Alcohol & Drug Institute for Policy, Training & Research

The Alcohol & Drug Institute for Policy, Training & Research consists of experts on alcohol and drug issues associated with urban and multicultural populations. The institute sponsors professional seminars and conferences, conducts research on policy-relevant issues, and works with social service agencies to respond to the needs of addicted clients.

The League (Now the Community Service Center)

The Community Service Center (CSC), originally called “The League,” is founded by a group of Boston University students to create a structure through which they can actively address issues faced by the community in which the University is located. Student volunteers address issues of critical concern such as youth education, the AIDS pandemic, the destruction of the environment, and providing food and shelter for the poorest among us. Through the supervision, training, and support of the center, the energies of young people create affordable housing, provide companionship to elders, and tutor recent immigrants in English as a second language.

Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel, Boston University Professor of Humanities, wins the Nobel Peace Prize. Wiesel (born Eliezer Wiesel on September 30, 1928) is a Jewish writer, professor, political activist, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of over 40 books, the best known of which is Night, a memoir that describes his experiences during the Holocaust and his imprisonment in several concentration camps.

Medeiros Scholarship Program

Boston University creates the Medeiros Scholarship Program, granting full-tuition awards to students from local parochial high schools.

Nicholas Gage Keynote

Boston University alumnus and best-selling author Nicholas Gage delivers the Keynote Address at Commencement.

Institute for the Study of Economic Culture

When it opens in 1985, the Institute for the Study of Economic Culture focuses on the relation of culture to economic development; the agenda eventually expands to include social and political issues as these relate to culture. In 2003 the institute combines with the Institute on Religion & World Affairs and becomes the Institute on Culture, Religion & World Affairs (CURA), which researches, publishes, and educates on one of the most strategic questions in the contemporary world: How does culture (in the sense of beliefs, values, and lifestyles) affect economic and political developments worldwide? Since religion is at the core of culture in most of the world, CURA has paid special attention to the role of religion in world affairs. While CURA’s agenda is of obvious academic interest, it increasingly touches on practical policy concerns and seeks to communicate its findings to government, the business community, and the media.

Entrepreneurial Management Institute

The Entrepreneurial Management Institute (EMI) offers customized education, training, mentoring, networking, and other tools to help create sustainable enterprises that meet important global needs in sectors such as health care, clean energy, and information systems. In 2007, EMI is renamed the Institute for Technology Entrepreneurship & Commercialization (ITEC). Based at the Boston University School of Management, ITEC is an educational resource for all Boston University students and alumni. For students and faculty seeking to commercialize research conducted at BU, ITEC works closely with Technology Development and together they offer a full complement of legal, financial, and managerial resources to aspiring entrepreneurs.

"The new entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs without borders. They reach across industries, markets, and communities and cross language, cultural, geographic, political, and economic barriers to launch new businesses on new platforms to serve global markets. In doing so, they go above and beyond human imagination—empowering people, engaging societies, and breaking political and geographical boundaries to build sustainable, socially responsible enterprises that solve big problems."—Paul McManus, ITEC Director of International Programs and School of Management Executive-in-Residence

World Leaders Forum Established

Under the direction of John Silber, Boston University inaugurates the World Leaders Forum, bringing international leaders and other key policy makers to campus to deliver addresses of political and social importance. Speakers receive an honorary degree from the University.

Center for Remote Sensing

Professor Farouk El-Baz founds and becomes director of the Center for Remote Sensing. The center uses satellite images and other data from airborne and ground sensors to study the Earth and its resources, particularly groundwater. This research includes monitoring environmental changes due to both natural processes and human activities.

Brand Blanshard Keynote

Philosopher and writer Brand Blanshard delivers the Keynote Address at Commencement.