Tufts Events

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1666-1708), the 10th and final Sikh master, created the Khalsa, the "Brotherhood of the Pure," and declared the Scriptures, the Adi 'Granth, to be the Sikh's Guru from that time on.

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy Signifying the end of the 12 days of Christmas, Epiphany celebrates the visit of the Three Kings to the infant Jesus as the occasion of the manifestation of the Christ to the gentiles. The day is especially important in Latino/a cultures and in Orthodox churches. Observances may include limits to participation in academics or work.

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy Commemorates the baptism of Jesus and the manifestation of the Trinity. The day is especially important in Latino/a cultures and in Orthodox churches. The Armenian Orthodox Church celebrates the nativity and theophany together. Observances may include limits to participation in academics or work.

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy Celebrates the anniversary of the birth of Jesus. Observances may include limits to participation in academics or work.

Online Location Details: https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_08I3k6H5TKqqN-tYeINkwA Open to Public: Yes Primary Audience(s): Alumni and Friends,Parents,Staff,Students (Undergraduate) Event Type: Lecture/Presentation/Seminar/Talk Event Subject: Diversity/Identity/Inclusive Excellence,Education,Working at Tufts Event Sponsor: School of Arts and Sciences RSVP Information: Please register in advance through the listed Zoom link. Join us for the third in a series of talks that explores how Tufts University administrative leaders and faculty are leading and navigating the current challenges in higher education. JT Duck will share reflections on his journey as a leader in the admissions field in higher education and what brings him joy in his work. In this conversation with Vice Provost Monroe France, JT will include his thoughts on inclusive access for our future Jumbos as well as his perspective on emerging trends in higher education and admissions. Attendees may submit questions about leadership journeys and experiences in advance. Please include your full name. Anonymous questions will not be included. Presented to alumni but open to the entire community (parents, faculty, staff, and students), this series will dig into the journeys, highlights, and challenges of Tufts University leaders.

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy Begins at dawn. A minor Jewish fast from sunup to nightfall. 

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy Mahayana Buddhist new year, the first full moon in January.

Building: Posner Hall Campus Location: Boston Health Sciences campus City: Boston, MA 02111 Campus: Boston Health Sciences campus Location Details: Posner Auditorium (200 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111) and on Zoom Open to Public: Yes Primary Audience(s): Faculty,Postdoctoral Fellows,Staff,Students (Graduate),Students (Postdoctoral),Students (Undergraduate) Event Type: Lecture/Presentation/Seminar/Talk Event Sponsor: School of Medicine Event Sponsor Details: TUSM Global Health Faculty Council and the Tufts Center for Global Public Health Speaker Name: Sheela Patel Event Contact Name: Kim Burke Event Contact Email: kimberly.burke@tufts.edu Link: https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D1v2S9KNRimWKDnd85oA6Q#/registration As climate change accelerates, the global development and climate change communities continue to ignore the plight of the urban poor, who face the brunt of challenges caused by rising global temperatures. Over the last five decades, the urban poor in the Global South have been failed by initiatives aimed at improving the human condition, including the Millennium Development Goals, the Sustainable Development Goals, WHO guidelines on social determinants of health, and the United Nations COP meetings on climate change. Alarmingly, despite all calls for action, the realities experienced by people living in urban informal settlements continue to be invisible to global stakeholders. However, people living in urban informal settlements in the Global South comprise more than one billion people, and their social and environmental determinants of health can no longer be ignored. This seminar will discuss how residents of urban informal settlements are using transnational movements to advance their living conditions and make challenges to their health and well-being visible to the global community. Speaker: Sheela Patel is the director of the SPARC, an organization she founded in 1984 that works in alliance with community-based organizations of the urban poor—the National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milan—in several Indian cities. She is a founder of Slum Dwellers International, a transnational social movement of the urban poor in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. She was a commissioner on the Commission for Adaptation to climate change from 2018–2020 and is a trustee of the International Institute on Environment and Development (IIED), a global ambassador for Race to Zero and Race to Resilience, a member of the Club of Rome, and a board member of Climate-KIC. Since 2022, she spearheaded the campaign for Roof Over Our Heads (ROOH), which is part of the United Nations Race to Resilience campaign. She was awarded the 2023 Lawrence C. Nussdorf Urban Leadership Prize by the Penn Institute for Urban Research and has received the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honor.

