COMMENTS,
EDITOR
Louise Kennedy
ART DIRECTOR Suzan Glaum
DESIGN
Laura McFadden Design, Inc.
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Rachel P. Farrell
FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY Gustavo Fernandez, Steven Freeman, Dave Green, Jake Mackey, Michael D. Spencer, Jim Vetter, and BU Photography
Dear friend of Boston University,
In the months since joining this community, I have seen how deeply its members embrace the qualities that have characterized Boston University since its founding: curiosity, integrity, and inclusion. These qualities play an essential role in our rise to eminence, and certainly they are evident among our most generous alumni, parents, and friends.
In this issue of IMPACT, you will meet some of these remarkable people, including: Rod and Nancy Hochman, whose philanthropy is building a new center to help our future clinicians and the patients they serve; Michael Agganis, who honors his legendary uncle Harry Agganis by supporting the University Harry loved; and Luis Ruzo, who repays the welcome he found here by making sure other students will also feel secure.
You will learn more about the Newbury Center and its support for firstgeneration students. You will hear from students about the crucial difference that your support for scholarships can make.
Finally, you will see a few snapshots of recent gatherings where I have had the joy of meeting many of you. I look forward to many more such occasions, and to hearing your own stories of the role Boston University has played in your lives and in the world.
Sincerely,
Melissa Gilliam President
Opening in 2025, the Rod Hochman Family Clinical Skills & Simulation Center is generously funded by Rod Hochman, MD (CAMED’79, CAS’79) and Nancy Hochman (Sargent’77,’83)
With a strong tradition of teaching excellence and research innovation, the Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine is a choice school for outstanding medical students, especially those dedicated to clinical excellence, research, leadership, and advocacy for diverse patients. Now, thanks to a transformative gift from two Boston University alumni, the
school is about to significantly improve its clinical skills facility.
Rod Hochman, MD (CAMED’79, CAS’79) and Nancy Hochman (Sargent’77,’83) have generously donated $10 million to build and operate a new, much larger, cutting-edge center for clinical skills development. Scheduled to open this year, the Rod Hochman Family Clinical Skills & Simulation Center (CSSC) on the sixth floor of the School of Medicine Instructional Building will feature new,
“
” I have been so impressed with the wonderful accomplishments of our school and its graduates. ... We hope this will be a legacy to our present and future students.
— Rod Hochman, MD, pictured with Dean Karen H. Antman
state-of-the-art technology and expanded spaces for MD, physician assistant (PA), mental health, and genetic counseling students to learn communication skills, physical examination, medical procedures, and team-based care.
By funding the new CSSC, the Hochmans will facilitate the development of exceptional clinical skills for future generations of students, notes Karen H. Antman, MD, dean of the medical school and medical campus provost. “They can learn to empathetically listen to patients, learn physical diagnosis,
and practice procedures. They will find a simulated cancerous mass in a manikin and then know what to look for in a patient. The CSSC is where a student begins to learn to be a doctor, PA, or genetic counselor,” she says.
The Hochmans have a decades-long history of supporting the school; they previously endowed a scholarship fund for medical students. Dr. Hochman also donates his time as a member of the School of Medicine Dean’s Advisory Board.
Features of the center include:
» More space (3x the size of existing CSSC) for teaching and learning, including 13 clinical skills rooms with four exam tables per room, and 13 examination rooms (for the Standardized Patient program and clinical skills assessments)
» Four simulated emergency/ hospital rooms with hospital beds, high-fidelity manikins, and cameras for debriefing
» Upgraded technology including intercoms, one-way mirrors for student observation, video with recording capability that allows faculty to watch students remotely to provide feedback, and a sound system that allows communication throughout the entire space
Students practice auscultation skills together on a baby manikin.
» New equipment including handheld ultrasound machines for point-of-care teaching, low- and high-fidelity simulation (including Student Auscultation Manikins), and a new baby manikin
In addition to their philanthropic efforts, both have dedicated their careers to improving healthcare. From 2016 to 2024, Dr. Hochman served as president and CEO of the healthcare organization Providence, where he led the seven-state health system and oversaw its network of hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare programs and services. Before Providence, he served as president and CEO of Swedish Health Services and was a senior executive for Sentara Healthcare, the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, and the Guthrie Health System. Dr. Hochman is also the former chair of the American Hospital Association and chair of the Catholic Health Association’s board of trustees.
