The Founding

CELOP was founded in 1975 by Robert Saitz and Francine Stieglitz who were both professors teaching in the English Department at that time. The center was their brainchild. Before CELOP was created, English Department instructors held classes for international students in that department.   Francine Stieglitz was the first director.

Development and Growth

The center was first located at 730 Commonwealth Ave., and in the very first year there were 345 students; however, that number grew to 840 in 1978 and 1100 in 1980.   In the very early years, scholarship students sent from Venezuela and Iran made up the student body. There were also students from Saudi Arabia, Japan, and other Latin American countries.

Susan Doll became the next director of CELOP in 1984. Then, the very next year when Margot Valdivia became the associate director, a large number of students from Beirut, Lebanon arrived; they were the Hariri students. The business tycoon and former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafic Hariri, sponsored this group. They continued to come for about a year or so. CELOP has continued to grow and attract students from different parts of the world since then.

Students Today and Famous Alumni

Margot Valdivia became the director and Bruce Rindler the associate director in 1988.  Six years later, in 1995, CELOP moved to 890 Commonwealth Ave. At that time, CELOP continued to grow and attract students from different parts of the world. One of our more famous students was Psy, the Korean pop culture sensation who started the Gangnam Style craze. Psy studied at CELOP in 1996. Another famous student was A-Mei, a famous pop singer and songwriter from Taiwan, who studied at CELOP in 2005

Cooperation with Foreign Universities, Companies and Cultural Mission

Nowadays, CELOP students come from many parts of the world as well as from many famous universities and company sponsorships. These include Waseda and Hosei universities in Japan, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), and the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the US (SACM). CELOP students continue on to prestigious undergraduate and graduate programs such as the Harvard Graduate School of Design, BU College of Engineering, BU School of Law, BU Questrom School of Business, and many more. CELOP continues to be a vibrant leader in English as a Second Language training and special orientation programs under the leadership of Alan Broomhead, Managing Director, and Colin Large, Associate Director.