Newbury Biblical Institute (1838–1847) Methodist General Biblical Institute (1847–1867) Boston Theological Seminary (1867–1869) Boston Theological Institute (1869–1871)
The university isnonsectarian, though it retains its historical affiliation with theUnited Methodist Church.[5][6][7] The main campus is situated along theCharles River in Boston'sFenway–Kenmore andAllston neighborhoods, while theBoston University Medical Campus is located in Boston'sSouth End neighborhood. The Fenway campus houses the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, formerly Wheelock College, which merged with BU in 2018.[18] The university isclassified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".[19]
Boston University traces its roots to the establishment of theNewbury Biblical Institute inNewbury, Vermont, in 1839,[20] and was chartered with the name "Boston University" by theMassachusetts Legislature when it moved there in 1869. The university organized formal centennial observances both in 1939 and 1969.[21] One or the other, or both dates, may appear on various official seals used by different schools of the university.
On April 24–25, 1839, a group ofMethodist ministers and laymen at the Old Bromfield Street Church in Boston elected to establish a Methodist theological school. Set up in Newbury,Vermont, the school was named the "Newbury Biblical Institute".
In 1847, the Congregational Society inConcord, New Hampshire, invited the institute to relocate to Concord and offered a disusedCongregational church building with a capacity of 1200 people. Other citizens of Concord covered the remodeling costs. One stipulation of the invitation was that the Institute remain in Concord for at least 20 years. The charter issued by New Hampshire designated the school the "Methodist General Biblical Institute", but it was commonly called the "Concord Biblical Institute".[22]
With the agreed twenty years coming to a close, the trustees of the Concord Biblical Institute purchased 30 acres (120,000 m2) on Aspinwall Hill inBrookline, Massachusetts, as a possible relocation site. The institute moved in 1867 to 23 Pinkney Street in theBeacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, and received a Massachusetts Charter as the "Boston Theological Seminary".
In 1869, three trustees of theBoston Theological Institute obtained from the Massachusetts Legislature a charter for a university by the name of "Boston University".[23] These trustees were successful Boston businessmen and Methodist laymen, with a history of involvement in educational enterprises, and they became the founders of Boston University. They wereIsaac Rich (1801–1872), Lee Claflin (1791–1871), andJacob Sleeper (1802–1889), for whom Boston University's threeWest Campus dormitories were later named. Lee Claflin's son,William, was then Governor of Massachusetts and signed the University Charter on May 26, 1869, after it was passed by the Legislature.
As reported by Kathleen Kilgore in her bookTransformations, A History of Boston University (seeFurther reading), the founders directed the inclusion in the Charter of the following provision, unusual for its time:
No instructor in said University shall ever be required by the Trustees to profess any particular religious opinions as a test of office, and no student shall be refused admission ... on account of the religious opinions he may entertain; provided, nonetheless, that this section shall not apply to the theological department of said University.[24]
Every department of the new university was also open to all on an equal footing regardless of sex, race, or (with the exception of the School of Theology) religion.
Boston Theological Institute was absorbed into Boston University in 1871 as theBU School of Theology.[25]
On January 13, 1872,Isaac Rich died, leaving the vast bulk of his estate to a trust that would go to Boston University after ten years of growth while the university was organized. Most of this bequest consisted of real estate throughout the core of the city of Boston, which was appraised at more than $1.5 million. Kilgore describes this as the largest single donation to an American college or university as of that time. By December, however, theGreat Boston Fire of 1872 had destroyed all but one of the buildings Rich had left to the university, and the insurance companies with which they had been insured werebankrupt. The value of his estate, when turned over to the university in 1882, was half what it had been in 1872.[26]
As a result, the university was unable to build its contemplated campus on Aspinwall Hill, and the land was sold piecemeal as development sites. Street names in the area, including Claflin Road, Claflin Path, and University Road, are the only remaining evidence of university ownership in this area. Following the fire, Boston University established its new facilities in buildings scattered throughoutBeacon Hill, and later expanded into theBoylston Street andCopley Square area.[27]
After receiving a year's salary advance to allow him to pursue his research in 1875,Alexander Graham Bell, then a professor at the school, invented the telephone in a Boston University laboratory.[28] In 1876,Borden Parker Bowne was appointed professor of philosophy. Bowne, an important figure in the history of American religious thought, was an American Christian philosopher and theologian in theMethodist tradition. He is known for his contributions topersonalism, a philosophical branch ofliberal theology.[29] The movement he led is often referred to asBoston Personalism.[30]
The university continued its tradition of openness in this period. In 1877, Boston University became the first American university to award a PhD to a woman, when classics scholarHelen Magill White earned hers with a thesis on "The Greek Drama".[28][20] Then in 1878 Anna Oliver became the first woman to receive a degree in theology in the United States, but theMethodist Church would not ordain her.[28]Lelia J. Robinson, who graduated from the university's law school in 1881, became the first woman admitted to the bar in Massachusetts.[28]Solomon Carter Fuller, who graduated from the university's School of Medicine in 1897, became the first black psychiatrist in the United States and would make significant contributions to the study ofAlzheimer's disease.[28]
Marsh Plaza and its surrounding buildings, one of the first completed sections of the Charles River campusCommonwealth Avenue in the 1930sJosep Lluís Sert's buildings expanded the campus in the 1960s
Seeking to unify a geographically scattered school and enable it to participate in the development of the city, school president Lemuel Murlin arranged that the school buy the present campus along theCharles River. Between 1920 and 1928, the school bought the 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land that had been reclaimed from the river by the Riverfront Improvement Association. Plans for a riverside quadrangle with aGothic Revival administrative tower modeled on the"Old Boston Stump" inBoston, England were scaled back in the late 1920s when the State Metropolitan District Commission usedeminent domain to seize riverfront land forStorrow Drive.[31] Murlin was never able to build the new campus, but his successor,Daniel L. Marsh, led a series of fundraising campaigns (interrupted by both theGreat Depression andWorld War II) that helped Marsh to achieve his dream and to gradually fill in the university's new campus.[32] By spring 1936, the student body included 10,384 men and women.[33]
In 1951,Harold C. Case became the school's fifth president and under his direction the character of the campus changed significantly, as he sought to change the school into a national research university. The campus tripled in size to 45 acres (180,000 m2), and added 68 new buildings before Case retired in 1967. The first large dorms, Claflin, Rich and Sleeper Halls inWest Campus were built, and in 1965 construction began on 700Commonwealth Avenue, later namedWarren Towers, designed to house 1800 students. Between 1961 and 1966, theBU Law Tower, theGeorge Sherman Union, and theMugar Memorial Library were constructed in theBrutalist style, a departure from the school's traditional architecture. TheCollege of Engineering andCollege of Communication were housed in a former stable building and auto-show room, respectively.[34] Besides his efforts to expand the university into a rival for Greater Boston's more prestigious academic institutions, such asHarvard University and theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (both inCambridge across the Charles River from the BU campus), Case involved himself in the start of the student/societal upheavals that came to characterize the 1960s.
