Presidential Scholar Program Gets New Director

Rev. James Keenan, S.J., a professor in the theology department, has been appointed the new director of the Presidential Scholars Program. Dennis Sardella, current director and professor in the chemistry department, will be stepping down from the position at the end of the summer.

"The Presidential Scholars Program is one of Boston College's most successful initiatives for undergraduate academic excellence," said Cutberto Garza, provost and dean of faculties, in a recent statement. "I am confident that under Fr. Keenan, Boston College Presidential Scholars will continue to flourish and bring distinction to themselves and the University, much as they have under Professor Sardella's direction."
The Presidential Scholars Program, founded in 1991, strives to offer participants leadership experience during their time at BC through speaker series and workshops. The Scholars, who receive full tuition scholarships, are chosen based on academic achievements, leadership skills, and community involvement.

Garza praised Sardella's work, pointing to advancements made by the University during his time as Scholars director. "Professor Sardella's tenure has been marked by remarkable successes on the part of the Presidential Scholars of the last two decades, including two Rhodes Scholarships, two Marshall Scholarships, 17 Fulbright grants, three National Science Foundation Graduate Research fellowships, two Truman Scholarships, and two Goldwater Scholarships," Garza said. "I am grateful to Professor Sardella for his formative and pivotal role in developing the program."

Sardella said his experience as founding director has been both challenging and exciting. "It has afforded me the chance to create a complex and multifaceted program essentially from scratch, something not given to many faculty," he said. "I have also had the privilege of guiding, and helping to form, students of the highest intellectual caliber over the entire span of their undergraduate years, at a breadth and depth that went far beyond what I would have been able to do through coursework alone."

Previous presidential scholars include Ari Daniel Shapiro, BC '01, an independent science radio producer; Marisa (Cochrane) Sullivan, BC '07, who recently served as command historian of Multi-National Force-Iraq in Baghdad; Brett Huneycutt, BC '03, a Rhodes Scholar now working internationally for McKinsey & Company; Gary Gabor, BC '02 a doctoral student at Fordham University and recipient of a 2009 Fulbright grant for study in Belgium; Kathleen Day, BC '96, vice president of Citigroup; and Nicole Estvanik Taylor, BC '01, managing editor for American Theatre Magazine.

"I look forward to directing the Presidential Scholars Program," Keenan said in a statement. "At Boston College, we know that the Presidential Scholars are among our most talented and gifted students. They excel not only in their academic achievements, but in the multitudinous leadership roles that they assume across the University. I know that Dennis Sardella has founded, inspired, and led a landmark program here for 17 years. As I take over for the next generation, I hope that my own tenure is marked by a measure of dedication, vision, and success similar to Professor Sardella's known and recognized legacy."