Boston College Chronicle

The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs october 13, 2016 VOL. 24 no. 4

BC-Newton Partnership to Focus on Economics

By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

Boston College has formed a research partnership with the City of Newton that seeks to strengthen the economic prospects for the city’s residents, now and in the future.

Economic Growth for All, created by Newton Mayor Setti Warren ’93, is a research-based policy framework to address income inequality, which persists for a percentage of the city’s roughly 89,000 residents, and find ways to increase the economic mobility of residents of all backgrounds for generations to come, according to Warren’s office.

Boston College faculty have been invited to provide their expertise in partnership with city officials and Newton residents to help develop data, programs and policies that contribute to ensuring eco-

INSIDE

and Cam2 •’Cartoons paigns’ exhibit

•BC Strong Scholarship meets goal

3 •Wortham’s ‘Adelante’ to be screened

•Browne appointed Advising Center director

5 •Wirth tackles climate

change, genetic research

researchers advance 6 •BC nanoscale communication •Pemberton, Kelly are new trustees •Obituaries: George Drury, SJ, Albert Hanwell

8 •Fall exhibits

UNIVERSITY STRATEGIC PLANNING INITIATIVE

Community Gets USPI Update at Town Hall Events

By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

University President William P. Leahy, SJ, with Newton Mayor Setti Warren and Newton Health and Human Services Commissioner Deborah Youngblood at the announcement of the Economic Growth for All initiative. (Photo by Gary Gilbert)

nomic mobility and opportunity for all Newton residents. Proposals will be submitted to the city by Dec. 2.

The city has asked for faculty proposals that address issues of early childhood, K-12 and lifelong education, income self-sufficiency, health and well-being, and eco-

nomic innovation. Faculty involvement may take the form of research, public service, student internships, class projects, undergraduate and graduate student research, and working group participation.

University President William P. Leahy, SJ, and Provost and Continued on page 5

Economics Again at the Top of Undergrad Majors

By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

For the fifth consecutive year, economics is the most popular undergraduate major at Boston College, with 1,282 students enrolled through the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences and the Carroll School of Management.

This is also the third straight year economics has recorded the largest major/concentration in University history.

There has been little change in the top five majors and concentrations this decade, according to the Office of Student Services, which released its enrollment report last month. Besides economics, finance (1,032 students), biology (888), political science (819) and communication (787) continue to attract the most undergraduates in 2016.

Some popular majors and concentrations also are at unprecedented or renewed levels of

strength. Finance has again set a new record for the largest concentration in Carroll School history, while biology’s total is its highest.

Political science and nursing – the seventh most popular, with 432 majors – are at 25-year highs.

Administrators and faculty say trends in undergraduates’ choice of majors, at BC or elsewhere, are often driven by a confluence of factors: the impact of external social, political or economic events; institutional initiatives that serve to strengthen a program or discipline, and make it more attractive to students; new directions and developments in a particular field; and generational shifts in attitudes and interests regarding career paths.

Where economics is concerned, it would be easy to point to the Great Recession of 2008 – a landmark event that focused media and public attention on economics – as a major impetus Continued on page 4

NOTICE:

Faculty and staff received an in-person update – and had the opportunity to ask questions and offer comments – on the University Strategic Planning Initiative at two town hall-type meetings last week organized by the USPI Steering Committee.

At the meetings, which were held Oct. 5 in Gasson 100, Steering Committee co-chairs Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley and Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead, along with other committee members, reported on the progress of Boston College’s comprehensive effort to craft a vision and set institutional priorities for the future.

USPI representatives also met with students at a dinner event later that evening, hosted by Student Affairs and the Undergraduate Government of Boston College.

While some preliminary themes have emerged from the planning process, the committee members emphasized that many discussions must take place within the University community before a plan is drafted. The Oct. 5 meetings will be among a series of conversations and interactions with the University community and alumni leadership groups this fall, according to the committee.

A website, www.bc.edu/uspivoices, also has been created for members of the University community to share, confidentially, their questions and perspectives on the planning initiative.

True to the conversational design of the events, those Steering Committee members present shared impressions and observations from the assessment phase this past spring, when 24 teams comprising more than 200 members of the University community – faculty, staff and students – studied the University across a broad range of academic, adminis-

trative, formational, spiritual and operational aspects. These reflections provided a basis for Q&A sessions that took up the remainder of each meeting.

“BC has a lot to celebrate – this University has been on one of the great trajectories in higher education,” said Quigley. “When you look at the three previous strategic plans, you can see there is a good deal of continuity, and that’s been important to our success. So, what we’re doing is thinking about the key threads, the non-negotiable, mission-based values embodied in those plans. Our job is to discern

Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead introduced a USPI town hall meeting. (Photo by Sean Smith)

how to carry these forward while providing a framework for making decisions at Boston College for the next 10 years.

“We’re not here to re-write the mission statement or, at this stage, to get down to specifics like how many faculty to hire or how financial aid should be directed,” he added. “We want to lay out a vision, to take the University’s mission of 20 years ago and make it powerfully resonant for 2016 and beyond.”

Lochhead also spoke on the importance of vision, “both micro and macro,” in putting together a strategic plan. “We have to consider what our biggest challenges will be, and how we can address them. What are our strongest programs and resources, and how do Continued on page 4

Today, Boston College will conduct a test of its Emergency Notification System (ENS).

Members of the University community will receive an e-mail and – for those who submitted their cell phone numbers on the BC Portal – a text message. In addition, a computer pop-up alerting system called Alertus will be used. The Alertus application will have no impact on the performance of the computer or applications installed. Go to www.bc.edu/ emergency for more information.

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A ROUND

C AMPUS Photographs by Lee Pellegrini

STRONG PERFORMANCE The Boston College Strong Scholarship – established by the Class of 2005 to honor Boston Marathon bombing survivors Patrick Downes ’05 and his wife, Jessica Kensky (in photo above) – has already crossed the finish line.

University Advancement announced recently that the scholarship had eclipsed its $250,000 goal, with contributions from more than 900 donors, all in just one year. The BC Strong Scholarship will be awarded to a deserving student with preference to those who excel with a physical disability or dedicate time to serve others.

Downes and Kensky suffered life-changing injuries in the 2013 bombings: Both lost a leg, and Kensky later had to have her remaining leg amputated. Their determination to overcome the ordeal has become an inspiration for many in the University community and beyond.

At this year’s Boston Marathon, Downes – who ran with a prosthetic blade – became the first Boston bombing amputee to complete the race on foot. Kensky greeted him at the finish line.

