Boston College Annual Report, 2015

Cornerstone Shaping a core curriculum for the 21st century

annual report 2015

Cornerstone Shaping a core curriculum for the 21st century

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From the President

William P. Leahy, S.J.

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Setting a course Over the 2015–16 academic year, Boston College will launch 15 interdisciplinary or interrelated courses that will pilot a renewal of the University’s Core Curriculum.

William Bole

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From the Chair

John F. Fish

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Year in Review

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Financial Report

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Statistical and Financial Highlights

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Board of Trustees

cover

Gathered in the Fulton Debate Room, Gasson Hall (from left) Gregory Kalscheur, S.J., interim dean of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences and leader of the Core Renewal Task Force, and faculty who are building the new core: Holly Vande Wall (philosophy); Marilynn Johnson (history); Min Song (English); Robert Bartlett (political science); and Allison Adair (English).

“We see this renewal as an opportunity to make the case for the liberal arts, not in a defensive, nostalgic way but to demonstrate that such an education is the best preparation for tackling the great problems of the 21st century.”

—Provost David Quigley

The first Ratio Studiorum, or “Plan of Studies,� dated 1598, was published in 1599. From the Jesuitana collection, Burns Library, Boston College.

From the President The Society of Jesus did not have a corporate commitment to education when it was founded in 1540, unlike previously existing religious orders in the Catholic Church.

But St. Ignatius, influenced by the apostolic experiences of his companions and the need to train new members, gradually concluded that Jesuits would best achieve “the greater glory of God” if they conducted academic institutions and imbued their students with Catholic principles. The first Jesuit school opened in Messina, Sicily, in 1548. At the time of Ignatius’s death eight years later, Jesuits conducted 35 colleges; by the 1750s, that number had grown to 800.

Maintaining the integrity and quality of this growing network of schools would have been impossible without the development of clear objectives and procedures for teaching, student life, courses, and degrees. Ignatius admired the methodical, disciplined plan of studies at the University of Paris. He believed it to be superior to the schools he had attended in Spain, which he thought lacked order and emphasized passive absorption of material. To fashion an educational vision for Jesuit schools, Ignatius and early Jesuit educators drew from their own experiences as well as the approaches of leading European colleges and universities. The result of their research, reflection, and judgment was the Ratio Studiorum (Plan of Studies) of 1599, a document inspired by the life and writings of Ignatius, though published after he had died.

One of the strengths of Jesuit spirituality and education has been its willingness and ability to adapt to changing circumstances while retaining essential principles and values. The undergraduate core curriculum at Boston College differs in significant ways from academic programs prescribed for Jesuit schools in the 16th century. But as this Annual Report makes clear, the University remains committed to an undergraduate education that emphasizes the liberal arts, character formation, service of others, and preparing students to be a leaven for good and to help meet current and future challenges in our increasingly complex global world.

william p. leahy, s.j.

University President

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Setting a course: A tale of two core offerings

Over the 2015–16 academic year, Boston College will launch 15 interdisciplinary or interrelated courses that will pilot a renewal of the University’s Core Curriculum.

The following is the story of two of those offerings and the faculty who built them.

By William Bole

Introduction Boston College’s Core Curriculum has roots extending to the Jesuit Ratio Studiorum, or “Plan of Studies.” Published in 1599, the Ratio, as it was called, promulgated a curriculum and other regulations pertaining to the management of schools, which had already become the central mission for the 59-year-old Society of Jesus.

That first Jesuit curriculum was inspired by a desire to link academic professionalism and intellectual strength to the Renaissance humanist ideal of education as a source of nourishment for mind, heart, and imagination. The goal was to develop students who would be faithful to the Church, contribute to society, and live lives of significance.

It was the revised Ratio of 1832 that ruled Boston College at its founding in 1863.

Its seven-year high school and college curriculum—strong on philosophy, theology, and rhetoric—was modified over time, however, to meet the needs of 20th-century American students. It evolved into an American-style core curriculum in the 1960s.

That slate of required undergraduate courses has since undergone mild modifications (the theology requirement was reduced from six to two courses) and revisions, as in 1991, when requirements in cultural diversity and the arts were introduced.

“Change,” Provost David Quigley notes, “is essential if a core curriculum is going to meet the requirements of new times. The Jesuits knew that and changed the Ratio accordingly. Our duty today is to respond to the challenges facing our students and our society.”

Alluding in part to a growing contemporary claim that the primary purpose of college should be vocational preparation, Quigley notes that “Boston College believes that a liberal arts education, while it certainly teaches skills and methods of learning that are useful in work of every kind, is also, at its center, an exercise in forming men and women as full and creative human beings.”

OPPOSITE FROM LEFT: Michael Sacco, director of the Center for Student Formation, with core faculty Brian Gareau and Tara Pisani Gareau,

and Timothy Mulvey, assistant director of the Center for Student Formation, in a conference room in Rahner House. cornerstone

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And so, over the 2015–2016 academic year, Boston College will launch the most dramatic change in its core curriculum since 1991. Known as “the core renewal,” it will feature a pilot program of 15 new freshman courses addressing contemporary issues and taught collaboratively by faculty from different disciplines.

A course on political power will examine issues from ancient and contemporary perspectives and their similarities and differences; a course on epidemics will lean on theater as well as biology; and a course on the nature of truth will contrast the truths expressed in historical accounts with those expressed by literature. The core renewal, said Quigley, “will offer students a sense of the broad interdisciplinary reality of all human life,” and help them “cultivate an ability to think in powerful and imaginative ways about the world.” He adds: “We see this renewal as an opportunity to make the case for the liberal arts, not in a defensive, nostalgic way but to demonstrate that such an education is the best preparation for tackling the great problems of the 21st century, and for developing young men and women as leaders in our time.”

The pilot program is a result of an initiative launched in the fall of 2012, when Quigley (then dean of Arts and Sciences), Carroll School of Management Dean Andy Boynton, and Institute for the Liberal Arts Director and Rattigan Professor of English Mary Crane spearheaded a yearlong series of campus discussions—small and large—on the core’s future.

These conversations, as well as consultations with outside experts, led to the idea of introducing a set of courses under the categories of Complex Problems and Enduring Questions. The courses would be grounded in the historic Jesuit educa­tional tradition in that they would be interdisciplinary, focus on human issues, and encourage students to think about their personal lives and professional callings as part of their academic work. In the early spring of 2015, the faculty members whose proposed courses had been approved for the first year of the program began constructing their offerings. What follows are the stories of two such undertakings.

OPPOSITE: Core faculty member Brian Robinette teaching his Introduction

to Christian Theology class in Stokes Hall. at lEFT: Richard E. Powers, a senior lecturer in the Carroll School of Management, left, with Harvard University Associate Professor of Political Economy Dustin Tingley at a Center for Teaching Excellence faculty workshop, “Active Learning in Collegiate Settings,” April 30 in Devlin Hall.

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“The   campus is like a little city, a microcosm of how energy is distributed.

We want to use it as a living laboratory, and make [students] more aware and active as citizens of the Boston College community.�

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SOCy1501/EESC1501: Global Implications of Climate Change “Exploring

the science of a defining issue of our time, the social and ethical questions it raises, as well as possible responses” On a seasonable morning in mid-April 2015, faculty members Tara Pisani Gareau, of the

reflection, field activity, and laboratory work.

Tara Pisani and Brian Gareau met in 1997 as

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences,

recent college graduates and Peace Corps

and Brian Gareau, of the Sociology Department

volunteers in Honduras. Brian, with a bachelor’s

(they are wife and husband), arrive at the yellow-

degree in sociology and environmental studies,

brick Service Building behind Cushing Hall to

was working on conservation issues and natural-

tour the facility with managers responsible for

resource management. Tara, with a degree in crop

energy provision and conservation. The structure,

and soil science, was studying hillside farming

built in the 1960s, houses the steam boilers that

practices. They spent much of their time collab-

deliver heat to some 20 buildings on the Middle

orating with leaders and villagers. (It is an expe-

Campus. For the Gareaus, the boiler plant was

rience they now liken to working with disparate

just one stop on a semester-long journey toward

parts of the Boston College community, from

Global Implications of Climate Change, which

heating engineers to graduate theology students.)

will premiere this fall as one of the Complex

Shortly after their two-year Peace Corps stint,

Problems offerings. Along the way, they held

they were married. Both then earned doctorates

conversations with experts in pedagogy, staff

from the University of California, Santa Cruz,

members in University Mission and Ministry,

having the first of their three children along the

and managers of campus dining halls—the latter

way. Brian came to Boston College in 2000 with

to learn more about University efforts to compost

an eye to teaching courses in environmental

waste, buy local ingredients, and engage in

sociology (he is now an associate professor). Tara

other environmentally sound practices. They also

followed (she is a visiting assistant professor),

examined soil samples from cranberry bogs on

and her courses have titles such as Agroecology,

Cape Cod and looked into the itinerary of Pope

Insect Ecology, and Ecology of a Dynamic Planet.

