BOSTON COLLEGE AT THE HEART OE BOSTON COLLEGE BOSTON COLLEGE Graduate School of ARTS AND SCIENCES CONTINUITY AND CHANGE AT THE HEART OF BOSTON COLLEGE Contents Preface 3 Introduction 3 The Early Days of the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences 4 The Professionalized Graduate School of the 1950s 9 Fr. Walsh’s Presidency and the Transformation of the Graduate School 13 The Donald White Years, 1971-1994 18 The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Now and in the Future 27 Appendix 30 Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Programs Deans of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series p .' >*-• »■ i)' *■ .V..^.. .“VyvV-*\ .• . *> K^"\'^ - . ; I'. ! • • . ' K'. ^ (<■■ '.: ■ "■:?:'- '‘'r r;'- ■i' •;• -'. ■ ' ■■■;<,■■ •' • ■J-. ■ s' ■: ; :-^ > > ■ '?■ ■ • ■'> • ‘ t . fr ; ■ w ■" if-; s './S- -Wj-tefev ?4.'" ;■ ■..■.• ''-'^.W-&j 'S', fw*-': fe'is ; .,-■; ■ ■ /■■.. \ mf ?? : v: ' ■ '> ,. ; E^'. Jf. ;v •■--■■> -|[^•'^ *>'■.< - ,\ ,', •, ‘ ^‘■/^' ■> -'V;;:.'. ■■■■ ■ V.Vii'-V'l? > / V. .' ' ■ '■ Preface It is quite an accomplishment for an individual or an institution to survive for 8o years. At the start of the 20th century, the average life span in the United States v\/as approx- imately 47 years. By the end of that century, the average had reached almost 80 years. Over the same time period, Boston College also experienced considerable change. This brief history records a significant part of that change — the growth and maturation of graduate education at Boston College during the last 80 years. It is a story of small beginnings and periods of considerable growth. As Boston College begins the 2ist century, one-third of its students are graduate and professional school students. The roots of this expansion run deep, through 80 years of programs and people. These roots have provided the nourishment for our current success and the prospects for future growth. Introduction The Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) is looking back at a legacy of eight decades, a history of con- stantly striving for new levels of distinction. Although the graduate school has seen many changes in these nearly 80 years, one thing has not changed since the school was founded in the early 1920s: Faculty and administrators have steadily pursued highly ambitious goals. At a point when the gradu- ate school now competes with the most dis- tinguished universities in the country for students, it is an appropriate time to cele- brate its traditions and achievements. Graduate education at Boston Gollege has a tradition of striving for excellence. Its increasing quality and visibility comple- ments and strengthens both the professional schools and the undergraduate college. The early history of the GSAS is based on annual reports from the dean, docu- ments, letters, course catalogs, faculty newsletters, and newspaper articles in the Boston Gollege Burns Library of Rare Books and Special Collections, home of the University Archives. In addition to such written sources, interviews with adminis- trators and faculty also informed this account of the graduate school’s more recent past. All of these sources reveal an exciting story of the transformation of an undergraduate institution with a small graduate program for high school teachers into a nationally ranked university with a graduate school that competes with institu- tions such as Yale and Harvard. 3 The Early Days of the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences A lthough Boston College had sporadi- cally awarded graduate degrees from L its earliest days in the late 19th cen- tury when it was located in Boston’s South End, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences did not emerge until the 1920s, in response to a desperate need for pro- grams to train high school teachers for the Boston public schools. The first mention of a master’s degree is in the 1884-1885 catalog, but Boston College had conferred only seven of these degrees by 1911. In 1912, Frs. Matthew Fortier and James O’Connor started to teach evening classes downtown to enable recent college gradu- ates to complete a master’s degree. This program, called the Post-Graduate School, included courses in philosophy, ethics, lit- erature, pedagogy, cosmology, and logic. Fortier forcefully argued that if students in the evening classes were not allowed to receive advanced degrees, Boston College and the Catholic school system in general would suffer. “If Boston College does not grant the degree,” he warned, “such men will seek these degrees from non-Catholic colleges, to the loss of Boston College.”' As a result of Fortier’s efforts, in the years between 1912 and 1915 Boston College awarded the M.A. degree to 83 students. Because the Boston public schools suffered a shortage of male teachers after World War I, the City of Boston asked Boston College to establish a graduate degree for male students who were interested in fill- ing these positions. In response to the city’s request, Boston College started an official master’s program in 1926. More than 200 Catholic nuns from the Archdiocese, who were also pursuing teaching careers, soon joined the male master’s candidates at Boston College. This extended graduate program encouraged Boston College leaders to formalize it by establishing a “Graduate School” in 1925. The new graduate school ambitiously offered Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Education, and even Ph.D. degrees. Catalogs from these early years list courses in mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, education, English, histo- ry, Latin, French, and philosophy. In the early 1920s, James Mellyn, who became the first dean of the graduate school, had established an extension school in the South End, which also admitted women. Under Mellyn’s direction, the graduate school became affiliated with the extension school. With only a part-time dean and William Kennedy of the history department 4 The Early Days of the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Boston College, St. Janies Street, Boston, circa igoo as the only faculty member holding a doc- torate, launching a Ph.D. program was an ambitious undertaking. In 1927, Harvard graduate William F. Linehan became the first student to receive a Ph.D. from the Boston College graduate school. In the peri- od between 1926 and 1934, the new gradu- ate school grew quickly with 622 students receiving an M.A.; 50, an M.S.; 94, an M.Ed.; and 29, a Ph.D. In this short period, the number of graduating students almost tripled. Despite this growth, Boston College decided to discontinue its Ph.D. program in the face of criticism from the Association of American Universities (AAU). In a 1932 survey, the AAU pointed out that Boston College lacked qualified faculty — still only a small number were holding Ph.D.’s — as The second class to earn doctorates In the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, igji The Early Days of the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences 5 James F. Mellyn, SJ., dean 1925-7929 well as the necessary library resources for doctoral studies. Following the advice of the AAU, Boston College dropped its Ph.D. programs completely.