{"id":98115,"date":"2026-03-03T09:50:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T14:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/?p=98115"},"modified":"2026-03-03T10:48:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T15:48:04","slug":"president-gilliam-salutes-transformational-nature-of-bus-city-of-boston-scholarship-program-at-2025-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/news\/president-gilliam-salutes-transformational-nature-of-bus-city-of-boston-scholarship-program-at-2025-event\/","title":{"rendered":"President Gilliam Salutes \u2018Transformational\u2019 Nature of BU\u2019s City of Boston Scholarship Program at 2025 Event"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On December 10, 2025, Boston University\u2019s Metropolitan College (BU MET) hosted the 14<sup>th<\/sup> Annual City of Boston Scholar Recognition Event at 1010 Commonwealth Avenue, bringing together city employees pursuing graduate degrees and certificates across BU, as well as faculty, staff, and city officials.<\/p>\n<p>BU President Melissa Gilliam joined the event to \u201ccelebrate and honor academic achievement and the role of public service and the commitment to lifelong learning that those of you in the room have made.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"responsive-video\" style=\"margin: 40px 0;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_svzDMFvmYE?si=ozgfqJ8Vxf9eI-_t\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>President Gilliam emphasized the University\u2019s deep commitment to serving the Boston community and its public servants and noted: \u201cThere is no border between our campus and the city . . . We are so committed to things such as affordable housing, public health, education, and we are always hard at work at finding ways to increase the impact that we have in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She also highlighted the significant financial commitment BU has made to the program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis partnership has been a model for how universities and cities can work together. Over the past 12 years alone, we\u2019ve invested about $5 million supporting more than 400 city employees,\u201d she said, affirming that this collaboration empowers not only individuals but also the broader communities where they live and work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis program represents our shared belief that education is transformational,\u201d President Gilliam said.<\/p>\n<p>Alex Lawrence, Boston\u2019s chief people officer, also addressed the attendees, expressing gratitude for the partnership between the city and BU. She acknowledged the hard work of city employees balancing full-time roles with academic study. \u201cPursuing advanced education while managing a full-time job in municipal government is no easy feat,\u201d she said, praising the scholars\u2019 dedication. \u201cI\u2019m so inspired by your resilience and determination and most importantly your commitment to your personal growth and civic duty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lawrence noted the lasting nature of BU\u2019s educational affiliation with Boston. \u201cThe City of Boston Employees Scholarship Program was created in 1984, and for 41 years, Boston University has believed in public service and helped hundreds of employees grow in their careers,\u201d she said. \u201cWe&#8217;re so grateful for this enduring partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"margin: 2em 0;\"><p>\u201cStrong public service needs strong public servants.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Harry Dam (CAS\u201921), a Questrom graduate student who currently works as director of operations for the Mayor\u2019s Office, reflected on the scholarship\u2019s transformative impact, expressing gratitude for both the opportunity and for the shared a sense of purpose the scholarship committee\u2019s faith in the scholars\u2019 potential inspires. \u201cI felt a renewed sense of responsibility . . . to do the best I can, learn as much as I can, and find ways to bring it all back to City Hall,&#8221; Dam said. \u201cNot for myself, but to better serve the city that I call home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dam then encouraged fellow students to persevere in their studies and bring what they&#8217;ve learned in their classrooms into practical application at work. \u201cStrong public service needs strong public servants,\u201d he offered.<\/p>\n<p>Through this longstanding collaboration, Boston University and the City of Boston continue to empower municipal employees in their educational pursuits, developing a skilled and dedicated workforce committed to serving the city\u2019s residents.<\/p>\n<p>The event concluded with recognition of the City of Boston scholars by name, with red BU MET scarves presented to each as tokens of appreciation. \u201cThis,\u201d President Gilliam said, of the City of Boston Scholarship program, \u201cis how we build a stronger city.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that over the past 12 years alone, Boston University has invested roughly $5 million in support of more than 400 City of Boston employees as part of its City of Boston Scholarship program? This year, BU President Melissa Gilliam joined the MET community in celebrating this partnership. Because, as one graduate put it, \u201cStrong public service needs strong public servants.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19676,"featured_media":98119,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[40,260,37,33],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98115"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98115"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98127,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98115\/revisions\/98127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}