Hundreds of BU alumni and friends in Boston and New York gathered last fall to celebrate the momentum of Boston University. Meghna Chakrabarti (Questrom’13), cohost of WBUR’s Radio Boston, emceed a program in November at the State Room in Boston; in December, Broadway producer Stewart Lane (CFA’73) joined Board of Trustees chairman and Campaign for Boston University cochair Robert Knox (CAS’74, Questrom’75) to lead the festivities at the Mandarin Oriental in New York. President Robert A. Brown spoke at each event about the campaign’s progress and priorities, and guests were treated to a live performance by the quartet Sons of Serendip—Kendall Ramseur (CFA’12), Cordaro Rodriguez (LAW’12), Micah Christian (STH’12), and Mason Morton (CFA’12,’15)—a finalist in the 2014 season of America’s Got Talent. This spring: Palm Beach, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.

The momentum of the campaign has increased each year, and it has raised more than $900 million of the $1 billion goal two years before its scheduled 2017 close. It has been so successful that the BU Board of Trustees boosted the goal to $1.5 billion and extended its run through 2019. Among the objectives of the campaign, officially launched in 2012, are ensuring that BU remains accessible to highly qualified candidates, re­cruiting and retaining outstanding scholars and teachers, and improving facilities.