To honor President Robert Brown at his inauguration Thursday evening at Agganis Arena, prominent members of the Boston University community praised the accomplished engineer for both his work over the past year and the visions he has for the future. The ceremony was attended by such notables as Mayor Thomas Menino, Tufts President Lawrence Macow, Massachusetts Treasurer Timothy Cahill and, of course, former BU president John Silber.
The otherwise celebratory event was repeatedly interrupted by protesters with whistles. Each protester was escorted out by Agganis security and Boston University Police officers.
During Massachusetts Treasurer Timothy Cahill’s speech praising Brown for setting standards for academic leadership, a protester heckled the official from the audience.
“It would not be a BU event without some controversy,” the 1981 College of Arts and Sciences graduate joked, “so that does make me feel like I’m back at BU. I just hope she’s removed before Dr. Brown gets up here to speak.”
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said Brown adds to BU’s strength, which he said is seen through the university’s establishment as a civic leader, giving of 60 full scholarships to Boston public school graduates each year and commitment to “being a good neighbor” by encouraging on-campus housing instead of forcing many students to live off campus.
Menino said Thursday was “an important day for both the university and the city,” and that Brown’s presence will strengthen BU’s position as a global leader.
“He gets it,” he said. “He knows how to work with people, and that makes a big difference in our relationship.”
Tufts University President Lawrence Bacow, who worked with Brown at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, brought up the fact that Brown brings a “secret weapon” to BU: his wife Beverly. Bacow noted how Brown is a “scholar’s scholar” and a “teacher’s teacher,” and he hopes he will become a “president’s president.”
Student Union President Jon Marker spoke about the accomplishments of the student body in performing more than 41,000 hours of community service in honor of Brown. Marker presented Brown with a book of many of the community service stories submitted by its various contributors. The book is titled “In the Heart of the City, in the Service of the City,” in honor of a phrase attributed to BU’s third president Lemuel Murlin.
Presidential Search Committee Chairman David D’Alessandro spoke on behalf of the committee that saw hundreds of résumés, including two from former heads of states. D’Alessandro said Brown stood out in the interviewing process for many reasons, including waiting to answer until the entire question was asked, asking questions himself and citing many accurate facts about the university. He also displayed a great knowledge and appreciation of all disciplines other than his own, including sports.
Before Brown began his speech, another protester shouted comments from the audience, to which Brown replied that he would wait until the protester was removed.
During Brown’s speech, he emphasized five pillars he feels BU is emblematic of: learning, excellence, connectivity, engagement and inclusion.
Brown said his wife is his highest standard for character, and his sons are his greatest sources of pride. He discussed how he plans to strengthen the university for everyone – staff, faculty, students and alumni.
He asked for the alumni and friends of the university to support his effort to build the university’s endowment to provide more financial aid and open the university’s doors to as many students as possible.
Not listed on the program was a special presentation of “Inaugural Celebration,” a musical piece for three trumpets and three trombones composed by Theodore Antoniou, a College of Fine Arts professor since 1978.
Antoniou said the piece was written this year in “a couple days,” and the only thing close to a rehearsal the ensemble had prior to the performance was a sound check Wednesday.
In performing the piece, the musicians each took a different position in various places in the audience. Knowing Brown to be an engineer, Antoniou said he “wanted to do something with moving the sound around the audience.”
After everyone had finished speaking, a reception was held in which students, faculty and staff mingled among one another.
At the reception, Provost David Campbell said it was wise of Brown to postpone his inauguration until the end of the semester in order to have a sense of where the university is headed.
President emeritus Aram Chobanian and his wife Jasmine said they enjoyed the inauguration very much. Jasmine said she thought Brown’s speech was especially excellent and inspiring.
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said he was very proud of the students for their generous gift to the new president.
“I actually started tearing up,” he said. “That was wonderful. I’m tearing up right now. I was so proud not just of [Marker], he did a great job I think, but I think that the whole notion of the 41,754.75 hours, I think that is just wonderful. So, you know, not to take anything from Dr. Brown, but today’s stars were students.”
School of Management freshman Drew Phillips said he was very excited about what Brown said regarding the direction he wants to take the university.
“I kind of wish that I was here four years down the road to see some of the things he wants to work on get enacted,” he said.
Keith Brown, Brown’s youngest son, came to the Charles River campus, for only the third time, to see his father inaugurated.
“He had a really great speech,” Keith Brown said. “It’s a lot to take in … it’s clear he’s from a research institute and I think that’s part of his goal … and that’s what came through for me.”
President emeritus John Silber partook in his own inauguration celebration 35 years ago.
“I thought it went beautifully and I think it was well planned and well executed,” he said.
Silber said he is excited to see what Brown does within the university.
“You have to wait and see, but I think there is every indication that he will do extremely well,” he said.
Staff writer Christina Crapanzano contributed to this report.