List of Boston University people

This is a list of notable faculty members and alumni of Boston University.

Legend The following abbreviations and notes are used to represent BU schools and colleges: Abbr.MeaningCASCollege of Arts and SciencesCOMCollege of CommunicationWEDCollege of EducationENGCollege of EngineeringCFACollege of Fine ArtsCGSCollege of General StudiesSARCollege of Health and Rehabilitation SciencesQSTSchool of BusinessDMDSchool of Dental MedicineSHASchool of Hospitality AdministrationLAWSchool of LawMEDSchool of MedicineSPHSchool of Public HealthSSWSchool of Social WorkMETMetropolitan CollegeKHCKilachand Honors CollegeUNIUniversity Professors Program

Academy Awards +Academy AwardsNameDegreeAwardResultAward yearSelected workHarold RussellQST '49Best Supporting ActorWon1946The Best Years of Our LivesSteve BroidyCFA '27*Jean Hersholt Humanitarian AwardWon1962"whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry"Faye DunawayCFA '62Best ActressNominated1967Bonnie and ClydeEstelle ParsonsLAW '53*Best Supporting ActressWon1967Bonnie and ClydeEstelle ParsonsLAW '53*Best Supporting ActressNominated1968Rachel, RachelFaye DunawayCFA '62Best ActressNominated1975ChinatownFaye DunawayCFA '62Best ActressWon1977NetworkMariel Hemingway CFA '83Best Supporting ActressNominated1979ManhattanPeter LadueCOM '81Best Documentary ShortWon1980Karl Hess: Toward LibertyAlfre WoodardCFA '74Best Supporting ActressNominated1983Cross CreekOlympia Dukakis CFA '57Best Supporting ActressWon1987MoonstruckFred ZolloCAS '75Best PictureNominated1988Mississippi BurningGeena DavisCFA '79Best Supporting Actress Won1989The Accidental TouristGeena DavisCFA '79Best ActressNominated1992Thelma & LouiseMarisa TomeiCFA '86*Best Supporting ActressWon1993My Cousin VinnyJulianne MooreCFA '83Best Supporting ActressNominated1998Boogie NightsRichard GladsteinCOM '83Best PictureNominated1999The Cider House RulesRick HeinrichsCFA '76Best Production Design Won1999Sleepy HollowJulianne MooreCFA '83Best ActressNominated2000The End of the AffairMarisa TomeiCFA '86*Best Supporting ActressNominated2002In the BedroomJulianne MooreCFA '83Best ActressNominated2003Far from HeavenJulianne MooreCFA '83Best Supporting ActressNominated2003The HoursMichael WilliamsCOM '79Best Documentary FeatureWon2003The Fog of WarRichard GladsteinCOM '83Best PictureNominated2004Finding NeverlandRick HeinrichsCFA '76Best Production DesignNominated2004Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate EventsCorinne MarrinanCFA '95Best Documentary Short Won2005A Note of TriumphHawk OstbyCOM '90Best Adapted ScreenplayNominated2006Children of MenMark FergusQST '89Best Adapted ScreenplayNominated2006Children of MenRick HeinrichsCFA '76Best Production DesignNominated2006Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's ChestMarisa TomeiCFA '86*Best Supporting ActressNominated2009The WrestlerScott SilverCOM '86Best Original ScreenplayNominated2011The FighterPeter Del VechoCFA '80Best Animated FeatureWon2013FrozenJulianne MooreCFA '83Best ActressWon2014Still AliceRoy ConliCFA '83Best Animated FeatureWon2014Big Hero 6Bonnie ArnoldCOM '78Best Animated FeatureNominated2014How to Train Your Dragon 2Henry HughesCOM '06Best Live Action Short FilmNominated2015Day OneBrian McLeanCFA '99Best Visual EffectsNominated2016Kubo and the Two StringsTatiana S. RiegelCAS '86Best Film EditingNominated2017I, TonyaBonnie ArnoldCOM '78Best Animated FeatureNominated2019How to Train Your Dragon 3Geena Davis CFA '79Jean Hersholt Humanitarian AwardWon2019"whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry"Scott SilverCOM '86Best Original ScreenplayNominated2020JokerPeter Del VechoCFA '80Best Animated FeatureNominated2021Raya and the Last DragonHong ChauCOM '01Best Supporting ActressNominated2022The Whale

