Clik here to view.
Remembering Susan Jackson
Professor Susan Jackson passed away peacefully on June 30, surrounded by her loving family, including her husband Richard, son Nathaniel, and daughter Hannah. At the time of her death, Susan was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Engaging with Our Community
My travels this summer took me to Israel to attend the inaugural Jerusalem Deans’ Workshop on “The University as a Neighbor” at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. There I met with deans and faculty...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Our Mission in Dangerous Times
Welcome to a new academic year! I am excited to welcome new students, faculty, and staff to the College of Arts & Sciences, and to launch several new projects and programs, while remaining...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Focus on Faculty
Our first CAS faculty meeting will be Wednesday, September 13, at 3:30 pm in the Law Auditorium (new location). In addition to my overview of our goals for the year, it will feature the introduction of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Civic Activism and Liberal Education
One of the most important things that a liberal education offers students is training in the habits and capacities needed to be informed and engaged citizens, which may mean engaging in direct...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Climbing the Mountain: The BU Hub
Climbing a 14’er is one of my favorite challenges, and the view from the top is always worth the effort. It involves much preparation, double-checking my list of essential gear, getting up early and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Building Out Our Intellectual Themes
Early in my time as Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, I began to formulate themes to describe and guide the future of the arts and sciences at Boston University. I presented these themes in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Undergraduate Education: Expanding Beyond the Classroom
An education in the arts and sciences—of the broad plus deep, “t-shaped” sort that we provide our students in the College of Arts & Sciences at Boston University–trains students to frame experience...
View ArticleWishing You a Happy Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is the time to give thanks and I have much to be thankful for. Thank you to the CAS faculty for teaching and mentoring our students, producing groundbreaking research, and serving our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Importance of Learning a Second Language to a Liberal Education
This week we will open electronic voting to eligible faculty of the College of Arts & Sciences on the question of whether basic proficiency in a second language will be a specific degree...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thank You for Your Commitment
As we complete the final tasks of the semester and prepare for our holiday break, I want to thank the hardworking faculty and staff in the College of Arts & Sciences for making 2017 a year full of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Using Financial Aid to Promote Diversity, Inclusion, and Excellence
One of the greatest privileges of serving as Dean is meeting with alumni of the College of Arts & Sciences who have been very successful in their careers, credit much of their success to their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Promise of Innovate@BU
Walking to work past the old Radio Shack building at the corner of Comm. Ave and St. Mary’s St. over the past few months, I have been observing the construction of something new in that corner...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Teaching and Advising to Support a Pluralistic Democracy
Liberal education aims to help both individuals and democratic society flourish as free people in the largest sense of the word. Our educational mission in the College of Arts & Sciences is to...
View ArticleNews from the Graduate School
This week’s Dean’s Note is guest-authored by Emily Barman, Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. As the new Associate Dean of the Graduate School, I am grateful for this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Liberal Undergraduate Education is Vital to Our Future
Over Boston University’s spring break, I had a chance to read and reflect on a report recently published by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAA&S), “The Future of Undergraduate...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Preparing the BU Hub for Our Newest Class of Students
This coming Friday, the College of Arts & Sciences will host the first of four Open Houses, which are designed to persuade our outstanding admitted students to enroll in Boston University for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Common Ground Across the Two Cultures: a Rigorous Education in the Arts and...
This Saturday, a memorial service will be held for longtime Boston University faculty member, chair, and dean Robert S. Cohen, who died last June. Bob Cohen, who was a philosopher, a physicist, a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Inequality and Higher Education
The College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Advisory Board comes to campus this week for our spring meeting; the theme of this meeting is access, diversity, and inequality. I chose this theme to discuss...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Faculty Kudos
Tomorrow is our final faculty meeting, an occasion on which we will recognize the winners of College of Arts & Sciences teaching awards, advising awards, and the new Susan Jackson Award. In...
View Article
