Boston College is one of the oldest Jesuit, Catholic universities in the United States. U.S. News and World Report ranks Boston College 34th among national universities.
Boston College confers more than 4,000 degrees annually in more than 50 fields of study through nine schools and colleges. Faculty members are committed to both teaching and research and have set new marks for research grant awards over the last ten years, more than $45 million in the last year alone.
The University has made a major commitment to academic excellence. It is in the process of adding faculty positions, expanding faculty and graduate research, increasing student financial aid, and widening opportunities in key undergraduate programs, such as foreign study, internships, community service, and personal formation.
Boston College has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, including a 75 percent increase in undergraduate applications over the past decade. During the same period, a remarkable increase in revenue from voluntary giving has helped to move the University’s endowment to approximately $1.4 billion, among the 40 largest in the nation.
History of Boston College
Boston College was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1863 and, with 3 teachers and 22 students, opened its doors on September 5, 1864. Through its first seven decades, it remained an exclusively liberal arts institution with emphasis on the Greek and Latin classics, English and modern languages, and philosophy and religion.
Originally located on Harrison Avenue in Boston’s South End, where it shared quarters with Boston College High School, the University outgrew its urban setting toward the end of its first 50 years. It moved to then-rural Chestnut Hill, on the site of the former Lawrence farm, where ground was broken on June 19, 1909 for the construction of Gasson Hall. Gasson, known at the time as the Recitation Building, opened in March 1913. The three other buildings that would form the core of the campus St. Mary’s Hall, Devlin Hall, and Bapst Library opened in 1917, 1924, and 1928, respectively.
During the 1940s, new purchases doubled the size of the main campus. In 1974, Boston College acquired Newton College of the Sacred Heart, 1.5 miles away. With 15 buildings on 40 acres, it is now the site of the Law School and residence halls housing more than 800 students.
Though incorporated as a University from its beginning, Boston College did not begin to fill out the dimensions of its University charter until the 1920s, with the inauguration of the Summer Session, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Law School and the Evening College. The 1930s saw the introduction of the Graduate School of Social Work and the College of Business Administration (now known as The Wallace E. Carroll School of Management). The schools of Nursing and Education (now the Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch School of Education) followed in 1947 and 1952. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences first offered doctoral programs in 1952, followed by the graduate schools of Education, Nursing, Management, and Social Work.
In 1927 Boston College conferred one earned bachelor’s degree and 15 master’s degrees on women through its Extension Division. By 1970 all undergraduate programs had become coeducational, and today women comprise more than half of the University’s enrollment. In 1996 the Evening College became the College of Advancing Studies, offering master’s as well as bachelor’s degrees. That same year, the University’s longest presidency, 24 years, came to an end when J. Donald Monan, S.J., became chancellor and was succeeded in the presidency by William P. Leahy, S.J.
In 1997, President Leahy announced the implementation plan for “Advancing the Legacy,” BC’s $260-million, five-year investment to strengthen education, reaffirm its Jesuit and Catholic mission, increase research, and improve the quality of student life.
In November 1999, Boston College launched a $400 million fund-raising campaign. “Ever to Excel: The Campaign for Boston College” will create 100 endowed faculty chairs, add $50 million to undergraduate and graduate financial aid, target support for academic centers, libraries, and selected undergraduate and graduate programs, and help fund new construction, including a planned student center and humanities building.
Jesuit, Catholic Tradition
Boston College is committed to maintaining and strengthening the Jesuit, Catholic mission of the University, and especially its commitment to integrating intellectual, personal, ethical, and religious formation; and to uniting high academic achievement with service to others.
Jesuits are active in all aspects of University life. Some 54 members serve the University as members of the administration, faculty, or staff. Community members also offer Ignatian retreats and spiritual direction to faculty, staff, and students. There are 27 Jesuits from more than 20 countries who are studying for graduate degrees or serving as visiting scholars.
