Editing Boston University (section)

== History ==
===19th century===
{{more citations needed section|date=May 2019}}
[[File:Bell receives honorary LL.D from University of Edinburgh.jpg|thumb|[[Alexander Graham Bell]], who invented the telephone at Boston University]]
[[File:688 Boylston St.jpg|thumb|688 [[Boylston Street]] in [[Boston]], the early home of the College of Liberal Arts, the precursor to [[Boston University College of Arts and Sciences]]]]
[[File:Helen magill.jpg|thumb|[[Helen Magill White]], who, in 1877, was the first woman to receive a [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] from an American university]]
Boston University traces its roots to the establishment of the '''Newbury Biblical Institute''' in [[Newbury (town), Vermont|Newbury, Vermont]], in 1839,<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web |title=Boston University {{!}} university, Boston, Massachusetts, United States |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Boston-University |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417054346/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Boston-University |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |access-date=April 19, 2021 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> and was chartered with the name "Boston University" by the [[Massachusetts Legislature]] in 1869. The university organized formal centennial observances both in 1939 and 1969.<ref>[http://www.bu.edu/info/about/ Boston University |Visitor Center |About the University |History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216154448/http://www.bu.edu/info/about/ |date=February 16, 2006}}, retrieved May 6, 2006</ref> 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 of [[Methodist]] 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 in [[Concord, New Hampshire]], invited the institute to relocate to Concord and offered a disused [[Congregationalism in the United States|Congregational 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".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Methodist General Biblical Institute (Concord, NH) {{!}} A People's History of the School of Theology |url=https://www.bu.edu/sth-history/graduates/concord-students/ |access-date=June 28, 2023 |website=bu.edu}}</ref>

With the agreed twenty years coming to a close, the trustees of the Concord Biblical Institute purchased {{cvt|30|acre|m2}} on Aspinwall Hill in [[Brookline, Massachusetts]], as a possible relocation site. The institute moved in 1867 to 23 Pinkney Street in the [[Beacon Hill, Boston|Beacon Hill]] neighborhood of Boston, and received a Massachusetts Charter as the "'''Boston Theological Seminary'''".

In 1869, three trustees of the '''Boston Theological Institute''' obtained from the Massachusetts Legislature a charter for a university by the name of "Boston University".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buckley |first=James Monroe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5TVKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA203 |title=A History of Methodism in the United States |date=1898 |publisher=Harper & Brothers Company |page=203 |language=en}}</ref> 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 were [[Isaac Rich]] (1801–1872), Lee Claflin (1791–1871), and [[Jacob Sleeper]] (1802–1889), for whom Boston University's three [[Boston University West Campus|West Campus]] dormitories were later named. Lee Claflin's son, [[William Claflin|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 book ''Transformations, A History of Boston University'' (see [[#Further reading|Further 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=[[Massachusetts General Court]] |title=Acts and Resolves |publisher=[[Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth]] |year=1869 |location=[[Boston]] |pages=631–633 |chapter=Chapter 322: An Act to Incorporate the Trustees of Boston University |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/actsresolvespass1869mass/page/630/mode/2up}}</ref>

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 the [[Boston University School of Theology|BU School of Theology]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=history » School of Theology |url=https://www.bu.edu/sth/welcome/about-sth/history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016230033/https://www.bu.edu/sth/welcome/about-sth/history/ |archive-date=October 16, 2017 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |publisher=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>

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, the [[Great 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 were [[bankrupt]]. The value of his estate, when turned over to the university in 1882, was half what it had been in 1872.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

