John Nucci, who announced his retirement as Suffolk University’s senior vice president of external affairs in May after almost 20 years in the position, was feted during an intimate gathering on Sept. 30 at the university’s Law School.
Three former Boston mayors, including Kim Janey, Marty Walsh, and Ray Flynn, were on hand for the event, while State Rep. Adrian Madaro, a fellow resident of Nucci’s East Boston neighborhood, delivered a proclamation from Mayor Michelle Wu declaring Sep. 30 as’ John Nucci Day’ in the City of Boston.
Nucci, now 73, is himself a former Boston City Councilor, as well as a former the Suffolk County Superior Court for Criminal Business clerk-magistrate. (He also earned a Master of Public Administration from Suffolk in 1979).
In his role at Suffolk, which he assumed in 2006, Nucci is widely credited for his responsiveness to community concerns and interests, including helping to shift the university’s presence away from Beacon Hill and towards downtown.
A July 16 letter from the Beacon Hill Civic Association board of directors to Nucci following his retirement announcement read in part:
“Your leadership at Suffolk University and your unwavering commitment to building meaningful bridges between the university and the Beacon Hill community has made a lasting impact. You have been more than a university representative; you’ve been a neighbor and a trusted partner whose work has strengthened our community in countless ways. We are especially grateful for your partnership in moving Suffolk University housing from Beacon Hill to adjacent neighborhoods and building residence halls to alleviate the student housing shortage.”
Of Nucci’s impact, Rob Whitney, a former BHCA board chair, as well a long-serving member of the Suffolk University Institutional Master Plan Task Force, wrote in part: “John was a fierce advocate on behalf of Suffolk, leading Suffolk’s efforts to obtain new and state-of-the-art classrooms for its students, as well as clearly articulating Suffolk’s needs for dormitory space for its undergraduate students near its downtown campus.
“At the same time, John was very thoughtful about Suffolk’s relationship with its Beacon Hill neighbors, and he and I worked closely over the years to minimize any potential adverse effects on the Beacon Hill neighborhood that might result from Suffolk’s development plans and the presence of its students in the residential neighborhood. John has become a great friend of the Beacon Hill neighborhood, and I will greatly miss working with him going forward,” wrote Whitney.