Gifts from the Jesuit community have helped establish the Jesuit Institute and the Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Boston College. The Institute sponsors personal research, academic exchange, and collective inquiry about the issues that emerge at the intersection of faith and culture. The Center helps members of the University community to understand and implement Jesuit/Ignatian traditions and promotes conversation among other religious traditions represented at Boston College.
Boston – cityscape
The City of Boston, founded in 1630, is the largest metropolis in New England, and is among America’s most vital cities a center of trade and finance, education and research, art and culture.
The city is known for its medical facilities and high tech companies, and for the educational institutions that support them. But Boston is also a city that knows how to have fun. It offers residents and visitors alike a wide variety of ways to engage the mind, body, and spirit: national touring acts in concert at the TD Banknorth Garden, or quiet acoustic performances at Club Passim in Harvard Square; world-renowned exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts, or funky one-artist shows at a Newbury Street gallery; a Red Sox game in famed Fenway Park, or an afternoon of skating at the Frog Pond on Boston Common.
For information about current news and events in the city, you can start by visiting www.boston.com.
Boston College Facts
by the numbers
ENROLLMENT
14,623 total enrollment
9,060 full-time undergraduates
720 continuing education undergraduates (full- and part-time)
4,843 graduate and professional students (full- and part-time)
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT BODY
52 percent women
48 percent men
24 percent AHANA (persons of African-American, Hispanic, Asian or Native American descent)
50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands represented
58 countries and territories represented (96 countries and territories are represented among undergraduate and graduate students)
FRESHMAN ADMISSION PROFILE
Middle range SAT score of 1900–2120, Class of 2012
70 percent of undergraduate students received financial aid in 2008
FACULTY
679 full-time faculty*
261 full-time women faculty*
1:13 faculty-student ratio*
96 percent faculty with doctorates*
Ninety-five Jesuits live on the Boston College campus, making the University one of the larger communities in the Society of Jesus. More than half are actively involved, full or part-time, in the University’s faculty and administration. Seventeen are graduate students or visiting scholars from more than 14 different countries.*
In addition to the Jesuit community on Boston College’s Chestnut Hill campus, 69 Jesuits study and teach theology and prepare for ministry at the Weston Jesuit Community.
* data does not include the School of Theology and Ministry, which will be reported beginning January 2010
CAMPUS
Chestnut Hill, 118 acres
Newton, 40 acres
Brighton, 49 acres
Outlying properties, 179 acres
LIBRARIES
8 libraries
2.5 million volumes
Nearly 4.2 million units of microform
More than 215,000 government documents
Approximately 16 million pages of manuscripts and archival materials
More than 25,000 electronic serial subscriptions
More than 300,000 e-books
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
College of Arts and Sciences
Carroll School of Management
Connell School of Nursing
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Graduate School of Social Work
Boston College Law School
Lynch School of Education
School of Theology and Ministry
Woods College of Advancing Studies
DEGREES GRANTED
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Sacred Theology
Bachelor of Science
Master of Arts
Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry
Master of Arts in Teaching
Master of Business Administration
Master of Divinity
Master of Education
Master of Education in Religious Education
Master of Laws
Master of Science
Master of Science in Accounting
Master of Science in Finance
Master of Science in Teaching
Master of Social Work
Master of Theological Studies
Master of Theology
Certificate of Advanced Educational Specialization
Certificate of Advanced Educational Specialization, Religious Education
Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies
Licentiate in Sacred Theology
Doctor of Education
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, Theology, and Education
Doctor of Sacred Theology
Juris Doctor (Doctor of Law)
ALUMNI
152,000 living undergraduate and graduate alumni
POST-BACCALAUREATE EDUCATION, CLASS OF 2007
26 percent continued on to graduate school immediately after graduation
89 percent plan on pursuing graduate studies in the future
ATHLETICS
29 varsity teams
All compete at the NCAA Division I level
Nearly 8,200 students participate in 40 intramural leagues and tournaments
Approximately 750 students participate in 21 club sports
Alumni Stadium
WATCH A SPECIAL TIME-LAPSE VIDEO OF ALUMNI STADIUM ON GAMEDAY
With a capacity of 44,500 maroon-and-gold-clad fans, Alumni Stadium is the home of the Eagles.