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 throughout [[Beacon Hill, Boston|Beacon Hill]], and later expanded into the [[Boylston Street]] and [[Copley Square]] area, before building its Charles River Campus in the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=B.U. Bridge: Boston University community's weekly newspaper |url=https://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2000/12-08/1930s.html |access-date=January 21, 2024 |website=bu.edu}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Kilgore 1991">{{Cite book |last=Kilgore |first=Kathleen |title=Transformations: A History of Boston University |date=1991 |publisher=Boston University Press |location=Boston}}</ref> 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 the [[Methodist]] tradition. He is known for his contributions to [[personalism]], a philosophical branch of [[Liberal Christianity|liberal theology]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Buford |first=Tom |year=2006 |title=Persons in the Tradition of Boston Personalism |journal=The Journal of Speculative Philosophy |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=214–218 |doi=10.1353/jsp.2007.0000 |s2cid=170564853}}</ref> The movement he led is often referred to as [[Personalism#Boston personalism|Boston Personalism]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Personalism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) |encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Stanford University |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/personalism/ |access-date=May 5, 2013 |date=November 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423084853/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/personalism/ |archive-date=April 23, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

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 scholar [[Helen Magill White]] earned hers with a thesis on "The Greek Drama".<ref name="Kilgore 1991" /><ref name="Britannica" /> Then in 1878 Anna Oliver became the first woman to receive a degree in theology in the United States, but the [[Methodist Church]] would not ordain her.<ref name="Kilgore 1991" /> [[Lelia J. Robinson]], who graduated from the university's law school in 1881, became the first woman admitted to the bar in Massachusetts.<ref name="Kilgore 1991" /> [[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 of [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref name="Kilgore 1991" />

===20th century===
[[File:Marsh Chapel.jpg|thumb|Marsh Plaza and its surrounding buildings, one of the first completed sections of the Charles River campus]]
[[File:Type 4 streetcar inbound at Granby Street, circa 1940s.jpg|thumb|Commonwealth Avenue in the 1930s]]
[[File:Boston University (8609103615).jpg|thumb|[[Josep 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 the [[Charles River]]. Between 1920 and 1928, the school bought the {{cvt|15|acre|m2}} of land that had been reclaimed from the river by the Riverfront Improvement Association. Plans for a riverside quadrangle with a [[Alexander Graham Bell tower|Gothic Revival administrative tower]] modeled on the [[St Botolph's Church, Boston|"Old Boston Stump"]] in [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]], England were scaled back in the late 1920s when the State Metropolitan District Commission used [[eminent domain]] to seize riverfront land for [[Storrow Drive]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Between World Wars |url=http://www.bu.edu/visit/about/history/betweenwars.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212022404/http://www.bu.edu/visit/about/history/betweenwars.html |archive-date=December 12, 2007 |access-date=April 28, 2008 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref> Murlin was never able to build the new campus, but his successor, [[Daniel L. Marsh]], led a series of fundraising campaigns (interrupted by both the [[Great Depression]] and [[World War II]]) that helped Marsh to achieve his dream and to gradually fill in the university's new campus.<ref>Healea, Christopher Daryl, "The Builder and Maker of the Greater University: A History of Daniel L. Marsh's Presidency at Boston University, 1926–1951" (Boston University, 2011). Order No. DA3463124.</ref> By spring 1936, the student body included 10,384 men and women.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1936/04/12/archives/10384-are-enrolled-at-bu.html "10.384 are enrolled at B.U.] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830174916/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/04/12/archives/10384-are-enrolled-at-bu.html |date=August 30, 2018}}, ''The New York Times''. April 12, 1936. p. N7.</ref>

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 {{cvt|45|acre|m2}}, and added 68 new buildings before Case retired in 1967. The first large dorms, Claflin, Rich and Sleeper Halls in [[Boston University West Campus|West Campus]] were built, and in 1965 construction began on 700 [[Commonwealth Avenue (Boston)|Commonwealth Avenue]], later named [[Warren Towers]], designed to house 1800 students. Between 1961 and 1966, the [[Boston University School of Law|BU Law Tower]], the [[George Sherman Union]], and the [[Mugar Memorial Library]] were constructed in the [[Brutalist architecture|Brutalist]] style, a departure from the school's traditional architecture. The [[Boston University College of Engineering|College of Engineering]] and [[Boston University College of Communication|College of Communication]] were housed in a former stable building and auto-show room, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alex Taylor |title=Activism, dorm construction pervade campus in 1950s–60s |url=http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2006/10/17/News/Activism.Dorm.Construction.Pervade.Campus.In.1950s60s-2371894.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070401215744/http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2006/10/17/News/Activism.Dorm.Construction.Pervade.Campus.In.1950s60s-2371894.shtml |archive-date=April 1, 2007 |access-date=April 27, 2008 |website=The Daily Free Press}}</ref> Besides his efforts to expand the university into a rival for Greater Boston's more prestigious academic institutions, such as [[Harvard University]] and the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (both in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] 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 at [[college radio]] [[WBUR-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 for [[National 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 the ''B.U. News'' and the ''Scarlet'', a fraternity association newspaper.

