BC unveils $1.6 billion strategic plan

In a groundbreaking announcement, University officials today unveiled a $1.6 billion strategic investment plan that will revolutionize Boston College and place it among the premier universities in the nation. Culminating years of studies and planning, the unprecedented 10-year plan will hire 100 new faculty members, establish new academic institutes, and increase the annual budget of academic departments by $43.5 million. In an effort to provide the necessary infrastructure for these initiatives, BC today submitted its long-awaited 10-year Institutional Master Plan Notification Form (IMPNF) to the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), which, if approved, will allocate $800 million of the strategic investment for the construction and renovation of campus facilities.

The announcement comes on the heels of a two-year study to investigate the methods of implementing the University's seven strategic directions established by the Strategic Plan in 2005. The plan calls for BC to become the leader in liberal arts education and student formation in the United States and the leading Catholic university in the world by focusing on the creation of new academic institutes and student life programs. Rooted in BC's liberal arts mission, these new academic centers will greatly advance research efforts, including an innovative initiative to promote collaboration among the sciences at a newly establish Institute for Integrated Sciences.

"All of this comes out of a desire to prepare BC and link up the twin goals of being the best institution of higher education we can be and make sure we stay faithful to our Jesuit heritage," said University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J.

BC will

also look to promote already formed academic centers to enhance its profile on the national and international scene, with the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics, the Institute on Aging in the 21st Century, and the Center for Human Rights and International Justice - centers that currently establish the University's prominence among researchers around the world. The plan looks to utilize the unique nature of BC's students - who go abroad in larger percentages than most other universities in the nation - by strengthening the Office of International Programs and BC's Jesuit networks abroad.

"BC students and faculty are at the forefront of this exciting strategic vision for the future of Boston College," said Patrick Stokes, chairman of the board of Anheuser-Busch and chairman of the BC Board of Trustees. "This plan will enhance our academic strength and research capacity and advance our leadership in student formation and liberal arts education both nationally and internationally."

As Leahy pointed out, these lofty goals were only the beginning. "Those were our academic goals," Leahy said in an interview with The Heights. "Then we had to ask what we needed to implement these goals. We need more faculty, more housing, and more academic buildings to support both current faculty and new hires. All of that got translated into [the Master Plan]."

To prepare BC to implement these initiatives, University officials spent the past two years meeting with engineers and developers from Sasaki Associates, neighborhood citizens, faculty, students, and alumni to establish the Institutional Master Plan. The final plan will change the face of the campus with $700 million in new construction - including four new academic buildings, a student center, a fine arts district, new athletic fields and facilities, and nearly a dozen new buildings for undergraduate housing - and an additional $100 million in renovations.

The purchase of the entire 68-acre Brighton Campus from the Boston Archdiocese over the past three years was the final piece in the Master Plan puzzle, giving University officials the space needed to expand. Under the plan, Brighton will become a center of activity for BC students, housing much needed athletic fields and buildings - including an underground athletic center which will house a track and tennis courts - a fine arts district, new undergraduate residence halls, and BC's newly created School of Theology.

"The plan is possible because we have the additional land in Brighton. We can shift fields and offices, we can add more beds for undergraduates, and we can build new academic facilities. That's all possible to do because we have room to maneuver," Leahy said.

Despite the extension into Brighton, which will stretch the campus into four distinct areas, designers of the plan stress that the creation of spaces for student unification and formation was a main goal. The demolition of McElroy Commons seems to open up Middle Campus by providing a clear path from the corner of Beacon Street and Hammond Street to the Quad. A skywalk over Commonwealth Avenue will connect a new student residence hall - which will replace Moore Hall on Lower Campus - with Brighton Campus, allowing students to walking from Upper Campus to the athletic fields on Brighton without leaving campus.