Artist Gets Up Close and Personal for Annual University Lecture
Josephine Halvorson, a College of Fine Arts professor of art and chair of the School of Visual Arts graduate studies in painting program, will deliver the annual University Lecture, titled “Making Space for Wonder: In Person and Up Close.” Established in 1950, the University Lecture honors members of the Boston University faculty engaged in outstanding research. Faculty tapped to deliver the lecture over the years have represented the full spectrum of disciplines at BU and share a common commitment to excellence in scholarly inquiry and discovery.
Students’ Pronouns and Gender Identities Change in BU’s Updated Data System
Terriers now have the option of updating the University Directory with pronouns and display names—how they identify and wish others to identify them, as opposed to their legal names. They may also choose to provide their gender identities (which won’t be displayed in the Directory). Legal names will remain unchanged in BU’s records. The change is the first in a long-planned modernization of the 40-year-old Student Information System (SIS), the information technology systems that store student data about numerous interactions with the University.
BU Virtual Will Chart BU’s Online Learning Future
Wendy Colby is the University’s inaugural vice president and associate provost for BU Virtual. Colby oversees a new department dedicated to working with BU’s schools and colleges on identifying and implementing opportunities to expand online education. The new unit brings together under one umbrella the design, development, and delivery of a complete portfolio of online graduate and certificate offerings from across BU, ranging from online master’s programs in social work and computer science to criminal justice and others.
A New Era for BU Board of Trustees: New Chair and Vice Chairs
Trustees Cynthia Cohen (MET’77) and Malek Sukkar (ENG’92) were elected vice chairs at the board’s September meeting, joining Brown and board chair Ahmass Fakahany (Questrom’79) as trustee leaders. The board’s top priority at the moment is finding BU’s next president.
Associate Provost for Community and Inclusion to Focus on Accountability, Civil Discourse
Victoria Sahani is named the new associate provost for community and inclusion. Sahani’s appointment comes after a national, monthslong search for a new associate provost. The role is a component of the University’s 2030 Strategic Plan, a set of five priorities meant to guide the school through the rest of the decade. The position serves two of the University’s priorities: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and a culture of community, or the idea that BU is “big yet small.”
BU Climbs in U.S. News & World Report National College Rankings
Boston University moved up one spot, to number 41, in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of National Universities, while the Questrom School of Business saw a big jump among business schools and the University overall climbed in the innovation category, according to the list.
For Initiative on Cities Leader, Urban Geography Is People
Loretta Lees is named the new faculty director of Boston University’s Initiative on Cities (IoC). IoC describes itself “as a hub for urban related research and teaching across the University, engaging urban leaders, policymakers, academics, and students from around the world to work toward sustainable, just, and inclusive urban transformation.” Its best-known efforts include the annual Menino Survey of Mayors and its City Leadership Summits.
Lifelong Friendship Behind $100 Million Gift to Medical School
Lifelong friends Aram V. Chobanian (Hon.’06) and Edward Avedisian (CFA’59,’61, Hon.’22) will now be connected forever as the namesakes of BU’s medical school. Thanks to a $100 million gift from Avedisian that will support scholarships, endowed faculty chairs, and cutting-edge research and teaching, the school is being renamed the Boston University Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine.
Ebola Vaccine and Treatment Pioneer to Direct NEIDL
Nancy J. Sullivan, a nationally renowned infectious diseases expert and chief of the Biodefense Research Section at the federal government’s Vaccine Research Center, has been named the new director of Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL). Opened in 2009, NEIDL is a leading academic research center that allows scientists to study infectious diseases and pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, and Zika, in a protected environment.
Africa Scholar Named Dean of Pardee
Scott Taylor, a scholar of African politics and vice dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Georgetown’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, is the new dean of BU’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. Taylor assumed his new role September 1, succeeding Pardee’s inaugural dean, Adil Najam. The school was founded in 2013 through a $25 million gift from the late Frederick S. Pardee (Questrom’54,’54, Hon.’06), who gave a second $25 million gift in 2018.
