Looking Back on Three Transformative Decades

You were the Executive Vice President at Marquette University in 1994 when you were contacted regarding the search for a new president at Boston College. Looking back, what was your immediate reaction?

During interviews with a group of BC trustees in New York City in 1995, I remember telling them that they really ought to select a Jesuit from the East Coast. I’m from the Midwest, and the culture is different. But when the invitation came in early September of 1995, I said: It’s a Jesuit school. It’s an apostolate of the Society of Jesus, and it’s for the greater good. 

What are the biggest challenges that Boston College and higher education face today?

I think the key issues concern mission and resources. To have impact and thrive, institutions must have a clear, compelling vision and widely accepted sense of purpose. That is not easy when enrollment and morale have first call on the energy and time of leaders. The tendency is to change the curriculum from a focus on liberal arts and formative experiences for students to a more vocational emphasis and preparing students for a job after graduation rather than for a healthy, productive life. I believe the liberal arts are more important today than ever because our world needs people who can analyze the validity and value of arguments, who are able to articulate what they believe and why, and who are rooted. At BC, the curriculum carries the mission, and the faculty must be knowledgeable about and committed to BC’s mission, heritage, and culture. I also think that we need to ask: How does education touch the greater good and the larger human condition? Having people explore what it means to be a human being, to make ethical decisions from a Judeo-Christian framework, through a Jesuit, Catholic background, is what our world needs today.

We live in a time of unprecedented intrusion and criticism from the federal government, coupled with rising tuition costs, which have led many to question the value of a college education. How do you respond to that criticism?

Well, first of all, I think the federal intrusion and lack of support is a huge error in the thinking in Washington.

It is clear that most parents and families value higher education immensely. It is also clear, however, that public opinion research suggests that colleges are not as respected as they were years ago. Some people say colleges are out of touch, or believe they are too liberal and need to bring things back to the center. Others say today’s students are too soft and do not have sufficient resilience. But to me, higher education and its college-age students represent the best hope for the future. We as a nation need to invest in higher education. It has been part of the greatness of America, and it needs our continued support.

 What can colleges do to assure respect and support?

Modern life requires individuals who have thought about difficult issues, and a college or university experience enables students to engage in discussion and learn from one another. It is sad that we are a nation divided. My regret is that we do not have great clarity and commitment to our founding principles about the importance of life and liberty and how everyone should be treated with respect and regarded as equal. I see it particularly regarding immigration. We are a nation of immigrants, and yet we have not figured out how to fully integrate our immigrant population. Obviously, immigration is a complicated question, but to do what the ICE agents did in Minneapolis, that is not us. That is not who we are as a country. We have to work through these and other issues that divide us.

Higher education is about community building, helping to open minds and hearts, and then inspiring people to realize they have a calling from God to do good in this world. As a Jesuit, Catholic university, we encourage our students to ask themselves: What is your mission in life? How do you intend to use your gifts in the service of others? I think that can go a long way in assuring respect. 

BC has always been strong in the humanities, but its reputation has grown in the natural sciences. How has Boston College succeeded in the competitive area of scientific teaching and research?

Natural sciences have always been a hugely important aspect of university life. It is true, BC started with a classical education emphasis. Our focus was the liberal arts, philosophy, literature, and languages. In our day, however, the scientific world is much more prominent. BC has invested significant energy and money in biology, physics, chemistry, and engineering, with good results. I would say it is very evident that a university in the twenty-first century must have a niche in some part of the sciences. How to do that requires real judgment and careful consideration of resources. 

Why in your view is athletics such an important component of the University, and where do you see college sports heading in the wake of court cases that have enabled revenue sharing and name, image, and likeness money for student athletes?

In American culture, athletics generates a great deal of attention, engagement, and publicity. It is an important part of university life. More so than in Europe, Americans identify with their college sports teams. So, it is clear to me that athletics builds interest on campus among students, and it generates enthusiasm and commitment from alumni. Athletics also helps differentiate us from other institutions of higher education. So, it adds a lot.

Today, however, college athletics are in great turmoil. There are funding and ethical issues around rules that are going to require huge changes in the overall governance of college sports.

Right now, we do not have a viable system, which is an unfortunate reality. The settlement of the House case in 2023 has resulted in a severe diminishment of the NCAA’s authority and image. We have major issues around student eligibility—how long can a student play? What about the unlimited opportunities for student athletes to transfer and the increasing number of them who are not graduating as a result? What does that say about the value of college education? 

What do you see as the future of college athletics?

The federal government needs to grant limited antitrust immunity to the NCAA. We need what is called preemption, which is a federal law prescribing rules for portal transfer or eligibility that would preempt state laws. We have seen states pass laws that prevent limitations on the number of years of student-athlete eligibility, or the number of times they can transfer from one school to another. So, I think we need limited antitrust protection and we need preemption. I would also say the NCAA has to develop some enforcement mechanisms. If not, I would love to see like-minded schools form a national conference that places priority on academic success and the formational experiences of their student-athletes.

Do you see that happening?

Not at the moment. 