Nancy Hochman, a physical therapist, practiced for nearly 30 years in clinics across the Northeast, including in Massachusetts, New York, and New Hampshire. She has served on boards and committees for organizations such as the Safe Crossings Foundation, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Swedish Medical Center, and the Swedish
» Classroom VR technology to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration with other BU schools and colleges, such as the School of Social Work or Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences
Community Specialty Clinic.
The Hochmans made their gift in 2024, a meaningful time for Dr. Hochman. It marked his 45th year in medicine, along with his 45th reunion at BU.
“On the 45th anniversary of my graduation, I have been so impressed with the wonderful accomplishments of our school and its graduates,” notes Dr. Hochman. “Dean Antman has been a tireless leader and advocate, particularly regarding advancements like the skills and simulation center. We hope this will be a legacy to our present and future students.”
Indeed, the new CSSC will enhance the education of BU’s students and improve the quality of the care they provide to patients.
“This new clinical skills center will give our students dedicated space to engage in situational learning and face the complexities of medicine before they experience it with real patients,” says Associate Dean Priya Garg, MD. “Simulation is an essential active learning method in medical education, and we are grateful to have this gift.” ■
Before medical students can become doctors, of course, they need to find ways to afford the substantial cost of medical school. Generous donors to BU’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine help make that possible. Here, three students who have received scholarship support share their insights into the education they can now pursue.
GURKEERAT SINGH’S FIRST-GRADE teacher asked each student to write themselves a letter to open decades later. Singh’s message read: “You better become a doctor or a basketball player.”
Today, he shoots hoops to relieve the stress of medical school. Singh, who embraces Sikhism’s emphasis on helping others, is planning a career in interventional radiology or emergency medicine.
The scholarship he received to attend the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine “100% made a difference,” says Singh, who was raised in California by a truckdriver and a homemaker.
An unexpected benefit of his medical education has been discovering his classmates’ warmth and talents. “You become like the people you surround yourself with,” Singh says, “and I’m surrounded by some amazing people.”
MANY POOR OR UNDERSERVED members of Joseph Monteiro’s family received care at hospitals affiliated with BU. “I witnessed the struggles they faced,” he says. “I remember sitting in hospitals or at bedsides, and when you see someone sick, you want to help them get better. It inspired me to want to become a doctor.”
Born with a clubfoot, Monteiro revered his pediatric orthopedic
DOCTORS DO THEIR BEST TO EASE PAIN and heal sickness, but not all patients get better. Brandon Oddo knew he needed to make peace with the most emotionally challenging aspects of medicine, including palliative care, grief, and mortality. He is taking a two-year break from his training to study the theology of medicine at Duke University.
surgeon. “He seemed like a superhero to me,” Monteiro says.
But Monteiro’s dream of studying internal medicine at BU would have been impossible without financial aid. “I had a million reasons why I wanted to come to BU and only one deterrent: the price,” says Monteiro, the son of immigrants from Cape Verde. “It was definitely life-changing to get those scholarships.”
GURKEERAT “GARY” SINGH (CAMED’27)
(CAMED’27)
“I didn’t have my own framework,” he says, “for understanding suffering— the personal, relational, theological heft of what I was experiencing in medical school.”
When he returns, thanks to a “crucial” scholarship, he’ll focus on interdisciplinary medicine, perhaps oncology or palliative care.
BRANDON
Every scholarship makes a difference
Undergrads, too, benefit from your support
“
I feel extremely fortunate to have not only been accepted to BU, but also to have received such a large scholarship to attend it. Words cannot express how thankful I am.”
—JONATHAN ZHANG (CAS’25)
“
I think sometimes it’s hard for donors to know the direct impact they’ve had. But I wouldn’t be at BU without scholarships, and it has changed my entire career trajectory.”
BU met my needs exactly where I needed them. And without the financial aid, I wouldn’t be able to go to school here.”
—JAKE PURINTON (CAS’25)
Having scholarship support means a lot to me. I am extremely grateful, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without a scholarship.”
—TYLER PAULY (CAS’24)
I am super appreciative of my scholarship and could not be here without it. Donors are so important to students like me.”
—JULYSSA VILLA MACHADO (CAS’26)
With donor support, BU becomes accessible for all students
To compete for the best students and to prioritize affordability, BU made a strategic decision to meet the full need of Pell Grant–eligible students starting in 2018 and the full need of all domestic, first-time students in 2021.
In fact, nearly 20 percent of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, and about the same number are members of the first generation in their family to go to college. We are proud of what these initiatives have accomplished so far—and even prouder of our exceptional students.
