It’s an oft-repeated point, the one about your education lasting a lifetime. But clichés have the habit of often being true, and leading Boston College donors Janet and David Griffith ’68, P’00, ’02, ’06, are no exception to the rule. 

What the Griffiths have seen at BC is a formative education that goes beyond telling the students what to think. Rather, the University’s Jesuit, Catholic identity emphasizes teaching students how to think, encouraging them to remain curious and question the world and their place in it. At the Heights, it’s a journey of discovering oneself, over and again, combined with a profound love and concern for the other.

To me, that’s what college is about, discovering yourself, the things you like, what you might want to do and be in life.”

—DAVID GRIFFITH

1968 BC yearbook

For David, his first encounter with the value of a real education began in 1964 at Boston College’s beloved and bygone Dustbowl. Some 215 miles away from his home in Upstate New York and feeling homesick at the Heights, David sought community in the form of the student involvement fair. He signed up for the Gold Key Society and ROTC, but the group he was really interested in, University Chorale, was conspicuously absent.

Later, he inquired about joining the group, and they responded with prompt instructions—audition at the top floor of Lyons Hall, four o’clock sharp. When he arrived, there sat Dr. C. Alexander Peloquin, University Chorale conductor, at the piano. Here was a man who composed the first Roman Catholic Mass sung in English; collaborated with poet, writer, and Trappist monk Thomas Merton; and would eventually direct the choir for a papal Mass attended by 1.5 million people.

Not that David had the slightest clue about any of that, but he was a keen, inquisitive, and talented enough auditioner to be offered on the spot a place in the illustrious group. From there, he never looked back, taking music courses under Peloquin, performing with the group in New York City (“a seminal moment,” he notes), and falling in love with this art he wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.

To hear him speak about it is to understand his passion. “It was unbelievable, overwhelming, and so time-consuming,” David recalls. “To me, that’s what college is about, discovering yourself, the things you like, what you might want to do and be in life.”

Talking to the Griffiths on a bright morning at their winter home in Naples, Florida, they are patient, warm, and jovial. Generally, David speaks in digressions, finding what he wants to say by taking the scenic route, whereas Janet listens, considers, and weighs in a bit more directly. 

In the way of couples who’ve spent a life together, their chemistry is plain to see. Maybe it’s the way they finish each other’s sentences, preempt each other’s punchlines with laughter, or interrupt the other’s stories with corrections and counterfactuals.

Fifty years ago this past February, they were getting ready for their first date at a well-loved restaurant in Clinton, New York. They were set up for a blind date event put on by the American Association of University Women, but David wanted to meet Janet beforehand to see how they got on (or, as Janet’s jokes, “to check out the goods”). Later that week, David remembered to send a Valentine’s card. Fast forward seven months and they were married.

June 2023 marks David’s 55th BC Reunion. Over the years, David has taken on volunteer leadership roles with the Boston College Alumni Association Board of Directors and the BC Board of Trustees, and the entire Griffith family has become inextricably tied to the University in ways David never could have imagined when first wandering the dusty grounds where Stokes Hall now stands. 

When the time came for their children to start the college search, he had just the place in mind. “We had some of the best times with our kids looking at colleges; we made the process a family affair,” says David. “And when push came to shove, they all wanted to go to BC.” 

David ’00 followed his father’s path to a career in financial planning by studying in the Carroll School of Management. Then, Kathryn ’02 branched out into the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences to study communications and history, and their youngest, Megan ’06, entered the Lynch School of Education and Human Development.

For Janet, perhaps nothing has changed her relationship with BC more than their 2016 pilgrimage with the Board of Trustees to Montserrat and Loyola in Spain, and parts of Italy. Tracing the conversion journey of St. Ignatius, they prayed before the Black Madonna where, some 500 years prior, the saint spent the night in contemplation before committing his life to the Lord. 

The trip gave her the chance to cultivate friendships with fellow trustees like Tammy ’85, MEd’87, and Steve Barry ’85, P’14, ’17, and get acquainted with BC Jesuits, including University President William P. Leahy, S.J., and Haub Vice President for Mission and Ministry John T. Butler, S.J. “They are always so engaging and welcoming,” says Janet. “They’ve always remembered my name and had a wonderful sense of humor.”

The family’s BC journey has been a whirlwind, happening the way things often do: slowly, off and on, and then all at once. But the Griffiths wouldn’t have it any other way. “BC changed my life, absolutely, completely,” says David, squinting out the window into the water of Naples Bay. “I didn’t realize how much [my formation at BC] would guide me in my adult life. I’ve just been totally in love with, enthusiastic for, and loyal to the University since.”

“Before meeting David, I had never been to Boston College,” says Janet. “It’s such a special place. I can see why the students and alumni rave about it.”

Recognizing BC’s place as a central pillar of their family, David and Janet have grown into impactful and generous supporters of everything from financial aid to teaching and scholarship to athletics at BC.  

In 2005, they made their first major gift, endowing a millennium chair in the Carroll School. Leveraging his decades of experience as a financial planner, David became a co-chair of Boston College’s Light the World campaign in 2008. With his help, the campaign raised more than $1.6 billion, receiving nearly 5,000 planned gifts in the process.

The Griffiths then threw their support behind scholarships through Pops on the Heights and by establishing the Griffith Family Scholarship for students with high financial need. “For us, supporting financial aid at Boston College is a priority because we want people to have the same opportunities we had—for exploration, self-discovery, and so on—even if they don’t have the resources to attend BC,” says David. “We find it incredibly rewarding. And the proof is in the pudding—look at the University success rate, what these kids go on to do in their communities and careers.”

The latest area to pique the Griffiths’ interest has been athletics. Formerly tennis players and skiers, Janet and David remain avid golfers, speculative pickleballers, and collegiate sports lovers.

“In the past five years or so, we did a complete one-eighty on giving to BC athletics,” David says. “Our philosophy used to be, ‘Why? They’ve got all that revenue from broadcast deals and tickets and apparel.’ Once we learned otherwise, we were all in.”

The truth, of course, is that across BC’s 31 varsity teams—especially among those that are not revenue-generating—donor support remains a crucial way of covering basic operating costs. This is where Griffiths’ leading role in the Support Your Sport Giving Challenge comes in. For the past four years, the Griffiths have contributed seed funds to the competition, making a monumental difference for teams like sailing, swim and dive, women’s ice hockey, and more. “Janet and I have never had so much fun giving to BC,” says David. “It brings the alums and families of the teams together.”

Alongside these game-changing gifts, the Griffiths have made significant contributions to the Hoag Basketball Pavilion project and athletics facilities on the Newton Campus, in addition to naming the newly renovated women’s ice hockey locker room.