Faculty
Did you ever fall in love with a subject because of an incredible teacher? Someone with the ability to blow away the cobwebs in your brain. Electrify your curiosity. And show you that learning can be one of the pure joys of living—not just a preparation for it.
Like all truly great teachers, the faculty members at BU know that learning isn’t just about listening to a lecture or reading a book. They believe in doing things. You might have a physics professor who illustrates Newton’s laws of motion by dropping pumpkins from the roof of the Science Center. Or a psychology professor who illustrates language acquisition using the example of a parrot taught to actually converse with human beings.
The truth is our professors get just as excited about teaching as their students do about learning. That’s why they’re here, teaching undergraduates, leading discussion groups and helping students make their own discoveries. At the same time, their lives often include research, speaking engagements, publishing papers or books, and keeping current—or ahead of—changes and trends in their field of expertise.
Many of our more than 3,000 faculty members have distinguished themselves as prizewinners and groundbreakers, scholars and scientists, business leaders and accomplished artists. Here are some of the people you might find at the front of your classroom at BU:
- Three current Nobel Prize winners: Sheldon Glashow, Elie Wiesel and Derek Walcott
- A former U.S. Poet Laureate (Robert Pinsky)
- The first bioengineer ever to receive a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Award” (Jim Collins)
- A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner (Tom Fiedler)
- A recipient of the Presidential Citizens Award for accomplishment in medicine and health (Charles DeLisi, for his work initiating the Human Genome Project)
- A two-time winner of the PEN/Faulkner Literary Award (Ha Jin)
- A recipient of the Broderick Award for Excellence in Research (Yrjo Koskinen)
- A winner of the Latino Literature Prize for Fiction (Alicia Borinsky)
- A two-time Emmy Award winner (Robert Zelnick)
- More than 65 Guggenheim Scholars
- 23 Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 16 members of the National Academies of Science and of Engineering
- 29 Sloan Research Fellows
- 6 Rhodes Scholars
In addition to achievement outside the classroom, we recognize one faculty member each year with the Metcalf Cup and Prize for excellence in teaching. Professors are nominated by students, faculty and alumni for this prestigious Boston University award.
Not just notable—available
You’ll find your professors very accessible in person, by phone and by e-mail. They hold office hours for one-on-one meetings. They welcome questions during or after class. They conduct research with undergraduates (including freshmen) at their side. At a university that stresses active involvement, you can expect all of these interactions to become valuable parts of your education.
BU professors also work closely with students as academic advisors. Your professor might help you shape your academic career or make important decisions about your future. In fact, many students develop relationships with professors that last long after they’ve graduated.