Francis’s September 2015 visit to the United

In 2013 the couple co-taught for the first time at

States, where his encyclical on threats to the global

a summer seminar in London, Environmental

climate was expected to receive wide attention.

History of Globalization, offered by Boston

The scope of these preparations is reflective

College’s Office of International Programs.

of the broader core curriculum experiment under

When in the fall of 2014 the University’s Core

way during the coming academic year. The pilot

Renewal Task Force issued a call for proposals to

classes emphasize not only study but also

teach pilot courses “as part of an ongoing

experiences that include evening sessions for

process to renew . . . the Boston College Core

OPPOSITE FROM LEFT: Brian Gareau and Tara Pisani Gareau tour the Service Building heating plant with John MacDonald, energy manager in Facilities Engineering and Energy.

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Curriculum,” the Gareaus were intrigued by the

sessions such as Climate Politics and Media,

idea of teaching a course that would connect

Sustainability and Social Justice, and Droughts

environmental science and social science. Climate

and Fire: Implications for Agriculture. Still unset-

change would be a natural choice for their pilot

tled in their minds, though, was how to shape the

core, they decided.

evenings of reflection. These are considered one

“It’s one of the best examples of an interdisci-

of the more innovative aspects of the core experi-

plinary problem that requires different approaches

ment, partly because the University is encourag-

for solving,” says Tara. “So I look at the world

ing collaboration between two groups that may

through an ecological lens. I look at soil, plants,

not cross paths—faculty members and experts in

organisms—including humans—and how dif-

Jesuit-style reflection.

ferent parts of the ecosystem interact. And Brian

On the morning of May 20, the couple visited

looks at the world through a political and socio-

Rahner House, where the Division of Mission and

logical lens.” Elements of their course were falling

Ministry resides. The two sat at a conference table

into place by the middle of the 2015 spring semes-

across from Michael Sacco and Timothy Mul-

ter. Conversations had taken place with graduate

vey, director and assistant director, respectively,

students and faculty in the School of Theology

of the Center for Student Formation. “We were

and Ministry who were versed in issues related to

immediately drawn to the idea of bringing in a

the anticipated papal encyclical. They had visited

reflection component,” Brian told the two men.

Conte Forum and inspected five refrigerator-size

“The problem is—76 students coming together to

ice-making units just below the arena level. They

reflect.” Sacco agreed the scale might be too large

listened intently as John MacDonald, energy

for genuine reflection. “It’s going to take some

manager, outlined the work involved in converting

creative thinking,” he said, leaning back with

a frozen hockey rink to a room-temperature

hands behind his head.

basketball court for games and practices. A visit

With Sacco going frequently to the whiteboard

to the arena would be “a highlight of their year for

behind him, the group developed a plan. The

students,” Brian predicted.

reflection sessions would be sliced into a half-

“The campus,” he later noted, “is like a little

dozen small groups that would meet in different

city, a microcosm of how energy is distributed.

campus locations. They would be led by under-

We want to use it as a living laboratory, and make

graduate teaching assistants, recruited over the

[students] more aware and active as citizens of

summer, who would converge for a one-day

the Boston College community.”

Mission and Ministry training program in late

In early May, the Gareaus had completed a

August, where they would consider how to guide

draft syllabus mapping out nearly all 15 weeks

freshman reflection on issues raised by the class.

of lectures (the full class of 76 students meets

There were still more partnership arrangements

three times a week) and most of the weekly labs.

and a 1,000 details to attend to as the Gareaus

They had developed titles for the various lecture

moved one step closer to their fall launch.

clockwise from top left: Photographed at a seminar on core courses at O’Neill Library on February 20 are faculty and others involved in the core renewal program: Devin Pendas (associate professor of history); Jane Ashley (associate professor of nursing), at center, and Laura Tanner (professor of English); Shawn McGuffey (associate professor of sociology); Sylvia Sellers-Garcia (associate professor of history), at left, and Allison Adair (associate professor of the practice of English); Mary Dunn (associate professor of biology); Min Song (professor of English); John Rakestraw (executive director of the Center for Teaching Excellence), at left, and Maxim Shrayer (professor of Russian, English, and Jewish studies); Mary Dunn, at left, and Scott Cummings (professor of theater).

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THEO1701–MUSA1701:

Aesthetic Exercises and Spiritual Exercises “Students

study influential Western thinkers and explore works of art and performance through the ages to understand profound experiences of beauty, truth, good, or the divine.”

On the fourth floor of Lyons Hall in early Febru-

are not team-taught but tandem-taught in related

ary 2015, Daniel Callahan, assistant professor of

classes. Robinette and Callahan will be teaching

music, and Brian Robinette, associate professor of

the same 19 students about themes and perspec-

theology, are discoursing on empathy and ethics.

tives that bridge their disciplines of music and

They have begun an ongoing colloquy that will

theology.

ultimately shape their linked Enduring Questions

During the spring semester, the two were not

courses, Aesthetic Exercises and Spiritual Exer-

only bringing their curricula together but also

cises, to be offered in the spring of 2016. The two

bringing themselves together—learning to teach,

men are in Callahan’s office, which is organized

as Robinette said, “out of some shared sensibili-

around a large, rectangular oak table, with a desk

ties, a common appreciation of the material.”

on the window side and a black upright piano

The musicologist and the theologian did not

opposite it. At the table, Robinette asks Callahan,

know each other before the University’s call went

teasingly, if he plans to expound on those subjects

out for proposals to teach pilot courses. Not many

while at the piano, and Callahan shifts to the piano

faculty have experience teaching collaboratively,

stool behind him.

so the University held matchmaking events for

As he begins riffing on the iconic four-note

faculty who had an idea for a pilot course but did

opening to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Callahan

not know a suitable partner. Callahan attended

turns his head and tells Robinette and a visitor

one of those events and Robinette another, but

that he might point out to students that Beethoven

both had separately begun conversations about

was deaf by the time he composed the work. “And

their ideas with Mary Crane, who served as project

he couldn’t hear that [theme] the way you and I

co-director during the core implementation with

just heard it. Does that make any difference to

Julian Bourg, a professor in the history depart-

you?” Or he might ask students to set aside their

ment (who was later named associate dean for the

familiarity with Beethoven’s Fifth and try to find a

core). “Their courses sounded pretty different to

fresh way to encounter the music. The two faculty

me, but I thought maybe Daniel’s interest in en-

members were in that room together a half-dozen

gagement and empathy might be related to what

times during the spring, collaborating on their

Brian wanted to do with contemplative practices,”

courses. While interdisciplinary, these courses

recalled Crane. Callahan emailed Robinette for

OPPOSITE, above: Tara Pisani Gareau’s Sustainable Agriculture class in the Higgins Greenhouse on the sixth floor of Higgins Hall. below: Brian Gareau with students in his Political Sociology class in McGuinn Hall.

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the first time at 12:21 on Friday afternoon, October

experience the “euphoria” many feel at that mile-

31—one business day away from the deadline for

stone. Rather, he felt a sense of “disorientation,”

proposals. It was Halloween, and when Robinette

as he put it. And then, he said, “I found myself

replied later in the afternoon, he was getting ready

really riveted by the idea that I could become a

to take his children trick-or-treating, so he couldn’t

teacher, all over again.” Robinette began thinking

make it to campus. Callahan then drove to

of what kind of course he would have loved to take

Needham, where the two met at a restaurant-café

as an undergraduate and came up with Spiritual

near Robinette’s house. After a couple of hours,

Exercises: Philosophers and Theologians. He

they had an idea for a pair of courses that would

continued teaching a version of the class for up-

explore commonalities between spiritual and

per-level students after coming to Boston College

aesthetic exercises. The proposal was submitted

(where it is cross-listed by the philosophy and

on Monday.

theology departments).