In honor of his uncle Harry, Michael Agganis has given generously to BU for decades
For nearly 50 years, Michael Agganis (Wheelock’67) couldn’t speak a word about his uncle Harry Agganis (Wheelock’54), the star BU athlete and Red Sox first baseman who tragically passed away in 1955 at only 26 years old.
Harry, just 13 years his senior, was “like a brother to me,” says Michael. “For years, I had many, many people tell me stories about him, but it was too emotional for me to talk about him.” Michael couldn’t even bring himself to attend Harry’s posthumous induction into the College Football Hall of Fame or look at his statue displayed at The Sports Museum in TD Garden.
In 2003, however, he received a phone call that changed everything. “My uncle Phil called and said, ‘Boston University wants to name the sports arena after Harry,’” he remembers. “‘I know how close you were with Harry. Can you take the reins?’”
Michael agreed. And over the next year, he worked closely with BU Athletics to
prepare for the 2004 dedication of Agganis Arena and unveiling of a life-size bronze statue of Harry branded with his nickname, “The Golden Greek.”
But Michael didn’t stop there. In Harry’s honor, he established a scholarship for BU student-athletes, donated generously to the Athletics endowment, and joined the Board of Trustees’ athletic and fundraising committees and what is now the University Advisory Board.
What’s more, “the majority of my estate is going to BU,” Michael says. “That’s out of appreciation of what BU has done for Harry. I will always be grateful.”
With his son, Michael also co-produced a two-hour documentary about Harry, and they have donated all proceeds from the film to BU to fund student-athlete scholarships.
That’s what Harry would have wanted, Michael says. “He started a scholarship; he gave money to the church. He was just a giving guy.” ■
If a teenage Luis Ruzo (CAS’70) and his father hadn’t argued bitterly, Ruzo might never have forged a connection with BU that has remained strong for more than five decades.
Raised in an affluent family in Lima, Peru, Ruzo was accepted at MIT, but when he learned he would not be admitted until the next year, he enrolled at BU until he could transfer. Then he had a falling-out with his father, who refused to pay the tuition.
Ruzo was in a bind, but BU smoothed his way. Administrators helped him secure a Social Security card so he could get part-time work on campus. He knew he could not afford to transfer— and he soon realized he didn’t want to leave BU, with its small classes and enthusiastic mentors.
When Ruzo told his advisor, Richard A. Laursen, that he was eager to do research,
Laursen made it happen. Ruzo eventually chaired a successful campaign to endow the Laursen Fund for students doing summer research. He mended fences with his father many years ago, but his memories of struggling to pay for college inspired him to fund scholarships for students in Peru.
He was recently inspired to extend his generosity to BU scholars as well, with a blended gift: a $100,000 Century Challenge gift now, to endow the Dr. Luis O. Ruzo Endowed Scholarship, and a bequest intention that is projected to grow that fund by about $1 million.
The fund will carry a preference for talented chemistry undergraduates. “I thought this would be the right place to give support,” Ruzo says. “I’m 75. At this point, there’s no reason to buy things. I have everything I need.” ■
Many of Boston University’s most thoughtful philanthropists plan their gifts far ahead. They start by reflecting on what personal giving means, how it could help future generations, and what it says about a personal legacy. And, ultimately, they establish a planned gift: a bequest in a will, a charitable gift annuity, a charitable remainder trust, or another estate-planning instrument.
Boston University celebrates these generous friends through the Claflin Society, founded by Elsbeth Melville (CAS 1925), dean of women emerita, and named for one of the co-founders of Boston University, Lee Claflin. The society hosts an annual spring luncheon and fall reception for members, as well as inviting them to other campus events.
For more information, please contact Planned Giving at 800-645-2347 or opg@bu.edu, or visit bu.edu/plannedgiving.
The Newbury Center, and the donors who support it, are breaking down the ‘invisible hurdles’ first-gen students face
When first-generation student Herani Hiruy (CGS’24, CAS’27) began her freshman year at BU, she underestimated the volume of “hidden curriculum” she needed to know as a college student, she says. While other students seemed to know the ins and outs of networking, on-campus resources, and faculty office hours, Hiruy had to learn how to navigate them—all while juggling a full course load, work responsibilities, and extracurricular activities.
a difference,
It became overwhelming—until, years later, Hiruy took a job at the Newbury Center. There she found a “support network eager to propel my success and safeguard my well-being,” she says. “I realized I was entitled to the Newbury Center’s resources and could use them unabashedly to be successful at BU.” Since then, Hiruy says, both her confidence and her GPA have gone up.
