\n
![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Janet-Petro.png\")
<\/p>\nJanet Petro (MET’88)<\/h2>\n
After 14 years of helping to commercialize NASA\u2019s premier launch site, Janet Petro became the first woman to lead the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Petro was named the center\u2019s 11th director this past June and hopes to continue the progress they\u2019ve made in utilizing facilities and assets that NASA can no longer use. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Five BU alumni made the 2021 Forbes \u201c30 Under 30\u201d List, which honors 600 trailblazers in 20 different industries.<\/p>\n Read on<\/a> to celebrate the achievements of these Terriers.<\/p>\n <\/a> At the height of the Civil War and at a time of great prejudice, Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first Black woman to graduate from a U.S. medical school. Following the war, Dr. Crumpler moved down to Virginia to help care for former slaves who were refused aid by white doctors. She later returned to Boston to open her own medical practice and continue her life\u2019s work of treating illness in poor women and children. To celebrate Dr. Crumpler\u2019s historical legacy, Melody McCloud (CAS\u201977, MED\u201981), founder and medical director of Atlanta Women\u2019s Health Care, pushed to give Crumpler a more prominent burial than her previously unmarked grave in Hyde Park. And thanks to national fundraising efforts, both Dr. Crumpler and her husband Arthur Crumpler were given proper granite headstones. In addition, the BU School of Medicine has set up a scholarship in her name, and this past year, the City of Boston proclaimed February 8 as Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler Day. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> A new gift from Eric Stine will be used to ensure that LGBTQIA+ students have the financial support they need to attend law school. The Eric & Neil Stine-Markman Scholarship at BU Law, funded by Stine and his husband, was just awarded to its first recipient. \u201cVery often we still, unfortunately, live in a world where LGBTQIA+ youth don\u2019t necessarily receive the same reception from their families that we were fortunate enough to,\u201d Stine says. \u201cAnd often that comes at the cost of the type of education that might otherwise be available to them.\u201d Eric and Neil aren\u2019t done yet\u2014they are issuing a challenge to fellow Terriers to step up and help make a change. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Ivanna Solano is co-founder of Love Your Magic, a Boston-area organization that works with young girls and emphasizes self-advocacy, love, and sisterhood. Solano moved to Lynn, Mass. from the Dominican Republic when she was seven. Her experiences growing up pushed her to study education in college and pursue social justice causes after graduating with her Master\u2019s from BU Wheelock. Love Your Magic was formed in 2017 because Solano wanted to have an impact on the disproportionate criminalization of Black and brown girls in schools. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Susanne Daisley Lyons, a business executive with an MBA from the Questrom School of Business, chaired the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee this summer. For Lyons and her fellow committee members, the past three years have been wracked by a series of crises, including the discovery of sexual abuse of hundreds of female gymnasts, widespread criticism of a rule that forbade Black athletes from expressing solidarity against police brutality and oppression, and the deadliest pandemic in 100 years. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Amit Wadhwa studied biological anthropology at CAS. Now, he combines that training with data science and public health expertise to help track climate-related food insecurity. As a Bangkok-stationed global manager at the United Nations\u2019 World Food Programme, he monitors weather conditions in the country to anticipate climate-related disasters and help herders and others navigate them. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> As the new cohost of the CBS show Lucky Dog, Rashi Khanna Wiese makes a living rescuing shelter dogs on TV alongside her husband, Eric Wiese. The two also own and operate a dog boarding and training facility, Happy Puppy L.A., and are parents to five rescues (Winston, Archy, Rupert, Enzo, and Ella) who make frequent cameos on the show. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Since its inception in 1946, the Boston University Distinguished Alumni Awards have been an important tradition that celebrates some of the university\u2019s most esteemed and accomplished alumni. The ceremony takes place each year during Alumni Weekend, and the occasion was made even more special as we were able to honor the deserving 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients live and in person. Read on<\/a> to learn more about these incredible awardees.<\/p>\n <\/a> Carmen Fields, who currently hosts and produces the public affairs show “Higher Ground” (WHDH-TV), was in the vanguard of Black women journalists who propelled the long, slow struggle to diversify America\u2019s newsrooms. After graduating from BU in 1973, Fields became one of only two female Black reporters in the <\/a> Ivan Schwartz tells stories about American history through his sculptures, which stand in museums and public spaces across the nation. In December of this year, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. unveiled Schwartz\u2019s latest work\u2014a seven-foot-tall bronze sculpture of President John F. Kennedy (Hon.\u201955). The sculpture was commissioned in honor of their 50th anniversary celebration. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> While the COVID-19 vaccines and mRNA technology became new to the public in 2021, Drew Weissman and his research partner, Katalin Karik\u00f3, have been studying and developing the uses of mRNA over the past two decades. Pioneers of mRNA technology, Weissman and Karik\u00f3 are now being hailed for their work and most recently were awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for their groundbreaking work in medical science. Weissman was also just named as one of the 2021 Heroes of the Year for mRNA by Time Magazine. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> In the first paragraph of Lisa Taddeo\u2019s Animal<\/em>, the novel\u2019s protagonist watches her married lover fatally shoot himself while she dines at a restaurant. It\u2019s downhill from there for Joan, the protagonist, in the BU alum\u2019s acclaimed fiction debut. Taddeo began Animal<\/em> as part of her thesis for BU\u2019s Creative Writing Program. The story is, in part, inspired by Taddeo\u2019s own struggles with losing her parents and surviving a difficult pregnancy. Before this this fearless novel, Taddeo authored #1 New York Times<\/em> bestseller Three Women<\/em>. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> After his brother died in the tower collapse on September 11, 2001, Jay Winuk, president of public relations firm Winuk Communications, cofounded MyGoodDeed. In 2009, the nonprofit succeeded in having September 11 federally designated as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. He discussed this year\u2019s 20th anniversary of the attacks with Bostonia<\/em>. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Each year, a number of professorships are given by the Provost\u2019s Office to promising junior faculty. The professorships give BU faculty opportunities to grow in their field and are an integral part of the BU strategic plan to support impactful research across the university. Below are the seven assistant professors honored with Career Development Professorships for 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Demir Sabanci is the founder, chairman, and president of Sedes Holding, A.S., a real estate and retail company based in Turkey. Like many, Sabanci struggled with the devastating effects that the pandemic had on his business. But he learned how to adapt and overcome his losses. His advice to others in the field? \u201cStay flexible and agile,\u201d he says. \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to act and make mistakes. But be sure to learn from them, so that in the next round, you will be sure to do even better.\u201d Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Leanne Yinusa-Nyahkoon, an occupational therapist at Boston University who has devoted her career to health disparities research, is working with the Gabby System Project on a digital health tool that provides healthcare support to Black women before contraception. \u201cWe all need to work toward creating equitable outcomes,\u201d she said. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Growing up near Chicago, Matthew Levin\u2019s fondest childhood memories involve visiting different Major League Baseball stadiums with his father. All grown up now at 28, Levin still gets to watch a lot of Baseball\u2014only now it\u2019s from an office. Levin was recently appointed vice president\/chief financial and technology officer of the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, or the WooSox, as they are being called after relocating last year from Pawtucket, R.I. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> With COVID-19 descending last year on Chelsea, Mass., third-generation resident Roseann Bongiovanni\u2019s big worry was how her disadvantaged neighbors could provide for themselves during two-week quarantines. Last March, with vaccines rolling out, GreenRoots, the environmental and public health advocacy group that Bongiovanni directs, sent out trusted community members as door-to-door ambassadors. They informed residents where to get vaccinated, addressed questions, booked appointments, and in some cases took people to get their shots. Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> If you\u2019ve walked through Brighton, MA lately, you may have noticed something a little different about Boston University\u2019s newest teaching hospital, St. Elizabeth\u2019s Medical Center (SEMC). We\u2019re talking about the 5-foot-tall, 100-foot-long mural now gracing the retaining wall on Washington Street, painted by artist Sam Weinberger. The series of 18 technicolor portraits of healthcare workers is one of the longest projects Weinberger says he\u2019s ever done\u2014and the most colorful. \u201cI love to use lots of color in my artwork,\u201d Weinberger explains. \u201cColor alone can change so much about someone\u2019s mood\u2014if you\u2019re walking down the street, there\u2019s so much difference between walking past a concrete wall versus something that\u2019s full of blues and yellows.\u201d Read on<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> In a time unlike any other, the Classes of 2020 and 2021 have shown their resilience in the face of great adversity. When students were sent home at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020 undergraduates had unknowingly spent their last college days on campus in the middle of March, and rising seniors in the Class of 2021 were left wondering if a final year at BU would even be possible. Yet, through hours of virtual classes, COVID tests, quarantine, and patience, both of these groups persevered with strength and tenacity.<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Forbes-30-Under-30.png\")
<\/p>\nForbes 30-under-30<\/h2>\n
\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Rebecca-Crumpler.png\")
<\/p>\nDr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler (MED 1864)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Eric-Stine-1.png\")
<\/p>\nEric Stine (LAW\u201997)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Ivanna-Solano.png\")
<\/p>\nIvanna Solano (Wheelock\u201916)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Susanne-Lyons.png\")
<\/p>\nSusanne Lyons (Questrom\u201982)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Amit-Wadhwa.png\")
<\/p>\nAmit Wadhwa (CAS\u201999)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Rashi-Khanna-Wiese.png\")
<\/p>\nRashi Khanna Wiese (CAS\u201906)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Distinguished-Alumni.png\")
<\/p>\n2021 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients<\/h2>\n
\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Carmen-Fields.png\")
<\/p>\nCarmen Fields (COM\u201973)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Ivan-Schwartz.png\")
<\/p>\nIvan Schwartz (CFA\u201973)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Drew-Weissman.png\")
<\/p>\nDrew Weissman (MED\u201987, GRS\u201987)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Lisa-Taddeo.png\")
<\/p>\nLisa Taddeo (GRS\u201917)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Jay-WInuk.png\")
<\/p>\nJay Winuk (COM\u201982)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Junior-Faculty.png\")
<\/p>\nSeven Junior Faculty Career Development Professorships<\/h2>\n
\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Demir-Sabanci.png\")
<\/p>\nDemir Sabanci (CAS\u201993)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Leanne-Yinusa-Nyahkoon.png\")
<\/p>\nLeanne Yinusa-Nyahkoon (CGS\u201998, Sargent\u201901,\u201903,\u201909)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Matthew-Levin.png\")
<\/p>\nMatthew Levin (Questrom \u201914)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Roseann-Bongiovanni.png\")
<\/p>\nRoseann Bongiovanni (CAS\u201999, SPH\u201901)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Sam-Weinberger.png\")
<\/p>\nSam Weinberger (CFA\u201921)<\/h2>\n
\n![\"\"](\"\/alumni\/files\/2021\/12\/Terrier-2021-Classes.png\")
<\/p>\nClasses of 2020 and 2021<\/h2>\n