusteesJames A. Stern, E72, A07P

PresidentAnthony P. Monaco

Provost & Senior Vice President David R. Harris

Vice President for University AdvancementEric Johnson

Published by Advancement Communications. Heather Stephenson, editor; Michael Sherman, design director.

A great university looks to its Board of Trustees for inspiration, guidance, and financial steward-ship to support its mission and ensure its long-term future. Tufts University has been fortu-nate to have such leadership. At the same time that this issue of Blueprint celebrates leaders in many arenas on campus, I’d like to offer a special thanks to those who serve on our board.

At the helm: Tufts benefits from steady hands

FROM THE PRESIDENT

“ An important

upcoming

transition on our

Board of Trustees

will continue the

tradition of strong

leadership.”

An important upcoming transition on our Board

of Trustees will continue the tradition of strong

leadership. In February, Peter R. Dolan, A78, A08P,

was elected chair designate, to succeed current

Board Chair James A. Stern, E72, A07P, when he

steps down this November.

Jim Stern has been a tireless supporter of

Tufts since joining the board in 1982. His numer-

ous accomplishments include spearheading two

successful comprehensive campaigns that together

raised more than $1.8 billion for Tufts. In addition

to contributing generously to the annual fund each

year, he and his wife, Jane, A07P, made extraordi-

nary gifts to support the faculty and students of

Tufts, underwriting three endowed professorships

and boosting financial aid for undergraduate and

graduate students. Every year, he makes a special

trip to campus to meet with the Stern Scholars,

something the students eagerly anticipate.

Jim has also given significant amounts of his

time and talent to Tufts. During his tenure on

the board, Jim has emphasized good governance

through full and open participation, transparency,

and strong committee involvement. In all, Jim has

guided four Tufts presidents, and I count myself

extremely fortunate to have had his counsel and

support during my first two years at Tufts.

Peter Dolan shares the same passion for Tufts

and has shown his own extraordinary commit-

ment to the university for three decades. Elected to

the board in 2001, he has become intimately famil-

iar with the strategic direction of the university.

He has been a member of eight board committees

and chaired the administration and finance, audit,

and presidential search committees. He has served

Tufts trustees Jim Stern, left, and Peter Dolan

Preparing New Leaders

Each fall, a new crop of talented students arrives at Tufts. Whether it’s the teenager who wrote and recorded an a cappella version of

Green Eggs and Ham or the aspiring engineer who compared the bearing load of a Gothic buttress to the arch of her Jimmy Choo stilettos, they demonstrate an eclectic mix of talent, intelligence, and creativity. At the graduate schools, too, students arrive bearing amazing gifts: A young man currently at Tufts University School of Medicine, for example, researches cancer because he is a survivor himself; and a father of two from Zimbabwe studies new breeds of corn at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in hopes of preventing vitamin deficiencies that kill children in southern Africa.

After completing their studies, more than 3,000 of these hard-working people embark on their next adventures each spring. They leave even better prepared to apply their talents for the common good, wherever they may go.

This doesn’t happen by chance. It’s by design. At Tufts, we are committed to developing the next generation of leaders—over and over again. We encourage our students to tackle tough challenges and devise creative solutions. With the guidance of mentors inside the classroom and out, they practice the skills of leadership—analyzing ideas, crafting strategies, and winning support for their efforts.

As alumni, Tufts graduates carry those skills around the globe, improving society as leaders in their professions and their communities. They also offer essential expertise to the university as advisors who help us make strategic plans for our future.

Thanks to Tufts, new leaders are always emerging, ready to help us adapt and thrive in challenging times. It’s as predictable and necessary as tulips blooming in spring. And just as much cause for celebration.

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At the helm: Tufts benefits from steady handson the Executive Committee since 2003 and was elected

a vice chair of the board in 2008.

His leadership ability is further demonstrated by

more than three decades of professional accomplish-

ments at General Foods, Bristol-Myers Squibb—where

he served as CEO from 2001 to 2006—Gemin X, and

Vitality Health. A donor to a variety of schools and

initiatives within the university, Peter is the chair of

ChildObesity180, an initiative at the Friedman School

of Nutrition Science and Policy that is committed to

reversing the childhood obesity trend through a multi-

sector approach. Peter has helped to raise approxi-

mately $16 million for the initiative.

I thank both Jim and Peter for their strong service

and loyalty to Tufts—just as I thank the countless oth-

ers who help make this university great through their

leadership.

