As for the agenda, I didn’t have specific projects or initiatives in mind. I focused on continuing BU’s momentum and stability. As time wore on, there were certain major decisions I had to confront, one being the renovation of Warren Towers. Do we renovate it, do we not? It will be a major cost to the University, but it is long overdue.

The way I operated, I really don’t think it’s fair for the next president to inherit major decisions that I would make that Melissa would have to live with. So I’ve engaged with her on these decisions along the way, because I want to make sure that the decisions are consistent with where she would like to go and what she’d like to inherit, if you will, from me.

BU Today: Brown appointed your interim provost, Ken Lutchen, longtime College of Engineering dean. You and he worked as partners during this past year. Can you talk about what that meant for you?

Ken has served Boston University with distinction for 40 years, initially as a faculty member doing impactful research and teaching in biomedical engineering, subsequently as dean of the College of Engineering, and then most recently as the interim provost during a year of transition. We have worked closely together for the past 14 years. Throughout his career, Ken has always been steadfast in his commitment and service to BU, and particularly during the past year, a time of many challenges in higher education and the world. Ken represents the best of BU and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve alongside him during this past year.

BU Today: Can you talk more about your relationship with President-Elect Gilliam?

I’ve wanted to make sure she was getting a lot of the facts, the data, the context that were necessary on any major decision, so she could draw her own conclusions and start to shape her evolving vision. I think we have built a very cordial relationship, a very collaborative relationship in the transition process, which was really important, I think, for the University.

With Warren Towers, for example, a recommendation was made to the Board that could cost as much as $700 million—the biggest single investment the University has ever made. I refused to make decisions that would impact her presidency, her flexibility as president, without consulting with her. 

BU Today: What was the first crisis or major decision you had to make, and how did you go about the decision-making process?

The first one was responding to events in the Middle East, the approaches we took to manage through the fall and spring semesters. You may recall at the outset I personally laid out five core principles that we were going to live up to, including: we’re going treat everybody with fairness and respect, we reject terrorism in all forms, and we support freedom of speech. I created a crisis team, and we met weekly or more frequently as we needed to, to understand the situation on campus and address issues and to really keep abreast and make adjustments.

An important focus was on engaging with students, including frequent meetings with student leaders of SJP [Students for Justice in Palestine] and Students for Israel, and with student government, opening up those lines of communication so that we could actually have a dialogue as the year went on, as opposed to conflict. And we put a big focus on safety and security for the campus.

BU Today: Is there one experience or decision during your presidency that you are especially proud of?

What I am most proud of is the people. I come away knowing that the greatest strength at BU is the people. The people of BU make BU very special. I am proud to know how people stepped up and engaged. The level of commitment to this University is something that is a great inheritance for Dr. Gilliam. That’s not a product of a one-year interim presidency. It’s a product of the culture and history of this University.

BU Today: I am curious if, as interim president, there were some moments where you wanted to act, but made the conscious decision to leave it for the incoming president?

None that I would call major decisions. There were some issues around allocation of financial resources for the fiscal 2025 budget, which will be the first budget that Dr. Gilliam really oversees in terms of execution. But nothing that I would say was a major decision.

BU Today: You have held major roles in the private business sector and multiple roles at BU. Do you think your years of private sector experience helped you as interim president?

It helped a ton. It helped me build calluses, in times of stress and turbulent waters. We were in the midst of a number of crises. When you’re a CEO like I was, there are highs and lows that can happen within seconds of each other. You want to have the right people in the right place for the right job. I came in with a lot of general management experience, so coming into a role like this, with 13,000 faculty and staff, more than 30,000 students, and almost 400,000 alumni, did not cause fear and trepidation. I hoped to apply my business background in a respectful and collaborative way.
 
The other thing I learned previously in industry is that the job of any senior leader, including university presidents, is never done. Having served in a number of interim roles, here and elsewhere and in private equity, was helpful as well. I think the last thing you want to do as an interim is to say, clear the decks, we’re going to change the direction, and then Melissa comes in and we change the decks again. It’s important to think of a senior management transition as a project, to be managed deliberately.

BU Today: Your time in office has been filled with some of the most challenging issues facing higher education—free speech issues on campus, protests around Hamas and Israel, the rising cost of college education, a strike of graduate students. Can you talk about these issues broadly, how you approached your role and time in office, and what you’re thinking about as you step away?

It’s about people again. If a CEO says it’s all on their shoulders alone, trouble brews. What I felt was important was that to be the leader you had to engage with other leaders and the broader community and problem-solve together. You can’t solve all the problems by yourself. Putting in place crisis teams and constant communication are so important. Perfection is the enemy. If the idea of perfection is to eliminate the crisis, it’s not possible.

BU Today: Despite some of those challenges you faced over the past year, how do you feel about higher education today?

I am optimistic about higher education. Our industry is under pressure. I am worried about it. We need to do more than we have in the past as institutions that are dependent on tuition to tell our story, to make the case for the value we create for society. Beyond research, we do something else, right? We teach the next generation of leaders for this world. And we do talk about it. But it’s sort of the second tier, and for folks that are paying a lot of money for tuition for their kids, I think we could do a better job of getting the value proposition out there as an industry. I don’t mean so much for BU—we have a tremendous number of applications, tremendous admission rates, great students. But I think the real message for us, collectively in higher education, is that we teach the next generation of leaders.

BU Today: Knowing you, I have to imagine some of your favorite interactions were with students.

They didn’t view me as interim. The reason I came to higher ed in the first place, at Questrom, was I wanted to give back to higher education with a focus on the students. And in this role, that was one thing I wanted to make sure I did—be out there, engaging with students at athletic events, arts events, being more visible to students, not as a figurehead, but as a source of conversation. Students were so engaged with the events around October 7. And I loved getting to know the women’s softball team, and getting to know the players. The BU Symphony performed downtown and that was wonderful, seeing alums and these amazingly talented students. Advancing our Staff Advisory Council was important. I worked very hard to make sure that the President’s Office was more visible on the Medical Campus as opposed to, you know, being 10,000 miles away, although it’s only 2.6 miles away, or whatever it is. I felt that was important. I get my energy from engaging with people.

BU Today: You’ve been at BU for 14 years. What are you thinking about as you step away?

My career is 52 years long! You might call it an anthology. I have been a musician, a financial person, a company leader, a board member, a dean. I’ve done so many different things. I do think there’s room for one more chapter. Time will tell. I would want it to be in a role where I can strive to make a difference. I have been blessed with an amazing career.
 
I would like to thank the faculty, staff, alumni, and the students for their support and for weathering the challenges of the past year and enduring an interim president in preparation for our new president. I extend very best wishes to Melissa as our new president and look forward to her leadership and the impact she will have on BU. And I’d like to also thank Janice, my wife of 52 years, for her support.

BU Today: I’m sure she’s probably looking forward to seeing you a few more nights at home?

[Laughter] Yeah, a little bit. Maybe. Or you know, maybe she’s just looking forward to me not tossing and turning at 2 am.