William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office Records
1915-1930 (bulk 1919-1925)
BC.1986.020F
http://hdl.handle.net/2345/3100
Archives and Manuscripts Department
John J. Burns Library
Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467
617-552-3282
[email protected]
http://www.bc.edu/burns
Table of Contents
Summary Information ................................................................................................................................. 3
Administrative Information .........................................................................................................................4
Related Materials ........................................................................................................................................ 4
Biographical note........................................................................................................................................... 5
Scope and Contents note............................................................................................................................... 7
Arrangement note...........................................................................................................................................7
Collection Inventory...................................................................................................................................... 8
Series I: Correspondence........................................................................................................................ 8
Series II: Subject files............................................................................................................................ 8
William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office Records BC.1986.020F
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Summary Information
Library Unit
Archives and Manuscripts Department
Creator
Boston College. Office of the President.
Title
William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office records
Date [bulk]
Bulk, 1919-1925
Date [inclusive]
1915-1930
Extent
1.75 Linear feet (2 boxes)
Language
English
Language of Materials note Materials in this collection are primarily in English, with some German.
Abstract
William J. Devlin, SJ, President’s Office records contain materials from
the administration of William J. Devlin, the fifteenth president of Boston
College. The collection spans 1915-1930 with the bulk dating from
1919-1925, and documents Devlin’s attempts to improve the Chestnut
Hill campus, particularly through the construction of new buildings
and the establishment of new programs. The records, composed of
correspondence, subject files, and a scrapbook, also include some material
regarding Devlin’s interest in Catholic issues and activity in Catholic
organizations.
Preferred Citation note
Identification of item, Box number, Folder number, William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office Records,
BC.1986.020F, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.
William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office Records BC.1986.020F
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Administrative Information
Publication Information
Processed by unknown; revised by Alexandra Bisio, June 2013. This finding aid was produced using the
Archivists' Toolkit.
Last Update
September 2013
Restrictions on access
Collection is open for research.
Restrictions on use
These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S.
Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not
limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used
for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may
retain copyright to the materials.
Provenance
Because the current accessioning system was not used until January 1986, it is not possible to know
exactly the dates of acquisition of materials received before that time.
Related Materials
Related Archival Materials note
Boston College High School Financial Relations Records, BC.1996.066, John J. Burns Library, Boston
College.
President's Office Records, University Archives, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.
William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office Records BC.1986.020F
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Biographical note
William J. Devlin, SJ, was born in New York City on December 15, 1875. Though born in the United
States, Devlin spent most of his childhood abroad in England and Ireland. He attended Stonyhurst College
in England before being accepted to the English Province of the Society of Jesus in 1893. The death of his
father in New York led Devlin to return to America, and enter the novitiate of the New York-Maryland
Province in September of 1893. Beginning in 1901, Devlin taught for four years at Boston College as a
professor before beginning his theology courses at Woodstock College in 1905. He was ordained in 1908.
In 1910, Devlin returned to Boston College as a professor, and in 1914 was appointed dean. In 1919, he
became the fifteenth president of Boston College.
During his presidency, Devlin turned his attention to providing new programs and spaces for the rapidly
growing student body on the Chestnut Hill campus. In 1919, the School of Education began to confer
advanced degrees to male students and provide improved training to teaching sisters in the Archdiocese
of Boston. Similarly, in 1922, a proposal was drafted for what would eventually become the College of
Business Administration.
In 1920, Devlin devoted himself to the construction of a new building with expanded laboratory space for
the increasingly popular science program. After consulting the New England Provincial, Father Joseph
H. Rockwell, an appeal was sent to the alumni as a statement of needs. This approach resulted in only a
tepid response from alumni, and did not raise enough for the building project. Over the next year Devlin
attempted two other fundraising drives. The second of these was a large-scale, public campaign, known as
the Building Fund Campaign, for the addition of not only the science building, but a chapel, gymnasium,
and library as well. The campaign’s objective was to raise two million dollars in thirty weeks, with the
public drive occurring over ten days. Unfortunately, the goal of two million dollars went unfulfilled as
the total barely exceeded one million. However, enough money was raised to continue construction of the
science and library buildings, and the publicity gained from the campaign proved invaluable.
