Retired General Stanley McChrystal, chair of the leadership council of the Aspen Institute Franklin Project, today will help Tufts University officially launch Tufts 1+4, a bridge year program that will offer incoming students of all economic backgrounds the opportunity to engage in a year of full-time national or international service before beginning the traditional college experience. Tufts and its Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service will kick off the program with a 5:00 PM EST Symposium on Service and Leadership on the university’s Medford/Somerville, Mass., campus at which McChrystal will be the keynote speaker (Watch a Livestream of the event above).
Tufts 1+4 will place admitted first-year undergraduates participating in the program in selected service organizations starting in the fall of 2015, before they begin their four-year studies the following fall. The program is one of the initiatives springing from the 10-year strategic plan unveiled by Tufts in the fall of 2013.
“We are so excited about the launch of this new program at Tufts University. At a time when the desire to serve far exceeds the supply of service year positions, we need to call on all sectors of our society to be innovative and develop new opportunities to serve. In particular, we need to integrate national service into the fabric of the American educational system, so that national service is viewed as part of students’ educational success not as something distinct from it. This week, Tufts University stepped forward with a powerful new model,” said Alan Khazei, co-chair of the Franklin Project.
The Franklin Project calls for making military or civilian national service a voluntary rite of passage for all young Americans and for creating one million full-time national service positions as part of a renewed commitment to engaged citizenship.
“Through this unique experience, young people will develop their abilities and passions in ways that will strengthen their studies and experiences at Tufts, as well as their personal and professional trajectories. They will contribute in significant ways to solving pressing social problems while making discoveries about themselves and diverse societies,” said Tufts Provost David Harris.
The program will be based at Tufts’ Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, whose research and academic programs seek to infuse civic engagement and active citizenship across the university's schools and programs.