The Presidency of [[John Silber]] also saw much expansion of the campus and programs. In the late 1970s, the [[Lahey Clinic]] vacated its building at 605 Commonwealth Avenue and moved to [[Burlington, Massachusetts]]. The vacated building was purchased by BU to house the [[Boston University School of Education|School of Education]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lahey History |url=http://www.lahey.org/About/LaheyHistory.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423195345/http://www.lahey.org/About/LaheyHistory.asp |archive-date=April 23, 2010 |access-date=December 28, 2009 |publisher=The Lahey Clinic}}</ref> 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]] and [[Derek Walcott]], won Nobel Prizes shortly after Silber recruited them.<ref name="Wolfe 2015">{{Cite journal |last=Wolfe |first=Tom |date=February 2015 |title=Silberado |journal=Bostonia |publisher=Boston University |page=37}}</ref> Two others, [[Saul Bellow]] and [[Sheldon Glashow]] won Nobel Prizes before Silber recruited them.<ref name="Wolfe 2015" />

In addition to recruiting new scholars, Silber expanded the physical campus, constructing the [[Boston University Photonics Center|Photonics 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Life Science and Engineering building: "cathedral to science" |url=http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2005/04-29/lse.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100922152400/http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2005/04-29/lse.html |archive-date=September 22, 2010 |access-date=July 6, 2010 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref> Campus expansion continued in the 2000s with the construction of new dormitories and the [[Agganis Arena]].

====Student and faculty activism====
[[File:BACK PAGE BU Exposure 1978-03-00.jpg|thumb|''BU Exposure'' in March 1978]]
To protest the poor condition of Boston University's African-American curriculum, on April 25, 1968 (three weeks after the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]]), African-American students conducted a [[sit-in]] and locked BU President [[Arland F. Christ-Janer]] out of his office for 12 hours.<ref name="Waters 1968">{{Cite news |last=Waters |first=Bertram |date=May 5, 1968 |title=Science Medicine Education: 'Reason' Won' at Sit-in, Says B.U. President |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/366547855 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331212302/https://www.proquest.com/docview/366547855 |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |access-date=September 28, 2020 |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |page=1 |type=Historical Newspapers |via=ProQuest |id={{ProQuest|366547855}}}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Waters 1968" />
The late twentieth century saw a culmination in student activism at Boston University during the presidency of [[John Silber|John R. Silber]].

In 1972, student protests rose against the university administration's endorsement of [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] recruitment on campus which faced significant opposition from the [[Students for a Democratic Society|Student Democratic Society]].<ref name="Rosenbloom 1972">{{Cite news |last=Rosenbloom |first=Joseph |date=March 28, 1972 |title=33 protesters arrested at BU career office |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/375333303 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112752/https://www.proquest.com/docview/375333303 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=September 29, 2020 |work=Boston Globe (1960–1988); Boston, Mass. |page=1 |type=Historical Newspapers |via=ProQuest |id={{ProQuest|375333303}}}}</ref>

