My stepfather, Edward Daniels (CLA’48) was a very proud alumnus of what we now call the College of Arts & Sciences. He came to BU on the GI bill after being discharged from the Navy at the end of World War II. I remember him fondly recalling his classical education in Latin, English, and philosophy. Throughout his life, he read and studied the literatures of several cultures and languages; dictionaries were ever present in our home. His education here set him up for a career as a librarian. He became director of the Columbus (Ohio) Public Library before giving that up at age 55 for another passion, running a horse farm and coaching an equestrian team at Kenyon College. His was a winding but learned path, to be sure. His passion for education certainly influenced my own path.
This weekend we celebrate our alumni, inviting them back to campus for our annual Alumni Weekend festivities. One of my greatest pleasures as Dean is meeting our former students who feel as warmly about BU as my stepfather did—and hearing about how their liberal education in the arts and sciences shaped and continues to inform their lives and careers. On this occasion, I want to encourage those of us in CAS to look for ways to include our extended community of alumni in our collective intellectual life.
Our alumni number among the most accomplished writers, academics, civil servants, journalists, businesspeople, humanitarians, and politicians in the world. In every walk of life and every generation, we celebrate and take pride in their achievements, as well as satisfaction in our contributions to their success.
Some departments, including astronomy, biology, computer science, and English, feature stories about alumni on their websites. Other departments choose to honor selected alumni through distinguished alumni awards. The Department of Economics invites an alumnus or alumna to campus in the spring to receive the award and serve as the department’s commencement speaker. Computer science also follows this model; this past year I had the great pleasure of hearing Eswar Priyadarshan (CAS’87, GRS’87) give his five rules for crafting your village advice to new graduates. These are wonderful events for the alumni, their families, and your current students, faculty, and staff, and I would like to see more of them. Our development and alumni relations partners are eager to help organize these events with you–and if you invite me, I will come.
This weekend, alumni will return to BU for many reasons: to see friends, to look at the new construction on our campus, to visit former professors, to learn about our earth and environment in Alumni College, to watch a hockey game. But all of them come back because what we do here has meaning for them. This weekend is our chance to celebrate all of our alumni. I hope that you will welcome them and take the opportunity to hear their stories.