Boston University Year in Review
Explore the Moments
01
2020: A Year for the Ages
02
Expanding the Legacy of Howard Thurman
03
Building the Future
04
Virtual Teaching in the Age of COVID
05
A Quiet Celebration
06
A Terrier Title
07
A Race to Bring Students Home
08
Taking on Racism
09
BU Launches COVID Testing Lab
10
Six Months on the COVID-19 Frontlines
11
Launching Learn from Anywhere
12
Responding to National Unrest
13
A Ghost Town
14
A Spotlight Shines on NEIDL
15
By the Numbers: COVID-19's Impact
16
Fighting for the Planet
17
Be F*cking Careful
18
Big Steps for Diversity, Inclusion, Fairness
19
The New Normal Begins
20
Our Responsibility
SCROLL
Above: Katherine Kennedy, director of the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground

What was founded in 1986 as a cultural hub for Boston University students and a tribute to the legacy of Dr. Howard Thurman (Hon.’67)—philosopher, poet, renowned educator, and former dean of Marsh Chapel—the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground took a big leap forward in 2020. Moving from its original home in the George Sherman Union, it settled into a new, more visible space at 808 Commonwealth Avenue.

With oversized windows facing out onto campus and five times as much room as the old location, the new Howard Thurman Center opened with great anticipation on January 21. It has a welcoming great lounge, 180-seat event space, terraced staircase, and upstairs there are rooms for classes, lectures, and socializing as well as a listening space for meditation and reflection.

Kenneth Elmore (Wheelock’87), associate provost and dean of students, predicted at the opening that students mourning the loss of the cozy basement space in the George Sherman Union will quickly find ways to bring that same feeling into the new center. “Intimacy does not depend on the design of a space,” Elmore told the crowd packed into the new center’s first floor, “but on those who use it. Intimacy and coziness are created by people.”

01.
2020: A Year for the Ages
03.
Building the Future
01.
2020: A Year for the Ages
02
03.
Building the Future