Though Boston College's Allston-Brighton neighbors may complain about the school building new residence halls on Brighton Campus, the University must be doing something right.
In the most recent Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Survey, BC took first place, ahead of organizations like Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dunkin' Donuts, and Harvard University as the institution most respected by business leaders in the Boston area.
"The survey is a reflection of our excellent academic reputation, our community outreach, our work-place environment, which includes our support for our employees and our excellence in governance that is a tribute to Father Leahy and the entire Boston College administration," said university spokesman Jack Dunn.
In addition to taking the lead in the overall reputation survey, BC also received the highest ranking in a separate survey conducted only with area nonprofit organizations.
The survey took into consideration not only general reputation but factors such as social responsibility, products and services, ethics and corporate governance, workplace environment, and financial stability.
The assessment, conducted by reputation management and public relations firm Morrissey & Company, asked 200 Massachusetts business executives to rate a list of 74 companies and organizations in the state.
Despite having ranked among the top ten since the survey's inception in 2003, this is the first year that Boston College has topped the list.
"I think that Boston College has demonstrated through their actions real leadership in the community. They have well-placed alumni who give back to the community and are active in the region," said Peter Morrissey, president and CEO of Morrissey & Company.
Even though other area universities also ranked high on the list, Boston College remains first among them for the second year in a row. While Harvard University has in previous years topped the list, it has since fallen to number eight. Boston University enjoyed a number two rating in 2005, but this year dropped out of the top ten to number 20.
"We're careful," Morrissey said, "to point out that when one institution does poorly, it usually means another has done something exceptionally well, not that that institution did something wrong."
Still, there is something to be said for BC's jump in the rankings.
"Perception usually lags reality, that's just the nature of the way understanding develops. What you're seeing right now in the college's superior ranking is the result of several years of excellent performance in the market. The sensitivity that the university showed in their campus extension plan has been well received by the community and Leahy should take a lot of the credit. Up to 60 percent of an organization's reputation is grounded in their leadership and BC has been blessed with two leaders, Father Monan and Father Leahy, who are very giving and selfless people," Morrissey said.
Morrissey also sited academic standing as a factor that may have contributed to BC's rising reputation.
"[BC's] ranking in the US News and World Report for academic standing puts you in some rare company. Even in Boston, where we have so many great universities, BC is ranked very high," Morrissey said.
Though in the 2008 US News and World Report ranking for top universities BC fell 35th in line nationally, Boston institutions such as MIT and Harvard University received seventh and second place rankings respectively.
Morrissey cited BC's rising athletic acclaim as contributing to the University's high ranking on the survey.
"[BC] has wonderful athletics. It has a great tradition of winning teams, a bowl team in football. BC sports teams have done very, very well. If you look at the full composite round of experience at a university, athletics and the social environment plays a big role and BC is very visible," said Morrissey.
Morrissey also spoke to the importance of civic responsibility in the acquisition of a good reputation.
"Reputation is always local first. If you're not doing something well in your immediate community, no matter how global you think you are it always starts at home. [BC's] graduates are very well placed," Morrissey said.
Civic responsibility also plays an important role in the Jesuit ideals that BC champions, and is another aspect of BC as an institution that may have contributed to its number one rank.
"The Jesuit tradition is about service to the community and doing good deeds, getting involved in society and trying to right the wrongs. That's hard to do and doing it selflessly, not for money, is certainly a tradition for Boston College," Morrissey said.
For BC, maintaining a good reputation with Boston business leaders carries a variety of implications.
"Having a great reputation is a wonderful shortcut. It's like having a powerful brand. It allows people to make decisions rapidly. It's like having immediate full trust. It enables people to say, I don't have to check these people out, they have an outstanding reputation," Morrissey said. "As a University, it allows you to hire a better faculty and to attract a higher level of student."
The survey itself, though, provides affirmation of BC's improving status in the community.
"It serves as a confirmation of what we as members of the BC community have long realized. But it's always satisfying and affirming to receive such a prestigious public acknowledgement," Dunn said.
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