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This article is about Boston College; for the unaffiliated urban university see Boston University.

Boston College is a private research university located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, in the New England region of the United States. Its historic campus, one of the earliest examples of Collegiate Gothic architecture in North America, is set on a hilltop six miles (10 km) west of downtown Boston. Although chartered as a university by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1863, Boston College's name reflects its early history as a liberal arts college and preparatory school in Boston's South End. It was the first institution of higher education established in the city, though it later outgrew its urban location and moved to pastoral Chestnut Hill on the city's western edge. Boston College is one of the oldest and largest Jesuit universities in the United States and is home to one of the world's most prominent Catholic theological and philosophical faculties.

About Boston College

Founded in part as a response to discriminatory policies against immigrants and Catholics at Harvard University in the 19th century, Boston College acquired the nickname "Jesuit Ivy" in a 1956 commencement address by then-US Senator John F. Kennedy. Its charter was among the first documents to stipulate that the institution "from its inception shall be open to youths of any faith," a policy since expanded to include those "of no religious faith at all."

Boston College is called The Heights, a reference to both its lofty aspirations — the college motto is "Ever to Excel" — and its elevated location on Chestnut Hill, or "University Heights" as the area was initially designated. The name has lent itself to a number of campus organizations — including the principal student newspaper, The Heights — and to those affiliated with the university: BC students were universally called "Heightsmen" until 1925 when Mary C. Mellyn became the first "Heightswoman" to receive a BC degree. Today, the university's legacy includes over 147,000 alumni in over 120 countries around the world.

Admission to Boston College is among the most selective in the United States. For the class of 2010, BC experienced a 12% jump in applications, receiving a record 26,500 applications from prospective undergraduates (making it the most selective class in the school's history). BC admitted 29% of them, for an incoming freshman class of 2250 students. BC ranks fourth among private American universities in the number of applications it receives annually, though it is less than half the size of the three schools that rank above it. A study by Carnegie Communications in 2004 ranked BC 17th among national universities. The same study cited BC as the 8th "most popular" choice among US high school seniors. BC ranked 40th among national universities in US News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges 2006" rankings.

AHANA is a term coined (and trademarked) by BC students in 1979 to refer to students of African-American, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American descent. Today AHANA students comprise 23% of BC undergraduates. International students make up an additional 10% of the student population.

Boston College students have enjoyed tremendous success in winning prestigious post-graduate fellowships and awards, including recent Rhodes, Marshall, Mellon, Fulbright, Truman, Churchill, and Goldwater scholarships, among others. In 2004, 2 BC students won Rhodes scholarships, and 13 won Fulbright Awards. In 2005, the number of Fulbrights rose to 16. BC's yield rate for Fulbright awardees is the highest in the country.

At $1.4 billion, BC's endowment is among the largest in American higher education and the largest of any Jesuit university in the world. Its annual operating budget is approximately $667 million.

A Princeton Review survey of parents that asked “What ‘dream college’ would you most like to see your child attend were prospects of acceptance or cost not issues?” indicates that BC is the seventh most desirable university in the U.S.

History

Early history

The history of Boston College is traced to the founding of the Society of Jesus in 1534 and the early activity of Jesuits in New England in the 17th and 18th centuries. Jesuit founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, imagined a distinct mission that sought to engage intellectual inquiry, faith, and cultural contributions "in conversation with the city." His Society established colleges and universities in almost every part of the known world, and its members were among the great explorers of the Age of Discovery. In 1825, Benedict Joseph Fenwick, SJ, a Jesuit from Maryland, became the second Bishop of Boston. He was the first to articulate a vision for a "College in the City of Boston" that would raise a new generation of leaders to serve both the civic and spiritual needs of his fledgling diocese.

A College in the City

In 1827, Bishop Fenwick opened a school in the basement of his cathedral and took to the personal instruction of the city's youth. His efforts to attract other Jesuits to the faculty were hampered both by Boston's distance from the center of Jesuit activity in Maryland and by suspicion on the part of the city's Protestant elite. Relations with Boston's civic leaders worsened such that, when a Jesuit faculty was finally secured in 1843, Fenwick decided to leave the Boston school and instead opened the College of the Holy Cross 45 miles west of the city in central Massachusetts where he felt the Jesuits could operate with greater autonomy. Meanwhile, the vision for a college in Boston was sustained by John McElroy, SJ, who saw an even greater need for such an institution in light of Boston's growing immigrant population. With the approval of his Jesuit superiors, McElroy went about raising funds and in 1857 purchased land for "The Boston College" on Harrison Street in Boston's South End. With little fanfare, the college's two buildings — a schoolhouse and a church — welcomed their first class of scholastics in 1859. Two years later, with as little fanfare, BC closed again. Its short-lived second incarnation was plagued by the outbreak of Civil War and disagreement within the Society over the college's governance and finances. BC's inability to obtain a charter from the anti-Catholic Massachusetts legislature only compounded its troubles.

