Volunteer Voice: Sharon Mead Halverson, J65

November 13, 2007--Sharon Mead Halverson modestly considers herself a “fairly typical 1960s graduate.” She is quietly proud of her “post-Tufts” life, including serving as executive director for the Port Chester/Town of Rye (New York) Council of Community Services and her many volunteer activities. Still, it takes a special kind of person to serve the Tufts University Alumni Association for some 30 years, including chairing the financial resources committee. In 2001, Halverson was presented a Distinguished Service Award for her commitment to Tufts, and she continues to serve the university and the Alumni Council as an alumni trustee.

“Tufts made an extraordinary difference in my life. I came from a small town in the Midwest, and Tufts broadened my perspective of the world, and about who I was, and introduced me to exciting new ideas that I had never even contemplated. I have never forgotten that I would not have had that experience without the extensive financial assistance I received. In the 1960s we didn’t talk about active citizenship, but there was an expectation that those of us who had been given this outstanding education would ‘give back’ to our communities and to Tufts. I am sure that is why I have been so committed to fundraising for scholarships in my work with the Council, my class, and now as a trustee.

“In 2004 I was elected an alumni trustee, and it has opened an entirely different aspect of the university to me. Tufts is a very large ‘business’ . . . a business to produce educated citizens, scholars, and research. Trustees assist the president in making the important financial and academic decisions that he must make daily for the health of the university. As alumni trustees we have a special responsibility to maintain the liberal arts traditions, but also to help guide this incredible global research university into the future. Tufts has a remarkable leader in President Bacow, and it has been a privilege to work with him on the critical issues that face the university. I serve on the Academic Affairs Committee, which works intimately with the provost on academic policy and tenure issues.

“I have had the opportunity to chair many Council committees, but my main focus has always been fundraising for scholarships. Currently, with my fellow alumni trustee, Bill O’Reilly, A78, I co-chair the Alumni Council’s Campaign to raise $20 million for the Beyond Boundaries campaign. In this first year of the challenge, the Council has raised some $7 million, and we now have almost one-third of the Council membership giving at a “leadership” level. 

“What I had as a student at Tufts enriched my life, and I want to be sure others in the future have that same opportunity.  As my personal contribution to Beyond Boundaries, I am working to create my own endowed scholarship. That way I know that I can help other young Sharon Meads out there who want to attend Tufts in the future.”