One of the older third-level institutions in the United States, Boston College maintains close links with Ireland. In April, the NUI will confer an honorary doctorate on Dr Adele Dalsimer, professor of English at the college. Dalsimer, who has a PhD from Yale and an arts doctorate from University of Ulster, is vice-president of the North American International Association for the Study of Irish Literature and co-founder of Boston College's Abbey Theatre Summer Workshop.
Last autumn, members of the Northern Ireland Assembly travelled to the United States to take part in a series of programmes developed by Boston College. The programme, entitled The Task of Government, was adopted as a component of the Northern Assembly Transition Programme, which is training Northern politicians in the functions of government.
Founded by the Jesuits in 1863, Boston College is one of the oldest of American colleges and has always enjoyed strong Irish Catholic links. Indeed, according to Dr Sean Rowland, the Mayo-born director of the Irish Centre at Boston College, the college was established to educate the sons of Irish emigrants. A quick glance down the list of college buildings highlights just how Irish the college is: O'Neill Library, Devlin Hall, McElroy Commons, More Hall and McGuin Hall are among the buildings which give the college its Hibernian flavour. The college is ranked 36th in the US News and World Report's most recent survey of 228 American universities. In the survey, Harvard, Princeton and Yale Universities tied for first place, while Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University tied for fourth place. The University of Notre Dame was ranked 18th, while Georgetown was 20th.
A recent $260 million investment to strengthen programmes and resources in undergraduate, graduate and professional education has given Boston College a major boost, says Rowland. Today, the college boasts over 14,000 students, 8,500 of them undergraduates.
Boston College now offers 14 degree programmes and two certificate programmes. Undergraduates may enrol in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Wallace E Carroll School of Management, the School of Nursing or the School of Education.
Given its old links with Ireland, it's hardly surprising that this liberal arts college, where annual tuition fees are $30,000, boasts a strong Irish studies programme.
The McMullen Museum of Art boasts a number of Irish collections on loan while the Burns Library contains the largest collection of Irish manuscripts in the United States, including works by Yeats, Flann O'Brien and Tip O'Neill.
Phil Coulter is adjunct professor at the department of Irish music. Another well known Irishman - John Hume - holds a professorship in political science.
According to Rowland, the college has been involved in education in Ireland for many years. "We helped to introduce standardised testing in St Patrick's College in Drumcondra, Dublin," he recalls, "and we are working on management and political leadership programmes north and south."
Every year, up to 250 people both sides of the border travel to the United States to participate in a range of fully-funded programmes, Rowland says. Business is now so brisk, that the college has set up its own administrative office in Dublin.
The management programme for young Irish entrepreneurs is particularly popular. Participants spend three months in the United States. "We get excellent candidates who aggressively pursue opportunities in the US and have followed them up on their return to Ireland," says Rowland.
Meanwhile, the American Ireland Fund Fellows Programme is an eight-week internship programme which recruits young people from business schools all over Ireland who show exceptional leadership qualities. "The students are placed with large, well managed corporations in the greater Boston area and take classes each week at the Carroll Management School."