When a mini-squabble over editorial policy atcollege radioWBUR-FM – whose offices were under a tall radio antenna mast in front of the School of Public Relations and Communications (later College of Communications) – started growing in the spring of 1964, Case persuaded university trustees that the university should take over the widely-heard radio station (now a major outlet forNational Public Radio and still a BU-owned broadcast facility). The trustees approved the firing of student managers and clamped down on programming and editorial policy, which had been led by Jim Thistle, later a major force in Boston's broadcast news milieu. The on-campus political dispute between Case's conservative administration and the suddenly active and mostly liberal student body led to other disputes over BU student print publications, such as theB.U. News and theScarlet, a fraternity association newspaper.
The presidency ofJohn Silber also saw much expansion of the campus and programs. In the late 1970s, theLahey Clinic vacated its building at 605 Commonwealth Avenue and moved toBurlington, Massachusetts. The vacated building was purchased by BU to house theSchool of Education.[35] After arriving from the University of Texas in 1971, Silber set out to remake the university into a global center for research by recruiting star faculty. Two of his faculty "stars",Elie Wiesel andDerek Walcott, won Nobel Prizes shortly after Silber recruited them.[36] Two others,Saul Bellow andSheldon Glashow won Nobel Prizes before Silber recruited them.[36]
In addition to recruiting new scholars, Silber expanded the physical campus, constructing thePhotonics Center for the study of light, a new building for the School of Management, and the Life Science and Engineering Building for interdisciplinary research, among other projects.[37] Campus expansion continued in the 2000s with the construction of new dormitories and theAgganis Arena.
To protest the poor condition of Boston University's African-American curriculum, on April 25, 1968 (three weeks after theassassination of Martin Luther King Jr.), African-American students conducted asit-in and locked BU presidentArland F. Christ-Janer out of his office for 12 hours.[38] Umoja, BU's Black Student Union, put forward ten demands to Christ-Janer and got nine of them approved that included the creation of a Martin Luther King Chair of Social Ethics, expansion of African-American library resources and tutoring services, opening an "Afro-American coordinating center," admission and selection of more Black students and faculty. No disciplinary action was taken against the students who only opened the chains after their demands were met. "There was no surprise, or feeling of victory on the students' parts," said Christ-Janer in response to the sit-in. "They had confidence in their demands, and I had a confidence in them. The university, black and white alike, was the winner."[38]The late twentieth century saw a culmination in student activism at Boston University during the presidency ofJohn R. Silber.
In 1972, student protests rose against the university administration's endorsement ofMarine Corps recruitment on campus which faced significant opposition from theStudent Democratic Society.[39]
On March 27, 1972, 50 police officers in "riot gear" defused a demonstration of 150 protesters at 195 Bay State Road, the BU Placement Office, where Marine recruiters were holding student interviews. A few protesters were arrested while some sustained minor injuries, including a student and two officers. Contrary to student claims of a peaceful protest, Silber said, "Civilization doesn't abdicate in face of barbarism. Those students or nonstudents who deliberately seek violent confrontation and refuse all efforts at peaceful resolution of issues must expect society to use its police power in its own defense." In response to Silber's decision of a forceful police intervention, the Faculty State conducted a vote on Silber's resignation which could not pass due to a "vote of 140–25 with 32 abstentions."[39] As a result of this failed motion, Peter P. Gabriel resigned his position as the dean ofBoston University's School of Management in protest of Silber's presidency and his "counterproductive" leadership.[40] Silber's support of military recruitment on campus, which he pushed to make the university eligible for federal grants,[41] caused other demonstrations. On December 5, 1972, fifteen BU Student Government officers started a three-day hunger strike atMarsh Chapel demanding Silber "to file a lawsuit against the Federal government challenging the constitutionality of the Herbert Amendment."[42]
On March 16, 1978, about 900 Boston University students gathered at theGeorge Sherman Union to protest against the $400 rise in tuition and $150 rise in housing charges declared by the trustees on March 7.[41] The protest interrupted a board of trustees conference. While John Silber and Arthur G. B. Metcalf, chairman of the board of trustees, were negotiating with student government representatives to discuss the matter further on a separate occasion, the protesters marched into the building from two entrances, effectively trapping 40 trustees and 10 university administrators in the building for over thirty minutes. Twenty officers from theBoston University Police Department had to disperse the crowd from the stairwells. The protest resulted in the arrest of 19 year old Joshua Grossman, while another student and two BUPD officers were taken to hospitals.[41]
On April 5, 1979, several hundred faculty members, as well as clerical workers and librarians,went on strike. The faculty members were seeking a labor contract while the clerical workers and librarians were seeking union recognition. The strike ended by mid-April under terms favorable to the employees.
On November 27, 1979, the committee to Defend Iranian Students—composed of Iranian students, Youths Against Foreign Fascism and the Revolutionary Communist Party—held a demonstration at the George Sherman Union against thedeposed Shah of Iran and the deportation of Iranian students from the US. "To the Iranian people, that man (the shah) is Adolf Hitler," students protested. "The Shah Must Face the Wrath of the People." This was met with chants of "God Bless America" from the opposing group. Twenty policemen broke up the confronting parties though no arrests were made.[43]
An aerial view of the campus in May 2023Resident life and graduate workers at the university on strike for better protections and pay in April 2024
Following the trustees' push for the resignation of the university's eighth president, Jon Westling, they voted unanimously to offer the presidency of the university toDaniel S. Goldin, former administrator ofNASA under presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Goldin was set to take over the job on November 1, 2003, and be officially inaugurated on November 17, though the deal collapsed in the week leading up to his arrival in Boston.
