Charge to the BU Hub Implementation Task Force: Development of the processes and structures to implement the University-wide General Education Program at Boston University

From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer

The faculty Task Force on General Education worked over the course of 18 months to develop a vision for the content of a true University-wide General Education program at Boston University.  This vision includes a commitment to residential undergraduate education that prepares graduates to be engaged citizens and leaders in an increasingly global society.  The proposal, shared broadly with the BU community in March, set forth 6 core areas of knowledge, skills, and habits of the mind that would comprise the content of “The BU Hub,” the proposed name for the General Education program.  Following extensive review and consideration, the University Council – our faculty governance body – voted to approve the proposal on May 11, 2016.  In the spring of 2016, the Board of Trustees and the University Council also approved changes to governance structures codified in the Boston University Bylaws and University Council Constitution that enable implementation of the BU Hub.

With these formal processes now complete, we are ready to advance the significant work required to implement the new program.  A second Task Force – the BU Hub Implementation Task Force – will be charged with the responsibility for leading these efforts, which will include the development of processes and structures essential to realizing the vision and intellectual framework established by the first Task Force.

Charge to the BU Hub Implementation Task Force

  1. Develop and create processes and structures that are necessary to launch the BU Hub;
  2. Establish learning outcomes for the 6 core areas of the BU Hub via satellite committees composed of faculty;
  3. Develop the operational infrastructure and technology necessary to support implementation;
  4. Engage in broad consultation with the faculty and relevant staff of the schools and colleges to determine how they will contribute to the offerings of the BU Hub;
  5. Develop and pilot the cornerstone of the BU Hub, the Cross-College Challenge; and
  6. Address issues raised for further thought by the General Education Task Force.

Next steps

I met with the BU Hub Implementation Task Force earlier this month to discuss the charge and launch this next stage of the effort.  The Implementation Task Force will work closely with the newly appointed Assistant Provost for General Education Implementation, Professor Susan Jackson from the College of Arts & Sciences. Professor Jackson, who has served for 17 years as Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education in the College of Arts & Sciences, was named to this newly created role this past July.  She will coordinate with the Task Force and other key stakeholders, including the Director of Learning Assessment, the University Council, the Center for Teaching & Learning, and the schools and colleges to develop an implementation plan and timeline, learning outcomes, and plans for enrollment in, and communication about, the program.

I envision that the implementation of the BU Hub will take approximately one year. Pilots of the Hub’s signature program, the BU Cross-College Challenge, and some courses and co-curricular activities will be available on an elective basis to current students in 2017-2018, with requirements fully implemented for incoming freshmen in Fall 2018. This is an incredibly exciting moment for the Boston University community as we work collaboratively to design and map the education we offer the next generation.

Please join me in thanking our colleagues who have agreed to serve on this important Task Force to shape the future of undergraduate education at Boston University, and again in recognizing the members of the initial Task Force on General Education for their outstanding efforts over the last 18 months.

 

2016-2017 BU Hub Implementation Task Force

Co-Chairs:
Elizabeth Loizeaux, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Professor,   Department of English, College of Arts & Sciences

Bruce Schulman, William E. Huntington Professor, Department of History, College of Arts & Sciences


Members:

Frederic Brunel, Associate Professor, Department of Marketing, Questrom School of Business

Peter Busher, Professor, Division of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, College of General
Studies

Dennis Carlberg, Director, Sustainability

Victor Coelho, Professor, School of Music, College of Fine Arts

Daniel Dahlstrom, John R. Silber Professor, Department of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences

Christopher Daly, Professor, Department of Journalism, College of Communication

Kenneth Elmore, Associate Provost and Dean of Students

John Finnerty, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, College of Arts & Sciences

Kevin Gallagher, Professor, Global Development Policy Program, Pardee School of Global Studies; Department of International Relations, College of Arts & Sciences

Susan Jackson, Assistant Provost for General Education Implementation and Associate Professor, Department of Romance Languages, College of Arts & Sciences

Katherine Kennedy, Director, Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground

Margaret Litvin, Associate Professor, Department of World Languages & Literatures, College of Arts & Sciences

Gareth McFeely, Executive Director, Study Abroad

Elise Morgan, Professor, Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Electrical & Computer Engineering, College of Engineering

Christine Paal, University Registrar

Gillian Pierce, Director, Program Learning Outcomes Assessment, Office of the Provost

 Tracy Schroeder, Vice President, Information Services & Technology

 Stan Sclaroff, Associate Dean of Faculty, Mathematical & Computational Sciences; and Professor, Department of Computer Science, College of Arts & Sciences

 Kelly Walter, Associate Vice President and Executive Director, Admissions

Charge to the BU Hub Implementation Task Force – 9.15.16