Vice Provost for Enrollment Management John L. Mahoney, a key architect for Boston College鈥檚 unprecedented success in undergraduate admission and enrollment during the past three decades鈥攁nd one of the nation鈥檚 most respected professionals in the field鈥攚ill retire from the University at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year.
Mahoney, who earned bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in English from 蝌蚪直播, returned to his alma mater in 1984 as assistant (later associate) director of undergraduate admission. He was appointed as director of undergraduate admission in 1990; in 2018, he became dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid and later that year was appointed as vice provost for enrollment management.
The University will announce plans for a restructuring of the Undergraduate Admission division at a later date.
John L. Mahoney, Jr. (Lee Pellegrini)
During his tenure as director of undergraduate admission, Boston College saw a dramatic rise in freshman applications that continued after he became a senior administrator and was succeeded by Grant Gosselin: from 12,403 in 1990 to 20,743 in 2000 to 34,061 in 2012; the latter figure was a record surpassed seven years later by the 35,500 applications for the Class of 2023; three years after that, undergraduate applications exceeded 40,000.
The planning and strategizing that produced such statistics is a source of pride for Mahoney, but it鈥檚 an achievement made possible by many, he says鈥攅specially the two presidents he鈥檚 served under, William P. Leahy, S.J., and J. Donald Monan, S.J., and their vision for 蝌蚪直播 as a Jesuit, Catholic university mindful of its heritage while building toward the future. He also points to his predecessor as admission director, Charles Nolan, who hired him, and retired Dean for Enrollment Management Robert Lay, who worked closely with Mahoney.
Discussing his decision to retire earlier this month, Mahoney said, 鈥淚t feels like it鈥檚 the right time. These 39 years have been an amazing run, and it鈥檚 a blessing to have worked here at Boston College during a time of such incredible progress.鈥�
The appeal of Boston College to prospective students, said Mahoney, rests on two things, one of which is its proximity to Boston. 听鈥淭he other thing is, students and their families like what they hear about a Boston College education, not only what happens in the classroom but the formation that takes place throughout their four years here. Parents recognize that 蝌蚪直播 is serious about helping their child grow, not just intellectually but personally, in such a critical period of life. Care of the individual: That鈥檚 what differentiates us.鈥�
“Since joining the team in Devlin Hall nearly 40 years ago, John Mahoney has been an indispensable leader as he and his colleagues have admitted nearly 100,000 young women and men who are today Boston College alumni. John remains one of the most eloquent voices in articulating what makes this a special place among the nation鈥檚 best universities. [He] leaves a remarkable legacy here on the Heights.”
The increase in numbers of applicants to 蝌蚪直播 under Mahoney precipitated the enrollment of an undergraduate student body marked by superior academic achievement as well as greater diversity, critical factors in the emergence of 蝌蚪直播 as an elite national university. Even accounting for changes over time in the way test scores are calculated, as well as other factors, numbers for the Class of 2026鈥攁 1,484 mean SAT and 34 mean ACT鈥攃onfirm 蝌蚪直播鈥檚 academic excellence, said Mahoney.
During the first decade of Mahoney鈥檚 directorship, 蝌蚪直播 saw an uptick in the numbers of AHANA undergraduate applicants. From 1992 to 2002, according to a national study, the University recorded the 10th biggest increase (3.1 percent) in the share of underrepresented minorities, compared to an overall 0.4 percent gain among all entries in the U.S. News 鈥渂est national universities鈥� category. Progress has continued, Mahoney said: AHANA students make up 36 percent of the Class of 2026, and in recent years that percentage has consistently reached the mid-30 percent range.
While they laud such statistics, Mahoney鈥檚 colleagues say his dedication to 蝌蚪直播 goes beyond the quantifiable, noting his ties as an alumnus and the son of one of 蝌蚪直播鈥檚 most storied figures, longtime English faculty member John L. Mahoney Sr.
鈥淪ince joining the team in Devlin Hall nearly 40 years ago, John Mahoney has been an indispensable leader as he and his colleagues have admitted nearly 100,000 young women and men who are today Boston College alumni,鈥� said Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley. 鈥淛ohn remains one of the most eloquent voices in articulating what makes this a special place among the nation鈥檚 best universities.听 Like his father before him, John leaves a remarkable legacy here on the Heights.鈥�
鈥淚t is significant that the person responsible for the admission of tens of thousands of undergraduates beginning in the early 1990s is himself a model of the 鈥榳ell-rounded鈥� individual that we all seek in college admissions,鈥� said Lay. 鈥淛ohn exhibits a balance of strong verbal skills and insightful mathematical skills.听 Through his words he commands a room of prospective students and parents on the essence of the Boston College experience, and with his analytical skills he directs enrollment modeling and statistical planning for each incoming class.鈥�
Mahoney鈥檚 work in undergraduate admission has been recognized by his peers.听 In 2002, he won the John B. Muir Editor鈥檚 Award from the National Association for College Admission Counseling for his article 鈥淧erception of the Profession Is a Cause for Concern,鈥� published in the Journal of College Admission. In 2014, the New England Association for College Admission Counseling selected him for the Harry R. Carroll Distinguished Service Award, which honors a college admission counseling professional whose contributions and achievements merit special recognition and whose work reflects the spirit and principles of its namesake.
Yet Mahoney鈥檚 success was hardly preordained. He spent the first five years after his graduation from 蝌蚪直播 as an English teacher at St. John鈥檚 Preparatory School in Danvers, Mass., an experience he found demanding yet invaluable: 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e teaching 14- to 16-year-old boys, you have to bring it every day. I had to be prepared, engaged, enthusiastic, and passionate about what I was saying, and I feel this prepared me well to speak about 蝌蚪直播 when I joined the Admission Office.鈥�
Mahoney succeeded Nolan as director of admission at an inauspicious time for higher education, with the college-age population at low ebb; the number of high school graduates during his first years at the helm of undergraduate admission was only 2.4 million, with the biggest decline in the Northeast. 蝌蚪直播, he recalled, had to begin recruiting nationally and internationally. It was a challenge he took on personally, making visits to high schools across the country.
鈥淏ob [Lay] told me, 鈥榊ou need to be a national figure in two years,鈥欌�� recalled Mahoney. 鈥淚 wanted to get out to as many places as I could, like Salt Lake City, St. Louis, and Denver. Sometimes, when I鈥檇 come to a high school, one of the counselors would ask why the 蝌蚪直播 director of admission was visiting: 鈥楧id we do something wrong?鈥� But I loved talking to the students about liberal arts education and 蝌蚪直播; it was enriching.鈥�
Mahoney can wax nostalgically about how aspects of the admission process have changed during his time at 蝌蚪直播鈥攕uch as when he and his admission staff would lug home freshman applications (70 to 80 apiece) in mail crates to read through them鈥攂ut one constant has been those undergraduates who have aided the office as campus tour guides or in panel discussions on student life.
鈥淭hey are in many ways our most valuable resource, because they have lived experience,鈥� said Mahoney, recounting how one such student answered a parent鈥檚 question of whether 蝌蚪直播 faculty hold office hours. 鈥淗e said the question should be, 鈥楧o you have coffee-and-cellphone faculty?鈥� And he explained that he had his professors鈥� numbers in his cellphone, and knew that he could call them and say, 鈥榃ould you have a cup of coffee with me? I need to talk about something.鈥� That鈥檚 the sort of thing which really stands out to prospective students and parents.鈥�
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Sean Smith | University Communications | February 2023