In a statement, Downes and classmates Michael Hundgen, Kevin Collins, Grace Simmons Zuncic and Liz Stowe Fennell – who worked with Downes to create the scholarship – expressed their appreciation to “the generosity of the BC family” for supporting the effort.

“That means year after year, a deserving Boston College student, who has shown great determination in the face of adversity, will receive the critical financial aid they need. What an amazing way to show what it means to be ‘men and women for others.’”

For more on the BC Strong Scholarship, see http://bit. ly/2dfRUyW. –Office of News & Public Affairs

BC Arts Council Seeking Nominees for Arts Awards The Arts Council invites University faculty, staff and alumni to submit nominations for its 2017 alumni and faculty arts awards. The council annually recognizes an alumnus working in the performing, visual and literary arts, and honors a faculty member and students for their respective accomplishments and contributions to the arts in various disciplines.

The alumni award recipient participates in programming each spring during the annual campus-wide Arts Festival, and interacts in small-group settings with students.

The deadline for nominations is Oct. 24. Information — including candidate criteria, nomination forms and previous awardees – is available at www.bc.edu/offices/artscouncil/ awards.

Student award nominations will be accepted next semester.

For more information, contact Arts Council Program Administrator Sarah McDermott at sarah.mcdermott@bc.edu.

–Office of News & Public Affairs Director of NEWS & Public Affairs Jack Dunn Deputy Director of NEWS & Public AFFAIRS Patricia Delaney Editor Sean Smith

Contributing Staff Melissa Beecher Ed Hayward Sean Hennessey Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan Siobhan Sullivan Photographers Gary Gilbert Lee Pellegrini

Political leadership and women in Washington were the focus of the second annual Council for Women of Boston College Colloquium on Oct. 6, which featured a conversation between Democratic National Committee Interim Chair Donna Brazile (at left in photo above) and former Republican presidential advisor Mary Matalin (center), moderated by Paula Ebben ’89, an anchor with CBS Boston. Brazile and Matalin drew upon their combined 50 years of experience in politics to discuss the 2016 election, politics, leadership and women.

Some 400 members of the University community attended the event in Robsham Theater, including Carroll School of Management graduate student Samantha Bondaryk (in photo at right), who posed for a selfie with Brazile and Matalin.

GETTING THE PICTURE Satire has often been a salve for Americans annoyed, frustrated or just plain fed up with presidential campaigns. A current University Libraries exhibit offers some historical perspective on one particularly popular form of political parody, the cartoon.

“Campaigns and Cartoons: Depictions of US Presidential Candidates from 1828 to 2016” includes samples of work by artists/commentators such as Thomas Nast, Matt Wuerker, Pat Oliphant, two-time Pulitzer finalist Robert Ariail, and Barry Blitt, whose recent New Yorker covers of Hillary Clinton (“Ready for a Fight”) and Donald Trump (“Donald’s Rainy Days”) are featured.

The exhibit also includes two student-produced comic strips from The Heights – Jim Millerick’s “Confusion Corner” and Jim Lordan’s “Globbit” – that ran a few weeks before the 1980 election.

“Cartoonists test the limits of political discourse and spark controversy with their views and portrayals as they exercise their

The Boston College

Chronicle www.bc.edu/chronicle chronicle@bc.edu

“Campaigns and Cartoons: Depictions of US Presidential Candidates from 1828 to 2016,” now on display in the O’Neill Library Reading Room.

Sean Smith

right to free speech,” reads the exhibit introduction. “They also bring levity and humor to serious discussions about future presidential leadership.”

“Campaigns and Cartoons” is now on display until December in the O’Neill Library Third Floor Reading Room.

–Office of News & Public Affairs

The Boston College Chronicle (USPS 009491), the internal newspaper for faculty and staff, is published biweekly from September to May by Boston College, with editorial offices at the Office of News & Public Affairs, 14 Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 (617)552-3350. Distributed free to faculty and staff offices and other locations on campus.

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LSOE’s Wortham to Screen, Discuss Film About Immigrants’ Impact on Parish Life

By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

Lynch School of Education Charles F. Donovan, SJ, Dean Stanton Wortham will host “Film and Fellowship,” a screening and discussion of his award-winning documentary “Adelante,” on Oct. 25, starting at 5 p.m. in the Yawkey Center’s Murray Room.

The 51-minute film reveals the mutually beneficial relationship between Mexican immigrants and Irish-American parishioners in the revitalization of St. Patrick’s Parish in Norristown, Pa., located just outside of Philadelphia.

Lee Pellegrini

Stanton Wortham

Wortham was the executive producer of the film, which has been shown at festivals throughout the world and honored at the 2014 Canada International Film Festival and the 2015 Mexico International Film Festival. “Adelante” [www.adelantethefilm. com] was directed and produced

by Noam Osband.

Wortham spent a decade working with Mexican families and the Norristown School District. He met Osband through a different project focused on how teachers can work more closely with Latino parents. That meeting led to their collaboration on “Adelante,” Wortham said in a 2015 interview.

“I built trust and relation-

ships,” Wortham said, “and I was able to introduce Noam to Norristown residents so that he could work with them to document their lives.”

The program begins at 5 p.m. with a screening of the film, followed by a Q&A with Wortham and Fr. Liam Murphy, the former pastor of St. Patrick’s Church, moderated by School of Theology and Ministry Assistant Professor of Theology Hosffman Ospino. A reception will follow.

“Film and Fellowship” is cosponsored by the Lynch School and the Office of News & Public Affairs.

The event is a chance for members of the Lynch School and University communities to meet Wortham and learn more about his work. Wortham joined

the Lynch School this summer, following 18 years as a professor and senior administrator at the University of Pennsylvania.

Wortham is completing a book about Norristown’s transformation, resulting from an influx of close to 10,000 Mexican immigrants during the past two decades.

The author or editor of nine books and more than 80 articles and chapters, Wortham has written widely on immigration and the social identification of children in schools, among other topics. His work has included action research and service learning, ethnography in schools and their surrounding towns, and discourse analysis.

To RSVP for the event, go to bitly.com/filmfellowship.

Jesuit Friends and Alumni Mass Oct. 23 at St. Ignatius Boston College will hold a special Mass on Oct. 23 as part of the second annual Jesuit Friends and Alumni Masses weekend taking place in a dozen cities throughout the USA Northeast and Maryland provinces of the Society of Jesus.