Callahan, who arrived on the Heights in Sep-

At their meeting in February, Robinette noted

tember 2014, just in time for the pilot initiative,

hypothetically that he could simply adjoin his

came directly from the University of Chicago,

existing course to whatever Callahan creates. “I

where he served as the Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow

don’t want to do that,” he told Callahan. “I want

in Music and the Humanities and, more to the

to rethink the course from the ground up.”

point, taught classes in that institution’s common

The thinking and rethinking were in full swing

core curriculum. He had also taught in the core at

by mid-semester. Back in Lyons Hall, Callahan

Columbia University, where he earned his doc-

and Robinette spoke of St. Ignatius’s Spiritual

torate in 2012. Callahan says that his schooling at

Exercises, especially the notion of discernment—

Chicago’s Loyola Academy imbued him with Jesuit

“trying to discover my desires,” as Robinette

notions of service and education. He cites the

summarized. They exchanged thoughts about the

principle of cura personalis, or care for the whole

ancient Stoics, including the practice of taking a

person, not just the intellect alone. “A very attrac-

moment each day to contemplate one’s own mor-

tive concept,” he said. “It’s also very challenging.”

tality. They talked about encouraging students to

Robinette taught at St. Louis University, a

pay closer attention to their everyday experiences,

Jesuit institution, until 2012, when he joined

perhaps by occasionally unplugging from their

Boston College’s theology department as an

devices. Callahan alluded to an earlier discussion

associate professor. He recalled that when he was

in which Robinette mentioned a classic spiritual

granted tenure at St. Louis in 2009, he didn’t

practice—walking a labyrinth. “It’s a way to

refocus, a way to be present,” Callahan testified, having recently walked a stone labyrinth in California. Robinette was inspired, and on a summerlike day in early May, he arrived at the Memorial Labyrinth on the Burns Library lawn along with 14 students from his Introduction to Christian Theology course who had volunteered to take part in a 30-minute exercise in contemplation. “You’re engaged in mindful walking,” Robinette told his students, “but you’re also conscious of each other.

You don’t want to go faster than each other,” he instructed. The professor went first, entering slowly into the circle with hands folded behind his

Callahan spoke of teaching a unit on minimalism as a musical form. Robinette thought he’d complement that focus with “something on the spirituality and aesthetics of simplicity.”

back. Students followed, one by one.

Later, Robinette concluded that walking the labyrinth as a class (ideally, for close to an hour) would offer core students an experience of “shared, communicable silence,” one that “gently draws their attention back to their walking, their breathing, their motions.” He said he planned to make it one of the spiritual exercises in his course.

It would be another eight months before their linked courses met. Still, Robinette and Callahan continued to work during the spring 2015 semester on thematic threads that linked their perspectives on spiritual and aesthetic exercises. Plato’s star had risen in their conversations; both planned to draw, in their own ways, on his dialogues.

Callahan spoke of possibly teaching a unit on minimalism as a musical form. Robinette thought he’d complement that focus with “something on

FROM LEFT: Daniel Callahan (with beard) and Brian Robinette work on their core courses in Callahan’s office in Devlin Hall.

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the spirituality and aesthetics of simplicity.” He

staging such a dialogue at one of the “evenings of

said he’d also try to throw theological light on

reflection” that will bring them both together with

the droning and silences characteristic of some

students once a month.)

late-20th-century classical music.

“That heightens the level of engagement,” said

A few days before the labyrinth walk, Robinette

Callahan at that meeting in early May. “I think it

and Callahan held their last meeting of the semes­-

also drives home a certain ethical demand of any

ter. They decided that they should make appear-

text—to respond to it. Whether it’s a priest cele-

ances in each other’s classes during their

brating Mass or a West African musical form—

tandem-taught experiment, partly for the purpose

one person calls, one person responds. I like

of conducting a Platonic-style dialogue. Robinette,

that—the dialogical nature.”

who broached the idea, said the discourse could

Callahan indicated, however, that there would

give way to a wider conversation involving the

be much to iron out over the summer. He asked,

students, the message being that genuine dialogue

without expecting an easy answer—“How do we

is part of what it means to lead a fully engaged life.

bring jazz into it?”

(Later, by email, they talked about the possibility of

BELOW: Brian Robinette leads students on a contemplative walk on the Memorial Labyrinth.

FACING PAGE: Daniel Callahan teaches a class on Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in Stokes Hall.

The vision In a statement titled “The Vision Animating the

Force, says his vision rests partly on a distinction

Boston College Core Curriculum,” the task force

between “teaching the material” and, more broad-

working on the renewed core speaks of two

ly, “teaching the person.” He expresses confidence

ideals that marked higher education nearly half a

that in piloting a revised core the University will

millennium ago, when Jesuit schools first arose.

nurture imaginative ways to do both.

The document notes that (as mentioned above),

From a faculty member’s perspective, Professor

the purpose of Jesuit education was to integrate

of Sociology Juliet Schor, who teaches in the older

intellectual and personal development. That

core, sees the pilot as ushering in “pedagogical

mission continues today: “Boston College seeks to

innovations” that will foster intellectual engage­

foster the rigorous intellectual development and

ment among students. As examples, she cites proj-

the religious, ethical, and personal formation of its

ect-based learning and small-group labs designed

students,” says the opening line of the statement.

for the Complex Problems pilot courses along

Those words attest to the hopes many have

with the reflective habits of connecting classroom

for renewing the undergraduate core curriculum.

experiences to personal decisions and callings.

Dean Kalscheur, who leads the Core Renewal Task

“At a time when a person can turn on a

computer and get endless amounts of information,

Boston College hopes to generate through its

university education needs to go further and teach

core curriculum. For example, at the right time

how to understand it, analyze it, think critically

in a classroom discussion, he will mention how a

about it, apply it, use it to solve pressing problems,”

particular thinker or text changed him—“so that

advises Schor, a member of the Core Renewal

they [the students] see that this thinking can be

Task Force since the initiative began in 2012.

a dangerous activity, because you may actually

Those who have led the drive are quick to point out that the pilot program remains an experiment.

“It’s just a start,” notes the Carroll School’s

change your mind if you think.”

He pauses and adds, “You may actually come to decide to live in the world a different way.”

Boynton. “We have to give the program a chance, see what works, what doesn’t work, be willing to change what doesn’t work, and bring in new pilots” in 2016–2017.

In fact, the University plans to scale up the pilot courses in the second year to reach larger numbers of freshmen. (The new pilot courses can accommodate 354 of 2015–16’s 2,280 freshmen.)

There may be a third year of piloting, with still more courses and students. After that, the task will be to see how to extend the vision and experimentation to all Boston College students, not just freshmen.

Boston College’s Core Curriculum has a considerable footprint, covering about a third of the courses most students will take during their four years. No one expects every core course to become an elaborate Complex Problems or Enduring Questions course. The question is how “the excitement and the engagement that students experience in these courses will filter into other parts of the core,” explains Crane, noting that one expectation is that faculty who teach pilot classes will extend innovative interdisciplinary perspectives into their other courses.

“I think different teachers will find different ways” to draw upon the core pilot programs, says John Rakestraw, whose Center for Teaching Excellence has played a role in the core pilot effort, working with the faculty on pedagogical approaches.

As a philosophy professor, Rakestraw says he tries to model the kind of reflective activity that

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FROM left: Gregory Kalscheur, S.J., interim dean, Morrissey College and Graduate

School of Arts and Sciences; Juliet Schor, professor of sociology; Andy Boynton, dean of the Carroll School of Management; Mary Crane, Rattigan Professor and director of the Institute for the Liberal Arts; John Rakestraw, executive director, Center for Teaching Excellence

“It’s just a start,” notes the Carroll School’s Boynton. “We have to give the program a chance, see what works, what doesn’t work, be willing to change what doesn’t work, and bring in new pilots” in 2016–2017.

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Course catalog From epidemics to truth-telling: the 2015–16 core pilot offerings

Complex Problems Cour ses Global Implications of Climate Change

Truth-telling in Literature

Brian Gareau, associate professor of sociology Tara Pisani Gareau, visiting assistant professor in earth and environmental studies

Allison Adair, associate professor of the practice of English

Explores the science of a defining issue of our time and the social and ethical questions it raises as well as possible responses that could promote or inhibit solutions.

The disciplines of history and English understand “truth” in different ways. These courses consider those perspectives, using texts drawn from different eras, cultures, and traditions.

Understanding Race, Gender, and Violence

Epidemics, Disease, and Humanity

Marilynn Johnson, professor of history Shawn McGuffey, associate professor of sociology This course examines race- and gender-based violence around the globe from historical and sociological perspectives, covering the roots of violence and the nature and significance of violent acts.

Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity Devin Pendas, associate professor of history Maxim D. Shrayer, professor of Russian, English, and Jewish studies A wide-ranging examination of the history of mass murder of ethnic, religious, and sociopolitical populations, this course explores similarities and differences among the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, Cambodia’s Killing Fields, the civil war in Rwanda, and others.

Enduring Questions Cour ses The Body in Sickness and Health Jane Ashley, associate professor of nursing

Reading the Body Laura Tanner, professor of English Taken together, these courses grapple with questions about normal human development, health and sickness, caregiving, and the relationship between the body and the mind.

Humans, Nature, and Creativity Min Song, professor of English

Inquiring about Humans and Nature Holly Vande Wall, lecturer in philosophy Using sources from antiquity to recent times, this course examines what it means to be human, how we define nature, and the dynamics of the complex relationship between the two.

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Truth-telling in History Sylvia Sellers-García, associate professor of history

Mary Dunn, associate professor of biology

Devising Theater: Illness as Metaphor Scott Cummings, professor of theater Using historic episodes such as the Black Death and the 1918 flu epidemic, students will learn basic concepts of biology and what occurs when humans encounter pathogens. Devising Theater will serve as a “lab” in which students create and perform theater pieces based on what they have learned.

Power, Justice, War: The Ancients Robert Bartlett, Behrakis Professor of Hellenic Political Studies

Power, Justice, War: The Moderns Aspen Brinton, assistant professor of philosophy Explorations of the morality of human conflict as perceived in ancient Greece and in modern political philosophy. Veterans of recent military conflicts will visit the class to provide perspective.

Spiritual Exercises: Engagement, Empathy, Ethics Brian Robinette, associate professor of theology

Aesthetic Exercises: Engagement, Empathy, Ethics Daniel Callahan, assistant professor of music Students study influential Western thinkers and examine works of art and performance through the ages to understand how and why profound experiences of beauty, truth, good, or the divine tend to occur to those who are mindful and prepared to engage.

From the Chair

It is my pleasure to share with you Boston College’s 2015 Annual Report. This year’s edition focuses on the University’s pilot program to renew its core curriculum so it remains relevant to 21st-century students and to contemporary challenges.

The pilot core curriculum demonstrates Boston College’s commitment to being a national leader in liberal arts education—one of the strategic goals of Light the World, our $1.5 billion capital campaign. At a time when many question the value of a liberal arts education—and some would abandon the teaching of the humanities in favor of specialization and vocational education—Boston College’s determination to strengthen its core curriculum shows its singular dedication to its foundational values and to educating the whole person.

As I conclude my first year as chair of the Board of Trustees, I am exceedingly grateful to have served our university, alumni, and friends. And I am proud of Boston College and the faculty, administration, and students who pursue excellence in higher education, service to others, and accomplishments in the world.

john f. fish Chair Boston College Board of Trustees

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Year in Review ACADEMIC AFFAIR S The University conferred 2,341 undergraduate and 1,576 graduate degrees, including 143 doctorates, 264 law degrees, and 27 canonical degrees. Chicago Archbishop Blase Joseph Cupich, leader of the country’s third-largest Catholic diocese and a champion of the economically and socially disenfranchised, spoke at Boston College’s 139th annual Commencement Exercises on May 18. University President William P. Leahy, S.J., presented Bishop Cupich with an honorary doctor of laws degree. Others who received honorary degrees were Marie Chin, RSM, vicar for religious for the Archdiocese of Kingston, Jamaica; Michael Motyl ’01, president of the Guadalupe Regional Middle School in Brownsville, Texas; Steve Pemberton ’89, motivational speaker and author of A Chance in the World; and Lee Woodruff, CBS journalist and best-selling author. David Simas, J.D. ’95, assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Political Strategy and Outreach, spoke at the Boston College Law School graduation on May 22.

Nine graduating seniors received Fulbright fellowships,

which support a year of post-baccalaureate study or an English teaching assistantship abroad. Marissa Marandola ’16 was awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, given to students who are committed to careers in government or the nonprofit sector. Isra Hussain ’17 won a U.S. State Department Critical Language Scholarship to study Urdu in India.

Enise Koc ’17, a double major in Slavic studies and Islamic civilizations and societies, received a National Security Education Program David Boren Scholarship, awarded to undergraduates whose research overseas focuses on areas critical to U.S. interests. James Brogan ’16, a physics and chemistry double major, was awarded a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, considered the most prestigious undergraduate award in the sciences. Brogan was also one of three undergraduates to receive a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.

Eleni Callas ’16 and Jared Collier ’16 also received Gilman awards, which support undergraduates whose financial constraints might otherwise preclude their studying or interning abroad. Corleone Delaveris ’15 received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to support his graduate studies at Stanford University.

Boston College Vice Presidents (standing, from left): David P. Trainor, Vice President for Human Resources; John T. Butler, S.J., Vice President for University Mission and Ministry; Daniel F. Bourque, Vice President for Facilities Management; Kelli J. Armstrong, Vice President for Planning and Assessment; Michael J. Bourque, Vice President for Information Technology; Thomas J. Keady, Vice President for Governmental and Community Affairs; Terrence P. Devino, S.J., Vice President and University Secretary; Barbara Jones, Vice President for Student Affairs; James J. Husson, Senior Vice President for University Advancement; (seated) James P. McIntyre, Senior Vice President; Peter C. McKenzie, Financial Vice President and Treasurer; David Quigley, Provost and Dean of Faculties; Michael J. Lochhead, Executive Vice President

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boston college annual report 2015

Boston College named its College of Arts and Sciences in honor of longtime University Trustee and benefactor Robert J. Morrissey ’60, H ’14, at a ceremony in April. The Graduate School of Social Work officially became the Boston College School of Social Work on November 11, returning to the school’s original name at its founding in 1936. In late May, the Connell School of Nursing moved from Cushing Hall— its home since the building opened in 1960—to the second and third floors of Maloney Hall.

More than 200 students, faculty, and staff attended Boston College’s inaugural Advancing Research and Scholarship Day on “Global Health: Policy, Disparity, Disease” on December 11. The all-day symposium included three interdisciplinary faculty panels, 26 student poster presentations, and a keynote by Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., ’63, whose research at the Centers for Disease Control in the early 1970s influenced the EPA’s decision to eliminate leaded gasoline. The Office of the Provost established Ignite and Research Across Disciplines and Schools, internal grant programs that provide up to $50,000 annually in “seed” funding for pilot research projects and cross-discipline collaborations.

James P. Burns, I.V.D., was named dean of the Woods College of Advancing Studies after having served as interim dean since 2012. The University prepared to pilot a renewed core curriculum, unveiling 15 team-taught, interdisciplinary or interrelated courses, open only to first-year students, that will be introduced during the 2015–16 academic year.

Professor Michael Cassidy will lead the newly established Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy at Boston College Law School. The Law School and Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences 3+3 Program will allow qualified Boston College students to enter the Law School at the end of their junior year and receive a law degree two years later.

Boston College maintained its ranking of 31st among national universities in the 2015 U.S. News & World Report survey. It was also ranked 37th on that periodical’s “Great Schools, Great Prices” list of best value colleges. The Carroll School of Management moved up to 21st in “The Best in Undergraduate Business” rankings of top AACSB-accredited programs. The Carroll School’s master of science in finance is the second-highest-ranked U.S. program for students with little or no background in the financial industry, according to a 2014 Financial Times global survey. Business Insider ranked Boston College Law School 17th among the Top 50 Law Schools in America.

Economics set a University record with 1,086 undergraduates enrolled in the major. The other most popular majors or concentrations were finance (938), biology (865),

communication (791), and political science (747). Admission to Boston College became increasingly competitive, with nearly 29,500 applications for 2,280 places in the four undergraduate divisions. Applications to the class of 2019 increased 27 percent while the acceptance rate declined to 29 percent (from 34 percent in 2014).

FACULTY RESEARCH AND AWARDS David Geraghty, an assistant professor of mathematics, was awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship to support his work on algebraic number theory. Assistant Professor of Physics Ruihua He, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jeffery Byers, and Assistant Professors of Mathematics John Baldwin and Joshua Greene received National Science Foundation Career Awards, the NSF’s top honor for junior faculty.

Professor of Biology David Burgess will lead research teams from Boston College and four other universities to develop the National Research Mentoring Network, a five-year, $22 million grant funded by the National Institutes of Health project that aims to diversify the ranks of biomedical researchers across the United States. Assistant Professor of Biology Tim van Opijnen is the principal investigator in a five-year, $1.9 million NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases study of antibiotics resistance. Vanderslice Millennium Professor of Chemistry Amir Hoveyda received $1.3 million and Vanderslice Family Professor of Chemistry James Morken was awarded $1.2 million from the NIH/National Institute of General Medical Science. In psychology, Assistant Professor Alexandra Veenema won a $1.7 million National Institutes of Health grant to study sexspecific regulation of social play; the NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse awarded Michael McDannald, an assistant professor of psychology, $733,000 for neural research.

