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MEDFORD, MA-- At a ceremony held at Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy that was filled with warmth and good vibes, Jack Galvin, a son of Wakefield, who went on to become the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe from 1987 to 92 and later the Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University from 1995 to 2000, was honored April 22 at a special ceremony in which he unveiled his portrait.

Taking his place among the pantheon of deans whose portraits hang in the school's Ginn Library,Galvin seemed delighted with the results. “It’s vibrant," he said, lifting a black veil amidst applause from an assembled audience of about 150 students, faculty, staff, members of the board of overseers and friends from Wakefield, who had gathered in the Hall of Flags. "I remember that the old tradition was to have a stern figure to place in the library and calm the place down.”

Galvin’s likeness was rendered by Connecticut artist Coni Belleau Adams, whose impressionist style caught Galvin’s eye. Senior Associate Dean Deborah Nutter explained that Adams was chosen by Galvin out of a field of 30 artists. The painting depicts Galvin seated, but in an active stance which portrays him as a man of action. “I didn’t sit for it very long—two sessions of a half hour each. They took pictures, and then showed it to me when it was a few hours from completion,” Galvin said.

In brief remarks before the unveiling, Dean Stephen Bosworth, Galvin's successor, lauded Galvin’s contributions. “It is one of the hallmarks of this institution that it attracts true leaders, world leaders like Jack Galvin,” Bosworth said.

Indeed, Galvin’s five-year tenure at the Fletcher School was marked by a series of important initiatives. One involved a joint master's degree in humanitarian assistance between Fletcher and Tufts' School of Nutrition in which non-governmental workers around the world take a break from their work and receive professional training. Galvin also oversaw the strengthening of the program in international business, an ambitious distance learning program, the creation and implementation of a new technology strategy and the restructuring of Ginn Library. Five new professors in cutting-edge areas, such as environmentalism, UN peacekeeping operations and humanitarian studies, joined the faculty during Galvin’s term.

Peter Ackerman, Chairman of Fletcher's Board of Overseers, said that Galvin, “was determined to make Fletcher a better place," adding "He restructured the school for a post-Cold War environment. He put a new stamp on Fletcher, and was up for any idea that was different, that would make Fletcher fly.” Ackerman also announced that the board had raised $1.7 million toward the creation of an institute of human security that will bear Galvin’s name.

Upon leaving the Fletcher School nearly two years ago, Galvin and his wife Virginia ["Ginny"] moved to the Atlanta area where three of their children live. Now living in semi-retirement and writing his memoirs, he told the audience that he often becomes nostalgic for the Fletcher School. “I miss the school very much,” he remarked. “The students, the whole vivaciousness of the business, that’s what I miss.” Later, he flashed his trademark wit in a reference to today's generation of young people." You can't be cogitating without agitating," he said.

Before the unveiling of the portrait, the audience was treated to a short concert by the Ambassachords, Fletcher’s resident acapella group. They serenaded Galvin with a range of songs which reflected the diversity of the Fletcher School.