On March 31, 1863, more than three decades after its initial inception, Boston College's charter was formally approved by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In it, BC was granted the right to confer all university degrees, with the exception of the M.D. (a limitation that was later amended). Johannes Bapst, SJ, a Swiss Jesuit from French-speaking Fribourg, was selected as BC's first president and immediately reopened the original college buildings on Harrison Avenue. For most of the 19th century, BC offered a singular 7-year program corresponding to both high school and college. Its entering class in the fall of 1864 included 22 students, ranging in age from 11 to 16 years. The curriculum was based on the Jesuit Ratio Studiorum, emphasizing Latin, Greek, philosophy and theology. Revolutionary for its time, BC's charter emphasized that "the profession of religion will not be a condition for admission to the College."

Dreams of an "Oxford in America"

Boston College's enrollment reached nearly 500 by the turn of the 20th century. Expansion of the South End buildings onto James Street enabled increased separation between the high school and college divisions, though Boston College High School remained a constituent part of Boston College until 1927 when it was separately incorporated. In 1907, newly-installed President Thomas I. Gasson, SJ, determined that BC's cramped, urban quarters in Boston's South End were inadequate and unsuited for significant expansion. Inspired by John Winthrop's early vision of Boston as a "city upon a hill," he re-imagined Boston College as world-renowned university and a beacon of Jesuit scholarship. Less than a year after taking office, he purchased Amos Adams Lawrence's farm on Chestnut Hill, six miles west of the city. He organized an international competition for the design of a campus master plan and set about raising funds for the construction of the "new" university. Proposals were solicited from distinguished architects, and Charles Donagh Maginnis' ambitious proposal for twenty buildings in English Collegiate Gothic style, called "Oxford in America," was selected.

By 1913, construction costs had surpassed available funds, and as a result Gasson Hall, "New BC's" main building, stood alone on Chestnut Hill for its first three years. Buildings of the former Lawrence farm, including a barn and gatehouse, were temporarily adapted for college use while a massive fundraising effort was underway. While Maginnis' ambitious plans were never fully realized, BC's first "capital campaign" — which included a large replica of Gasson Hall's clock tower set up on Boston Common to measure the fundraising progress — ensured that President Gasson's vision survived. By the 1920s BC began to fill out the dimensions of its university charter, establishing the Boston College Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the Boston College Law School and the Woods College of Advancing Studies, followed successively by the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, the Carroll School of Management, the Connell School of Nursing and the Lynch School of Education. In 1926, Boston College conferred its first degrees on women (though it did not become fully coeducational until 1970). With the rising prominence of its graduates, this was also the period in which Boston College and its powerful Alumni Association began to establish themselves among the city's leading institutions. At the city, state and federal levels, BC graduates would come to dominate Massachusetts politics for much of the 20th century.

Cultural changes in American society and in the church following the Second Vatican Council forced BC to question its purpose and mission. Even Boston College's name was targeted for change. The desire for national recognition as a "university" was the stated reason the Board of Trustees opened debate on the issue. The two sets of proposed names suggest that the real debate was one over BC's identity: secular (University of New England, Commonwealth University, Tremount University, Chestnut Hill University, Boston College University) or religious (Jesuit University, Boston Catholic University, Newman University, St. Thomas More University). Gasson University and Fenwick University were also considered, though in the end fierce alumni opposition and a highly critical editorial in The Heights closed the debate. Meanwhile, poor financial management lead to deteriorating facilities and resources and rising tuition costs. Student outrage, combined with growing protests over Vietnam and the bombings in Cambodia, culminated in student strikes, including the occupation of Gasson Hall for 23 days in April 1970.