In May, Lynch School of Education Professor of Education and Technology Michael Barnett traveled to China at the invi­tation of officials who hope to incorporate creative learning methods into their country’s test-focused K-12 curricula.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded a $1.5 million grant to Associate Professor Patrick Proctor and a team developing a fourth-grade curriculum for Spanish-speaking English learners. Connell School of Nursing Associate Professor Melissa Sutherland received a National Institutes of Health grant to continue her research investigating violence screening in college health centers.

The Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, N.J., named School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Andrea Vicini, S.J., a 2015–16 research fellow. The Medieval Academy of America named Professor of History Robin Fleming a fellow.

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JESUIT, CATHOLIC MISSION

ARTS

Boston College launched the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies (IAJS), a hub for the study of the history, spirituality, and pedagogy of the Society of Jesus. Directed by Casey Beaumier, S.J., it is home to Jesuit Sources, a scholarly publishing house. Robert Maryks, an associate professor of history and associate director of the IAJS, is editor of Jesuit Sources and also edits the Journal of Jesuit Studies and the book series Jesuit Studies.

The McMullen Museum of Art mounted two critically acclaimed exhibitions. Wifredo Lam: Imagining New Worlds, curated by Elizabeth Goizueta of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures’ Hispanic Studies program, was the museum’s fall offering. Roman in the Provinces: Art on the Periphery of Empire, an exploration of the interaction between local traditions and Roman imperial culture, was on display during the spring semester.

University President William P. Leahy, S.J., appointed Professor Thomas Groome director of the Church in the 21st Century Center. Groome is chair of the School of Theology and Ministry’s Department of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry.

Two members of the Class of 2005—Tony Award nominee Bryce Pinkham, who co-starred in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, and Emmy award winner and TV comedy writer Tracey Wigfield—came back to campus to talk with students about their career paths.

Some 200 graduate students, faculty members, and theologians turned out January 31 for “Sustained by Hope: The Place and Significance of Christian Hope in the World,” the second annual graduate theological conference organized by the School of Theology and Ministry student journal Lumen et Vita.

Tina Packer, the celebrated stage director, actor, and founding artistic director of Shakespeare and Co. in Lenox, Mass., was the 2014–15 Monan Professor in Theater Arts.

Chris Doyle ’81, a sought-after multimedia artist whose recent work has been displayed in venues from the Brooklyn Museum to the U.S. Embassy in Switzerland to Times Square, received the 2015 Arts Alumni Award at the University’s 17th annual Arts Festival held April 23–25.

More than 5,000 Boston College students took part in Agape Latte, a monthly forum for informal student faith discussions.

The popular program is expanding beyond Boston College, as the Church in the 21st Century Center (C21) works to launch a pilot series with 16 other colleges and universities.

C21, Campus Ministry, and the Boston College Libraries doubled the number of Espresso Your Faith week events and exhibits to 32 in the second year of the weeklong October celebration of expressions of faith on campus.

The Division of University Mission and Ministry released College Experience and Priesthood, a report exploring factors that promote or deter vocations to the Catholic clergy. It grew out of the June 2013 Summit on Vocations to the Priesthood held at Boston College, and calls for a more interconnected approach from dioceses, parishes, and colleges to foster such vocations.

Some 5,000 students attended meetings and programs at the Division of Mission and Ministry’s new quarters at 36 College Road. The Freshmen League, a student formation program for first-year men, has proven popular, attracting more than 1,000 participants in its first four years.

Intersections, an office that helps Boston College faculty and staff explore the University’s Jesuit and Catholic mission, introduced retreats for division, school, or department faculty and staff making decisions that involve the University’s mission. Intersections’ Villa faculty writing retreat was oversubscribed.

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boston college annual report 2015

English and film studies major Wynnm Murphy ’18 won the annual Sing It to the Heights competition, which raised $6,350 for music programs at Brighton’s St. Columbkille Partnership School. Boston College marked its 10th consecutive year as host of the Greater Boston Intercollegiate Poetry Festival in April. Carroll School of Management senior Christine Degenaars ’15 was the University’s poet representative at the annual showcase of student verse.

ATHLETICS The football team finished the season 7–6. They earned a trip to the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium and lost to Penn State in overtime, 31–30, after failing to convert an extra point. Head coach Steve Addazio, who led the team to 14 wins and two bowl games in his first two seasons, signed a contract extension through the 2020 season.

After leading the nation in goals (37) and assists (44), women’s ice hockey forward Alex Carpenter ’16 became the first Eagle ever to win the USA Hockey Foundation’s Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the top female player in NCAA Division I. Boston College ranked fifth in the nation for the NCAA’s overall Graduation Success Rate of student-athletes, behind Notre Dame, Stanford, Duke, and Northwestern. The NCAA also recognized 12 Boston College teams with its Academic

executive committee of the board of trustees (standing, from left): Steven M. Barry, Leo J. Corcoran, Matthew J. Botica, Kathleen M. McGillycuddy, Peter K. Markell, John M. Connors Jr., Marianne D. Short, Charles I. Clough Jr.; (seated) Patrick J. Stokes, John F. Fish, William P. Leahy, S.J.

Progress Rate Public Recognition Award, granted to teams whose academic scores are in the top 10 percent for their respective sport nationwide.

STUDENT LIFE Ricardo Alberto ’16 was awarded the 2015 Archbishop Oscar A. Romero Scholarship, given each year to a junior who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, extracurricular leadership, community service, and involvement in the Hispanic/Latino community. Communication and film studies major Cai Thomas ’16 received the 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship. Ha Rim “Howie” Kim, a political science and philosophy major and a Gilman scholar who is involved in several Asian culture clubs on campus, received the 2015 Benigno and Corazon Aquino Scholarship. The award is given each year to a student who represents the highest ideals and aspirations of Boston College and the Asian-American community.

Culminating a yearlong social justice project, sophomores in the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program premiered A Boston State of Mind, a documentary about socioeconomic

disparities in access to mental health services in greater Boston. The Medical Humanities Journal of Boston College, an interdisciplinary periodical funded by the Institute for the Liberal Arts and affiliated with the medical humanities minor, debuted in April. The team that created CoReHUB, an online real estate tool that matches commercial tenants with quality brokers, bested 37 other teams to capture the $20,000 first prize at the ninth annual Boston College Venture Competition.

International studies and political science major Thomas Napoli ’16 and history major Olivia Hussey ’17 were elected undergraduate government president and vice president, respectively, for the 2015–16 academic year.

Thomas A. Mogan, director of the Office of Student Development at Villanova University, became associate vice president of student affairs/dean of students in February.

In April, the Division of Student Affairs hosted “Mind Over Matter: Helping Today’s College-aged Students Cultivate Resilience,” a lecture by Alex Lickerman, M.D., of the University of Chicago.

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Students staged a public protest November 24, decrying a grand jury’s decision not to bring criminal charges against a Ferguson police officer who fatally shot an unarmed AfricanAmerican teenager. Responding to campus-wide concern about race issues, the Jesuit Institute and the Office of the Provost convened a January 21 panel on “Race in the U.S.A.: Expectations, Concerns, and Hopes in 2015.” A standingroom-only crowd packed Fulton 511 and dozens watched via television broadcast in an overflow room as Law School Dean Vincent Rougeau, Professor of History Martin Summers, Professor of English Min Song, School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Nancy Pineda-Madrid, and Assistant Professor of Sociology Gustavo Morello, S.J., discussed the topic. James Keenan, S.J., director of the Jesuit Institute, moderated. In late March, the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life presented “Race, Religion, and Social Change: A Campus Conversation,” a wellattended public discussion among theologians M. Shawn Copeland of Boston College, Nicole Flores of St. Anselm College, and Walter Fluker of Boston University.

MANAGEMENT After a two-year renovation, St. Mary’s Hall reopened in early December, and members of the Boston College Jesuit community returned to their refurbished residences in the 98-year-old hall. Shortly thereafter, the Woods College of Advancing Studies and the Departments of Communication and Computer Science moved into new quarters in the building’s south wing.

