A Milestone in Convergent Research
Dear Members of Boston University’s Faculty and Staff,
We are proud to announce a major milestone at Boston University, one that brings us closer to our shared vision of the University as a place of true convergence and collaboration.
Today, we are launching new programs to support convergent research and cultivate collaboration, with a focus on ideas that will benefit society and complement our continued emphasis on disciplinary excellence.
These programs—the result of a yearlong, University-wide process by the Task Force on Convergent Research and Education—include new seed and planning grants that will help faculty launch and advance innovative research collaborations, and a faculty cluster hiring strategy that represents a deep-rooted commitment from our schools and colleges to recruit boundary-crossing researchers. The new funding opportunities are open for applications, and our hiring effort will get underway soon. A new website for convergent research serves as a central resource for coordination and highlights the strategic research areas where we are poised to have the greatest impact on society.
Together, we are building a Boston University that is a beacon of collaboration—a home for people who reach across boundaries and disciplines, who are curious about the world and seek to improve it, who help our students move seamlessly from classroom to community, and who look for opportunities to engage with partners for a greater good.
Convergent research draws on a long tradition at Boston University and is made possible by our shared commitments to strong disciplines. Success requires removing barriers and creating opportunities for greater collaboration within the University and with outside partners.
Our role as a place of convening and merging of ideas, interests, backgrounds, scholarship, and experiences is a core tenet of the North Star vision for Boston University’s future, and convergence is a cornerstone of the University’s strategic framework, Charting Our Future.
We are grateful to the Task Force on Convergent Research and Education, led by Ken Lutchen, vice president and associate provost of research, and Darrell Kotton, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine, for their efforts and the recommendations that led to this investment. Soon, you will hear more from the Office of Research about the inaugural funding opportunities and how to apply for them as well as information about early convergent research priority areas.
The research that emerges from these efforts may help solve some of the most complex challenges of our time. Let’s dive in.
Sincerely,
Melissa Gilliam, President
Colin Duckett, Provost and Chief Academic Officer