Lyons Hall

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• 6 May 1969 – After the Black Forum outlined its demands, and eight weeks of meetings of the University Committee of Black Students and Studies, the University announces that a Black Studies program at BC will commence the following semester [fall 1969]. Fr. Charles Donovan, SJ, now Dean of Faculties, chairs the group. Under discussion is whether the Black Studies program will be independent or exist in conjunction with other schools. Still a bone of contention is Black Studies courses taught primarily by white faculty. Students on the committee also desire greater sway in the Black Talent search because they feel that their recommendations are being ignored. The same meeting creates an advisory body comprised of faculty and administrators. (Bill O'Halloran, Black Studies Program underway," The Heights)
• 17 February 1970 - In response to the Black Forum’s student strike, the Board of Directors established the Black Talent Scholarship Fund, which gave $500,000 additional funding to the Black Talent Program, endorsed the creation of a committee on black students and studies, and promised to aim for 10% minority student population on campus “as soon as feasible.” In a statement after the town hall meeting, the directors did formulate a statement about the black student's demands [that] reaffirms BC's commitment to the "economically underprivileged and educationally high-risk minority students." An apparent disconnect still exists, however, in that one of the Black Student Forum’s demands is for “10% of the class of 1974 be minority students and that half of that number be at high risk.” (Bob Faubert, "Directors add $500,000 to Black Talent Program," The Heights)
• 10 December 1970 – The Black Talent Program “has been criticized by some for draining unwarranted sums from the already anemic university budget. Many white students resent the high proportion of financial aid most black students receive, and feel threatened by black students' attempts to establish their own community on the BC campus. […] Yet at the same time, most whites are ignorant of or indifferent to the real situation of the black student at BC.” After its initial $100,000 “scholarship fund” in the 1967-68 academic year, the BTP budget soon increased by $125,000 every year until hitting $500,000. “The program was headed in 1968-69 by Rev. Theodore Lockhart. There was no office, no telephone extension. Fr. Lockhart was replaced in the spring of 1969 by the present director A. Robert Philips, who moved the BTP into the office it presently occupies in Lyons.” (Peter Pleasants and Joseph McDonough, "A History of the Black Talent Program at BC," The Heights)
• 25 January 1982 – Amanda Houston is named Program Coordinator of the Black Studies Program (Lyons Hall), the first to fill the position. (Anthony Keating, "Houston Named to Black Studies Post," The Heights) 
• 2 February 2006 - BC’s “Black Studies Program” is renamed to “African and African Diaspora Studies program.” The program, located in 301 Lyons Hall, was originally an offshoot of the Black Talent Program before becoming a minor in 1981. (Lai-Yan Tang, "New name reflects new direction," The Heights)
• 3 September 2019 – A Major Step for AADS: The African and African Diaspora Studies (located in 301 Lyons Hall) program became a major in 2019, 50 years after its predecessor, the Black Studies program, was founded. Previously offered as only a minor, the program features curriculum on the history and culture of African and African-descended peoples across the world through courses in history, sociology, art, literature, and theology. (Jack Miller, "African and African Diaspora Studies Now A Major," The Heights / Photo by Ikram Ali)
• February 2006 - BC’s “Black Studies Program” is renamed to “African and African Diaspora Studies Program.” The program was originally an offshoot of the Black Talent Program before becoming a minor in 1981.