January 21, 2026
Dear Tufts community members,
I hope all of you had a pleasant holiday break and a wonderful start to the new year.
As I welcome you back to the start of a new semester and a new calendar year, I want to share with all of you a final draft of the Tufts Beyond 175 strategic plan for your comments before finalizing it with the board of trustees.
This plan is the outcome of a broad range of conversations with stakeholders across the university. The university partnered with the Association of American Universities (AAU) to facilitate a quantitative data gathering process through surveys of students, faculty, staff, and alumni in addition to doing a nationwide analysis of Tufts’ position within higher education institutions in various markets and geographic regions. The AAU also assisted us in the qualitative data gathering effort by organizing numerous focus groups. The plan was then reviewed by the school deans, the Academic Council, the senior leadership team, and alumni groups and stakeholders before arriving at its current form.
Throughout the process, I have taken care to ensure that the plan is complementary to the aspirations and vision being developed by the deans at their schools. At the same time, the goal was to focus on how best to strengthen the university, and in the process continue to support our community, so that the institution retains its distinctive stature for the long-term.
During this public comment period, I encourage you to share your perspectives by filling out the feedback form on the Tufts Beyond 175 website. I plan to present the plan to the trustees for final approval this spring, before formally launching the plan in fall 2026.
The development of the plan would not have been possible without the help of several colleagues across the university led by Provost Caroline Genco and Chief of Staff Marty Ray. I am especially grateful to the work of the university-wide Tufts Beyond 175 Steering Committee and assistance provided by several members of the Office of the Provost, the Office of Institutional Research, the Office of University Strategy and Program Development, and University Communications and Marketing.
I look forward to your comments.
Thank you.
Sunil