By
A recent $10 million gift from the foundation of longtime Boston College benefactor and parent, and current University Trustee Mario Gabelli will support the beautification of the BC campus.
In recognition of the gift, made through the University’s Light the World campaign, Boston College will name the open spaces around Conte Forum as the Gabelli Plazas. These areas are among the most frequented public spaces on campus, especially on football game days, and enjoyed by many students, alumni, parents and visitors, noted BC administrators.
“One of our goals in developing the campus is to bring more attention to important outdoor spaces and the role they play in the lives of our students,” said Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead. “The Gabelli Plazas are incredibly vibrant, and not just on game days. Most members of our community walk through and pause at these plazas almost daily and now, thanks to the wonderful gift of the Gabelli family, we can sustain and enhance them even further.”
The gift adds to the legacy of generosity toward BC forged by Gabelli, the chairman and CEO of GAMCO Investors Inc., highlighted by his longstanding support of the University’s Presidential Scholars Program, which provides an integrated educational experience for some of BC’s most accomplished students. Last year, the program was named the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program following a major gift from the Gabelli Family Foundation.
In 2010, through a $3 million gift from Gabelli, the Carroll School of Management established the Mario J. Gabelli Endowed Professorship, currently held by Finance Professor Alan Marcus.
In 1995, the University named the residence hall at 80 Commonwealth Avenue after Gabelli, who co-founded the Boston College Wall Street Council.
“A university must have great faculty, facilities, and students,” said Gabelli, in an announcement of the most recent gift. “Those are the elements that make the greatest difference, and obviously each of those requires financing.
“The success of the United States is based on free markets, the rule of law, and meritocracy. The underpinning of meritocracy is education. Therefore, giving back to Boston College will surely help the next generation of leaders get their start.”