Dean's Message Fall 2025

Fall 2025

Ever to Excel. The University’s well-known motto points to excellence in all things as a central aspiration guiding the work of Boston College. The motto itself is taken from Book VI of Homer’s Iliad, his epic poem about the Trojan War. In the text, Glaucus, a soldier fighting on the side of Troy, explains to Diomedes, his Greek opponent, his heritage and identity. Glaucus notes that his father sent him to Troy and exhorted him “ever to excel,” to hold his head above the crowd, to be faithful to his noble heritage.

In their original context, those words were probably understood as an exhortation to excel always as a soldier, to be always first and foremost in the battlefield competition. But in adopting those words as this school’s motto, I think the founders of Boston College probably had something else in mind.

I suspect they meant those words as an exhortation to be faithful to the heritage of Jesuit education, ever to excel in fully human living, always to live a life of human excellence, integrating intellectual excellence with excellence of character in order to be able to live an authentically free human life oriented toward service of the common good.

This edition of Arts and Sciences celebrates just this sort of excellence across the life of the Morrissey College: 50 years of partnership between the PULSE program and the nonprofit Haley House community, the graduation of our first class of Human-Centered Engineering students, the launch of a new Computer Science Ph.D. program in service of the common good, James Redding’s completion of six major world marathons, research awards for two of our Physics colleagues, and prestigious fellowships for undergraduates, alumni, and faculty members. All of these are great examples of the excellence in human living inspired by our BC motto.

As we move toward the upcoming celebration of Thanksgiving, all of these examples of excellence remind us that we in the Morrissey College have much for which to give thanks. I remain deeply grateful for all the gifts that our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and benefactors bring to the life and mission of the Morrissey College every day. Be assured of my continued prayers for good health for you, your families, and our Boston College community.

Best wishes to all for a Happy Thanksgiving.

Gregory Kalscheur, S.J.
Dean, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences