Boston College - Sub Turri Yearbook (Boston, MA)

Page 22 text:

CONSTRUCTION of the adminislralion iMiil.liiif; in 1913, willi its lower maicslicallv (loiiiinatiiig llic i-ouiilryside, hcgaii a rapid expansion program. Tlie college was now completely transferred and established at Chestnut Hill. Succeeding presidents increased the building developments, improved the landscaping of the site, and enlarged the college curriculum. Under the Rev. Charles .1. Lyons, a faculty house was provided, and the extension school founded. A $2.()(M).()()0 drive when Fr. William Devlin became president made the science building pos- sible, and he cxlciided the college courses with a Summer School. The Rev. James II. Dolan. S.J.. present provincial, founded the Law School, which in nine years has taken its place among the foremost schools of its kind. But as a crowning memorial to his presidency stands the artistic masterpiece, the Library, with its unique stained glass windows, luxurious reception rooms, and valual)le collccliou of books. rid the Rev. Louis J. Gallagher. S.J. made his conlribiilion to the betterment of Boston College by opening a new graduate School of Social Science, while he imjjroved the collegiate atmosphere of the campus by enclosing it with a Gothic styled fence, the John T. Connor Memorial. In the past twenty years the Philomatheia Club has been an extraordinarv finan- cial aid to the college. From their Swiss chalet clubhouse on Commonweallh Avenue has poured a continuous stream of gifts in the form of money and valuables. They are responsible for the Anthropological Museum on Hammond St.. the original letter in the handwriting of St. Francis Xavier. numerous scholarships, and over one hundred thousand dollars in cash. So, as time rushes up to the present, with the Very Rev. William J. McGarry, S.J. taking charge in the seventy-fifth year, we see a panoramic picture of Boston College held in its frame by the bounds of James St. and Chestnut Hill. And todav ' s frame is brilliant with diamonds, while the picture is profound in meaning and wealth of symbol. H portrays sacrifice, and labors assiduously attended, and tedi- ous efforts pertinaciously accomplished — and heartaches. But they all culminate in a poetically just wliole when seen in the light of today. Here is the story of the mustard seed fulfilled. And the tree will grow. Even now while we are basking in the sun of seventv-five years ' glory, we hear the college crying out in its need for expansion again. So what is told todav will be history tomorrow. The four buildings now standing are but a small portion of the twenty-six structures which formed the dream of Fr. Gasson, and the parllv devel- oped university, even with the renown it enjoys today, is but a beginning of the great university whose plan was contained implicitly in the Catholic faith and con- fident ardor of the pioneers of our Boston College.

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HE seven I -lift li anniversary of tlie founding of Boston College is a fitting time, indeed, to iooiv hack into the past and recall for a moment those men who have so unselfishly and painstakingly guided the College to the lofty position it now occupies. To the untiring efforts of the Rev. John McElroy, S.J., Boston College owes its foundation. Under the Rev. John Bapst. S.J., the first President, the original cur- riculum included classical languages, poetry, and rhetoric — an extremely light load in the opinion of us overburdened lads of 1938. During the presidency of Father Robert Fulton a course in philosophy was added — and it ' s still here — , and in 1879, English, sciences, and modern languages were introduced. Father Fulton, a cultured southern gentleman and literateur of repute, was known to all for his sparkling wit and his ability as an organizer. During the succeeding years the growth of the college was healthy, yet slow. However, with the presidency of Rev. Thomas I. Gasson, S.J.. who will be remem- bered by older Bostonians for his lectures at the Boston Public Library, an era of