Boston University
On April 24 and 25 of 1839, a group of Methodist ministers and laymen gathered inside the Old Bromfield Street Church in Boston to establish a new theological school. They named this institution the Newbury Biblical Institute and moved it to Newbury, Vermont shortly after their meeting. The school relocated again in 1847 when the Congregational Society in Concord, New Hampshire invited them to use a disused church building with a capacity for 1200 people. This move came with a strict stipulation that the institute remain in Concord for at least twenty years. In 1867, the trustees purchased land on Aspinwall Hill in Brookline, Massachusetts as a potential relocation site before moving into buildings scattered throughout Beacon Hill. Three trustees named Isaac Rich, Lee Claflin, and Jacob Sleeper obtained a charter from the Massachusetts Legislature in 1869 to create Boston University. Governor William Claflin signed the University Charter on the 26th of May 1869 after it passed through the legislature. These founders included a provision in the charter stating no instructor would be required to profess specific religious opinions as a test of office. The university opened its doors to all students regardless of sex, race, or religion except for the School of Theology. Isaac Rich died on the 13th of January 1872 leaving his estate worth over $1.5 million to the university. Most of this wealth consisted of real estate throughout downtown Boston which was appraised at more than $1.5 million. The Great Boston Fire of 1872 destroyed all but one of the buildings Rich had left to the university. Insurance companies holding policies on these properties went bankrupt shortly after the fire. By 1882 when the estate value transferred to the university it had been reduced by half due to the disaster.
Between 1920 and 1928 school president Lemuel Murlin arranged for the purchase of land reclaimed from the Charles River by the Riverfront Improvement Association. Plans for a riverside quadrangle with a Gothic Revival administrative tower modeled on Old Boston Stump were scaled back in the late 1920s. State Metropolitan District Commission used eminent domain to seize riverfront land for construction of Storrow Drive. Daniel L. Marsh led fundraising campaigns that helped fill in the new campus between 1926 and 1951 despite interruptions from the Great Depression and World War II. Harold C. Case became president in 1951 and tripled the campus size while adding 68 new buildings before retiring in 1967. Construction began in 1965 on Warren Towers designed to house 1800 students. The BU Law Tower, George Sherman Union, and Mugar Memorial Library were constructed between 1961 and 1966 in Brutalist style architecture. Josep Lluís Sert designed several buildings that expanded the campus during the 1960s. The Metcalf Science Center for Science and Engineering was constructed in 1983 in Structural Expressionism style. Morse Auditorium stands adjacent to the science center as it was originally built as a Jewish synagogue. Recent additions include the Center for Computing & Data Sciences which opened in December 2022. This building is recognized as the largest carbon-neutral building in Boston according to publications like Bloomberg and CBS News. A ribbon cutting ceremony occurred on the 8th of December 2022 featuring Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and President Robert A. Brown. In May 2024 Boston University removed the name Myles Standish from its oldest dormitory at 610 Beacon Street. The building now bears only its street address. The university purchased Wheelock College in 2018 creating the Fenway Campus located in Longwood neighborhood. A $115 million renovation project completed in September 2021 expanded clinical spaces at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine.
In 1875 Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone while working as a professor at Boston University. Helen Magill White earned her PhD from the university in 1877 becoming the first woman to receive such a degree in America. Her thesis focused on Greek Drama. Anna Oliver became the first woman to receive a theology degree in the United States in 1878 though the Methodist Church would not ordain her. Lelia J. Robinson graduated from the law school in 1881 and became the first woman admitted to the bar in Massachusetts. Solomon Carter Fuller graduated from the medical school in 1897 and became the first black psychiatrist in the United States. He made significant contributions to Alzheimer's disease research. In 2024 the university reported receiving $579.5 million in total research awards. It ranked 16th among private institutions for all research and development expenditures during fiscal year 2023. Funding sources included the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Defense, European Commission, Susan G. Komen Foundation, and federal Health Resources and Services Administration. The university received a $20 million grant over five years from NSF in 2017 to establish an Engineering Research Center. David Bishop serves as director of this center where researchers aim to bioengineer functional heart tissue. Boston University created one of two National Biocontainment Laboratories in 2003 with funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. These labs include biosafety levels 2, 3, and 4 allowing safe work with pathogens posing high aerosol transmission risks. In 2016 the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services selected Kevin Outterson to lead CARB-X worth $350 million. This partnership fosters preclinical development of new antibiotics and antimicrobial rapid diagnostics. Additional funding totaling $370 million was allotted to CARB-X in May 2022. On the 2nd of March 2025 the Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager telescope landed on the moon aboard NASA's Blue Ghost lunar lander. Principal investigator Brian Walsh and lead data scientist Ramiz Qudsi led BU research efforts for this mission.
