http://ase.tufts.edu/biology/faculty/starks/

http://www.tufts.edu/tie/

http://www.tufts.edu/water/

Tufts University - Index

Tufts University - Tufts University Provost's Initiatives Beyond Boundaries - Index

Professor Phil Starks, here with
graduate students Noah Wilson
and Susan Weiner, studies a wide
range of organisms in his lab.
THE ACADEMIC INNOVATION FUND
Supporting university-wide initiatives and committing vital resources to catalyze opportunities for innovation
Interdisciplinary scholarship has a unique power to harness creativity and enthusiasm of students
and faculty across programs. Tufts is a center of innovation, and the Provost’s Academic Innovation
Fund capitalizes upon this intellectual energy.
University-wide academic ventures selected to be part of this program are provided with
sufficient funding to develop a concept, such as a joint research program or a new degree structure,
for a specific time, to explore its potential and test its viability. These exciting programs can change
and adapt as knowledge evolves, to address the dynamic needs of our country and the world.
Faculty and students are able to explore new ideas and research new themes, with the support and
guidance that can only be found at an academic institution.
Tufts’ innovative environmental programs such as the Tufts Institute of the Environment and
the cross-school Water: Systems, Science, and Society program are examples of how this fund helps
exploit our potential. There are many more opportunities for Tufts to excel and cross boundaries,
leveraging our strengths in the liberal arts, sciences, and engineering. Additional support for the
Academic Innovation Fund will enable us to be prudent risk takers and explore opportunities that
have the potential to be truly transformative.