The Monan era

By the time J. Donald Monan, SJ assumed the presidency on September 5, 1972, BC was approximately $30 million in debt, its endowment totaled just under $6 million, and faculty and staff salaries had been frozen during the previous year. Rumors about the university's future were rampant, including speculation that BC would be acquired by Harvard University. Monan's first order of business was to reconfigure the Boston College Board of Trustees. By separating it from the Society of Jesus, Monan was able to bring in the talents of lay alumni and business leaders who helped turn around the university's fortunes. This same restructuring has been accomplished first at the University of Notre Dame in 1967 by Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, CSC with many other Catholic colleges following suit in the ensuing years. In 1974, Boston College acquired Newton College of the Sacred Heart, a 40 acre (162,000 m²) campus 1.5 miles (2 km) away that enabled it to expand the law school and provide more housing for a student population that was increasingly residential and geographically diverse. No less than the university's rescue is credited to Monan who set into motion the university's upward trajectory in finances, reputation and global scope. In 1996, Monan's 24 year presidency, the longest in the university's history, came to an end when he was named University Chancellor and succeeded by President William P. Leahy, SJ.

Recent history

Since assuming the Boston College presidency, Leahy's tenure has been marked with an acceleration of the growth and development initiated by his predecessor. BC's endowment has grown to $1.4 billion, it has expanded by almost 150 acres (600,000 m²), and undergraduate applications have surpassed 26,000. At the same time, BC students, faculty and athletic teams have seen unprecedented success — winning record numbers of Fulbrights, Rhodes and other academic awards; setting new marks for research grants; and winning conference and national titles. In 2002, Leahy initiated the Church in the 21st Century program to examine issues facing the Catholic Church in light of the clergy sexual abuse scandal. His effort brought BC worldwide praise and recognition for "leading the way on Church reform". In 2004, he announced plans to merge with the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and advance BC as the world's foremost Jesuit university. The announcement was followed by an article in The New York Times claiming "such a merger would further Boston College's quest to become the nation's Catholic intellectual powerhouse" and that, once approved by the Vatican and Jesuit authorities in Rome, BC "would become the center for the study of Roman Catholic theology in the United States." On February 16, 2006, the merger was authorized by the Jesuit Conference.

The Campus

Landscape & architecture

Set on a hilltop overlooking the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and the distant Boston skyline (see live webcam), Boston College's 175 acre (700,000 m²) Chestnut Hill campus includes over 120 buildings in addition to athletic fields, rolling hills, wooded areas, three formal gardens, an orchard, and over 100 species of trees. The campus creates an almost rural setting, only 6 miles west of downtown Boston. A "Boston College" "T"-station, located at St. Ignatius Gate, is the western terminus of the MBTA Green Line's B-branch (also known as the "Boston College" line) and provides transit to the city center. Travel time is approximately 30 to 45 minutes. Travel time to Boston can be reduced by taking a shuttle bus to the "Reservoir" station and riding the faster D line into the city.

Due largely to its location and architecture, the Boston College campus is known affectionately as the "Heights," the "Crowned Hilltop" and "Oxford in America." This last moniker was the title of the original campus master plan and was confirmed by a visiting British journalist in 1915 who famously wrote, "Even in embryo, it is Oxford and Cambridge without their grime."

The Crowned Hilltop

Designed by Charles Donagh Maginnis and his firm, Maginnis & Walsh, in 1908, the Boston College campus is a seminal example of Collegiate Gothic architecture. Publication of its design in 1909 — and praise from influential American Gothicist Ralph Adams Cram — helped establish Collegiate Gothic as the prevailing architectural style on American university campuses for much of the 20th Century. Gasson Hall, BC's signature building, is credited for the typology of dominant Gothic towers in subsequent campus designs, including those at Princeton University's Graduate College (Cleveland Tower, 1913 to 1917), at Yale University (Harkness Tower, 1917 to 1921), and at Duke University (Chapel Tower, 1930 to 1935). Combining Gothic Revival architecture with principles of Beaux-Arts planning, Maginnis proposed a vast complex of academic buildings set in a cruciform plan. The design suggested an enormous outdoor cathedral, with a long entry drive at the "nave," the main quadrangle at the "apse" and secondary quadrangles at the "transepts." At the "crossing," Maginnis placed the university's main building, which he called "Recitation Hall." Using stone quarried on the site, the building was constructed at the highest point on Chestnut Hill, commanding a view of the surrounding landscape and the city to the east. Dominated by a soaring 200-foot bell tower, Recitation Hall was known simply as the "Tower Building" when it finally opened in 1913. Maginnis' design broke from the traditional Oxbridge models that had inspired it — and that had till then characterized Gothic architecture on American campuses. In its unprecedented scale, Gasson Tower was conceived not as the belfry of a singular building, but as the crowning campanile of Maginnis' new "city upon a hill."

