Campus Digest: Summer 2026

BC Researchers Attend Vatican Climate Conference

Three BC researchers were among an international cohort of experts who were invited to contribute to the inaugural meeting of the Global Alliance for Integral Ecology, an initiative launched by the Vatican to create an action plan for a sustainable climate future. The convening, held in March at the papal summer residence outside of Rome, was attended by School of Social Work Dean Gautam Yadama; Phil Landrigan, director of BC’s Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good; and Hanqin Tian, director of the Center for Earth Systems Science and Global Sustainability. “We have a new working group that will focus on the complex dynamics of food, energy, and water for the world’s most vulnerable and poor,” Yadama said, describing one key outcome of his participation. The work of the alliance to mitigate the effects of climate change is critically important, Tian added, because it helps to “bridge science and values, while encouraging solutions that are both evidence-based and socially meaningful.” —Elizabeth Clemente

Visit Campus, Virtually

Wherever you live, you’re never too far away to visit the Heights thanks to Boston College’s new self-guided virtual tour. The tour (found at bc.edu/virtual-tour) opens with a stunning 360-degree photo offering a bird’s-eye view of the University’s campuses. Users can then click on different areas of campus—from Bapst Lawn to O’Neill Plaza to Beacon Street—to zoom in and further explore the history and features of specific academic, residential, and athletic facilities, as well as other sites such as the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. Each location includes exterior and interior photos, informational videos, and first-person social media clips created by students. The tour was designed by the Office of University Communications in partnership with Undergraduate Admission to give prospective students from around the world a convenient way to explore BC’s renowned campus, but it’s also a fun way for alumni to keep up with what’s new on the Heights since their dorm days. —E.C.

Campus News

Three BC graduate schools have moved up in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings. BC Law rose five places to twentieth overall, while the Lynch School of Education and Human Development climbed one spot to land at number nineteen in the ranking of best education schools. The Carroll School of Management, meanwhile, rose one place to sixteenth on the list of part-time MBA programs.

After graduating in May, more than forty students from Messina College’s inaugural class have been accepted to BC to continue their studies toward a bachelor’s degree. The residential, two-year junior college for first generation, low-income students was launched
by BC in 2024. 

Vittorio G. Hösle has been appointed the Frederick J. Adelmann, S.J., Chair and Professor in the philosophy department. A philosopher, Hösle is the author, editor, and translator of more than fifty books, and previously spent twenty-seven years teaching at the University of Notre Dame.

David Nelson ’27 was named a 2026 recipient of the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship, one of just fifty-five winners nationwide. Nelson is a psychology major on the pre-med track and is concurrently pursuing a master of public health degree in epidemiology and biostatistics at the Tufts University School of Medicine.

Solomon Friedberg, the James P. McIntyre Professor of Mathematics, has been elected to a leadership position in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Friedberg will serve as nominations and leadership development chair of the AAAS Section on Mathematics, one of the world’s largest general scientific societies.

Michael Bourque, vice president of Information Technology Services, retired in March after twenty-three years at BC. Scott Cann, formerly the associate vice president for systems and services in ITS, succeeded Bourque on April 1. ◽