Best wishes,

Tony Monaco

News of Giving, Growth, and Gratitude Spring 2013

By Dan Eisner

A new venture is allowing annual fund donors

to target their gifts to support people and pro-

grams that are especially meaningful to them,

such as student research or scholarships.

Known as microphilanthropy, the model being introduced at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy allows a donor to track a project’s progress online as it approaches its funding goal. By directly linking donors to a cause that inspires them, this Internet crowd-funding platform, which launched in March, helps people connect with the impact of their gift.

The initial priority areas seeking funding by June 30 include financial aid for students in the Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance (MAHA) program at the Feinstein International Center and in the com-bined master’s in nutrition and dietetic internship at Tufts Medical Center and the Friedman School. Donors will also be able to give to the student research innovation fund at the Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, a summer internship fund for a student from Dillard University, financial aid for people from backgrounds that are underrepresented at the Friedman School, the graduating class gift, and a student project.

Each Friedman School microphilanthropy project will have a champion, or angel investor, who will donate half of the funding target and lead outreach efforts. One of the first angel investors is Cristiana Falcone Sorrell, N01, F01, who gave $25,000 to MAHA financial aid. The senior advisor to the chair of the World Economic Forum and a member of the Friedman School Board of Advisors, she is one of many graduates who have benefited from MAHA’s mission to help professionals learn how to respond effectively to humanitarian emergencies.

“I was awarded a scholarship myself, so now that I can afford it, it is my turn to enable young prac-titioners to succeed,” she says. “I am proud to be able to help lead the initiative and empower the next generation of international humanitarian aid professionals.”

To learn more about making a microphilanthropic gift, go to crowdrise.com/tuftsmicro.

MicrophilanthropyNew technologies are helping

more donors to think big

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Spring 2013 News of Giving, Growth, and Gratitude

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With wisdom and gratitude, an alumna gives to

tomorrow’s generations

By Micah Bluming

Nancy McManus, J52, has history going for her. At

Tufts, her father, aunt, and uncle all preceded her

as Jumbos. Born Nancy Hopkins, she’s also a direct

descendent of Stephen Hopkins, who sailed to

these shores on the Mayflower in 1620. Historians

believe Hopkins’s maiden trans-Atlantic voyage from

England in 1609, when he was shipwrecked in Bermuda, may

have been the inspiration for Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

They also believe that his subsequent journey to Jamestown,

Virginia, imbued him with enough knowledge to help his

fellow colonists survive the Mayflower crossing and the harsh

New England winter that met them on Cape Cod.

Needless to say, pioneering is in McManus’s blood.

It’s no surprise then that she was one of the first to give

$100,000 to endow a new scholarship fund through the

Tufts Financial Aid Initiative. As part of a university-wide

drive to increase financial aid, Tufts is offering to match any

newly established endowed scholarship of $100,000 or more,

doubling the impact of these gifts. McManus named her

scholarship the Hopkins Family Scholarship, in honor of her

heritage.

When McManus was growing up, her father, Cleon

Hopkins, A27, J52P, never gave her the option of not attend-

ing college. At Tufts, she quickly discovered something that

would change her life forever: biology. “I was fascinated,”

she says. “I took every biology course I could and eventually

became premed.”

Lacking female doctors as mentors, McManus instead

turned to laboratory work. She became involved in cutting-

edge research on how the body’s cells fight off pathogens.

This eventually led her to San Francisco, where she con-

ducted research on one of the first samples of the AIDS virus,

much of which was published in peer-reviewed papers.

Twenty years after retiring, McManus felt it was the right

time to give back to Tufts, especially during an initiative that

would double her gift.

“I just feel fortunate to be able to endow a scholarship.

It will be here forever,” she says of her own piece of Tufts

history.

For more information about endowing a

scholarship through the Tufts Financial

Aid Initiative, please contact Jeff Winey,

director of principal and leadership gifts,

at 617.627.5468 or [email protected].

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Daniel Gonzalez, D15, was

only 11 and spoke no English

when he arrived in the United

States. He knew no one here

except his mother and younger

brother, and missed his family

and friends back home in Colombia,

especially his father, a periodontist who

stayed behind. But Gonzalez worked

hard and eventually won a scholarship

to a local private school. He had cleared

the toughest hurdles of his young life.

Then, his English teacher gave him an F.

“It was eye-opening,” he says now

of that painful moment. “She sat down

with me and a teacher from the Spanish

department to analyze my papers and

show I was not the writer or student I

was made out to be.”

