A Q&A with Dr. Joshua A. Boyce ’81 on his support of BTCIS and continuing work with Skidmore students and alumni
Meet Dr. Joshua A. Boyce ’81, a former Skidmore trustee, current member of the President’s Leadership Council, and generous donor of The Dr. Joshua A. Boyce ’81 and Deborah R. Boyce Biology Lab in the North Wing of the Billie Tisch Center for Integrated Sciences (BTCIS).
After discovering his passion for the sciences while studying biology and chemistry at Skidmore, Boyce attended the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Today, he is the Albert L. Sheffer Professor of Medicine in the Field of Allergic Diseases at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He is also the chief of the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the director of the Jeff and Penny Vinik Center for Allergic Disease Research.
Boyce has published over 160 original articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals on the immunologic basis of asthma, and over 50 reviews and textbook chapters. His work has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for 30 years, and he holds several active grants. Throughout his long career, he has not forgotten how Skidmore faculty engaged him in the sciences, and he gives back by offering internships to deserving Skidmore students and hiring graduates as research assistants.
Q: You were a passionate advocate for the development of BTCIS. Why did you think it was a crucial project for Skidmore to pursue?
In the late 1970s, when I was a student here at Skidmore, there was a small group of us pursuing pre-med studies – we were the outliers among those focused on the arts. During this time, the science classrooms were outdated, lacking the resources needed to support an influx of science students. However, by the mid-1990s, there was a surge in the number of students interested in pursuing the sciences. When discussion about constructing a new integrated science building began, there was palpable excitement amongst students that there would be a new and upgraded home for the sciences. I was very enthusiastic to join the board to provide a voice for the necessity of a modern facility and the vital role of science education for all students.
Making science an integrated part of the curriculum is a huge step forward for the institution.
Q: What is the biggest difference between the Skidmore education you received and the Skidmore education students today are receiving in BTCIS?
There has been a significant shift in science education at Skidmore College due to the addition of BTCIS, especially with increased opportunities for practical lab experience. During my time, there were limited opportunities for students to engage in hands-on experiments, with only a few faculty members conducting research. Consequently, graduates lacked practical laboratory experience, impacting their confidence and readiness for employment. However, by the turn of the millennium, graduates were entering the workforce with substantial lab experience. Today, graduates I hire arrive with a high level of preparedness, equipped with advanced laboratory skills, and, in most cases, have already been published.
The level of access to the state-of-the-art equipment housed in BTCIS is rare for undergraduate students. It is a draw for prospective students, knowing that they will leave here with the ability to transition smoothly into a laboratory or post-graduate study.
Q: You have invited over 40 Skidmore College students and graduates to work with you. What are some of the common threads amongst this group that scream Skidmore?
They are well-rounded individuals with strong writing skills, demonstrating a keen awareness of global issues and a proactive attitude toward addressing them. They exhibit a sense of altruism and a commitment to making a positive impact in their communities and beyond.
Q: Why do you hire Skidmore graduates when you have a strong candidate pool in the greater Boston area?
When I decided to pursue medical school, Professor Paul Walter put me in touch with alumna Susan Flanagan, Ph.D. ’76, who at the time worked at the New England Regional Primate Research Center in Southboro, Massachusetts as a research assistant. Interning for Susan provided invaluable hands-on experience which was crucial to my preparation for medical school. I wanted to be the same kind of conduit for current students and recent graduates. It brings me so much satisfaction to witness young individuals surpass their own expectations and achieve success. Many of the Skidmore graduates who have worked in my lab have become faculty members, pursued Ph.D.s, or went on to medical school.
Q: How would you pitch Skidmore College to a group of prospective science majors?
Those who decide to pursue the sciences at Skidmore would be receiving their scientific education in the greater context of a true liberal arts experience, in preparation for a life that would incorporate writing skills and an appreciation for culture, art, wellness, and civic responsibility.
There is a great deal of self-directedness. Every institution will have a mandatory set of classes, outside of those prerequisites, and students at Skidmore have a huge array of other things they can do and learn about, which I think is very difficult to match. Maybe there are those options at other elite liberal arts colleges, but I don’t think it’s as explicitly supported as it is at Skidmore. We follow our credo Creative Thought Matters because there really is creativity in designing a personal curriculum and determining what you want to get out of the college experience.
The students I have employed at the lab invariably have these other pieces. They are dancers, they are athletes, they are interested in the environment, politics, they have taken serious business classes – they are not monotonic people who have been monotonically educated. Pointing to the finished product is how I would pitch Skidmore.