The Pine Manor Institute for Student Success and Messina College have earned national attention. What prompted you to establish them?

The Pine Manor Institute for Student Success and Messina College have their origins in BC’s history and desire to help disadvantaged students. We have a long tradition of educating children of immigrants, and children of individuals who were not part of the elite in their community. In the higher ed world of 2020, there was a growing disparity in access to a quality education, and many on the outside were from Catholic immigrant families. BC was doing a lot with its financial aid and helping students from a range of backgrounds obtain an education, but much more was needed. In thinking about BC’s heritage, we wondered, how might it be translated into our contemporary circumstances? When we learned that Pine Manor College in Brookline was planning to close due to declining enrollment, we had an opportunity to assist a deserving but financially needy element of the community who had ability. So, we launched a residential associate’s degree program for first-generation students that graduated its first class in May. 

In addition, we created an initiative within the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success called The Academy, to support and mentor children starting in eighth grade through high school to prepare them for college and a better life. So, there was a concept, a location, and philanthropic support. Putting all of that together with strong leadership under people like Pine Manor Institute Executive Director Joy Moore and Kraft Family Dean of Messina College Fr. Erick Berrelleza, SJ, resulted in good things happening.

The Soaring Higher campaign has three priorities: financial aid, academics, and student life. Why are they so important to BC? 

These priorities reflect Boston College’s commitment to be the best possible Jesuit, Catholic university it can be. We want to educate talented, caring students who desire to develop their gifts, have meaningful lives, and help make our world better, more at peace. Choosing BC means making a major investment, and increasing financial aid lightens that burden and can make it possible for deserving students to enroll. Recruiting and retaining top faculty requires paying competitive salaries and having necessary facilities. The same is true for students living in residence halls and participating in extracurricular activities, such as religious retreats, intramural sports, theater, and dance. Providing all that requires both financial and human resources. 

From your experience, what is it about Boston College that excites parents and alumni most?

Well, they want their sons or daughters to benefit from an education that is focused on helping them to grow in wisdom and understanding and to flourish as human beings. They also believe there is a distinctive heritage at BC that has value, and that heritage includes the liberal arts and a core curriculum. Parents want a university experience that will help their children to develop their gifts, and to understand the importance of relationships, including relationship with God. What resonates with so many of our parents is the idea of formative education, in which we strive to integrate the intellectual, spiritual, social, and affective dimensions of our students’ lives. Parents want the best for their sons and daughters. We do too. Parents, I think, trust BC. We have expectations and an ethos that is attractive to them. 

Conversely, what is it that parents and alumni tell you they wish BC had more of?

Financial aid. They would like BC to be more affordable. In addition, some say they would like to see more intellectual balance in the classroom. Others would like to see the admission standards be less demanding. It really bothers them if they are a graduate and their son or daughter is a good student but gets rejected by BC.

You won praise for your actions in 2001 in establishing the Church in the 21st Century initiative to help renew and revitalize the Catholic Church. How is the Catholic Church doing and what does it need to do to achieve that renewal?

The Catholic Church has met challenges and gone through periods of decline and revitalization for the last two thousand years. We are still working through challenges today. During the last twenty years, I think we have addressed a lot of tough, tough issues, but we have lost the confidence of many people that we used to have as a Church. We are not as clear as we need to be on mission. As I have often said in Jesuit circles: No men, no mission; no mission, no men. That is where the uncertainty has cost Catholicism. As a Church, we need to ask, “What are we trying to do in our world today? What does it mean to be countercultural? How do we adapt?” More people are attending Church today than five years ago, but we still have much more to do. 

If you had not been a university president, what path do you think you might have chosen? 

I did not think when I was a Jesuit novice about being a college president. When I finished my regency, the idea of working in a high school was appealing. So, I likely would have done that. I often said when I was at Marquette University that I would retire to the Jesuit parish in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, where I taught at Campion Jesuit High School. 

Would you recommend a college presidency to someone today?

Definitely. It is a great opportunity to do good and to direct an institution on a path that makes it better. A college president today has to be a catalyst. I think of the three words: mission, vision, and decisions. College presidents have to have a strong sense of mission, they have to provide a vision, and they have to make decisions. Presidents who can combine these three skills and find the right people to be able to do the work with them have great possibilities to make a difference. I would have no hesitation in encouraging a person to become a college president. Doing so offers many opportunities and pluses.

What will you miss most about Boston College?

The people. BC is a great institution with a wonderful community.

What gives you the most hope regarding the future of Boston College?

Boston College’s best days are ahead of it. I think that because BC is a university that understands its mission and heritage. We have a very vibrant, caring culture that differentiates us from other colleges and universities. We are a higher ed institution focused on undergraduate education with an emphasis on the liberal arts, along with selected graduate and professional programs, all provided in an atmosphere of caring and faith consistent with being a Jesuit and Catholic university. 

Today, people expect a lot from BC, and they should, because of our mission, heritage, and culture. We need to share our strengths and acknowledge them and their importance in today’s world. Boston College is more vital now than ever before, and I am confident that Fr. Jack Butler is the right person to lead it as our next president. ◽