• Upper campus in summer
• Lower campus in autumn
• The "Dustbowl" in winter
• The Rose Garden in spring

Expansion & eclecticism

Though Maginnis' ambitious Gothic project never saw full completion, its central portion was built according to plan and forms the core of what is now BC's iconic middle campus. Among these, the Bapst Library has been called the "finest example of Collegiate Gothic architecture in America" and Devlin Hall won the Harleston Parker Medal for "most beautiful building in Boston." Subsequent campus expansions exceeded even President Gasson's vision and brought with them a new set of architectural vocabulary: Georgian, Neoclassical, Richardsonian Romanesque, and others. The 1895 Liggett Estate was developed into a Tudor style upper campus, while an architecturally eclectic lower campus took shape on land acquired by filling in part of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. Around this time, a Seattle newspaper ranked Boston College #2 in a list of "America's Most Beautiful Campuses" (the University of Washington ranked first). Notions of "beauty" meanwhile were challenged by the advent of modernism. The 1940 design for St. Ignatius Church is an important hybrid of this period and is an example of what has been called "Modern Gothic." Modernism had an enormous impact on development after the 1940s, though most modernist buildings at BC maintained decidedly un-modern rough stone facades in keeping with Maginnis' original designs. By the 1960s, BC's severe space demands and poor financial health began to leave their mark, as evidenced by the construction of prefabricated modular apartments on the lower campus. Originally intended as temporary housing, the "Mods" have survived in large part because of their popularity among upperclassmen. Other legacies of this era include the hyperbolic-roofed Flynn Recreation Complex, constructed using laminated wood beams, and the later International Style O'Neill Library, designed by The Architects Collaborative. More recent campus development signals a return to Maginnis & Walsh's Collegiate Gothic designs, as reflected in the renovations of Fulton Hall (1997) and Higgins Hall (2002), and in the construction of Campanella Hall (2003) and the St. Ignatius Gate Residence Hall (2004).

In June 2004, Boston College acquired 43 acres of land from the Archdiocese of Boston. The new grounds, adjacent to the main campus (on the opposite side of Commonwealth Avenue), include the historic mansion that served as the Cardinal's residence until 2002. The new grounds are referred to as Brighton Campus, after Brighton, the area in Boston where it is located.

Boston College also recently built the office building of 21 Campenella Way located in Lower Campus. This building houses a small bookstore, Hillside Cafe, UGBC, Theology, History, Philosophy, Economics departments. The building is connected via a causeweay to Middle Campus through the O'Neil Library entrance. During the academic year, the offices close at 5 PM and othweise you need an appointment to gain admittance. Hillside Cafe operates a food-service Starbucks meaning that it is not company operated but one can still enjoy the many Starbucks beverages.

Other properties

In addition to the main campus at Chestnut Hill, BC's 40 acre (160,000 m²) Newton Campus is located 1 mile (2 km) to the west and houses the law school and residential housing for roughly half of the freshman class. Other BC properties include a 20 acre (80,000 m²) seismology research observatory and field station in Weston, Massachusetts; an 80 acre (320,000 m²) retreat center in Dover, Massachusetts; a sea-side estate in Cohasset, Massachusetts designed by Henry Hobson Richardson; and the Centre for Irish Programmes: Dublin on St. Stephen's Green in Dublin, Ireland.

Libraries & museums

Boston College's eight research libraries contain over twelve million printed volumes, manuscripts, journals, government documents and microform items, ranging from ancient papyrus scrolls to digital databases. Together with the university's museums, they include original manuscripts and prints by Galileo, Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier as well as world renowned collections in Jesuitana, Irish literature, sixteenth century Flemish tapestries, ancient Greek pottery, Caribbean folk art and literature, Japanese prints, US government documents, Congressional Archives, and paintings that span the history of art from Europe, Asia and the Americas.

O'Neill Library

BC's central research library, the Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Library is named for the legendary former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, a member of the Boston College Class of 1936. Opened in 1984, it houses approximately two million volumes in the humanities, the natural sciences and the social sciences. It also contains US government documents, administrative offices of the Boston College Libraries, and a museum dedicated to "Tip" O'Neill on the second floor, whose papers are housed in the Burns Library. A glass-enclosed atrium on the library's fourth and fifth floors offers sweeping views of the Boston skyline. The CTRC, Computer Technology Research Center (formerly SLSC, the Student Learning and Support Center), the largest computer lab on campus, and the Connors Family Learning Center (formerly ADC, the Academic Development Center), the student tutoring area, are located on the second floor.