The Mass will be held in St. Ignatius Church at 5:30 p.m. with concelebrants James Coughlin, SJ, and John Wronski, SJ. Last year’s inaugural Jesuit Friends and Alumni Masses weekend saw more than 300 Jesuit-educated graduates attend four Masses in four USA Northeast parishes – Buffalo, New York City and Woonsocket, RI, as well as St. Ignatius – and was so successful that organizers decided to also hold the event in the Maryland province, according to James J. Miracky, SJ, provincial assistant for higher education for the USA Northeast and Maryland Provinces (the two provinces are set to merge in 2020 as the USA East Province).

“I attended the New York City Mass last year and there was a lot of energy at the reception,” said Fr. Miracky. “People were really engaged in talking to fellow Jesuit alums and friends.”

“These Masses are a way to pull together our different school networks – secondary and college/university – along with our parishes and other ministerial outreaches,” said BC Vice President for University Mission and Ministry Jack Butler, SJ. “The hope is to show the broad spectrum of folks that we serve and we are all part of one ministerial family; Jesuits, friends, and our alums. We are an Ignatian family.”

To register for any of the weekend’s Masses, go to sjnen.org/jesuitalumni-and-friends-2016.

–Siobhan Sullivan

Browne Named Advising Ctr. Director, Associate Dean

By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

Rory Browne has been named director of the Academic Advising Center and associate dean of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences after serving as interim director since last fall and before that as associate director for a decade.

Browne will be dean of first-year students in the Morrissey College and oversee academic advising in the college, specifically pre-major advising and summer orientation advising. The advising center also serves as a resource for all academic advising in MCA&S and works with Student Affairs and Mission and Ministry to provide holistic support for undergraduate students.

“I am honored to be given this opportunity,” said Browne. “It is a challenge, but having been at Boston College for 10 years, I know that I can rely in all undertakings on the dedication of faculty and administrators to our students and the ideals of Jesuit education. I am also fortunate in having as my immediate colleagues the committed and enthusiastic staff of the Academic Advising Center.”

During his tenure with the center, Browne was responsible for recruiting, training and assigning faculty and staff pre-major advisors and summer registration freshmen faculty advisors. He also worked with advisors and other faculty throughout the academic year, and advised students in all four years and across all undergraduate schools.

Browne devised and implemented the center’s advising and academic planning outreach programs, such as “Professors and Pastries,” coordinating with Learning Resources for Student Athletes, the Connors Family Learning Center, the Career Center, and other University offices as well as BC’s professional schools.

He also taught for a year in the History Department.

“I’ve worked closely with Rory since he arrived at BC. He is a trust-

An early October sunset, looking southwest from Higgins Hall. (Photo by Eileen Kao ‘18)

Lee Pellegrini

Scenes from “Adelante,” a documentary about a parish in Norristown, Pa., that includes Mexican immigrants and Irish-American residents. Lynch School of Education Dean Stanton Wortham served as executive producer for the film, which will be shown at a campus event this month.

Rory Browne

ed colleague who is well respected by all of the faculty and administrators with whom he works, and most importantly he cares deeply about students and has played a critical role with many as they discern their long-term academic and personal goals,” said Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs Akua Sarr. “I look forward to continued work with Rory on initiatives to advance undergraduate advising at BC.” A graduate of Oxford University’s Hertford College, where he also earned a master of arts and doctoral degrees, Browne came to the University in 2006 after 15 years at Harvard University in a variety of administrative and academic positions, notably as associate dean of freshmen from 2000-06 and associate secretary to the university from 1996-2000.

Prior to that, Browne spent eight years at Yale University, first as dean of Branford College and a lecturer in history, and then as the Association of Yale Alumni associate director for education and communications.

In addition to his background in British and French history, Browne is an expert on the social and cultural history of zoos, and has been an interviewee, consultant and commentator for features on zoos

by WCVB’s “Chronicle,” the PBS radio show “The Connection” and BBC radio and television.

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Economics, Finance Continue to Be Most Popular Majors “Our generation of students are really interested in conducting quantitative analysis of real-world phenomena in order to make the world a more just and humane place. In that sense, economic analytical tools are a nice complement to the larger spectrum of thought and analysis that students are exposed to as part of a liberal arts education at Boston College.”

Lee Pellegrini

Continued from page 1 for the uptick in undergraduate majors at BC. But Professor Hideo Konishi, the department chair, says that a greater appreciation of economics as a discipline has emerged, and more students see it as useful for a multi-faceted understanding of the world.

“A deep understanding of many of today’s most pressing issues – climate change, politics, income inequality, crime – is aided by a thorough grounding in statistics and data,” says Konishi. “Our generation of students are really interested in conducting quantitative analysis of realworld phenomena in order to make the world a more just and humane place. In that sense, economic analytical tools are a nice complement to the larger spectrum of thought and analysis that students are exposed to as part of a liberal arts education at Boston College.”

Konishi says the department has helped cultivate and sustain interest by offering more ad-

fixture among BC’s most popular majors – perhaps not surprising given that the University counts Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill and John Kerry among its alumni.

Department chair Professor Susan Shell says the challenge “has been how to meet high

–Economics Chair Hideo Konishi Statistics compiled by Office of Student Services

vanced elective courses “taught by our top researchers to expose students to cutting-edge research topics and tools.”

The rise in nursing majors to a quarter-century high – in 2003, the number was 269 – can be attributed to Connell School of Nursing’s willingness and ability to respond to, or anticipate, job market developments, according to Connell School Dean Susan Gennaro.

“In today’s economy health professions are consistently ranked as some of the top jobs to have, furthering the

demand of a nursing degree as a result,” she says. “Our increased number of applicants is thanks in part to this national trend, as well as our expanded learning spaces, new state-of-the-art laboratories, and enhanced global educational offerings.”

Connell School senior Lauren Yarkony, for one, is highly satisfied with her choice of major and college.

“I was drawn to the opportunity to have a hands-on, challenging, and enriching nursing degree that was rooted in the Boston College liberal arts education. My cocurricular activities have prepared me to deliver patient-centered

care to a diverse population, and have empowered me to seek nursing opportunities with BC nursing in Nicaragua over spring break.

“I didn’t fathom the depth and breadth of education enrolling in college to be ‘just a nurse’ would give me. My education here has taught me critical thinking, teamwork, time management, communication skills and service to others-– but above all else, BC nursing has helped me become a more well-rounded human being.”

While its enrollment numbers fluctuate over time, the political science program has long been a

demand for our courses with strained resources, while preserving for all of our majors what we consider to be fundamentals of a broad education in political science: theoretical depth; substantive breadth; heavy and serious reading loads, joined with intensive and rigorous writing assignments; many courses with medium-sized lecture or seminarsized formats; faculty of all ranks who are conscientious teachers and tough graders; hands-on thesis advising, and so on.

