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Prosecutors and police honored for outstanding service to BU community

Boston University honored individuals from the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office and the Boston, State, and Boston University police departments for outstanding service to the BU community and the commonwealth of Massachusetts on Monday, April 2, in the Executive Dining Room at the School of Management.

In the line of duty: BU President Jon Westling with award and medal recipients at the Boston University Police Department's Meritorious Service Dinner on April 2: (standing, from left) Officer Anastasios Giannopoulos, Detective John Struble, Officer Paul Jackson, Officer Richard White, Westling, Sergeant James Barry, Detective Patrick Nuzzi, Officer John Ryan, and Captain Robert Molloy; (seated, from left) Joseph Varlaro of the Boston Police Department Crime Lab, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin, Suffolk County Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Caldwell, and Massachusetts State Police Trooper Wes Wanagel. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

Boston University police officers Anastasios Giannopoulos and John Ryan each received the BUPD's Medal of Honor for their actions in responding to an apartment fire at the 10 Buick Street student residence on February 3. Prior to the arrival of Boston Fire Department and other emergency personnel, the two officers entered the smoke-filled apartment and crawled on their hands and knees in search of students in individual rooms. After determining the students had exited safely, the officers used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire before it spread beyond the unit. Both officers suffered smoke inhalation.

The University also honored six other BUPD officers, Suffolk County Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Caldwell, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Edmond J. Zabin, State Police Trooper Wes Wanagel, and Joseph Varlaro of the Boston Police Department Crime Lab for their work in the successful investigation and prosecution this past January of Abdelmajid Akouk for the September 1999 rape of a BU student. Akouk is now serving a 45-year prison sentence.

Meritorious Service Medals were awarded to BU Police Captain Robert Molloy, Sergeant James Barry, Detectives Patrick Nuzzi and John Struble, and Patrol Officers Paul Jackson and Richard White.

President Westling called it "a great honor to make the awards to these remarkable men and women who've demonstrated such dedication, professionalism, and compassion. . . . Boston University is blessed in having an active, participating police force, and we need to understand that their ordinary work is also extraordinary. The attention they lavish every hour, every day throughout the year is something, quite simply, without which the University could not function."

Kahn Festival reunites award-winning alumni

SFA alumni who are previous recipients of the Kahn Career Entry Award will showcase their talents at an invitation-only dinner and cabaret evening on Saturday, April 21, at the top floor of the 10 Buick Street student residence. The Esther B. and Albert S. Kahn Career Entry Award Festival occurs once every five years to celebrate the talents of previous recipients of the award.

The Kahn Award Fund was established in 1985 with an endowed contribution of $1 million from Esther Kahn (SED'55, Hon.'86) and her late husband. Each spring, SFA undergraduate and graduate students completing their last semester of studies compete for the award, which provides support to musicians traveling to auditions and festivals, to artists building and equipping studio space, and to actors and designers accepting internships in their fields.

Boston University wins Massachusetts Export Achievement Award

MassPort and the Alliance for the Commonwealth will present Boston University with the Service Export Award on Friday, May 18, at the 2001 Commonwealth Conference on International Business at Boston's World Trade Center.

David Driscoll, MET instructor and director of trade development for MassPort, nominated the University for the award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by a Massachusetts employer in increasing trade activity to retain and generate jobs in Massachusetts.

In his nomination papers, Driscoll cited the University's high enrollment of international students -- first among Massachusetts colleges and universities and second nationally, behind New York University. "In addition to the nearly 4,500 foreign students enrolled at its Charles River and medical campuses," Driscoll wrote, "it also hosts 850 international research scholars and enrolls some 200 graduate students in its program abroad. In all, BU currently has students and scholars from 143 countries." Net contribution to the Massachusetts economy from BU's international students and scholars, Driscoll pointed out, is nearly a quarter of a billion dollars annually.

BU's Washington Journalism Center assesses first 100 days

A panel discussion entitled The First 100 Days -- Media Coverage of the Bush Presidency, sponsored by the Boston University Washington Journalism Center, will be held on Monday, April 23, at the National Press Club.

Panelists include Robert Dallek, CAS professor of history, Tucker Eskew, deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Media Affairs, Joe Lockhart, press secretary to President Clinton, Michael Deaver, deputy chief of staff to President Reagan, and journalists from the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, the Washington Post, Fortune, and Fox News. Linda Killian (COM'80, CAS'80), director of the Washington Journalism Center and COM professor of journalism, will moderate.

BU's Washington Journalism Center offers journalism students the chance to spend a semester in Washington, D.C., meeting newsmakers, working in the bureaus of national news organizations, and reporting on congress for New England news outlets. For more information about the center, visit www.bu.edu/com/jo/washjocenter.

Boston Theater Marathon raises more than $13,500

The Boston Theater Marathon's third annual presentation of forty 10-minute plays presented in 10 hours drew standing room only crowds on Sunday, April 8, at the Boston Playwrights' Theatre. The marathon, which is supported by a grant from Boston University's Humanities Foundation, donates all net proceeds to a charity. This year's charity, the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund, will receive more than $13,500, according to BTM Artistic Director Kate Snodgrass, who is also director of the Playwrights' Theatre.

WRNI-AM wins News Station of the Year award

The Associated Press named WRNI (1290 AM) in Providence the News Station of the Year for medium-sized markets in Rhode Island and Massachusetts at the annual Associated Press Awards dinner at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston on March 31. The award was for overall excellence in coverage of local news for the year 2000. Judges for the award cited the station for its "great mix of local, regional, and national news with extremely creative production . . . a real commitment to issue-based news." WRNI reporter Martha Bebinger won an individual award for her series on prison mental health.

WRNI, launched in May 1998, is a member of the WBUR Group.

BU undergraduate chemistry club honored

The American Chemical Society Committee on Education selected Chemia, the undergraduate club in the CAS department of chemistry, for a commendable recognition award based on its programs and activities during the 1999-2000 academic year. The BU chapter received its citation at the Student Affiliates Ceremony at the 221th ACS national meeting on April 1 in San Diego. Chemia's program includes community and departmental service, National Chemistry Week activities, speakers, field trips, and social functions.

23 April 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations