Posted June 2022

Your support helps this new office provide a wealth of resources

“Sometimes you need help, sometimes you are the help.”

Malika Jeffries-EL, associate dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and associate professor of chemistry, lives by that advice from her mother. Jeffries-EL is a first-gen student, an accomplished academic, and an ally and supporter of the Newbury Center.

The Newbury Center’s mission is to foster the success of first-generation students whether they’re undergraduate, graduate, or professional students. Since opening its doors in January 2021, the Center has helped hundreds of students to navigate University life from matriculation through graduation. The many services offered—such as mentoring, family outreach and engagement, and connecting students with internships and BU Study Abroad programs—are all aimed at strengthening academic, social, and post-graduation success.

Maria Dykema Erb, the inaugural director of the Newbury Center and a first-generation graduate herself, is proud of the Center’s early accomplishments. “In the past year and a half, we have gained a national reputation as a University-wide, centralized model to support first-generation students.”

In addition to earning recognition as a First-gen Forward Institution through the Center for First-generation Student Success, the Newbury Center team has developed training for faculty and staff to become Terrier F1RST Advocates, established the Gamma Iota Chapter of the Tri-Alpha National Honor Society for first-generation students, and launched the magazine Elevate. They also opened the Professional Clothing Closet in partnership with the Center for Career Development.

“By adding in all the professional and personal development workshops, social events, and individual advising, we have cultivated a close-knit community where our first-gen students experience a strong sense of belonging,” Dykema Erb says. “I look forward to the years ahead as we establish new initiatives to better engage our first-gen students’ families, as well as our first-gen alumni. There is much to be done, and we can’t do it without everyone’s support!”

Leaders across BU share this strong commitment to support low-income, first-generation students. As first-gen students themselves, both President Robert A. Brown and Beverly Brown recognize the challenges these students face. In the fall of 2020, the University announced a plan to make BU more affordable by expanding its financial aid program with a commitment to meet the full calculated need of all qualifying domestic students. Other University initiatives include partnerships with the Posse and Questbridge programs, which are administered through the College Access & Student Success Office at the BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Both organizations have a rich history of supporting underprivileged students.

As Professor El Jeffries’ mother wisely noted, “sometimes you are the help.” Donations to the Newbury Center offer an opportunity to improve experiences and advance outcomes for first-generation students, and strengthen its mission to support and celebrate first-generation undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at BU.

Your giving matters

Your generous support helps make all this possible. You can help make a BU education affordable for all qualified students and ensure that the Newbury Center fulfills its mission to provide a wealth of resources for first-generation students.
Current-use funds, which can be given in any amount, can be deployed at a moment’s notice to provide such assistance, as well as financial aid and emergency assistance to students. And you can choose to make a gift to a wide variety of specific funds, supporting causes that range from clubs to experiential learning opportunities, from athletics to scholarships to live performances.

Every gift, of every size, counts. You can have an impact at BU—and you can choose exactly where to do it.
Not yet a donor? Give now and receive email updates on the impact donors have throughout the year. Visit “Why we give” to read more about the many committed donors to Boston University.