(Molly Bruns / Heights Archives)
At the annual University Convocation on Aug. 27, a state-of-Boston College address, senior University administrators projected confidence amid the precarious higher education and political landscape that have strained the BC community in recent months, while outlining planned budget cuts, hiring constraints, and construction projects.
“Boston College has certainly not been immune from these new realities,” said University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. in a University release. “But it has come through them relatively unscathed.”
The address—Leahy’s final before his retirement next summer—came against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s aggressive campaign targeting higher education institutions, including suspending research grants and denying or cancelling visas for international students and scholars.
In February, the Social Security Administration cut $2.3 million in funding to BC’s Center for Retirement Research, a nonprofit institute.
In addition, one undergraduate and 10 graduate students had their visas rejected before the start of the fall semester, according to Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley.
According to Bryan Fleming, Executive Director in the Office of Global Engagement, this level of visa denials is typical for BC in a normal year and does not suggest any pattern of targeting students from countries included in the June 4 travel ban.
Leahy said that while BC fared better than many institutions under exterior pressures, some financial impacts will still be palpable.
He announced that over the next two years, the University will reduce operational expenses by five percent—approximately $69 million—due to financial pressures from rising operational costs and inflation. For the 2024 fiscal year, Boston College spent about $1.376 billion in operating costs—a five percent cut would lower that figure to roughly $1.307 billion.
As a result of the financial constraints, faculty hiring will also be limited for this year and next year, Quigley added.
At the same time, Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead announced that BC’s endowment reached a record $4.3 billion—around a 10 percent increase from the 2024 fiscal year.
According to Lochhead, future changes in the 2026 fiscal year could involve difficult decisions and trade-offs. Despite these challenges ahead, Lochhead reaffirmed BC’s commitment to remaining accessible and affordable for low-income students.
For the 2025–2026 academic year, the Board of Trustees had increased the total allocation for undergraduate need-based financial aid to $190 million.
Lochhead also provided updates on several major campus capital projects currently underway or scheduled to begin soon.
A significant renovation of Carney Hall is anticipated to start in 2028, which will give the building an exterior design consistent with others on Stokes Lawn, such as Stokes Hall and Fulton Hall.
Plans for a similar renovation of McElroy Commons are still in the development stage, Lochhead added.
The development of the Newton East campus, which will house the BC School of Social Work, is expected to be completed by spring 2027, according to Lochhead.
In December 2024, BC secured a building permit for a $68 million interior and facade renovation of the property.
Additionally, the Catholic Religious Archives facility, which broke ground in January 2025 and will work to preserve records and archival materials from Catholic religious orders, is scheduled to open next year, according to Lochhead.
Overall, University leaders emphasized BC’s relatively strong footing entering the 2025–26 academic year and voiced optimism for the future, even with budget cuts and a reduction in faculty hiring looming.
“[BC’s founder Rev. John McElroy, S.J. and former University President Rev. Thomas Gasson, S.J.] saw Boston College as a place to bring our talents, our interests, and our passions in service to others,” Quigley said in the release. “We should continue to think about how we can best take up that invitation and make the most of it.”