More shared stories from BU’s generous alumni, parents, students, staff, and friends
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Our son, Brian, works for BU Athletics as an assistant athletic director and director of Sports Communications. His fiancé, Kimberly DeRosa, is a BU graduate. Boston University has been a great fit for our son, and we want to share in the pride he feels for the Terriers. As a nurse, I fully appreciate the care BU is taking to protect students in these uncertain COVID-19 times. I have met Sally Starr, the impressive women’s field hockey coach, and she exemplifies all that is good about sports and coaching.
Susan Kelley
I transferred to Boston University in the fall of 2018. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to attend such a great school. I truly found a home at Boston University when I joined the men’s club hockey team as well as the Entrepreneur Club! I continue to get chills when I walk around campus—I still cannot believe I am a student here. I try to embrace every minute at BU because I am going to miss this school so much next year upon graduation. I wanted to donate to SHA because I believe it is a fantastic college that can continue to grow. I would love to be a part of that growth—especially in the real estate program, which I have a concentration in.
Ryan Farley (CAS’21, SHA’21)
BU welcomed and provided a terrific first-year (and four-year) experience for my son (CAS’18). The clubs and sports were where he made lifelong friends. Student life is a huge part of college success. There were plenty of “wholesome” options for recreation all four years.
Jane Lake (Parent CAS’18)
I give to Boston University every year because BU opened the door to me. I have always been a very bright individual but needed the resources to help me get to where I needed to be. After graduating BU, I have achieved more than I could have imagined! From working with Fortune 500 companies, to being one of the youngest consultants within my company! All it took was a little bit of faith and motivation from a school and faculty that cares for its students. BU has a reputation for its education and its students. I am proud to be an alumna and a fellow Terrier!
Linda Morales (Questrom’17)
I’m not an alumna, nor do I know any that I’m aware of. I chose to donate because I want to support the work of the Center for Antiracism Research. I’m in a financial situation where I am able to donate and support this important work. I hope it will help make real change for the future.
Angelica Romero
As a Korean War veteran, my tuition was covered totally by the US government; otherwise I could never have attended college. This is a way of paying it back now, at age 91. BU and Hillel House were home to me for 5 years; there is where I first met my late wife of 60 wonderful years of happy marriage. She passed away over 4 years ago but the memory of our life together is refreshed when I think of BU.
Martin Margulies (CAS’57, SSW’59)
Boston University Hillel was my home on campus for years. It taught me so much about leadership and community. It was a place for me to learn about myself, my heritage, my faith, and meet the most amazing students and faculty.
Sydney Berman (Questrom’19)
This year I give to the Center for Antiracist Research. I was inspired while listening to colleagues and students during the Day of Collective Engagement and would like to contribute to this important work on our campus.
Helen Flagg (CAS’87, Questrom’99, Parent ENG’20, staff)
My husband and I both graduated from BU and we had the honor to dine with President Robert Brown last year when he visited Hong Kong. At the dinner, President Brown made a presentation regarding the future developments of Boston University and we were reminded of how much we benefited from our education. From the emails we receive from BU, we were also very touched by how BU wanted to help the students affected by the COVID pandemic, so we started our donations. Our daughter also attended summer school at Boston University in July 2019 and we had the chance to visit the beautiful campus again. Though so many things have changed, we were nevertheless impressed with all the improvements throughout the campus. We hope that with our donations, BU will continue to thrive and bring outstanding educational and holistic benefits to its students.
Viola Chen and Bernard Cheong (Questrom’91)
I love what Umoja is doing NOW!
In 1968, midway through my undergraduate coursework at Boston University, a singular event forever altered my life: the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I recall how I, like many students, channeled trauma, profound sadness, and rage by becoming politically active. I started mentoring youth in Roxbury and also began organizing on campus with our small number of Black undergrad and grad students. The first thing we did was formalize the BSU and our name: Umoja (“unity” in Swahili). We militantly negotiated for a substantive affirmative action program, which addressed such voids as a paucity of African-ancestry and Latinx students; and the lack of cultural relevancy and enrichment. We even struggled for a measure of institutional (fiscal & administrative) independence within BU itself.
Students such as Linda Phaire, Wendell Cox, Terri Lee, Florence ?, Ed Coaxum, John Bryant, Andrea Taylor, Cecelia Williams, Gerry Sims, Doris Headley, Al Smith, R. Lee Cook, Julian Huston, Bob Perry, Charles Mauldin, Barbara Curry, Gale Stewart, Linda Smith, Diane Sears, Maria Flores, Bob Marshall, Paulette Mapson, Gil Holloway, Fred Washington, and so many more stepped up.