Gonzalez could have given up then

and there, but he committed himself to

improving. His English teacher became a

mentor, and together they traveled on a

school service-learning trip to Romania,

where he had a chance to volunteer at

a local shelter. As he fed and cared for

orphaned and abandoned children,

Gonzalez realized how lucky he was. “I

almost wanted to adopt a kid,” he says.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t old enough.”

Instead, Gonzalez returned home

and organized a free dinner for home-

less men as his Eagle Scout project. The

event in Cambridge, Mass., fed more

than 130 people. Gonzalez also put

together hygiene kits to hand out, filling

them with toiletries including tooth-

brushes and toothpaste donated by Tufts

University School of Dental Medicine.

Now a dental student at Tufts,

Gonzalez continues his commitment

to helping others. The president-elect

of the Tufts chapter of the Hispanic

Dental Association (HDA), he has trav-

eled to the Dominican Republic with

that group to help a team providing

free dental care. “I like mission trips,”

he says, “because they immerse you in

a culture and you can see the social fac-

tors promoting medical problems that

can be prevented, not just treated.”

Gonzalez also participates in

monthly HDA community outreach

programs that provide free basic dental

care and education in the Boston area.

He won an award at the annual, student-

run Bates-Andrews Research Day his

first year, for his research on risk factors

for oral cancer among Hispanics in

Massachusetts. He’s involved in many

other projects too, from organizing a

Medical students head to English High to help

adolescents work on community health issues

Staying HIP in “a tough place”By Kristin Livingston, A05

“ Given my personality and what I like to do,

I will probably combine private practice with

community work.”

By Heather Stephenson

Aspiring dentist overcomes obstacles to serve

Salado, left, and Baier

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For teenagers, peer pressure is the strongest

force on earth.

This was one of three lessons Emily

Frank, M15, learned when she taught middle

school life science in California. (The other

two: kids can do anything in a structured

environment, and they do care about their

health.) So when it came time for her to fulfill her

Community Service Learning (CSL) requirement

at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM),

she followed her “inner teacher” to English High

School in Jamaica Plain, Mass.

Frank founded the Health Impact Partnership

(HIP) at English High two years ago. Fellow vol-

unteer Kevin Baier, M15, describes the school as “a

tough place,” where many students don’t care, don’t

want to be there, or are recent immigrants facing a

huge language barrier. “They need extra support to

inspire them to commit to learning.”

Thanks to HIP, a dozen TUSM students head

to English High once a week to help adolescents

research and address community health issues. The

teens in turn have become health ambassadors,

organizing events like a recent information session

on obesity, diabetes, and healthy eating, featuring

excerpts from Morgan Spurlock’s film, Super Size

Me. They ended the session with a survey to see if

their classmates had changed their attitudes toward

fast food. Among the results: 25 percent said they

“would not continue” and 75 percent said they

“would maybe stop” eating unhealthy foods.

The CSL requirement is more meaningful

than simply volunteering, Baier says: “It’s directed

at making sustainable contributions to the com-

munity.” Having mentored 17-year-old Keysa

Salado for the past two years, he can see the impact

firsthand.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Salado

moved to the United States and began learning

English just two years ago—but her confidence

was clear at a recent gathering at TUSM, where

she presented HIP’s Super Size Me survey results

before a packed classroom of medical students and

professionals.

“The most gratifying thing has been watch-

ing her grow,” Baier says. Salado is not only mak-

ing presentations; she’s helping her fellow English

learners when they struggle. “I’m changing,” she

says. “Slowly, but I am changing. This has been a

big help.”

The Tufts Medical Alumni Association (TMAA) is a driving force of funding for Community Service Learning projects like the Health Impact Partnership (HIP) at English High School. Thanks to contributing members of the TMAA, the association is able to make annual donations to the Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) Student Activities Council, which then allocates financial sup-port to HIP and other student experiences that are vital to a TUSM education.

In 2012, thanks to funding by the TMAA, a group of TUSM students traveled to Guatemala and worked with local commu-nities to address maternal stress in poverty. Other groups spoke to underserved popula-tions in San Juan, Nicaragua about the easiest ways to prevent diabetes, and worked on public health initiatives in Boston, among many other projects.

“The TMAA is directly supporting students as they become global active citizens,” says TMAA President Laurence Bailen, M93. ”Our alumni members play a principal role in helping to train the next generation of health-care leaders.”

Tufts Dental soccer team to teaching

biology in a summer program for low-

income high school students.