The university eventually terminated Goldin's contract at a cost of $1.8 million and initiated a second search to fill the presidential position, culminating with the inauguration ofRobert A. Brown as the university's 10th president on April 27, 2006. (Aram Chobanian, who had served aspresident ad interim during most of the second search, was formally recognized as the 9th president in 2005.)[44] In the wake of this fiasco, several actions were taken to improve the image projected to potential presidential candidates as well as the functioning of the board itself.[45]
In 2012, the university was invited to join theAssociation of American Universities, comprising 66 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. BU, one of four universities at the time invited to join the group since 2000, became the 62nd member. In the Boston area,Harvard,MIT,Tufts, andBrandeis are also members.[14][46][47]
That same year, a $1 billion fundraising campaign was launched, its first comprehensive campaign, emphasizing financial aid, faculty support, research, and facility improvements. In 2016, the campaign goal was reached. The board of trustees voted to raise the goal to $1.5 billion and extend through 2019. The campaign has funded 74 new faculty positions, including 49 named full professorships and 25 Career Development Professorships.[48] The campaign concluded in September 2019, raising a total of $1.85 billion over seven years.[49]
In February 2015, the faculty adopted anopen-access policy to make its scholarshippublicly accessible online.[50]The Charles River and Medical Campuses have undergone physical transformations since 2006, from new buildings and playing fields to dormitory renovations. The campus has seen the addition of a 26-floor student residence at 33 Harry Agganis Way, nicknamedStuVi2, the New Balance Playing Field, the Yawkey Center for Student Services, the Alan and Sherry Leventhal Center, the Law tower and Redstone annex, the Engineering Product Innovation Center (EPIC), the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering, and the Joan and Edgar Booth Theatre, which opened in fall 2017.[51] The construction of the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering was funded by part of BU's largest ever gift, a $115 million donation fromRajen Kilachand.[52] The Dahod Family Alumni Center in the renovatedBU Castle began in May 2017 and was completed in fall 2018.[53] Development of the university's existing housing stock has included significant renovations to BU's oldest dorm, 610 Beacon Street (formerlyMyles Standish Hall) and Annex, and toKilachand Hall, formerly known as Shelton Hall, and a brand new student residence on the Medical Campus. In May 2024, Boston University removed Myles Standish's name from the building. It is now referred to by its address, 610 Beacon Street.[54][55][56]
In 2019, Boston University expanded its financial aid program so that it would "meet the full need for all domestic students who qualify for financial aid," starting in fall 2020.[57][58]
In September 2022,Robert A. Brown announced he will step down at the end of the 2022–2023 academic year. Brown began his presidency in September 2005, and his contract was set to run through 2025.[59] Although Brown chose to end his presidency, he will resume teaching at the university.[60] On August 1, 2023,Kenneth W. Freeman started serving as president ad interim.[61] In October 2023,Melissa Gilliam was named the incoming president, starting her term on July 1, 2024.[62]
The university closed down due to theCOVID-19 and shifted to online learning for the remainder of the semester on March 11, 2020.[66] For the fall 2020 semester, BU offered a hybrid system that allows for students to decide whether to take a remote class or participate in-person. Larger classes would be broken down into smaller groups that rotate between online and in-person sessions. The school started administering its ownCOVID-19 testing for faculty, staff, and students on July 27, 2020.[67] The new BU Clinical Testing Laboratory has accelerated testing that can give results to students, staff, and faculty by the next day.[68] The lab uses eight robots to process up to 6,000 tests per day.[69] A contact tracing team is part of the process to contain infections on campus.[70] BU also started a new website "Back2BU" to provide students with the latest information on reopening.[71] The results of the tests were published on BU's public COVID-19 Testing Data Dashboard.[72]
In August 2020, BU filed aservice mark application with theUnited States Patent and Trademark Office to secure the phrase "F*ck It Won't Cut It" for a student-led COVID-19 safety program on campus. The slogan is meant to promote "safe and smart actions and behaviors for college and university students in a COVID-19 environment", according to the application.[75][76]
In July 2021, BU announced faculty and staff will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 for the fall 2022 semester. This comes after a vaccine requirement for all students, which was announced in April.[77][78][79]
COVID-19 research and gain-of-function controversy
In October 2022, Boston University's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories conducted research in a Biosafety Level 3 lab that modified the original strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 with the spike proteins of the Omicron variant.[80] This resulted in a virus that was more lethal to lab mice than the Omicron variant itself, but less lethal than the original strain.[80] Some medical authorities criticized the research as dangerous "gain of function" research, but others argued that it did nottechnically count as gain of function research because the modified virus happened not to be quite as lethal as the original strain.[81] Marc Lipsitch of Harvard, however, argued "these are unquestionably gain-of-function experiments. As many have noted, this is a very broad term encompassing many harmless and some potentially dangerous experiments. GOF is a scientific technique, not an epithet."[82] While the BU researchers gained internal research and Boston government approvals for the research, they failed to notify the US Government'sNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that was a funder of the lab.[80]
Boston University's East Campus alongCommonwealth AvenueThe "BU Beach", a linear strip of land sandwiched between the main BU campus and busyStorrow Drive, used as an outdoors space to relax and sunbathe in good weatherMarsh Chapel, located at U beach, next to the BU Law Auditorium
The university's main Charles River Campus followsCommonwealth Avenue and theGreen Line, beginning nearKenmore Square and continuing for over a mile and a half to its end near the border of Boston'sAllston neighborhood. TheBoston University Bridge over theCharles River intoCambridge represents the dividing line between Main Campus, where most schools and classroom buildings are concentrated, andWest Campus, home to several athletic facilities and playing fields, the large West Campus dorm, and the new John Hancock Student Village complex. Boston University also has a campus located in theFenway area, housing undergraduate students.
The main campus buildings of BU are separated from theCharles River Esplanade parkland and thePaul Dudley White Bike Path along the banks of the nearby Charles River, by heavily traffickedStorrow Drive, a high-speedlimited-access major roadway connecting downtown Boston to its western suburbs. The separation occurred in the late 1920s, when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts seized land byeminent domain for the construction of the new roadway along the riverbank. A narrow strip of grassy lawn between BU academic buildings lining Commonwealth Avenue and the torrent of traffic on Storrow Drive has been humorously dubbed "BU Beach", because it is a favorite hangout forsunbathing in good weather.[83] The lounging students are protected from traffic incursions by a raised earthenberm, which also muffles the traffic noise to a dull roar. To protect pedestrians from vehicular collisions, Storrow Drive is enclosed by fencing, withpedestrian bridges allowing safe crossings at Silber Way and at Marsh Chapel. An additional crossing is possible at the BU Bridge, which also allows street traffic to cross from the Boston side to the Cambridge side of the Charles River.
As a result of its continual expansion, the Charles River campus contains an array of architecturally diverse buildings. The College of Arts and Sciences, Marsh Chapel, and the School of Theology buildings are the university's most recognizable, and were built in the late-1930s and 1940s incollegiate gothic style. A sizable amount of the campus is traditional Bostonbrownstone, especially atBay State Road and South Campus, where BU has acquired almost every townhouse those areas offer. The buildings are primarily dormitories, but many also serve as various institutes as well as department offices.
From the 1960s through the 1980s, several contemporary buildings were constructed, including the Mugar Library, BU Law School, andWarren Towers, all of which were built in thebrutalist style of architecture. TheMetcalf Science Center for Science and Engineering, constructed in 1983, might more accurately be described asStructural Expressionism.Morse Auditorium, adjacent, stands in stark architectural contrast, as it was originally constructed as a Jewishsynagogue. The most recent architectural additions to BU's campus are the Center for Computing & Data Sciences,Photonics Center, Life Science and Engineering Building, The Student Village (which includes theFitRec Center andAgganis Arena), and theQuestrom School of Business. All these buildings were built in brick, a few with a substantial amount of brownstone. Boston University converted the old Nickelodeon Cinemas complex into College of Engineering labs and offices.[84] In 2016, the university sold the building that housed theHuntington Theatre Company and constructed the Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and College of Fine Arts Production Center to consolidate the theater program on campus.[85][86]
The BU Data Science building
Viewed from Granby St.
BU has earned several historic preservation awards with recent extensive building renovation projects, such as the School of Law tower,[87] the Alan & Sherry Leventhal Center,[88] 610 Beacon Street (formerly Myles Standish Hall[54]),[89] and the Dahod Family Alumni Center (formerly The Castle).[90] Construction of the brick and glass Yawkey Center for Student Services was designed to follow the requirements of the Bay State Road historic district.[91] Use of glass and steel for new construction on Commonwealth Avenue includes the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering, which opened in 2017, and the 19-story Center for Computing and Data Sciences, which opened in 2022.