^ During the depression of the 1930s and 1940S, even without doctoral programs, the Boston College GSAS advanced aca- demically and continued to grow. In 1935, the school moved from its original Boston site on James Street to the Chestnut Hill campus and thus separated itself from the extension school. Under George O’Donnell, S.J., who served as the dean of the gradu- ate school from 1934 to 1952, the school began hiring a number of qualified schol- ars with doctorates who enabled the grad- uate school to offer a larger number and wider variety of courses.^ Part of this expansion included a new Department of 6 The Early Days of the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences St. Mary’s Hall and Casson Hall, 1920s The Early Days of the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences 7 Ceorge O'Donnell, S.J., dean 1934-1952 Gaelic Literature and Civilization inaugu- rated in 1943. As new faculty joined Boston College and the course catalog expanded, the number of graduate students doubled. In 1927, there were 202 graduate students enrolled at Boston College, and in 1947, there were 500. Although the nascent graduate school at Boston College had almost continuously grown from year to year, the expansion was not without its perils, as the fate of the Ph.D. program indicates. In spite of Dean O’Donnell’s best efforts to defend the school, persistent rumors — coming especially from other Catholic universities — circulat- ed about the inadequate quality of graduate courses at Boston College. For example, nuns who graduated from Boston College complained that they had been rejected from teaching positions at small Catholic schools because Catholic University had criticized the Boston College graduate pro- gram. In an attempt to improve the repu- tation of the graduate school, O’Donnell promptly reacted to such reports and wrote letters to faculty and administrators who had reportedly made unfavorable statements about BC’s graduate education. In 1949, for example, he wrote to the diocesan superintendent Cornelius Sherlock to ask him why he was “advising prospective graduate students to go to Harvard instead of coming to Boston College.’”^ As often happens in such cases, Sherlock responded that he had been mis- quoted and that he harbored no disap- proval of graduate education at Boston College. The ambition of the graduate school and Dean O’Donnell’s effort to augment its reputation met with ongoing success, and graduate work at Boston College became increasingly respectable in the 1950s. More and more talented fac- ulty arrived on campus, and the Jesuit col- lege became increasingly selective in the admission of its students. Notes 1 Undated letter by Father Fortier, History and Correspondence of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Box i, Boston College Archives. 2 See Boston College catalogs 1926 to 1934, Burns Library, Boston College. 3 For course offerings, see Boston College catalogs 1934 to 1952, Burns Library, Boston College. In 1950, Dean O’Donnell informed President Keleher about new courses in biology, chemistry, eco- nomics, education, English, history, mathematics, physics, and Romance languages; Ceorge O’Donnell to William Keleher, July 18, 1950, Records of the President’s Office, Files of the Administration of William Keleher, 60x5, Boston College Archives. 4 George O’Donnell to Reverend Cornelius T.H. Sherlock, August 1, 1949, History and Correspondence of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Box i, Boston College Archives, 8 The Early Days of the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences The Professionalized Graduate School of the 1950s T he beginning of the 1950s signaled a change from the overwhelming emphasis on undergraduate educa- tion. There was a new president and a new dean of the graduate school, both interested in the progress of Boston College’s graduate programs. The new president, Joseph Maxwell, S.J., was confi- dent that Boston College was now pre- pared to offer Ph.D. as well as master’s programs. Convinced of the quality of Boston College faculty and the sufficiency of library holdings, the president’s aca- demic council voted to restore a few doc- toral programs. In 1953, 20 years after the first Ph.D. program had been dropped entirely, the graduate school announced the reopening of doctoral programs in economics, education, and history. In that same year, Paul FitzGerald, S.J., became the first full-time dean of GSAS, succeed- ing acting dean James Burke, S.J. Dean FitzGerald, with a Ph.D. in history from Georgetown University and an inter- est in research, continued O’Donnell’s efforts to eliminate external criticism of graduate education at Boston Gollege. He pursued this goal by restricting the faculty in Ph.D. programs to professors with doc- torates. This policy was a pivotal step in the professionalization of the graduate school. By 1953-1954, FitzGerald had hired ten lay professors and four Jesuits with doc- torates. President Maxwell recognized the success of FitzGerald’s work and congrat- ulated him: “I am glad to see,” he wrote FitzGerald, “there is so much improvement of the caliber of the Graduate Faculty.”^ The new hiring policy not only helped Boston Gollege enhance its academic standing, but also provided an opportunity for Boston Gollege graduates who had completed their Ph.D.’s at other distin- guished universities to return to their alma mater as faculty. In the 1950s, Boston Gollege recruited faculty from alumni who had doctorates from Harvard, MIT, Yale, Brown, and Golumbia. Among these returning scholars were Thomas O’Gonnor (Boston University) in the his- tory department, Donald White (Harvard) in economics, John Mahoney (Harvard) in English, John Donovan (Harvard) in soci- ology, and Robert O’Malley (MIT) in chemistry. This cohort of Boston College graduates helped advance the academic standing of the graduate program and eased the University’s transition from being predominantly an undergraduate school with Jesuit instructors to being a The Professionalized Graduate School of the 1950s 9 James L. Burke, SJ., acting dean t 952 -iqs 3 Thomas H. O'Connor, history university with a largely lay faculty. In the 1950S, Boston College and its grad- uate school wanted both to improve the quality of the faculty and to attract better, research-oriented graduate students. In order to appeal to such students, Boston College began awarding competitive teach- ing fellowships and research assistant- ships. Financial aid given to research assis- tants enabled the GSAS to expand research programs in the science departments. In addition, graduate students benefited from contact with scholars from other universities and countries. A graduate discussion group with guest lecturers from universities such as Columbia, Tufts, Harvard, and the University of Dublin brought Boston College graduate students into contact with notable scholars. All of these changes led to further expansion of the graduate school. By 1957, Boston College enrolled 720 graduate students, including 22 foreign students, resulting in a 50 per- cent increase in the number of graduate student enrollments over the preceding decade; possessed 14 departments offering master’s programs; and graduated four students with doctorates. In