Bapst Library

Opened in 1928, Bapst Library was named for the first president of Boston College (Johannes Bapst, SJ, 1815 to 1887) and it was one of the few structures built according to Charles Donagh Maginnis' original "Oxford in America" master plan. Bapst served as the university's main library until 1984. It has been widely praised as the "finest example of Collegiate Gothic architecture in America." In 1987, it reopened after a two-year, multimillion dollar restoration and now houses the university's fine arts collection. Designed as a "cathedral to learning," it is the most elaborate of the original Collegiate Gothic buildings on campus with extensive stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings and carved wood paneling. Gargan Hall, the soaring reading room on the library's upper floor, has been named the most beautiful room in Boston. Also on the upper floor are the Chancellor's office and the Lonergan Institute. The reading room on the ground floor features a gold-leaf and wood-beamed ceiling that was carefully restored with funds from the Kresge Foundation. A guide to the building's famous stained glass windows is available online.

Burns Library

The Burns Library of Rare Books and Special Collections is home to more than 150,000 volumes, some 15 million manuscripts and other important works, including a world-renowned collection of Irish literature. A rare facsimile of the Book of Kells is on public display in the library's Irish Room, and each day one page of the illuminated manuscript is turned. Other significant holdings include original works by Samuel Beckett, T.S. Eliot, Graham Greene, Seamus Heaney, Gerard Manley Hopkins, James Joyce, Francis Thompson, George Bernard Shaw, and William Butler Yeats, among others. It also houses the papers of prominent Boston College alumni, including House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, Jr.; legal scholar and former US Congressman Robert F. Drinan, SJ; US Representative Edward P. Boland; and Margaret Heckler, Congresswoman, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, and US Ambassador to Ireland. The library is named after the Honorable John. J. Burns (1901 to 1957), Massachusetts Superior Court Justice and a member of the Boston College Class of 1921. The library's lofty Ford Memorial Tower is considerably more elaborate than Gasson Tower, though not as tall. Inside, the Thompson Room features a magnificent oriel window depicting epic poetry, while the Trustee Room includes stained glass depictions of 54 Jesuit armorial crests. Exhibits are held frequently on the library's main level and guided tours are available on request.

Law Library

In a new building opened in 1996, the Law Library is located on the Boston College Law School campus in Newton, Massachusetts and contains approximately 500,000 volumes covering all major areas of American law and primary legal materials from the federal government, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, and the European Union. The library also features a substantial treatise and periodical collection and a growing collection of international and comparative law material. The library's Coquillette Rare Book Room houses works from the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries, including works by and about Saint Thomas More.

McMullen Museum of Art

Located in Devlin Hall, the McMullen Museum of Art houses a prominent permanent collection and organizes exhibits from all periods and cultures of art history. Recent exhibits and acquisitions, including works by Edvard Munch, Amedeo Modigliani, Frank Stella, Françoise Gilot, and John LaFarge, have widened both the scope of the collection and its audience. Saints and Sinners, a 1999 exhibition on the work of Caravaggio, attracted the largest audience of any university museum up to that time. Related museum activities include musical and theatrical performances, films, gallery talks, symposia, lectures, readings, and receptions that draw students, faculty, alumni and visitors from around the world. Admission to the Museum is free and open to the general public.

Newton Resource Center

The Newton Resource Center (NRC) is an undergraduate resource library situated in the center of Boston College’s satellite Newton Campus accessible through Trinity Chapel. A converted theater, it is nicknamed "the morgue" both because of its absolute silence and its location in the former crypt beneath the chapel. The NRC is open for students, primarily, for studying, equipped with computers, Internet access, photocopiers and a fax machine. Though the NRC houses a large portion of O’Neill’s overflow books, journals, and periodicals, for the most part the stacks remain closed to the student population. The volumes on hold in the resource center may be requested through the O’Neill library. Currently, the NRC is being considered to join the Kenny-Cottle library as dedicated, closed-stack archives.

Kenny-Cottle Library

The Kenny-Cottle Library is located on south side of the Newton Campus. At present, the building is being refitted to be used as office space, but the core of the building remains a closed-to-the-public overflow archive for the O’Neill library, housing more than 200,000 volumes available for request through the main library system.

Other libraries & museums

Other BC libraries include dedicated facilities for the schools social work and education, and a geophysics library at the Weston Observatory. Additional exhibition spaces include a student art gallery on the Bapst Library's mezzanine level as well as exhibition space in the Robsham Theater and Campanella Hall. Items related to BC history and athletics are on display at the Hall of Fame in Conte Forum and the BC Football Museum in the Yawkey Athletics Center.

Academics

Boston College is comprised of eight schools and colleges:

• The College of Arts & Sciences
• The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
• The Carroll School of Management
• The Lynch School of Education
• The Connell School of Nursing
• The Graduate School of Social Work
• The Boston College Law School
• The Woods College of Advancing Studies

• In December 2004, Boston College announced plans to create a Divinity School by merging its Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The new school would be located on the BC campus on land recently acquired from the Boston archdiocese. The merge is tentatively set to occur in the fall of 2008.