The current version of Alumni Stadium opened in the fall of 1995.
The roots of Alumni Stadium and on-campus football at Boston College date back to 1915, when the original Alumni Stadium was dedicated. The facility was located on middle campus on the site of today’s campus green.
As Boston College enjoyed more and more football success in the 1930s and 1940s, the Eagles moved a majority of their home games to Boston’s two major league baseball stadiums, Fenway Park and Braves Field (now Nickerson Field on the Boston University campus).
On January 23, 1957, Boston College president Joseph R.N. Maxwell, S.J., announced that a new Alumni Stadium would be built on the BC campus as football no longer would be allowed in Fenway Park. A $250,000 campaign followed and on September 26, 1957, the Eagles played host to Navy in the first game on the site of the present Alumni Stadium before a sellout crowd of 26,000-plus. The new stadium was constructed in an amazing span of 156 days. The game was arranged by then-United States Senator John F. Kennedy, but Navy spoiled the home opener with a 46-6 win.
In 1971, Alumni Stadium was expanded to 32,000 seats and artificial turf and lights were installed. Alumni Stadium was rebuilt again in 1988 as matching upper decks and a new press box were added. These renovations were part of the building of Conte Forum.
New scoreboards and instant replay screens, a new and improved lighting system, a state-of-the-art public address system, new concessions and rest room facilities and a beautiful brick and glass exterior façade combine to make Alumni Stadium one of the finest football facilities in the nation. BC installed a state-of-the-art Field Turf surface in the summer of 2004.
The scenic Chestnut Hill stadium, with the Boston skyline offering a splendid background in the distance, heightens the excitement and enthusiasm that is part of every Boston College home game
Yawkey Athletics Center
In March 2005, Boston College football staff and players as well as the Office of Learning Resources for Student-Athletes moved into the Yawkey Athletics Center, BC’s new $27 million, 72,000-square-foot facility located behind the north end zone of Alumni Stadium. It includes new football offices, meeting and breakout rooms, locker rooms, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, equipment room, theater-style classrooms, recruiting and player lounges.
The building also features the Murray Family Function Room, a multi-function room larger than the Shea Room that will benefit the entire BC campus. After viewing the company’s impressive work at North Carolina, North Carolina State and Virginia Tech, BC contracted with DJS Design of Charlotte, NC, for concept, design and construction of a football museum.
Located in the main entry lobby, the museum features a soaring bronze eagle atop a lighted granite pedestal as its centerpiece. A multimedia kiosk will enable visitors to watch video highlights of great games and players in BC football history. Visitors will be allowed to touch and have photos taken with Doug Flutie’s Heisman Trophy, which will be displayed in the open with no glass enclosure.
BC received a commitment of $15 million from the Yawkey Foundation to help fund the new building and other athletics-related improvements to enhance intercollegiate, intramural and club sports. Other benefactors generously donated the rest of the money needed to complete the construction, making the Yawkey Center the first structure on the BC campus to be built entirely with private funds.
Completion of the Yawkey Center created a domino effect of facilities improvements for sports other than football. Once the football and Learning Resources staffs had completed their moves, workers began a multi-million dollar renovation to Conte Forum. The construction will provide new office and locker room space for many of BC’s 31 varsity men’s and women’s sports as well as new office space for much of the administrative staff. Women’s basketball moved into a new suite of offices shortly thereafter, and the old football locker room has been converted into five new locker rooms for women’s sports. Many coaches and their assistants who had been working in cramped conditions have been relocated to new offices in the South end zone.
