Boston University
EN-13: Community Stakeholder Engagement

Today, The Princeton Review ranks Boston University among the top-20 most tolerant universities in the nation, and among the most diverse. The tens of thousands of students who apply each year cite Boston University’s diversity as one of its most compelling features, fostered in large part by the University’s geography, which allows for a dynamic connection with the city and the world beyond. This tradition of practical engagement with the community at large is reflected in both the University’s operations and in its curriculum. Students are enmeshed in the affairs of the community, not just by their presence in the city, but also through the substantial resources and programs devoted to community service. As President Lemuel Murlin said more than a century ago, Boston University is “in the heart of the city, in the service of the city.” In 2007, the Trustees of Boston University approved a strategic plan initiated by current president, Robert A. Brown, to address the challenges and opportunities of the coming decade. All parts of the University community came together to identify issues central to strengthening programs and services in key areas. The strategic plan, called Choosing to be Great, articulates that the intellectual and cultural resources of Boston are important elements in the University’s strength. The plan also emphasizes that upgrading the physical infrastructure of the campus is essential, not only for enhancing the University’s reputation, but also for remaining operationally coordinated and retaining the best faculty and students. The development of a master plan for an institution as large and influential as Boston University is a major undertaking. The University has coordinated a process internally across various departments and externally across various city agencies, elected officials, and citizens. In 1984, Boston University became the first institution in Boston to establish a community task force representing an array of neighboring organizations, associations, and institutions to advise the University and the City on the implementation of an institutional master plan. The Boston University Community Task Force has since also been used as a public forum to discuss community issues. The University, in cooperation with the task force representatives and city agencies, was the first institution in Boston to develop a master plan approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) in 1986. The master plan analyzed the University’s needs – housing, enrollment, parking, academics, and recreation – and studied potential sites to accommodate the University’s changing needs. Two subsequent master plans were submitted and approved in 1997 and 2003, each promoting further transparency and strengthening the public process through multiple meetings of the BU Community Task Force and comment from the City of Boston. The Boston University 2013-2023 Institutional Master Plan, approved by the BRA in January 2013, builds upon the success of earlier institutional master plans and the valuable assistance of the BU Community Task Force and City of Boston in crafting a future development framework for the campus. Seven proposed institutional projects will be coupled with public realm improvements to create a safer and more pedestrian-oriented campus. In total, these projects are expected to cost over $750 million and will support thousands of construction jobs over the next decade, in addition to providing additional permanent positions. Boston University looks forward to working with the city and community as proposed institutional projects take shape and progress through the public review and approval process over the coming decade.

The University works extensively with the Boston University Community Task Force a mayor- appointed advisory group, which represents an array of neighboring organizations, associations, and institutions. In addition to working with the Task Force, the Government and Community Affairs office works extensively with numerous civic associations and local non-profits. Staff from the Government and Community Affairs office sit on an area non-profit and civic boards and regularly attend community meetings within our surrounding neighborhoods. Maintaining this level of involvement in the community allows the office to identify and respond to community needs as they arise. BU sponsors many community initiatives, including the opening of a fitness center aimed at targeting childhood obesity in Boston’s South End and Lower Roxbury neighborhoods, and an annual holiday reading program, which serves approximately 1000 Boston Public Schools students annually. The University also distributes free tickets to BU athletic and cultural events and contributes generously to a range of local charities.

