A LETTER FROM UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT WILLIAM P. LEAHY, SJ
March, 2011
Dear Members of the Boston College Community:
For the last several years, I have written at this time to provide an update on the financial status of Boston College as well as information about significant University developments and plans. In this letter, I would like to focus on three critical areas: finances, facilities, and academics.
From a financial standpoint, Boston College has emerged from the economic downturn that began in 2008 in a position of strength, having avoided layoffs, financial aid reductions, and program cuts that many colleges and universities were forced to implement to balance their budgets. The University was also able to continue admitting undergraduate applicants on a need-blind basis and meeting their full-demonstrated need, which makes it possible for individuals from all socio-economic backgrounds to attend Boston College.
On March 4, the Board of Trustees approved the budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, and it calls for a 3.6 percent increase in undergraduate tuition, room, board, and fees, with tuition set at $41,480. Undergraduate financial aid will grow by 6.5 percent to $84.6 million, with overall student aid totaling $135 million.
This budget also includes $4.5 million to fund academic initiatives outlined in the Strategic Plan approved in 2006, and additional funds to provide for a salary increase for staff and faculty (3.5 percent for employees earning under $50,000 and 2.5 percent for those over $50,000). The Board was able to limit the tuition increase and allocate resources to support Boston College's strategic priorities partly as a result of $22.5 million in budget reallocations and savings that will be achieved between FY'09 and FY'12. Through planning, clear priorities, and reallocation, the $845 million operating budget for the coming year will provide the resources needed for Boston College to continue the institutional momentum of recent decades.
The University's solid financial footing has also enabled it to proceed with $150 million in construction and renovation projects outlined in its Institutional Master Plan. Stokes Hall, a 183,000 square foot academic building that will house the departments of history, English, philosophy, theology, and classics, and provide additional space for classroom instruction and student formation, is on schedule to be completed in the fall of 2012. Extensive exterior and interior work on Gasson Hall will be finished this August, in advance of the building's 100th anniversary of construction in 2013. The remodeling of two buildings is also underway on the Brighton Campus: 129 Lake Street (formerly known as Bishop Peterson Hall) and 2121 Commonwealth Avenue (once the Chancery of the Archdiocese of Boston). When these projects are completed in 2011 and 2012, respectively, employees currently working in More Hall will be relocated to the Brighton Campus, allowing the University to eventually build an undergraduate residence hall on the current More Hall site.
In addition, Boston College completed construction of facilities on Foster Street in Brighton and leased them to the Society of Jesus to provide living space for Jesuits studying and teaching at the School of Theology and Ministry who had lived in Cambridge until last August. This new school, established in 2007, continues to enhance the University's international connections and contribute to the strategic goal of Boston College becoming the world's leading Catholic university and theological center.
Finally, I am pleased to report that our "Light the World" Campaign has passed the mid-way point, having raised $770 million thus far toward the goal of $1.5 billion. BC alumni, parents, and friends have shown great generosity, and the University is counting on them to continue helping Boston College achieve its goals and aspirations.
From an academic standpoint, this has been another successful year for Boston College. Applications rose 10 percent to a record 33,000, and the University climbed to 31st in the US News rankings of national universities, its highest position to date. In addition, the University's graduate school and professional programs rose in the US News report released in mid-March, with the Lynch School of Education climbing from 19th to 15th, the Connell School of Nursing from 26th to 21st, the Law School from 28th to 27th and the Carroll School of Management from 39th to 34th. Among PhD programs, the economics department was ranked 31st and chemistry 45th in the United States.
BC faculty also continued to achieve distinction in their respective fields. Among the notable awards:
- Associate Professor of Physics Willie Padilla was named a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their research careers.
- Assistant Professor of Physics Stephen Wilson and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dunwei Wang both received Career Awards from the National Science Foundation.
- Lynch School of Education Monan Professor Philip Altbach, director of the Center for International Higher Education, was elected to the International Academy of Education.
- Assistant Professor of Psychology Alexa Veenema won a prestigious Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.
- Lynch School Professor Rebekah Levine Coley and her research team won a major grant from the MacArthur Foundation to study the effect of housing on children in low-income families.
- Sweeney Professor of Accounting G. Peter Wilson received the 2010 Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
- School of Theology and Ministry Professor Khaled Anatolios was named one of seven Henry Luce III Fellows in Theology for his contribution to theological scholarship and research.
- University Professor of English Paul Mariani's critically acclaimed biography of Hart Crane has been made into a movie called "The Broken Tower," which will premiere on campus on April 15.
In addition, the University is in the process of searching for new deans of the Lynch School of Education and Boston College Law School. Former Law School Dean John Garvey became president of the Catholic University of America last summer, and Father Joseph O'Keefe, head of the Lynch School since 2004, will return to the faculty next year after a sabbatical. Drinan Law Professor George Brown and Lynch School Associate Dean Maureen Kenny have been named interim deans. Our goal is to have a new head of the Law School appointed by early April, and the next dean of the Lynch School named sometime next year.
BC students continue to excel as well, both inside and outside the classroom, winning numerous prestigious academic scholarships in the past year including 16 undergraduate Fulbrights, and national championships in men's ice hockey and sailing. BC was also ranked 9th this year among schools of its size in the number of undergraduate alumni (38) involved in the Peace Corps. Since the program's inception 50 years ago, a total of 718 Boston College graduates have served in the Peace Corps, placing BC among the top universities in the United States.
As I have said on many occasions, Boston College has much for which to be thankful. Yet while the University has been blessed in so many ways, significant challenges remain.
The increasing requests for financial aid from BC families are putting a heavier burden on our operating budget. The University is one of only 21 private universities in the United States that is need blind in admissions and meets the full demonstrated financial need of undergraduates students, a particular achievement since the vast majority of universities with this policy, such as Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and MIT, are considerably better endowed. Nonetheless, the University seeks to maintain its current approach to financial aid and will need the increased support of BC's donors to do so.
Another pressure point is the rising cost of health care for current and retired Boston College employees, which this year is projected to reach $42 million. To slow this expense, the University has embarked on a major employee wellness initiative called "Healthy You" in the hope of improving employees' health and reducing expenditures.
The University is also engaged in a campus-wide energy conservation campaign involving both students and staff, which last year led to a greener campus and $1 million savings in energy bills. These efforts will continue in the coming years.
Finally, our Provost and Dean of Faculties Bert Garza and Executive Vice President Pat Keating have been involved in reviews of academic and administrative departments to enhance programs, reduce costs and reallocate funds to support strategic priorities, with the goal of making the University as efficient as possible.
Boston College has a distinctive mission as well as nationally recognized strengths in the liberal arts, teaching and research, and student formation. The University has achieved so much in recent years and aspires to even greater heights in the years to come. Because of its longstanding careful stewardship of financial resources, as well as an abiding commitment to intellectual excellence and our Jesuit, Catholic heritage, I am confident that Boston College will continue to offer a transformative educational experience to our students and remain a beacon of hope for the world.
