09/01/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/02/2026 05:34
It happens each year at the end of August. Seemingly overnight, Boston University's Charles River and Fenway campuses are transformed from their summer reverie into bustling metropolises as 11,500 new and returning students move into nearly 160 residential buildings-a ritual known as Move-In.
On hand to greet some of this year's arriving students were BU President Melissa Gilliam and University Provost Colin Duckett.
"This year brought several important 'firsts'," says Paul Riel, associate vice president for auxiliary services. "Students moved into the newly renovated Warren Towers A and enjoyed their first meal in the newly renovated Warren Towers Dining Hall; colored badges were used for the first time to alert students to financial and other holds before they arrived on campus; and we centralized services, suitably called 'Taking Care of Business,' to allow students to settle accounts, receive a vaccine, or pick up their BU ID card.
"Most importantly, the success of this year's Move-In reflected the extraordinary coordination, preparation, and care of employees across the University who worked together to welcome students and their families to campus."
BU staff photographers Jackie Ricciardi and Cydney Scott, along with Janice Checchio, associate creative director of BU Photography, captured all the action and pulled dozens of photos from among the hundreds they photographed throughout the week for this special photo gallery.