Category: Learning
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.”
BU Joins Online Education Group edX
In May, BU joined edX, the Harvard- and MIT-led online learning platform that shares the University’s commitment to using technology’s benefits for students on campus as well as off. The partnership gives BU professors more flexibility in designing their courses and discerning which educational methods work best with students.
Study Abroad Expands
BU offers programs in more than 30 cities on 6 continents across the globe, with concentrations ranging from anthropology to public health to finance. This year, 7 new programs were offered in locales such as Washington, DC, Zanzibar, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Dakar, and Paris.
BU to Establish Autism Center of Excellence
The National Institutes of Health announces an award of $10 million to establish an Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) at Boston University. The five-year grant will fund research devoted to the least probed aspects of the increasingly common disorder—autism spectrum disorder—which remains baffling for scientists. With the NIH funds, the BU center, which will marshal researchers from several fields to study autism and language, is the first federally designated center in the nation established to address the critical needs of this largely neglected end of the autism spectrum.
Kilachand Honors College Opens
Kilachand Honors College welcomes its first class of 75 entering freshmen. The new four-year, campuswide program replaces the University Professors Program. Students will study in cross-disciplinary classes and intensive seminars and tackle a senior research project during their undergraduate studies.
Global Urban Health Program Launched
The Center for Global Health & Development at BU launches a Global Urban Health program that will expand its research agenda addressing issues affecting global populations. The initiative, led by Professor Jonathon Simon, further establishes BU’s role as a major research university.
New Residency in Addiction Medicine
BU is one of 10 institutions around the country to introduce an accredited residency program in addiction medicine.
Truman Scholar Selected
Meghan Desale, CAS'08, is named a 2007 Truman Scholar, one of 65 students chosen by the Truman Foundation. Starting in Fall 2008, she attends the School of Medicine as a student in the University’s Seven-Year Liberal Arts/Medical Education Program.
Development of Honors Program Started
The University announces the development of a new University-wide honors program and the phasing out of the University Professors Program as a freestanding unit.
SHA Gets a New Home
The new SHA building is dedicated on September 27, 2006. The new SHA building is dedicated in style, with Boston University President Robert A. Brown as the keynote speaker. "The dedication opens the doors to a new era for the School."