Throughout, Gonzalez is driven

by a call to service. His parents have

encouraged him on this path with their

own professional choices: His mother

is a social worker, and his father, who

had to stop practicing dentistry when

he joined the family in the United

States, now works as a health-care

manager and is spearheading an effort

to improve dental care for the elderly.

Gonzalez is also grateful for the Tiberi

Family Scholarship, which helps cover

his expenses and lets him focus on his

studies and service projects. Although he

loves dental school, he says, “It can get

pretty expensive, and I don’t want that to

inhibit my choices for the future. Given

my personality and what I like to do, I

will probably combine private practice

with community work.”

Aspiring dentist overcomes obstacles to serve

Gonzalez


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By Kristin Livingston, A05

F

or Fredric Berger, P.E., A69, form-

ative moments frequently happen

at the dinner table. When Berger’s

father, former Tufts trustee Louis

“Doc” Berger, Ph.D., E36, H65, A69P,

built his engineering firm internation-

ally as well as domestically, “he would

often bring people from all over the

world home with him for dinner,” says

Berger. That early multicultural expo-

sure drove Berger to work in the family

business in more than 100 countries.

Berger’s career began with a three-

week pavement testing assignment that

turned into a three-year adventure in

Nigeria. “I had the opportunity to learn

on the job: finance, economics, engi-

neering, transportation planning, agri-

culture, urban planning,” Berger says.

“The more countries I worked in, the

more it reinforced my belief that engi-

neers, to be useful in the 21st century,

need to have international experience

and a global perspective.”

Now, when he comes to the Hill for

the School of Engineering’s Board of

Advisors meetings, Berger sets up din-

ners in Davis Square with engineering

and non-engineering students. “I like to

hear their stories and find out what is

really happening on campus,” he says.

Berger’s desire to stimulate cross-

disciplinary cooperation is matched in

the Engineers Without Borders initia-

tive, a cooperative effort between the

School of Engineering and the Institute

for Global Leadership, for which Berger

also serves as an advisor. The program

brings undergraduates from all aca-

demic backgrounds together to solve

challenges in the developing world.

Now chair of the Louis Berger

Group Inc. and director of its par-

ent company, Berger Group Holdings,

Berger has worked on major infrastruc-

Designing solutions around the globe

“ The more countries I worked in, the more it reinforced my belief that engineers, to be useful in the 21st century, need to have international experience and a global perspective.”

Above, Fredric Berger, P.E., A69,

and his wife, Elizabeth Brannan, J69. Right, Berger on assignment in

Nigeria in 1973.


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ture projects around the world. He is

a founding trustee of the American

University of Afghanistan, the only

coeducational, independent, private

university in Afghanistan, and is an advi-

sory board member of the University

of California, San Diego’s School of

International Relations and Pacific

Studies. He was also recently appointed

to the International Advisory Council

of the United States Institute of Peace.

In that same spirit of global citizen-

ship, Berger’s wife, Elizabeth “Betty”

Brannan, J69—also a child of a Tufts

engineer (Francis Brannan, E38)—has

been a columnist and correspondent for

Panama’s leading daily paper, La Prensa,

since 1990. In 2009, one of her many

influential columns proposed creating a

museum in Panama that would promote

better understanding of citizen rights

and freedoms in a democracy, as well as

documenting what occurred during the

military dictatorship that ruled Panama

from 1968 to 1989. The idea was picked

up and Panama’s Museum of Freedom

and Human Rights is preparing to break

ground in early 2014.

Leaders in their fields, the Bergers

are heading the charge to support

university-wide learning with their

generous support of the School of

Engineering, the Institute for Global

Leadership, and Engineers Without Bor-

ders at Tufts. Says Fred, “The conjunc-

tion of these programs allows students to

understand that no matter how brilliant

their designs, it is rarely a sustainable

solution absent context sensitivity.”

collection and protecting the water from contamination. Below is an excerpt of a blog post about that project, written by Grace Olsen, E15 (below, left).

“The most important lesson we learned in Porvenir: You’ve really got to plan for electricity.

“We went down to the spring box to install the lid and shouted victory when we discovered that our estimated lid shape per-fectly fit the front curve of the box. However, after about half an hour of drilling, we had almost completely worn down the drill battery and were only halfway through the first hole.

“After rummaging through a box of ‘things volunteer groups leave here,’ I headed back to the spring box, arms full of drills and batteries. We started drilling another hole. The drill died. We got another drill. It died. It was getting dark.