Our efforts resulted in the creation of the MLK Jr. Afro American Student Center and the annual admission of several hundred more Black and Latinx students. In 1970, upon graduation, I was hired as a full-time educational research associate for BU’s newly established MLK, Jr. Center, where we refined, and got re-funding for, the Center’s creative writing club and publication, its theatre arts program, and a student academic support “Skills Bank.”
Erskin Anthony Mackall (CGS’68, CAS’70)
I couldn’t think of two better ways to support BU. This year I am supporting both the Center for Antiracist Research and the Center for Gender, Sexuality & Activism. BU is amazing in so many ways and I am so proud of the work being done in these centers. I am building on my historical education, learning from new (to me) sources like Dr. Kendi, and I am humbly asking to be an ally in the fight for racial justice and equality.
Michelle Clark (CAS’95)
The most important and dearly loved thing I have ever done in my life was to have the blessing of raising my son, TJ Douglas, Jr. He has grown to be a man who works steadfastly for anything he believes in. He and his wife have built The Urban Grape into a thriving business and, as a successful Black business owner, my son and his family want to “pay it forward” to other People of Color who have a serious interest in joining the wine industry. Although I listen closely to the story of his experience of racism in his life and in this industry, I will never truly know what it has felt like for him. I am so proud to see his lifelong impact on individuals and systems that might not have benefited from knowing and working with him had he not pursued his dreams with optimism and hard work. I am grateful for the opportunity to give to The Urban Grape Wine Studies Award for Students of Color.
Donna Soltura
As a student, in the 1990s I was very civic-minded and very much aware of racism throughout the city of Boston. My favorite place to study was the Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading Room on the fourth floor of the Mugar Library. I would be so inspired by reading letters by Dr. King and seeing pictures of him on campus. Recently, Boston University brought in Dr. Ibram X. Kendi to head the Antiracism Center, which is something that is very much needed to help cure the world of the ugly disease of racism. I don’t make a lot of money and am certainly not a major professional success story, however, I do believe in the Antiracism Center and very much want to be part of this project.
Tahir Hussain (CGS’92, COM’94)
Because this generation inspires me beyond words! Leapfrog! Seize the moment! The shoulders on which you stand have grown stronger by the day, year, decade…century!
Signed, the great-granddaughter of John Richard Phillips, a freed enslaved Reconstruction hero
Terri Phillips
I am an alumna who has never given before because I felt some level of disconnect between the needs of the University and my own philanthropy. I am giving, for the first time, in support of the Center for Antiracist Research. It is an important cause that can provide important research and resources that are much needed in antiracist work. In my work as a school administrator, my community and I will directly benefit from this research.
Leela Pahl (CAS’06)
BU gave me, a Mississippi African American student, an opportunity for a top-shelf education in 1969. This was one year after the assignation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I remain grateful. That is also why I encouraged my son Jonathan Priester to attend BU, and I am supremely proud that he graduated from COM in 2010. I encourage everyone to help support this wonderful school, especially during this difficult time in our country.
Elizabeth Charlene Priester (COM’73, Parent COM’10)
Coming to terms with my complicity in systemic racism has been one of the defining threads of my life. The work that the BU Center for Antiracist Research will be doing, and that it was doing at AU, is the most important work that can be done.
William Clark
I want to give because education is so important, and I had a great one at BU. My daughter went to BU also. She had a wonderful education and college life experience. BU has a wonderful, diverse student population and faculty, which makes it a great university. Keep up your good work!!
Jane Porter (CAS’77)
Just finished How to Be an Antiracist; learned from Dr. Kendi about the work he’s doing to CHANGE POLICY in this country with the Center for Antiracist Research. … Whatever little bit I can do to support the people and institution doing the essential work that will create meaningful change. All lives can’t matter until **BLACK LIVES MATTER**.
Karalyn Yegge
As a librarian, I believe in the power of information to transform society, which is why I always make sure to give to the library. But this year I am also adding the fund for the Center for Antiracist Research because of the message it sends to all generations in this moment of a broadened reflection.
Christina Geuther (STH’10)
I am delighted to give to a scholarship fund in the name of Dean Ken Schulman and Betty Ruth. As a former Dean of the School of Social Work, I am pleased to say that these were the finest, most hardworking members of SSW when I was dean. This special recognition is well deserved.
Professor Emerita Wilma Peebles-Wilkins
BUSPH is a dynamic environment that fosters dedication and works for health justice globally.
Elizabeth Ann Sommers (SPH’89,’10)
I give to support the training of superb people as educators. This gift is in honor of Professor Henry W. Syer, who was my undergraduate advisor, an educator who developed his own course (Foundations of Mathematics) and taught it to illuminate, not just to generate skills.
