Sorry Harvard (and Everyone Else) Prof. Menino Is Headed to B.U.

MAYOR MENINO AND WINFREY BOTH RECEIVED HONORARY DEGREES. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF BOSTON

After leaving office, Mayor Tom Menino will head to Boston University to direct the school’s new Initiative on Cities, according to multiple reports. WBZ’s Jon Keller first reported that Menino had settled on his next phase today, though City Hall says Menino won’t confirm his plans until Wednesday.

Last month, Menino confirmed publicly that he had his pick of offers from Boston, Harvard, Northeastern, and Suffolk universities. If you’re surprised that Menino didn’t go with Harvard, from which he received an honorary degree earlier this year, recall that when the Boston Herald suggested that the gig might be a conflict of interest because the BRA approved Harvard’s Allston expansion, City Hall confirmed last month that, conflict or not, Menino wouldn’t be taking that particular job.

So instead, Menino will stay on the Boston side of the river. The Boston Globe followed up on WBZ’s report with a few details on his new job. Menino has a five-year contract as a professor of practice, though he won’t teach classes, according to the paper. The Initiative on Cities “will include the academic study of urban issues and serve as a forum for practical training for municipal officials from around the world,” the paper reports. But of course, none of that comes until Marty Walsh takes over at City Hall. Until then, we’ll just have to close our eyes and imagine what hijinks Menino might get up to as a Terrier:

And now, we must all make jokes about #BUMenino. Begin w/mispronouncing hockey players names, move on to his Green Line complaints.

— David S. Bernstein (@dbernstein) November 12, 2013