Boston University (BU) has suspended admissions for various Humanities and Social Sciences PhD tracks, including its art history program, for the 2025–2026 academic year. The news was first reported yesterday, November 19, by Inside Higher Ed.

BU did not make a public announcement, but an undated update to the PhD information page on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’s website indicates that admissions to its PhD programs in History of Art and Architecture, American and New England Studies, Anthropology, Classical Studies, English, History, Linguistics, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion, Romance Studies, and Sociology were temporarily suspended.

Inside Higher Ed’s report references emails between school administrators suggesting that the move was due in part to the financial implications of a recently ratified contract with the Boston University Graduate Workers Union (BUGWU). The contract, which ended a seven-month strike in October, ensured that the university’s PhD candidates are afforded a minimum yearly stipend of $45,000 with an annual 3% raise in addition to the school covering tuition throughout the agreement’s three-year lifespan. Additional contract points include expanded healthcare coverage, commuter benefits, and subsidized dental insurance among other benefits. Though the $45,ooo minimum was a significant raise, the university did not concede to BUGWU’s demands for a $17,000 increase in yearly stipends and 7% annual cost-of-living adjustments — a conflict that led to the longest strike in the university’s history.

As reported by Inside Higher Ed, emails between Stan Sclaroff, dean of BU’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), and Malika Jeffries-EL, associate dean of the university’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, implied that the financial requirements of the ratified contract were points of concern for meeting the needs of existing doctoral student cohorts.

However, Colin Riley, a spokesperson for the university, told Hyperallergic that the school “initiated [its] review of PhD programs through a task force in 2022 and began implementation of the recommendations this fall.”

BU also decided to reduce doctoral cohort sizes for the 2025–2026 academic year, Riley said, citing factors including “student success; job prospects and placements; the recommendations of the 2022 PhD Task Force on PhD Education; and ensuring we can honor the five-year funding commitments we have made to our currently enrolled doctoral students.”

A spokesperson for the Service Employees International Union Local 509 in Massachusetts, under which BUGWU organizes, did not immediately respond to Hyperallergic‘s inquiry.

Tuesday’s thrilling win over the Cavaliers kept the Celtics in contention for the 2024 NBA Cup.

The 120-117 victory at TD Garden improved Boston’s record to 1-1 in NBA Cup group play. It sits second in the Eastern Conference’s Group C, behind 2-0 Atlanta and ahead of 1-1 Cleveland thanks to a head-to-head tiebreaker. Washington and Chicago round out the group at 0-1.

The three group winners and top second-place finisher from each conference qualify for the win-or-go-home quarterfinals.

“Even though it’s a November game, this was an NBA Cup game,” Celtics big man Al Horford said. “We squandered one away last week against Atlanta, and (we wanted to) find a way to get this win and try to stay relevant in that. It was important. I think it’s a good thing that this early in the season, you’re playing meaningful games like that.”

How can the Celtics advance? The simplest path would be to win their two remaining Cup games (at Washington this Friday; at Chicago next Friday) and have the Hawks, who opened Cup play with a 117-116 win in Boston, lose both one of theirs (at Chicago; vs. Cleveland). In that scenario, the Celtics would finish atop Group C and guarantee themselves a spot in the knockouts.

If Atlanta wins one or both of its remaining games, then Boston would need to worry about point differential, which is the second tiebreaker behind head-to-head. The Celtics currently are at plus-2 in NBA Cup play, with the Hawks at plus-13 and the Cavs at plus-15.

The Celtics will have prime opportunities to pad that number over their final two contests, as they’ll be heavily favored over both the Wizards (overall record: 2-11) and Bulls (6-9). It would behoove them to win those games by as many points as possible, even if it means keeping their foot on the gas late in a blowout. Boston already routed Washington by 20 in a non-Cup game back on Oct. 24.

In last year’s In-Season Tournament (as the NBA Cup was known at the time), the Celtics needed to beat the Bulls by more than 22 points in their final group game to break a three-way tie with Orlando and Brooklyn. Head coach Joe Mazzulla reinserted his starters in the fourth quarter and repeatedly fouled poor free-throw shooter Andre Drummond, and Boston won by 27.

