Awards & Publications

A History of Achievement

With a laboratory of innovation dating back to Professor Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone, Boston University faculty, students, and alumni have never shied away from aspiration, hard work, or extraordinary achievement.

Today, BU proudly counts among its distinguished current and past faculty six Nobel Laureates and dozens of Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellows, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners, New York Times best-selling authors, and hundreds of nationally renowned scholars in every discipline. BU students have been historically high achievers, as well, with eight Rhodes Scholars since 1971; a tradition of nationally recognized research projects, creative endeavors and intellectual pursuits; and ongoing distinction as one of the nation’s largest producers of Fulbright Scholars.

The pages in this section chronicle much of the ingenuity, industriousness, and accomplishments taking place each day within the BU community. They also highlight the depth and diversity of knowledge of BU’s professoriate through the publication of critically acclaimed books and articles.

University Awards and Honors

Just as faculty and students are earning acclaim outside of the University, so too, BU has, throughout its history, made a tradition of acknowledging the very best in teaching, scholarship, and research within its ranks.

Boston University’s highest awards for teaching are the Metcalf Cup and Prize and the Metcalf Awards, and the United Methodist Church Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award, established by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of The United Methodist Church. Endowed in 1974 by the late Arthur G. B. Metcalf, Trustee and Chair of the Board of Trustees, the Metcalf Prize and Metcalf Awards are presented at the University Commencement Ceremony in May. The Methodist University Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award is bestowed at the New Faculty Orientation ceremony in early September each year.

The Clare Boothe Luce Award was established by Clare Booth Luce, a playwright, journalist, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, and the first woman elected to Congress from Connecticut, “to encourage women to enter, study, graduate, and teach” in the fields of science, mathematics, and engineering. More information can be found on the Luce Foundation website.