spite of gen- eral progress, however, the master’s pro- grams in classics, sociology (reactivated in 1958-1959), and modern languages were discontinued in 1956. The progress of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was a clear indication of Boston College’s evolution from a college to a university. Since the early 1950s, President Maxwell had considered chang- ing the name of Boston College to include the word university. Since such a name change would gradually enhance the sta- tus of the GSAS, Dean FitzGerald was very much in favor of the idea. When the question came up again in a 1956 meeting of the board of trustees, he supported the TO The Professionalized Graduate School of the 1950s Boston College, 1950s The Professionalized Graduate School of the 1950s n proposed name change in his annual report. The name Boston College, he sug- gested, made it difficult for the public to recognize Boston College as a university and, consequently, GSAS as a professional graduate institution. It was his opinion that a new name would more accurately describe the status of Boston College and simultaneously emphasize its progressing graduate school.® Notes 5 Letter from Joseph Maxwell to Father FitzGerald, July i, 1954, Records of the President's Office, Files of the Administration of 1 Michael Walsh, Annual Report of the GSAS 1954, Burns Library, j Boston College. I i 6 For the Graduate Discussion Group, see History and Correspondence of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Box 1, Boston College Archives. For the Annual Reports of the ] Graduate School and enclosed letters, see Records of the I President’s Office, Files of the Administration of Joseph Maxwell ; and Files of the Administration of Michael Walsh, Boxes n and 51, Boston College Archives, See also Charles F. Donovan, "The Evolution of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences," The [ Graduate Exchange 5 (1990) and Charles F. Donovan, et al., History of Boston College: From the Beginnings to 1990 (Chestnut Hill: University Press of Boston College, 1990), 233-234, 272-275. 12 The Professionalized Graduate School of the 1950s Fr. Walsh’s Presidency and the Transformation of the Graduate School A Ithough Boston College decided not /\ to change its name to include the X A word university, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was neverthe- less increasingly making Boston College a university. This process increased dramat- ically in scale and tempo with the presi- dency of Michael Walsh, S.J., who had been chair of the Boston College biology department for ten years before becoming president in 1958. He held a Ph.D. from Fordham University and had come to Boston College as a part of the original group of research-oriented faculty. Inspired by his own interest in research, Fr. Walsh was determined to accelerate the transition of Boston College from a regional college to a national university. Building on the efforts of previous years, he made a serious effort to recruit top stu- dents from across the United States. Walsh expected younger department chairmen, who had doctorates and wished to extend the research activity in the grad- uate school, to recruit promising scholars and substantially upgrade their graduate- level courses. Among others, the chair- men of the history, English, chemistry, and sociology departments — respectively, Thomas O’Connor, John Mahoney, Robert O’Malley, and John Donovan — were among the group that worked with the president toward these ends. Within the first year of Fr. Walsh’s administration, the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences started to gain recognition from govern- mental and nongovernmental foundations. In 1958, the National Science Foundation supported the Boston College Institute for Secondary Teachers. Praise also came from other sources. For example, the Boston Globe applauded Boston College for train- ing mathematics teachers who were able to offer students shorter and easier ways to solve mathematical problems than those presented in outdated textbooks. The Globe article reported that Boston College pro- duced “modern teachers,” who “can speak of the Rhind papyrus, and translate the results into the language of a modern high speed computer.”^ In 1958, the new National Defense Education Act, created to help U.S. univer- sities educate teachers, funded five Boston College students to support them in plan- ning teaching careers. Through these fel- lowships, the GSAS received about $70,000 in three years. In addition, the Coe Foundation in New York City gave Fr. Walsh’s Presidency and the Transformation of the Graduate School 13 Michael P. Walsh, S.J., president 1958-1968 14 Fr. Walsh’s Presidency and the Transformation of the Graduate School Casson Hall biology lab, ig6os Boston College $100,000 to establish an American studies program. Boston College also introduced special M.A. degrees in medical studies and Latin American stud- ies and new programs in linguistics and Oriental studies.* Throughout his administration, Walsh continued to focus on his goal of trans- forming Boston College into a university. In 1959, he appointed a University Planning Committee to develop a ten-year projection of growth. The president had a sense of economic competition that con- vinced him that Boston College had to expand or it would die. A letter from Fr. Walsh to Dean FitzGerald’s successor, Joseph Devenny, S.J., in August 1962, reflects the president’s ambition for the graduate school. He wrote: “Again, I repeat, I am most anxious to develop and improve as much as possible . . . the grad- uate areas of our various departments. I have said so often, but really mean it, that I would like to see Boston College, within five years, recognized as the best Catholic University in every respect.”® Motivated by Walsh’s vision, the GSAS became a distinguished institution with students from many parts of the United States as well as from around the world. Under Fr. Devenny (1960-1966), the grad- uate school started four new doctoral pro- grams: chemistry in i960, physics in 1961, biology in 1963, and philosophy in 1966. The establishment of these programs is remarkable considering that, at the time, every new Ph.D. program had to be approved first by the Jesuit New England Provincial and then by the Father General in Rome. As with Fr. Walsh and Dean FitzGerald before him. Dean Devenny found the recruitment of excellent students important for the graduate school. He believed in a personalized approach and Fr. Walsh’s Presidency and the Transformation of the Graduate School 15 expected department chairs to contact their colleagues at schools that were considered to be good sources of prospective graduate students.' ° As a member and one of the founding deans of the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States, Devenny assured the GSAS visibility on a national level. Moreover, the significant increase in faculty research and publications brought the graduate school national recognition. Devenny and Walsh’s efforts indeed brought more talented students from more diverse backgrounds than ever before. Students came to the GSAS from more than lOO different institutions, among them such prestigious schools as the