John Silber: The Pursuit of Excellence

This exhibition traces the development and arc of the career and influence of John Silber, seventh president of Boston University, from the announcement of his appointment in 1970 through his current position as President Emeritus. His three decades of service to both the University community and the community at large finds documentation in correspondence with notable figures from the worlds of leadership, politics and letters including King Hussein I of Jordan; former President George and Barbara Bush; Henry Kissinger and Tom Wolfe, to name a few.

The exhibition examines John Silber's personal commitment to excellence through his own writings as well. Shown are multiple, heavily-corrected and annotated drafts of a number of speeches and manuscript pages from his book, Straight Shooting. Through these documents, selected from his collected papers in the archives of the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, we are able to gain an insight into the complex personality that is John Silber.

John Silber: The Pursuit of Excellence is on view for an extended run on the first floor of Mugar Memorial Library during regular library hours.
April 16, 2007