“That this year the number of our majors has reached a 25-year high is a gratifying affirmation of our approach.”

Contact Sean Smith at sean.smith@bc.edu

Faculty, Staff Hear and Discuss Progress of Strategic Planning Initiative Continued from page 1 they contribute to our mission as a Jesuit, Catholic university?”

Other USPI representatives were Vice President for Student Affairs Barbara Jones, Vice President for Human Resources David Trainor, BC Law School Dean Vincent Rougeau, Vice President for Planning and Assessment Kelli Armstrong, Vice Provost for Faculties Billy Soo, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean Gregory Kalscheur, SJ, and Associate Professor of Sociology Brian Gareau.

Quigley touched on some of the themes emerging from the assessment phase. One of the most prominent, he said, was BC’s commitment “to the transformative power of the liberal arts” with an emphasis on interdisciplinary and analytical learning, and a corresponding dedication to help students connect intellectual development with personal and spiritual formation.

“The sense of our community is that a Boston College education is not just about providing content, or the means toward licensure in a profession,” he said.

“Our belief is that what’s going

on in the classrooms here in Gasson and elsewhere on campus today can make a difference, not just for the student but the wider world. It’s also apparent that the University community views BC as being in a ‘privileged place,’ at the intersection of society and faith. So one question is, how can BC deliver more fully on the promise of its mission?”

Other major talking points to come out of the assessment phase included the importance of providing formation opportunities for faculty and staff as well as students; greater emphasis on linking BC’s graduate and professional programs to the overall institutional mission; and the need to bring a coordinated, intentional focus to the University’s international programs and initiatives.

Another area of concern, Quigley and others noted, was that the University nurture and sustain its sense of community at a time of profound societal tensions around race, gender identity, socio-economic pressures, the polarized political environment and other issues.

Vincent Rougeau (second from left) was among a group of University Strategic Planning Initiative Steering Committee members to speak at a town hall-type forum last week, along with (L-R) Brian Gareau, Gregory Kalscheur, SJ, and Kelli Armstrong. (Photo by Sean Smith)

Committee members also cited a need to help students bring a keen, discerning, analytical eye to what they read and hear in the age of “big data,” when information flows copiously from so many sources.

Fr. Kalscheur said the conversations from the spring revealed an impetus to more explicitly tie research to “the common good – the conditions that should exist

for everyone to flourish.” One example of this approach, he said, is the proposed Institute for Integrated Sciences and Society, in which faculty from all disciplines – including the natural and social sciences, humanities and professional schools – collaborate on projects with an eye to addressing compelling social problems.

Discussing diversity and outreach during the Q&A session,

Rougeau said the University as a whole will need to adopt a fuller, more comprehensive worldview.

“It’s clear we are constantly being challenged to understand what’s happening to our community,” he said. “‘Diversity’ means something quite different now than in the 1980s and 1990s – we have to talk about global diversity, and the implications this holds for faculty, staff and students.”

However important its academic component in meeting such challenges, committee members said BC’s culture of community would be no less so.

Trainor said he was struck by the scale to which cura personalis (“care of the individual”) has been embraced throughout the University.

“When it comes to human dignity,” he said, “there is no hierarchy at Boston College.”

Once this period of discussion and interaction with the University community and leadership groups is complete, the Steering Committee will develop a proposal to be submitted next semester to the Board of Trustees.

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BC Law’s Wirth in the thick of debates on climate change, genetic research and other compelling issues

By Albert McKeon Special to the Chronicle

David Wirth, a professor of law and the director of International Programs at Boston College Law School, lately finds himself right in the middle of widely debated international governance and sustainable development issues – and there’s no place he’d rather be.

Wirth is in Moscow this academic year, serving as a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Sustainable Development at Russia’s preeminent National Research University Higher School of Economics.

But Wirth’s pen and laptop are carrying his thoughts around the globe, as he contributes opinions to ongoing debates over climate change and genetic research and hopes that his legal research helps nations and organizations shape new approaches to a rapidly changing world.

“Governance issues are so challenging,” Wirth said recently in an interview via Skype as he wrapped up another day of teaching and research in Moscow. “Policymakers and academics are looking for something that works to move a system enough. It requires creative

solutions.”

And Wirth has been busy offering opinions he hopes can produce creative legal solutions to unique issues facing governments and society. Last year, he spoke at a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine workshop on the nascent field of gene drive technology, a gene-editing technique that could change or extinguish a population of harmful organisms in the wild, such as mosquitoes, and stop them from transmitting disease to humans.

As with most any development in science, the so-called gene drive process offers as much uncertainty as it does promise and thus requires further testing. Yet for gene drive efforts to advance, regulations need to be followed but, much like the science itself, no kind of international governance exists yet.

Wirth detailed this in his presentation and recommendations to the organization, which serves as an independent advisory group to the federal government. Pointing to the protocols of other organizations, Wirth suggested steps such as multilaterally agreed lab practices, testing standards and national

policies for testing chemicals.

In June, the National Academies group endorsed continued research on gene-drive technology, despite its risks, and, echoing Wirth’s presentation, said that deriving an international regulatory framework is crucial because gene drives will not recognize national or political boundaries.

Ironically, though, Wirth hasn’t had time to read much of the National Academies’ yearlong study on gene-drive technology: He’s been busy settling in at the Higher School of Economics and offering his thoughts on another intersection of science and law – climate change.

Environmentalists applauded when the US and China formally entered the Paris Agreement, the landmark accord that has countries pledging to reduce their emissions in an attempt to slow climate change. But many in Congress oppose the deal, arguing that President Obama overstepped the executive branch’s constitutionally mandated advice and consent process for a treaty.

Wirth recently offered his take on this legislative-executive tussle to several publications, and his

Caitlin Cunningham

‘Nice to Be in the Game’

“Policymakers and academics are looking for something that works to move a system enough,” says David Wirth. “It requires creative solutions.” work on the issue helped guide a Hofstra University law professor’s testimony to a congressional panel that’s reviewing the international climate negotiations.

In a nutshell, Wirth finds that the Obama administration successfully walked the line in exercising a president’s authority to enter international treaties. In fact, Wirth believes the administration was too conservative and missed the opportunity to agree on legally binding environmental obligations that would have been appropriate for the executive branch.

Because of that cautious approach, Wirth says, Obama’s successors could choose to not follow the non-binding goals of the Paris

Agreement, and they wouldn’t have to formally withdraw from the accord, instead saying only that the US has “changed its mind.”

