Banners in O'Neill Library atrium at Boston College
Photo by Gary Wayne Gilbert

Four banners in the five-story atrium of Boston College's O’Neill Library have received an Award of Excellence in the 2017 University & College Designers Association (UCDA) Competition, which recognizes the best of the exceptional design work done by communication professionals to promote educational institutions.

Installed in the library in the fall of 2016, two of the 8 x 15-foot fabric panels depict St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491­–1556), founder of the Society of Jesus, holding the Society’s constitution (from a 16th-century engraving), and Ignatius' seal and signature. The other two panels feature the tower of Gasson Hall, the first building on the Chestnut Hill Campus, and a bird’s-eye view of Stokes Hall, the University’s newest academic building, which opened in 2013.

The design of the banners, which are also visible from inside the library, is credited to senior graphic designer Monica DeSalvo and art director Diana Parziale, both of the Office of University Communications. The work was chosen from among nearly 1270 print and digital entries in the competition.

Boston College Magazine editor Ben Birnbaum and University Communications Senior Editor Maureen Dezell provided historical research for the Ignatius-related banners, with help from Seth Meehan and Robert Maryks of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies.

The designs will be on view at the 2017 UCDA Design Show in October.

—University Communications