National Academy of Sciences President Tells Grads Truth Still Matters
Commencement speaker Marcia McNutt (Hon.’19) was the first woman elected president of the National Academy of Sciences and the first female editor in chief of the Science journals. She has led responses to global catastrophes such as earthquakes in Japan and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. McNutt is a vocal critic of “junk science”: “Whether the issue is healthcare, economics, education, or immigration, your University education arms you with the skills to determine who and what to trust.”
Kenneth Elmore Named a Pillar of Higher Education
Associate Provost and Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore (Wheelock’87) is among 17 professors and administrators nationwide who have been named Pillars of the Profession by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, a Washington, D.C., student affairs organization. The award honors educators of “sustained professional distinction” and “significant lifetime contributions,” as recognized by colleagues, students, or friends.
Women’s Hockey Wins Beanpot
The women’s ice hockey Terriers won the 41st Women’s Beanpot Tournament, their first Beanpot championship since becoming a varsity team in 2005. BU seized the title with a 3-2 sudden-death overtime win over the Harvard Crimson.
A New Venue in a New Hotbed for Culture
WBUR, Boston’s National Public Radio station, housed at Boston University, opens a new cultural events space. In an area that is fast becoming a hotbed for the arts, CitySpace—on Comm Ave near the College of Fine Arts and new Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre—will produce up to 200 programs a year, including debates, interviews, readings, theatrical performances, and family programming, with all events streamed live and archived for on-demand access.
New Coach, New Attitude for Women’s Basketball
Marisa Moseley (CAS’04) was a defensive star and team captain who, in 2003, helped lead the Terriers to their only NCAA tournament appearance. Moseley, who coached with Geno Auriemma at UConn, is the first alumna to lead BU’s program. To her, excellence begins with instilling a sense of pride and meaning in everything the players do, no matter how trivial.
BU Boosts Effort to Recruit Low-Income Students
BU joins American Talent Initiative (ATI), an alliance of colleges and universities with a shared commitment to improve opportunities for accomplished students from low- and moderate-income households. ATI hopes to expand its membership to all US colleges and universities with six-year graduation rates consistently above 70 percent.
Trustee Richard Cohen’s Challenge Bolsters Need-Based Financial Aid
Cohen (CGS’67, Questrom’69) pledges to match, dollar for dollar, new or increased gifts for need-based undergraduate financial aid—doubling their impact—up to a total of $1 million. Donors who take the Cohen Challenge help the University in its ongoing quest to make undergraduate education affordable for all students.
Alum Pardee Pledges Another $25 Million for Global Studies
Five years after donating $25 million to endow the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Frederick Pardee (Questrom’54, Hon.’06) committed additional support for developing the next generation of global leaders through education and research. His gift could pave the way for a stand-alone building for the school he helped to create.
Creative Writing Program Instructor Sigrid Nunez Wins National Book Award
Writer-in-Residence Sigrid Nunez has won the National Book Award for Fiction for The Friend, a New York Times best seller. Nunez has taught MFA students in the Creative Writing Program since 2011. The Friend is her eighth book. Along with the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award is considered the highest literary honor a published work can receive in a given year.
First Woman Named BU’s Innovator of the Year
ENG’s Xin Zhang won the faculty award for “world-class research into inventions and innovations that benefit humankind”—for her work with metamaterials: small-scale structures that react to electromagnetic or acoustic stimulation. From improving the resolution of MRI scans to building better pressure sensors for oil wells to developing noise-filtering technology, Zhang’s discoveries offer real-world applications.