Construction began in August on a five-story residence hall on the site of More Hall on Lower Campus. On the Brighton Campus, building began for the new home of the McMullen Museum of Art, which will move from Devlin Hall to the former residence of Boston’s archbishop at 2101 Commonwealth Avenue. Both buildings are expected to be completed in 2016.

Michael J. Lochhead ’93, MBA ’99, a former vice president for administration and finance and treasurer of the College of the Holy Cross, became executive vice president of the

Boston College Deans (standing, from left): Thomas B. Wall, University Librarian; Susan Gennaro, Connell School of Nursing; Alberto Godenzi, School of Social Work; James P. Burns, I.V.D., Woods College of Advancing Studies; Andrew C. Boynton, Carroll School of Management; Mark S. Massa, S.J., School of Theology and Ministry; (seated) Maureen E. Kenney, Lynch School of Education; Gregory A. Kalscheur, S.J., Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences; Vincent D. Rougeau, Law School

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University. David P. Trainor, who was most recently president and CEO of Emeriti Retirement Health Solutions, is the University’s new vice president for human resources.

gift from the McMullen Family Foundation supported the McMullen Museum of Art’s plans to move from Devlin Hall to fully renovated quarters on the Brighton Campus.

The Board of Trustees set tuition, room, and board for the 2015–16 academic year. The plan includes a 3.6 percent rise in the cost of tuition (to $48,540) along with a 5.9 percent increase in financial aid.

Penelope Ismay, an assistant professor in the history department whose research focuses on the social history of modernity in Britain, was named the Cooney Family Assistant Professor. The appointment was the latest in a University effort to bolster junior faculty research and early-career development. Since its inception, the Light the World campaign has supported the establishment of 31 professorships and assistant professorships.

UNIVER SITY ADVANCEMENT AND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Donors to the Light the World campaign pushed it past the $1.4 billion mark. Boston College named its College of Arts and Sciences in honor of Robert J. Morrissey ’60, H ’14, a senior partner in the Boston law firm Morrissey, Hawkins & Lynch. The largest benefactor in the University’s history, Morrissey is a longtime Trustee (1980–2014) and has chaired the Board’s Committee on Investment and Endowment since 1981, during which time the endowment has grown from $18 million to more than $2.3 billion.

A gift from the Phyllis & Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation established the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy and will fund the Jerome Lyle Rappaport Visiting Professorship in Law and Public Policy.

University Trustee Christian Haub and his wife Liliane endowed the position of vice president for University Mission and Ministry, currently held by Jack Butler, S.J. The School of Theology and Ministry building at 9 Lake Street has been named Anthony C. and Gloria M. Simboli Hall in honor of the couple’s support. University Trustee Patrick Stokes ’64 and his wife Aja made a major gift to support the integrated sciences at Boston College. The Presidential Scholars Program has been renamed the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program in recognition of support from University Trustee Mario J. Gabelli and the Gabelli Family Foundation.

At the Carroll School of Management, a gift from Linda and John Powers ’73 endowed the position of dean, currently held by Andy Boynton. A gift from former University Trustee and longtime benefactor Joseph Corcoran ’59, H ’09, launched the Joseph E. Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action.

University Trustee Robert Cooney ’74, his wife Loretta, and their family inaugurated the Cooney Family PULSE Directorship and funded the expansion of this hallmark service-learning program. Gifts from Light the World campaign donors led by Elizabeth and Peter F. Negri ’68, James Pedicini ’73, and John Pedicini ’73 played a key role in establishing the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies. A lead

A gift from Bill Campbell, H ’12, endowed the position of athletic director, currently held by Brad Bates, and a gift from University Trustee Karen Izzi Bristing ’84 and her husband, Steve Bristing, will endow the men’s head basketball coaching position, now held by Jim Christian. The Shaw Society—donors who have made legacy gifts to the University—welcomed 105 new members, bringing the total to more than 2,500. Legacy gifts contributed $20 million to the Light the World campaign.

Pops on the Heights, the Barbara and Jim Cleary Scholarship Gala, raised a record $5.2 million for 210 student scholarships. The Wall Street Council Tribute Dinner honoring Michael D. White ’74, former president, chairman, and chief executive officer of DIRECTV, raised more than $2.6 million to support the University’s Presidential Scholars.

The Alumni Association’s Global Days of Service celebrated its 10th anniversary by expanding the reach of its volunteer service projects to include local, national, and international alumni chapters. Altogether, 45 chapters in locations from Chestnut Hill to Singapore organized service projects, with 829 alumni and family members contributing 2,784 hours of volunteer service.

The Alumni Association presented the William V. McKenney Award, its highest honor, to University Trustee Drake Behrakis ’86, and the James F. Cleary Masters Award to Liliane and Christian Haub, co-chairs of the Parents’ Leadership Council. BC Veterans Alumni Network founder Paul Delaney ’66 received the John J. Griffin, Sr. Alumni Association Award. GOLD alumni co-chair Dave Levy ’06 was this year’s recipient of the Philip J. Callan, Sr. Young Alumni Award, and Christine Suchy ’14 was honored with the James F. Stanton Senior Class Gift Award. The Class of 2015 surpassed all previous records in its Senior Class Gift campaign, with 1,758 seniors—78 percent of the graduating class—contributing. Their success earned $30,000 in challenge funds from Drake Behrakis.

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Financial Report Strong investment performance and continued fundraising successes combined to produce a $187 million increase in net assets in fiscal 2015. Undergraduate enrollment and admission trends remained strong and improved over 2014.

Construction activity on campus expanded, as the University realized strategic plan initiatives in faculty growth, student housing, renewal of athletic facilities, and technology innovations. The Boston College of 2015 is a growing and vibrant institution.

Fiscal 2015 Financial Results The accompanying “Growth in Net Assets” chart demonstrates the growth of net assets of $187 million to nearly $3.1 billion—a 6.5 percent increase over the previous year.

The generosity of our alumni, parents, and friends saw our Light the World capital campaign exceed $1.4 billion while providing vital resources for University priorities. Continued fundraising success and strong domestic equity markets were the key drivers of our net asset growth. “Expendable Resources to Debt,” our primary liquidity measure, increased slightly from 1.6 times to 1.8.

The University’s endowment fund increased by nearly $148 million, and exceeds $2.3 billion. This increase was made up of investment gains of $157 million and contributions of $91 million. Those were offset by assets of $98 million used to support operations and net assets reclassified or released from restrictions of $2 million. The portfolio return on the endowment fund was 7.5 percent versus the S&P 500 return of 11.8 percent and the Barclays Aggregate Bond Index of 3.0 percent. Over the past 10 years, the endowment fund has generated an annualized return of 7.2 percent compared with the S&P 500 return of 8.1 percent and the Barclay’s return of 4.6 percent. In these volatile times, Boston College’s endowment portfolio is well diversified, with 55 percent in domestic and international equities, 8 percent invested in fixed-income securities, and 37 percent invested in alternative strategies including absolute return funds, private equity funds, and real asset funds. The portfolio is liquid and well positioned, with more than 60 percent invested in securities that can be redeemed in 30 days or less.

In fiscal 2015, gross plant assets increased by $135 million.

Major renovations were completed on St. Mary’s Hall, home to the Boston College Jesuit community. Construction began on a new 490-bed undergraduate residence hall on the site of the former St. Thomas More Hall on Commonwealth Avenue, and work began on the renovation and expansion

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of 2101 Commonwealth Avenue, the future home of the McMullen Museum and what will be known as the Brighton Campus Conference Center. The University continues to address deferred maintenance needs across campus, and funded more than $17 million in renewal and replacement projects last year.

Strong undergraduate enrollments led overall revenue growth of four percent. Boston College continues to be one of only 21 private universities that maintain a need-blind undergraduate admissions policy and also meet the full demonstrated needs of undergraduates who apply for financial aid. In fiscal 2015, financial aid budgets were increased by more than $10 million. Mindful of the impact of tuition increases on our students, Boston College faculty and staff continue to save on expenses in many areas of the operating budget.

The University saw significant savings in general office and lab procurement, technology, and energy use in fiscal 2015.

A visitor to Boston College takes note of its majestic gothic academic buildings, the streams of students rushing to their next classes, and the ever-present banners and posters for student clubs and activities. A visitor might also notice a number of construction cranes on campus. For in 2015, Boston College was growing—and financial resources are growing as well. This growth is occurring despite a US economy that is advancing at a slow pace, and a world economy weakening in many areas and subject to disruptive geopolitical events and economic trends. Higher education also faces changing governmental and demographic challenges. Now more than ever, our students need support to finance their educations. Balancing growth that strengthens our academic mission with the need to assist our students remains Boston College’s major challenge as it looks to the future.

