Jaleigha Dunlap, MCAS ’26, died Monday night in her residence hall on campus. The cause of death has not yet been disclosed, but police do not suspect foul play. 

“It’s a sudden and unattended death of a beloved Boston College student,” Boston College Police Chief Bill Evans wrote in a statement to The Heights. “It’s a sad day for our BC community, and our prayers go out to her family and loved ones.” 

Vice President for Student Affairs Shawna Cooper Whitehead informed the Boston College community of Dunlap’s death via email on Tuesday afternoon.  

“It is with deep sadness that I write to inform you of the death of Boston College senior Jaleigha Dunlap of Ocala, Florida, a student in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences majoring in African and African Diaspora Studies, who died last night in her campus residence hall,” Cooper Whitehead wrote. 

During her time on campus, Dunlap served as an undergraduate research assistant, success coach with the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success, president of the BC QuestBridge chapter from 2022 to 2024, and co-president of FACES, BC’s only anti-racism organization. 

Cooper Whitehead emphasized supporting one another in the wake of Dunlap’s death, urging students to keep Dunlap’s family in their prayers. 

“Our strength as a Jesuit, Catholic university community is how we love and support one another,” Cooper Whitehead wrote. “Please rely on that support and reach out to us if we can be of assistance in any way. In the meantime, please remember Jaleigha, her family, and her friends in your thoughts and prayers.”

Cooper Whitehead noted that clinicians from University Counseling Services and the Murray Center for Student Wellness are available for students to seek support.  

University Counseling Services and the Murray Wellness Center can be reached by phone 24 hours a day at 617-552-3310, at www.bc.edu/counseling, or in person on the ground floor of Gasson Hall 001, Monday-Friday from 8:45 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Update (11/18/2025, 5:07 p.m.): This story has been updated to reflect that police do not suspect foul play.