Originally published in Carroll Capital, the print publication of the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. Read the full issue here.
When Carla DeStefano transferred into Boston College’s School of Management in 1971, Fulton Hall only had one women’s restroom. More weren’t needed—women hadn’t been allowed to attend the school. Now executive director of a community development corporation in Rhode Island, DeStefano was part of the class of 1974, which included the first women graduates from what was later named the Carroll School of Management. That group of about 20 women celebrates the 50th anniversary of their graduation this year.
Carla DeStefano '74
When DeStefano arrived on campus, classmates warned her that not all professors approved of the Carroll School’s admission of women, but she soon learned that they had two influential allies—the associate dean of the undergraduate program, Justin Cronin, and Frank Campanella, a finance professor who’d become Boston College’s executive vice president. DeStefano says Cronin would regularly have one-on-one chats with the women students. “He monitored everyone’s progress."
Those experiences eventually led her to SWAP Inc., which develops and manages affordable housing and commercial real estate in Providence. DeStefano says her Boston College education—and those who believed in her pioneering cohort of women—influenced her path. “The Jesuits taught us progressive values—how to take what you learn and do something good. At SWAP, we call ourselves social workers who build houses.”