University of California at Berkeley, Columbia, Brown, and Yale. As this list suggests, in contrast to the rather local student body that defined the GSAS in the first half of the 20th century, the Boston Gollege graduate community in the 1960s consisted of students from all over the United States. The character of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences became increasingly diverse. Five percent of the graduate students in 1968 were international students; they established a multicultural community with members from 48 countries. In the decade between 1958 and 1968, the number of interna- tional students grew from 32 to 170. African students often entered Boston Gollege through the Africa-America Institute in New York. In order to enable these students to afford to attend the school on the Heights, Boston Gollege waived their tuition. These and other international graduate students helped to spread Boston Gollege’s much enhanced reputation in their home countries. Despite all of these successes, the late 1960s and 1970S proved to be difficult years for the graduate school. The period was one of the most chaotic and disrup- tive in U.S. history. With the brutal murder of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, followed by the killing of Senator Robert F. Kennedy only two months later, one major city after another experienced waves of violence. Protests against the Vietnam War escalated both in number and intensity, civil rights demon- strations multiplied rapidly, and student upheavals paralyzed the nation’s colleges and universities from coast to coast. Boston Gollege was no exception, as a peri- od of financial and academic instability raised serious questions about the University’s future. While academic administrators were working to establish a more efficient system of corporate man- agement and fiscal planning, students were engaged in various activities aimed at modernizing the traditional character of the school’s academic programs and open- ing up the process of academic decision making to greater student participation. For example, students demanded to sit on tenure and promotion committees, to par- ticipate in department decisions regarding courses and grading, and to contribute to decisions allocating funds to graduate assistants and teaching fellows. Along with many other U.S. universities at this time, Boston Gollege faced serious financial difficulties. The Vietnam War had caused a cutback in government grants; alumni had decreased giving; and the University had not developed an ade- quate budgeting system. Undergraduate tuition was the main source of revenue. In order to promote the economic fortunes of the University, Boston Gollege moved to i6 Fr. Walsh’s Presidency and the Transformation of the Graduate School Joseph Deventny, SJ., dean tq6o-iq66, and Walter J. Feeney, SJ., dean 1966-1969 create an endowment. Although the GSAS started four new Ph.D. programs — English, sociology, political science, and theology — in 1970 and 1971, the constant question was whether Boston College could afford them all. The dean at that time, Walter Feeney, S.J. (1966-1969), managed to protect the interests of the GSAS but came to appreciate that a mature graduate institution with a large number of doctoral programs was expen- sive. Extended libraries and laboratories, better paid senior faculty with reduced teaching loads, and fellowships for doctor- al candidates demanded large financial resources. In 1972, after the brief admin- istration of Dean Samuel Aronoff (1969-1971), the challenge of difficult times ultimately resulted in bringing a new dean on board who would seriously review both the management and mission of the graduate school. Notes 7 Boston Sunday Clobe, December 1, 1957. 8 Boston Clobe, December 1, 1957. See also Annual Reports of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 1958-59, Records of the President’s Office, Files of the Administration of Michael Walsh, Boston College Archives, and Donovan, History of Boston College, 284-285. 9 Fr. Walsh to Fr. Devenny, August 1, 1962, Records of the President’s Office, Files of the Administration of Michael Walsh, Boston College Archives. 10 Fr. Devenny to Fr. Walsh, April 16, 1962, Records of the President’s Office, Files of the Administration of Michael Walsh, Boston College Archives. Fr. Walsh’s Presidency and the Transformation of the Graduate School 17 The Donald White Years, 1971-1994 T he new dean of the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Donald White, took up office in 1971, a year before Donald Monan, S.J., became the University’s new president. In a period when Boston College was experiencing financial diffi- culties and when graduate programs — especially doctoral programs — all over the country were encountering problems in the face of a national economic downturn, the University’s senior administrators had been looking for a graduate school dean who would be able to preserve the status of the school. “The boom of graduate edu- cation from the 1960s was over,” says Donald White about the situation in the early 1970s. “Graduate education had grown to a point where the nation was no longer willing to support it to that extent.”” White appeared to be the right man for the time. With knowledge of Boston College, administrative experience, and mediating skills, which he had demonstrated in negotiations during labor strikes in Boston, Dean White promised to serve as a stabi- lizing force within the GSAS. White had received his bachelor’s degree from Boston College and his master’s and doc- toral degrees in economics from Harvard University. He returned to Boston College to begin an academic career in 1946, when he joined the economics depart- ment. From 1955 to 1961, he served as associate dean of the Carroll School of Management. Impressed by his adminis- trative work, Boston College initially offered Donald White the position of the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences after Devenny retired in 1966, but he refused because of a research offer from Harvard University. Although he remained on the faculty at Boston College, he accepted a position as a special lecturer in Harvard’s Trade Union Program, a post he held for 32 years. White’s outstanding academic and administrative qualities, as well as his training as an economist, helped the GSAS preserve what had been achieved in the 1960s. This was a notable success at a time when many universities had to reduce their graduate programs. After the GSAS overcame the financial straits of the early 1970s, it continued to progress and eventually to flourish again in the 1980s. Importantly, the appointment of White in 1971 led to a significant upgrading of the position of the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Donald i8 The Donald White Years, 1971-1994 Donald White White was named not only dean of the GSAS but also associate dean of faculties, a position that gave him more authority and power than the graduate deans before him had ever had. In contrast to former deans, as dean and associate dean of facul- ties, Donald White played a direct role in the hiring of faculty and in budgetary mat- ters. The new dean’s first step in this upgraded position was to review Boston College graduate programs, especially Ph.D. programs, in order to make appro- priate adjustments with the limited resources available. In this review process, the dean asked the individual departments to submit reports on their respective grad- uate programs, which they filed with him in December 1971.’