“The Yawkey Center has enabled us to enhance the locker room and office facilities for many of our women’s and men’s sports,” Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo said. “We now have an outstanding facility for Learning Resources and expanded capacity in the Conte Forum weight room, equipment room and sports medicine areas. Our entire athletics program has benefited from it.”
Conte Forum
Since it opened in October 1988, Silvio O. Conte Forum has been the heart of the Boston College athletics program. From October through March, its main arena is the home of the Eagles’ men’s and women’s basketball and hockey teams, and some of the most thrilling sports action in Boston. The arena seats 8,606 for basketball and 7,884 for hockey, and sellouts are common during the seasons.
The forum also houses the 950-seat Power Gymnasium, as well as offices for Athletic Association staff and varsity coaches, film and conference rooms, the weight training and sports medicine facilities, locker and equipment rooms, and practice and storage rooms for the Boston College band.
Conte Forum is also Boston College fan central, where tickets may be purchased for all BC athletics events. Its main concourse contains concession stands and souvenir shops. Conte Forum’s eight luxury boxes overlook both the stadium and the basketball/hockey venue
For more information on Boston College facilities within Conte Forum see below.
Ticket Office – The Conte Forum ticket office is located at Gate B of Conte Forum. The façade of the ticket office was renovated in the summer of 2008. Also added where two LCD televisions for guests to Conte Forum.
Marching Band/Pep Band Room – The Boston College Marching Band and Pep Band make their home in the Band Room located at Gate C of Conte Forum. The Band stores their instruments and conducts practice in the Band Room.
Luxury Suites – Conte Forum hosts eight recently renovated luxury suites for hockey and basketball. These suites are located on the Alumni Stadium side of Conte and features views of both Alumni Stadium and Conte Forum. Luxury suites are equipped with LCD televisions, comfortable seating and a dining area.
Media Suite – The Conte Forum media suite is home to various press conferences and media gatherings. The media suite is located adjacent to Alumni Stadium on the first level of the South side of Conte Forum. A full press conference room is in the adjacent room with data and telephone ports for working members of the media.
Strength & Conditioning Room – The Conte Forum weight room was completely revamped and remodeled in the summer of 2006. It covers more than 7,000 square feet and can accommodate more than 100 student-athletes at a time. The room contains more than 25,000 pounds of free weights and selectorized machines. The strength & conditioning room provides several modes of training to meet the diverse needs of the numerous student-athletes at BC.
Sports Medicine – Recently renovated, the Sports Medicine facilities in Conte Forum occupy approximately 3,000 square feet. They include a rehabilitation area containing equipment used fro development of strength and muscular coordination along with a LIDO isokinetic rehabilitation and testing machine, whirlpools, physician exam rooms and offices, as well as a separate therapy area containing the latest in technical equipment for the treatment of injuries.
Student Athlete Lounge – The newest addition to Conte Forum is the student-athlete lounge located at the Conte Forum entrance next Gate D and across from the Sports Medicine office. The Student Athlete Lounge offers players from all sports a place to relax and study between classes or practice.
Trophy Case – Enjoy championship relics from Boston College’s rich athletic tradition. Handsome displays and historical trophies line the Alumni Stadium side of the concourse in Conte Forum and pay tribute to the program’s 31 varsity sports programs.
Varsity Club Hall of Fame – Boston College’s greatest student-athletes are enshrined along the concourse of Conte Forum.
Newton Campus Soccer and Lacrosse Field
Nestled behind the law school on Boston College’s Newton Campus is one of nation’s elite soccer and lacrosse facilities.
Completely updated in 2008, the Newton Campus Soccer and Lacrosse Complex features a newly installed Polytan artificial playing surface.
Polytan surfaces are used at the World Cup Stadium in Stuttgart, Germany, the Olympic Stadium in Munich, the Football Academy FC Bayern, the Stadium La Maladiere in Switzerland and Warsteiner Stadium, host of the 2006 World Cup.
