Category: Campus
Alum Pardee Pledges Another $25 Million for Global Studies
Five years after donating $25 million to endow the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Frederick Pardee (Questrom’54, Hon.’06) committed additional support for developing the next generation of global leaders through education and research. His gift could pave the way for a stand-alone building for the school he helped to create.
University Develops Strategy for Coming Decade
Students, faculty, staff, and the community help draft a new 10-year strategic plan, which outlines how the University spends its money and which activities it undertakes. Informed by current concerns such as federal funding for research, diversity on campus, rising operational costs, and building on academic excellence, the plan articulates goals and outlines steps for achieving them.
BU to Build New Data Sciences Center
Aiming to become a leader in a booming field, BU plans to build an iconic new 17-floor tower that will bring math, statistics, computer science, and the multidisciplinary Hariri Institute under one roof. BU’s evolving computational science curriculum, renowned faculty and staff, and proposed Charles River Campus building at the corner of Comm Ave and Granby Street (where a parking lot now sits) will assure BU’s place in the vanguard of the field.
Dahod Family Alumni Center Opens in BU Castle
The center’s grand opening during Alumni Weekend showcases the facilities and gathering places for alumni, along with new Alumni Association offices. With a newly renovated pub, now called Fuller’s BU Pub, the iconic Castle provides a draw for alums to come home to BU. More than 800 donors supported the enhancement, including BU Trustee Shamim Dahod’s (CGS’76, CAS’78, MED’87) $2 million gift, along with other remarkably generous contributions.
University Announces Massive Wind Power Purchase
Boston University will buy nonpolluting power from a South Dakota wind farm for 15 years beginning in 2020, a major step to advance our Climate Action Plan. Increasing energy efficiency, using renewable sources, and the greening of our campuses are essential to our goal of reducing BU’s carbon emissions to zero by 2040.
BU’s Rise in Rankings Powered by Innovation, Collaboration
Boston University was named one of the most innovative national universities for the first time in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. BU also climbed to 36th in Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education rankings. New models for education and research “are paying off in terms of novel experiences for our students and faculty, and hopefully will lead to some groundbreaking discoveries that will have an impact on society,” says Vice President and Associate Provost for Research Gloria Waters.
Modernizing Myles Standish
BU’s oldest dorm has become its newest dorm. Myles Standish Hall, housing 730 students, has undergone a $133 million, LEED-registered renovation, which increased the number of single bedrooms. The redo also includes modern amenities, study rooms, a game room, music practice rooms, a community kitchen, and a new public park with maple and elm trees and benches that invite students and the community.
University Creates New Data Department
The new Analytical Services & Institutional Research department (ASIR), combining the institutional research department with information services and technology, will improve analysis of data sources relevant to the University, such as social media, devices connected to BU’s network, and digital scholarship and research. Universities are analyzing data more and more to better serve student needs and guide institutional strategic planning.
K. Matthew Dames Appointed New University Librarian
A nationally recognized scholar in copyright law and innovator in library sciences, new University Librarian K. Matthew Dames’ priorities include increasing access to scholarship and strengthening ties to Boston. He says the University’s desire to be a cultural institution at the center of Boston was one of the things that most attracted him about the job.
BU-Wheelock Merge to Create New College
BU and Wheelock College join to become the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. BU’s newest college combines the doctoral programs and research capabilities of BU’s School of Education with the early childhood expertise of Wheelock’s School of Education, Child Life and Family Studies.