“I apologized to Andre Drummond for doing that,” Mazzulla said at the time, “but it gave us the best chance considering the circumstances we were in.”

Both wild-card teams that advanced to the quarterfinals last season had 3-1 records in group play and point differentials of plus-34 or higher.

Losing to either Washington or Chicago likely would eliminate the Celtics from NBA Cup contention. Players on all teams that reach the knockout rounds receive escalating bonuses: $50,000 for the losing quarterfinalists, $100,000 for the losing semifinalists, $200,000 for the runners-up and $500,000 for the NBA Cup champions.

Originally Published: November 20, 2024 at 10:38 AM EST

BOSTON — Everyone knew the deal. The Cleveland Cavaliers entered Tuesday’s game against the reigning champions with a 15-0 record, second-best start to a season ever, and it was an NBA Cup game to boot.

“We knew,” said Boston Celtics guard Derrick White. “Everybody knew.”

In front of a national television audience, the Celtics reminded the Cavaliers that the Eastern Conference still runs through Boston. They made five of their first eight 3-point attempts, took an 18-8 advantage midway through the opening quarter and never trailed again in a 120-117 victory Cleveland never quit.

Boston pushed its lead to 65-48 by halftime, making nine more 3-pointers on 11 attempts in the second quarter. We could call it a barrage if it were not so expected. This is what the Celtics do. Their 51.1 3-point attempts lead the league by almost six per game. Even at a middling conversion rate, they sink nearly 20 triples a night. Make it 22 on Tuesday. Better keep up if you ever want that math to work in your favor.

The Cavs could not. They shot 10-for-29 from deep and climbed uphill all night as a result. This was a deviation from their norm. They have been playing faster and with more freedom under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, who learned in his time with the Golden State Warriors that the ball should never stick.

Except it did against Boston. “Not great,” Atkinson said of his team’s preparedness.

“The first thing we learned was the force and physicality,” he added. “They had playoff force and physicality; we had regular-season force and physicality. And that’s why we were down 17 at the half.”

They responded in the second half, trimming a 21-point deficit to 86-84 over seven minutes of the third quarter. Some of it was the Celtics settling for contested 3s, rather than creating open ones. Most of it was the Cavaliers pounding the paint. Whether it was Donovan Mitchell taking Neemias Queta off the dribble or Cleveland’s bigs posting smaller defenders, the Cavs outscored Boston on the interior 60-36.

Credit to Cleveland for not conceding the undefeated record, but the Celtics answered that call, too.

“It’s simple: We just locked in on defense,” said Boston’s Jayson Tatum, who finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. “We’ve been in that situation a million times where it’s time to win.”

So they did, which could be interpreted as a bad sign for the Cavaliers, who considered this game a measuring stick of their seriousness as a contender. But Evan Mobley drew a different conclusion.

“From what I saw out there, we could beat anybody,” said Cleveland’s rising star.

Is that feeling different from last year, when Boston ousted Cleveland in a second-round playoff series?

“Not really, honestly,” added Mobley (22 points, 11 rebounds). “Last year it felt the same way. We were right there. We lost the series, but most of the games we were right there with them the whole time.”

Can beat the Celtics and will beat the Celtics are two different things. For as much positivity as the Cavaliers drew from their first loss of the season, there is this: Boston will soon reincorporate All-Star center Kristaps Porzingis, who unlocks another dimension for a team that won a title largely without him.

The Celtics assigned Porzingis to their G League affiliate Monday. Instead of sending him to Maine, they brought the entire developmental team to Porzingis, so he could simulate serious game action for the first time since his surgery, sources told Yahoo Sports. Attendees were pleased with his performance, which is a) to be expected from anyone relaying that information and b) better than the alternative.

Either way, Porzingis’ return is now a matter of weeks, not months, even if he may not be available when these two teams meet again Dec. 1. That is the next measuring stick. This one fell short for the Cavs, who look different from last season yet still a tier below the fully healthy version of the reigning champs.