Boston College enjoys a rich history – from its founding in 1863 as a small commuter college to educate children of immigrants, to its status 170 years later as a major university of national and international standing. University Historian James O’Toole’s new book, Ever to Excel: A History of Boston College, explores that transformation and the people and events that have shaped it.

This program will engage O’Toole in a conversation with Greg Kalscheur, SJ, dean of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, and Margaret McGuinness, emerita professor at La Salle University and a specialist in American Catholic history.

Reflecting together on O’Toole’s book, these three scholars will explore questions such as: Why write the history of an institution? What are such a book’s larger contributions, and those to the university community? What are the advantages as well as the limitations particular to the writing of an institutional history?

The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow in the Burns Library Irish Room. RSVPs are not necessary but appreciated to assist with catering: https://bit.ly/evertoexcel

Copies of Ever to Excel will be available for purchase through the Institute of Jesuit Sources.

O’Toole earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees at Boston College and served as Clough Millennium Professor of History until his retirement in 2020 and appointment as University Historian. Author of many books and articles on American Catholic history, he is currently completing a book on the practice of confession.

The discussion is the first of a series of collaborative projects between Boston College Libraries and the Office of the University Historian. These programs will explore the history of Boston College by highlighting figures and events, many since forgotten, and explaining their local and larger significance.