Boston University’s founders opened its doors to all students without regard to religion, race, or gender. Building and sustaining a vibrant community of scholars, students, and staff remains essential to our mission of contributing to, and preparing students to thrive in, an increasingly interconnected world.
We strive to create environments for learning, working, and living that are enriched by racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity. We seek to cultivate an atmosphere of respect for individual differences in life experience, sexual orientation, and religious belief, and we aspire to be free of intellectual parochialism, barriers to access, and ethnocentrism.
Success in a competitive, global milieu depends upon our ongoing commitment to welcome and engage the wisdom, creativity, and aspirations of all peoples. The excellence we seek emerges from the contributions and talents of every member of the Boston University community.
Click here to learn more from Boston University’s central Diversity and Inclusion Office.
Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground
The Thurman Center was founded in 1986 to preserve the legacy of Dr. Howard Thurman, who spent his life working to break barriers that separate people based on race, culture, religion, ethnicity, gender and sexual identity. It currently serves as BU’s cultural hub and emphasizes the importance of stepping outside your comfort zones to build relationships and share experiences with others. The center offers are a wide array of cultural programs, lectures, discussions, films, events and resources for all members of the BU community to attend.
Newbury Center
The Newbury Center opened its doors in January 2021 with the goal of fostering the holistic success of first-generation students at Boston University. It aims to offer programming and services designed to ensure that first-generation students experience the same well being, belonging, self-efficacy, and academic accomplishment as their continuing-generation peers. Specific initiatives include support for navigating through the financial aid system, making the best use of academic resources and taking full advantage of internship opportunities.
Student LGBTQIA+ Center
The LGBTQIA+ Student Resource Center is an inclusive and safe environment for all members of the community. With a deep commitment to recognizing and addressing the unique challenges faced by queer and trans students, the center will offer accessible resources, sustain inclusive community groups, introduce intersectional programming, and empower individuals in their pursuit of authentic self-expression within the university setting.
Islamic Society of BU
The Islamic Society of Boston University strives to aid its members in practicing their faith, to establish a sense of unity among Muslim brothers and sisters at Boston University and beyond, and to disseminate accurate information about Islam among students, staff, and the broader community, with the ultimate goal of pleasing Allah (God).
ISBU sponsors various activities throughout the year in an effort to reach these aforementioned goals. These include Friday prayers, Weekly Halaqaat (discussions), Iftars and Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan, as well as various other academic, spiritual/religious, and social events.
BU Hillel
The mission of BU Hillel is to inspire, educate, and empower Boston University students to lead meaningful, joyous Jewish lives.
Marsh Chapel
Marsh Chapel is a place for all, an interdenominational ministry at Boston University preaching a gospel of grace and freedom, a responsible Christian liberalism. They cherish common faith, common ground, and, especially, a common hope.
Student Activities Office
Boston University has over 450 student organizations and the Student Activities Office can help students find peers who share their passions and interests or even get the ball rolling to create an entirely new organization. These organizations include a variety of identity based clubs that BU students can sign up for and join.
Boston University Questrom School of Business
Center for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Rafik B. Hariri Building 595 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 205
Boston, MA 02215