The opportunity to learn about animals from all perspectives in ways of which I had been previously unaware. The MAPP program allowed and encouraged a different look at our attitudes and previously held conceptions. I liked the small class and personal relationships with the professors.
The Legacy of MAPP Alum and Instructor, Judge Martha P. Grace, VG11
Former Massachusetts Juvenile Court Chief Justice spent her retirement advocating for animals
Upon retiring as chief justice of the Massachusetts Juvenile Court, Judge Martha P. Grace, VG11, decided to become a student again. After a highly accomplished legal career and 20 years on the bench, her next chapter would begin at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University as a student and later instructor in the Master of Science in Animals and Public Policy (MAPP) program. Judge Grace passed away in August, surrounded by her family. She leaves behind a lasting legacy in family law and animal advocacy.
“Martha had always been interested in veterinary medicine, and she saw this as the most practical way of getting into the world of helping animals,” says Dr. Allen Rutberg, director of Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy and associate research professor in the Department of Infectious Disease & Global Health at Cummings School. “In her post-MAPP years, Martha made huge impacts on the legal profession in the protection of animals in domestic violence situations. It was really amazing.”
Rutberg chuckles, recalling how Judge Grace had to adapt to being in a classroom again, with students much younger than her and learning programs like Microsoft Excel for the first time.
“She always tackled it with cheerfulness and enthusiasm, and she never complained. That was not her style, ever,” he says. “Martha had tremendous amounts of energy; she was inexhaustible and left younger people behind in the dust a lot of the time. She was very positive, very enthusiastic, she had a great sense of humor, and lots of perspective on the world.”
A lecture given by Dr. Lorna Grande, V90, an adjunct professor in the MAPP program, expounding on the link between animal violence and domestic violence, resonated with Judge Grace and set her on a course that would be pivotal for the treatment of animals in Massachusetts.
“Martha came up to me afterward and gave me her card; she was famous for that,” recounts Grande, who started the nonprofit Human Animal Violence Education Network (HAVEN) to raise awareness of animal abuse and interpersonal violence. “She talked about the fact that she was a juvenile court judge and had never asked about the animals in the home. After my presentation, she said this lightbulb went off, and she couldn’t believe she never made the connection. This made her a strong advocate.”
Under Grande’s mentorship, Judge Grace created a curriculum to educate judges about the connection between animal abuse and domestic violence and child abuse for her MAPP capstone project. After graduating from Cummings School, Judge Grace pursued this educational component further, hosting trainings for judges, lawyers, social workers, law enforcement professionals, and others about the link between animal abuse and human violence and how to look for signs of this type of violence. She conducted some of these trainings in collaboration with Grande at HAVEN, regularly traveling to the Berkshires, where the nonprofit is located, for meetings and training sessions.
Judge Grace also testified in support of a bill in the Massachusetts legislature that authorizes judges to include animals in domestic protection orders.
“Martha was well known in the legislature and in the governor's office, and so her testimony undoubtedly made a huge amount of difference for getting that bill through,” says Rutberg.
Judge Grace shared with Grande an encounter she had with a boy in her courtroom who ran away from his foster home to see his dog, and her regret at not asking him if he had pets from the start.
“A way to connect with people is by talking to them about pets. Martha wanted to make sure judges and social workers understood that,” says Grande.
For the past decade, Judge Grace taught the Animal Law class in the MAPP program. She also sat on the advisory board of Tufts’ Center for Animals and Public Policy.
“Martha was a wonderful teacher,” says Rutberg. “She was so generous with students. She always had this incredibly bright, positive impact and outlook on everything, so just being around her was energizing.”
Judge Grace was born in 1940 in Providence, Rhode Island, and attended Smith College, majoring in zoology. She applied to veterinary school, but was told at the time that married women could not be veterinarians. So instead, she earned her master’s degree in history at Clark University, followed by her law degree at New England School of Law. She practiced in Worcester for a number of years before her appointment as a Massachusetts Juvenile Court judge and later chief justice of the Massachusetts Juvenile Court, a tenure that saw the expansion of the Juvenile Court system across the state.
Judge Grace led a full life with her family. She was an avid horseback rider and hiker. She was also enamored with dachshunds. “She never went anywhere without one or more dachshunds on her clothing, or her purse, or something. She was a walking dachshund person,” says Rutberg.
When asked what she liked most about the MAPP program, Judge Grace had responded, “The opportunity to learn about animals from all perspectives in ways of which I had been previously unaware. The MAPP program allowed and encouraged a different look at our attitudes and previously-held conceptions. I liked the small class and personal relationships with the professors.”
Her work and her friendships have left their mark on the Cummings School community.
“Martha had more energy than anyone I ever knew in my life. She never stopped and was always very encouraging and supportive, amazingly generous, the kind of person you’d get a book from in the mail, or she’d knit something for you. The main thing about Martha was her energy and willingness to go out of her way to make things happen,” says Grande.
Rutberg reflects on his experience having a former chief justice sitting in his classroom, soon to be a close colleague and friend, “When Martha joined the program as a student, she was completely unpretentious. She has this incredible record of accomplishment as a lawyer and as a judge, and then she comes to the program as a beginning student—and she acted like a beginning student. She called me Dr. Rutberg all the time, to the very end. She would not let people call her Judge Grace. She was always Martha. She was a unique individual, and we just miss her so much.”
Department:
MS in Animals and Public Policy