Tufts dean quits, takes sabbatical

NORTH GRAFTON, MASS. - 4/28/05 - Dr. Philip Kosch, dean of Tufts University's veterinary school since 1996, has asked to step down and begin a one-year sabbatical starting July 1.

Following the sabbatical leave, Kosch will return to Tufts as special assistant to Provost Jamshed Bharucha, PhD, working on Tuft's Health Sciences campus in Boston to assist with research, graduate education and post-graduate training programs, university officials say.

In a letter to faculty and staff, Kosch writes that serving Tufts has been "a distinct honor and privilege."

"I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with a great group of people," he says. "I treasure the friendships made over the last nine years."

Upon Kosch's leave, M. Sawkat Anwer, PhD, DMVH, will take on the role of interim dean. A committee will be selected to search for a permanent replacement.

In other university business, the North Grafton-based veterinary institution will be renamed the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University during a May 5 ceremony. The change is in recognition of a $50 million pledge to the veterinary program by the Cummings Foundation last September.