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Going Pro: Introduction of Professional Schools at Boston College

O'Neill Level 3 Lobby Exhibit

Exhibits in O’Neill are part of the Library's educational outreach and are specifically created to stimulate interest in, and encourage further study of, the topics showcased in the displays. One case is devoted to campus events, and the remaining are open to exhibits which highlight collections, spotlight interesting research being done on campus, explore current and/or historically important events, or demonstrate cultural trends and their significance for the BC community.

Return to the O'Neill Level 3 Lobby Exhibits

Going Pro: Introduction of Professional Schools at Boston College
A Sesquicentennial exhibit in the O’Neill Lobby

May 2013

By 1929, when Boston College established its first professional school, the institution was already 65 years old. At this time the Chestnut Hill campus consisted of only four buildings – the Recitation Building (Gasson Hall), St. Mary’s Hall, the Science Building (Devlin Hall), and the Library (Bapst Library) – and overlooked twin reservoirs. The 1928 Boston College directory listed only a College of Arts and Sciences, a Graduate School, and affiliated schools for training members of the Society of Jesus at West Stockbridge and Weston. The next year marked a change with the addition of the Law School. Once the Law School was established (1929), other professional schools followed: School of Social Work (1936), School of Business Administration (1938), School of Nursing (1947), and, finally, the School of Education (1952). With the exception of the School of Education, which introduced coeducation on the Chestnut Hill campus, these Boston College programs all had their start in downtown Boston. The Boston College Law School, Graduate School of Social Work, Carroll School of Management, Connell School of Nursing, and Lynch School of Education, as they are now known, are all well-established and well-regarded; this exhibit highlights their beginnings.

Learn more about the Boston College Sesquicentennial, the University Archives, and the John J. Burns Library:

By 1929, when Boston College established its first professional school, the institution was already 65 years old. At this time the Chestnut Hill campus consisted of only four buildings – the Recitation Building (Gasson Hall), St. Mary’s Hall, the Science Building (Devlin Hall), and the Library (Bapst Library) – and overlooked twin reservoirs. The 1928 Boston College directory listed only a College of Arts and Sciences, a Graduate School, and affiliated schools for training members of the Society of Jesus at West Stockbridge and Weston. The next year marked a change with the addition of the Law School. Once the Law School was established (1929), other professional schools followed: School of Social Work (1936), School of Business Administration (1938), School of Nursing (1947), and, finally, the School of Education (1952). With the exception of the School of Education, which introduced coeducation on the Chestnut Hill campus, these Boston College programs all had their start in downtown Boston. The Boston College Law School, Graduate School of Social Work, Carroll School of Management, Connell School of Nursing, and Lynch School of Education, as they are now known, are all well-established and well-regarded; this exhibit highlights their beginnings.

Learn more about the Boston College Sesquicentennial, the University Archives, and the John J. Burns Library: