Safety Net

The Murray Center for Student Wellness creates a web of support across campus, ensuring that every student can find help and hope when needed most.

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Overwhelmed. Submerged. Paralyzed. Breathless under the crushing weight of classwork, club commitments, personal obligations, roommate issues, and deadlines. 

Then toss in something completely unexpected—an extra-long bus ride to campus, illness, a breakup, homesickness, loss—and suddenly the once-manageable now feels insurmountable. Frustration and shame creep in. What goes from a single rough day turns into a week or more of skipping classes, ignoring friends, and letting responsibilities slide. Time marches on, but for the student, everything feels stuck.

When Boston College students stumble, the new Murray Center for Student Wellness is there to lift them up—every part of their mind, body, and spirit. 

The Murray Center was established in Spring 2025 thanks to a generous gift from Tami Murray ’83, P’09, ’15, ’19, and her family, made in memory of her late husband, University Trustee Stephen ’84. Its aim is to connect students seamlessly to a wide range of on-campus resources and people who are available to help. And it brings together once-siloed services into a united network of care, reflecting the University’s commitment to cura personalis, the Jesuit value of care for the whole person. 

True to her humble nature, Tami is quick to say that establishing the Murray Center isn’t about recognition. Instead, it’s a gesture of gratitude to the people and the place that supported her family at just the right moment—and a response to what their experience made clear: in a time of crisis, students’ immediate access to mental health services is pivotal.

My wish is for the Murray Center to be a bright light for every student and a place where they can immediately be supported and get the help they need.”

—Tami Murray

A “bright light” for every student

Stephen Murray died in 2015, while his and Tami’s son was a senior at BC. University President William P. Leahy, S.J., and John T. “Jack” Butler, S.J., then the Haub Vice President for Mission and Ministry, were there for Tami and the boys while they struggled to understand Stephen’s sudden passing. “When everything felt upended, they were there for us,” Tami recalls. “But for students who don’t have that, what happens?” 

Touched by the support her family received, Tami began to envision a place where other students could just as readily access wellness services. In conversations with Fr. Leahy and Fr. Butler about what the BC community needed, the idea for the Murray Center took shape. “My wish is for the Murray Center to be a bright light for every student and a place where they can immediately be supported and get the help they need,” she says. 

From silos to synergy

Fulfilling the vision of its namesake to provide strategically coordinated access to care that meets students where they are, the Murray Center for Student Wellness integrates the departments and offices of University Health Services (UHS), University Counseling Services (UCS), Sports Medicine, Pastoral Counseling, Student Affairs, and Student Wellness under the same umbrella and works closely with the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. Associate Vice President Douglas Comeau, DO, directs the Murray Center.

“Thanks to this gift from the Murray family, we are enhancing holistic student wellness across campus,” says Vice President for Student Affairs Shawna Cooper Whitehead. “Now all of these departments not only work together to support the health and wellness of our students, but we also connect with other areas of the University to extend that care. Now there’s a true umbrella bringing us together in a more intentional and streamlined way.”

A Pathway to Wellness

Comeau says that cross-departmental collaboration is rooted in communication. At the core of that communication is the shared electronic health record, launched in 2024. “For the first time, every entity that helps with a student’s care is on the same record,” he says. “Our goal is to identify the students who are not on our radar who may need some support.” This places BC at the forefront of wellness at the college level. “We’re one of the only universities with 24-hour care not tied to a hospital. Our overnight staff may see a student in a mental health crisis, and we can transition their care seamlessly in the morning.”

But this is much more than an administrative change at the University. It’s additional staffing, increased education, and improved access to mental health counseling. It’s a collaborative effort and a commitment to caring for every student. Departments are working together more fluidly and students are getting access to what they need—from an ever-strengthening circle.

It’s powerful when students see someone they thought had it all together say, ‘I’m struggling too.’”

—Emily Kates

Case in point, on a summer afternoon shortly after the Murray Center announcement, leaders from the center’s offices were brought together over lunch and given an assignment: get to know each other better by talking about anything other than work. So they shared stories. They learned who was a dog lover. They discovered who had hidden skills and talents. They laughed. “It’s so important for us as colleagues to see each other as people first,” says Director of Student Wellness Services Jeannine Kremer. “When you know someone, it’s easier to pick up the phone and reach out to solve a problem together or try something new.”

A community that feels like family

That human connection is at the foundation of the Murray Center for Student Wellness. Shared systems help with logistics. A strong community prevents issues from going unnoticed. “Tami’s gift is so special, so meaningful,” Kremer continues. “It’s not just to add more counselors to University Counseling, but to look at the ways we can connect with students before there’s a crisis. This gift allows us to continue to work behind the scenes so that students can find and engage with resources quickly. It strengthens the message that they are seen, they are heard, and they are never alone.” 

In short, the Murray Center is what Tami envisioned with Fr. Leahy and Fr. Butler: a web of care that reflects the spirit of BC. “Boston College is a very caring community that treats students like family,” Tami reflects. “For parents, that means confidence at drop-off. It is a safe place where their sons and daughters will be supported, loved, and never alone.”

The Murray Center is also a reflection, expressed through action, of Tami and Stephen’s devotion to family and love for a community. Stephen modeled that spirit every day. For decades, their philanthropy has focused on meeting real needs and creating lasting impact.  And that philosophy is what lies at the heart of Tami’s support for all students at BC.

When students walk in or call us when they are in crisis or in pain, we’re here.”

—Crissy Sutherland

Students who may benefit from mental health counseling can get same-day or ongoing appointments with UCS. Group therapy can also help students feel less alone, says Senior Staff Psychologist Emily Kates. Currently there are nine different groups that focus on a range of topics—from trauma to anxiety to homesickness and more. “When students see someone who appears to have it all together say, ‘I’m struggling, too,’ it can be very powerful,” Kates says. “Sometimes what they hear from their peers lands deeper than anything a therapist could say.” 

Student Wellness has spaces located throughout campus. These spaces are often a first stop for students who just need a breather from the campus hustle. Quiet nooks, snacks, and relaxing activities are available, as well as at least one of 26 warm and friendly student wellness coaches who are accessible to chat about topics ranging from time management to sleep schedules to loneliness. “We know that students want to talk about what they are going through, but are often not sure where to go. Student Wellness meets them in person, online, wherever they are,” says Kremer. Kremer and her team also provide a wide range of education and training on a range of mental health issues to colleagues across campus to help identify students who display signs of distress.

With formal education and training in clinical social work as well as spirituality, the pastoral counseling team provides care for students who want spirituality to play a distinct role in their therapy. “Some students’ worldviews are intertwined with their faith,” says Clinical Social Worker and Campus Minister Rick Rossi. “Pastoral counseling includes spirituality—whatever the student defines spirituality to be and whatever the student’s experience of spirituality is.” 

BC’s Sports Medicine team sees student-athletes when they are doing well and when they are injured. “Students spend a lot of time here,” says Director of Sports Medicine Bert Lenz of the athletic training room in Conte Forum, where he and his team treat BC’s Olympic sport athletes. “We’re the buffer for the coaches. We’re the buffer for teammates. The Murray Center gives us more structure around physician support, nutrition, mental health, all of it.”

Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Corey Kelly’s team now includes a case manager, a new position funded by the Murray gift. “Our office is a hub that makes sure students have the resources that are right for them,” she explains. Sometimes that includes finding a provider, or drafting an email together to their professor asking for an extension, or preparing them for a difficult conversation with their family. “It’s a lot of problem-solving and solution-focused work. What it’s not is simply providing them with a list of people to call. We have a nuanced conversation to figure out what resources make the most sense.”