Departments & programs

Dual Degree graduate programs

There are various Dual Degree graduate programs at Boston College available as joint programs between graduate schools. Programs include:

• J.D./M.B.A., Carroll School of Management and Boston College Law School
• J.D./M.S.W., Boston College Graduate School of Social Work and Boston College Law School
• J.D./M.Ed. or M.A. in Education, Lynch School of Education and Boston College Law School
• M.B.A./M.S.W., Boston College Graduate School of Social Work and Carroll School of Management
• M.B.A./M.S. in Nursing, Connell School of Nursing and Carroll School of Management
• M.B.A./M.S.F., Carroll School of Management
• M.B.A./M.S. in Biology, Boston College Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and Carroll School of Management
• M.B.A./M.S. in Geology, Boston College Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and Carroll School of Management
• M.B.A./M.A. in Mathematics, Boston College Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and Carroll School of Management
• M.B.A./Ph.D. in Philosophy, Boston College Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and Carroll School of Management

Research centers & institutes

Notable student clubs & organizations

(incomplete)

• Bostonians of Boston College
• My Mother's Fleabag
• WZBC

Jesuit-Catholic tradition

BC's Jesuit-Catholic identity is rooted in the distinct vision of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, who believed in "finding God in all things." Jesuits are characterized by a dedication to both "the life of the mind and the encounter with the world," a mission distinguished by their intellectual and humanitarian activities — notably in the fields of higher education, human rights, and social justice. As explorers, scientists, artists, diplomats, and writers, Jesuits have historically been at the forefront of scientific discovery and cultural expression. As a result, they have had a sometimes tumultuous relationship with the Catholic Church — and were officially suppressed by the Vatican from 1773 to 1814 — though their work has always been dedicated Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, or "to the greater glory of God." The 150 Jesuits living on the Boston College campus make up the largest Jesuit community in the world and include members of the faculty and administration, graduate students and visiting international scholars.

The synthesis between faith and reason, coupled with BC's inclusive founding mission, attracts students and faculty from diverse religious traditions and a broad range of convictions. Campus spiritual activities are open to all, though entirely optional and include Catholic liturgies as well as religious services in various Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and other traditions. The Jesuit call to justice is evident in work across religious boundaries in community service, reflection retreats, and immersion programs both on campus and abroad. Alumni/ae also reflect this commitment to humanitarian work: BC ranks 11th among Peace Corps volunteer-producing colleges.

Athletics

Boston College athletic teams are called the Eagles. They compete in NCAA Division I-A as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports offered by the ACC. The men's and women's ice hockey teams compete in Hockey East. (Skiing, fencing, and sailing are also non-ACC.) Boston College is one of only 13 universities in the country offering NCAA division I-A football, division I men's and women's basketball, and division I hockey.

The BC mascot is an American bald eagle named Baldwin, derived from the bald head of the eagle and the word 'win'. The school colors are maroon and gold. The fight song, For Boston, was composed by T.J. Hurley, class of 1885.

Principal athletic facilities include Alumni Stadium (capacity: 44,500), Conte Forum (8,606), Kelley Rink (7,884), Shea Field, the Newton Soccer Complex and the Flynn Recreation Complex. The Yawkey Athletics Center opened in the spring of 2005. BC students compete in 31 varsity sports as well as a number of club and intramural teams. On March 18, 2002, Boston College's Athletics program was named to the College Sports Honor Roll as one of the nation's top 20 athletic programs by U.S. News and World Report.

Although a founding member of the Big East Conference, the Eagles left the Big East and joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2005.

Boston College athletes are among the most academically successful in the nation, according to the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR). In 2006 Boston College received Public Recognition Awards with 14 of its sports in the top 10 percent of the nation academically. The Eagles tied Notre Dame for the highest total of any Division I-A university. Other schools having 10 or more sports honored included Navy (12), Stanford (11), and Duke (11). Teams honored were football, men's fencing, men's outdoor track, men's skiing, women's rowing, women's cross country, women's fencing, women's field hockey, women's indoor track, women's outdoor track, women's skiing, women's swimming, women's soccer, women's tennis and women's volleyball. Boston College's football program was one of only five Division I-A teams that were so honored. The other four were Auburn, Navy, Stanford, and Duke.

