What Might BU Look Like in 2050? The Picture Is Coming into View
Thousands of students, faculty, and staff took a survey about what they want in BU’s physical spaces. Gregg Snyder, VP for campus planning and operations, breaks down the next steps.
In the fall, Boston University Operations administrators sent out a survey about BU’s physical spaces. Now, the results are in.
What Might BU Look Like in 2050? The Picture Is Coming into View
Thousands of students, faculty, and staff took a survey about what they want in BU’s physical spaces. Gregg Snyder, VP for campus planning and operations, breaks down the next steps.
What might Boston University look like in 25 years? How could its campuses evolve to support the learning, research, and collaboration of 2050? University officials are starting to get an idea.
In the fall, University Operations administrators created an interactive survey to collect feedback about how students, faculty, and staff use BU’s physical spaces, and what changes they’d like to see in the future. Now, the results are in.
The feedback from nearly 3,500 students, faculty, and staff will inform the creation of a Campus Framework, a living document that will provide a flexible road map for campus planners as they make decisions about how BU’s spaces will adapt into the future.
BU Today spoke with Gregg Snyder, vice president for campus planning and operations, about the survey results and the future of BU’s physical spaces.
Q&A
with Gregg Snyder
BU Today: Your team got a lot of responses to the Campus Framework survey. What themes emerged from the feedback?
Snyder: We were really encouraged by the level of engagement—nearly 3,500 responses from across our Charles River, Fenway, and Medical campuses—with strong participation from students, faculty, and staff. Our community shared over 28,000 points of interest on the campus map and made nearly 7,000 qualitative comments.
Across that feedback, a few themes came through clearly regarding respondents’ vision for BU’s future: First, there’s a strong desire for an academically rigorous environment that also feels immersive and inspiring day-to-day. Second, people are looking for more shared, central spaces where the community can come together—to connect, collaborate, and build a sense of belonging. And, third, there’s a need for more modern, comfortable, and adaptable spaces that can support a wide range of uses, including interdisciplinary work.
BU Today: What do these broad themes signal to your team about how BU’s campus spaces might look in the future?
Snyder: What we’re hearing points to campuses that are more flexible and more connected—where living, learning, and research aren’t happening in silos, but alongside each other.
We also see an opportunity to expand and enhance our open spaces—creating more places for people to gather, recharge, and connect with the outdoors. Access to natural light, landscape, and well-designed public spaces will be an important part of that.
And given BU’s location in the heart of Boston, there’s a real opportunity to strengthen partnerships beyond our campuses—leveraging the city as an extension of our academic and research environment.
BU Today: Speaking of the future, what’s next for the development of the Campus Framework?
Snyder: We are currently in the second phase of the framework, developing and testing a range of potential approaches for how our campuses could evolve over time. We refer to these as “concept alternatives”—different ways of organizing growth, investment, and the built environment.
Each of these concepts will be evaluated for its opportunities, challenges, and trade-offs.
Over the course of the spring, we’ll continue engaging with stakeholders across the University to refine these ideas. By the end of the summer, we expect to arrive at a final framework—a flexible, long-term road map that will guide campus development over the next 25 years.
BU Today: Does this mean that every concept will become a reality?
Snyder: No, the concepts are tools to help us explore possibilities and make informed decisions. The final framework will likely draw from elements of each, but it won’t be a prescriptive plan or a list of committed projects.
Instead, it will establish a clear direction and a set of priorities to guide future decision-making. It’s also important to distinguish this from a formal master plan. The Campus Framework is more flexible by design—it’s intended to evolve over time as the University’s needs and opportunities change.
The framework will include some big, new, even provocative ideas. It’s important to remember that they are just ideas at this point. This sort of change cannot all happen at once—and some of it may just remain an idea when everything is said and done.
Ultimately, it will help position BU to move thoughtfully and strategically as we plan for the future and engage with the city of Boston on long-term development.
BU Today: How does the Campus Framework fit into BU’s broader strategic framework?
Snyder: The Campus Framework is, in many ways, a physical expression of the University’s strategic framework, guided by the North Star vision. It translates those institutional priorities into the built environment—shaping how our campuses can better support teaching, research, and student life.
It’s designed to be a flexible road map, one that allows us to adapt as the world changes, while still moving consistently toward our long-term goals.
At its core, this work is about positioning Boston University to continue evolving as a global destination for discovery, education, and human connection, and ensuring our campuses support that ambition every step of the way.