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."<ref name="Rosenbloom 1972" /> As a result of this failed motion, Peter P. Gabriel resigned his position as the dean of [[Questrom School of Business|Boston University's School of Management]] in protest of Silber's presidency and his "counterproductive" leadership.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McCain |first=Nina |date=May 6, 1976 |title=BU dean resigns to protest trustees' approval of Silber |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/657914676 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331212334/https://www.proquest.com/docview/657914676 |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |access-date=September 29, 2020 |work=Boston Globe (1960–1988); Boston, Mass. |type=Historical Newspapers |via=ProQuest |id={{ProQuest|657914676}}}}</ref> Silber's support of military recruitment on campus, which he pushed to make the university eligible for Federal grants,<ref name="Cullen 1978">{{Cite news |last=Cullen |first=John |date=March 17, 1978 |title=Tuition protest turns ugly, students trap 50 at BU |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/757677881 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112751/https://www.proquest.com/docview/757677881 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=September 29, 2020 |work=Boston Globe (1960–1988); Boston, Mass. |page=1 |type=Historical Newspapers |via=ProQuest |id={{ProQuest|757677881}}}}</ref> caused other demonstrations. On December 5, 1972, fifteen BU Student Government officers started a three-day hunger strike at [[Marsh Chapel]] demanding Silber "to file a lawsuit against the Federal government challenging the constitutionality of the Herbert Amendment."<ref>{{Cite web |title=B.U. Protesters Begin Hunger Strike In Effort to Stop Military Recruitment |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1972/12/5/bu-protesters-begin-hunger-strike-in/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818180411/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1972/12/5/bu-protesters-begin-hunger-strike-in/ |archive-date=August 18, 2021 |access-date=September 29, 2020 |website=The Harvard Crimson}}</ref>

On March 16, 1978, about 900 Boston University students gathered at the [[George Sherman Union]] to protest against the $400 rise in tuition and $150 rise in housing charges declared by the trustees on March 7.<ref name="Cullen 1978" /> 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 the [[Boston 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.<ref name="Cullen 1978" />

On April 5, 1979, several hundred faculty members, as well as clerical workers and librarians, [[1979 Boston University strike|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 the [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|deposed 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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rivas |first=Maggie |date=November 28, 1979 |title=Iran Rallies at BU Clash: UMass-Amherst Asks Iranians to Interviews |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/747170454 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112748/https://www.proquest.com/docview/747170454 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=September 29, 2020 |work=Boston Globe (1960–1988); Boston, Mass. |page=9 |type=Historical Newspapers |via=ProQuest |id={{ProQuest|747170454}}}}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:Aerial Boston University.jpg|thumb|An aerial view of the campus in May 2023]]
[[File:BUGWU and Res Life Strike.jpg|thumb|Resident 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 to [[Daniel Goldin|Daniel S. Goldin]], former administrator of [[NASA]] 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&nbsp;million and initiated a second search to fill the presidential position, culminating with the inauguration of [[Robert A. Brown]] as the university's 10th president on April 27, 2006. ([[Aram Chobanian]], who had served as ''president ad interim'' during most of the second search, was formally recognized as the 9th president in 2005.)<ref>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.</ref> 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.<ref>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.</ref>

In 2012, the university was invited to join the [[Association 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]], and [[Brandeis]] are also members.<ref name="AAU">{{Cite news |title=BU Joins Association of American Universities |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/bu-joins-association-of-american-universities/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822222146/http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/bu-joins-association-of-american-universities/ |archive-date=August 22, 2017 |access-date=April 4, 2017 |work=BU Today}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kelderman |first=Eric |date=November 5, 2012 |title=Boston U. Receives Coveted Invitation to Join Assn. of American Universities |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/Boston-U-Receives-Coveted/135566 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718030738/https://www.chronicle.com/article/Boston-U-Receives-Coveted/135566 |archive-date=July 18, 2020 |access-date=July 18, 2020 |work=[[The Chronicle of Higher Education]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AAU Welcomes Tufts University to Membership {{!}} Association of American Universities (AAU) |url=https://www.aau.edu/newsroom/press-releases/aau-welcomes-tufts-university-membership |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153120/https://www.aau.edu/newsroom/press-releases/aau-welcomes-tufts-university-membership |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=aau.edu}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University – Annual Report 2016 |url=http://www.bu.edu/ar/2016/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504083443/http://www.bu.edu/ar/2016/ |archive-date=May 4, 2017 |access-date=April 4, 2017 |website=Boston University – Annual Report 2016 |language=en}}</ref> The campaign concluded in September 2019, raising a total of $1.85 billion over seven years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crimaldi |first=Laura |date=September 21, 2019 |title=BU celebrates raising $1.85b over seven years |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/09/21/celebrates-raising-over-seven-years/QU3wHdNYwBa6bgqOAYuiyL/story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112647/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/09/21/celebrates-raising-over-seven-years/QU3wHdNYwBa6bgqOAYuiyL/story.html |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>