Pulitzer Prize winners

+Pulitzer Prize winnersNameDegreeAwardYearOutletRationaleGerard M. O'NeillCAS '70Investigative Reporting1972The Boston Globe"For their exposure of widespread corruption in Somerville, Massachusetts"Stephen KurkjianCAS '66Investigative Reporting1972The Boston Globe"For their exposure of widespread corruption in Somerville, Massachusetts"William ShermanCAS '69Investigative Reporting1974New York Daily News"For his resourceful investigative reporting in the exposure of extreme abuse of the New York Medicaid program"Stephen KurkjianCAS '66Investigative Reporting1980The Boston Globe"For articles on Boston's transit system"Joan VennochiCOM '75Investigative Reporting1980The Boston Globe"For articles on Boston's transit system"Stan GrossfeldCAS '80Breaking News Photography1984The Boston Globe"For his series of unusual photographs which reveal the effects of war on the people of Lebanon"Mark ThompsonCOM '75Public Service1985Fort Worth Star-Telegram"For reporting by Mark Thompson which revealed that nearly 250 U.S. servicemen had lost their lives as a result of a design problem in helicopters built by Bell Helicopter - a revelation which ultimately led the Army to ground almost 600 Huey helicopters pending their modification"Stan GrossfeldCAS '80Feature Photography1985The Boston Globe"For his series of photographs of the famine in Ethiopia and for his pictures of illegal aliens on the U.S.-Mexico border."Joseph HallinanCOM '84Investigative Reporting1991The Indianapolis Star"For their shocking series on medical malpractice in [Indiana]"Don Van Natta Jr.COM '86Public Service1993The Miami Herald"For coverage that not only helped readers cope with Hurricane Andrew's devastation but also showed how lax zoning, inspection and building codes had contributed to the destruction"Don Van Natta Jr.COM '86National Reporting1999The New York Times"For a series of articles that disclosed the corporate sale of American technology to China, with U.S. government approval despite national security risks, prompting investigations and significant changes in policy"Jhumpa LahiriCAS '93, UNI '95, UNI '97Fiction2000 -For Interpreter of MaladiesDon Van Natta Jr.COM '86Explanatory Reporting2002The New York Times"For its informed and detailed reporting, before and after the September 11th attacks on the USA, that profiled the global terrorism network and the threats it posed"Sacha PfeifferCAS '94Public Service2003The Boston Globe"For its courageous, comprehensive coverage of sexual abuse by priests, an effort that pierced secrecy, stirred local, national and international reaction and produced changes in the Roman Catholic Church"Michael RezendesCAS '78Public Service2003The Boston Globe"for its courageous, comprehensive coverage of sexual abuse by priests, an effort that pierced secrecy, stirred local, national and international reaction and produced changes in the Roman Catholic Church"Stephen KurkjianCAS '66Public Service2003The Boston Globe"For its courageous, comprehensive coverage of sexual abuse by priests, an effort that pierced secrecy, stirred local, national and international reaction and produced changes in the Roman Catholic Church"Tyler HicksCOM '92International Reporting2009The New York Times"For its masterful, groundbreaking coverage of America's deepening military and political challenges in Afghanistan and Pakistan, reporting frequently done under perilous conditions."Tyler HicksCOM '92Breaking News Photography2014The New York Times"For courageously documenting a deadly terrorist attack at a Nairobi shopping mall"Tyler HicksCOM '92Breaking News Photography2016The New York Times"For photographs that captured the resolve of refugees, the perils of their journeys and the struggle of host countries to take them in."Kimbriell KellyCOM '98National Reporting2016The Washington Post"For its revelatory initiative in creating and using a national database to illustrate how often and why the police shoot to kill and who the victims are most likely to be."Jessica RinaldiCOM '01Feature Photography2016Boston Globe"For the raw and revealing photographic story of a boy who strives to find his footing after abuse by those he trusted."Carl PhillipsCAS '93Poetry2023 -Then the War: And Selected Poems, 2007-2020

