Launch of Phase 4: Implementation of Strategic Plan
The new Strategic Plan establishes a vision for the future of Boston University, and a set of measurable goals to guide institutional investments between now and 2030. BU’s strategic priorities are: a vibrant academic experience; research that matters; diversity, equity, and inclusion; community, big yet small; and global engagement. BU is entering Phase 4 of the Strategic Plan, which will run through early 2021, and will engage stakeholders across BU to develop specific actions to turn the plan into reality.
2020’s Historic Move-In
During BU’s longer-than-usual 2020 Move-In, students have mostly positive things to say about their return to residential life. They admit to being leery about the future of the fall semester, given that many schools have pulled back on plans to reopen and are now opting for fully online teaching and learning.
Twitter and Square Cofounder Donates $10 Million to BU Antiracism Center
Jack Dorsey, Twitter and Square cofounder, donated $10 million to Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research, just six weeks after it was launched by leading scholar Ibram X. Kendi. Of the total gift, $9 million will go to the center’s endowment and $1 million will be available for immediate use, allowing the center to hire staff and fund its first research and policy teams on COVID-19 racial disparities.
BU Creates Senior Diversity Post, Taps Longtime Trustee
President Robert A. Brown announced that Andrea Taylor will relinquish her seat on the Board of Trustees and start her new position as BU’s first senior diversity officer on August 17. Her new post is a leadership position, reporting directly to the president, who, in collaboration with other University leaders, will advance an agenda of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
BU Children’s Center Gets Expanded Home, Now Accepts Infants
In its new home in a completely renovated early-20th-century mansion in Brookline’s historic Cottage Farm neighborhood—within walking distance of the George Sherman Union—the new Children’s Center has triple the space of its old home at 32 Harry Agganis Way, allowing an increase in the number of children it can serve and enabling it to begin caring for infants (starting at eight weeks old) and younger toddlers. The center accepts children up to those entering kindergarten.
BU’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories Tackles COVID-19
NEIDL scientists are working to develop a vaccine for the virus that has killed more than one million people worldwide. Doctors are just beginning to understand its intricacies—how it affects patients, how it is transmitted, and who is at greatest risk of complications and death—as well as its long-term effects. Led by director Ronald Corley, a School of Medicine professor, NEIDL researchers have been working with live samples of the novel coronavirus since March and often collaborate with the wider research community.
Patriot League Cancels Fall Sports Seasons
After weeks of striving to maintain a fall sports season by reducing travel and altering schedules to accommodate risks caused by the coronavirus, Patriot League officials announced that all fall sports schedules have been canceled, but that teams will still be allowed to practice and train. The decision was a painful blow for more than 100 BU student-athletes and coaches across soccer, field hockey, and cross country teams.
Vertex Foundation Gives $1.5 Million to BU Antiracism Center
The gift will support the center’s research and data collection to identify innovative policies that may reduce or eliminate racial disparities in the United States. To help the center enhance relationships in, and dialogue with, the community, the foundation’s donation will also support the center’s annual public symposium on a topic relating to antiracism. The nonprofit Vertex Foundation is a long-term source of charitable giving and part of the corporate giving commitment of Boston-based global biotechnology company Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Pain, Anger, and Hope as BU Comes Together to Talk Race and Racism
Amid a charged national climate, almost 5,000 students, faculty, staff, and alumni logged on for the BU Day of Collective Engagement: Racism and Antiracism, Our Realities and Our Roles—an array of webinars held following weeks of national protests over recent, high-profile police killings of Black people across the country. While the current protests were front of mind for many, conversations also focused on effecting change in hiring, curriculum, and other areas within the academy.
Class of 2020 Commencement Planned for May 2021
Boston University will give the Class of 2020 “an appropriately festive, in-person Commencement” in May 2021, “on or around” the same weekend it says farewell to the Class of 2021, President Robert A. Brown announced. BU’s original plan to hold the 2020 event in August or early fall of 2020 proved not to be feasible, due to ongoing concerns about the safety of mass gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic.
