Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (from left), Alex Morse, mayor of Holyoke, and Azer Bestavros, director of BU’s Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering, at the announcement of a $3 million grant from the commonwealth for the BU-led Massachusetts Open Cloud project in Holyoke. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi

BU is in the midst of our first-ever capital campaign, and CAS is well ahead in its progress toward our original goal of raising $100 million. More than 4,300 alumni and many other friends of CAS contributed during the past fiscal year. Contributions reflect a wide range of interests and capacities to give, and may be made to our annual fund or specific key initiatives. By the end of the 2014 fiscal year, CAS had received $83.2 million in gift funds through the campaign.

Major gifts during the year helped support a central annual College-wide lecture on topics of pressing importance, a remote observing facility for Astronomy students, and scholarships providing support for undergraduate students with financial need. On April 30, “BU Giving Day,” the BU community of parents, alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together to raise over $1.1 million in a single day, and CAS/GRS led the charge with 325 donors giving over $300,000.

Here are some examples of recent gifts, and their impact:

  • Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies—Pardee’s $25 million gift to create a new School will provide notable resources in perpetuity to help promote excellence in all aspects of the School’s teaching, research, and outreach missions. Furthermore, this gift leverages incredible opportunities for other donors to make gifts that will advance the School generally or support specific elements (any of the regional programs, or broader topics such as diplomacy or global sustainability).
  • Isabel Schwartz Fund—Isabel (CAS’58) and Bernard (CFA’47 and GRS’58) left a tremendous estate gift for BU, creating two scholarships of over $1 million each (one for CAS students and one for CFA).
  • Ruth Moorman and Sheldon Simon have made a $1 million pledge to support a “Civic Fellow,” a PhD student working on issues of central concern to Boston and other large metropolitan areas.
  • A gift from Paul Maritz (Parent of CAS’11) for $300,000 to provide programmers was an important part of the Hariri Institute’s successful proposal to receive $3 million from the State of Massachusetts for the Massachusetts Open Cloud initiative.
  • Judith Hurwitz (CAS’73) and Robert Weissman (SMG’58) created the 5th and 6th “Century Challenge” scholarships for CAS. Judith’s was a $100,000 gift in honor of her parents (David and Elaine Sharff Shapiro) and Robert’s was a $250,000 gift to provide support for Mathematics & Statistics majors.
  • Tim Liu (GRS’86) made a $100,000 gift to create the Tim Liu Remote Observational Laboratory on the 2nd Floor of the CAS building in the Astronomy Department.
  • Many generous alumni and other friends have given gifts of all sizes to the CAS Annual Fund that allow the Dean to move resources where they are most needed quickly and with great flexibility. In just the past year, these dollars have been used to retain faculty against attractive offers by other universities, provide exciting enrichment opportunities to CAS courses that allow students to take their learning outside of the classroom walls, and provide our teachers with the opportunity to improve their skills.

The additional resources raised through the campaign will provide more scholarships for talented students, funding for impactful research and innovative teaching, and resources to hire the best and brightest faculty. To learn more about the Campaign for CAS, visit www.bu.edu/cas/impactx2.

View the full Donor Roster for FY 2013/2014.

CAS Leadership Advisory Board

The CAS Leadership Advisory Board (LAB) has played a leading role in ensuring the success of the Campaign for CAS. The alumni, friends, and parents who comprise the board advise the Dean on broad matters of policy and planning within the College. They also help foster relationships and connections with potential students and their families, alumni, and potential employers, as well as with individuals, corporations, and other organizations that might be in a position to support the College and its mission. (See Appendix, The Campaign for CAS: 2014 Status Report.)

Annual Report 2013/2014

  • From the DeanFrom the Dean
    From recruiting ever-better faculty and students to surging ahead in our capital campaign, academic year 2013/2014 was a year of great accomplishments.
  • New Structures for Organizing Discovery and EducationImproving Undergraduate Education
    CAS once again attracted our most talented class of undergraduates ever. And we laid the groundwork to serve them even better, offering expanded academic opportunities and a comprehensive first-year experience program with over 500 first-year student participants.
  • Enhancing a World-Class FacultyStrengthening Graduate Education
    BU and the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences saw immediate, strong results from our new five-year PhD funding model that has increased the attractiveness of doctoral programs.
  • Strengthening the Quality of Undergraduate EducationEnhancing a World-Class Faculty
    The quality of a university depends on the quality of its faculty, and hiring the best and giving them a strong start is crucial. In 2013/14, CAS hired 17 new assistant professors and 3 senior professors across the humanities and social, natural, and computational sciences.
  • Strengthening the Quality of Graduate EducationConducting Path-Breaking Research
    As the academic heart of BU and its biggest school, CAS’s dynamism is helping propel BU’s recognition as one of the finest research universities in the country. New initiatives including the Center for Systems Neuroscience, BU Initiative on Cities, and Center for Autism Research Excellence are taking our research to new heights.
  • Strengthening Our Research and ScholarshipDeepening Our Global Mission
    This year, thanks to a generous gift from Frederick S. Pardee (SMG’54, GSM’54, Hon.’06), we laid the groundwork for the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, launched in September 2014 and reporting to CAS. The Pardee School builds on the substantial success CAS has had in creating strong global and international studies programs.
  • Finances and DevelopmentStewarding Our Resources
    Boston University is financially healthy, although it faces the challenges of a continuing weak economy and many other issues that require skilled and careful management in higher education today. CAS is fortunate to benefit from BU’s wise management and our own diligent stewardship of our resources.
  • The Class of 2012Nurturing Connections with Alumni and Friends
    Boston University and the College of Arts & Sciences have made significant steps in building a framework for alumni to engage with faculty, other alumni, and current students in ongoing learning, discussion, and inquiry. Over 6,000 of the alumni attending BU Alumni Association events around the world were CAS alumni (up 11% over the previous year).
  • AppendixGrowing Our Capacity: The Campaign for CAS
    BU is in the midst of our first-ever capital campaign, and CAS is well ahead in its progress toward our original goal of raising $100 million. More than 4,300 alumni and many other friends of CAS contributed during the past fiscal year. By the end of the 2014 fiscal year, CAS had received $83.2 million in gift funds through the campaign.
  • AppendixAppendix