“These issues, gene drives and climate change, engage every country,” Wirth said. “They, of course, require buy-in from every country.

So there’s a great deal of interest in the subject matter and they require a great deal of collaboration.”

As he looks forward to making the most of his Fulbright opportunity, Wirth couldn’t be happier seeing his work “folded into the discussion” of sustainable development, science and other areas.

“It’s always nice to be in the game,” he said.

BC Faculty Encouraged to Join in Newton Research Partnership Continued from page 1 Dean of Faculties David Quigley joined Warren last Thursday in the Yawkey Center to formally launch the initiative.

“I think there are great possibilities for this partnership to enhance not only what goes on in Newton, but for other communities in the United States,” Fr. Leahy told an audience of nearly 200 people. “I think there will be lessons to be learned about ways the economic well-being and health of citizens can be enhanced through partnerships between institutions of higher education and a caring and dedicated city government.”

“The issue of our time is income inequality,” said Warren, who as chair of the US Conference of Mayors Community Development and Housing Committee convened a two-day conference at BC and other Boston locations last year that discussed pathways to the middle class and beyond.

“The idea that an individual or family could work hard, take care of themselves, contribute to a community, be self-sufficient and pass that on to their children and still [achieving economic wellbeing] may not be possible for future generations in this city, or this state or country. We know we have to tackle this very serious is-

sue. If we do nothing we will leave a generation behind.”

Warren added, “This University is committed and has been since its inception around its motto of ‘men and women for others’ and I know this initiative goes handin-hand with this University and what our city needs to do to ensure economic opportunity.”

Quigley said the initiative fits with themes echoed through the University’s current strategic planning process.

“We are really trying to push to research and scholarship as an institutional commitment that has an orientation toward the common good. There’s a real obligation to think seriously about how to contribute to the common good in our own research, teaching and scholarship and this partnership opens up some rich possibilities to us.”

The early work on the initiative was fueled by research from BC’s Center for Retirement Research, as well as the Brookings Institute. In particular, city officials examined the center’s Retirement Risk Index, which illustrates how prepared people are for retirement.

They then asked CRR Research Economist Geoffrey Sanzenbacher to determine how much it costs to

live in Newton.

Sanzenbacher developed a Cost of Living calculation that takes into account the city’s above-average housing costs and puts a finer point on the true cost of living in Newton and the impact on household finances.

A faculty member in the Economics Department, Sanzenbacher said he’s excited about the partnership, citing the role of cities and towns as incubators of new ideas to stem the widening gap between rich and poor, which has grown steadily for the past 40 years.

“It’s a great idea and it is important that it be done at a local level. Cities and towns are great laboratories of our country, especially since there has been paralysis at the federal level on these issues.

The Mayor is thinking about this and focusing on the local level, where it is probably easier to get things done.”

The research initiative builds on BC’s extensive commitment to support the city that is home to its Newton Campus and roughly half of its Main Campus. Boston College also employs more than 700 Newton residents.

BC has contributed nearly $600,000 through the Boston

College-Newton Technology Collaborate to purchase new computers and educational technology to support instruction in the Newton Public Schools. Dozens of BC Lynch School of Education undergraduate and graduate students teach in the Newton Public Schools, and veteran Newton teachers are eligible to take classes tuition-free at the Lynch School in return for mentoring BC students.

In addition, Lynch School faculty

have worked collaboratively with the school system on a range of research into primary and secondary education.

BC also offers a long-standing tuition remission program for City of Newton employees that allows them to take undergraduate and graduate courses for free.

Contact Ed Hayward at ed.hayward@bc.edu

Chris O’Donnell ’92 opened the 10th season of Boston College’s student-run Agape Latte series with a talk in Robsham Theater on Sept.

29. Afterwards, he chatted with members of the audience. Read more at http://bit.ly/2dTiG1e. (Photo by Gary Wayne Gilbert)

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Chronicle october 13, 2016

o b i t u a r ies

Fr. Drury: First Student Affairs VP

Lee Pellegrini

George Drury, SJ, who created Boston College’s Student Affairs division and served as its inaugural vice president from 1966-68, died on Sept. 27 at the Campion Residence and Renewal Center in Weston. He was 94.

Fr. Drury fulfilled numerous roles in his first decade at the University, after arriving in 1954: instructor in philosophy; advisor to pre-medical students and professor of biology; assistant in the College of Arts and Sciences Office of Special Programs; dormitory prefect; and executive assistant to University President Michael Walsh, SJ. During that period, Boston College became an increasingly residential institution that, coupled with a growing student population, presented considerable administrative challenges.

In 1965, Fr. Walsh appointed Fr. Drury as the first director of student personnel services to coordinate operations and services in areas such as admissions, extracurricular activities, housing, health, and international student programs. Fr. Drury’s first major undertaking was to consolidate the student bulletins for the four undergraduate schools into one University handbook, a project he saw as an opportunity for a major self-study of the non-academic aspects of BC student life.

But he also viewed the handbook as a means to promote BC as a university rather than a collection of schools, each with its own rules and

regulations.

Later that month, Fr. Drury was appointed as the first vice president for student affairs. The Office of Student Affairs had a broader range of oversight than Student Personnel Services, one that also included financial aid, counseling, placement, religious activities, student activities and student government – a model befitting a modern university with a progressively national profile.

Fr. Drury’s tenure as student affairs vice president – during which a total reorganization of the student government took place – not only reflected the changing character of BC but also the tenor of the times, as the era’s often polarizing political and social issues emerged at BC. Among other matters, Fr. Drury weighed in on disputes concerning censorship of the Stylus literary magazine and limits on guest speaker policies for faculty and student groups.

“It started in a difficult context,” he said in a 2002 interview with the Chronicle. “There was the Vietnam War, of course, which was having an effect on much of the country.

Within BC, the idea of a vice president for student affairs was so new; everyone was used to dealing with the president on such matters.

“It’s been an example of how one brings together, in such a wonderful way, the great resources we have here at BC – our people.”

From 1968-69, Fr. Drury served in another key senior leadership post as vice president of community affairs.

Read the full obituary at http://bit. ly/2e6s7Kp.

Albert Hanwell: GSSW Assoc. Dean field. During the Hopps era, the school established a doctoral program – still a rarity at the time among social work schools – and innovative joint degree programs with the Carroll School of Management, Law School and Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry that promoted the interdisciplinary character of social work.

GSSW joined US News & World Report’s top 20 rankings of graduate social work programs, and its faculty ranked 10th in a national study on publication productivity.

