ENG Student Found Dead in Dorm Room

No foul play suspected

April 14, 2014
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ENG student Kevin Lee was found dead Monday morning. “Our thoughts are with Kevin’s friends here at BU and with his family,” says ENG Dean Kenneth Lutchen.

Kevin Lee, a College of Engineering sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering, was found dead in his dorm room at The Towers, 140 Bay State Rd., at approximately 9:30 a.m. today. An employee of Residence Life discovered Lee’s body during a well-being check after family members became concerned when they were unable to reach him.

EMS personnel, Boston Police, and Boston University Police were immediately called to the scene, where Lee (ENG’16) was pronounced dead. Boston Police are investigating the cause of death, but say there are no indications of foul play.

“From my discussions with the police surrounding Kevin’s passing, we believe there is no concern about harm to the community,” says Kenneth Elmore (SED’87), dean of students. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Kevin, and urge those in the community who knew him or may otherwise be affected by his death to seek counseling and support through the University’s resources.”

Lee, who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., attended the Midwood High School at Brooklyn College. He spent the first semester of his freshman year at City University of New York Brooklyn College, before transferring to BU in January 2013.

“It is always tragic for us to lose one of our own students so young in their life and with so much opportunity ahead to make an impact on society,” says Kenneth Lutchen, ENG dean and a professor of biomedical engineering. “Our thoughts are with Kevin’s friends here at BU and with his family.”

Lee is survived by his parents, Xiu Lin Zheng, and Wing Wah Lee, and his sister, Joanne, all of Brooklyn. No details about a funeral or a memorial service are available at this time.

Counseling is available through the Dean of Students Office, 617-353-4126; from Marsh Chapel chaplains, 617-353-3560; at Student Health Services, 617-353-3575 for counselors, and 617-353-3569 for a behavioral medicine provider; and at the Sexual Assault Response & Prevention Center (SARP), 617-353-7277. The Faculty & Staff Assistance Office, 617-353-5381, is available to provide confidential counseling to faculty, staff, and their families.

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ENG Student Found Dead in Dorm Room

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  • John O’Rourke

    Editor, BU Today

    John O'Rourke

    John O’Rourke began his career as a reporter at The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. He has worked as a producer at World Monitor, a coproduction of the Christian Science Monitor and the Discovery Channel, and NBC News, where he was a producer for several shows, including Now with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric, NBC Nightly News, and The Today Show. John has won many awards, including four Emmys, a George Foster Peabody Award, and five Edward R. Murrow Awards. Profile

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There are 18 comments on ENG Student Found Dead in Dorm Room

  1. Here are non-BU affiliated resources, including
    Samaritans- 877-870-4673
    Samariteens- 800-252-8336
    National Suicide Prevention Hotline- 800-273-TALK (8255)

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  4. I understand the stresses of biomedical engineering-tough deadlines, difficult schedules, expensive textbooks, also-being a transfer student as well- BU engineering is a very difficult transition.

    I wish that the engineering program would have more community events. People need to know that other people care and that there is always hope in the future. When I started engineering I hadn’t completed anywhere close to the high school requirements expected of a science or math major. I pulled my grades up from Cs to As in classes that had 70 averages with standard deviations of 20.

    Often we have a hard time seeing a future-we only hear about the star students or the children of doctors and scientists. Yet if I’m not mistaken, so many graduate with less than a B average-and obviously the system hasn’t failed outrageously-they all go to places where they’re happy. I think that engineering students all work very hard. For some assignments where the extra hard work seems menial-it’s all about learning about yourself and knowing how much time and effort you’d put into lab versus lecture, written assignments versus hands-on projects. There have been some assignments where the grading seemed outrageous. For people who are willing to put in the time to get an A, that means they’ll be excellent employees, and their GPA’s are a testament that they will be expected to work just as hard if not harder at their jobs.

    Engineering is about teamwork and pacing yourself.

    I hope Kevin and his family find peace.

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  7. I feel that the school needs to be doing a lot more to reach out to students. This is not the first death this year and the number of deaths is disappointing and unacceptable. There have also been a number of safety issues on the campus- I receive messages at least twice a month regarding safety issues and scares. BU will continue to accrue a bad reputation if things do not change.

    I hope this student finds peace.

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    1. BU is the size of a small city. Unfortunately these types of things can and do occur in any community. Please take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

      Rest In Peace Kevin.

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    2. Anonymous – I wanted to reach out on behalf of the Dean of Students office. If you have any safety concerns you would like to bring to our attention, our door is always open. Please call us at 617-353-4126 or email us at dos@bu.edu. The BUPD is also very responsive, and has been doing outreach across campus to listen to as many safety concerns as possible. You can always contact them via their emergency number at 617-353-2121 or non-emergency number 617-353-2110. They do send out many safety alerts because they want to keep students well informed of situations surrounding our campus.

      In addition, if you need to talk about the anxiety the loss of a classmate can cause (even if you did not know him personally, it can still cause sadness), we encourage you to reach out to one of the counseling resources listed in the article, or the ones listed earlier in this comment section.

      Unfortunately, our campus has seen tragedy throughout the past few years, but so have many campuses across America. It is important in times of need that you reach out not just to campus resources who can counsel you and respond to questions, but to each other as a student body.

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  10. I pray to God almighty to help the family during such tough times. RIP kevin. Let us all hold unto our faith and get closer to God because life is too short.

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  12. I sit here in silence . I have a son . This horrific tragedy happened for reasons that are none of our business . Respect that this loving family needs all the love and support .Respect translates to dignity . If this young man was not well , can’t we just allow that to just be ? Blaming the academics workload or grading system won’t bring peace to anyone. How to heal ? Show up for who’s left . God bless . Write a sympathy card to the family

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  14. Rest in peace. Thoughts go out to Kevin’s family and friends.

    As a tour guide at BU, I find it incredibly insensitive to the BU community that tours are still on schedule after we just lost a student,especially to people who knew Kevin personally.

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