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http://ase.tufts.edu/faculty-guide/fac/alebow01.english.htm
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Tufts University - Beyond Boundaries Newsletter Spring 2008 - Index
States, have given Fletcher students
a closeup perspective on the evolution
of democracy in Europe.
The Karamanlis Chair, established
in 2001, honors the legacy of a
European statesman known as the
father of modern Greek democracy.
Constantine Karamanlis restored
democratic rule after the fall of a
military regime in the mid1970s
and led the nation as prime minister
and president for nearly 30 years.
The professorship rotates annually
to enable scholars of varying
disciplines to offer a different lens
through which to view Southeastern
Europe. The four holders to date
have represented the fields of political
science, history, and geography.
“A deep knowledge of Europe
in the United States is critical,”
says the current Karamanlis
Associate Professor in Hellenic and
Professor Emeritus Lebowitz
f Modern Greek Democracy
Spring 2008 News of the Campaign for Tufts
Southeastern European Studies,
Kostas Lavdas, a political scientist
from the University of Crete. “Today’s
Greece is firmly embedded in the
European Union. And the accomplishments
of the European Union are
particularly relevant to an understanding
of modern diplomacy and
of the use of ‘soft power’ in international
relations.”
Constantine A. Karamanlis, F00,
cousin to the current prime minister
and a member of the Karamanlis
Foundation board and of the Fletcher
School’s Board of Overseers, says,
“We are proud of the chair’s accomplishments
and the work of all four
professors, and we look forward
to the chair’s further growth. As a
Fletcher graduate myself, I am particularly
happy to see the chair providing
an important bridge between
Tufts, our foundation, and Greece.”
Appreciation Plus
Alum’s Gift Honors Mentor
John Halvey, A82, has been called the “godfather”
of outsourcing. A partner in the New York office of the
law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, Halvey
wrote the book on legal transactions involving corporations
hiring out, or outsourcing, some of their business
operations, often overseas. In 1995,
Crain’s named him among the
40 most successful people under
40 in New York City.
His prospects seemed less rosy
when he was a Tufts freshman, struggling
to make the grade in school.
That was when a professor of English
named Alan Lebowitz (far left) lent
him inspiration and helped set him on the path to success.
“Alan was my adviser and a mentor to me, at Tufts
and after,” says Halvey, who describes now-Professor
Emeritus Lebowitz as very much a teacher’s teacher.
His regard for a professor and friend led Halvey to
pledge a $100,000 gift toward the new Center for the
Humanities at Tufts that will nourish the sort of great
teaching for which Alan Lebowitz and so many of his
colleagues on the Hill are known.
The center, directed by Jonathan Wilson, Fletcher
Professor of Rhetoric and Debate, presented its inaugural
symposia in March and can be visited on the Web at
http://ase.tufts.edu/chat.
“There’s a tremendous amount of talent on Tufts’
campus when it comes to the humanities,” Halvey says.
“I benefited greatly from the quality of the teachers at
Tufts and this is a way to show my appreciation for the
opportunities Tufts afforded me.”
Lebowitz describes himself as “deeply touched” by
the tribute. “I am very pleased John’s gift will be going
toward the humanities center,” he says. “John’s own
career attests notably to the importance of the humanities
in an undergraduate experience.”
Professor Lebowitz, who taught American literature
and ran the creative writing program, officially
retired from teaching in spring 2006 after 38 years in the
English Department, five of them spent as chairman,
from 1982 to 1987. He continues to teach part-time.
Halvey, a one-time aspiring English scholar, says
he “took a detour” to law school after Tufts and today
“writes all day long,” as a corporate attorney and the
author of four law books.
Did his liberal arts degree prepare him for his future
career? “Absolutely,” Halvey says. His gift for the Center
for the Humanities, he says, is a way to say thanks.
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