At the start of this semester, Boston College announced that the Finance Department in the Carroll School of Management would be renamed the Seidner Department of Finance. What is that all about? Here鈥檚 what to know.
What happened?
The department was renamed in recognition of an unprecedented gift by University Trustee Marc Seidner 鈥�88, P 鈥�24. The Seidner Department of Finance is the first department at Boston College named for a benefactor, and this gift is the largest in the history of the Carroll School. In keeping with the donor鈥檚 wishes, the University did not disclose the gift amount.
Marc Seidner '88, P '24
Who is Marc Seidner?
Seidner is a , one of the world鈥檚 largest global investment firms. 鈥淢arc is one of Boston College鈥檚 most illustrious alumni in the field of finance, and he鈥檚 been deeply involved in our school for a long time,鈥� said John and Linda Powers Family Dean Andy Boynton, noting that Seidner has served as a frequent co-chair of the Carroll School鈥檚 annual Finance Conference. He also has a long philanthropic background at Boston College, which recently includes endowing the Seidner University Professorship; the inaugural holder is Paul Romer, a Nobel laureate in economics now teaching in the Seidner Department of Finance.
A University Trustee since 2019, Seidner says his gift is a 鈥渢hank you鈥� for the transformative education both he and his daughter Alexis 鈥�24 received at Boston College. He described the gift also as a way to 鈥渟how respect and admiration鈥� for Boynton, department chair Ronnie Sadka, and the entire finance faculty 鈥渇or their world-class research achievements and for what they have done over many decades to make BC鈥檚 Finance Department one of the premier undergraduate programs in the country and the world.鈥� Seidner majored in economics at what is now the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences.
What does this mean for the Carroll School and Boston College?
To begin with, very few academic departments of any kind have been named in such a way at major colleges and universities in the United States, so the renaming will only add to the prominence of finance at Boston College. The department is聽currently ranked 7th in the nation听产测聽U.S. News & World Report, 补苍诲听聽in the Academic Ranking of World Universities.
John and Linda Powers Family Dean Andy Boynton
The department鈥檚 latest distinction also throws light on the progress that the Carroll School as a whole has made in recent years. 鈥淭his extraordinary development is yet another indication that our school is getting stronger all the time and holding firm to Boston College鈥檚 motto, Ever to Excel,鈥� Boynton said in a letter to faculty and staff informing them of the renaming. Including聽finance, the Carroll School now has four departments and programs in the top 10 and two others ranked 11th nationally, according to U.S. News.
University Provost David Quigley spoke of the Seidner gift as a 鈥渟ignificant milestone for the Carroll School and the entire University.鈥� He also told BC News that he hopes this first departmental-naming gift at Boston College will encourage other alumni and parents to follow suit.
"My hope and expectation are that the gift helps the Finance Department to build upon its proud history of matriculating outstanding students to manage an increasingly complex global market system鈥攊ndividuals who will continue to make a real difference in the world and in the lives of others."
What impact will the gift have on students and faculty?
In addition to endowing the Seidner University Professorship and launching Romer鈥檚 new Center for the Economics of Ideas, the gift will provide substantial new support for teaching and research in the department. This includes support for the increasingly arduous task of attracting top finance scholars in a highly competitive academic market鈥攑rofessors who excel as both teachers and researchers. 鈥淭he new gift will help guarantee the continued success of our faculty, enhancing its already world-class research and teaching, and further enriching the student experience,鈥� Boynton wrote in his letter.
Looking ahead to the next generation of finance professionals, Seidner said in the University鈥檚 announcement: 鈥淢y hope and expectation are that the gift helps the Finance Department to build upon its proud history of matriculating outstanding students to manage an increasingly complex global market system鈥攊ndividuals who will continue to make a real difference in the world and in the lives of others.鈥