When Jim Ansara, Hon'25, walked across the stage to accept an Honorary Degree at the 2025 BAC Commencement, he felt seen and validated. Jim, who founded Shawmut Design and Construction, doesn't have a formal architecture background. Yet, over his career, he has overseen the construction of thousands of buildings. After Jim sold Shawmut in 2006, he could have just retired on a beach and stopped working entirely. Instead, he took on one of the toughest challenges of his life: founding Build Health International (BHI). The not-for-profit is on a mission “to improve access to and build capacity for dignified, affordable, and high-quality healthcare infrastructure in resource-constrained settings around the world.” Some of this work has been done with the help of BAC alums who have partnered with the organization.
