The disclosure is directed to glass compositions that incorporate copper into an otherwise homogeneous glass and to a method for making such glass. This incorporation of the copper into the glass composition imparts significant antimicrobial activity to the glass. A method of making a copper-containing glass article comprises: batching a glass batch comprising: 40-85 SiO2; 10-40 B2O3; 1-19 Al2O3; 0.1-20 CuO or a selected salt of Cu that is convertible into CuO during melting; 0-20 M2O, wherein M is Li, Na, K, or combinations thereof; 0-25 RO, wherein R is Ca, Sr, Mg, or combinations thereof; and 0-20 ZnO. melting the batch to form a melted glass; and forming the melted glass to form the copper-containing glass article having antimicrobial properties.