Building: Cousens Gym Campus Location: Medford/Somerville campus City: Medford, MA 02155 Campus: Medford/Somerville campus Location Details: Cousens Gymnasium 161 College Ave. Medford, MAEnter the gym through the doors at the top of the front steps. Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Community Engagement Event Sponsor Details: Office of Government and Community Relations & Tufts Athletics Event Contact Name: Maggie Carril Event Contact Email: margaret.carril@tufts.edu Event Contact Phone: 617-627-3780 Come cheer on your hometown team as the Medford Mustangs and the Somerville Highlanders girls and boys basketball teams square off for the 6th annual Tufts Basketball Classic hosted by Tufts University. The girls game will tip off at 12 p.m. and the boys game will tip off at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be held in Cousens Gymnasium. Free parking will available with a special permit in Cousens Gym parking lot and Dowling Garage during the games.

Campus: Boston Health Sciences campus,Boston SMFA campus,Grafton campus,Medford/Somerville campus,Off-campus Open to Public: Yes Event Type: University Holiday The university observes a holiday on this day.

Building: Breed Memorial Hall Campus Location: Medford/Somerville campus City: Medford, MA 02155 Building: Breed Memorial Hall Campus: Medford/Somerville campus Location Details: 51 Winthrop St., Medford, MA 02155 Wheelchair Accessible: Yes Open to Public: No Primary Audience(s): Faculty,Staff,Students (Graduate),Students (Postdoctoral),Students (Undergraduate) Event Type: Community Engagement Event Subject: Diversity/Identity/Inclusive Excellence Event Sponsor Details: Co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence and Tufts Community Senate (TCU) Tufts Table Beyond Polarization: The Power of Perspective Free Community Dinner Dialogue Event Tufts Table provides community members, who might not otherwise cross paths, with the opportunity to make connections and share perspectives on subjects such as exploring our intersecting identities, finding a sense of belonging and community, and creating a more inclusive Tufts. The next Tufts Table event is on January 23, 2025 from 6-8 p.m. at Breed Hall (51 Winthrop St., Medford, MA 02155) on the Medford/Somerville/ campus. This community dinner is free and open to students, faculty, and staff from across all four campuses (Boston, Grafton, Medford/Somerville, and SMFA).

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy Begins at sundown on the first day listed. Commemorates the ascension (al-Mi'raj) of the Prophet to heaven following his night journey (al Isra') from Mecca to Jerusalem and his ascent to heaven and return the same night. 

Building: Ballou Hall Campus Location: Medford/Somerville campus City: Medford, MA 02155 Campus: Medford/Somerville campus Location Details: Room 311 Open to Public: No Primary Audience(s): Faculty Event Type: Community Engagement Event Sponsor Details: Office of the Provost Event Contact Email: provost@tufts.edu Link: https://tufts.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3KTKQ79foa8FxPw Register for a 15 minute time slot for in-person office hours with Provost Genco.

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy Every year, thousands of Zoroastrians in Iran and other countries celebrate the religious feast of Jashn-e Sadeh by burning firewood in an open space to signify the coming of spring and as a symbolic token of the eternal fight with mischief.

