Tufts University - Index

Tufts University - Tufts Tisch College Beyond Boundaries - Index

“Education,” said W. B. Yeats, “is not the filling of a pail,
but the lighting of a fire.” At Tisch College, we know a
good deal about igniting a passion for citizenship and
public service—and today, we have the audacity to
think that the flames we light can light the world.
Tisch College sprang from a simple, radical idea: that we could
build on the great Tufts tradition of community service and
volunteerism to create something even grander—an explicit
new ethic of active citizenship that would permeate the daily
life of the university and, strikingly, deepen the quality of our
teaching, research, and learning in every field. The goal? For
our graduates to leave Tufts ready and eager to make active
citizenship an essential part of their lives. And for Tufts itself
to become a powerful force for reinvigorating democracy.
At Tufts and elsewhere, volunteerism has traditionally been
about giving back. Active citizenship is about taking part—
about claiming your place as a creative contributor in the life
of your community, whether that’s your neighborhood, your
city, your profession, our democracy, or the planet we all
share. We understand active citizenship not as some sort of
karmic frosting, but as the richly nourishing stuff of life itself.
And surely the world has never needed that spirit more.
Today, building on nearly a decade of growing momentum on
the campus and in the lives of our graduates around the globe,
we see an exceptionally exciting opportunity to accelerate our
successes—to establish Tisch College as a national model and
a vital catalyst for a more just, peaceful, equitable world.
citizenship is a very big idea.
As we begin this daring venture, we hope you will join us
with your insights, your energy, and your generous support—
a creative act of active citizenship in itself.