Tufts University - Jumbo Yearbook (Medford, MA)

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stration must effectively provide the neces¬ sary service which makes the function of education possible. This by nature must in¬ clude both the maintenance of a faculty embodying outstanding academic attributes and a student body of commensurate po¬ tential. It is of the essence that professional administrators of proven quality, and stimu¬ lating personable teachers, capable of vigor¬ ous research should form the rudiments of a Tufts education. Such problems as faculty tenure lie within the administration of the Provost, though Provost Stearns emphasizes that decisions are a result of close and ex¬ tensive faculty cooperation. Basically, Dr. Stearns views the Provost’s responsibility as one of maintaining the continual smooth running of the University’s academic func¬ tion. Acting Provost Stearns’ engaging nature has left its unmistakeable impression on the numerous facets of this University which he has seen expand in almost every sense. Perhaps his ubiquitous bow-tied presence best distinguishes his manifold contributions to Tufts. It takes a dedicated educator to share as much of himself and his unique talents as Charles E. Stearns has shared with us. 11

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Charles E. Stearns Within the Tufts community, Charles E. Stearns fills the double role of administrator and academic scholar. As Acting Provost, a position opened when Leonard C. Mead be¬ came Acting President this year, Dr. Stearns administrates the academic responsibilities of the University. As Professor in the Geol¬ ogy Department, he is able to manifest his dual delectation of teaching and doing re¬ search on the Pleistocene Epoch. Dr. Stearns’ combination of timely wry humor and intensive demand for excellence makes him an especially well adapted man for each of his chosen functions. After having graduated from Tufts in 1939 with a degree in Geology, after studying at the California Institute of Technology for one year, Dr. Stearns entered the Navy as an interpreter. He then returned to the aca¬ demic world, simultaneously as a Doctoral candidate at Harvard, and as an instructor in Geology at Tufts. Upon receiving his Ph. D. he taught at Harvard until 1954. It was during this period that Professor Stearns made his first extended geological research trip, to the Mediterranean beaches of Tunisia. His incumbency at Tufts as the Dean of Liberal Arts from 1954 until Sep¬ tember 1966 was noteworthy especially to the students who have received his firm and warmly inspired guidance and and to those asking acceptance of their little pink slips. Since his first excursion abroad, Dr. Stearns has returned to the classical geologi¬ cal research areas of Spain, Morocco, France and Italy, under the auspices of numerous scientific and federal grants. His most recent expedition was to Italy, with the noted Lamont Geological Laboratory staff, ac¬ companied by archeologists. He employed isotope age measuring techniques, assisting in the accurate dating of the Pleistocene Epoch, which is generally considered to be the period of man’s evolutionary progression from apeman to the present relative stature. His concentration on the beaches of Medi¬ terranean Europe is due to the primary ap¬ plicability of isotope dating to marine fossils, which Dr. Stearns explains were not marine fossils during the age of extended glacial advances. Whenever the occasion presents itself, he and his family retreat to New Mexico where the deep and often abandoned mines afford opportunities to dig into more of man’s past. Acting Provost Stearns’ philosophy is based on the concept that academic admini-

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1 1 1 1 nj Ifcrv -k jsg Betty M. Bone Miss Betty M. Bone is the new Acting Dean of Jackson College. While her position in itself is not a strange one, the means by which Miss Bone came to it are quite inter¬ esting. Prior to her appointment at Jackson, she worked for the Monsanto Chemical Company in St. Louis in the personnel de¬ partment. She has a deep love for young people and thought her potential might be fulfilled in this company. However, as the work became more and more removed from direct personal contacts, she became more and more disenchanted, and when the op¬ portunity for an assistant deanship opened at Jackson, she promptly accepted. She came to Jackson specifically “to work with young adults” whose “ideas are de¬ veloping” for it is in this area that she excels. After the war she worked as a professional Girl Scout and organized the Girl Scouting program in St. Louis. At that time St. Louis was deeply involved in attempting to inte¬ grate the community and she was an ardent advocate of civil rights “before it became fashionable.” She was responsible to a great extent for integrating the Girl Scouting program in that city. However, during her first 100 days here, the Dean of Jackson, Miss Myra Herrick took an unexpected leave of absence and so Miss Betty Bone became the new Acting Dean of Jackson. This role is a difficult one for Miss Bone because, like Miss Herrick, she refuses to compromise her principles and her strong beliefs concerning many areas of Jackson policy. Nevertheless, she is strongly in support of the self-study committee and hopes that their report will “reflect the changing times but still be relevant to the long range goals of Jackson.” Thrust into this new and difficult role, Miss Bone has reacted excellently under pressure. Several petty rules which had been afflicting Jackson students disappeared im¬ mediately. She believes that the most im¬ portant task facing Jackson is the develop¬ ment of mature girls who have a strong sense of values which are not based solely on being allowed to wear slacks or drink coke. “It is not the what they want that is important; it is the how they want to do it.” Miss Bone is a woman of firm principle and says “I will stay here if I am in agree¬ ment with Jackson. If not, then perhaps I should leave because I will only be harming the school and myself.” Her feelings about Miss Herrick are numerous and mixed, and she says, “Miss Herrick is to be admired for her strong conviction.” Miss Bone also feels that the students were not entirely to blame for her leaving. 12