Boston University established its largest study abroad program in London England with headquarters located at 43 Harrington Gardens in South Kensington. The London Internship Program combines professional internships with coursework examining Britain's history culture and society. Students earn sixteen credits upon successful completion of one semester. Three nearby residences house international students alongside main academic buildings. In Los Angeles the university offers internship programs studying film television advertising public relations entertainment management and law industries. Undergraduate and graduate students choose tracks including Advertising Public Relations Film Television or Entertainment Management. Graduated students may enroll in Certificate Programs offering Acting in Hollywood or Writer in Hollywood options. The Paris Center runs programs dating back to 1989 including language elective courses placed with French businesses. Students live with host families or dormitories during their semester. Boston University organizes exchange programs with Paris Dauphine University and Sciences Po for yearlong studies. Washington D.C. campus features a multistory residence completed in 2011 housing students near Woodley Park Metro station. Multimedia Journalism allows students to act as correspondents while interning at major news outlets. Sydney Australia hosts internship management film festival travel writing engineering and education programs around 150 students living in Chippendale building developed by Tony Owen Partners. This facility uses fissures providing maximum solar access to bedrooms plus natural ventilation throughout. Underground classrooms lecture halls office spaces libraries and roof patios opened beginning in early 2011.
Daniel S. Goldin was set to take over presidency the 1st of November 2003 but his contract collapsed before arrival costing $1.8 million. Robert A. Brown became tenth president inaugurated the 27th of April 2006 after Aram Chobanian served ad interim during second search. In 2012 university joined Association of American Universities becoming sixty-second member among leading research institutions. A billion-dollar fundraising campaign launched that same year emphasizing financial aid faculty support research and facility improvements. Campaign goal reached 2016 then raised to $1.5 billion extending through 2019 concluding September 2019 raising total $1.85 billion over seven years. Faculty adopted open-access policy February 2015 making scholarship publicly accessible online. Seven hundred forty new faculty positions funded including forty-nine named full professorships and twenty-five Career Development Professorships. Financial aid program affordableBU meets one hundred percent demonstrated need for domestic students starting fall 2020. Robert A. Brown announced stepping down end of 2022-2023 academic year though he resumed teaching at university. Kenneth W. Freeman started serving as president ad interim the 1st of August 2023. Melissa Gilliam named incoming October 2023 beginning term the 1st of July 2024 as eleventh president. Twenty-fourth hour strikes ended the 16th of October 2024 regarding graduate worker protections. University bought wind farm in South Dakota meeting carbon neutrality goal by 2040. Benjamin Sovacool led establishment Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability July 2022 focusing cross-disciplinary research on sustainability justice equity. Center for Computing & Data Sciences renamed Duan Family Center December 2024 following naming ceremony.
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Common questions
When was Boston University founded and by whom?
Boston University was established on the 26th of May 1869 when Governor William Claflin signed the charter. The institution originated from a meeting of Methodist ministers and laymen who gathered on April 24 and 25 of 1839 to create the Newbury Biblical Institute.
Who were the founders of Boston University and what did they provide?
Three trustees named Isaac Rich, Lee Claflin, and Jacob Sleeper obtained the charter for Boston University in 1869. Isaac Rich died on the 13th of January 1872 leaving his estate worth over $1.5 million which consisted mostly of real estate throughout downtown Boston.
What major research achievements has Boston University accomplished recently?
In 2024 the university reported receiving $579.5 million in total research awards and ranked 16th among private institutions for all research expenditures during fiscal year 2023. On the 2nd of March 2025 the Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager telescope landed on the moon aboard NASA's Blue Ghost lunar lander with principal investigator Brian Walsh leading BU research efforts.
When did student protests occur at Boston University regarding curriculum changes?
On the 25th of April 1968 African-American students conducted a sit-in three weeks after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and locked president Arland F. Christ-Janer out of his office for twelve hours. They demanded ten items including creation of a Martin Luther King Chair of Social Ethics and expansion of African-American library resources.
Where are the international study abroad programs located by Boston University?
Boston University established its largest study abroad program in London England with headquarters located at 43 Harrington Gardens in South Kensington. The university also operates centers in Los Angeles Paris Washington D.C. and Sydney Australia to host internship management film festival travel writing engineering and education programs.