As far as athletic success in the attention of the major media spotlight, Boston College fared exceptionally well in 2005-06. Both the Men's and Women's basketball teams made it to the Sweet Sixteen round of their respective NCAA Tournament fields, the football team won the MPC Computers Bowl, and the Men's hockey team advanced to the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship game, losing to Wisconsin 2-1.

Boston College's two most famous football victories both came on the final play of the game as time expired. On the day after Thanksgiving in 1984, before a national audience on CBS, Doug Flutie became a Boston legend when his 48 yard Hail Mary found it's way into the arms of Gerard Phelan for a 47-45 victory over Miami in the Orange Bowl. Also, the Eagles went into South Bend and defeated #1 Notre Dame 41-39 on a 41 yard field goal by David Gordon as time expired. A win would have completed Notre Dame's season at 11-0 with a berth in the national championship game.

Journals, publications & media

Campus publications & media

• @BC, an online multimedia magazine, published monthly
• The BC Bulletin, a monthly alumni newsletter
• The Boston College Chronicle, A campus newspaper in addition to "The Heights"
• Boston College Magazine, a quarterly magazine
• The Counselor, the weekly newsletter of Boston College Law School
• Front Row, an online video database of lectures and performances at Boston College
• The Little Red Book, "What Are We? An Introduction to Boston College and Its Jesuit and Catholic Tradition"

Academic journals & scholarly publications

• Boston College Environmental Affairs Review
• The Boston College Law Review
• C21 Resources, a progressive journal of contemporary Catholic issues, published by BC's Church in the 21st Century Center. Begun in 2003, it is now the second largest Catholic publication in the United States.
• The Guilde to Jesuit Education
• The International & Comparative Law Review
• The Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment
• The New Arcadia Review
• Religion and the Arts Journal
• Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations
• TEACHING Exceptional Children / TEACHING Exceptional Children Plus,
• The Third World Law Journal
• The Uniform Commercial Code Reporter-Digest

Student media

• The BC, a widely-acclaimed parody of The OC featuring students, Jesuits and administrators
• The Boston College Review, an undergraduate journal for non-fiction essays
• Elements, the undergraduate research journal
• The Heights, the principal student newspaper, published twice-weekly; established in 1919
• Naked Singularity, a magazine dedicated to printing uncensored art, literature, and opinion
• The Observer, a right-leaning student newspaper
• The Patriot, a left-leaning student newspaper
• The Stylus, the undergraduate art and literature quarterly, founded in 1883
• Sub Turri, the Boston College yearbook, published since 1913
• UGBC-TV, the much outdated, student run cable television station features a news show, Now You Know, and also shows reruns of The BC
• WZBC, 90.3 FM, a student-run radio station which provides independent and experimental music

Notable Heightsmen

"The Heights" is a nickname given to Boston College. It recalls both BC's lofty aspirations — the college motto is "Ever to Excel" — and its hilltop location, an area initially designated as "University Heights." The name has lent itself to a number of campus organizations, most notably the principal student newspaper, The Heights.

BC students were universally called "Heightsmen" until 1925 when Mary C. Mellyn became the first "Heightswoman" to receive a BC degree. Today, "Eagles" is the most commonly used moniker for both current students and alumni. A number of derivations on this term are also used officially, including "Golden Eagles," used in reference to classes graduating fifty or more years ago. While there is an a cappella group known as the Heightsmen, the term is not typically applied to Boston College students in general. There has been some debate over the use of the term "Heightsonian" as a reference to students, alumni, faculty and others associated with the university, but, a recent survey by Boston College Magazine confirmed the term is little known and almost never used. "Heightsonian" was originally conceived as a way to gender neutralize the original term "Heightsmen," but found little support. Another rarely used moniker is the term "Boston Collegians," which has never been in widely accepted use, and would not be considered appropriate by members of the Boston College community.

See also

• Presidents of Boston College
• Boston College Coat of Arms
• Double, Triple, and Quadruple Eagles
• Category:Boston College alumni
• Category:Boston College Athletics
• Category:Boston College Law School

