Boston College. Alumni Association
Historical Note
The Boston College Alumni Association is a voluntary membership organization founded in 1886, when Boston College had only 136 living alumni. Calls for an alumni organization appeared in The Stylus as early as 1884. The effort was led by Eugene A. McCarthy ('84), who canvassed alumni by mail and secured the approval of College rector Edward V. Boursaud, SJ. The first reunion and banquet was held at Young's Hotel on June 28, 1886. Edward A. McLaughlin ('71) served as the first Association president, with Thomas I. Coghlan ('78) as first vice-president. The Association held annual dinners from its founding and elected officers at each gathering.
The Association operated informally through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, supported by a Jesuit faculty liaison rather than professional staff. The first permanent office was established in 1919 at St. Mary's Hall, and the first Alumni Secretary, Francis Cronin, was appointed that same year. The Association also issued its inaugural Alumni Bulletin in October 1919. William J. Flynn ('39) succeeded Cronin as Alumni Secretary in 1952 and later became Director of Athletics. By 1967, the Association's staff leadership was formalized under a new title. Walter Boudreau ('43) had served as Alumni Secretary from 1957 to 1967; upon his departure, the position was elevated to Executive Director. John F. Wissler ('57) held the position from 1967 to 1998, the longest tenure in Association history.
During this period the Association's headquarters relocated from 76 Commonwealth Avenue - home to alumni gatherings for thirty-six years - to Putnam House on the Newton campus. The Association supported major University fundraising campaigns including the New Heights Capital Campaign of the late 1970s and maintained a growing portfolio of programming for regional chapters, class organizations, continuing education, and career services. Alumni giving grew substantially: total private gift support from alumni rose from $5.3 million in 1985–86 to $8.6 million by 1989-90. By 1990 the Association counted 98,611 living alumni; by 1997 that number had grown to 119,395.
Kathleen O'Toole (‘76) served as Executive Director from 1998 to 1999. Grace Cotter Regan ('82) followed as Executive Director from 2000 to 2005. John Feudo ('82) was subsequently appointed Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations, assuming duties on August 7, 2006, and serving until 2013. Joy Moore ('81) was appointed Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations in 2013 and served until 2018, when she moved to serve as Vice President for Student Affairs. Leah Spencer (née DeCosta) succeeded Moore as Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations in 2018; she currently holds the title Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations and University Commencement Director.
Today, the Association is governed by an elected Board of Directors, which collaborates with the Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations and the Office of University Advancement on programs, alumni engagement, and support for the University's Jesuit, Catholic mission. The Board includes a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and standing committee representatives. Throughout its history the Association has expanded its programming to include affinity councils — among them the AHANA Alumni Advisory Council, the Council for Women of Boston College, the LGBTQ+ Alumni Council, the Alumni Arts Circle, and the Wall Street Business Leadership Council — as well as regional chapter events and community service initiatives.
Found in 7 Collections and/or Records:
Boston College alumni photographs
This collection consists of photographs of alumni, both as individuals and at class and group events. There are also a small series of photographs of the Alumni Association. The collection includes photographs, proofs, contact sheets, negatives, slides, and cartes-de-visites.
Collection is open for research.
Boston College alumni veterans remembrance book: manuscript
A hand-lettered memorial list of Boston College alumni who died serving in the United States Armed Forces in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
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.
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.
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 publications
Publications and printed materials produced by Boston College administration and students.
Collection is open for research. Digital content in this collection has been migrated from source media; digital use copies can only be accessed onsite in the Burns Library Reading Room.
Boston College student theater collection
Materials, predominantly programs and photographs, pertaining to dramatics at Boston College, including productions organized by the Dramatics Society, English Department, Rhetorics Department, Theater Department, and other campus organizations.
Collection is open for research.