Tufts Offers Haven for Scholars at Risk

The current Tufts Scholars at Risk are, from left, Sima Samar, Mir Ahmad Shekib Mir, Volodymyr Dubovyk, and Vladlen Ushakov. Samar and Mir are from Afghanistan, while Dubovyk and Ushakov are from Ukraine. Photo Composite: Alonso Nichols

Tufts Offers Haven for Scholars at Risk | March 1, 2023 — Tufts has hosted international academics in peril before. But the university had never supported four such scholars at once—until this year. […]

That didn’t mean solely funding more fellows. It meant formally establishing Tufts’ own Scholars at Risk program, affiliated with the umbrella organization but administered on campus. The university makes all decisions about whom to host, in what capacity, and when. Beyond vetting applicants, the program ensures participants “have the support they need while they’re here,” from housing to mental health resources, said Chigas, who is also a professor of practice at The Fletcher School and a member of Tufts’ Scholars at Risk faculty committee.

While all four scholars currently at Tufts fled conflict zones, future participants might harbor views at odds with their home governments in times of relative peace and stability. “We want to support people who have something to contribute to their societies and to the world but can’t do it because they’re under threat,” Chigas said.

Read the full piece in Tufts Now written by Jennifer Wehunt & Heather Stephenson.