Gift establishes Winston Provost and Dean of Faculties Fund
Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley will become the inaugural Robert L. and Judith T. Winston Provost and Dean of Faculties through a major gift from longtime Boston College benefactors Bob and Judy Winston. The gift will also establish a permanent fund to support innovative academic programming in or through the Office of the Provost.
Judy and Bob Winston
Bob Winston, a 1960 graduate, former University trustee, and retired senior vice president of Los Angeles-based mutual fund giant American Funds Distributors, said he made the gift on the 65th anniversary of his graduation out of gratitude to his alma mater and to honor Quigley for his academic leadership, which has helped BC to become one of the world’s leading Jesuit, Catholic universities.
“David Quigley is one of the most effective and respected provosts in higher education,” said Winston. “He is an accomplished educator and supportive provost who has helped the faculty grow professionally, fostered team accomplishment, and removed silos, while sharing credit. He is an impressive speaker who connects with his audience through his love of history, and a leader whose work in revitalizing the Core Curriculum and promoting interdisciplinary study has improved the BC educational experience for our students. Judy and I are proud to establish the Winston Provost and Dean of Faculties Fund in recognition of his achievements on behalf of Boston College.”
Quigley said he was honored to have his position endowed by the Winstons and grateful for the fund in support of academic initiatives that will continue to fuel the innovation and momentum the University has enjoyed in recent decades.
David Quigley (Lee Pellegrini)
“Bob and Judy Winston have been steadfast supporters of our academic programs for decades, and we are all grateful for their generous commitment to our students and faculty,” said Quigley. “The naming of the provostship is a powerful statement of their enduring belief in the important work that we are called to do in the Boston College classroom.”
The Winston Fund is the latest in a long line of gifts from two of BC’s most generous and loyal benefactors whose philanthropy has endowed the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics in the Carroll School of Management, the directorship of the McMullen Museum of Art, popular programs in University Mission and Ministry, and need-based financial aid at the Saint Columbkille Partnership School in Brighton, among other key initiatives.
Their latest donation includes an additional $2 million from an anonymous challenge fund donor to encourage “significant new investments in the University’s scholarly enterprise.” The challenge fund has already inspired 45 new faculty endowments, including deanships, professorships and faculty support funds, benefiting the University and its growing academic and scholarly reputation.
“David Quigley is one of the most effective and respected provosts in higher education...Judy and I are proud to establish the Winston Provost and Dean of Faculties Fund in recognition of his achievements on behalf of Boston College.”
“The Winston Provostship will provide resources to me and my successors to drive programmatic innovation and to invest in core areas of academic strength,” said Quigley. “Helping lead academic affairs at Boston College is a wonderful opportunity, and the Winstons' endowed support will ensure that future provosts will be able to guide the University to ever greater heights.”
As he prepares for his 65th reunion in June, Winston, whose career as a captain in the United States Army, a mentor, and a successful businessman was defined by ethical leadership, said he hopes his gift will help the University to build character among the impressive students who comprise the BC community today.
“I am most appreciative of my Jesuit education and want to help other Boston College students enjoy a successful career while helping others,” said Winston.
“Paraphrasing Pope Francis in his autobiography Hope, ‘If you discover an outstanding educational system, I encourage you to periodically nurture its roots so that future generations can benefit from it.’ That advice caused me to think how I can best ensure that Boston College’s roots will be nourished for future students and to help BC develop young men and women who will make the right decisions when no one is looking. After much thought and discussion, we have chosen the Provost and Dean of Faculties Fund. Judy and I are pleased to do so and excited and optimistic about Boston College and its future.”
An eminently respected historian and scholar of the 19th-century American city, Quigley joined the BC History Department in 1998 and earned the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2007. From 2008-2014, he served as dean of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences before being named Provost and Dean of Faculties in 2014.
During his tenure as provost, he co-chaired the University’s Strategic Planning Initiative Ever to Excel, which identified academic priorities for the decade and has resulted in the addition of more than 250 new faculty, the launch of new programs in human-centered engineering and public health, the renewal of the University’s Core Curriculum, and the establishment of Messina College, among other successes.
The Winston gift supports Boston College’s Soaring Higher campaign, which seeks to raise critical funding for academic priorities, financial aid, and student life. To date, $1.75 billion has been raised towards the campaign’s $3 billion goal.