References

1. ^ "University Finances On The Rise". The Heights. April 10, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. http://www.bc.edu/publications/factbook/meta-elements/pdf/04-05_fac_schl_rnk_gndr.pdf
3. ^ http://www.bc.edu/publications/factbook/meta-elements/pdf/04-05_enr_by_ft_&_pt.pdf
4. ^ http://bceagles.cstv.com/genrel/bc-acc-profiles.html
5. The Jesuit Ivy, John F. Kennedy's 1956 commencement address
6. 2006 Commencement speech by William P. Leahy, SJ
7. http://bc.edu/admission/undergrad/process/
8. Carnegie Communications "Project Connect"
9. "'Project Connect' results". Boston College Chronicle. March 4, 2004. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. "America's Best Colleges 2006". U.S. News and World Report. 2006.
11. ""What is AHANA?" - Fairfield University Student Life Multicultural Relations website". Retrieved 2006-05-07.
12. http://www.bc.edu/about/bc-facts/
13. "Vital Statistics". Boston College Bulletin. Chestnut Hill, Mass.: Boston College Office of Marketing Communications. 2005. pp. p. 48. OMC2494, ISSN 1090-7034. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
14. Sullivan, Mark (May 23, 2003). "University Garners a Record 13 Fulbrights for 2003-04". Boston College Chrinicle. Retrieved 2006-05-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
15. "Chart: Top Producers of Fulbright Awards for American Students, by Type of Institution, 2005-6 (source: Institute of International Education)". Chronicle of Higher Education. November 4, 2005. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. "News". Ohio University Outlook. December 13, 2005. Retrieved 2006-05-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
17. http://www.princetonreview.com/footer/pressreleases/pressrelease_032106.asp
18. Lehigh, Scot (June 19, 2002). "BC is leading the way on church reform". The Boston Globe. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
19. Gibson, David (December 12, 2004). "Jesuits Show Strength, Even as Their Numbers Shrink". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
20. http://www.wjst.edu/File/BC_Weston_Press_Release.pdf
21. http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/stories5/042104_sale.htm
22. http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/stories5/042104_statement.htm
23. http://www.bc.edu/publications/atbc/features/innerfire/slideshow/01.html/
24. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/06/weston-release.html
25. http://www.bc.edu/schools/law/services/academic/programs/curriculum/international/
26. http://www.bc.edu/schools/advstudies/bachelor/majorsreqs/
27. http://www.bc.edu/schools/advstudies/certificate/reqs/
28. http://www.bc.edu/schools/csom/dualdegrees/options/
29. http://www.bc.edu/schools/law/services/academic/programs/dualdegree/
30. http://socialwork.bc.edu/academics/masters/dual-degrees/
31. http://www.bc.edu/boisi
32. http://www.bc.edu/schools/csom/bcbi/
33. http://www.bc.edu/schools/csom/asset/
34. http://wwwcsteep.bc.edu/ccfcp/
35. http://www.bc.edu/research/cjl/
36. http://www.bcccc.net/
37. http://www.bc.edu/centers/
38. http://www.bc.edu/centers/humanrights/
39. http://www.bc.edu/centers/cis/
40. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/
41. http://www.bc.edu/centers/investment/
42. http://www.bc.edu/ireland
43. http://www.bc.edu/dublin
44. http://www.bc.edu/schools/son/research/cnr/
45. http://www.bc.edu/centers/crr/
46. http://socialwork.bc.edu/research/research-centers/cshcl/
47. http://www.bc.edu/research/csteep/
48. http://www.bc.edu/centers/cwf/
49. http://agingandwork.bc.edu/
50. http://www.bc.edu/research/swri/
51. http://www.bc.edu/church21/
52. http://www.bc.edu/schools/csom/eagleeyes/
53. http://www.bc.edu/offices/stserv/academic/resources/about/#medieval
54. http://www.bc.edu/schools/gsas/irepm/
55. http://www.bc.edu/cathhied
56. http://www.bc.edu/research/isr/
57. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/isprc/
58. http://isc.bc.edu/
59. http://www.bc.edu/centers/irish/institute/
60. http://www.bc.edu/centers/jesinst/
61. http://www.bc.edu/friends/alumni/ilr/
62. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/lonergan/
63. http://www.bc.edu/centers/mathinst/
64. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/soc/mrap/
65. http://www.bc.edu/centers/psp/
66. http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/
67. http://www.bc.edu/centers/sbdc/
68. http://www.bc.edu/urbanecology
69. http://www.bc.edu/research/westonobservatory/
70. http://www.bc.edu/schools/csom/leadership/
71. http://www.bc.edu/offices/odsd/wrc/
72. Donovan, Charles F. "History of Boston College: From the Beginnings to 1990"; University Press of Boston College, September 1990
73. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/020318/archive_020363.htm
74. http://www.bc.edu/church21/c21resources/
75. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/svp/st_org/stylus/
76. http://www.bc.edu/clubs/subturri/
77. http://www.wzbc.org/
78. http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/winter_2006/linden_lane/disambiguation.html

External links

• Boston College website

• Boston College Schools & Colleges
• Boston College Libraries

• Boston College Athletics website

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