Founded in 2021, the Newbury Center provides first-generation students with programs, services, and supports that position them for success at BU and beyond. It offers a wide
Morgan Chalue (CFA’16, MET’20) supports fellow first-gens with recurring gifts
After joining the BU Young Alumni Council in 2022, Morgan Chalue decided to start making monthly gifts to BU, split between the Newbury Center, College of Fine Arts, and Metropolitan College. Now director of annual giving and advancement operations at the Commonwealth School, he explains the motivations for his generosity.
Why did you start giving to the Newbury Center?
I always made a gift to BU of some kind. But after I became more involved with the Young Alumni Council, I decided to get more intentional
about my giving. At the time, the Newbury Center was less than a year old, and I was excited to see BU create it. When I was a first-gen student at BU, we had some firstgen programming, but
range of events and workshops, such as résumé workshops, etiquette dinners, and community breakfasts. The center also manages key partnerships across campus with the offices of Financial Assistance, Study Abroad, Center for Career Development, and more, all so undergraduate, graduate, and professional students can access resources and find a sense of belonging. The center’s six full-time staff members also work oneon-one with students to help them overcome challenges unique to the first-gen experience.
“The Newbury Center is like a sword and shield for students,” explains Anthony Abraham Jack, inaugural faculty director of the center. “We help with the unplanned and unplannable moments that disproportionately undercut first-gen students. That means connecting them with mental health services, for example, or explaining how to ask financial aid questions. We help students with the everyday victories.”
“For some of our first-gen students, life is not very constant; there’s a lot of chaos,” adds Executive Director Maria Dykema Erb. “But in the center, there is a full-time staff they can rely on. They don’t have to do this by themselves.”
The Newbury Center was established through a generous endowment from Newbury College, a liberal arts institution that closed in 2019. But because the endowment only covers the center’s operating costs, donor gifts are essential to addressing student needs that fall outside this scope.
Every donation received by the Newbury Center goes into the Newbury Center Fund,
Inaugural Faculty Director Anthony Abraham Jack: “The Newbury Center is like a sword and shield for students.”
a gift fund that benefits first-gen students directly. For example, the fund provides summer housing stipends to first-gen students who have unpaid or low-paying internships. To date, it has supported 15 students completing a summer internship and 34 students participating in BU’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program over the summer. The fund also provides financial assistance to students who need help accessing BU’s Professional Clothing Closet, which loans professional clothes to students on a month-to-month basis.
“The gift fund allows the center to be as flexible as a first-gen student’s life is unpredictable,” explains Jack. “Their time in college cannot be scripted. Anybody who is first-gen or low-income understands what that means to their core.”
Looking ahead, the directors hope to grow the fund so they can pursue goals on their wish list, which include hosting a conference for first-gen leaders, creating an award for first-gen mentors, establishing a first-gen postdoc, and taking students who can’t afford to study abroad on an educational trip overseas.
Jack is also interested in building out a research arm that informs policies and best practices for supporting first-gen students. “The goal is to begin working with colleagues here at BU and universities across the nation to remove the invisible hurdles first-gen students face,” he says.
“It’s not that we are here to do everything for them,” adds Erb. “Rather, it’s to teach them and walk beside them so they feel more confident when they go out into the world.” ■
nothing like the Newbury Center.
Why give monthly instead of making a one-time donation?
It allows me to give at a higher level than I would if I were making a yearly donation. It also keeps
BU on my mind. I like seeing the email every month that says, “We just processed your gift, thank you.” So instead of only thinking about BU on Christmas or on Giving Day, it’s a little reminder every month.
As a development professional, can you explain why monthly giving is so important? It increases the total impact of giving, because it allows donors to give more than they otherwise could or would. Also,
it helps organizations predict their donated revenue. Lastly, it creates a closer connection between the donor and organization. The monthly touchpoint keeps the relationship front-of-mind.
Cynthia Cohen has made a significant gift to create the Cynthia Cohen Impact 2040 Fund for the Innovate@BU IDEA Conference, the largest university-run, multi-
college innovation conference in the nation. The fund will support the annual event for five years, covering expenses including speaker honoraria, event space rental, marketing, catering, equipment and technology needs, and related
programming and staffing costs.
An entrepreneur, a Metropolitan College alumna, and vice chair of BU’s Board of Trustees, Cohen was one of the earliest supporters of Innovate@BU, an initiative that provides resources, mentorship, and skills development to budding entrepreneurs at BU. She also previously endowed a scholarship for the BU Questrom School of Business.
Her most recent pledge was the first significant gift made since President Melissa Gilliam took office in July 2024, which Cohen intended as a means of honoring her vision and leadership.