“Soon we saw half the community coming down the hill to see the lid. The men swarmed around, saw our dilemma, and picked up our tools.

“While at first we were disappointed that our lid had not suc-ceeded, we realized this work was never about us doing some-thing for them. That kind of work is unsustainable. So while we weren’t proud of our failed lid, we know that this was in many ways better: we had inspired several community members to get involved and work together on making something for themselves. We had brought the need for a lid to their atten-tion, and we had presented a design idea, tools, and solutions, and they built and completed the project.

“I am sunburnt, tired, and covered in dirt and sweat. I think I want to do this job my whole life.”

Students from Tufts Engineers Without Borders spent this most recent spring break in El Salvador working on water-related projects. In El Porvenir they renovated the lid of a spring box, which optimizes use of a natural spring by creating a point of

Engineers Without Borders: Sustainable changes

Designing solutions around the globe


By Laura Ferguson

Jessie Markovich, D.V.M., D.A.C.V.I.M., often sees animals that are desperate for help. Sometimes the diagnosis and treatment are quick: dialysis for the dog that ate a box of raisins, or surgery for the cat with a kidney stone.

But Markovich, a resident in nutrition at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, also sees pets whose underlying problems are more enigmatic. Cats, for instance, “usually have three clinical signs that something is wrong: they vomit, stop eating, and lose weight,” she says. “They want you to have to work to figure it out.”

Markovich is up to the challenge. Already board-certified in internal medicine, she is developing and refining new therapies for cats and dogs afflicted with illnesses such as chronic kidney disease. She focuses on nutrition. The Cummings School, nationally recognized for its leadership in clinical nutrition and nephrology, is a perfect fit for her.

“I feel spoiled to be here,” she says. “The collaboration is fantastic, and I have access to a wealth of knowledge and experience. I get to learn all the time—from my colleagues and the students.”

Upcoming renovations to the Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals will strengthen this capacity for collaboration by creating additional state-of-the-art exam rooms, larger treatment rooms, and expanded teaching and consultation spaces, she adds.

To complement her clinical work, Markovich is also conducting research. She recently wrapped up an online survey of more than 1,000 cat owners in 48 states and 10 countries whose pets have chronic kidney disease, looking at variables such as nutrition and medication to determine if they affect its progression.

“We don’t know all of the causes of these diseases,” she says, “but our goal is to provide the highest quality of life for as long as we can. Every study is about breaking the problem apart and trying to find what small difference one small change can make. You might try to find foods that are more appealing to a cat and that help slow the progression of kidney disease at the same time. That may not sound like a big change. But if it works, then I have done what I could to improve the quality of life for that cat, and that’s why I’m here.”

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To learn more about supporting the renovation of the Tufts Veterinary Hospitals, please contact Ana Alvarado, senior director of development and alumni relations, at the Cummings School,


Caring deeplyRenovations to the Foster Hospital will create additional state-of-the-art exam rooms, larger treatment rooms, and expanded teaching and

consultation spaces.

Markovich


By Heather Stephenson

W

hen the People Power Revolution in the Philippines toppled

dictator Ferdinand Marcos and elevated Corazon Aquino

to the presidency in 1986, Charles H. Dallara, F75, F76,

F86, set out to meet the new leader immediately as part of

a high-level U.S. delegation. He wanted to offer financial

support for her nascent democratic government, and given his dual

roles as senior deputy assistant secretary for international affairs at the

U.S. Treasury and U.S. executive director of the International Monetary

Fund, he had the power to do so.

He also had a key ally, who accompanied him to Aquino’s office:

U.S. Ambassador Stephen W. Bosworth, who would later become the

dean of the Fletcher School.

“Steve was a very savvy ambassador, very supportive and construc-

tive,” says Dallara, who has been a member of the board of advisors of

the Fletcher School since 1997 and is now vice chair. “Steve is not a loud

leader, but he’s a strong one.”

More than 25 years after that fateful day in Manila, Dallara is work-

ing with other Fletcher advisors to raise funds for the Bosworth Scholars

program. The endowed scholarship will honor the dean, who steps down

from his post at the end of this academic year, and continue his efforts to

make Fletcher affordable for talented students from around the globe.

“The Fletcher School has benefited me throughout my career,”

Dallara says. “It prepared me to be a problem solver in the real world

of economic policy making, where you need to understand economics,

finance, and politics. And Steve has led a period of tremendous growth

and development at Fletcher, so it is entirely appropriate that his legacy

be cemented by the launch of the Bosworth Scholars program.”