Location Details: Virtual event via Zoom Open to Public: No Primary Audience(s): Faculty,Postdoctoral Fellows,Staff,Students (Graduate) Event Type: Conference/Panel Event/Symposium,Lecture/Presentation/Seminar/Talk Event Subject: Innovation Event Sponsor Details: Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development RSVP Information: https://secure.touchnet.net/C21525_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=920 Event Contact Name: Sarah Wrobel Event Contact Email: sarah.wrobel@tufts.edu Link: https://csdd.tufts.edu/postgraduate-course The Tufts CSDD postgraduate course in clinical pharmacology, drug development, and regulation is the longest-running professional development program in the biopharma space. Now in its 52nd year, this unique annual course prepares both new and experienced drug developers, regulators, policy makers, clinical investigators, and academic researchers for success in the life sciences sector. Thousands of drug development professionals are alumni of this prestigious one-of-a-kind program. Top speakers from industry, academia, and the FDA share their expertise to create a highly stimulating and rewarding learning environment.

Location Details: Zoom link to be provided to registrants one week prior to course start date. Open to Public: No Primary Audience(s): Alumni and Friends,Faculty,Postdoctoral Fellows,Students (Graduate),Students (Postdoctoral) Event Type: Lecture/Presentation/Seminar/Talk Event Sponsor Details: Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development RSVP Information: https://secure.touchnet.net/C21525_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=920 Event Contact Name: Sarah Wrobel Event Contact Email: csdd@tufts.edu Link: https://csdd.tufts.edu/postgraduate-course The Tufts CSDD Postgraduate Course in Clinical Pharmacology, Drug Development, and Regulation is the longest-running professional development program in the biopharma space. Now in its 52nd year, this unique annual course prepares both new and experienced drug developers, regulators, policy makers, clinical investigators, and academic researchers for success in the life sciences sector. Thousands of drug development professionals are alumni of this prestigious one-of-a-kind program. Top speakers from industry, academia, and the FDA share their expertise to create a highly stimulating and rewarding learning environment.

Building: Cohen Auditorium Campus Location: Medford/Somerville campus City: Medford, MA 02155 Campus: Medford/Somerville campus Location Details: Cohen Auditorium, followed by a reception in Alumnae Hall Open to Public: Yes Primary Audience(s): Alumni and Friends,Faculty,Parents,Postdoctoral Fellows,Staff,Students (Graduate),Students (Postdoctoral),Students (Undergraduate) Event Type: Conference/Panel Event/Symposium Event Subject: Diversity/Identity/Inclusive Excellence,Social Justice/Human Rights Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy Event Contact Name: Elyse Nelson Winger Event Contact Email: elyse.nelson_winger@tufts.edu Link: https://chaplaincy.tufts.edu/mlk/ Join the Africana Center, the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence, Tisch College of Civic Life, and the University Chaplaincy for the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration. The 2025 theme, "Where Do We Go From Here," comes from the 1967 speech of the same title. The following two excerpts from this powerful speech are guiding our Celebration this year: “Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”  "...we need a chart; we need a compass; indeed, we need some North Star to guide us into a future shrouded with impenetrable uncertainties." This year’s celebration will feature musicians, storytellers, poets, dancers, and artists from the Tufts and Boston metro community. Joy will be our North Star—an anchor of resilience, defiance, and solidarity. Through joy, we honor our past, uplift one another, and fuel the enduring fight for equity and freedom. The event will also feature the winners of the MLK Student Voices Award. A reception at Alumnae Hall will follow the event. ASL interpreters will be on site. In addition to the in person gathering, the event will also be live-streamed and recorded. Please email University Chaplain Elyse Nelson Winger (elyse.nelson_winger@tufts.edu) with any questions.

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy Begins at sundown on the first day listed. The first fertility festival, celebrating the approach of spring and the growth of light in the darkness.

Open to Public: Yes Event Type: Multifaith Observance Event Sponsor: University Chaplaincy One of many festivals to honor the advent of spring, this day is celebrated particularly in North India, where it is associated with Saraswati, the goddess of learning; however, it also retains connection with the goddess Lakshmi.

Building: Ballou Hall Campus Location: Medford/Somerville campus City: Medford, MA 02155 Campus: Medford/Somerville campus Location Details: Provost's Office Open to Public: No Primary Audience(s): Faculty Event Type: Community Engagement Event Sponsor Details: Office of the Provost Event Contact Email: provost@tufts.edu Drop-in coffee hours with Provost Genco