The philosophy of giving

By Rachel P. Farrell | Published December 2025

Although Glenn Street (CAS’82, MET’94) has dedicated his 30+ year career to computer science, “philosophy has always been my first love,” he says. As an undergraduate at BU, he majored in the subject and was an active member of the Undergraduate Philosophy Association (UPA).

In the decades since, Street has remained a loyal donor to the philosophy department in the BU College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). More recently, he’s provided generous support to BU Crowdfunding projects, making a variety of student-led philosophy initiatives possible.

Here, he explains his family’s longstanding relationship with BU, his passion for philosophy, and why he loves supporting crowdfunding projects at the University.

What brought you to BU in the first place?

I’m from Brooklyn, New York, but my family has lived in the Boston area for a long time, so I was always interested in going to school in this area. I really liked BU and the fact that it was an urban university. The other thing that interested me was its “distribution requirements,” or core curriculum, which allowed you to declare a major but take courses in other disciplines. That was really appealing to me.

Also, funny coincidence: my mother Helen (Tiews) Street, aunt Evelyn M. Tiews (GRS’57), and uncle Robert J. Tiews (CAS’28, GRS’39) all went to BU. So, I was a second-generation BU student, and my daughter Jaime Faria (CAS’19, Wheelock’19) was a third-generation student. She married a fellow BU alum, Andrew “Drew” Faria (CAS’19). BU is in our family’s DNA, so to speak.

We now have a grandson, Simon. He’s seven months old. Of course, I bought him a BU onesie because—no pressure—we need a fourth-generation student!

You began your BU studies as a chemistry major. What made you switch to philosophy?

BU gave me a philosophy course as part of my distribution requirements; I didn’t choose it. I feel like that was the greatest bit of luck I’ve ever had. The course was “Introduction to Ethics,” and it introduced me to things I had never considered in my entire life before. The questions that it brought up, for me, were way more important than anything else. I thought, “These are the things that people should be studying. This is what’s important.”

What did you find most valuable about your BU education?

Employers have said that my broad, liberal arts background is something they wish more of their employees had. Now, that sounds kind of counterintuitive nowadays. But, when everything around us is becoming more and more automated through AI, it’s nice to have people who can think critically. I definitely benefited from that in my studies at BU.

What is it about philosophy that you love so much?

That’s a great question, and it’s hard for me to answer. Maybe this will be useful: I listen to a podcast, “Overthink,” that’s presented by two early-career philosophy professors. They talk about the philosophy of pretty much any subject you can think of. So, they explore the standard questions, like: what is good? What is justice? But they also explore more unique topics, like the phenomenon of cottagecore.

I remember having a conversation with my daughter, and I said, “Oh, you’re talking about cottagecore,” and her jaw dropped. Because I’m 64 and people my age typically do not know about these things. But I know about it because philosophers ask questions about all these things. And that’s what I find so fascinating about philosophy. Everything is philosophy.

Why direct your giving to crowdfunding projects at BU?

Three or four years ago, I read an interview in a CAS newsletter about a philosophy student who was reviving the undergraduate philosophy journal, Arché. I thought: “Well, this is great. I want to give money to that.” So, I helped sponsor the journal that year, and then I gave to a crowdfunding campaign to publish it the following spring. Then, after I learned that the UPA was crowdfunding for an undergraduate lecture, I donated to that in 2024 and again in 2025. Now, I follow these groups on social media, and they do a great job of providing updates.

I’m not in the position to create a fellowship at BU, but I would like to know where my money’s going and see the impact of my giving. That’s why crowdfunding is great. It’s also a way for students and alumni to have a connection. The students running Arché and the UPA have contacted me to share what’s going on, and the president of UPA even sent me a t-shirt.

How might you encourage other BU alumni to support crowdfunding projects?

I think crowdfunding is a fantastic innovation. What I find really interesting about it is it makes clear what students’ greatest needs are. If I’m an alum who says, “I wonder how I can help?” this is a great way to know and understand the direct impact of your gifts on students.

As an alum who wants to help in whatever way I can, crowdfunding is just so powerful to me. It makes me want to give more, frankly.

Editor’s note: Interview has been edited for length and clarity.