The ceremonial opening on December 8, 2022, was covered by publications includingBloomberg,The Boston Globe, andCBS News which praised the building for being the largest carbon-neutral building in Boston and noted its unusual design.[92][93][94] A ribbon cutting ceremony was performed by Boston MayorMichelle Wu, PresidentRobert A. Brown, the associate provost for computing and data sciencesAzer Bestavros, dean of Arts & Sciences Stan Sclaroff, BU Board of Trustees chairAhmass Fakahany, BU provostJean Morrison, and Boston city councilorKenzie Bok.[95]
In 2018, following negotiations in the preceding year, Boston University purchased the formerWheelock College, which is now referred to as the Boston University Fenway Campus (although it is actually located in the adjacent neighborhood ofLongwood).
As of 2019[update], BU has sold or leased to real estate developers several building sites it owned in Kenmore Square next to its campus. Large multistory buildings are being constructed there, which will transform the long-time appearance of the busy traffic hub.[96]
In September 2021, BU completed a $115 million project to renovate and expand the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine.[97] The project expanded clinical spaces, added a simulation learning center, and improved collaborative spaces for students.[98]
A brownstone townhouse used by Boston University as dormitoryWarren Towers, the second-largest non-military dorm in the country.[99]Built in 1925 as the Myles Standish Hotel, this building was converted to dorm space in 1949. In May 2024, the Myles Standish name was removed from the dorm. It is now called 610 Beacon Street.[54]
Boston University's housing system is the nation's 10th largest among four-year colleges. BU was originally a commuter school, but the university now guarantees the option of on-campus housing for four years for all undergraduate students. Currently, 76 percent of the undergraduate population lives on campus. Boston University requires that all students living in dormitories be enrolled in a year-long meal plan with several combinations of meals and dining points which can be used as cash in on-campus facilities.[100]
Housing at BU is an unusually diverse melange, ranging from individual 19th-centurybrownstonetownhouses and apartment buildings acquired by the school to large-scale high-rises built in the 1960s and 2000s.
The large dormitories include the 1,800-studentWarren Towers, the largest on campus, as well as West Campus andThe Towers. The smaller dormitory and apartment style housing are mainly located in two parts of campus: Bay State Road and the South Campus residential area. Bay State Road is a tree-lined street that runs parallel to Commonwealth Avenue and is home to the majority of BU's townhouses, often called "brownstones". South Campus is a student residential area south of Commonwealth Avenue and separated from the main campus by theMassachusetts Turnpike. Some of the larger buildings in that area have been converted into dormitories, while the rest of the South Campus buildings are apartments.
Boston University's newest residence and principal apartment-style housing area is officially called 33 Harry Agganis Way, "StuVi2" unofficially, and is part of The John Hancock Student Village project. The north-facing, 26-story building is apartment style while the south-facing, 19-story building is in an 8-bedroom dormitory-style suite pattern. In total, the building houses 960 residents.
Aside from these main residential areas, smaller residential dormitories are scattered along Commonwealth Avenue.
Boston University also providesspecialty houses or specialty floors to students who have particular interests.
Kilachand Hall, formerlyShelton Hall, is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of playwrightEugene O'Neill. O'Neill lived in what was originally room 401 (now 419) while the building was a residential hotel. He died in a hospital on November 27, 1953, and his ghost is rumored to haunt both the room and the floor. The fourth floor is now a specialty floor called the Writers' Corridor.[101]
Student Village II with Student Village I in the background, viewed from Nickerson Field
The Student Village is a large new residential and recreational complex covering 10 acres (40,000 m2) between Buick Street andNickerson Field, ground formerly occupied by aNational GuardArmory, which had been used by the university for indoor track and field and as a storage facility before itsdemolition and the start of construction. The dormitory of apartment suites at 10 Buick Street (often abbreviated to "StuVi" by students) opened to juniors and seniors in the fall of 2000. In 2002,John Hancock Insurance announced its sponsorship of the multimillion-dollar project.
TheAgganis Arena, named afterHarry Agganis, was opened to concerts andhockey games in January 2005. The Agganis Arena is capable of housing 6,224 spectators forTerrier hockey games, replacing the smallerWalter Brown Arena. It can also be used for concerts and shows. In March 2005, the final element of phase II of the Student Village complex, theFitness and Recreation (FitRec) Center, was opened, drawing large crowds from the student body. Construction on the rest of phase II, which included 19- and 26-story residential towers was finished in fall 2009.
The Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies on Bay State RoadBU Castle, built in 1915, on Bay State Road
TheMugar Memorial Library is the central academic library for the Charles River Campus. It also houses the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, formerly called the Twentieth Century Archive, where documents belonging to thousands of eminent figures in literature, journalism, diplomacy, the arts, and other fields are housed.
TheGeorge Sherman Union (GSU), located next toMugar Memorial Library, provides students with a food court featuring many fast-food chains, includingPanda Express, Basho,Starbucks, El Comal, Rhett's, The Coop, Halal Shack, and Urban Table. The GSU also provides lounge areas for students to relax or study. The basement of the George Sherman Union is home to the BU Central lounge, which hosts concerts and other activities and events.
BU Castle, located on the West end of Bay State Road, is one of the older buildings on campus. The building was commissioned by William Lindsay for his own use in 1905, long before his daughter's honeymoon on the ill-fatedLusitania.[102] In 1939, the university acquired the property by agreement with the city to repay all back taxes owed; these funds were raised through donations from, among others, William Chenery, a University Trustee.[103] It served as the residence of the university president until 1967, when President Christ-Janer found it too large for his needs as a residence and turned it to other uses. It is now a conference space. Underneath the Castle is theBU Pub, the only BU-operated drinking establishment on campus.[104][105]
The Florence and Chafetz Hillel House on Bay State Road is theHillel House for the university. With four floors and a basement, the facility includes lounges, study rooms and akosher dining hall, open during the academic year (including Passover) to students and walk-ins from the community. The first floor also includes the Granby St. Cafe as well as TVs and ping-pong, pool and foosball tables. The Hillel serves as a focal point for BU's large and active Jewish community. It hosts approximately 30 student groups, including social, cultural, and religious groups, and BU Students for Israel (BUSI), Holocaust Education, and the Center for Jewish Learning and Experience. It hosts a plethora of programs and speakers as well as Shabbat services and meals.[106]
The university is located at the junction ofFenway-Kenmore,Allston, andBrookline. In the Fenway-Kenmore area are theMuseum of Fine Arts, theIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the nightlife of Landsdowne Street as well as Fenway Park, home of theBoston Red Sox. Allston has been Boston's largestbohemian neighborhood since the 1960s. Nicknamed "Allston Rock City",[107] the neighborhood is home to many artists and musicians, as well as a variety of cafés, and many of Boston's small music halls.