In February 2015, the faculty adopted an [[open-access policy]] to make its scholarship [[open access|publicly accessible]] online.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=March 30, 2015 |title=Boston University |url=http://roarmap.eprints.org/719/ |url-status=live |journal=ROARMAP: Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies |location=UK |publisher=[[University of Southampton]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531214722/http://roarmap.eprints.org/719/ |archive-date=May 31, 2019 |access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref>
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, nicknamed [[John Hancock Student Village|StuVi2]], 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Caffrey |first=Christi |date=May 15, 2018 |title=New Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre Opens |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2017/new-joan-edgar-booth-theatre-opens/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130092248/http://www.bu.edu/articles/2017/new-joan-edgar-booth-theatre-opens |archive-date=January 30, 2021 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref> 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 from [[Rajen A. Kilachand|Rajen Kilachand]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fern |first=Deirdre |date=September 14, 2017 |title=$115m gift, BU's largest ever, will fund life sciences and engineering research |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/09/13/gift-largest-ever-will-fund-life-sciences-and-engineering-research/wBlCBpF2ylxDMCIUej5prO/story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414084942/https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/09/13/gift-largest-ever-will-fund-life-sciences-and-engineering-research/wBlCBpF2ylxDMCIUej5prO/story.html |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref> The Dahod Family Alumni Center in the renovated [[BU Castle]] began in May 2017 and was completed in fall 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 28, 2019 |title=Take a peek inside BU's renovated castle |url=http://realestate.boston.com/news/2019/03/28/boston-university-castle-restoration/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112649/http://realestate.boston.com/news/2019/03/28/boston-university-castle-restoration/ |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |website=Boston.com Real Estate}}</ref> Development of the university's existing housing stock has included significant renovations to BU's oldest dorm, 610 Beacon Street (formerly [[Myles Standish Hall]]) and Annex, and to [[Kilachand 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.<ref name="bu.edu">{{Cite web |date=2024-05-23 |title=Boston University Removes the Myles Standish Name from Dorm |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/bu-removes-myles-standish-dorm-name/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |last1=Spatz |first1=Emily |title=BU dorm named after English colonist will be renamed, school says |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/05/28/bu-dorm-named-after-english-colonist-will-be-renamed-school-says/ |website=www.boston.com}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |last1=Topf |first1=Sydney |title=Myles Standish Hall renamed to 610 Beacon Street – The Daily Free Press |url=https://dailyfreepress.com/2024/06/02/myles-standish-hall-renamed-to-610-beacon-street/ |date=2 June 2024}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite news |title=BU Boosts Financial Aid to 100 Percent of Calculated Need |url=http://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/bu-boosts-financial-aid/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005044130/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/bu-boosts-financial-aid/ |archive-date=October 5, 2020 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |work=Boston University |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Scholarships & Financial Aid {{!}} Admissions |url=https://www.bu.edu/admissions/tuition-aid/scholarships-financial-aid/#:~:text=BU%20meets%20your%20full%20need,US%20citizens%20or%20permanent%20residents. |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Most |first=Doug |date=September 7, 2022 |title=Robert A. Brown, BU's 10th President, to Retire after 2022–23 School Year |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/bu-president-robert-brown-to-retire-after-2022-23-school-year |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919190936/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/bu-president-robert-brown-to-retire-after-2022-23-school-year/ |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |access-date=September 17, 2022 |work=BU Today}}</ref> Although Brown chose to end his presidency, he will resume teaching at the university.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mullins |first=Lisa |date=September 8, 2022 |title=BU President Robert Brown on why he's stepping down, what he hopes to leave behind |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/09/07/boston-university-president-leaving |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=WBUR |language=en}}</ref> On August 1, 2023, [[Kenneth W. Freeman]] started serving as president ad interim.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cutler |first=Sonel |date=May 10, 2023 |title=Boston University taps Kenneth Freeman, former business dean, as interim president |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/10/metro/boston-university-taps-kenneth-freeman-former-business-dean-colleges-interim-president/ |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>  In October 2023, [[Melissa L. Gilliam|Melissa Gilliam]] was named the incoming president, starting her term on July 1, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jung |first=Carrie |date=October 4, 2023 |title=Dr. Melissa Gilliam will lead Boston University as school's first Black and first female president |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/10/04/bu-melissa-gilliam-next-university-president |access-date=October 4, 2023 |website=WBUR |language=en}}</ref>

