By
Boston College’s Presidential Scholars Program, which provides an integrated educational experience within the University’s honors program for approximately 72 of BC’s most accomplished students, has been named the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program, as a result of a major gift from the Gabelli Family Foundation.
Mario Gabelli, a Boston College trustee and chairman and CEO of GAMCO Investors, has been one of the program’s most generous and ardent supporters since its inception in 1991. The Boston College Wall Street Council, founded in 1986, provides substantial support for the Wall Street Council Presidential Scholarship Fund through its annual dinner in New York City. The Presidential Scholars are also supported by other named scholarships.
The Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program each year enrolls a select group of incoming freshmen who are chosen on the basis of academic excellence, demonstrated leadership ability and significant community service. The Scholars enter the honors program in their selected field of study, where they take part in weekly meetings, cultural events and community service projects during the academic year, as well as service learning, international study and professional internships during the summer. Since the program’s founding, Presidential Scholars have won several prestigious academic awards, including Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Churchill and Fulbright scholarships.
“It is fitting that this program be named in honor of Mario Gabelli, who has been so committed to advancing it over the past 25 years,” said University President William P. Leahy, SJ. “I am grateful to the Gabelli Family Foundation for its generous gift in support of our Presidential Scholars.”
Gabelli praised the Presidential Scholars Program as the premier merit scholarship program of its kind, one that focuses on the best of Boston College.
“This program gives the students an excellent foundation in academics, leadership skills, and Jesuit values upon which to build their lives,” said Gabelli. “I am pleased that it will continue to provide this unique opportunity for BC students for years to come.”
A summa cum laude graduate of Fordham University, Gabelli holds an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Boston College, the Board of Overseers of Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and the Board of Trustees of Roger Williams University. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of The American-Italian Cancer Foundation and The Foundation for Italian Art & Culture. A trustee of The Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States and the E.L. Wiegand Foundation, he is also a Boston College Wall Street Council Tribute Dinner past co-chair and honoree.
“Mario Gabelli has been a supporter of our program since its inception nearly 25 years ago,” said Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program director James Keenan, SJ. “His recent gift supports our program itself, one that trains the scholars of the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program for global leadership. I am very grateful for his continued generosity and assistance and look forward to working all the more closely with Mario.”
For further information on the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program, see http://www.bc.edu/centers/psp