Biography

The history of planned giving at Boston College dates back to the practice of student leadership organizing efforts to make class gifts to the university upon graduation. Originally, a member of the Jesuit administration served in a liaison capacity to these students, and later, to the Alumni Association. Efforts to centralize fundraising efforts began in the 1950s and took the form of a unit referenced as the Development Office. Development efforts were challenging, and staff turnover was high.

In 1967, a new position was formed: Vice President of Development and Public Relations. Thomas J. Cudmore, then Director of Development, was appointed to lead the new effort. In 1973, the unit was restructured into the Office of University Resources. In 1973, the responsibilities of the position included University Development, Public Relations, Alumni Relations, and Public Affairs. In 1989 , departments within the Office of Development established separate reporting lines to the Vice President for University Relations. As a result, the number of individual offices reporting to the Vice President increased by three to include the following: University Communications, Alumni Association, Resource Development, Individual Gifts, Planned Giving, and Corporate and Foundation Relations. The Publications Office was added to the Vice President's responsibilities in 1990. Mary Lou DeLong assumed the Vice President for University Relations position in 1992 upon the untimely death of Paul Le Comte.

University Relations was renamed to University Advancement shortly after the appointment of James Husson in 2004. While University Advancement no longer oversees overall university communication efforts, it does continue to administer programs such as the Alumni Relations and Office of Development.

As of 2024, this office reports to the Office of the President.

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