Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

Last updated

Boston College
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences (MCAS)
Boston College Gold Seal.png
Type Private
Established1863
Dean Fr. Gregory Kalscheur, S.J.
Academic staff
513
Undergraduates 6,097
Postgraduates 732
Location, ,
Campus Suburban
Website www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/mcas.html

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences (MCAS) is the oldest and largest constituent college of Boston College, situated on the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, it offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

Contents

In the tradition of liberal arts education, the college offers 37 programs leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Enrollment includes more than 6,000 undergraduate and nearly 800 graduate students. [1]

History

Early BC in Boston's South End OldBClithograph.jpg
Early BC in Boston's South End

Founded by the Society of Jesus and chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1863, Morrissey College is the original school of Boston College. Its charter provided that no student could be refused admission "on account of the religious opinions he may entertain." [2] Three Jesuit instructors and 22 students, all males mostly from Boston's marginalized Irish Catholic immigrant community, made up the college when it opened its doors on September 5, 1864. [3] Robert Fulton, S.J., an alumnus of Georgetown University, served as Morrissey College's first dean and later president. [4] Nine students received A.B. degrees, the first bachelor's degrees awarded, in 1877. [5]

Morrissey College was originally located in the block between Harrison Avenue and James Street in Boston's South End neighborhood. It shared quarters with its preparatory school, Boston College High School that became separately incorporated in 1927. By the turn of the century, the college had outgrown its urban setting and a new location was selected in mostly rural Chestnut Hill. The Boston firm of Maginnis and Walsh broke ground at the highest point of Chestnut Hill on June 19, 1909, for the construction of Gasson Hall. It was the first of several buildings designed in one of the earliest examples of collegiate gothic architecture in North America. Claver, Loyola, and Xavier were the first residential halls constructed on the university's upper campus in 1955. [6]

Boston College remained an exclusively liberal arts institution, with emphasis on the Greek and Latin classics, English and modern languages, philosophy and religion, for the first several decades after its founding. In 1925, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was formed, followed by programs at the doctoral level in 1952, establishing Boston College's role as a leading research university.

In September 1933, Casper Augustus Ferguson enrolled in Morrissey College and four years later became the first black student to graduate from Boston College. [7] By 1970 all Boston College undergraduate programs, including at Morrissey College, had become coeducational.

Stokes Hall, a humanities building that houses several arts and sciences departments, was completed in 2013. [8] In 2015, the School of Arts & Sciences and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences were renamed Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences in honor of benefactor and alumnus Robert J. Morrissey, class of 1960.

Academics

Departments

Interdisciplinary programs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drexel University</span> Private university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US

Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry, it was renamed Drexel Institute of Technology in 1936, before assuming its current name in 1970. As of 2020, more than 24,000 students were enrolled in over 70 undergraduate programs and more than 100 master's, doctoral, and professional programs at the university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tufts University</span> Private university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S.

Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, Massachusetts, and in Talloires, France. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. Tufts remained a small liberal arts college until the 1970s, when it transformed into a large research university offering several doctorates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston College</span> Private university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, US

Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 15,000 total students. Although Boston College is classified as a research university, it still uses the word "college" in its name to reflect its historical position as a small liberal arts college.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple University</span> Public university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US

Temple University is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Baptist Temple. On May 12, 1888, it was renamed the Temple College of Philadelphia. By 1907, the institution had revised its institutional status and been incorporated as a research university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Massachusetts Lowell</span> Public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.

The University of Massachusetts Lowell is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public university system and has been accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) since 1975. With 1,110 faculty members and over 18,000 students, it is the largest university in the Merrimack Valley and the second-largest public institution in the state. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences is the undergraduate liberal arts college of Duke University. Founded in 1838, it is the original school of the university. Currently, Trinity is one of five undergraduate degree programs at Duke, the others being the Edmund T. Pratt School of Engineering, Nicholas School of the Environment, School of Nursing, and Duke Kunshan University.

Boston College Law School is the law school of Boston College, a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It is situated on a 40-acre (160,000 m2) campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill.

Boston College High School is an all-male, Jesuit, Catholic college-preparatory day school in the Columbia Point neighborhood of Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts. It educates approximately 1,400 students in grades 7–12. Founded in 1863 as a constituent part of Boston College, the school separated from the college in 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark Atlanta University</span> Historically Black university in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

Clark Atlanta University is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Founded on September 19, 1865 as Atlanta University, it consolidated with Clark College to form Clark Atlanta University in 1988. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut Hill College</span> Catholic college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US

Chestnut Hill College is a private Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally named Mount Saint Joseph College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William P. Leahy</span> President of Boston College

William P. Leahy is an American Jesuit academic who serves as the 25th president of Boston College, a post he has held since 1996, making him the longest serving president in the school's history as of July 31, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Endicott College</span> Private liberal arts college in Beverly, Massachusetts, United States

Endicott College is a private college in Beverly, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1939 as a two-year women's college. It began offering four-year degrees in 1988 and became coeducational in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carroll School of Management</span> Business school of Boston College

The Wallace E. Carroll School of Management (CSOM) is the business school of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

The William F. Connell School of Nursing (CSON) is the professional nursing school at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

The Lynch School of Education and Human Development is the professional school of education at Boston College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemont College</span> Catholic liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, U.S.

Rosemont College is a private Catholic university in Rosemont, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1921 as a women's college by the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, the undergraduate program opened to male students beginning in fall 2009. The university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Rosemont also offers a range of master's degrees through its school of graduate studies and school of professional studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilmington University</span> Private university in Wilmington Manor, Delaware, U.S.

Wilmington University (WilmU) is a private university with its main campus in Wilmington Manor, Delaware, with a New Castle street address. It was founded in 1968 as Wilmington College by educator Donald E. Ross. As of 2016, the university served a total student body of 20,522 undergraduate and postgraduate students in nearly 100 degree and certificate programs. The university's programs are offered at its main campus in historic New Castle as well as at six additional campuses in Delaware, several partnership locations in New Jersey, and a single partnership location in northeastern Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashland University</span> Christian university in Ashland, Ohio, US

Ashland University is a private Christian university in Ashland, Ohio. The university consists of a 135-acre (55 ha) main campus and several off-campus centers throughout central and northern Ohio. Ashland was founded in 1878 as Ashland College. It is affiliated with The Brethren Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khoury College of Computer Sciences</span> Computer science department of an American university

The Khoury College of Computer Sciences is the computer science school of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first college in the United States dedicated to the field of computer science when it was founded in 1982. In addition to computer science, it specializes in data science and cybersecurity. The college was also among the first to offer an information assurance degree program.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University offers 177 undergraduate, 30 master's, and 9 doctoral degrees through its nine professional colleges. The colleges and schools function as autonomous units within the university and adheres to the university's mission and philosophy. Bachelor's and master's degree programs are offered through the Colleges of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences; Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences; Business and Economics; Education; Engineering; Health & Human Sciences and the Science & Technology. Doctoral programs are offered through the Colleges of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences; Engineering; Science & Technology; The Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering; and The Graduate College.

References

  1. "Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences | Boston College".
  2. O'Connor, Thomas H. (2008). Ascending the Heights: A Brief History of Boston College from its Founding to 2008. Linden Lane Press. ISBN   978-0-9816416-0-7.
  3. A brief history of Boston College bc.edu
  4. Finding aidbc.edu Archived June 24, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Untitled Document". bcm.bc.edu. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  6. The Mission of Boston College bc.edu
  7. "'My Presence Here Does Not Mean Anything'". February 4, 2019.
  8. "Boston College to rename oldest school for alumnus". The Boston Globe .