Boston College (BC) is a private Catholic Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States.

[10] Alumni and affiliates of the university include governors, ambassadors, members of Congress, scholars, writers, medical researchers, Hollywood actors, and professional athletes.

[16] Jesuit priest John McElroy maintained the vision for what became BC, recognizing the need for an educational institution for the Irish Catholic immigrant population.

[16] The average age of students in its early years was fourteen, indicating a strong presence of high schoolers, which aligned with the Society of Jesuits's preparatory tradition from Europe.

[20] In 1907, newly installed President Thomas I. Gasson, S.J., determined that BC's cramped, urban quarters in Boston's South End were inadequate and unsuited for significant expansion.

Less than a year after taking office, he purchased Amos Adams Lawrence's farm on Chestnut Hill, six miles (10 km) west of downtown.

[21] By 1913, construction costs had surpassed available funds, and, as a result, Gasson Hall, "New BC's" main building, stood alone on Chestnut Hill for its first three years.

began his presidency on September 5, 1972, Boston College faced significant financial challenges, including a $30 million debt and a frozen salary structure for faculty and staff.

[23] During his tenure, the Boston College Board of Trustees was restructured to include lay alumni and business leaders, moving away from its traditional composition of Society of Jesus members.

In 1973, Monan appointed Frank B. Campanella as BC’s first executive vice president, focusing on fiscal matters and university administration.

[25] In 2007, BC announced a $1.6 billion master plan for campus revitalization over ten years, aiming to enhance facilities and hire new faculty.

[26][27] The Boston College campus is known generally as the "Heights" and to some as the "Crowned Hilltop" due largely to its location and presence of buildings featuring gothic towers reaching into the sky.

In 2017, Boston College acquired the 24-acre Mishkan Tefila Synagogue property in Chestnut Hill, which was previously used for administrative services and event parking.

The college emphasizes support for underprivileged students through a residential model, small class sizes, and mentorship, preparing graduates for workforce entry or transfer to four-year institutions.

[42] As of 2005, there were 112 Jesuits living on the Boston College campus, including members of the faculty and administration, graduate students, and visiting international scholars.

[62] The Order of the Cross and Crown, founded in 1939,[63] is the College of Arts and Sciences honor society for seniors who have achieved an average of at least A−, as well as established records of unusual service and leadership on the campus.

Together with the university's museums, they include original manuscripts and prints by Galileo, Ignatius of Loyola, and Francis Xavier as well as collections in Jesuitana, Irish literature, sixteenth-century Flemish tapestries, ancient Greek pottery, Caribbean folk art and literature, Japanese prints, U.S. government documents, Congressional Archives, and paintings that span the history of art from Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

The museum is recognized for its multidisciplinary exhibitions that contextualize art within broader political and cultural narratives, with notable collections including works by prominent artists such as Winslow Homer and Pablo Picasso.

Significant exhibitions have included "Carrie Mae Weems: Strategies of Engagement" and "Saints and Sinners: Caravaggio and the Baroque Image," which helped establish the museum's reputation.

Boston College, which has registered the term AHANA as a trademark, has granted official permission for its use to over 50 institutions and organizations in the United States.

The men’s teams participate in several ACC sports, such as baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, and track & field.

The Eagles annually wear red bandanna-themed uniforms in honor of fallen September 11, 2001 hero Welles Crowther, class of 1999.

Crowther, who played on BC's lacrosse team, was an equity trader who died saving the lives of at least 10 people during the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.

As tensions escalated, students voiced concerns over rising costs and a lack of administrative transparency, ultimately leading to a broader anti-war movement following the Kent State shootings.

This period was marked by significant campus activism, with BC students pushing for changes that culminated in the severing of ties with ROTC in the fall of 1970.

[126] On October 18, 2017, hundreds of students walked out of class in a protest against racism and to demand the college officials pay more attention to the school's racial climate.

The walk out was sparked by the defacing of two Black Lives Matter posters and an offensive photo was circulated on social media sites.

[128] In 2003, after years of student-led discussions and efforts, and administrators' repeated rejection of pleas from students, the school approved a Gay-Straight Alliance, the first university-funded gay support group on campus.

In 2004, between 1,000 and 1,200 students rallied behind a student-led campaign to expand the school's non-discrimination statement to include equal protection for gays and lesbians.

[130] After several months of discussion the university changed its statement of nondiscrimination to make it more welcoming to gay students in May 2005, but stopped short of prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.