Boston College. Office of the President
Dates
- Existence: established 1863
Administrative history
John Bapst, S.J., served as the first president (1863–1869), during which the title "vice-rector" was used due to the college's formative status. Early presidents managed administrative, religious, and teaching duties. Presidential terms were initially three years, renewable once by the Jesuit General in Rome. Father Fulton uniquely served two non-consecutive terms.
By the 1950s, presidential terms extended to six years or more. Rome delegated more authority, appointing a separate Jesuit Community Superior to ease the president’s burden. The selection process shifted from Rome to the Jesuit Superior General and New England Provincial. Father Seavey Joyce was the last president appointed under this system.
Since 1971, the president no longer serves as Rector. The Board of Trustees now elects the president by majority vote and can remove them with a two-thirds vote. The President is the chief executive and administrative officer of the University, operating under the direction of the Board of Trustees and serving as an ex officio member of both the Board and its Executive Committee.
The President’s core responsibilities include overseeing the academic, business, and operational functions of the University. This leadership role encompasses the general management and strategic direction of Boston College’s educational and administrative activities. The President is also responsible for presenting an annual report on the state of the University and for recommending the annual budget to the Board of Trustees. Additionally, the President holds the authority to sign official University documents, such as contracts and financial instruments, and may delegate this authority to other officers when appropriate.
Reporting directly to the President are several key university officials. These include the Executive Vice President and the Academic Vice President and Dean of Faculties, who support the President in managing the institution’s academic and administrative affairs. Other direct reports include the Vice Presidents for University Relations and for Presidential Assistance, as well as the University Chaplain, Secretary, Historian, and Legal Counsel. Together, this leadership team supports the President in executing the University’s mission and ensuring effective governance.
Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) Identifier
Found in 26 Collections and/or Records:
Boston College collection of John Bapst, SJ
This collection documents the first president of Boston College, John Bapst, SJ, from his time as a missionary in Maine in the mid-1800s through the early history of Boston College. It is composed of correspondence, ephemera, publications, and other typescripts. The missionary materials also document the establishment of Catholic churches in Maine, the anti-Catholic Know-Nothing movement, and Jesuit work with the Penobscot Nation.
Collection is open for research.
Boston College artifacts collection
This collection documents the history of the American Jesuit university Boston College in the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries through its material culture. The collection includes banners, flags, football memorabilia, groundbreaking shovels, medals, pins, plaques, seals, and signs from Boston College administrators, faculty, and, to a lesser degree, students.
Collection is open for research.
Boston College building and campus images
The Boston College building and campus images collection is composed of photographs and images of Boston College buildings and campus. Building photographs include exterior and interior views of individual buildings; views of multiple buildings and campus in general; and aerial views of campus. Images include architectural renderings, drawings, and copy prints of building plans for new building construction as well as renovations for Gasson Hall and Bapst Library.
Collection is open for research; a portion is available digitally.
Boston College Commencement materials
This collection consists of individual and group photographs of graduates and attendees of Boston College Commencement ceremonies, as well as program materials. The collection includes contact sheets, photographs, printed ephemera, and slides.
Collection is open for research; a portion is also available digitally.
Boston College faculty and staff photographs
This collection consists of photographs of Boston College faculty members and staff. Faculty photographs contain images of both Jesuit and lay faculty members. Also included in this collection is a printed faculty photograph album from 1981, as well as the images and negatives used in its compilation.
Collection is open for research; a portion is available digitally.
Timothy Brosnahan, SJ, President's Office records
The Timothy Brosnahan, SJ, President's Office records contain correspondence, clippings, and writings documenting the life and work of Timothy Brosnahan, SJ, the tenth president of Boston College.
Collection is open for research.
Edward I. Devitt, SJ, President's Office records
The Edward I. Devitt, SJ, President's Office records reflect the life and work of Edward I. Devitt, SJ, ninth president of Boston College.
Collection is open for research.
William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office records
Collection is open for research; portions are available digitally.
"Father Rector's Office and President of Boston College" scrapbook in Series II is closed due to fragility. A photocopied duplicate of the scrapbook can be accessed in Box 4.
James H. Dolan, SJ, President's Office records
Collection is open for research; portions available digitally.
Robert Fulton, SJ, President's Office records
The Robert Fulton, SJ, President’s Office Records contain correspondence, manuscript material, notes, programs, and ephemera documenting the life and work of Robert Fulton, SJ, twice president of Boston College.
Collection is open for research.
Louis J. Gallagher, SJ, President's Office records
Collection open for research; portion also available digitally.
