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Peter and Carolyn Lynch, longtime philanthropists and founders of the Lynch Family Foundation, will be honored at the 26th annual Boston College Wall Street Council Dinner, to be held April 24 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.
The couple, who personally and through their foundation have awarded more than $150 million in grants, will be recipients of the University’s President's Medal of Excellence, in recognition of their exceptional careers as well as their contributions to society.
“The Wall Street Council Dinner, in support of Boston College’s Presidential Scholars Program, is a most worthy event,” said Peter Lynch ’65, vice chairman of Fidelity Management & Research Company and an advisory board member of the Fidelity Funds. “Carolyn and I are very excited we’re being honored with this award. The Wall Street Council does amazing things and we’re being honored by Boston College, which I believe is the finest university in the world.”
Peter and Carolyn – who is president and chair of the Lynch Foundation – have been actively involved in education, children’s advancement, health care research, social service initiatives, Catholic-based programs, and civic organizations for over three decades. The School of Education, named after the couple, houses the Lynch Leadership Academy, an institution that assists active and aspiring school principals in improving their managerial and academic skills.
The Wall Street Council is a network of more than 1,700 BC alumni, parents and friends. Over the past 25 years, the council’s dinner has raised more than $20 million for the Presidential Scholars Program at Boston College, an extraordinary honors program that combines rigorous course work, community service, international experience and internships.
Since its inception, more than 250 Presidential Scholars have attended Boston College, earning some of the most prestigious academic awards, including Rhodes, Marshall, Truman and Beckman scholarships, Fulbright grants and many others.
“With this program we’re attracting the best students nationwide,” said Lynch, former chair of the Wall Street Council Board as well as a founding member. “We’ve always been able to get the top 5 percent; we’re now getting the top half of 1 percent. It’s a benefit to the other students, it’s a benefit for the faculty, and it’s just a great positive for the University to be able to set up a program with these finances where you can engage and give a great experience to outstanding individuals.”