The university is home to theBoston Playwrights' Theatre. Previously associated with the Huntington Theatre Company onHuntington Avenue, but put the BU Theatre property up for sale in 2016, it cast a shadow over the future of the organization.[108][109] BU replaced the old Huntington Theatre facilities with the new Joan and Edgar Booth Theatre, located next to the Fuller Building housing the College of Fine Arts.
BU hosts campus and non-campus musical performances in theTsai Performance Center at 685 Commonwealth Avenue, and the CFA Concert Hall at 855 Commonwealth Avenue.
Visual art works by students and by visiting artists are displayed in rotating exhibitions in the university's three galleries: the BU Art Gallery (BUAG) at the Stone Gallery, the 808 Gallery, and the Sherman Gallery, located respectively at 855, 808, and 775 Commonwealth Avenue. In addition, BU had been associated with the Photographic Resource Center located at 832 Commonwealth Avenue, which mounts several exhibitions yearly, as well as special events for student and professional photographers. However, BU withdrew its support as of May 2017[update],[110] and the Photographic Resource Center is now a resident partner with the College of Art and Design atLesley University.[111]
Prior to September 2007, Boston University had a restrictive visitor policy, which limited the ability of students from different dormitories to visit each other at night. This changed when a new policy approved by Brown took effect.[112] The new policy allows for students living on campus to swipe into any on-campus dormitory between the hours of 7 am and 2 am using their Terrier cards. Student residents can also sign in guests with photo identification at any time, day or night. Overnight visitors of the opposite sex are no longer required to seek a same-sex "co-host".[113] However, during reading period and the week before final exams,[114] no guests are permitted in the halls overnight, and are expected to be out of the hall by 2 am.[115]
Most of the buildings of the main campus are located on or near Commonwealth Avenue, served by theKenmore subway stop on theGreen Line and five surface stops on theGreen Line B branch. Crowding on the busy B branch is very seasonal; during the summer, ridership falls by more than half, largely due to the reduced student population.[116] The South Campus and Fenway Campus areas are served bySt. Mary's Street on theC branch andFenway on theD branch.MBTA bus route57 parallels the B branch on Commonwealth Avenue;Lansdowne on theMBTA Commuter RailFramingham/Worcester Line is located near East Campus.
Bicycle traffic on Commonwealth Avenue is heavy,[117] and advocacy groups have held public meetings with BU, the MBTA, and the City of Boston to improve safety and congestion along this travel corridor.[118][119] The MBTA plans to consolidate and reduce the number of stops along Commonwealth Avenue to speed travel and to reduce construction costs to upgrade the remaining stations. Improvements planned include fullhandicapped accessibility at the new stations, fencing to encourage pedestrians to use protectedcrosswalks,traffic signal prioritization for transit vehicles, and improved esthetics. The Commonwealth Avenue Improvement Project is coordinated by theMassachusetts Highway Department, in cooperation with BU, the MBTA, the City of Boston, theBoston Water and Sewer Commission, and other organizations.[120][117]
The medical campus is served by the #1 and CT1 crosstown buses, which run along Massachusetts Avenue, and the No. 47 and CT3 crosstown buses, which connect the Boston University Medical Center with theLongwood Medical Area. TheSilver Line Washington Street Branch runs the entire length of the Medical Campus, one block north of most parts of the campus; it connects Boston University Medical Center withTufts Medical Center station and downtown Boston. The nearest rapid transit subway station is theMassachusetts Avenue station on theOrange Line, located three blocks north of the Medical Center.
The university has a sustainability initiative and a sustainability office.[121] Boston University's Strategic Plan for Campus Sustainability is also integrated into the university's overarching strategic plan in many areas including the Climate Action Plan Task Force, a faculty-led initiative developing the university's first Climate Action Plan. The Campus Climate Lab, led by the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability in partnership with Boston University Sustainability and the Office of Research, provides opportunities for student-led research projects that support sustainability on the campus.[122]
In July 2022, social scientistBenjamin Sovacool[123] led the establishment of the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability. Formerly the Institute for Sustainable Energy, the university-wide institute advances cross-disciplinary research on sustainability with a focus on justice and equity.[124]
43Harrington Gardens, the main academic building for Boston University's London Campus
Boston University's largest study abroad program is located inLondon, England. Boston University London Programmes offers a semester of study and work in London through their London Internship Program (LIP), as well as a number of other specialized programs. The LIP program combines a professional internship with coursework that examines a particular academic area in the context of Britain's history, culture, and society and its role in modern Europe.[127] Courses in each academic area are taught exclusively to students enrolled in the Boston University program by a selected faculty body representing multiple cultural backgrounds. Upon successful completion of a semester, students earn 16 Boston University credits. BU London Programmes are headquartered inSouth Kensington, London. The campus consists of the main building at 43 Harrington Gardens, as well as three nearby residences to house students. This program is open to Boston University students, as well as students at other American colleges.
InLos Angeles, the university has an internship program for students to study and work in the heart of the film, television, advertising, public relations, and entertainment management and law industries. The program offers three tracks from which undergraduate and graduate students can choose: Advertising and Public Relations, Film and Television, and Entertainment Management. Graduated students have the opportunity to continue their education by enrolling in the Los Angeles Certificate Program, where students can choose either the Acting in Hollywood or the Writer in Hollywood track. Courses are taught by Boston University faculty and alumni who serve as mentors in and out of the classroom. Upon successful completion of a semester students will earn 16 Boston University credits. Students who successfully complete the Los Angeles Certificate Program will receive 8 Boston University credits and a certificate from Boston University College of Fine Arts or College of Communication.[128]
TheParis Center runs several programs, the largest of which is the Paris Internship Program dating from 1989. Students take language and elective courses with French faculty at the BU Paris Center, then are placed in internships with French businesses and organizations in the area. Students live with host families or in a dormitory for the extent of the semester. Boston University Paris also organizes exchange programs with the business schoolParis Dauphine University and a yearlong program with theInstitut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po).[129]
InWashington, D.C., Boston University offers internship, journalism and management programs. Students study in the university's building onMassachusetts Avenue inDupont Circle and take advantage of the city by interning at different locations. In 2011, the university completed construction of a new, multistory residence to house students in the program featuring touch-less entry cards for security and suites with communal kitchens, right next to theWoodley Park Metro station.[130] The Multimedia and Journalism program allows students to act as Washington, D.C. correspondents for newspapers and television stations across the Northeast and New England while interning at major news outlets in the city, as well as at many PR internships in politics, government and public affairs. Internship opportunities are also offered in a wide variety of sectors for students enrolled in other BU Study Abroad Washington programs.
InSydney, Australia, Boston University has internship, management, film festival, travel writing, engineering, and School of Education programs that vary based on semester. Around 150 students live in the university's building inChippendale developed by Tony Owen Partners.[131][132] The building uses "fissures to provide maximum solar access to bedrooms as well as natural ventilation throughout the building".[133] The building opened in the beginning of 2011 and features underground classrooms, a lecture hall, office space, library, and a roof patio.