Married with three grown children, Dallara recently left the

Institute of International Finance, where he was the managing direc-

tor and CEO for nearly 20 years. In that role, he represented more than

400 global financial institutions, including many of the world’s largest

banks, most visibly during negotiations over restructuring Greece’s debt.

Dallara is now a vice chair of Partners Group, a global private

equity firm. “Rather than dealing with the macro picture all the time, as

I have been for many years,” he says, “I thought it would be interesting

to get involved directly in investing in the real economy.”

For more information about supporting the Bosworth Scholars, please contact Jennifer Weingarden Lowrey, senior director of development and alumni relations,


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Investing wisely“ Steve has led a period of tremendous growth and development at Fletcher, so it is entirely appropriate that his legacy be cemented by the launch of the Bosworth Scholars program.”

Dallara

University Advancement 80 George Street, Suite 200-3, Medford, MA 02155

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PA I D BOSTON, MA PERMIT NO. 1161

PRINTER ADD CORRECT

FSC MARK HERE

In her first job out of gradu-ate school, Francine (Frankie) Trull, AG80, worked for Dr. Jean Mayer, then the president of Tufts, and helped establish the only veterinary school in New England, now known as the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. That early exper-ience involved successfully lobbying Congress for support for the school and proved influential in her

future career. Trull now has more than 30 years of experience as a lobbyist.

A native of Massachusetts, Trull is a life-long horsewoman who has been involved in showing horses and raising thoroughbreds. She lives on a farm in Virginia, along with two house cats, a dog, six Angus cows, and five horses, including a miniature horse.

Trull’s professional work aligns with the Cummings School’s efforts to advance global health to benefit animals and humans. As founder and president of the National Association for Biomedical Research and the Foundation for Biomedical Research, she represents the biomedical research community, sup-porting its interests in laboratory animal research. In 1995, she also founded Policy Directions, through which she works on policy issues affecting bio-medical research, medical education, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies.

Blueprint asked her to share her perspec-tive on a life surrounded by animals.

Q. You were part of the team that suc-cessfully lobbied Congress as part of the establishment of the Cummings School. What do you think the government’s role in funding education and research should be?

A. Funding of education and research are excellent examples of public/pri-vate partnerships. The whole country benefits from an educated public and a dynamic research enterprise. Especially during these challenging fiscal times, federal and state support must be balanced with private support. The veterinary school would not exist with-out the essential initial federal support provided directly from Congress, but it’s been the largesse of private donors, like the Cummings and Foster families and others, that has enabled the Cummings School to provide outstanding profes-sional training.

Q. You’ve been an advocate for bio-medical laboratory research. How do you respond to criticism of animal research?

A. I’ve been an advocate for medical dis-covery to improve lives for people and animals. Laboratory animals continue to be an essential element in the discov-ery process, so it’s the responsibility of researchers, veterinarians, and animal caretakers to ensure that these animals are provided excellent care and steward-ship. In a perfect world, there would be no need for animal models. Critics of this practice are often driven by sincere emo-tion and the belief there are non-animal methods, like computer models, that can glean the same information derived from laboratory animals. Alas, science isn’t there yet.

Q. As a life-long horsewoman and pet owner, how do you balance your life on a farm with your lobbying efforts in the corridors of Congress?

A. I’m a third-generation horseman and it was always my dream to have a horse farm. I’m lucky enough to be living that dream in the beautiful Virginia coun-tryside. Back in D.C., I enjoy the policy debates, the negotiations, the cajoling of lawmakers and regulators to accept proposals and support issues for the various interests I represent. But working with Congress can be very frustrating, so getting back home to my farm and my wonderful animals helps me keep my grip on sanity.

Q. What is most gratifying about your work with the Cummings Board of Advisors?

A. I feel an enormous sense of pride and appreciation for where the Cummings School started and where it is today. I owe so much to Tufts. Many of the people I met when I first started at Tufts proved to be some of the most influ-ential people in my career, including President Mayer and Henry Foster. The Cummings board has allowed me to come back to Tufts all these years later and work with wonderful, smart people who are as committed to and excited about the school as we early pioneers were. It’s my privilege to be a part of this team of advisors and to give back to Tufts in some small way.

An Advisor’s perspective…

Francine (Frankie) Trull, AG80 Advisor, Cummings

School of Veterinary Medicine

Blueprint Spring 2013

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Transcript of Blueprint Spring 2013