Category: Leaders
Robert A. Brown, Tenth President
from 2005–2023
Robert A. Brown, a distinguished chemical engineer and former provost at MIT, became president of Boston University in September 2005. During his tenure, Brown has strengthened the core missions of undergraduate, graduate, and professional education, interdisciplinary work, and research and scholarship across all 17 schools and colleges. He oversaw the implementation of the University’s strategic plan and first major fundraising campaign. Under Brown’s leadership, the University was invited in 2012 to join the Association of American Universities, an organization of leading research universities in the United States and Canada. His 18-year legacy includes dramatic growth in sponsored research, a more diverse student body and faculty, a robust endowment, an exciting new building for data science, and a clear path for the future.
New MED Provost and Dean
Dr. Karen Antman is recognized internationally as an expert on breast cancer and other malignancies. Best known among oncologists for developing a standard treatment regimen for sarcomas, as well as her team’s research on blood growth factors, Dr. Antman comes to BU from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Board of Trustees Governance Changes
The Boston University Board of Trustees adopts sweeping governance changes in the areas of Board structure and term limits, conflict of interest, and Trustee qualifications. These new governance policies are a national model for colleges and universities.
Aram V. Chobanian, Ninth President
from 2003–2005
A world-renowned cardiologist, longtime faculty member, and onetime dean at Boston University School of Medicine, Aram V. Chobanian was appointed president in 2005 (after serving as president ad interim since 2003). Chobanian played a leading role in the merger of Boston City Hospital with Boston University Medical Center Hospital to create Boston Medical Center. His leadership was also instrumental in the development of the BioSquare Research Park and the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories. He assumed his new position at a time of crisis associated with a failed presidential search and problems in University governance. He strengthened the ties between the University and its various constituencies, including faculty, students, staff, and alumni, and kept the University moving forward to fulfill its academic mission.
Robert Pinsky Named US Poet Laureate
The Library of Congress names Robert Pinsky, Boston University professor of English and creative writing, the 39th United States Poet Laureate; he is reappointed for a second term in 1998. In 1999, Pinsky becomes the first poet laureate to be asked to serve a third term. His final term is completed in 2000.
Jon Westling, Eighth President
from 1996–2002
Jon Westling was raised in Yakima, Washington, and graduated from Reed College in Oregon. He received a Rhodes scholarship and studied history at St. John’s College, Oxford University. He served Boston University for more than two decades in a number of positions, including provost, before his appointment as president in 1996. During his tenure, he set six consecutive records for University fund-raising, opened a new complex of apartment-style dormitories, and initiated a dozen major building projects, including new science buildings and recreational and athletic facilities. He emphasized the importance of academic standards in admissions, streamlined bureaucracy in creating the University Service Center, and set a new tone of campus collegiality.
Professor Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow, 1976 Nobel Prize winner for Literature, joins Boston University as a professor.
Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott, professor of English, wins the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel, Boston University Professor of Humanities, wins the Nobel Peace Prize. Wiesel (born Eliezer Wiesel on September 30, 1928) is a Jewish writer, professor, political activist, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of over 40 books, the best known of which is Night, a memoir that describes his experiences during the Holocaust and his imprisonment in several concentration camps.
World Leaders Forum Established
Under the direction of John Silber, Boston University inaugurates the World Leaders Forum, bringing international leaders and other key policy makers to campus to deliver addresses of political and social importance. Speakers receive an honorary degree from the University.
