Swiss Mix
Douglas Sears: bridging the gap between country and community
Douglas Sears, associate provost and assistant to the president for outreach and special initiatives, received the 2009 Stratton Prize for Intercultural Achievement from the Friends of Switzerland on May 15.
The prize is awarded to American or Swiss citizens who facilitate an international flow of ideas and technology. A committee of Stratton laureates awards the prize, which was instituted in 1966.
Sears, a former dean of the School of Education, was honored for raising standards during his tenure as superintendent of the city of Chelsea’s public schools, for his work as chairman of the BU/Chelsea Management Team, and for establishing better relationships between Switzerland and America as vice president of the American-Swiss Foundation.
The foundation sends American students to Switzerland and Swiss students to the United States to learn about cultural similarities and differences.
“We want an accurate understanding of each country inside the other country,” says Sears. “The stereotype of the Swiss is numbered bank accounts, chocolate, and watches, but they are also a leading producer of Nobel prizes in physics.”
In 1988, at the request of Chelsea officials, Boston University agreed to manage the city’s failing schools, an unprecedented — and as yet unduplicated — move by a private university. Sears says the career accomplishment he is most proud of is constructing a solid foundation for the Chelsea schools, with better facilities and sound business practices.
“I thought hearing all those nice words would spoil my character,” Sears said after the award ceremony, “but I was happy to hear them anyway.”
Click here to learn more about the BU/Chelsea Partnership.
Anna Webster can be reached at annaweb@bu.edu.
Comments & Discussion
Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.