Joel Berg (Wheelock’50,’51)
I’m supporting the Center for Antiracist Research with the hope that others will join me as Dr. Kendi and BU reframe the research on race and racism to ultimately deal with racist policies. BU has the historical footing, all the way back to its roots with the founding of the School of Theology, to take this issue head on. May all of our alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of BU do what they can to be agents for change.
Ray Joyce (Questrom’91 and staff)
“I’m giving to the Center for Antiracist Research in support of the work of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. The news of his appointment to the faculty, and the recreation of his center here, is thrilling. I’m learning a lot about the history of racism in this country (and a lot about how much I need to learn) from reading Dr. Kendi’s work. I look forward to learning much more from him and his team. Thank you, Bob Brown, Jean Morrison, and Crystal Williams for making this happen.”
Sara Rimer (staff)
I rowed 4 years as an undergraduate. Am so proud I was able to accomplish this. It was one of the great experiences of my life and showed you need to persevere to succeed in life. I have a great affinity for this program and have a great bond with the guys with whom I rowed.
Clark Broden (CAS’64)
My journey at BU was filled with great memories. From exciting courses with dynamic teachers to great social exchanges on campus and in the city. Three big learnings: think big, get things done, have fun! A wonderful educational experience full of opportunities to grow both personally and professionally. I’m fortunate to have realized my dream to become a biomedical engineer. I’m supporting the College of Engineering fund to help students bring their dreams to life!
Manuel Mendez (ENG’90)
We met as undergrads at a ‘get to know your classmates and professors’ pizza dinner at the Department of Earth & Environment. In May 2020, we celebrated 10 years as a couple, and in August we’re celebrating three years of marriage. We’re grateful for the opportunities BU has given us, socially and professionally, and during this pandemic we’re grateful to be healthy and quarantining together as best friends.
Hila Ariane Landesman (CAS ’13) and Andrew Bennett Sklar (CAS ’12)
I grew up in East LA as a child; my family is white, from Pittsburgh. I taught music in inner-city schools during the LA riots and during the LA Unified School District strikes. I have experienced poverty and privation, but never understood my privilege in it. I couldn’t see the difference between what I experienced and what my black students experienced. I want to understand what I lived through, what we are living through now, and what needs to be done to live differently in the future. I want to understand my place in the world and make it count for what is honest and fair. I want to know.
Karen Nelson
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is an inspirational scholar. Boston University is so lucky to have him. I hope Boston can return to the Boston of Phillis Wheatley. We have much work to do in this country. My uncle, the late Dr. Raymond J. Jirran, was a professor of African-American History. He changed his last name from Jirkans to Jirran so that his last name did not sound so middle-European Caucasian. He was doing the work in the 1960s and 1970s before many others could even imagine there was work to be done. His work in Cleveland and Norfolk, Virginia, is amazing to me. He is missed as an uncle, missed as a scholar, and missed as a human being who saw injustices and tried to do something about them. I hope this small contribution can honor his legacy in some way. I wish I had more to give.
Elaine Jirkans
“While our students are getting tremendous support from the University during the COVID-19 crisis, there are still many reasons as students to contribute to the Student Life Emergency Fund. Please also join me in supporting the graduate students via a gift to your school’s Dean’s Discretionary Fund, as the Student Life Fund is for undergraduates only. With more than 300,000 alumni and 10,000 BU employees, our cumulative gifts have the potential for a tremendous impact. Thanks to all who have given thus far.”
Ray Joyce (Questrom’91 and staff)
“I give because I know firsthand how many students in our community are going through very difficult times financially. I know my donation is not a lot, but I hope it helps. Stay well, BU!”
Kevin Patrick Lynch (MET’18, Wheelock’20)
“It’s an honor to be part of this community and to come together during these tough times.”
Marshall W. Van Alstyne (Parent CAS’22)
“As a current staff member, I saw firsthand how these funds were used to help students who may not have had the resources to get home on short notice or who had other needs. As an alumnus, I remember what it was like to need resources when I was a student. Thank you to everyone involved in supporting those in need.”
Michael Dennehy (CAS’92, Wheelock’01, and staff)
“I give every year to the School of Theology, but this particular gift is with deep gratitude and honor for the years of inspiring ecofeminist leadership Dean Mary Elizabeth Moore provided, and for her loving and generous support of myself and so many others. It is truly an honor to contribute to this fund as a way to celebrate her contributions and her retirement!”
Tallessyn Zawn Grenfell-Lee (STH’04,’16)
“The Dean Moore Fellowship is an inspiring initiative for the need to provide a sustainable platform and process to assure the quality of the academic and ministerial formation for women’s leadership in the church, in theological education, and in society. As an alumna of the School of Theology who was just recently elected to be the first female president of Jakarta Theological Seminary, the oldest Protestant and ecumenical seminary in Indonesia, I greatly value my doctoral study and training at STH. It deepened my knowledge and broadened my horizons of the importance of women’s leadership in the church and theological education as an integral part of the transformation of our global and complex world of today.”