^ The fiscal crisis of the early 1970s had also induced the new president, Fr. Monan, to review the University’s economic and academic situation. As part of this process. Fr. Monan formed a committee to analyze different schools and departments in order to define Boston College’s future priorities. The Committee on University Priorities observed that the reputation of Boston College in the field of graduate work had not yet been “firmly established,” and urged that it strengthen its reputation in that area by carefully maintaining only dis- tinguished graduate programs of indis- putable academic quality. The goal was to focus on the strongest graduate programs because those were the ones that could benefit the University in general. The committee’s report, which was pre- sented to Fr. Monan in February 1972, emphasized that strong graduate programs inevitably enrich undergraduate ones, and, for that reason, it recommended that the graduate programs be consolidated rather than eliminated. Furthermore, the commit- tee listed several positive developments, The Donald White Years, 1971-1994 19 J. Donald Monan, S.J., president 1972-7996 even in those difficult years of the late 1960s and early 1970s. For example, fac- ulty publications and outside research support had increased during that time, and the value of sponsored research at Boston College had increased from about $2 million to $3 million in the two-year period from 1969 to 1971. One of the major goals of GSAS at that time was to extend the number of research grants in areas that would help the school maximize its reputation.’'* An important factor in helping Boston College become more efficient during the difficult early 1970s was the establishment of the Boston Consortium with other uni- versities in the Boston area, which still exists today. This arrangement enabled Boston College students to take courses at Tufts, Brandeis, and Boston University, and to use the library facilities of those institu- tions. Boston College joined the consor- tium because it allowed these schools to operate efficiently by complementing instead of duplicating one another. The fact that Donald White was prominent in national higher education circles helped contribute to the improvement of the repu- tation of GSAS. In the academic year of 1972-1973, he became president of the New England Association of Graduate Schools. One year later. White responded to the desire of deans from Pennsylvania and New York to be part of a similar organiza- tion by proposing a Northeast Association of Graduate Schools. Using his influence in these associations and his connections on the board of the Gouncil of Graduate 20 The Donald white Years, 1971-1994 Schools in the United States, White did his best to stop people from confusing Boston University and Boston College. In White’s first decade as dean, the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Science was able to preserve the status that it had gained in the 1960s. Despite the pressure to cut graduate programs in the early years of his administration, the graduate school under Donald White’s direction eliminated only one Ph.D. pro- gram and even began a new one. The doc- toral program in Germanic studies had to be discontinued because its founder Heinz Bloom retired, and the University could not afford to replace him. But the Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry, established in 1971, started a new doctoral program in religion and education in 1977. The number of graduate students in the early 1970s remained stable, with an enrollment of a little more than 2,200 stu- dents. At this time, the education school had the second most graduate students, many more than the third largest school, nursing. In 1974-1975, for example, 1,085 graduate students were enrolled in the arts and sciences departments; 1,083 educa- tion; and 93 in nursing.'^ In his early years as dean. White not only managed to stabilize the graduate school, but also established it as an impor- tant section of the University. This was already obvious in 1975, when the Uni- versity Academic Planning Council recog- nized the central role of graduate educa- tion at Boston College. Building on the council’s acknowledgement. White argued that the University needed a high-quality graduate school to buttress the under- graduate program. White thought that the time had come for graduate education “to strive to attain new levels of distinction.’”® Dean White and other administrators believed ongoing review of graduate educa- tion at Boston College was necessary in order to enable the graduate school to pur- sue its ambitious goals of attaining excel- lence. To this end, in 1983, White initiated the Graduate Educational Policy Committee (GEPC) to evaluate graduate programs. The committee, which he chaired, represented a full spectrum of the University, including faculty, administra- tors, and students. Responding positively to the committee’s intention to explore the identity and future of the graduate school. Academic Vice President Joseph Eahey, S.J., organized a weekend retreat in Andover, Massachusetts, for 37 faculty members and administrators. In a meeting with the committee following the Andover weekend, Er. Monan assured the faculty that the GEPC review of graduate pro- grams was not intended to economize but rather to make graduate education more efficient as well as identify the needs of individual departments in order to help them advance. “I would want you to know from the outset,” he emphasized, “that the inspiration of this study is not any cost-cut- ting imperative or preference for contrac- tion. This study will proceed not from any suspicion of weakness but with the sincere necessity to define our own ambitions and clarify the distinctive role of graduate edu- cation in the identity of the university.” furthermore, he agreed with Dean White that “our repute as a university and our distinctive contribution to scholarship will depend in particular manner upon our graduate programs. In November 1984, the committee sent out mission statements to the faculty of The Donald White Years, 1971-1994 21 each department asking them to respond with target statements and profiles of fac- ulty accomplishments. The GEPC report submitted to Fr. Monan in February 1986 ranked departments and concluded that the departments that deserved highest pri- ority in the process were political science, psychology, chemistry, nursing, and edu- cation. Education had the largest number of graduate students and had a growing international reputation. Nursing was increasingly successful in research and publication, which encouraged the depart- ment to propose a doctoral program. Chemistry was gaining greater profession- al visibility as faculty members won pres- tigious awards, but the department was still not competing with top-tier institu- tions for students. Political science had developed a very strong faculty, and the reorganized psychology department had gained prestige through its faculty’s accomplishments. The GEPC gave second priority to the economics, history, geology, and sociology departments. The commit- tee deemed classical studies, Slavic and Eastern languages, biology, and physics to be adequate but found two departments wanting — American studies and Romance languages. The committee concluded that American studies had yet to reach its potential, and it recommended suspend- ing the doctoral program in Romance lan- guages because of its unpromising future, which included declining enrollment and the retirement of outstanding faculty.'