BC Professor Heather Cox Richardson is Honored by Time

Six years after she started writing Letters from an American, her daily analysis of national politics, Boston College professor Heather Cox Richardson has been named to the list of TIME100 Creators, the magazine’s roster of “the most influential digital voices of 2025.” Referring to Richardson as “one of the most popular historians in the US,” the publication noted her superlative success in keeping social media users informed and engaged: She has more than 3.2 million Facebook followers and 2.5 million subscribers on Substack, making her that platform’s most-subscribed individual creator.

“Social media strikes me as bringing a new tool to a process as old as humanity: creating community and exchanging information and ideas,” Richardson wrote in a post on Instagram, where she has more than half a million followers, acknowledging her placement on the list. “That process has always had the potential to hurt us, but at its best it has moved society forward. Figuring out how to use it for good brings together the past and the future in the present, and I am extraordinarily grateful to be part of it.”

Richardson, who joined BC in 2011 and teaches nineteenth-century American history at the University, continues to see her profile rise outside academia. Last summer, for instance, she moderated an onstage conversation with former President Barack Obama for the nonprofit Connecticut Forum, and narrated a performance of Lincoln Portrait, a classical orchestral work that incorporates readings from Abraham Lincoln’s speeches, for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. — Scott Kearnan

Helping Pro Athletes Earn Degrees

Like a lot of star college athletes, Brooks Orpik ’22 and Chris Kreider ’16 left college early for professional sports careers—in their case, departing BC to join the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. Unlike many others, though, both later earned their degrees, attending BC’s Woods College of Advancing Studies. Inspired by such examples, the NHL and Major League Baseball players’ unions worked with BC to formalize what Woods College Dean David Goodman calls a “frictionless route” for pro athletes to complete their education.

Goodman worked with NHL Players’ Association Executive Director Marty Walsh, the former Boston mayor who graduated from Woods, on an agreement to accept up to ninety transfer course credits toward BC’s 120-credit degree requirement. The University then created similar partnerships with the MLB Players Alumni Association, the NHL, and the Canadian Football League. “We strive to keep student-athletes’ educational path open,” Goodman said. — Elizabeth Clemente

The McMullen Named One of Boston's Best Museums

Yankee magazine has named BC’s McMullen Museum of Art the “Best Small Art Museum” in Boston. For its annual list of Boston’s top attractions, Yankee praised the McMullen’s permanent collection of masterworks by renowned artists such as Picasso, Homer, and Cassatt, as well as the rotating special exhibitions that are “curated as expertly as in much larger museums, but on a more intimate scale.” —S.K.

LinkedIn Names BC a Top College for Career Success

College is an investment, and earning a degree from Boston College pays exceptional dividends. That’s according to the first-ever LinkedIn Top Colleges list, which identifies the fifty US universities “that best set graduates up for long-term success.” The social media platform for professional networking and career development considered several factors in compiling its inaugural list of top schools, including job placement rates and advancement into senior-level positions.

LinkedIn ranked BC number twenty-two, noting that the University’s alumni are particularly high achievers in the fields of financial services, healthcare, and technology. The list also credited BC alumni for being especially skilled in the use of the statistical software Stata, the programming language OCaml, and the field of applied psychology. —Scott Kearnan

Athletics

Campus News

Casey C. Beaumier, SJ, has been named the Haub Vice President for University Mission and Ministry. Beaumier succeeds Jack Butler, SJ, who will become BC’s twenty-sixth president next summer. In his new role, Beaumier is charged with leading the effort to maintain and promote Boston College’s academic and societal mission as a Jesuit university. Beaumier has held several key positions in his nineteen years at BC, most recently vice president and University secretary, and director of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies.

The Woods College and BC High School have partnered on a dual enrollment program. Eligible BC High juniors and seniors can enroll in up to two Woods College courses, including online and hybrid courses, at a discounted rate, with credits earned transferrable to Woods should the high schoolers pursue a degree there after graduation.

The women’s lacrosse team has set a program record with eighteen players named to the 2025 All-ACC Academic Team. To be selected, athletes must participate in at least half of their team’s games and maintain a 3.0 grade point average during both the previous semester and their entire college career. The lacrosse team has more than tripled its All-Academic selections since 2021.

BC’s Roche Center for Catholic Education and Boston College Ireland have partnered on a new initiative to reinvigorate and strengthen Catholic education in Ireland. The program will cultivate education leadership at Catholic schools across Ireland and equip educators to address contemporary issues such as disassociation from spiritual concerns and evolving educational expectations.

The computer science department has announced a new doctoral program. The five-year PhD program is scheduled to launch in Fall 2026 with a cohort of five students, with a goal to eventually expand to twenty-five. The program will emphasize the importance of social responsibility in the rapidly evolving field of computer science, which is among the top ten undergrad majors at BC. 

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