Newsroom

For Release Upon Receipt — March 30, 2006

Presidential Inauguration Symposia to Examine Four Perspectives on Boston University's Societal Impact

Panelists include Nobel Peace Prize Winner, UN Advisor & Distinguished BU Faculty

Boston University’s past and prospective influence on society will be probed during four symposia on Friday, April 28 as part of a two-day celebration to coincide with President Robert A. Brown’s inauguration as Boston University’s tenth president.

Entitled “Celebrating Our Legacy, Forging Our Future: Boston University and Beyond,” the day-long event will be held at the School of Management Auditorium and is open to the public.  On the day prior, Dr. Brown, the former MIT provost, will formally assume the presidential helm of the nation’s fourth largest private university, founded in 1839.

The symposia’s morning session will focus on “BU and the World” and “BU and the City,” while “BU and Research” and “BU and Education” will comprise the afternoon portion.

“Dr. Brown’s formal installation as president provided an ideal opportunity to examine the university’s mission and role in the community and as an educator,” said Elaine Kirshenbaum, co-chair, Inaugural Advisory Committee. “The symposia are intended to reflect upon the university as a diverse learning and research community, and how we serve and benefit from Greater Boston and the world, as well as what we can do to ensure that the educational opportunities of Boston University are accessible to all.”

Gerald T. Keusch, associate dean for Global Health and director, Global Health Initiative, and Ronald K. Richardson, director of the African American Studies Program, will co-chair the opening symposium on the university’s role and responsibility to address the important global issues of our time.  Panelists include Nobel Peace Prize winner, prolific author and BU professor Elie Wiesel; and Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, author (“The End of Poverty”) and special advisor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

After the break, Karen Antman, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine and provost of the Medical Campus, and Doug Sears, dean of the School of Education, will chair the discussion on BU’s enduring and extensive engagement in the community, and the ongoing effort to realize the vision of the university’s third president, Lemuel H. Murlin (1911-24), who envisaged the university “in the heart of the city, in the service of the city.”

Following lunch, Physics Department Chairman Bennett Goldberg and Biomedical Engineering Department Chairman Kenneth R. Lutchen will lead a discussion on the practice of scientific research and specifically, the promises and pitfalls of interdisciplinary research.

The event will close with a discussion of higher education’s obligation to address inequality in a pluralistic world, lead by Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore and Linda S. Wells, dean of the College of General Studies.   

“Bob Brown’s passion for education combined with his inspiring vision of Boston University's even greater role as a world-class, urban research institution has ignited new energy here,” said Roscoe Giles, co-chair, Inaugural Advisory Committee.  “This event marks the beginning of new and promising era at BU.”

Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 30,000 students, it is the fourth largest independent university in the United States. BU contains 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school's research and teaching mission.