Boston University

Alumni

Media

Giving back to a community. Whether it’s spending two years in the Peace Corps, donating regularly to charity, or even just picking up a piece of litter on the way to work, BU alumni know the importance of being generous to the world around them.

There’s probably no better manifestation of that ethic than BU’s Global Day of Service. Although only in its second year, it has become a signature event for alumni. This year, more than 4,000 alumni, students, families, and friends around the world volunteered at more than 100 sites from Boston to Portland, Oregon, Shanghai, and Brussels.

“We have read some wonderful testimonials from both students and alumni across the globe that express just how meaningful the day was,” says Meg Umlas, executive director of alumni relations. “I think we made an impact on the Boston area and in many cities across the globe. What we love about this event is that it’s truly a collaboration between the Boston University Alumni Association and BU’s Community Service Center to engage the BU community in one event that makes a difference in the world.”

BU Alumni Also Give Back to BU—and Make History

We’re making up for some lost time in engaging our alumni and asking for their financial support, which is why BU—and the president in particular—committed a significant amount of time and energy to fundraising this year. The result? A record by many measures.

In Fiscal Year 2011:

  • Total cash giving rose 5.1 percent to a record $89.5 million.
  • The Annual Fund grew an additional 4 percent to a record $7.85 million.
  • Trustee giving rose 61.7 percent to a record $13.3 million.
  • Individual fundraising records were set by a number of our schools and colleges, including Law and Medicine.
  • A record number of graduating seniors contributed to the 2011 Class Gift, representing a 190-percent increase from 2010.

Most impressive is that the number of alumni donors rose 12 percent, despite the fact that alumni participation rates are declining at most universities across the country. At the same time, alumni showed up in record numbers and locales—41,000 strong at more than 800 meetings around the world—to reconnect with BU.

Oh, and we have lots of BFFs: Over 41,000 alums are now BU Alumni Association “fans” on Facebook. It’s not just our fans who noticed. Our Facebook page won a social media gold medal from the leading college professional association, CASE.

“What is noteworthy about BU’s Global Day of Service is how over 4,000 alumni, students, families, and friends around the world made a difference in their own communities, all under the BU banner.”

Steven A. Hall, Vice President for Alumni Relations

One Alumnus's Gift to the University

One of the most impressive alumni gifts this year came when Boston University Trustee Bahaa Hariri (SMG’90) pledged $15 million for an institute for computational science and engineering that will support teams of University and outside experts pursuing what the institute’s director calls important, transformative interdisciplinary research.

The institute will support two types of synergistic activities: exploratory workshops and specific research projects. The workshops are defined as intense discussions of up to several months’ duration involving BU faculty, research staff, and students, as well as visiting experts.

Events marking the official institute launch include a symposium on the technical and societal challenges of cyber security and workshops on the role of computation in health care delivery. A pilot research project on green computing is connected with the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts, which is being built by a consortium that includes Boston University, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, UMass, EMC Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The consortium is headed by BU Vice President and Associate Provost for Research Andrei E. Ruckenstein.

2/6