Portrait of William Bagley
Boston College teaching record

William Bagley

Adjunct Professor

Law

Official BC profile

Biography

William Bagley has worked in the field of philanthropy for over thirty years. At Boston College Law School, and collaborating with Professor Ray Madoff, he is senior advisor to the BC Law School Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good. Admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Massachusetts and before the US Tax Court, his postings range from service at Choate, Yale, Boston College and The Trustees of Reservations, to work advising a Ford Foundation initiative in affordable housing, a HUD program to eliminate lead poising in children and in support of many non-profit organizations. In addition, he has, for years, advised individuals and foundations in the formation of their philanthropy. Presently he directs gift planning at St. Mark's School in Southborough, MA. His writing includes articles and policy analysis in philanthropy found in the Neiman Watchdog (Nieman Foundation at Harvard), Mass Lawyers Weekly and in other publications and his poems have been published by WCRB/WGBH, NPR, America magazine and elsewhere. He took degrees from Holy Cross, Harvard and Suffolk University Law School, and, held two research fellowships at the Yale Divinity School.

Official evaluation summary

4.82 / 5

Based on 55 aggregate responses from BC Avalanche/Blue evaluations.

Courses taught

Ratings are this instructor’s response-weighted averages from Boston College’s official course evaluations, on a scale of 1 to 5.

  • LAWS4408 Law of Philanthropy
    Instructor rating 4.82 / 5 · Course rating 4.58 / 5 · 55 responses
    Taught Spring 2026, Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022

Data freshness

Profile and evaluation data last updated 2026-10-09. See Data Sources for provenance and limitations.