Devlin was succeeded by Father James H. Dolan in 1925. He was then appointed minister at St. Andrew
on Hudson Jesuit seminary, and in 1926 he took the same position at Woodstock College. Devlin returned
to St. Andrew as rector in 1927, where he stayed until 1933 when he was appointed rector of St. Ignatius
Church in New York City. Devlin’s health began to fail soon after and, after several hospital stays, he was
sent to St. Isaac Jogues Novitiate in Wernersville, Pennsylvania, where he died on July 21, 1938.
Sources
Donovan, Charles F., David R. Dunigan, and Paul A. FitzGerald. History of Boston College: From the
Beginnings to 1990. Chestnut Hill, MA: The University Press of Boston College, 1990.
Dunigan, David R. A History of Boston College. Milwaukee, WI: Bruce Publishing Co., 1947.
“Obituary: Father William Devlin, 1875-1938.” The Woodstock Letters: A Record 67 (1938): 293-8.
William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office Records BC.1986.020F
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Schools of Business and Education preliminary circulars of information, box 1, folder 21, William J.
Devlin, SJ, President's Office Records, BC.1986.020F, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.
William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office Records BC.1986.020F
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Scope and Contents note
William J. Devlin, SJ, President’s Office records contain materials from the administration of William J.
Devlin, the fifteenth president of Boston College. The collection spans 1915-1930 with the bulk dating
from 1919-1925, and documents Devlin’s attempts to improve the Chestnut Hill campus, particularly
through the construction of new buildings and the establishment of new programs, specifically the
Schools of Education and Business. The records are composed of correspondence, subject files,
and a scrapbook from Devlin’s 1921 Building Fund campaign. Correspondence consists of letters
between Devlin and various individuals, as well as mailings and letters from Catholic and educational
organizations. A large amount of correspondence between Devlin and the New England Province of
Jesuits is represented. Subject files chronicle Devlin’s administration, especially his fundraising efforts
and school improvements. This series also includes some material regarding Devlin’s interest in Catholic
issues, and activity in Catholic organizations.
Arrangement note
The William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office records are arranged in two series: I. Correspondence; II.
Subject files. Correspondence and subject files are in alphabetical order.
William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office Records BC.1986.020F
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Collection Inventory
Series I: Correspondence, 1915-1926
Association of American Colleges, 1921-1923
Box 1
Folder 1
Association of American Universities, 1921-1924
Box 1
Folder 2
Catholic organizations, 1920-1926
Box 1
Folder 3
Dinand, Father Joseph N., SJ, 1925
Box 1
Folder 4
Gasson, Father Thomas Ignatius, SJ, 1923-1925
Box 1
Folder 5
Howard, Edward B., 1925
Box 1
Folder 6
Hundegger, Frau Antonie, 1924
Box 1
Folder 7
O'Connell, William, 1923-1925
Box 1
Folder 8
Rockwell, Father Joseph H., SJ, and related enclosures,
1915-1924
Box 1
Folder 9
Ward, Charles H., 1923-1925
Box 1
Folder 10
Academic regulations, undated
Box 1
Folder 11
Athletic Association, 1920
Box 1
Folder 12
Boston University Law School: joint management,
photocopies, 1920
Box 1
Folder 13
Building Fund Campaign, 1921
Box 1
Folder 14
Building Fund Campaign scrapbook, 1920-1921
Box 2
Series II: Subject files, 1919-1935
William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office Records BC.1986.020F
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Chestnut Hill campus building openings and class day
events, 1925-1935
Box 1
Folder 15
Clippings, 1921
Box 1
Folder 16
Development Fund campaign, photocopies, 1920-1921
Box 1
Folder 17
Financial agreement with Boston College High School,
drafts, circa 1919-1922
Box 1
Folder 18
Library donations, undated
Box 1
Folder 19
Marmite Company, 1924
Box 1
Folder 20
Marshal Ferdinand Foch reception program and letter,
1921, 1924
Box 1
Folder 21
Massachusetts Avenue land purchase, 1919, 1921
Box 1
Folder 22
New England Association of Colleges and Secondary
Schools, 1919-1920
Box 1
Folder 23
Property release to City of Newton, photocopy, 1920 May
4
Box 1
Folder 24
Schools of Business and Education preliminary circulars
of information, drafts and photocopies, 1920-1922
Box 1
Folder 25
William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office Records BC.1986.020F
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