^ The report of the GSAS committee was quite successful in identifying faculty needs and making effective recommenda- tions for addressing them. The most com- mon request from departments regarding students had been for the enhancement of 22 The Donald white Years, 1971-1994 Commencement, 1977 The Donald White Years, 1971-1994 23 stipends. Such enhancement, it was argued, was necessary to compete with other institutions for high quality graduate students and to defray the high cost of liv- ing in Boston, which often caused students to seek outside employment that detracted from their studies. The GEPC recom- mended and received more funding for graduate students. The GSAS established the Donald White Teaching Excellence Award to enhance graduate students’ inter- est in teaching, offered increased stipends, and began a Minority fellowship Program in cooperation with Notre Dame, Fordham, and Georgetown universities. The sciences at Boston Gollege, especial- ly chemistry and geology, had been con- stantly growing and successful in their research. The outlook for federal funding, however, was unsettled, and the costs of science equipment were very high. Although these facts suggested caution, Boston College followed the examples of schools such as Brown University and Dartmouth College, which supported small but strong science departments. Chemistry, which was the most progres- sive science department at Boston College at the time, contended that it needed a chemistry building in order to make sig- nificant advances. When Academic Vice President Fr. Joseph Fahey and the GEPC debated the proposal of a chemistry build- ing in relation to the needs of other departments, a broad consensus among GEPC members, including those from the humanities and social sciences, emerged in favor of building the Merkert Chemistry Center. The consensus was especially remarkable because construc- tion of the chemistry building meant the delay of many other proposed projects. With the increased funds and a highly motivated administration and faculty, the Boston College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences resumed its traditional pur- suit of excellence in the second half of the 1980s. The opening of the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Library in 1984 and the reno- vated Bapst Library in 1986 created suffi- cient research facilities. Moreover, faculty and students won prestigious fellowships and grants. In 1985-1986, Sr. Anne Munley, for example, won the Annual Book Award of the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools. One year later, the political science department won a Bradley Foundation grant to support graduate students and invite notable speakers, and a political science doctoral candidate, Maureen Casamayou, received a $10,000 fellowship from the Brookings Institute. At the same time, Boston College inaugurated a new graduate pro- gram in international studies and in 1988 launched the nursing Ph.D. program. However, the number of nursing students stagnated in the two decades between the early 1970s and the early 1990s, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences grew very little, with 2,064 graduate stu- dents in 1971-1972 and only about 150 more students in 1991-1992. In the early 1990S, education claimed the most gradu- ate students; in 1991-1992, almost 800 were working for their master’s degrees and more than 300 for their Ph.D.’s in education. Other large units in the gradu- ate school were nursing with 213 students; philosophy with 160; the Institute of Religious Education with 160; and English with 137. In the beginning of the 1 9 90s, the two largest units in the gradu- ate school, education and nursing, pushed 24 The Donald white Years, 1971-1994 The Donald White Years, 1971-1994 25 more and more strongly for their separa- tion from the GSAS. The idea of separating the nursing grad- uate program from the education graduate program emerged in the late 1980s. Both schools were independent and freestand- ing on the undergraduate level, but not at the graduate level, which limited their national visibility and complicated their organization. For example, the deans of the Schools of Nursing and Education were only deans at the undergraduate level and department chairs at the gradu- ate level. U.S. News e[ World Report was not able to rank the departments because they were not graduate schools. Diana Pullin, who was dean of the School of Education and chair of education in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the time, also argued for the autonomy of the education graduate school in order to fulfill the requirements of the National Gouncil for Accreditation of Teacher Notes 11 Interview with Donald White, July 7, 2003. 12 Interview with Donald White, June 30, 2003. 13 Interview with Harold Petersen, chair of the economics department at the time and member of the search committee for the new graduate dean, July 23, 2003, 14 Report to the President from the Committee on University Priorities, Boston College, February 1, 1972, Boston College Archives. 15 See Annual Reports of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for the years 1971-75, Boston College Archives. 16 Report of the Educational Policy committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, February 13, 1986, Boston College Archives. Education (NGATE), a highly respected accrediting body. The graduate programs in nursing and education finally separated from the GSAS in 1994. The separation proved to be a success for both departments and did not prevent the GSAS from further develop- ment. In 1998, U.S. News e[ World Report ranked both the Lynch School of Education and the Gonnell School of Nursing among the top 25 in their fields. In the past decade, both schools have attracted better faculty and students than ever before, have received more outside funding, and have extended their research. The year 1994 was overall an eventful one for the Boston Gollege Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Donald White retired after serving the GSAS as its dean for almost a quarter century. He secured its place in the University during the difficult times of the 1970s and led it to increasing national prominence. 