With the addition of the Polytan artificial playing surface, coupled with offseason updates that include permanent team benches canopied to guard against the elements and a 30-seat, enclosed press box complete with a roof-deck video-filming area, Boston College is proud to boast a brand new state-of-the-art facility.
The artificial playing surface made its regular-season debut on Aug. 29, 2008 with a men’s soccer game against Boston University.
Overall, the field is entering its ninth year in existence. It spent the first eight seasons as a natural grass pitch before switching to the artificial turf this past year. Lights were added to the field prior to the 2003 campaign.
“The field is one of a kind in this country. It’s absolutely a fantastic field. It shows the commitment of our University and our athletic director to put that kind of resources into our athletics programs.”
– Head Coach Ed Kelly, Men’s Soccer
With its close proximity to the freshmen dorms, the “Superfans,” BC’s collective student fan base, frequent games to provide a boisterous and exciting atmosphere. Decked in bright gold t-shirts, Superfans, friends and family alike sit near the action, and the close tree line provides an intimate atmosphere for soccer matches.
The field was dedicated on Sept. 12, 1999 with a 3-0 win for the men’s team over Army. It captured the Soccer Manager’s Association College Soccer Field of the Year in 1999. Since it’s opening, the men’s team has registered a 49-17-6 mark on its home turf.
In 2008 the men’s team hosts eight games. Six-of-eight home games will be played under the lights.
In the nine year history of the Newton Soccer Field, the Boston College women’s team is currently 69-15-6. The teams’ best record on home turf came in 2003 when the Eagles went 11-1. Last season Boston College went 9-1-3 with wins over No. 3 Virginia, No. 25 Wake Forest and Boston University.
In 2008 the women’s team will host 10 games, including three contests under the lights. The Eagles will host a number of great matches this fall, including the home opener against Brown University on Friday, September 5 at 5 p.m. The Eagles will also host cross-town rival Harvard on Friday, September 19 at 4 p.m. The 2008 ACC schedule has the Eagles hosting Miami, Florida State, Maryland, Virginia Tech and Clemson.
Pellagrini Diamond
Nestled on a corner of the Boston College campus with a sweeping view of the Boston skyline, the Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Shea Field is the home of the baseball team. Shea Field is named after Commander John Shea U.S.N., who played football at Boston College from 1916-17. Shea passed away on September 15, 1942 when the naval carrier “Wasp” was torpedoed during the Guadal Canal campaign.
The diamond was formally dedicated in a ceremony preceding the Boston College-Connecticut game on May 3, 1997. Pellagrini was Boston College’s baseball coach for 31 years, during which time he accumulated 359 victories and coached three Boston College World Series teams.
Shea Field is the new home of the Peter “Sonny” Nictakis Fall World Series, held for the first time in the fall of 2001. Nictakis, who played baseball at Boston College from 1995-99, passed away in the summer of 2000 after a seven-and-a-half year battle with Hodgkin’s disease. The intra-squad “Maroon and Gold” scrimmage wraps up fall practice.
In the spring, with the Chestnut Hill Reservoir bordering the field along St. Thomas More Drive, the Eagles play their home games at Shea Field. With the students coming out to catch a doubleheader or split an afternoon between baseball and softball games, BC enjoys a strong fan base.
Local residents often fill the stands and line the garage ramp to catch the baseball team take the field against some of the nation’s best competition.
This year fans will have the opportunity to see 22 home games at Shea Field, including three-game sets against perennial national powerhouses Florida State and Georgia Tech.
Shea Softball Field
With a sweeping view of the Boston skyline and neighboring the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, Shea Field is home to the BC Eagle softball team.
Refurbished prior to the 2000 season, the field hosted the Big East Tournament that year. Under the care of Scott McCoy and the rest of the athletics buildings and grounds crew, the field is tended to on a daily basis. Covered and protected during the winter months, the field maintains an excellent playing surface for the start of the season. In 2001, Shea Field was honored with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association/Turface Grounds Crew Field Maintenance Field Award for the Northeast Region.