Good planning, prudent management of resources, and continued success in fundraising and investment will help Boston College advance in these challenging times. Most important, though, is the continued support of our alumni, our Jesuit community, our students, and our faculty and staff—all of whom are critical to maintaining our ability to meet our challenges and continue to grow. The goal continues—Ever to Excel!

peter c. mckenzie ’75 Financial Vice President and Treasurer

o p e r at i n g a n d n o n o p e r at i n g r e v e n u e s

51.2% TUITION AND FEES, GROSS 15.1% AUXILIARY ENTERPRISES, GROSS 4.4% sponsored RESEARCH, GRANTS, AND FINANCIAL AID 0.7% INVESTMENT INCOME, net 13.2% PRIVATE GIFTS 13.9% realized and unrealized investment gains, net 1.5% OTHER

expenses 31.4% instruction 7.5% academic support 3.8% RESEARCH 6.2%

student services

0.4% public service 13.3%

general administration

18.6% student AID 18.8%

g r ow t h i n n e t a ss e t s

AUXILIARY ENTERPRISES

e x p e n d a b l e r e s o u r c e s t o d e bt 1,800 1,600

3,500

1,400

3,000

1,200 millions $

millions $

2,500 2,000 1,500

1,000 800 600

1,000

400

500

200

0

0 fy2011

fy2012

fy2013

fy2014

fy2015

fy2011

fy2012

fy2013

real

total outstanding debt

inflationary

t otal expendable resources

fy2014

fy2015

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Statistical and Financial Highlights Statistics

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Full-time Equivalent Enrollment Undergraduate

9,518 9,484 9,480 9,396 9,499

Graduate/professional

4,120 4,046 3,940 3,820 3,780

Total full-time equivalent enrollment

13,638 13,530 13,420 13,216 13,279

Full-time Employees Faculty

737 752 761 758 786

Staff

2,304 2,296 2,316 2,347 2,405

Total full-time employees

3,041 3,048 3,077 3,105 3,191

Campus Facilities (gross square feet) Chestnut Hill campus

5,501,713 5,501,689 5,700,398 5,700,405 5,626,309

Newton Campus/other

1,588,275 1,619,779 1,625,000 1,625,000 1,635,415

Total gross square feet

7,089,988 7,121,468 7,325,398 7,325,405 7,261,724

Financial (Fiscal Years Ending May 31) In thousands of dollars Statement of Financial Position Total assets

$3,487,314 $3,394,746 $3,636,770 $4,094,586 $4,270,271

Total liabilities

(1,012,011) (995,896)

Total net assets

(967,407) (1,204,006) (1,192,358)

$2,475,303 $2,398,850 $2,669,363 $2,890,580 $3,077,913

Endowment and Similar Funds Net assets Investment income Realized and unrealized investment gains and (losses), net

$1,889,079 $1,757,447 $1,981,350 $2,198,282 $2,345,989 14,127 13,998 15,145 15,403 20,135 271,796 (94,442) 274,821 247,280 152,307

Physical Plant Land, improvements and purchase options

$238,048 $241,023 $247,838 $251,842 $263,165

Buildings (including capital lease and purchase option)

1,026,711 1,113,092 1,218,970 1,239,313 1,351,695

Equipment

200,569 199,909 205,604 218,615 229,853

Library books/rare book and art collections

173,918 182,414 191,352 200,727 210,158

Plant under construction

67,898 76,870 37,849 91,708 82,542

Physical plant, gross

1,707,144 1,813,308 1,901,613 2,002,205 2,137,413

Accumulated depreciation and amortization

(619,065)

Physical plant, net

(658,847)

(703,483)

(753,054)

(808,024)

$1,088,079 $1,154,461 $1,198,130 $1,249,151 $1,329,389

Statement of Activities Total operating revenues, net

$643,654 $653,663 $671,057 $702,714 $733,069

Total operating expenses

643,544 653,550 670,940 702,592 732,942

Total non-operating activity

287,769 (76,566) 270,396 221,095 187,206

Student Aid University scholarships, fellowships, and prizes Federal/state programs (including Pell grants) Student loans granted by the University Total student aid

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boston college annual report 2015

$132,594 $139,488 $150,932 $157,121 $165,062 10,834 9,964 10,166 9,892 9,637 5,434 7,845 7,777 6,636 6,277 $148,862 $157,297 $168,875 $173,649 $180,976

Board of Trustees officers chair John F. Fish

vice chair Stephen P. Murray ’84*

secretary Peter K. Markell ’77

trustees Steven M. Barry ’85 Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer of Fundamental Equity Goldman Sachs Asset Management New York, New York

Drake G. Behrakis ’86 President and Chief Executive Officer Marwick Associates Lexington, Massachusetts

Patricia Lynott Bonan ’79 Managing Director (Ret.) JPMorgan Chase & Co. Potomac, Maryland

Matthew J. Botica, Esq. ’72 Partner Winston & Strawn, LLP Chicago, Illinois

Cathy M. Brienza NC ’71

John M. Connors Jr. ’63, D.B.A. ’07 (Hon.)

David T. Griffith ’68

Chairman The Connors Family Office Boston, Massachusetts

President and Chief Executive Officer M. Griffith Investment Services, Inc. New Hartford, New York

Robert J. Cooney, Esq. ’74

Kathleen Powers Haley ’76

Partner Cooney & Conway Chicago, Illinois

Manager Snows Hill Management, LLC Wellesley, Massachusetts

Leo J. Corcoran, Esq. ’81

Christian W.E. Haub

President Autumn Development Company, Inc. Boston, Massachusetts

President and Chairman Emil Capital Partners, LLC Greenwich, Connecticut

Paul R. Coulson

Daniel S. Hendrickson, S.J.

President and Chairman Ardagh Packaging Group Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

Associate Provost Marquette University Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Claudia Henao de la Cruz ’85

Michaela Murphy Hoag ’86

Chair Centro Mater Foundation Miami, Florida

Atherton, California

Ralph de la Torre Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steward Health Care Systems, LLC Boston, Massachusetts

Michael H. Devlin II ’88 Managing Director Curragh Capital Partners, LLC New York, New York

Partner (Ret.) WallerSutton 2000, LP and Waller-Sutton Media Partners, LP New York, New York

John R. Egan ’79

Karen Izzi Bristing ’84

Michael E. Engh, S.J.

Owner Equinox Equestrian Center Sun Valley, California

President Santa Clara University Santa Clara, California

John E. Buehler Jr. ’69

John F. Fish

Managing Partner Energy Investors Funds Mill Valley, California

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Suffolk Construction Company Boston, Massachusetts

Patrick Carney ’70

Mario J. Gabelli

Chairman Emeritus Claremont Companies Bridgewater, Massachusetts

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer GAMCO Investors, Inc. Rye, New York

Hon. Darcel D. Clark ’83

William J. Geary ’80

Associate Justice Appellate Division, First Department Supreme Court of the State of New York New York, New York

General Partner Foundation Medical Partners Waltham, Massachusetts

Charles I. Clough Jr. ’64

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Publicis Worldwide, North America New York, New York

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Clough Capital Partners, LP Boston, Massachusetts

Margot C. Connell, L.H.D. ’09 (Hon.) Chair and Member of the Advisory Board Connell Limited Partnership Boston, Massachusetts

Managing Partner Carruth Management, LLC Westborough, Massachusetts

Susan McManama Gianinno ’70

Janice Gipson ’77 Beverly Hills, California

Joseph L. Hooley III ’79 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer State Street Corporation Boston, Massachusetts

Kathleen Flatley Ix ’88, M.Ed. ’92 Wellesley, Massachusetts

Robert L. Keane, S.J. ’71, M.Div. ’78 Rector Boston College Jesuit Community Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

William P. Leahy, S.J. President Boston College Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Matthew F. Malone, S.J. Editor-in-Chief America magazine New York, New York

T.J. Maloney ’75 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lincolnshire Management, Inc. New York, New York

Douglas W. Marcouiller, S.J., M.Div. ’86 Regional Assistant for the U.S. and General Counselor General Curia of the Society of Jesus Rome, Italy

Peter K. Markell ’77 Executive Vice President of Administration and Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Partners HealthCare System, Inc. Boston, Massachusetts

David M. Mc Auliffe ’71 Managing Director of Asset Management J.P. Morgan Palm Beach, Florida

Kathleen M. Mc Gillycuddy, NC ’71 Executive Vice President (Ret.) FleetBoston Financial Boston, Massachusetts cornerstone

