James Glaser, A14P, A17P: ‘What I’ve Learned’

James Glaser served Tufts for more than three decades. He came to the university to teach political science, but his career path also led to influential administrative roles, from dean of undergraduate education for the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering to dean of academic affairs for the School of Arts and Sciences and, finally, to dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. This past summer, he left Tufts to join Santa Clara University as executive vice president and provost.

Today, Glaser is filled with appreciation for Tufts. In addition to his connection to the university as a scholar and leader, he’s also a proud Tufts parent and, with a bequest intention for financial aid, a member of the Charles Tufts Society. “Tufts has been incredibly good to me and to my family,” he said. “It was a privilege of a lifetime to serve.”

Be Open to Possibility  

I wish I could tell you my career trajectory at Tufts was planned, but I didn’t plan it at all. I was just open to possibility. When university leaders tapped me on the shoulder, they saw something in me that I didn’t know was there. To others starting out in their career I would say, “Don’t obsess about the destination. Focus instead on your next steps and be ready to seize opportunities.”

Focus on Others

When I left full-time teaching for administration, some people said, “Oh, you’ve gone over to the dark side!” But I discovered that’s not true at all. To be a dean is to exercise the virtue of caring about other people. You are supporting students and their aspirations. You’re supporting faculty in their quest to be knowledge creators and effective teachers. To me, being a dean is all about everyone else.

Lead Through Persuasion

I found that one of the most important parts of the job was persuasion. You don’t snap your fingers and everybody falls into line. That’s not how it works in academia! To be a leader, I believe you have to be able to say, “Here’s a vision, and it’s not just my vision, it’s our vision, and here’s how we’re going to accomplish it together.” You have to bring people along with you.

Benefit the Future

Pam and I wanted to make a lasting gift to the university, and that led us to establish a bequest intention that will create an endowed scholarship, which will eventually benefit future students. You can imagine my surprise when the Board of Advisors for the School of Arts and Sciences told me that, in honor of my service to the university, they would—through their own contributions—make that scholarship active now. When they presented that gift to me, I had trouble keeping my composure. It made my departure more poignant.