Other internship and study abroad opportunities are available through the Study Abroad office.[134]
Boston University offersbachelor's,master's,doctorate, medical, dental, and law degrees through its 17 schools and colleges. The newest school at Boston University is theFrederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies (established 2014).Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development was renamed in 2018 following the merger with Wheelock College. In 2019, BU created the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, which is an interdisciplinary academic unit that will train students in computing and enable them to combine data science with their chosen field. In 2022, BU's medical school was renamed the Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine (following a $100 million gift from Edward Avedisian, a career clarinetist).[135][136] In December 2024, the Center for Computing & Data Sciences was renamed the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences.[137]
Each school and college at the university has a three letter abbreviation, which is commonly used in place of their full school or college name. For example, the College of Arts & Sciences is commonly referred to as CAS, the College of Engineering is ENG, the College of General Studies is CGS, and the College of Fine Arts is CFA.
The College of Fine Arts was formerly named the School of Fine Arts (SFA). The College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) was formerly named the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). The College of Communication was formerly named the School of Public Communication (SPC). The Questrom School of Business (Questrom) was formerly known as the School of Management (SMG),[138] and the College of Business Administration (CBA) prior to that. The College of General Studies (CGS) was formerly named the College of Basic Studies (CBS).
Based on currently enrolled student responses within the university student database 50.6%white, 14%Asian, 11.6% international students, 8.6%Hispanic, and 3.2%black. Fall 2015 international student enrollment at Boston University is 43% Chinese, 9% Indian, 5% Korean, 5% Saudi Arabian, 4% Canadian, 4% Taiwanese, 2% Turkish, and 1% from each of the following countries: Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, France, Thailand, Spain, and Japan. The other 18% of international enrollment comes from 123 other countries.[148] Among international students, 39% are pursuing undergraduate degrees, 37% are pursuing graduate degrees, and 23% are enrolled in other programs.[148] BU has the largest number ofJews out of all private schools in the U.S. with about 6,000 students identifying as Jewish.[149][150]
Boston University's financial aid program, "affordableBU", meets 100% of the demonstrated need of domestic students (U.S. citizens and permanent residents).[152]
U.S. News & World Report ranks Boston University tied for 42nd among national universities and tied for 86th among global universities for 2026.[162][163] It also ranked BU 26th in "Best Value Schools" and tied for 42nd in "Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs" at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate.[164]U.S. News & World Report's 2025 list also ranks Boston University's online graduate information technology programs 10th in the U.S.[165] the online graduate criminal justice programs tied for 6th, and the online graduate business programs (excluding MBAs) tied for 10th.[166][167]
Boston University is ranked No. 171 nationally in the 2025Wall Street Journal/College Pulse U.S. colleges and universities ranking.[168]
In 2016, theChronicle of Higher Education placed the Boston University School of Social Work as sixth in the nation for research productivity by faculty.[173]
Boston University is also one of 250 global universities selected for the Emerging Group's 2025 Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (GEURS), and is ranked 34th in the world (12th in the U.S.) within this select group.[174]
BU is one of 146 American universities receiving the highest research classification ("RU/VH") by the Carnegie Foundation.[19]
In 2017, BU received a $20 million grant over five years from the NSF in order to establish an Engineering Research Center (ERC).[178][179] The ERC's goal is to bioengineer functional heart tissue.[180] The director of the center is David Bishop, a professor of physics and computer and electrical engineering.[181]
In 2003, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Boston University a grant to build one of two National Biocontainment Laboratories. TheNational Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) was created to study emerging infectious diseases that pose a significant threat to public health.[182] NEIDL has biosafety level 2, 3, and 4 (BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4, respectively) labs that enable researchers to work safely with the pathogens.[183] BSL-4 labs are the highest level of biosafety labs and work with diseases with a high risk of aerosol transmission.[184]
The strategic plan also encouraged research collaborations with industry and government partners. In 2016, as part of a broadbased effort to solve the critical problem ofantibiotic resistance, theU.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) selected theBU School of Law (LAW)—andKevin Outterson, a BU professor of law—to lead a $350 million trans-Atlantic public-private partnership calledCARB-X to foster the preclinical development of new antibiotics and antimicrobial rapid diagnostics and vaccines.[185] CARB-X was allotted an additional $370 million in funding in May 2022. HHS will continue to support CARB-X with up to $300 million over 10 years, and global charity Wellcome will fund up to $70 million over three years.[186] In May 2023, CARB-X secured renewed funding from the UK government (£24M over four years)[187] and the German government (€39M over four years, and €2M for accelerator),[188] and the Canadian government also announced its plan to support CARB-X with CAD $6.3 million over two years.[189]
In its effort to increase diversity and inclusion, Boston University appointedIbram X. Kendi in July 2020 as a history professor and the director and founder[190] of its newly established Center for Antiracist Research.[191][192] The university also appointed alumna Andrea Taylor as its first senior diversity officer.[193] Later in August,Twitter founder and then CEOJack Dorsey donated $10 million to the Center, noting that the gift came with "no string attached."[194] Ibram Kendi was named a 2021 MacArthur fellow and will receive a "genius grant" of $625,000 split over five years for his center's research.[195][196][197]
On March 2, 2025, the Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) telescope landed on the moon—a first for BU—aboard NASA's Blue Ghost lunar lander. BU researchers involved included principal investigator Brian Walsh,[198] lead data scientist Ramiz Qudsi, and others. LEXI will send information on Earth's magnetic shield back to BU for analysis.[199]
The independently run student newspaper at Boston University,The Daily Free Press,[200] andThe New York Times,[201] have published articles exploring the existence of grade deflation. TheTimes discovered that administrators have suggested to faculty members deflated ideal grade distributions. Although an article in the official publicationBU Today asserted that "the GPAs of BU undergrads and the percentage of As and Bs have both risen over the last two decades",The New York Times has found BU grades have been rising more slowly with respect to many other schools.