In the spring of 2000, then-Academic Vice President and Dean of Faculties John J. Neuhauser praised the leadership of Hopps and Dean Hanwell: “What they have achieved is remarkable.”

A World War II veteran who served in the Navy, Dean Hanwell was pre-deceased by his wife Ann. He is survived by his sons Neil – an accounting assistant for the University’s Auxiliary Services division – Kevin and John J. Hanwell, SJ, and his daughter Theresa.

Read the full obituary at http:// bit.ly/2dNwtYd –Office of News & Public Affairs

transmission of information by as much as 60 percent compared to earlier plasmonic waveguiding techniques and up to 50 percent faster than plasmonic nanowire waveguides, the team reports.

Surface plasmons are the oscillations of electrons coupled to the interface of an electromagnetic field and a metal. Among their unique abilities, surface plasmons can confine energy on that interface by fitting into spaces smaller than the waves themselves.

Researchers trying to exploit these subwavelength capabilities of surface plasmons have developed metallic structures, including plasmonic antennas. But a persistent problem has been the inability to achieve “in-line” containment of the emission and collection of the electromagnetic radiation.

The BC team developed a device with a three-step conversion process that changes a surface plasmon to a photon on transmission and then converts that elemental electromagnetic particle back to a surface plasmon as the receiver picks it up.

“We have developed a device where plasmonic antennas communicate with each other with photons transmitting between them,” said Naughton. “This is done with high efficiency, with energy loss reduced by 50 percent between one antenna and the next, which is a significant enhancement over comparable architectures.”

[Read the full version of this story at http://bit.ly/2dTf6UV]

By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

The pursuit of next-generation technologies places a premium on producing increased speed and efficiency with components built at scales small enough to function on a computer chip – and a team of Boston College researchers has taken a major step in that direction.

One of the barriers to advances in “on-chip” communications is the relatively large size of the electromagnetic waves at radio and microwave frequencies, which handcuff further miniaturization. Scientists trying to surpass these limitations are exploring the potential of optical conveyance that exploits the properties of much smaller wavelengths, such as those in the terahertz, infrared and visible frequencies.

The BC researchers have developed the first nanoscale wireless communication system that operates at visible wavelengths using antennas that send and receive surface plasmons with an unprecedented degree of control – which could significantly increase the transmission of data – the team reports in the latest edition of the journal Nature’s Scientific Reports.

Furthermore, the device affords an “in-plane” configuration, a prized class of two-way information transmission and recovery in a single path, according to the study, conducted by a team in the lab of Evelyn J. and Robert A. Ferris Professor of Physics Michael J. Naughton.

Michael J. Naughton

The findings mark an important first step toward a nanoscale version – and visible frequency equivalent – of existing wireless communication systems, according to the researchers. Such on-chip systems could be used for high-speed communication, high efficiency plasmonic waveguiding and in-plane circuit switching – a process that is currently used in liquid crystal displays.

The device achieved communication across several wavelengths in tests using near-field scanning optical microscopy, according to lead co-author Juan M. Merlo, a post-doctoral researcher who initiated the project.

“Juan was able to push it beyond the near field – at least to four times the width of a wavelength. That is true far-field transmission and nearly every device we use on a daily basis – from our cell phones to our cars – relies on far-field transmission,” said Naughton.

The device could speed the

Kelly, Pemberton Join Board of Trustees This fall, the Boston College Board of Trustees has welcomed two new members: Alfred F. Kelly Jr. is president and CEO of Intersection, a private Alphabet-backed digital media and technology company in New York City and with 12 offices around the United States.

From 1987 to 2010, Kelly held numerous positions at American Express, rising to president of the company in 2006. He has since served as the CEO of the 2014 NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee; chaired Pope Francis’ visit to New York City, and served as a management advisor to TowerBrook, a London and New York-based investment management firm. He also served for three years in the Reagan White House, running information systems for the Executive Office of the President.

Kelly is a member of the boards of directors of MetLife Inc. and Visa Inc.; the board of trustees of New

York-Presbyterian Hospital, where he is a member of the Executive Committee, St. Joseph’s Seminary and College, and the New York Catholic Foundation. He is the former trustees chair for the School of the Holy Child in Rye, NY, where he still serves on the board, a member of the Archdiocese of New York’s Finance Council, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. For the past 29 years he has chaired the Wall Street Charity Golf Classic, a major fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Stephen J. Pemberton ’89 is vice president of diversity and inclusion for Walgreens Boots Alliance, the first global, pharmacy-led health and wellbeing enterprise, employing 370,000 people in 25 countries. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s efforts to create and maintain a diverse and inclusive environment. Pemberton previously served as the first chief diversity officer for Walgreens. Prior

Lee Pellegrini

A funeral Mass was celebrated on Saturday for Albert F. Hanwell, an alumnus and retired longtime faculty member and associate dean at the Boston College School of Social Work who died on Oct. 3.

Dean Hanwell’s association with the Graduate School of Social Work – as it was then known – went back to its pre-Chestnut Hill days, when the school was housed at 126 Newbury Street in Boston. A 1949 BC graduate, he earned his master’s degree in social work at GSSW in 1952, then returned as a faculty member 10 years later.

After the appointment of June Gary Hopps as GSSW dean in 1976, Dean Hanwell took on more administrative responsibilities until he was appointed assistant dean in 1985, then associate dean in 1992.

He, along with Hopps, retired in 2000.

Dean Hanwell was credited for working with Hopps to help GSSW become a modern, nationally recognized presence in the social work

Wireless Advance BC researchers develop first nanoscale wireless communication system Lee Pellegrini

6

to joining Walgreens, he was chief diversity officer and vice president of diversity and inclusion at Monster. com.

Pemberton has been awarded honorary doctorates from WinstonSalem State University and Boston College. In 2015, he received the Horizon Award from the United States Congress, presented to individuals from the private sectors who have contributed to expanding opportunities for all Americans through their own personal contributions, and who have set exceptional examples for young people through their successes in life. He also was appointed by the US Secretary of Labor to the Advisory Committee for the Competitive Integrated Employment of People with Disabilities. Pemberton wrote the critically acclaimed memoir A Chance in the World, which is also the name of the non-profit corporation he co-founded. He is a board member for several nonprofits, including UCAN, the Home for Little Wanderers, Bernie’s Book Bank and the United States Business Leadership Network.

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BOSTON COLLEGE IN THE MEDIA An introduction to new faculty members at Boston College Cheryl Bratt

Assistant Professor Boston College Law School DEGREES: University of Michigan (BS, JD) WHAT SHE STUDIES: Child welfare, education and juvenile justice.

