Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center supports the Boston College undergraduate community, with a particular focus on AHANA (African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American), multiracial, and OTE (Options Through Education) students. The Center has its origins in the 1968 Negro Talent Program, which was an effort to increase enrollment and support for students of color through recruitment and scholarships.

In the 1967-68 academic year, Boston College had only thirteen black undergraduates in the 6,975-student body; however, the first recruitment effort of the Program attracted 34 to 48 black students for the following year. In 1970 a group of black students protested for increased scholarship funds, more transportation options, more Black Studies classes, a black dorm, and tutoring services. Boston College agreed to some of these requests, and set a goal for black enrollment to reach ten percent. In 1971 the University decided that students would oversee the renamed “Black Talent Program”; this arrangement continued for five years.

Concerns over retention rates, student fatigue, and competition for resources led to a change in how the Program was managed; in 1976, the Program became the Office of Minority Student Affairs administered by Director Monroe "Bud" Mosely. In 1978, the office was renamed the Office of AHANA Student Programs, using an acronym coined by Boston College students Alfred Feliciano and Valerie Lewis as an alternative to "minority," and Donald Brown became director. On October 22, 1989, the Office was named in honor of teacher and activist Sister Thea Bowman, as Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center. Brown led this office until 2005; Inés Maturana Sendoya was appointed director in 2006.

Sources:

Bole, William. "Power of the People." Boston College Magazine. 2009.

Bresnahan, Christine. "Minority Ed Director Named; Students, BC Negotiate." The Heights 57, no. 3 (1976): 1.

Heaney, Cynthia. "AHANA House Renamed for Bowman." The Heights 70, no. 7 (1989): 3.

Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center. "Historical Information." Boston College. 2017. https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/offices/student-affairs/sites/ahana/about/baic-history.html.

The Office of Marketing Communications (OMC) has been responsible for Boston College's production of "any catalog, brochure, handbook, bulletin, website, or other printed or online publication published by an organizational unit of the University, for limited or general circulation on or off campus, that is labeled or intended as an official communication of Boston College." It accomplished this by assisting units across the University in the production and design of printed and online materials that represent the University, from magazines to signage to websites. It provided services such as publishing, graphic design, photography, event development and management, web design, and marketing counsel. Boston College Magazine, "Front Row" scholarly lectures, "@BC" slideshows, and Linden Lane Press were all organized by this office.

The Office has changed several times over the years. Originally called the Office of Public Relations, it has also been known as the Office of Communications (1980-1991), Office of Publications and Print Marketing (1991-2000), Office of Marketing Communications (2000-2017), and Office of University Communications (2017-). This new title results from the merger of the Office of Marketing Communications with the Office of News and Public Affairs.

Office leadership has been limited to a few: Paul J. Hennessy (1980-1986), Michael Franco (1986-1991), and Ben Birnbaum (1991-2017). Former Director of the Office of Public Relations, Jack Dunn, leads the new Office of University Communications.

Sources:

"Many New Faces In Executive Offices." The Heights 61, no. 2 (1980): 3.

News & Public Affairs. "NPA, OMC to merge."BC News. Last modified 20 March 2017. https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/bcnews/campus-community/announcements/university-communications.html

Noonan, Veronica. "Trustee Board Meets." The Heights 67, no. 2 (1986): 3.

Office of Marketing Communications. "Office of Marketing Communications." BC Services. Accessed 20 March 2017. https://bcservices.bc.edu/service/office-of-marketing-communications

Office of Marketing Communications. "Office of Marketing Communications -- Marketing Communications." 1 May 2001. Accessed 27 April 2017. http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/offices/policies/pdf/policies/I/1-135-100.pdf

The Trustees of Boston College. Publications office, director get new titles, 2000. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/00/birnbaum.html