Academia

Mercy B. Jackson (MED 1860) – physician, one of the first women to receive a Doctor of Medicine degree, in the United States Rebecca Lee Crumpler (MED 1864) – first African American woman in the US to receive an MD, or Doctor of Medicine degree, one of first female physician authors in the 19th century Anna Oliver (STH 1876) – first woman in the US to receive a degree in theology Helen Magill White (GRS 1877) – first woman in the US to earn a Ph.D. Takeo Kikuchi (LAW 1877) – one of first Japanese to study law in the U.S., founder and president of Tokyo's Chuo University Charles Wesley Emerson (School of Oratory, 1877) – founder of Emerson College Marion Talbot (CAS 1880) – influential leader in the early 20th-century higher education of women, fought against efforts to restrict equal access to educational opportunities as Dean of Women at the University of Chicago (1895–1925), co-founded the American Association of University Women with her mentor Ellen Swallow Richards, the first woman admitted to MIT Nathan Abbott (LAW 1881) – founder of Stanford Law School and its first dean Lelia J. Robinson (LAW 1881) – first woman admitted to the bar in Massachusetts* Solon Irving Bailey (CAS 1881, GRS 1884) – astronomer, elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1892 John Calvin Ferguson (CAS 1883) – art historian, influential in early 20th-century education in China, founder of Nanking University, National Chiao Tung University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Xi'an Jiaotong University in China Samuel G. Plantz (STH 1883) – president of Lawrence College Charles Eastman (MED 1890) – physician, one of the first Native Americans to receive an MD in the U.S., prolific author and speaker on Sioux ethnohistory and Native American affairs Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch (CAS 1890) – pioneering urban planner and social worker, founder of Greenwich House Cora Smith Eaton (MED 1892) – suffragist, physician and mountaineer, first woman licensed to practice medicine in North Dakota Solomon Carter Fuller (MED 1897) – discovered Alzheimer's disease through observations of neurofibrillary tangles and miliary plaques, publishing the first comprehensive review of the disease, noted as the first Black psychiatrist in the US Percy Jewett Burrell (School of Oratory, 1898) – creator of pageantry in the US Gleason Archer, Sr. (CAS 1904, LAW 1906) – founder of Suffolk University and Suffolk University Law School Leonard Porter Ayres (GRS '10) – statistician, best-known work dealt with comprehensive statistical studies of American casualties in the first and second world wars Shields Warren (CAS '18) – pathologist, helped establish field of radiobiology, first to study the pathology of radioactive fallout,Tedeschi, Luke G. "Shields Warren: The legend and the man." The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 1.4 (1980): 297–302. discovered that susceptibility to cancer varied from person to person, mentored Eleanor Josephine Macdonald Priscilla Fairfield Bok (CAS '18) – astronomer, author, director of Steward Observatory in Arizona, published textbook The Milky Way, coining the popular term "Milky Way" Helen B. Taussig (CAS '25) – founded the field of pediatric cardiology, known for her work in banning thalidomide, first woman and first pediatrician to be elected head of the American Heart Association, awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964) Myrtle Bachelder (WED '39) – chemist noted for her secret work on the Manhattan Project atomic bomb program, contributions to the purification of the rare elements and to astrochemistry, for her analysis of Moon rocks collected during the Apollo missions Fe Del Mundo (MED '40) – National Scientist of the Philippines and recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Nobel Prize of Asia, founded the first pediatric hospital in the Philippines and is known for shaping the modern child healthcare system in the Philippines