“There’s a symbolism in saying right away, ‘I support you and the new path we’re on,’” Cohen says. “Sometimes I think you have to lead by example.”
As a leading private research university, we are committed to generating new knowledge that benefits society and to educating students to lead in a connected world.
Among national universities
78,769 Applicants to the Class of 2028 #25 In Best Value Schools
$579m Sponsored program awards, 2024 #41
A generous gift from the Duan family, which includes the parent of a BU graduate, has named the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences and the Duan Family Spark! initiative (formerly BU Spark!). The gift will also seed research initiatives at the center and endow fellowships for distinguished CDS faculty and PhD candidates.
A NEW, ANONYMOUS $2 MILLION gift will provide support for the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH), which is dedicated to expanding the impact of social work in healthcare and public health. The ultimate goal? To improve the well-being of vulnerable populations, across the nation and around the world.
The gift will help CISWH advance its mission through a variety of initiatives, including outcomeoriented research, community partnerships, and policy development. The center also acts as a convener of researchers, practitioners, educators, and community and governmental organizations, all dedicated to improving health equity.
A gift from Collin Yip (Questrom’12), made in support of BU and in celebration of his wife, Kayla, and their wedding, has named the Yip Family Overlook Bay in the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences. On July 20, 2024, the Yips became the first couple to marry on the 17th floor of the building.
BU Trustee Antonio Gomes (LAW’96) and Maria Cristina Dos Santos De Souza (Pardee’20) have made a generous pledge to support research and programs at the Pardee School’s Center for Latin American Studies.
“Although Latin American countries bear the deleterious effects of colonization until today, each of them has developed singular ways to overcome those effects through ethnic and cultural exchanges throughout their history,” the donors write. “We decided to support the center as we believe that scholarship on Latin America will help societies with a colonial past identify enduring consequences of colonization and reimagine the present by integrating their historical experiences of exploitation and resilience that still frame social attitudes today.”
Notes Pardee School Dean Scott Taylor: “Latin America plays an increasingly essential role in public conversations on everything from immigration to trade policy to culture and politics. By supporting the center’s work, this generous gift will amplify BU’s voice on the global stage.”
PRESIDENT MELISSA GILLIAM HAS BEEN TRAVELING THE country to meet with BU alumni and friends. In New York, Menlo Park, and Miami, she has discussed her vision for research, the campus, and student life, and shared updates about her first presidential initiatives. One, called Living Our Values, seeks to nurture a campus environ-
ment of respectful and constructive dialogue. Another, Boston University Arts, aims to advance the role of the arts across the University and ensure that they are part of every student’s experience. In the coming months, the Presidential Welcome Tour will visit Chicago, Washington, DC, Boston, and Los Angeles.
Start spreading the news A. Ahmass Fakahany (Questrom’79), chair of BU’s trustees, addresses the crowd at Current. B. Michael D. Fricklas (LAW’84) and Donna Astion (Sargent’82). C. From left: Glo Robinson (CGS’20, COM’22), Caryn Smyth (CGS’14, Questrom’16), Amanda Barone (CAS’17, Questrom’17), Alexis Redman (Questrom’14), and Shannon Clark (Questrom’16). D. Ralph H. Groce III (CGS’80, Questrom’82, MET’84) conducts the onstage conversation with E. President Gilliam.
Events to come To learn more about upcoming BU events, visit bu.edu/alumni/events.
ESTABLISHED IN 2015, the William Fairfield Warren society honors philanthropists—now more than 260 in all—who have given $1 million or more to Boston University. The 2024 Induction of Fellows Ceremony, held December 4 at the Four Seasons Hotel Boston, was the first to feature President
Gilliam. On behalf of the society, President Gilliam and Trustee Shamim A. Dahod, MD (CGS’76, CAS’78, CAMED’87) presented medals to Timothy Burr (MET’97) and Carrie Burr, Dr. Andrew Robertson Black (GRS’03,’10) and Mrs. Margaret Hewitt Black (MET’88), Terry Fassburg (COM’69), and Susan Sloan.
Leaders in philanthropy A. Trustee Shamim A. Dahod greets Susan Sloan. B. Medal recipients past and present gather at the Four Seasons Hotel Boston. C. College of Communication Dean Mariette DiChristina stands with Terry Fassburg. D. President Melissa Gilliam congratulates Mrs. Margaret Hewitt Black and Dr. Andrew Robertson Black. E. President Gilliam and Dr. Dahod share a laugh with Timothy Burr and Carrie Burr.
