{"id":104702,"date":"2023-10-04T11:12:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T15:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=bu-article&p=104702"},"modified":"2023-10-04T11:56:16","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T15:56:16","slug":"meet-melissa-l-gilliam-boston-university-11th-president","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/news\/articles\/2023\/meet-melissa-l-gilliam-boston-university-11th-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Melissa L. Gilliam, Boston University’s 11th President"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Photo by Janice Checchio<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCommunity Engagement<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston University Names Melissa L. Gilliam 11th President\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Scholar and physician (and arts-loving ceramicist) Dr. Gilliam brings a passion for the arts and humanities along with two decades of higher education leadership<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n
\n\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
October 4, 2023<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tTwitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\tFacebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n

On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, Boston University trustees announced that Dr. Melissa L. Gilliam, the executive vice president and provost of The Ohio State University and a distinguished educator, scholar, research scientist, and physician, will be Boston University\u2019s 11th president. She will assume the post on July 1, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A national leader in faculty recruitment and student success and a champion of diversity and inclusion, Gilliam is also a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and of pediatrics whose scholarship focuses on developing interventions to promote adolescent health and well-being. Beyond her background in science and medicine, Gilliam, who studied English literature at Yale and got her Master of Arts in philosophy and politics from University of Oxford, says she was raised to embrace the societal importance of arts and culture. Her late father was a pioneering abstract painter who was known for a career of continuous experimentation and innovation. And her mother was a trailblazing journalist and the first Black female reporter hired by the Washington Post. <\/em>Her parents instilled in her an intellectual curiosity and a firm belief in the importance of civic engagement and public service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div>
I was immediately drawn to her warmth, her humanity, and her focus on the students and the importance of a university president really developing rapport and a connection with the rich and diverse student population at Boston University. What I was taken with immediately was her accessibility. Her answers to questions were thoughtful. And very reflective to who she is as a doctor, a mother, a leader, and someone with vision. She never gave pat answers. She engaged with the committee. Her credentials speak for themselves, but having the opportunity to meet her face-to-face and see how genuine a person she is was really moving and profound.<\/div>