Septemmy Eucharistia Lakawa (STH’11)
“As I listened to Dean Mary Elizabeth Moore’s vision for the School of Theology during my time there and witnessed the kinds of changes she consistently made over the years, I became so proud to be a part of the BUSTH community. She is an amazing leader with an eye for the bigger picture of structural liberative change while also having the ability to be so present in a conversation you feel like nothing else matters to her in the moment. I will be forever grateful for the way Dean Moore noticed my interests and introduced me to guilds that have continued to be my primary sites of scholarly engagement. Thank you for everything, Mary Elizabeth.”
Montague Rajesh Williams (STH’18)
“I had to work my way through college. I didn’t get as much out of my undergraduate years as I could have done, and I certainly missed out on a lot of opportunities because I had to work. I hope that by giving, I can in a small way support current students so that they can enjoy the opportunities that I missed.”
Sarah Jane Brockmann (COM’86)
“I give to Marsh Chapel because Dean Hill, the music, and the staff inspire me and remind me of the good that is already in the world, and the good that we as individuals can do to make it even better. Thank you!”
Keith F. Boucher (Parent CAS’04, Wheelock’10)
“BU changed my life…I was a little smarter when I graduated but I was a much better, more capable and balanced person when I graduated. What started at BU has carried me very far.”
Mitch Fillet (CAS’70)
“I give in memory of Professor Michael Oshins because he was one of the most influential professors in SHA. He continues to be an inspiration and a mentor to me after I graduated from BU in ’95.”
Ingrid Lin (SHA’95)
“I would not be where I am today without the education I received from Wheelock. Thank you to Professor Elenora Villegas-Reimers and other caring faculty. I hope that my daughter will be able to have the same experience from BU.”
Ikuyo Maeda (Wheelock’90)
“I came to BU because my mom remembered a wonderful summer she spent here as a young woman. Hillel helped to cement my Jewish identity. On her third yahrzeit, I am grateful for both.”
Jan Schwartz (CAS’77, MET’84)
“As a graduate of STH, my life was blessed with great teachers who gave me a love for learning. It is a blessing I continue to enjoy after serving as a United Methodist pastor for 50 years. May those who follow be equally blessed.”
Charles Tout (STH’69)
“I feel honored to be a part of this great community. Though my contribution is minuscule, it gives me immense pride in giving back. It matters to me.”
Dr. Narendra Jayanth Gutla Palli (SDM’16)
“I love BU, I love SHA, I love Terriers. BU will forever have a special place in my heart. Best forever!”
Qifei Sun (SHA’20)
“I finished my MSBA from MET while employed and traveling abroad and in the USA; little did I know my daughter, born that year, would graduate from CAS’13, having received scholarships; I’m grateful to BU.”
Edmond St. Louis (MET’91, Parent CAS’14)
“In 1977 I received a scholarship from BU through the Center for Latin American Studies (CLADS) to make graduate studies in Economics. In 1979 I obtained the master’s in political economy. Thanks, BU.”
Arturo Ramirez (GRS’79)
“For my ASB co-chair, Tyler Ramaker, who died far too young. Our service trip to Omaha working with Rebuilding Together is one of my fondest BU memories. I give so students can make those memories.”
Katie Connors (CGS’06, COM’08)
“I give to BU because you provide to students the best university education one can get! BU’s coursework offerings are outstanding and provide each grad with the tools they need to get a great job!”
Theresa King (Parent CAS’18)
“I give to Women’s Water Polo because as a player and captain, I remember scraping together every last dime so we could travel to tournaments. We’d cram 10 girls into a room because we couldn’t afford hotel rooms.”
Michele Ahouse (COM’00)
“Boston University Sargent College believed in me… I believe in Boston University Sargent College!!!! Always a “Sargent Girl”!
Melba Arnold (SAR’90)
“BU will forever have a special place in my heart, with so many memories and great years of learning. Most importantly, it’s where I met the love of my life, David (CAS’08), my husband of six years.”
Elise R. Askenazi (CGS’06, COM’08)
“BU Law and its criminal clinical program provided me with the tools, knowledge, and ethics to succeed as a prosecutor. From nationally renowned faculty to a real world clinical programs, BU Law is it.”
Benjamin B. (LAW’98)
“The College of Basic Studies gave me an opportunity to learn and taught me how to study. My success today is on the shoulders of my education at CBS. Thanks for believing in me.”
Kenneth Beaton (CGS’61)
“I give to the College of Communication as a thank you for all of the opportunities that it has given me through the professors, internships, and my fellow classmates.”
Lauren Blackburn (COM’19)