Bernstein Faculty Fellows

Tufts University prides itself on its commitment to interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research and scholarship. Through the generosity of Drs. Leonard (A'53, D'56, A'01) and Jane Holmes Bernstein, this Program was instituted in 2005 and continues to offer faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences a chance to explore potential interdisciplinary opportunities while learning to balance the multiple aspects of research, teaching, and service that comprise an academic career.

This Fellowship provides faculty development opportunities while strengthening the vision of interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research and scholarship in the School of Arts and Sciences.

The donors intend that the Bernstein Faculty Fellows Program will:

Support new collaborative, inter-disciplinary research
Support pre-tenure faculty working in collaboration with senior faculty collaborators/mentors in developing the career balance between the responsibilities of teaching, advising, and the pursuit of research and scholarship
Provide protected time through course release to facilitate thinking and learning across disciplinary lines

This Program provides funding for Bernstein Faculty Fellows for two years. Each spring, we invite proposals for the Bernstein Faculty Fellows Program from junior faculty members working with senior faculty members in other departments within Arts and Sciences or possibly one of the other schools within Tufts.

To be eligible to apply the applicant must be a tenure-track assistant professor in the 1^st - 4^th year of his/her appointment. Although this Program is designed to foster cross-department and cross-school collaboration, we do consider applications from faculty members in the same department if the proposal is strongly committed to interdisciplinary research or cross-disciplinary thinking.

The Bernstein Faculty Fellows Program will relieve junior faculty members of a course assignment for two consecutive spring semesters, providing them with additional time to devote to development of their scholarship in conjunction with a senior faculty mentor. The Bernstein Faculty Fellow is awarded a total of $1600 in research support over the two years of the project, and the senior faculty collaborator/mentor receives $700 in research support over the two year period for his or her efforts.

Proposal announcements are made in the spring semester and Fellowships are awarded at the beginning of the fall semester. The Academic Deans of Arts and Sciences review applications based on the strength of the proposal and interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary promise of the faculty members' work.

Current Fellows include:

Bernstein Faculty Fellow: Ioannis Evrigenis, Political Science
Faculty Collaborator/Mentor: Kevin Dunn, English
Title of Project: A Study of the Concept of the State of Nature in Early Modern Political Thought

Bernstein Faculty Fellow: Genevieve Walsh, Mathematics
Faculty Collaborator/Mentor: Boris Hasselblatt, Mathematics
Title of Project: Dynamical Systems, Geometric Topology and the Ehrenpreis Conjecture

Bernstein Faculty Fellow: Hee-Sun Lee, Education
Faculty Collaborator/Mentor: Eric Chaisson, Director Wright Center for Science Education and Research Professor, Physics & Astronomy and Education
Title of Project: Scale in Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

<p><strong>Acting As Judge and Jury</strong>

</p>

<p>Tufts faculty members, Sam Sommers and Kent Portney, share a devotion to innovative research and teaching about the roles race and gender play in the criminal justice system.</p>

</div>

<p><strong>At Your Service</strong>

</p>

<p>Through Tufts' Leonard Carmichael Society - the largest student-run organization on campus - students are giving back to communities in need.</p>

</div>

<p><strong>Breaking Down Barriers</strong>

</p>

<p>Tufts literacy expert Maryanne Wolf has pioneered ground-breaking research that has led to advances in dyslexia testing and treatment.</p>

</div>

<br/>(A'07)

</p>

<p>Working as an intern for MTV Hong Kong helped prepare Tufts junior Erin Yeh for the real world.</p>

</div>

<p><strong>Everything Counts</strong>

</p>

<p>At Tufts, students are a key part of continuing climate change and environmental awareness efforts. </p>

</div>

<p><strong>Expanding Their Horizons</strong>

</p>

<p>This summer was action-packed for Tufts students who undertook a variety of projects across the world and in their own backyards.</p>

</div>

</p>

<p>Webcasting technology is giving Tufts students a real-time view of life in the Middle East. </p>

</div>

<h4>Student Life</h4>

<p><strong>Four Years, Infinite Possibilities</strong>

</p>

<p>Follow the evolution of an undergraduate through the journeys of six students. </p>

</div>

<p><strong>Great Wide Open</strong>

</p>

<p>Through the OpenCourseWare initiative, Tufts is using the power of the Internet to share its greatest resource - knowledge - across the globe.</p>

</div>