17 Donovan, History of Boston College, 505-506. Members of the GEPC were: All Banuazizi, associate professor of psychology; Paul Breines, associate professor of history; Stephen Brown, pro- fessor of theology; Fr. Joseph Fahey, academic vice president and dean of faculties; Mary Gordon, professor of nursing; Irving Hurwitz, associate professor of education; William Keane, asso- ciate professor of mathematics; Ross Kelly, professor of chem- istry; George Ladd, professor of education; Spencer MacDonald, director of admission and financial aid; John Mahoney, professor of English; Rev. William Neenan, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; James O’Neiii, assistant dean; Alec F. Peck, associate dean of graduate studies; Kenneth Wegner, associate professor of education; and two graduate students. 18 See Report of the Educational Policy committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, February 13, 1986, Boston College Archives. 26 The Donald White Years, 1971-1994 The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Now and in the Future I n 1994, Dean White’s successor, Dr. Michael A. Smyer, came to Boston College from Pennsylvania State University to assume the newly created role of dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and associate vice presi- dent for research. This dual responsibility reflected the growing recognition of the importance of research and graduate ini- tiatives for the success of Boston College. Over the next ten years, external funding for sponsored activities would more than triple, topping $43 million in 2003. In 1997, Boston College became a member of the Association of Research Libraries, joining 120 other major research libraries in North America. Boston College was also classified as a Carnegie research and doctoral extensive university, reflect- ing its commitment to and achievement in research and graduate education, as well as in undergraduate education. One of Dean Smyer’s first responsibili- ties in 1994 was to cochair the University Academic Planning Committee (UAPC), charged with developing strategic priori- ties for the next phase of the University's development. In an 18-month planning process, the UAPC set out initiatives that would form the basis of the successful Ever to Excel campaign, completed in 2003. Not surprisingly, several recommen- dations focused on improving graduate education at Boston College, including at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Several UAPC strategies were developed to attract the most talented students to Boston College. For example, Boston College expanded and enhanced its Minority Fellowship Program, which attracted exceptional graduate students from underrepresented groups. As a result, Boston College is now able to sup- port minority fellows in the graduate schools of nursing, social work, education, and arts and sciences. In addition, com- petitive graduate stipends are offered to minority fellows, allowing Boston College to compete for the best and brightest throughout the nation. Other UAPC strategies focused more closely on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. For example, with UAPC sup- port, the school developed and implement- ed the Presidential Fellows Program, which provides competitive fellowships for exceptional students. These fellowships have allowed GSAS departments to com- pete for the most outstanding applicants. With enhanced stipend support, GSAS is The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Now and in the Future 27 Dean Michael Smyer now able to recruit top students from around the world. In addition to the spe- cialized fellowship programs, the planning initiative allowed GSAS to provide more competitive stipends in all of its fields. The goal was simple: to enable Boston College to compete on the basis of the quality of its faculty, not the cost of living. The planning process also enabled Dean Smyer and his colleagues to develop com- prehensive strategies for improving the quality of the graduate school’s students and curricula. For example, two depart- ments (history and sociology) cut the number of their students in half by no longer admitting unfunded doctoral stu- dents. The results have been striking: better students, shorter time to attain a degree, and improved job placements. The mid-1990s was a time of national discussion regarding the importance of student-life issues for graduate students, and the UAPC process highlighted the need for a graduate center on campus. The John C. Murray, S.J., Graduate Center opened in 1995. At the same time, an associate dean for graduate student life, Anne Morgan, was appointed for the first time. These initiatives made Boston College among the national leaders in graduate student life. The UAPC process also highlighted the important continued synergy of research and student learning for Boston College’s ongoing success. In the political science department, graduate stipends were added to allow graduate students to assist in teaching a sophomore honors seminar. Similarly, a series of initiatives in the natu- ral sciences were developed that included the expansion and renovation of Higgins Hall, enhancement of graduate stipends, and a commitment to hiring new faculty. Together, these steps have improved undergraduate and graduate teaching in the arts and sciences. Throughout the UAPC process and the subsequent successful fund-raising cam- paign, Dean Smyer and his colleagues worked to bring the best practices of grad- uate education to Boston College. During this time, for example, the history depart- ment was awarded a Preparing Future Faculties grant from the American Historical Association and the Pew Charitable Trusts. This grant enabled the history faculty to build more extensive col- laborations with a broader range of educa- tional institutions and enhanced career preparation for graduate students. The new millennium has been marked 28 The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Now and in the Future by greater collaboration among the grad- uate schools at Boston College. The Carroll School of Management and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences developed a dual-degree program to allow students to combine preparation in the natural sciences and business. Similarly, collaborations among faculty members in the Department of English, faculty members in the Lynch School of Education, and teachers from Brighton High School produced vital changes in the master’s curriculum in English and significant improvement in Boston College’s preparation of high school teachers. This effort foreshadowed the five-year, $5 million grant awarded by the Carnegie Foundation to support collabora- tions between faculty members in the Lynch School of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences. Throughout the 1990s, Dean Smyer and his colleagues worked to establish distinc- tive niches for each of the graduate pro- grams in arts and sciences. Rather than substantially expand the size of the gradu- ate programs, they sought to enhance the quality of graduate education by focused specialization. For example, the chemistry department promoted the excellence of its organic chemistry program, and the politi- cal science department emphasized American politics and political philosophy. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences has made significant progress during its first 80 years. It has built upon the modest foundation of nascent degree programs to become a comprehensive graduate school. What will the next 80 years bring.