About 81 percent of all grades earned in either the A or B range (75% in the B range). The article went on to note that although the university attempted to curbgrade inflation and inconsistency in the late 1990s, both the percentage of As and GPAs have been rising since. They attributed the grade inflation that has occurred not to teachers' grading policies, but to the increasing quality of each incoming class which leads to more top grades.[203]
The Rafik B. Hariri Building houses theQuestrom School of Business and the office of the university president
Boston University is home to several academic journals and publications. TheSchool of Law hosts six nationally recognized law journals: theBoston University Law Review,American Journal of Law and Medicine,Review of Banking & Financial Law,Boston University International Law Journal,Journal of Science and Technology Law, andPublic Interest Law Journal.[204] TheSchool of Education houses theJournal of Education, which is the oldest continuously published journal in the field of education in the country.[205] In theCollege of Arts and Sciences,Studies in Romanticism is housed at the Department of English[206] and theJournal of Field Archeology is housed at the Department of Archeology.[207][208] The Department of History is affiliated with The Historical Society, which publishesThe Journal of the Historical Society andHistorically Speaking.[209]TheAmerican Journal of Media Psychology and thePublic Relations Journal are currently edited by professors at theCollege of Communication,[210] which is also home to theNew England Center for Investigative Reporting, which generates numerous publications yearly.[211]
Kilachand Hall, formerly Shelton Hall and home of BU's Kilachand Honors College, viewed from theCharles River
BU Hub, the university-wide undergraduate core curriculum, requires courses and learning experiences that develop six essential capacities. These essential capacities include: philosophical, aesthetic, and historical interpretation; scientific and social inquiry; quantitative reasoning; diversity, civic engagement, and global citizenship; written, oral, and multimedia communication; and an intellectual toolkit that includes critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.[212]
Boston University'shonors college matriculated its first class in 2010. In 2011, it was renamed Arvind and Chandan Nandlal Kilachand Honors College following a $25 million donation from alum andbillionaire businessman,Rajen Kilachand. The Kilachand Honors College is a university-wide community of faculty and students dedicated to preserving, renewing, and rethinking classic ideals of liberal education: love of learning, intellectual curiosity, self-discovery, empathy, clarity of thought and expression. It rests on three pillars: an integrated, four-year curriculum; an extensive series of co-curricular events that include site-visits to leading cultural institutions as well as talks and readings by leading figures in the arts, sciences, and professions; and, finally, a "living and learning" community that offers students the personal atmosphere of a small liberal arts college and fosters responsibility and citizenship.[213]
In 2013, Kilachand donated an additional $10 million to fund a renovation ofKilachand Hall, where first year students in the honors college are required to live.[214] Kilachand would go on to become one of Boston University's largest benefactors upon donating $115 million to bolster the university's research at the intersection of the life sciences and engineering in 2017. The gift created the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering and a $100 million endowment that advances, in perpetuity, groundbreaking research at the intersection of the life sciences and engineering.[215]
Boston University Academy (BUA) is a private high school operated by Boston University. It has an enrollment of 234 students (2023) in grades 9–12 and a 10:1 student-to-teacher ratio. It is the only high school inNew England that is part of a major research university. Founded in 1993, the school sits within the university's campus and students are offered the opportunity to take university courses with BU students. The mean SAT score for the BUA class of 2023 was 1491 (98th percentile), and the mean ACT was 34 (99th percentile). 41% of the class of 2023 were recognized by theNational Merit Scholarship Program.
Independent from the university,The Daily Free Press, often referred to asThe FreeP, is the campus student newspaper and the fourth largest daily newspaper in Boston. Since 1970, it has provided students with campus news, city and state news, sports coverage, editorials, arts and entertainment, and special feature stories.The Daily Free Press is published every regular instruction day of the university year and is available in BU dorms, classroom buildings, and commercial locations frequented by students.
The literary magazineClarion has been printed since 1998. The first issue, titled "?", was published by the group Students for Literary Awareness with the sponsorship of the Department of English; subsequent issues were issued by the BU Literary Society, and most recently, by the BU BookLab.Burn Magazine is a younger literary magazine, affiliated withClarion, but publishing the work of student authors only.
TheReserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at BU traces its origins back to August 16, 1919, when the US War Department stood up the Students' Army Training Corps at Boston University, the predecessor to the current Army ROTC program.[217] Today, BU is one of twenty five colleges and universities in the country to host all three ROTC programs – Army, Navy, and Air Force. Students wishing to be commissioned into the Marine Corps study as Navy Midshipmen.
Agganis Arena following a hockey gameDeWolfe Boathouse
Boston University's NCAADivision I Terriers compete in men's basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey,rowing, soccer, swimming, tennis, track, and lacrosse, and in women's basketball, dance, cross country, field hockey, golf, ice hockey,lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and track.Boston University athletics teams compete in thePatriot League,Hockey East, andCoastal Athletic Association conferences, and their mascot is Rhett the Boston Terrier. As of 1 July 2013[update], a majority of Boston University's teams compete in thePatriot League.[218] On April 1, 2013, the university announced it would cut its wrestling program following the 2013–14 season.
The Boston University men's hockey team is the most successful on campus, and is a storied college hockey power, with five NCAA championships, most recently in 2009. The team was coached by hall-of-famer Jack Parker for 40 seasons, and is a major supplier of talent to the NHL, as well as to the 1980 USA Olympic gold medal-winning men's hockey team. The Terriers have won 31Beanpot titles, more than any other team in the tournament, which includesHarvard University,Boston College, andNortheastern University.[219][220] The BU Women's ice hockey team has won 2 Beanpot titles, once in 1981 and once in 2019. Boston University also won a game in 2010 against Boston College at Fenway Park by a score of 3–2, played a week after theNHL Winter Classic.[221]
BU has also won two national championships in women's rowing, in 1991 and 1992.
In 2020, the men's basketball team won the Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship for the first time, but the NCAA men's Division I basketball tournament was canceled due to coronavirus concerns.[223][224][225]
The softball team won their fifth Patriot League Championship title in six seasons, defeating Lehigh 1–0 on May 11, 2024.[226][227]
The women's tennis team has won the most conference titles of any varsity sport at Boston University, and currently holds 28 conference titles across the America East and Patriot League Conferences, having most recently defeated its two major rivals, Navy and Army, back-to-back in the 2025 post-season conference tournament. The women's tennis team has competed in NCAA national competition 19 times.
Boston University'sAgganis Arena opened on January 3, 2005, with a men's hockey game between the Terriers and theUniversity of MinnesotaGolden Gophers. The arena also hosts non-sporting events, such as concerts, ice shows, and other performances.
Boston University disbanded its football team in 1997. The university used the nearly $3 million from its football program to build the multimillion-dollar John Hancock Student Village and athletic complex. The university also increased funding to women's athletic programs. "By implementing the total plan, we can achieve a much more balanced set of sports programs for both men and women, which is consistent with the philosophy underlying Title IX", said former BU athletic director Gary Strickler.[228]
Boston University students also compete in athletics at the club level. Thirty-four club sports are recognized by the university: badminton; baseball; cricket; cycling; equestrian; fencing; figure skating; golf; gymnastics; inline, men's, and women's ice hockey; jiu-jitsu; kendo; kung fu; women's and men's rugby; sailing; Shotokan karate; ski racing; snowboarding; men's and women's soccer; squash; women's synchronized skating; synchronized swimming; table tennis; triathlon; women's and men's ultimate frisbee; men's and women's volleyball; and women's and men's water polo.[229]
The BU Sailing Team is one of the most successful teams in college sailing. The team has won seven National Championships, most recently in 1999. They have also had three team members graduate as "College Sailor of the Year".[230] Notable alumni of the team includeKen Read, skipper forPUMA Ocean Racing in theVolvo Ocean Race, and 2012 US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year nominee, John Mollicone.[231]
The BU Figure Skating Team has won seven Intercollegiate National Figure Skating Championships[232] and has not finished outside of the top three since 2009. They are the most decorated team in collegiate figure skating.
The BU Men's Club Volleyball team won the NCVF 1AA National Championship in 2016.
The BU Roller Hockey Team advanced to the NCHRA Tournament in 2001, 2002, and 2003. The team advanced all the way to the Final Four in 2001.
Both Men's and Women's Intervarsity Table Tennis Teams have attended the National Collegiate Table Tennis Tournaments and ranked as high as the top 10 nationwide.
