Links and Media Coverage of BC's Announcement of Institutional Master Plan

Last night, Boston College announced their new institutional master plan, and today they filed it with the city of Boston.

BC Documents:
BC press release about master plan (PDF, 3 pages)
BC press release about strategic plan (PDF, 2 pages)
10-Year Master Plan Map (PDF, 1 page, low-resolution)
Strategic Plan website, "Towers of Excellence"
Institutional Master Plan online (PDF, 19 separate files)
BC main website, which currently links all mainstream media coverage of their master plan

Media Coverage:
Boston Globe:  "Grand expansion at BC:  $1.6b plan calls for faculty increase, massive construction"
Boston Herald:  "Eagles let fly $1.6B plan:  BC to grow out, add 100 profs"
BC's The Heights (student newspaper):  "BC unveils $1.6 billion strategic plan"
Associated Press:  "Boston College Seeks $1.6B Expansion"

From the Boston Globe:

Boston College plans to spend $1.6 billion over the next decade to expand and rebuild its Chestnut Hill campus, bolster its faculty by 15 percent, and create a dozen academic institutes in a far-reaching effort to vault the Jesuit college into the top echelon of the nation's universities...

"There will be extensive construction on campus for at least the next seven to 10 years," Leahy said. He added the college would stagger construction and would borrow substantially to finance the project, but would not tap its $1.7 billion endowment or raise tuition beyond normal increases.

From the Boston Herald:

To support the initiative, President William Leahy said BC is eyeing what will likely be its largest capital campaign ever.

The college will likely have to raise as much as $1 billion to make the expansion possible.

BC’s largest fund-raising campaign to date netted $440 million and ended in 2003.

From The Heights:

Culminating years of studies and planning, the unprecedented 10-year plan will hire 100 new faculty members, establish new academic institutes, and increase the annual budget of academic departments by $43.5 million...

A significant portion of the construction costs will also be financed through acquisition of debt, which is the typical protocol for University construction projects. To date, BC carries $630 million in debt...

Meetings with the [BC] Task Force have been a source of debate between the University and the local residents, who have expressed their concerns with bringing students closer to an otherwise quiet neighborhood. "We know there will be concerns on this development on this space which has been like a park for the neighborhood, and we have been meeting with them for a year and a half and have made necessary changes to the plan," Leahy said. Those changes include moving student housing farther away from Lake Street, which will use the natural barrier of the surrounding trees and gradient change to keep students and noise insulated within campus.