WHAT SHE’S TEACHING: Law Practice I and II What’s the most compelling – and overlooked – issue facing the child welfare and advocacy field?

“Although we’ve seen increased attention to, and a much needed expansion of, LGBT rights over the last couple of years, there is still much work to be done to protect the rights of LGBT youth and the children of LGBT parents. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which found a constitutional right to gay marriage, was undoubtedly a watershed moment that gave greater security to gay couples and their children. But many state statutes, case law, and practices still leave LGBT youth and families vulnerable. LGBT youth disproportionately experience homelessness, bullying, and school punishments, and they face harassment and discrimination within our child welfare, education, and juvenile justice systems. Great work is being done in Massachusetts and around the country to address these issues, which require our continued attention and advocacy.”

James Slotta

Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Education Lynch School of Education DEGREES: Case Institute of Technology (BS); University of Massachusetts-Amherst (MS); University of Pittsburgh (PhD) WHAT HE STUDIES: Science education; use of the Internet and new technologies in teaching; role of technology-supported “collective inquiry” among teacher and students in the classroom.

WHAT HE TEACHES: Topics in Digital Media and Learning As an associate dean and a faculty member, how do you see your work unfolding at the Lynch School? “My job here entails at least three roles. First, I will be conducting my own program of research on new ways of teaching and learning in undergraduate science. Second, I will work to expand the research capacity of the Lynch School. And third, I will work with the Lynch School faculty and administration to pursue new visions in research that may reach across our departments and other disciplines here at BC. We want to make sure that the Lynch School responds to the University’s strategic planning and plays a role in the transformation process.”

Maureen Ritchey

Assistant Professor of Psychology Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences DEGREES: University of Notre Dame (BS/BA); Duke University (MA, PhD) WHAT SHE STUDIES: Emotional modulation of human memory processes and cortico-hippocampal system; neuroimaging of emotional association formation and subsequent effect on memory; functional connectivity; time-frequency analyses.

WHAT SHE’S TEACHING: Research Practicum in Social and Cognitive Methods One of your major ongoing activities is directing the Memory Modulation Lab. Tell us about one of your projects and its potential application. “One project we’re working on is using brain scans to map out the neural systems involved in memory. We’re particularly interested in figuring out how memories take on emotional significance and how memories become tied – or untied – to a particular episodic context (i.e., where and when the event occurred). It seems like different brain systems are involved in remembering emotional and contextual information, so we’re trying to better understand how the two systems operate and interact with each other. Our research is focused exclusively on the healthy adult brain, but eventually, I hope that this work could lead to a better understanding of learning and memory problems in affective disorders like anxiety and depression.”

Prof. Joseph Tecce (Psychology) analyzed Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s body language during Sunday’s presidential debate for New England Cable News’ “The Take.”

Prof. David Blustein (LSOE) offered comments for an NBC.com report on a new Pew survey showing Americans are more concerned about outsourcing and lack of job training than immigration’s effect on employment.

In an interview for Boise State Public Radio, Center for Work and Family Executive Director Brad Harrington shared center research on trends in fatherhood.

Interviewed for a piece in The Atlantic, Prof. Kent Greenfield (Law) said that the practice of allowing corporations to be governed by Delaware law is undemocratic.

The recipients of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work in the development of nanomachines are an outstanding choice, according to Vanderslice Professor T. Ross Kelly, who in his re-

marks to Chemical and Engineering News noted that “creating molecules from scratch with function is something only chemists and nature can do.”

Writing for Commonweal, Libby Professor of Theology and Law Cathleen Kaveny said Catholic voters need to choose between

candidates in terms of character and competence, not just between issues.

Who doesn’t like free stuff? But as the old saying goes, “there is no such thing as a free lunch,” Prof.

Diana Pullin (LSOE) wrote in WalletHub.

EXPERT OPINION Assistant Professor of Communication Matthew Sienkiewicz, on Sunday’s presidential debate: “Sunday night’s debate was uglier and probably more damaging to our democracy than the first, but the media strategies of the candidates were surprisingly unchanged.

Clinton continued to employ the approach of a front runner, pitching her policy ideas towards a relatively broad tent while emphasizing the aspects of Trump that make it so difficult for him to expand beyond his core demographic. Trump, yet again, leaned directly into this dynamic, offering a set of extreme ideas likely to echo powerfully among his Twitter followers but just as likely to turn off more moderate viewers.”

Lee Pellegrini

See more BC faculty opinion at www.bc.edu/bcnews

NOTA BENE

Galligan Professor of Strategy and Carroll School of Management Scholar of Corporate Responsibility Sandra Waddock was awarded the Lifetime Achievement CSR Award 2016 by Humboldt-Universtät Berlin’s School of Business and Economics at the seventh International Conference on Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility. The award, sponsored by the Volkswagen Group, was presented to Waddock for “scholarly contribution that influenced and shaped the field of CSR.” The author or co-editor of 11 books, Waddock has published more than 100 articles on corporate citizenship, sustainable enterprise, difference making, wisdom, stewardship of the future, responsibility management systems, Wan Sonya Tang corporate responsibility, management education and reAssistant Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences lated topics.

DEGREES: University of Southern California (BA), Yale University (PhD, MPhil, MA)

WHAT SHE STUDIES: 19th-21st century Spanish literature and visual culture; realism and the fantastic; the short story; Benito Pérez Galdós; gender studies; women The Weston Observatory of Boston College held its in the Spanish Civil War. inaugural James W. Skehan, SJ, Annual Geological WHAT SHE TEACHES: Contextos: An Introduction to Literary Analysis; Representations of the Spanish Civil War; Machos ibéricos: (De) Colloquium on Sept. 28, honoring its longtime former Constructing Masculinity in Contemporary Spain. director who founded the University’s Geology (now Earth As someone who’s led a study-abroad group to and Environmental Sciences) Department. Fr. Skehan is a Madrid and mentored Fulbright applicants and current or potential graduate students, what renowned geologist whose research has focused on the hisare your views on the academic engagement of tory of the Avalon terrane, the geological micro-continent BC students, and how study-abroad/Fulbright opportunities enhance their campus studies stretching from Long Island to Belgium upon which Boston and aspirations? “I have always been impressed by the lies. He directed the observatory, which monitors seismic percentage of BC students who study abroad and seek opportunities abroad after graduation. Students truly understand activity around the globe, from 1973-93. the value of knowing another language and understanding another culture, not just in Kenneth Galli, lab manager and lecturer for Earth and terms of concrete job opportunities in fields such as education, law, and medicine, but in terms of broadening their worldview and thinking critically about cultural norms that Environmental Sciences, was the colloquium speaker and they have always accepted without question. Students who have studied, researched, presented “Glacial or Non-Glacial? Formation of the Ediaor worked abroad bring a maturity, open-mindedness and cultural sensitivity to future caran Sedimentary Sequence of the Boston Basin.” Later endeavors, which make them better employees, colleagues, and even citizens.”

