BU Softball Team Wins Fourth-Consecutive Patriot League Championship
After a nine-game winning streak entering the postseason, the BU softball team won its fourth-consecutive Patriot League Championship in May. The team has won every Patriot League championship since 2023. BU hosted the tournament this year, which may have helped contribute to the win since their record at the BU Softball Field is 21–1. The tournament’s MVP was senior pitcher Kasey Ricard, who allowed only two hits and struck out seven batters in the championship game.
Boston University Celebrates the Class of 2026 at 153rd Commencement
Courage, persistence, and boldness were the themes at Boston University’s 153rd Commencement. With approximately 20,000 guests gathered on a hot Nickerson Field, Commencement speaker Reshma Kewalramani (CAS’98, CAMED’98, Hon.’26)—president and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals—described for the Class of 2026 the different roles and identities that have defined her: immigrant, physician, mother, and business executive.
LAW’s Julie Dahlstrom Wins 2026 Metcalf Cup and Prize
Julie Dahlstrom won the 2026 Metcalf Cup and Prize, Boston University’s highest teaching honor. Dahlstrom is associate dean of experiential education, clinical professor of law, and director of the Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program at the School of Law. Her work takes law students out of the classroom to fight for the victims of human trafficking, including in the courts and the legislature.
Biomedical Engineer Wilson Wong Is Boston University’s Innovator of the Year
Researcher Wilson Wong is developing engineered cells that could give clinicians a new weapon in treating acute myeloid leukemia. In recognition of that research, the BU College of Engineering professor of biomedical engineering has been named the University’s Innovator of the Year. His team is currently collaborating with biotechnology company Senti Bio, where Wong is a scientific cofounder, to refine and commercialize the potentially lifesaving therapy. Founded in 2010, the Innovator of the Year award is given to researchers who’ve “translated world-class research into an invention or innovation that benefits humankind,” according to the award’s site.
Top Student-Athletes and Coaches Honored at 2026 Scarlet & White Ceremony
As Boston University’s 2025–26 athletics season reaches its finish line, the athletics department honored the University’s top student-athletes and community members at its annual Scarlet & White Honors.
Harvey Young Awarded Prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship
Harvey Young—professor of English, theatre arts, American studies, and African American and Black diaspora studies; inaugural and interim vice president for the arts; and dean of the College of Fine Arts—has earned a Guggenheim Fellowship, a prestigious grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
Two BU Scientists Receive Prestigious 2026 Breakthrough Prizes
Two Boston University faculty members were honored with 2026 Breakthrough Prizes, which are among the world’s most prestigious science awards. Lee Roberts, a College of Arts & Sciences professor of physics, received a Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, one of six top prizes awarded annually for transformative achievements in life sciences and fundamental physics. Dillon Brout, a CAS assistant professor of physics and astronomy, received a New Horizons in Physics Prize, which recognizes outstanding early‑career researchers for major advances in the field.
Two Boston University Researchers Elected AAAS Fellows
Alice Cronin-Golomb, College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) professor, and Plamen Ch. Ivanov, a CAS research professor of physics, have been named American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellows. Cronin-Golomb says she probes “the relation between the brain and psychological functions in healthy aging and in age-related neurodegenerative disease, especially Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.” Ivanov was honored by AAAS as the founder of network physiology, a multidisciplinary field that he says studies how the “dynamic network interactions of human physiological systems lead to emerging states and functions at the organism level” and influence our health.
BU Names New Provost, a Renowned Scholar and Scientist from Duke
Colin Duckett, an internationally renowned scholar, immunologist, and molecular biologist and a respected academic leader from Duke University, will be Boston University’s new provost and chief academic officer, starting July 1, 2026. Duckett will replace Gloria Waters, a longtime BU senior leader who announced that she would step down at the end of the 2025–2026 academic year, after which she’ll return to BU’s faculty. Like Waters, Duckett will serve as provost for both Boston University and the Medical Campus, which includes the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, the School of Public Health, and the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine.
New Double Terrier Scholarship Helps BU Grads Save on a Master’s Degree
Designed to retain top talent and celebrate BU alumni, the Double Terrier Scholarship will be offered to all past and future BU bachelor’s degree holders who enroll in an eligible University master’s program beginning in summer 2026. Graduating seniors and alumni holding BU bachelor’s degrees are able to receive a guaranteed 25 percent award toward eligible master’s programs at the University. The Double Terrier Scholarship is automatically awarded upon admission—no separate application is required.