• A Better City • Action for Boston Community Development • Air Pollution Control Commission • All Dorchester Sports League • Allston and Brighton Board of Trade • Allston Board of Trade • Allston Brighton Historical Society • Allston Brighton Kiwanis Club • Allston Brighton Little League • Allston Brighton Parade Committee • Allston Brighton Substance Abuse Task Force • Allston Brighton Youth Hockey • Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) • Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts (AICUM) • Boston Police B-2 Community Officers • Bay State Road/Back Bay West Architectural Conservation District Commission • BEC • Bessie Tart Wilson Initiative for Children • Biosafety Working Group • Bird Street Community Center • Black College Alliance • Blackstone Community Center • Blackstone Innovation School • Blackstone Wellness Committee • Boston Area Health Education Center (BAHEC) • Boston Bikes • Boston Centers for Youth & Families • Boston City Council • Boston City Lights • Boston Civic Design Commission • Boston Fire Department • Boston Housing Authority • Boston Landmarks Commission • Boston Latin Academy • Boston Municipal Research Bureau • Boston Police Department • Boston Public Health Commission • Boston Public Schools • Boston Redevelopment Authority • Boston Transportation Department • Boston Water & Sewer Commission • Boy’s & Girls Club (Dorchester) • Boy’s & Girls Club (Orchard Gardens) • Boy’s & Girls Club (Roxbury) • BRA Community Task Force • Brighton Board of Trade • Brookline Board of Selectmen • Brookline Chamber of Commerce • Brookline Chamber of Commerce, Government Committee • Brookline Public Schools • Brookline Selectmen’s Brookline School Population & Capacity Exploration (B-SPACE) Committee • Brookline Selectmen’s Economic Development Advisory Board • Brookline Town Assessors Office • Castle Square • Cathedral • Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) • Charles River Conservancy • Charles River Watershed Association • Children Services of Roxbury • Children’s Museum • Christ the King Church • City on a Hill • Codman Square Academy • Codman Square Health Center • Commission for Persons with Disabilities • Community Rowing • Consumer Affairs & Licensing • Cooper Community Center • Boston Police D-4 Community Officers • Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) • Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) • Department of Higher Education • Department of Innovation & Technology • Discover Roxbury • Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance (DCAMM) • Dorchester House • Dorchester Lacrosse • Dorchester Youth Hockey • DREAM • Dudley Square Main Streets • Egleston Square Coalition • Environmental and Energy Services • Executive Office for Administration & Finance (ANF) • Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) • Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (EOHED) • Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts • Faneuil Library, Brighton MA • Faneuil Teen Center • Fishing Academy • Franklin Park Coalition • Goodwill / Morgan Memorial • Governor's STEM Advisory Council • Grant Manor • Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce • Greater Boston Nazarene Compassionate Center • Hispanic Black Gay Coalition • Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, Open Door Soup Kitchen • Horace Mann School for the Deaf • Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA) • Inspectional Services Department • Intergovernmental Relations • Jackson Mann Community Center • JMCC • John D. O’Bryant • Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture • Joint Committee on Higher Education • Joint Committee on Public Health • Joint Committee on Revenue • Joint Committee on State Administration & Regulatory Oversight • Joint Committee on Transportation • Joint Committee on Ways & Means • Langham Court • Leahy-Holloran Community Center • Licensing Board • Madison Park Development Corporation • Madison Park Village • Mandela Homes • Margarita Muniz Academy • Massachusetts Association of Nonprofit Schools and Colleges (MANS&C) • Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) • Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio) • Massachusetts Department of Revenue • Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) • Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center • Massachusetts High Technology Council • Massachusetts Historical Commission • Massachusetts Life Sciences Center • Massachusetts Technology Collaborative • MassDOT Office of Outdoor Advertising • MBTA Accessibility Office • Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) • Charles River Conservancy • Charles River Watershed Association • Children Services of Roxbury • Children’s Museum • Christ the King Church • City on a Hill • Codman Square Academy • Codman Square Health Center • Commission for Persons with Disabilities • Community Rowing • Consumer Affairs & Licensing • Cooper Community Center • Boston Police D-4 Community Officers • Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) • Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) • Department of Higher Education • Department of Innovation & Technology • Discover Roxbury • Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance (DCAMM) • Dorchester House • Dorchester Lacrosse • Dorchester Youth Hockey • DREAM • Dudley Square Main Streets • Egleston Square Coalition • Environmental and Energy Services • Executive Office for Administration & Finance (ANF) • Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) • Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (EOHED) • Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts • Faneuil Library, Brighton MA • Faneuil Teen Center • Fishing Academy • Franklin Park Coalition • Goodwill / Morgan Memorial • Governor's STEM Advisory Council • Grant Manor • Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce • Greater Boston Nazarene Compassionate Center • Hispanic Black Gay Coalition • Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, Open Door Soup Kitchen • Horace Mann School for the Deaf • Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA) • Inspectional Services Department • Intergovernmental Relations • Jackson Mann Community Center • JMCC • John D. O’Bryant • Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture • Joint Committee on Higher Education • Joint Committee on Public Health • Joint Committee on Revenue • Joint Committee on State Administration & Regulatory Oversight • Joint Committee on Transportation • Joint Committee on Ways & Means • Langham Court • Leahy-Holloran Community Center • Licensing Board • Madison Park Development Corporation • Madison Park Village • Mandela Homes • Margarita Muniz Academy • Massachusetts Association of Nonprofit Schools and Colleges (MANS&C) • Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) • Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio) • Massachusetts Department of Revenue • Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) • Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center • Massachusetts High Technology Council • Massachusetts Historical Commission • Massachusetts Life Sciences Center • Massachusetts Technology Collaborative • MassDOT Office of Outdoor Advertising • MBTA Accessibility Office • MBTA Design & Construction • MBTA Light Rail Operations • MBTA Rider Oversight Committee • Metro Lacrosse • Multicultural Coalition on Aging • NAACP Boston • New England Council (NEC) • New Urban Mechanics • Newmarket Business Association • Oak Sq. YMCA • Office of Neighborhood Services • Office of the Governor • Office of the Lieutenant Governor • Orchard Gardens • Parks & Recreation • Pine Street Inn • Private Industry Council • Public Improvements Commission • Public Works • Rosie’s Place • Roxbury Community College • Salvation Army KROC Center • Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts • Sisters of St. Joseph • South Boston Youth Hockey • South End Business Association • South End Community Health Center • South End Salvation Army • St. Stephens • Teen Empowerment • Town of Brookline Building Department • Town of Brookline Economic Development Department • Town of Brookline Planning Department • Town of Brookline Police Department • Town of Brookline Public Works Department • Town of Brookline Transportation Department • Town of Brookline Waste Management Department • Trotter Elementary School • Twelfth Baptist Church • United South End Settlements • Urban League • Vine Street Community Center • Waltham Family School • Washington Gateway • West End Boys and Girls Club • Whittier Street Health Center • Whittier Street Housing Development • YMCA (Dorchester) • YMCA (Egleston Sq.) • YMCA (Huntington Ave.) • YMCA (Roxbury) • Youth Build Boston • Youth Enrichment Services • Youth Options Unlimited • Zoning Commission

Included below are descriptions of several recent projects and initiatives that best illustrate the positive impact of BU’s community stakeholder engagement efforts. - Boston University Health, Fitness, and Wellness Pilot Program (“BU Fitwell”): In 2013, Boston University, in conjunction with the Boston Public Health Commission and Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF), opened a unique health, fitness and wellness center to help combat teenage obesity in the City of Boston. BU FitWell provides access to free and low-cost physical activities and healthy living resources. Boston University renovated the facility space, located in the BCYF Blackstone Community Center, which was chosen for its potential to maximize outreach to at-risk youth and families, as well as for its proximity to additional health resources available at the Boston University Medical Center, the South End Health Center, and other neighboring community-based agencies. The renovated personal training space, 25 state-of-the-art exercise machines, and program administration account for a more than $900,000 of BU investment in the fitness center. Community Center members have access to quality fitness training, nutritional counseling, and wellness programming that is directed and guided by experts from Boston University. University staff strive to provide youths and families with the skills needed to make physical exercise and healthy choices an enduring part of their lifestyles. http://www.yourblackstone.org/news/f/News_at_the_BCC/13/ - Boston Scholars Program: Boston University’s Thomas M. Menino Scholarship Program is the longest running and largest scholarship program of its kind. Since 1973, the