At the conclusion of my dean’s message in last year’s Annual Report, I noted how proud I was of the Arts & Sciences community. As we look back on Academic Year 2020/21, I remain extremely proud.
We transitioned from responding to the dramatic arrival of the pandemic in spring 2020 to living with the pandemic and fostering a vibrant and engaged community in our new circumstances. We embraced the launch of the University’s new hybrid learning model—Learn from Anywhere. Under this model, students could join the classroom in person or remotely. Our faculty and staff worked diligently to create learning and extracurricular activities that safely enabled students to connect and build community. It was a delicate balancing act, but the planning, hard work, and commitment to safety of all of our community members, including all of our students—and the surveillance testing system that BU launched—meant that we were able to complete the year with a very low number of COVID cases, while our students were able to engage in rich intellectual and social offerings.
The report that follows highlights some of the outstanding achievements of our students and faculty throughout the year, along with updates about daily life in Arts & Sciences. We had a number of impressive research developments, not only from faculty like Associate Professor of Religion and African American Studies Margarita Guillory, whose upcoming book Africana Religion in the Digital Age explores ways the internet has influenced religious practices, but also amongst our students and their partnerships with faculty, like PhD candidate Shrey Grover and Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences Robert Reinhart, whose study “High-Frequency Neuromodulation Improves Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior,” appeared in Nature Medicine.
Recognition and publicity for these research accomplishments was also prominent through the year. For example, Writing Program Master Lecturer William Giraldi (GRS’03) received a 2021 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, while the New York Times spotlighted Senior Research Scientists Jeffrey Baumgardner, Research Assistant Professor of Astronomy Luke Moore, and undergraduate Sarah Luettgen’s (CAS’21) study about the moon’s comet-like tail and how BU’s all-sky-imaging cameras have helped them study it. Moreover, a number of important contributions were made by faculty applying their research to pressing issues, such as the Massachusetts COVID Vaccination Help website.
Despite the daily challenges, we continued to think about our future and launch long-planned initiatives. In January 2021, Dr. Vincent L. Stephens joined us as the inaugural associate dean for diversity and inclusion, and we officially opened an office for diversity and inclusion in the college. Vincent made a quick start to his work, which you can read more about in the report. We also advanced our strategic planning efforts. By the end of the year, we had a draft of the Arts & Sciences Strategic Plan in circulation for feedback, thanks to the work of multiple task forces (involving more than 50 faculty members) and the insights and feedback from our staff, students, and Dean’s Advisory Board. That plan is now complete, and you can read it here. The opportunity to think about the future, despite our everyday pressures, was invigorating, and we have exciting plans ahead that I look forward to sharing with you.
I hope that you enjoy reading about the accomplishments and new developments undertaken at Arts & Sciences. It is empowering and inspirational to see the power of our community and the power of the liberal arts and sciences come together in dynamic and impactful ways. I would like to say a special thank you to the alumni, parents, and friends who have been integral to supporting the college through your generous investments of philanthropy, time, and advice. We are grateful for your ongoing commitment to Arts & Sciences.
