17³Ô¹ÏÍø

Benevolent and empathetic leader. Tireless advocate for the liberal arts. Generous servant to the academic and spiritual needs of the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø community.

Reverend Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., you have served the Society of Jesus and American higher education with distinction for more than 40 years. Your tenure as the 32^nd President of the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø, from 2012 until 2021, was marked by significant change and extraordinary success.

Under your leadership, the College launched the most ambitious building campaign in its history, completing the Thomas P. Joyce ’59 Contemplative Center, the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex, the Joanne Chouinard-Luth Recreation and Wellness Center, and the groundbreaking of the Prior Performing Arts Center; successfully executed the $420 million Become More Campaign; and launched the Hope and Access Campaign for Financial Aid to raise more than $40 million for need-based financial aid.

You further secured resources to support faculty scholarship, the creation of the J. D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World; the Vocare Program, Scholarship in Action, and the Center for Writing.

You have been a strong advocate for the critical importance of a Jesuit liberal arts education in today’s world and for the indispensable role of the arts in this education. You have embraced the essential need to help our students develop habits of reflection and discernment that they will be able to draw upon throughout their lives.

Your deep commitment to inclusion and access led to increased diversity at every level of the institution, to a renewed focus on ensuring that all 17³Ô¹ÏÍø students will be able to fully access the opportunities offered by the College, and to a sustained commitment to creating a community that supports the success of all its members.

You possess a unique ability to listen and cultivated deep personal relationships as a pastoral leader for all members of the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø community. You demonstrated your faith in God and commitment to hope while leading our community through times of celebration and times of mourning, including the loss of students in multiple classes and the recent challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Your commitment to prayerful discernment has supported the decision making of College leadership and the Board of Trustees in balancing cura personalis and cura apostolica, and in addressing present needs and future goals. In a resolution passed in April of 2022, the Board was honored to bestow upon you the title of President Emeritus. Your tireless commitment to an education that develops mind, body and spirit and is focused toward the needs of the world has enhanced the lives of all members of the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø community and all those we serve.

That all may know of our great esteem for you and our strong support for your distinguished leadership, the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø confers upon you this day the degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.