Menino Scholarship Program has helped secure higher education for students from the City of Boston. Each year, up to 25 Boston public high school seniors are awarded a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to Boston University. Since the program’s inception, Boston University has awarded approximately $186 million in scholarship funding to nearly 2,000 local students. In 2010, Boston University expanded the scholarship opportunities for Boston Public Schools high school students by creating a Community Service Award. Together, the Menino Scholarship Program and the Community Service Award create the University’s Boston Scholars Program. Through the Community Service Award, Boston University meets, without loans, the full calculated financial eligibility of any admitted Boston Public Schools high school graduate. Since the program’s inception in 2009, nearly 600 Boston Public Schools students have received over $18.8 million through the Community Service Award program. The students who receive these awards represent the diverse population of the University’s host city, and many Boston Scholars are the first in their families to attend college. - Approval of the Boston University Charles River Campus 2013-2023 Institutional Master Plan: In 2013, after 18 months of preparation, review, more than a dozen public meetings, and with the support of the University’s Community Task Force, the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Mayor of Boston unanimously approved the University’s institutional master plan, which outlines the University’s growth and campus development plans for the next 10 years. http://www.bu.edu/today/2013/mayor-signs-off-on-bu-master-plan/ - Bike Safety Pilot Program: In the spring of 2013, Boston University partnered with the City of Boston to pilot a new bike safety program along a stretch of Commonwealth Avenue, a heavily traveled thoroughfare which bisects the University’s Charles River Campus. In an effort to further protect cyclists and pedestrians, encourage bike use, and promote awareness of cyclists and pedestrians among motor-vehicle drivers, the safety initiative included new signage, enhanced bike-lane markings, and highway reflectors in the pavement. Later in 2013, Boston University unveiled its new Bike Safety website, which includes a variety of bike safety videos, bike education materials, and links to additional bike resources. The University also developed a Bike Accident Toolkit app to assist with accident reporting. Both resources are available to the general public. http://www.bu.edu/bikesafety/ - Summer Youth Athletic Camp Scholarships: In 2012, as part of a continued effort to support the City of Boston’s initiative to increase youth access to free and low-cost physical activities, Boston University pledged to donate 100 summer athletic camp scholarships to City of Boston youth for the next five years. Camps are run by the Boston University athletic department and athletic coaches, and are dedicated to training youth in the skills needed to compete in basketball, hockey, wrestling, softball, lacrosse, rowing, and sailing. - Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC): The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) is a data center dedicated to research computing, which represents a ground-breaking collaboration of five of Massachusetts’ most research-intensive universities, state government, and private industry -- the most significant collaboration among government, industry, and public and private universities in the history of the Commonwealth, and the first facility of its kind in the nation. Boston University committed $10 million to the MGHPCC facility, which opened in 2011 in Holyoke, MA. The MGHPCC serves the growing research computing needs of the five founding universities as well as other research institutions, and serves as a critical piece of infrastructure which will allow the Commonwealth to attract and retain the very best young scientists, secure federal and private funding to support scientific research in the state, and continue to fuel the state’s innovation economy. http://www.mghpcc.org/ - Madison Park Housing Energy Efficiency Research Project: In 2013, BU’s Sustainable Neighborhood Laboratory (SNL), an innovative sustainability community engagement initiative, engaged youth in the Madison Park Village community in Roxbury, MA to understand behavior patterns related to energy consumption. Five Boston high school youth were hired to work with the team of BU faculty and staff investigators. The students were trained in concepts of energy efficiency and helped conduct on-site research and data analysis support, affording the students the opportunity to gain an awareness about energy efficiency and research skills. With the information gathered with the help of local youth and residents, the project investigators will seek to develop engineering and econometric analyses of residents’ behavior and energy consumption. http://www.bu.edu/energy/aug20mpdc/

Additional examples of Boston University’s extensive community programming can be found in Chapter 11 and Appendix A of the University’s institutional master plan, which can be viewed at http://www.bu.edu/community/masterplans/institutional-master-plan/.