Category: Community
New Military Health Center Up and Running
In light of the still largely unmet health needs of US service members and the breadth of expertise at BU, the School of Medicine launches the Center for Military & Post Deployment Health, which will coordinate the University’s many and various military-focused research and service projects.
University Sells BU Theatre
In a move that concludes a mutually rewarding 33-year partnership with the highly regarded Huntington Theatre Company, the University decides to sell the 890-seat theater on Huntington Avenue and move College of Fine Arts production, design, and black box facilities to the Charles River Campus.
Yawkey Foundations Gift Goes to Work
Over the summer, the Yawkey Nonprofit Internship Program provides stipends for 14 BU sophomores and juniors. The program, which pays a stipend of $1,500 for an internship during the academic year and $3,000 for a summer internship, is funded by the Yawkey Foundations, which pledged $10 million in September 2014.
New Initiative on Urban Life
Outgoing Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, whose leadership transformed Boston, joins the BU faculty as codirector of the Initiative on Cities (IoC), which will convene the best current and former leaders of cities to share with academics and scholars from around the world their practical knowledge of how urban areas drive growth. The IoC will be affiliated with BU’s Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and Graham Wilson, a College of Arts & Sciences professor and chair of political science, will codirect the IoC.
“Cities are the engines that drive regional growth,” says Menino. “Jobs, economic development, housing, and education all contribute to their success or failure, but it’s the leadership of those cities that makes the difference.”
Lu Lingzi Memorial Scholarship Honors Slain Student
Just days after the Boston Marathon bombing, BU Trustee Kenneth Feld (SMG’70), chair of the Campaign for BU, proposes establishing the Lu Lingzi Memorial Scholarship Fund. Thanks to support from more than 1,300 individuals across the globe, the scholarship fund named for Lu reaches its $1 million goal in record time.
“This tragedy reflected the best and the worst of humanity,” says Senior VP for Development & Alumni Relations Scott Nichols. “You see this horrific, senseless terrorist act and then you see the response from total strangers worldwide.”
The Lu Lingzi Memorial Scholarship Fund endows two scholarships for graduate students.
State OKs NEIDL Research Levels
In March, the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs gave approval for BU’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) to conduct research at Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) and Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4). The Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) certificate clears the way for the issuance of final state permits for the project.
Green Light for Biosafety Lab
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs announces a draft decision allowing researchers to conduct lower-level biosafety research in BU’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) on the Medical Campus in Boston’s South End. The first research scheduled for the state-of-the-art facility are two projects involving nonpathogenic tuberculosis.
Chelsea School Project Ends
Boston University returns management of the Chelsea School System to the City of Chelsea, after 20 years of work and cooperation between Chelsea and Boston University.
SPH Receives Grant for Emergency & Disaster Response
Boston University School of Public Health receives a $2.5 million grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to coordinate an effort to improve emergency and disaster response among public health and medical care providers throughout Boston and the metropolitan area.
George Bush appoints President Brown to Council of Advisors
Boston University President Robert A. Brown is appointed by President George W. Bush to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2006–2008). Bush reestablished the council in 2001 in an effort to maintain a steady stream of expert advice from the private sector and the academic community on a wide range of scientific and technical matters.
“It is an honor to be selected to advise the government in setting priorities in science and technology for the future of the country,” says Brown. “I view the continued development of our scientific capabilities, through education and new research, as critical to our nation’s standard of living and our economic future”—Robert A. Brown