With over 342,000 alumni, Boston University graduates can be found around the world, and its graduates have achieved a number of notable historical firsts inUnited States history. In 1837, BU became the first university in the nation to open all of its divisions to women with a "founding mission [built] upon inclusion, regardless of gender, race, or religion."[233] 9Truman Scholars have graduated from the university.[234]
Affiliates of Boston University have won sevenNobel Prizes.Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, conducted many of his experiments on the BU campus when he was professor of Vocal Physiology and Elocution.[240] In Boston, Bell was "swept up" by the excitement engendered by the many scientists and inventors residing in the city. In 1875, the university gave Bell a year's salary advance to allow him to pursue his research. The following year, he invented the telephone in a Boston University laboratory.[28] In the twenty-first century, the university has become a pioneering center for synthetic biology thanks to the work ofJames Collins. Collins and co-workers also discovered that sublethal levels of antibiotics activate mutagenesis by stimulating the production of reactive oxygen species, leading to multidrug resistance.[241] This discovery has important implications for the widespread use and misuse of antibiotics.
Christopher Chen, an interdisciplinary researcher whose work involves engineering, medicine, and biology, joined BU in 2013.[242] Chen directs the Biological Design Center at the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering.[243] His research focuses on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Notable alumni in American politics include former Defense SecretaryWilliam Cohen, former US Ambassador to ChinaGary Locke, former SenatorJudd Gregg, former United States SenatorEdward Brooke, former Massachusetts Attorney GeneralMartha Coakley, former Second LadyTipper Gore, and the former First Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Earle O. Latham. Former PresidentWilliam Howard Taft lectured on Legal Ethics at the university'slaw school from 1918 to 1921.[255]
After leaving politics in 2014, former Boston mayorThomas Menino was professor of the practice of political science at the university until his death later in the year.[256]
Television personalityBill O'Reilly studied journalism at the university in the 1970s and was a columnist for the student newspaper,The Daily Free Press.[257] Describing his time at the university, he wrote, "Throughout that fall at BU, covering stories became a passion for me. I loved going places and seeing new things. I ran around Boston annoying the hell out of everyone, but bringing back good, crisp copy" and "what I learned at Boston University firmly set me on the course I continue to this day. Amidst the chaos of Commonwealth Avenue, I found an occupation that I enjoyed."[257]
In 2014,The Hollywood Reporter took note of the number of female Boston University graduates working in Hollywood.[259] The university estimates that more than 5,000 alums, 54 percent of them women, work in entertainment. Graduates include famous actors, screenwriters, producers, directors and entertainment industry executives. Over 30 alumni have gone on to win or receive nominations forAcademy Awards and countless have earnedEmmy Awards,Golden Globes, andScreen Actors Guild Awards.
1968 Olympic 400 m hurdles gold medalistDavid Hemery[261] was a student at BU in the 1960s, and a coach in the 1970s and 1980s.John Thomas[262] attended BU in the early 1960s and he won a silver medal in the Olympic High Jump. He was an assistant track coach at BU during the 1970s.
On October 29, 2020, Travis Roy, a philanthropist, motivational speaker, and former BU ice hockey player, died. In 1995, Roy collided with the boards and was paralyzed just 11 seconds into his first hockey game for Boston University, making him quadriplegic.[263] In 1996, Roy founded the Travis Roy Foundation to fund research for and help other spinal cord injury survivors.[264] In 2017, BU created the Travis M. Roy Professorship in Rehabilitation Sciences after receiving $2.5 million from anonymous donors.[265][266][267]
Boston University has sometimes been referenced in popular culture. For example, in 1962,Timothy Leary performed hisMarsh Chapel Experiment, also known as the "Good Friday Experiment", in the university's Marsh Chapel.[268] The experiment investigated whether psilocybin (the active principle in psilocybin mushrooms) would act as a reliable entheogen in religiously predisposed subjects. Boston University's campuses have also appeared in several movies, includingThe Social Network andGhostbusters (2016 film).[269]
^Though not a degree granting college, students enrolled in it must take courses provided by the college itself. Students not in the program are not allowed to take courses provided by this college.
^abCambridge University Student Union International 2003–2004. The Hermit Kingdom Press. 2005.ISBN978-1-59689-044-2.Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. RetrievedJune 30, 2007.Emory University, an academic institution of higher education that is under the auspices of the United Methodist Church (Duke University, Boston University, Northwestern University are among other elite universities belonging to the United Methodist Church).
^abKurian, George Thomas; Lamport, Mark A. (November 10, 2016).Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States.Rowman & Littlefield. p. 1502.ISBN978-1-4422-4432-0.Methodists-affiliated universities founded during the nineteenth century include Northwestern, Boston (University), Syracuse, Duke and Emory.
^"The Boston Economy 2008 Holding Strong"(PDF). Boston Redevelopment Authority – Research Division. September 2008. p. 16. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on July 29, 2012. RetrievedNovember 22, 2009.Largest Private Employers in Boston, April, 2006 (With 1,000+ employees, listed alphabetically)
^"About BU".Boston University.Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. RetrievedNovember 24, 2020.
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^Buford, Tom (2006). "Persons in the Tradition of Boston Personalism".The Journal of Speculative Philosophy.20 (3):214–218.doi:10.1353/jsp.2007.0000.S2CID170564853.
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^Rimer, Sara. "Turmoil at the Top at Boston University."The New York Times October 28, 2003, Late ed., sec. A: 16. LexisNexis Academic. Boston, MA. May 6, 2006.
^Rimer, Sara. "Boston U. Trustees Regrouping After Turmoil Over Presidency."The New York Times April 16, 2004, Late ed., sec. A: 16. LexisNexis Academic. Boston, MA. May 6, 2006.
^"F*CK IT WON'T CUT IT". United States Patent and Trademark Office. RetrievedAugust 12, 2020.Promoting public awareness of safe and smart actions and behaviors for college and university students in a COVID-19 environment
^Woolhouse, Megan (January 31, 2019)."Reimagining Kenmore Square".BU Today. Boston University.Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. RetrievedSeptember 21, 2019.
^ab"2015 International Student Data". Boston University International Students & Scholars Office.Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. RetrievedDecember 11, 2016.
^Rojstaczer, Stuart (April 7, 2017)."Grade Inflation Across the U.S."Boston University. gradeinflation.com.Archived from the original on April 30, 2012. RetrievedMay 13, 2012.
^Hanson, Gayle M.B. & Berg, Stacie Zoe. Long on losses, short on funds, BU football lets clock run out. Insight on the News (December 15, 1997).
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^"About | BU Dinghy Sailors". Budinghysailors.wordpress.com. February 4, 2010.Archived from the original on September 12, 2013. RetrievedApril 22, 2013.
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^Penner, James."The Good Friday Experiment"Archived November 1, 2022, at theWayback MachineTimothy Leary: The Harvard Years: Early Writings on LSD and Psilocybin with Richard Alpert, Huston Smith, Ralph Metzner, and others, July 21, 2014. Retrieved on February 12, 2016.
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