31

William S. Mc Kiernan ’78 President WSM Capital, LLC Los Gatos, California

John V. Murphy ’71 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (Ret.) Oppenheimer Funds, Inc. Boston, Massachusetts

Stephen P. Murray ’84* President and Chief Executive Officer CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC New York, New York

Brien M. O’Brien ’80 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheriff’s Meadow, Inc. Chicago, Illinois

David P. O’Connor ’86 Private Investor and Managing Partner High Rise Capital Partners, LLC New York, New York

Frank E. Previte ’65 Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer EBI Consulting Burlington, Massachusetts

Navyn Datoo Salem ’94, D.S.S. ’12 (Hon.) Founder and Executive Director Edesia Global Nutrition Solutions Providence, Rhode Island

Rev. Nicholas A. Sannella ’67 Pastor Immaculate Conception Parish Lowell, Massachusetts

Philip W. Schiller ’82 Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Apple Computer, Inc. Cupertino, California

Marianne D. Short, Esq., NC ’73, J.D. ’76 Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer UnitedHealth Group Minnetonka, Minnesota

Ralph C. Stayer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (Ret.) Johnsonville Sausage, LLC Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin

Patrick T. Stokes ’64 Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (Ret.) Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. St. Louis, Missouri

Elizabeth W. Vanderslice ’86 New York, New York

David C. Weinstein, Esq., J.D. ’75 Chief of Administration (Ret.) Fidelity Investments Newton, Massachusetts

32

boston college annual report 2015

trustee associates

Emilia M. Fanjul

Mary Jane Vouté Arrigoni

Boston College parent Palm Beach, Florida

Greenwich, Connecticut

Peter W. Bell ’86 General Partner Highland Capital Partners Menlo Park, California

Erick Berrelleza, S.J. St. Peter Faber Community Brighton, Massachusetts

Geoffrey T. Boisi ’69 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Roundtable Investment Partners, LLC New York, New York

Wayne A. Budd, Esq. ’63, LL.D. ’13 (Hon.) Senior Counsel Goodwin Procter, LLP Boston, Massachusetts

Juan A. Concepción, esq. ’96, M.Ed. ’97, J.D. and M.B.A. ’03 Associate General Counsel Local Corporation Boston, Massachusetts

Kathleen A. Corbet ’82 Founder and Principal Cross Ridge Capital, LLC New Canaan, Connecticut

Joseph E. Corcoran ’59, D.B.A. ’09 (Hon.) Chairman Corcoran Jennison Companies Boston, Massachusetts

Robert F. Cotter ’73 President (Ret.) Kerzner International Coral Gables, Florida

Brian E. Daley, S.J. Huisking Professor of Theology University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana

Robert M. Devlin Chairman Curragh Capital Partners, LLC New York, New York

Andrew N. Downing, S.J., M.Div. ’07 Professor Pontifical Gregorian University Rome, Italy

Francis A. Doyle ’70, M.B.A. ’75 President and Chief Executive Officer Connell Limited Partnership Boston, Massachusetts

Cynthia Lee Egan ’78 President of Retirement Plan Services (Ret.) T. Rowe Price Baltimore, Maryland

John F. Farrell Jr. Greenwich, Connecticut

Yen-Tsai Feng Roy E. Larsen Librarian (Ret.) Harvard College Lexington, Massachusetts

Mary J. Steele Guilfoile ’76 Chairman MG Advisors, Inc. Norwalk, Connecticut

Paul F. Harman, S.J. ’61, M.A. ’62, B.D. ’68 Vice President for Mission College of the Holy Cross Worcester, Massachusetts

John L. Harrington ’57, M.B.A. ’66, D.B.A. ’10 (Hon.) Chairman of the Board Yawkey Foundation Dedham, Massachusetts

John J. Higgins, S.J. ’59, M.A. ’60, S.T.L. ’67 Fairfield Jesuit Community Fairfield, Connecticut

Richard T. Horan Sr. ’53 President (Ret.) Hughes Oil Company, Inc. Newton, Massachusetts

Richard A. Jalkut ’66 Chief Executive Officer TelePacific Communications Los Angeles, California

Anne P. Jones, Esq. ’58, J.D. ’61, LL.D. ’08 (Hon.) Consultant Bethesda, Maryland

Michael D. Jones, Esq. ’72, J.D. ’76 Chief Operating Officer Public Broadcasting Service Arlington, Virginia

Edmund F. Kelly Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (Ret.) Liberty Mutual Group Boston, Massachusetts

Robert K. Kraft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer The Kraft Group Foxborough, Massachusetts

John L. LaMattina ’71 Senior Partner PureTech Ventures Boston, Massachusetts

Robert B. Lawton, S.J.

John J. Powers ’73

Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., M.Div. ’81

Colombiere Jesuit Community Baltimore, Maryland

Managing Director Goldman Sachs & Company New York, New York

President Fairfield University Fairfield, Connecticut

Richard F. Powers III ’67

Vincent A. Wasik

Advisory Director (Ret.) Morgan Stanley Hobe Sound, Florida

Co-Founder and Principal MCG Global, LLC Westport, Connecticut

Hon. Pierre-Richard Prosper, Esq., ’85

Benaree P. Wiley, D.P.A. ’09 (Hon.)

Counsel Arent Fox, LLP Los Angeles, California

President and Chief Executive Officer (Emeritus) The Partnership, Inc. Boston, Massachusetts

Nicholas S. Rashford, S.J.

Jeremy K. Zipple, S.J. ’00, S.T.L. ’14

Professor St. Joseph’s University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Executive Editor America Media New York, New York

Peter S. Lynch ’65, LL.D. ’95 (Hon.) Vice Chairman Fidelity Management & Research Company Boston, Massachusetts

Catherine T. Mc Namee, C.S.J., M.Ed. ’55, M.A. ’58 St. Paul, Minnesota

John A. Mc Neice Jr. ’54, D.B.A. ’97 (Hon.) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (Ret.) The Colonial Group, Inc. Canton, Massachusetts

Robert J. Morrissey, Esq. ’60, LL.D. ’14 (Hon.) Senior Partner Morrissey, Hawkins & Lynch Boston, Massachusetts

Thomas J. Rattigan ’60

R. Michael Murray Jr. ’61, M.A. ’65

Private Investor (Ret.) Boston, Massachusetts

Director Emeritus McKinsey & Company, Inc. Chicago, Illinois

Robert J. Murray ’62 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (Ret.) New England Business Service, Inc. Boston, Massachusetts

Therese E. Myers, NC ’66 Chief Executive Officer Bouquet Multimedia, LLC Oxnard, California

Thomas P. O’Neill III ’68 Chief Executive Officer O’Neill and Associates Boston, Massachusetts

Brian G. Paulson, S.J., S.T.L. ’93 Provincial of the Chicago-Detroit Province The Society of Jesus Chicago, Illinois

Sally Engelhard Pingree Director and Vice Chairman Engelhard Hanovia, Inc. Washington, DC

Paula D. Polito ’81 Client Strategy Officer and Group Managing Director UBS Wealth Management Americas Weehawken, New Jersey

R. Robert Popeo, Esq., J.D. ’61 Chairman and President Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, PC Boston, Massachusetts

Natick, Massachusetts

*Deceased

Thomas F. Ryan Jr. ’63

Randall P. Seidl ’85 Chief Executive Officer Revenue Acceleration, LLC Wellesley, Massachusetts

John J. Shea, S.J., M.Ed. ’70 Director of Campus Ministry/Chaplain for Lincoln Center Fordham University New York, New York

Susan Martinelli Shea ’76 Founder and President Dancing with the Students Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Joseph E. Simmons, S.J. St. Peter Faber Jesuit Community Brighton, Massachusetts

Sylvia Q. Simmons, M.Ed. ’62, Ph.D. ’90, D.H.L. ’11 (Hon.) President (Ret.) American Student Assistance Corporation Roxbury, Massachusetts

Robert L. Sullivan ’50, M.A. ’52 International Practice Director (Ret.) Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. Siasconset, Massachusetts

Richard F. Syron ’66, LL.D. ’89 (Hon.) Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Thomas A. Vanderslice ’53, D.B.A. ’03 (Hon.) Osterville, Massachusetts

produced by the office of marketing communications 9/15 | editor: ben birnbaum | managing editor: maureen dezell | writer: william bole | art director: diana parziale | designer: monica desalvo | photography: gary wayne gilbert | printing: kirkwood printing, wilmington, ma 2817802

chestnut hill, massachusetts 02467