On July 1, 2024, [[Melissa L. Gilliam|Melissa Gilliam]] began her tenure as the university's 11th president.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Conversation: Boston University President Melissa L. Gilliam on First Impressions, Challenges, and Ambitions |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/president-melissa-gilliam-on-impressions-challenges-and-ambitions/ |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=Boston University |date=July 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Meet Our President - Office of the President |url=https://www.bu.edu/president/meet-our-president/ |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> On October 16, 2024, the [[2024 Boston University strikes]] ended.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quinn |first=Ryan |date=October 17, 2024 |title=7-Month Boston University Grad Worker Strike Ends, but Fight May Not Be Over |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/labor-unionization/2024/10/17/seven-month-boston-university-grad-worker-strike |website=Inside Higher Ed}}</ref>

==== Response to the COVID-19 pandemic ====
The university closed down due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts|COVID-19]] and shifted to online learning for the remainder of the semester on March 11, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Most |first=Doug |date=March 11, 2020 |title=Updated: BU Moves All Classes Online Due to Coronavirus — Questions and Answers |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/bu-all-classes-online-coronavirus/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526032210/http://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/bu-all-classes-online-coronavirus/ |archive-date=May 26, 2020 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |website=BU Today}}</ref> 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 own [[COVID-19 testing]] for faculty, staff, and students on July 27, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 21, 2020 |title=Universities use robots to reopen safely during pandemic |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boston-university-other-schools-deploy-robots-so-campuses-can-safely-n1237706 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114010505/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boston-university-other-schools-deploy-robots-so-campuses-can-safely-n1237706 |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> The new BU Clinical Testing Laboratory has accelerated testing that can give results to students, staff, and faculty by the next day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University Clinical Testing Lab {{!}} Back To BU |url=https://www.bu.edu/back2bu/boston-university-clinical-testing-lab/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202153319/https://www.bu.edu/back2bu/boston-university-clinical-testing-lab/ |archive-date=December 2, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> The lab uses eight robots to process up to 6,000 tests per day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University develops lab to regularly test students for coronavirus |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/boston-university-develops-lab-to-regularly-test-students-for-coronavirus-90695237547 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204193431/https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/boston-university-develops-lab-to-regularly-test-students-for-coronavirus-90695237547 |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> A contact tracing team is part of the process to contain infections on campus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=COVID-19 Screening, Testing & Contact Tracing {{!}} Back To BU |url=https://www.bu.edu/back2bu/student-health-safety/covid-19-screening-testing-contact-tracing/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201045502/https://www.bu.edu/back2bu/student-health-safety/covid-19-screening-testing-contact-tracing/ |archive-date=December 1, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=bu.edu}}</ref> BU also started a new website "Back2BU" to provide students with the latest information on reopening.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barlow |first=Rich |date=August 12, 2020 |title=FAQ: Quarantine vs Isolation and BU's Safety Plans for Reopening Campus |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/quarantine-bu-safety-plan-faq/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812151050/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/quarantine-bu-safety-plan-faq/ |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |work=BU Today}}</ref> The results of the tests were published on BU's public COVID-19 Testing Data Dashboard.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BU COVID-19 Testing Data Dashboard {{!}} Healthway |url=https://www.bu.edu/healthway/community-dashboard/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129015235/https://www.bu.edu/healthway/community-dashboard/ |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=bu.edu}}</ref>

