CGS Pre-case statement

SUPPORTING THE BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF GENERAL STUDIES

The road ahead and opportunities for philanthropic partnership

WELCOME TO THE FUTURE OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF GENERAL STUDIES—AND OF INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING ITSELF. For more than 60 years, the College of General Studies (CGS) has been a leader in general education—a small liberal arts college providing a twoyear, world-class interdisciplinary education located at the heart of an expansive research university.

A tight-knit community of just 1,200 students taught in small teams by faculty from multiple disciplines, CGS prepares students to forge a unique path throughout their four years at the University.

Today, we stand confidently at the beginning of a new era: one in which we strengthen our reputation as a global leader as we pioneer new approaches to interdisciplinary teaching and learning.

Just a sampling: Through our signature Undergraduate Research Experience (URE), students can do research one-on-one with professors or design their own project with a faculty member as mentor. The

program has grown to accommodate more than 50 students a year. Our new Interdisciplinary Studies minor provides all undergraduates at BU with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of how the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences intersect and to solve problems and create new knowledge. The e-Portfolio—an online laboratory for each CGS student to develop critical thinking and writing skills—encourages rigorous assessment of progress.

And our faculty continue to advance teaching excellence around the world through our peer-reviewed journal Impact, leadership in international conferences, and new teaching offerings such as the Pedagogy Fellows program.

Still, we must do more. We want to ensure that talented students from all socioeconomic backgrounds—including underrepresented minorities (URMs)

and first-generation students— have access to our extraordinary resources. Other priorities include expanding the number of paid UREs at CGS, increasing funding for personal expenses to freshmen in our summer semester in London (it’s the only program at BU where study abroad is integrated into the first year of college), and greater support for faculty conducting socially impactful research.

With your help, we will get there.

Natalie McKnight Dean, BU College of General Studies

In 2021, Boston University finalized its strategic vision for the next decade. BU’s Strategic Planning Task Force consulted with the entire University community to identify strengths to build on, challenges to meet, opportunities to seize, and emerging areas to explore. It landed on these five strategic priorities that capture the core of who we are as a major, global, private research university and that will guide BU over the next 10 years. They are: 1 A Vibrant Academic Experience 2 Research That Matters 3 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 4 Community, Big Yet Small 5 Global Engagement CGS’s strategic objectives are informed by, and align with, the University’s overarching goals.

THE CGS STRATEGIC VISION

Goal 1 Broaden the impact of and accessibility to a CGS education: Increase scholarships, especially for URMs and first-generation students. Expand paid experiential learning opportunities for all students and joint-team experiences for sophomores, including interdisciplinary presentations by team faculty, visiting lecturers, and trips to local and historic sites. Develop and support the Interdisciplinary Studies minor.

Goal 2 Increase support of faculty research and leadership opportunities through the Global Impact Research Award—which provides two committee-selected faculty members a year with a summer stipend and funds for undergraduate researchers, supplies, and travel—as well as other channels.

HELP US SHAPE THE FUTURE OF INTERDISCIPLINARY EDUCATION

Goal 3 Increase diversity in these ways: Work with the BU Office of Diversity & Inclusion to offer the new Emerging Scholars Symposium on Diversifying General Education Courses every year. The event features three young scholars from underrepresented groups. Include a member of the CGS DE&I Committee in all faculty and staff searches. Launch a Great Topics Series to bring scholars to BU to speak on navigating challenging conversations about race, gender, and sexuality in the classroom.

Goal 4 Enhance the cohesion made possible by CGS’s team structure by expanding experiential components.

Develop more whole-team opportunities for sophomores such as lectures with team professors discussing a single topic from different perspectives. Continue monthly Town Halls for student input on diverse topics.

Opportunities to support the college

SCHOLARSHIPS Current-use gifts support our students right away, covering everything from tuition to emergency needs. Endowed funds of $100,000 or more will help CGS students for generations. And through the Century Challenge, a unique philanthropic tool, the University will match the income from all new endowed scholarships for 100 years.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES In the past seven years, we’ve gone from offering one or two paid research opportunities each year to more than 50. Our goal is to be able to offer them to all CGS students.

Stipends for UREs, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), and for students in unpaid internships will help students forge relationships with faculty, choose majors, find jobs, and get into graduate schools.

FACULTY RESEARCH & ENGAGEMENT Our faculty research topics of great societal relevance, and contributing to the Global Impact Research Award is one way to support their important work. Gifts to enable faculty to attend and present at conferences, to work with undergraduate researchers, to travel, and to explore archives keep them at the forefront in advancing interdisciplinary teaching and learning around the world.

A CULTURE OF BELONGING Support for the new Emerging Scholars Symposium on Diversifying General Education Courses, the Great Topics Series, and our monthly Town Halls both expand and bring together the CGS community. Alumni will contribute mightily to this mix by offering mentorships to students and sponsoring events to discuss life and career goals and advance networking.

SPOTLIGHT: The Undergraduate Research Experience Two students share their experiences “I taught myself the R programming language and went on to learn so much more, not just about the topic but also about the process of data analysis.”

“As an economics major, I wanted to learn more about the data sciences to round out my skill set. Working with Professor Andy Andres, I examined how COVID-19 has affected airline traffic. I used data sets to generate intermediate results and subsequent research questions—a first for me. I taught myself the R programming language and went on to learn so much more, not just about the topic but also about the process of data analysis. I had to restart the project twice after discovering more comprehensive data resources. It was frustrating, but I now realize that these complications are common in the real world. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to pursue this subject while receiving faculty mentorship on how to achieve my goals.”

CHRISTIAN MOUTON (CGS’19, CAS’21)

For more information, please contact: Kate DeForest Director of Development College of General Studies kated@bu.edu 617-835-7332

bu.edu/cgs/donate

“What I most enjoyed was thinking about the research topic and journal articles and coming up with a protocol that could be conducted at the CGS laboratory.”

“I was fascinated to learn more about the oral microbiome and how it can correlate with the skin microbiome. What I most enjoyed was thinking about the research topic and journal articles and coming up with a protocol that could be conducted at the CGS laboratory. This opportunity greatly impacted me and my critical thinking abilities.

Having to come up with a formal protocol that can be realistically conducted in our lab helped me tremendously in relation to what I will face in the future in my desired field. The stipend was of great help in light of this eventful semester. I could purchase necessities to stay sanitized on campus and purchase tools to help me adjust and stay productive throughout the semester.”

DAVID RUIZ (CGS’20, CAS’22)