Thomas Ignatius Gasson, SJ, President's Office records
The Thomas Ignatius Gasson, SJ President's Office records contain correspondence, construction records, clippings, personal items, and St. Boltoph's Guild records documenting Gasson's administration as the thirteenth president of Boston College. Materials primarily document Boston College’s move to the Chestnut Hill campus from the South End in 1913.
Collection is open for research; portions are also available digitally.
W. Seavey Joyce, SJ, President’s Office records
Collection is closed. Access with permission of office. Departmental records and faculty files containing student records, faculty tenure and promotion files, and other records containing personally identifiable information are closed due to privacy restrictions.
William L. Keleher, SJ, President's Office records
Collection is open for research.
Charles W. Lyons, SJ, President's Office records
The President's office records of Charles W. Lyons, SJ, fourteenth president of Boston College, are composed of correspondence, memos, and writings that reflect his five year presidency as well as the wartime and post-World War I student military groups on campus during that period.
Collection is open for research; portions available digitally.
Joseph R. N. Maxwell, SJ, President's Office records
The Joseph R. N. Maxwell, SJ, President's Office Records contain administrative records, correspondence, manuscripts, architectural drawings, legal documents, reports, awards and certificates, writings, slides, and newspaper clippings documenting the life and tenure of Joseph R. N. Maxwell, SJ, twenty-first president of Boston College.
Collection is open for research. A small number of folders are closed due to privacy restrictions. One audio reel is not available for playback due to format impermanence and cannot be reformatted by Burns Library at this time. Please let Burns Library Public Services know of your specific interest; when it becomes possible we will schedule reformatting.
John McElroy, SJ, President's Office records
This collection consists mainly of photocopies of material created by John McElroy, SJ, in the course of his work as a Jesuit priest, long-time campaigner for a Jesuit college in Boston, and founder of Boston College. Material types include primarily photocopies of correspondence, diaries, manuscripts, publications, legal documents, and accounts.
Collection is open for research.
William James McGarry, SJ, President's Office records
The William James McGarry, SJ, President’s Office Records contain correspondence, photographs, financial statements, student applications, booklets, and ephemera documenting the work of William McGarry, SJ, eighteenth president of Boston College from 1937 to 1939.
Collection is open for research.
J. Donald Monan, SJ, President's Office records
Composed of correspondence, meeting minutes, memorabilia, publications and other items of Monan. Most of the material deals with administrative matters at Boston College. Also includes information on the Boston Citizen Seminars and Monan's work on behalf of the Boston Public Schools.
Collection is closed.
W. G. Read Mullan, SJ, President's Office records
The W. G. Read Mullan, SJ, President's Office records contain correspondence, clippings, and publications documenting Mullan's administration as the eleventh president of Boston College. The bulk of material relates to the educational controversy surrounding Harvard University administration's view of the academic standards at Boston College in particular, and Jesuit schools in general. Also included are documents about Boston College buildings and land purchases.
Collection is open for research.
William J. Murphy, SJ, President's Office records
The William J. Murphy, SJ, President’s Office Records contain correspondence, memos, student applications, contracts, notes, brochures, and pamphlets documenting Murphy's term as the nineteenth president of Boston College. Murphy's presidency coincided with World War II, and these records also document the war's effects on campus military programs and funding.
Collection is open for research.
Michael P. Walsh, SJ, President's Office records
Collection is open for research. Series I. Admissions is closed in its entirety due to privacy restrictions, and is stored off-site. A small amount of material in other series is also closed due to privacy restrictions.
Boston College special guests and events photographs
This collection contains photographs of special guests at Boston College, including commencement speakers, honorary degree holders, guest lecturers, and other visiting dignitaries. Special events depicted herein included commencements, speeches, Masses, plays, interviews, dedications, rallies, and others.
Collection is open for research; portions are available digitally.
Boston College student musical ensembles collection
Records, predominantly programs, photographs, and recordings, of official Boston College student musical ensembles and their predecessors, including both instrumental and vocal ensembles under the purview of the Bands Program and the Music Department.
Collection is open for research.
Some audiovisual recordings have been digitally copied and can only be accessed in the Burns Library Reading Room. Remaining audiovisual recordings are not available for playback due to format impermanence and have not been reformatted. Please let Burns Library Public Services know of your specific interest; if possible, reformatting will be scheduled.
Boston College collection of Edward V. Boursaud, SJ
This collection contains two letters written by the fifth president of Boston College, Edward V. Boursaud, SJ, after his time as president.
Collection is open for research.