University Convocation

Boston College faces many of the financial pressures and other challenges confronting American Catholic colleges and universities, and American higher education itself, said University President William P. Leahy, S.J., at yesterday’s annual University Convocation in Robsham Theater.

BC, however, is well positioned to not only withstand these difficulties, he said, but to continue the upward trajectory it has been following for years and “accomplish even more as a Jesuit, Catholic university among the top tier of American institutions of higher education.”

Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead and Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley also spoke at the convocation, a traditional kick-off event for the new academic year.

In addition to offering his annual overview of the University, Fr. Leahy took the occasion to welcome two senior administrators who had joined the BC community since last year’s Convocation: Odette Lienau, the inaugural Marianne D. Short, Esq., Dean of the Boston College Law School, and Senior Vice President for University Advancement Andrew Davidson.

Higher education has long been, and continues to be, widely hailed and supported for its contributions in key areas of American life, said Fr. Leahy: social mobility; the formation of personal goals, moral values, and ethical behavior; economic progress; and technological advances.

But support for colleges and universities has undeniably “diminished among many Americans,” he added. Some members of the public question the value of a college degree, especially in the liberal arts, and express growing concerns about the cost of earning one; there also has been increasing criticism of higher education’s curriculum.

This public disenchantment comes at a time when colleges and universities face growing enrollment and financial pressures, said Fr. Leahy, which among other consequences has led “to the elimination of degree programs in humanities, languages, and pre-professional programs and a reduction in faculty positions.”

Fr. Leahy also pointed to the upheaval taking place in intercollegiate athletics, including the realignment among major conferences and the controversy over whether student-athletes should be treated as employees.

Meanwhile, he added, American colleges and universities are contemplating responses to the United States Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action and its effect on student racial diversity, legacy applications, and recruitment and financial aid policies.

There are additional issues in American Catholic higher education, said Fr. Leahy, including the changing demographics in American Catholicism—such as declines in marriages and births—and the altered relationship between Catholic colleges and universities and their founding religious congregations and dioceses.

As a Jesuit, Catholic university, BC can—and should—play a role in the search for solutions to the social, political, economic, environmental, and other major problems of contemporary society, said Fr. Leahy.

He pointed to the University’s innovative curriculum that links humanities with professions, its emphasis on formation, and its potential to serve as a meeting place between faith and culture, “modeling engagement and resolution of troubling issues through careful listening, honest and respectful dialogue, and commitment to truth and the common good.”

Lochhead said BC’s “strong institutional profile and stable outlook,” as evidenced by a long string of balanced budgets “going back to the 1970s,” have helped it reach an enviable position in the shifting higher education landscape. But the University is mindful of the impact that college tuition has on students and their families—especially in a time of high inflation—and will continue to offer generous financial aid while striving to be ever more efficient and productive in its operations.

Reviewing current and prospective campus projects, including the nearly completed Hoag Basketball Pavilion and renovations at Ashby Hall on the new Brookline Campus, Lochhead noted that inflation has contributed to higher construction and borrowing costs, while new environmental regulations and ordinances require BC to reduce its carbon footprint. Administrators are weighing such considerations as the University continues to put together its next Institutional Master Plan.

“It will take a lot of planning, creativity, and coordination to build in a way that makes sense for us, financially and otherwise,” said Lochhead.

Quigley reviewed some highlights of the 2022-2023 academic year, including the formal opening of the new integrated science building at 245 Beacon Street; the launch of the new major in Global Public Health and the Common Good; and key transitions including the arrivals of Lienau, School of Theology and Ministry Dean Michael McCarthy, S.J., and Erick Berrelleza, S.J.—dean of Messina College, whose 2024 opening Quigley also discussed in his remarks—as well as the appointment of Grant Gosselin as dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid and the retirement of Vice Provost for Enrollment Management John Mahoney.

Among the faculty starting their BC careers this academic year, Quigley noted, are a Nobel laureate, four new engineering faculty, and a new director of African and African Diaspora Studies. The composition of the 2023 first-year class, meanwhile, includes 38 percent AHANA students and 13 percent Pell-eligible students, and average SAT and ACT scores, respectively, of 1474 and 34.

Quigley outlined existing and imminent challenges for higher education, including a demographic change that will see a drop in the college-age population, the effect of the Supreme Court affirmative action ruling, and the impact of artificial intelligence on teaching and research.

But BC has numerous areas of opportunity and strength, he said, notably its emphasis on formative education and academic excellence, and ongoing renewal of the University faculty “with a commitment to hiring and supporting the best scholars who are drawn to the University’s distinctive mission and heritage.”