In the spring the team plays its home games at Shea Field. With the students coming out to catch a doubleheader or split an afternoon between a softball and baseball game, the Eagles enjoy a strong home field advantage.
Local residents often pack the stands to catch the softball team take the field against some of the nation’s best competition. The field has lived up to its billing as a championship caliber facility and has hosted three conference tournaments.
Power Gym
Power Gym is one of the top volleyball facilities in the Atlantic Coast Conference.Named after Frank Power, the gym is attached to Conte Forum, where Boston College basketball and hockey teams compete.
Frank Power spent 32 years as a scout, recruiter and assistant to six different men’s head basketball coaches. He also served as head coach of men’s basketball during the 1962-1963 season.
Recent renovations of Power Gym provide the Eagles with an even stronger and more appealing facility. Along with being re-painted, Power Gym added a new storage closet, mounted cameras, banners, padding system and lights.
Field Hockey Field
In 2005 the Boston College field hockey team made its new home at the state-of-the-art AstroTurf field located on the Newton Campus. Adjacent to the Newton Campus Lacrosse and Soccer Field, the Field Hockey Complex features an irrigated, non-filled nylon turf surrounded by fencing and a retaining wall. The complex includes a 750-seat bleacher, a press boxand a sports lighting system for evening play. In preparation for the 2007 fall season, wireless internet and a closed-in press box were added to the facility over the summer.
Construction began on April 19, 2005 and was completed in mid-August of the same year. The Eagles christened the field with a 3-2 win over Kent State on Sept. 4, 2005.
The field hosts all Boston College field hockey home games and also serves as the team’s practice facility.
Over the last three seasons, the Eagles have had much success at the Newton Campus Field, going 17-10, a .630 winning percentage. Four wins against ranked opponents have come in Newton.
With the field’s close proximity to the dormitories, the “Superfans,” BC’s collective student fan base, frequent games to provide a boisterous and exciting atmosphere. Decked in bright gold t-shirts, Superfans, friends and family sit right near the action in the bleachers or on the lawn shaded with trees surrounding the field.
In 2007, the Eagles hosted the ACC Field Hockey Championships. Newton Campus Field became the first site of an Atlantic Coast Conference tournament hosted by Boston College. The Eagles lost an overtime battle to Virginia, 3-2, in the quarterfinals. Almost 1,500 fans attended the five-game tournament, including the 500 who watched the championship game as North Carolina defeated Wake Forest, 4-3, in overtime.
The Bubble
In any season, Boston College student-athletes are able to take advantage of the best
in practice facilities thanks to “The Bubble”. The newest of Boston College’s athletic facilities, the bubble is the winter practice center for most of BC’s varsity teams.
“This state-of-the-art facility benefits all of the Boston College athletic programs,” says BC Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo. “It has taken us to the next level in collegiate athletics,”
Erected in December of 1998, the bubble cost approximately $2 million. The structure measures 360′ x 210′ and is 70′ tall, covering the entire football field and extending a few feet beyond the end zones and sidelines. The bubble usually takes four hours to inflate and is wired for electrical power. It is heated and can reach 72 degrees Fahrenheit, though it is usually kept at 55 degrees.
Special features of the bubble include a wind sensor, which stabilizes the bubble frame when there are high wind gusts, and a snow sensor, which automatically raises the temperature on the exterior of the bubble, melting the snow. Each year, the bubble will be erected at the end of November and stay inflated until the end of March. The facility hours are 7a.m. to 11 p.m.
The bubble’s main purpose is to serve as a practice facility during the winter months. It houses 10 varsity sports. Aside from football, baseball, field hockey, golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, men’s and women’s soccer and track all practice in the bubble.
Source: Boston College