Boston College. Office of the President
Dates
- Existence: established 1863
Administrative history
The Office of the President was established at the founding of Boston College in 1863.
The first president and rector of Boston College, John Bapst, S.J., served from 1863 until 1869. During the college's inception, the term "vice-rector" was used instead of rector because the College was still in the process of formation. The early presidents performed administrative as well as religious duties, and often taught as well. President Fulton was the only president to hold the office twice non-consecutively.
During the University's early years and according to Jesuit custom the term was three years in duration and renewable for an additional three years at the discretion of the General of the Order of Rome. By the 1950s, the term had been extended to six years, and some presidents were allowed to remain longer. An extension of the president's administration was made possible through a policy decision made in Rome that a superior of the Jesuit Community should be appointed to ease the burden of the rector. At this time, Rome was no longer involved in the selection of the president; instead, the president was chosen by the Superior General of the Society of Jesus in consultation with the New England provincial and his consultors. Seavey Joyce, SJ was the last president to be named by the administration of the Society of Jesus. Since then, the president has been elected by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees.
The position of Academic Vice President was created in 1958. The position relieved the President of some academic responsibilities. In 1959, President Michael P. Walsh, SJ established the Board of Regents which served as an advisory board and with the addition of ten Jesuit members later evolved into the Board of Directors in 1968. Since January 1, 1971, the President no longer serves as Rector of the Jesuit Community. This change was recommended by the trustees to strengthen the office.
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 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. Three items in Series V. have been closed due to fragility.
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.
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.