^ Although the substance may not be perfectly clear, the outlines of an answer are already emerging. There are increasing demands for interdisciplinary graduate programs. The emerging field of bioinformatics draws upon expertise and faculty in com- puter science, mathematics, and biology. Similarly, medieval studies requires col- laboration across history, philosophy, Romance languages and literatures, and theology. The increasing maturity of grad- uate education at Boston College will likely be reflected in expanded interdisci- plinary graduate offerings. Another theme for the future will be international collaborations for faculty and students. Twenty- five percent of graduate students are international students. Many GSAS faculty are involved in research col- laborations with colleagues from across the globe. With enhanced information technologies and the University’s growing research reputation, graduate education will be one way that Boston College brings its expertise to bear on pressing human issues worldwide. Finally, it is clear that the pressures for financial support for graduate education will continue. Funding for individual grad- uate student stipends and for special pro- grams such as the Presidential Fellows Program is imperative if Boston College is to continue to achieve excellence in graduate education. The addition of a summer research fund may mean the difference for some students between successful completion of a degree and a lengthy period of part-time study. Graduate education has played a key role in Boston College’s transformation in the 20th century. Continued support of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will ensure the intellectual vitality of Boston Gollege in the 21st century. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Now and in the Future 29 Appendix GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES PROGRAMS The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences offers master’s and doctoral degrees in the following fields: * master’s degree only Students working toward these degrees are offered support from a number of internal and external sources. Particularly outstanding students may be offered support through fellowship programs such as the following: THE AMERICAN MINORITY STUDENT FELLOWSHIP FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS The graduate school supports a number of fellowships for especially promising students from underrepresented groups who are beginning their doctoral studies. These fellowships are renewable, contingent on performance, for a total of five years of support and carry full tuition scholarships and stipends. THE PRESIDENTIAL FELLOWSHIP FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS The graduate school awards several Presidential Fellowships each year to the most highly qualified candidates for doctoral studies. These fellowships are renewable, contingent on performance, for a total of five years of support and carry full tuition scholarships and stipends. Classics* Biology Economics English Chemistry Political science History Geology and geophysics* Psychology Pastoral ministry Mathematics* Sociology Philosophy Physics Romance languages and literatures Slavic and Eastern languages* 30 Appendix SUMMER RESEARCH APPRENTICESHIPS The graduate school awards apprenticeships to doctoral students to conduct research with faculty during the summer period. These apprenticeships provide students with valuable research experience and stipends to cover living expenses. DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS The graduate school awards several Dissertation Fellowships to advanced doctoral students in order to enable the most motivated candidates to dedicate themselves full-time to dissertation work. These fellowships are for one year only and carry a stipend. In addition to teaching and advising master’s and doctoral students, graduate school faculty make significant contributions to research and community outreach through various centers and institutes, including: Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life Center for Child, Family, and Community Partnerships Center for Christian-Jewish Learning Center for Ignatian Spirituality Center for Retirement Research Center for the Study of Home and Community Life Institute of Medieval Philosophy and Theology Institute for Scientific Research Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture Irish Institute Jesuit Institute The Lonergan Institute Mathematics Institute Social Welfare Research Institute Weston Observatory DEANS OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES James Mellyn, S.J., 1925-1929 John F. Doherty, S.J., 1929-1934 George O’Donnell, S.J., 1934-1952 James Burke (Acting Dean), S.J., 1952-1953 Paul FitzGerald, S.J., 1953-1960 Joseph Devenny, S.J., 1960-1966 Walter J. Feeney, S.J., 1966-1969 Samuel Aronoff 1969-1971 Donald White 1971-1994 Michael Smyer 1994- Appendix 31 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI LECTURE SERIES “celebrating graduate education at boston college” BIOLOGY Dr. Jacqueline E. Heard, Monsanto Corporation: “the application of biotechnology to crop improvement.” CLASSICS Dr. Cynthia Damon, Department of Classics, Amherst College: “writing the fighting: caesar’s civil war.” ECONOMICS Dr. James R. Markusen, Department of Economics, University of Colorado: “the globalization debate: rhetoric and reality.” ENGLISH Dr. Lois Brown, Department of English, Mount Holyoke College: “contending forces of freedom: race, romance, and reform in antebellum boston.” GEOLOGY Dr. Patrick Leahy, chief geologist of the U.S. Geological Survey: “the geosciences role in migrating to a global sustainable society.” HISTORY Dr. Kathleen Paul, Department of History, University of South Florida: “communities of BRITISHNESS: MIGRATION IN THE LAST GASP OF EMPIRE.” INSTITUTE OF RELIGION AND PASTORAL MINISTRY Dr. Terry Veling, Department of Religious Studies and Pastoral Ministries, St. Thomas University: “face-to-face: god and humanity.” PHILOSOPHY Dr. Mitchell Aboulafia, Department of Philosophy, Pennsylvania State University: “on self-determination and self-expression.” PHYSICS Dr. Krastan B. Blagoev, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the NMR Center, Massachusetts General Hospital: “neural tissue: from single neurons to whole brains.” POLITICAL SCIENCE Dr. Anthony Corrado, Department of Political Science, Colby College: “the changing character of judicial elections.” PSYCHOLOGY Dr. Dennis Culhane, School of Social Work, University of Pennsylvania: “ending chronic homelessness: is it possible?” SLAVIC AND EASTERN LANGUAGES Susan Brownsberger, translator, Watertown, Massachusetts: “through the eye of the noodle: translating from theory to practice.” SOCIOLOGY Dr. Richard Swedburg, Department of Sociology, Cornell University: “economic sociology: its present state and potential.” THEOLOGY Dr. S. Mark Heim, Andover Newton Theological School: “saving THE particulars: religious diversity and religious experience.” Research by Stephanie Kermes, Ph.D. ’03 Produced by the Boston College Office of Marketing Communications. OMC 2290. 11/04. 32 Appendix BOSTON COLLEGE Graduate School of Arts and Sciences 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 Telephone: 617-552-3268 www.bc.edu/schools/gsas