Hyde Park resident Dan Bunch, who helped generations of young people achieve their potential through his mentorship and advocacy as a key administrator at Boston College for more than 35 years, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Social Sciences degree from Boston College on May 20.
From 1987 to 2017, Bunch served as director of Boston College’s Learning to Learn, a program designed to provide students with the learning skills and problem-solving techniques they need to succeed in college and beyond. Learning to Learn’s support can be especially vital for first-generation college students, students with high financial need or with a learning or physical disability. Designated as an Exemplary Program by the U.S. Department of Education, Learning to Learn has been adopted by more than 100 colleges across the country.
After retiring from the University in 2017, Bunch returned to BC as special assistant to the vice president of student affairs, helping student formation.
Bunch contributed to the University as an advisor to the Black Student Forum, a former chair and member of the Black Staff, Faculty and Administrators Association, a founding member and former treasurer of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship Committee and a member of the AHANA Alumni Council. He also co-founded Dedicated Intellectuals of the People, a group of AHANA men dedicated to character-building.
Bunch earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1979 and master of social work degree in 1981, both from BC. He was a recipient of a Companion of Justice Award presented during the University’s Ignatian Year in 1991, the recipient of the Boston College Community Service Award in 2015, and the inaugural recipient of the Keith A. Francis Inspiration Award in 2016.