BU's [[National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories]] (NEIDL) has been working with live coronavirus samples since March 2020, and—at the time—was the only New England lab to have live samples.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Groopman |first=Jerome |title=The Long Game of Coronavirus Research |url=https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/the-long-game-of-coronavirus-research |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128082238/https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/the-long-game-of-coronavirus-research |archive-date=November 28, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Saltzman |first=Jonathan |date=March 24, 2020 |title=Controversial BU lab is only one in New England with live coronavirus |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/24/business/controversial-bu-lab-is-only-one-new-england-with-live-coronavirus/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027154143/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/24/business/controversial-bu-lab-is-only-one-new-england-with-live-coronavirus/ |archive-date=October 27, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>

In August 2020, BU filed a [[service mark]] application with the [[United 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=F*CK IT WON'T CUT IT |url=http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4802:hql1rd.2.1 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office |quote=Promoting public awareness of safe and smart actions and behaviors for college and university students in a COVID-19 environment}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Annear |first=Steve |date=August 11, 2020 |title=Here's why Boston University had the f-bomb in a trademark application for a COVID-19 initiative |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/11/nation/heres-why-boston-university-had-f-bomb-trademark-application-covid-19-campus-initiative/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813150115/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/11/nation/heres-why-boston-university-had-f-bomb-trademark-application-covid-19-campus-initiative/ |archive-date=August 13, 2020 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |work=[[The Boston Globe]]}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University announces vaccination requirement for faculty and staff |url=https://www.boston.com/news/coronavirus/2021/07/19/boston-university-vaccine-requirement-faculty-staff/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153119/https://www.boston.com/news/coronavirus/2021/07/19/boston-university-vaccine-requirement-faculty-staff/ |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=www.boston.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 20, 2021 |title=Staff and Faculty React to BU COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/staff-faculty-react-to-vaccine-mandate/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216044458/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/staff-faculty-react-to-vaccine-mandate/ |archive-date=February 16, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Larkin |first=Max |date=July 19, 2021 |title=Boston University Will Require Vaccination For Faculty, Staff On Campus This Fall |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/07/19/boston-university-vaccine-requirement |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153121/https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/07/19/boston-university-vaccine-requirement |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=WBUR |language=en}}</ref>

==== 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.<ref name="Branswell 2022">{{Cite web |last=Branswell |first=Helen |date=October 18, 2022 |title=Boston University researchers' testing of lab-made version of Covid virus draws government scrutiny |url=https://www.statnews.com/2022/10/17/boston-university-researchers-testing-of-lab-made-version-of-covid-virus-draws-government-scrutiny/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020162508/https://www.statnews.com/2022/10/17/boston-university-researchers-testing-of-lab-made-version-of-covid-virus-draws-government-scrutiny/ |archive-date=October 20, 2022 |access-date=October 20, 2022 |website=STAT |language=en-US}}</ref> This resulted in a virus that was more lethal to lab mice than the Omicron variant itself, but less lethal than the original strain.<ref name="Branswell 2022" /> Some medical authorities criticized the research as dangerous "[[Gain-of-function research|gain of function]]" research, but others argued that it did not ''technically'' count as gain of function research because the modified virus happened not to be quite as lethal as the original strain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gain of Function? Not So Fast. |url=https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/gain-function-not-so-fast |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020154818/https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/gain-function-not-so-fast |archive-date=October 20, 2022 |access-date=October 20, 2022 |website=www.science.org |language=en}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1582574061062098946 |user=mlipsitch |title=First, these are unquestionably gain-of-function experiments... |language=en}}</ref> While the BU researchers gained internal research and Boston government approvals for the research, they failed to notify the US Government's [[National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases]] that was a funder of the lab.<ref name="Branswell 2022" />