Make the Most of a Packed Alumni Weekend 2023 with These Events
With more than 90 activities to choose from, there’s no shortage of ways to show your Terrier pride
Alums at the 2022 Alumni Weekend trivia night event at Fuller’s BU Pub. In addition to popular traditions, many new activities for the entire BU community will be featured at Alumni Weekend 2023. Photo courtesy of BU Alumni & Friends
Make the Most of a Packed Alumni Weekend 2023 with These Events
With more than 90 activities to choose from, there’s no shortage of ways to show your Terrier pride
BU alumni have a lot to celebrate this year: the 150th anniversary of the College of Arts & Sciences, the 75th anniversary of Alumni Weekend, and a return to fully in-person alumni events. The University has planned a three-day celebration to fit the occasion, with more than 90 events across the University’s schools and colleges to commemorate what Terriers love most about BU: scholarship, community, and fun.
This year, the focus is on togetherness, says Danielle Lueger, Alumni Relations executive director of development and campaign events.
“We’re excited to be offering some all-campus, all-alumni events to continue to build the Terrier pride alums felt while on campus,” Lueger says. “We want to have points where you’re coming together with folks from across the University‚ not by school or college, but as one BU.”
On offer are program standbys like trivia night at Fuller’s BU Pub and special events for the Golden Terriers of the Class of 1973, as well as plenty of opportunities to catch a tour, lecture, mixer, or the all-new activities designed to bring the BUniverse together.
On Saturday, the BU Alumni Association will bestow its annual Distinguished Alumni Awards on six exceptional alums. This year’s recipients are Daniella De La Fuente (CGS’04, Pardee’06), founder and CEO of Amal Alliance; Richard G. Fecteau (Wheelock’51), a former CIA operative and former BU assistant athletics director; Mitchell Garabedian (CGS’71, CAS’73), attorney and longtime advocate for survivors of sexual abuse; Santiago Levy (CAS’77, GRS’78,’80), economist and founder of the Progresa-Oportunidades Program; Janet E. Petro (MET’88), director of the Kennedy Space Center; and Daniella Pierson (CGS’15, Questrom’17), CEO of The Newsette, cofounder of Wondermind, and the 2023 BU Young Alumni Award winner.
Check out these six events—all open to alums, BU students, faculty, and staff—for an unforgettable Alumni Weekend.
1
Panel: Democracy, Trump, and the Upcoming Election
Join five members of the BU political science faculty—Jacob Brown, Elizabeth Cohen, Lauren Mattioli, Maxwell Palmer, and Christine Slaughter—as they tackle one of the thorniest issues in American politics: the state of our democracy. Panelists will draw on recent controversial US Supreme Court decisions, Donald Trump’s trials, and fears surrounding next year’s presidential election. The discussion is one of dozens of events marking the 150th birthday of CAS. A cocktail reception will follow.
Friday, September 22, 3:30 to 6 pm
Location: 75 Bay State Road
2
Open Rehearsal at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Join the cast and crew of Boston Playwrights’ Theatre for a behind-the-scenes glimpse of its next production, Mr. Parent. Written by Melinda Lopez (GRS’00) and Maurice Emmanuel Parent and directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian, the show follows Parent as a struggling actor-turned-teacher who discovers that neither career path is a walk in the park. Those behind the production, as well as other alumni of the MFA Playwriting Program, will be on hand for a meet-and-greet.
Friday, September 22, 5 to 6:30 pm
Location: Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 949 Comm Ave
3
Free BU Symphony Orchestra Concert
Fun fact: the BU School of Music is also marking its 150th birthday this year. Celebrate with a free concert by the BU Symphony Orchestra at the Tsai Performance Center. The legendary James Burton, CFA orchestra director and a master lecturer in music (also Boston Symphony Orchestra choral director and conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus), will conduct.
Friday, September 22, 5:30 to 6:30 pm
Location: Tsai Performance Center, 685 Comm Ave
4
A Scenic Run (or Walk) around Campus
Early birds are encouraged to start off their Saturday with a 5K fun run along the Charles River. All are welcome to participate, including those who choose to walk, families with strollers, and people with service animals. The route is a scenic loop around campus, from the Silber Way Footbridge to the BU Bridge, by way of the Charles River Esplanade.
Saturday, September 23, 9 am
Location: Starts at the Charles River Esplanade, across from Silber Way
5
Food Trucks and Live Performances at the BU Beach
BU community members and their families are invited to this blowout at the BU Beach, featuring food trucks, a cash bar, live performances, BU merch giveaways, interactive activities, and a kiddie fun zone complete with bounce house and airbrush tattoos.
Saturday, September 23, noon to 3 pm
Location: Warren Alpert Mall (BU Beach), 270 Bay State Road
6
A Favorite Poem Project 25th Anniversary Reading
The Favorite Poem Project and the Boston University Alumni Association host a poetry reading in celebration of the project’s 25th anniversary. Hear alums, faculty, students, and staff recite the poems that have moved them—and maybe discover a new favorite poem of your own. Robert Pinsky, the 39th poet laureate of the United States and a BU William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor, founded the project in 1997 as poet laureate and in one year received favorite poem submissions from 18,000 Americans. A quarter of a century later, people still want to share the words that changed their lives.
Saturday, September 23, 2 to 3:30 pm
Location: BU Photonics Center, 8 St. Mary’s St., Room 206
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