–Ed Hayward, Rosanne Pellegrini and Sean Smith this fall, Galli also will lead the first in a series, also named Photos by Lee Pellegrini for Fr. Skehan, of geological field trips for the public.

JOBS The following are among the most recent positions posted by the Department of Human Resources.

For more information on employment opportunities at Boston College, see www.bc.edu/offices/hr: Academic Operations Administrator, Academic Affairs/Provost Administrative Assistant, Alumni Relations, Advancement Senior Human Resources Officer, Human Resources Director of Faith Formation, St. Ignatius Parish, Academic Affairs/Provost Executive Director, Advancement Communications and Marketing Account Manager, Ticket Sales, Athletics Resident Director, Student Affairs/Residential Life Assistant Dean, Academic & Student Services, Law School Assistant Director, Grant Administration (subawards), Academic Affairs/Provost Web Interface Designer, Information Technology Associate Director, Capital Trades, Facilities/Trades Collection Development Librarian, Academic Affairs/Provost

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TOMORROW: Hispanic Heritage Month Closing Ceremony with TV host/producer Pili Montilla ’00 6 p.m., Murray Room, Yawkey Center

Two exhibits, one currently on display at the Carney Gallery and another beginning later this month at the School of Theology and Ministry Library Atrium, enhance Boston College’s artistic offerings this fall.

“Late Capital” Carney Gallery, Carney 203 Through Nov. 1 The newly renovated Carney Gallery features works by interdisciplinary artist Ben Sloat, a part-time faculty member in the Art, Art History and Film Studies Department.

walls; applied to them are such materials as signage, paint, posters and chalk.

“My initial goals were to create a kind of dialogue for the BC community to participate in, and to have a forum for my students to engage with,” Sloat said of his inspiration. “As a result, this exhibition will unfold over the month,” as he and his students add content.

“In the larger context of the election season, where many different kinds of conversations are being shared, using art as a forum to discuss and engage seems very timely,” he added.

Art, Art History and Film Studies faculty member Ben Sloat, whose works are being shown at Carney Gallery. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)

He addresses social and cultural conditions in this text-based multimedia exhibit. Using a variety of found and made materials – including canvas painting, neon, wood and metal – Sloat’s text pieces function simultaneously as advocacy, imagery, and poetry, according to the exhibit description.

The display comprises four large pieces that simulate brick

BC SCENES

The central piece that initiates “Late Capital,” Sloat explained, “is accumulated through different letters found and bought commercially. Since text is typically seen in public for advertising, for solicitation, this text piece is meant to not only be a visual object, but one that unfolds and generates association. In a larger sense, I want the work to have a strong sense of

poetics.”

Not only will the exhibit evolve over time, but also “generate new works within it. I’m having the students make digital posters regarding issues they are concerned about to install on the ‘walls’ in the show. Another set of walls will be a forum for chalk writing and drawing. Their efforts will be documented, to create new digitally based work.”

Sloat said his teaching experience as a faculty member enriches his work.

“I see the classroom as another creative venue, a place where new potential artworks can be developed. It’s been really wonderful to offer BC students materials and ideas I’m thinking about and see where they go with it. Art, after all, is a type of conversation, as is the forum of an art class.”

For information on the exhibit and the Carney Gallery, see www. bc.edu/offices/artscouncil/carneygallery.html “Picturing Paradise: Cuadros” School of Theology and Ministry Library Atrium Oct. 24 through Dec. 16 This traveling exhibit comprises some 40 fabric artworks by Peruvian women, which convey powerful memories of the past, realities of present experiences, and images of the world.

The colorful “cuadros,” embroidered and appliqued fabric pictures, were created by artists from two art cooperatives in Pam-

plona Alta, a shantytown outside of Lima. The exhibit – which has been displayed at other Catholic universities in the US – has been

dence that creativity, resilience, faith, and beauty exists even in the harshest conditions.”

Berru-Davis, who has been engaged in research and fieldwork with the women artists since 2006, will be on campus for the opening event and reception on Oct. 24 at 4 p.m.

She will participate in a panel discussion with STM Associate Professor Nancy Pineda-Madrid and Saint Anselm An example of a “cuadro” – embroidered and ap- College Associate Propliqued fabric pictures – that will be on display fessor Ahida Pilarski on at the “Picturing Paradise” exhibit. the topic of art, justice, curated by Rebecca Berru-Davis, a and the contributions of US Lapostdoctoral fellow at the College tinas/Latin American women to of St. Benedict and St. John’s Uni- theological reflection. Berru-Davis versity. It was brought to campus will offer remarks on the nature

by STM Assistant Professor Hosff- and vision of the exhibit at 5 p.m. man Ospino.

The display, Ospino notes, also STM “has made major inroads provides “an opportunity to exand investments to become one pose our Boston College academic of the leading Catholic institu- community and our neighbors to tions in the country advancing some of our own work at the research and conversations about STM doing groundbreaking thethe US Hispanic Catholic expe- ology and preparing pastoral leadrience,” Ospino said. “Bringing ers with a global consciousness.” the exhibit to BC is an opportuThe Brighton Campus venue is nity to highlight the work of a the exhibit’s exclusive Boston-area Latina Catholic theologian who is venue. Co-sponsors are University making important connections on Libraries and the Church in the questions related to art, justice and 21st Century Center. For more religious experience.” information and to register for the As activist research, the proj- opening event and reception, see ect helps support more than 30 http://bit.ly/2dS60Gh. women artists and their families, –Rosanne Pellegrini according to Berru-Davis: The exContact Rosanne Pellegrini at hibit “engages viewers with evirosanne.pellegrini@bc.edu

POP GOES THE HEIGHTS

Parents Weekend 2016 kicked off on Sept. 30 in Conte Forum with the Pops on the Heights Barbara and Jim Cleary Scholarship Gala, which raised $9 million for student scholarships with another sell-out show. The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra headlined the event under the direction of Keith Lockhart, joined by award-winning stage and screen performer Kristin Chenoweth (above) as special guest artist. [Read more at http://bit.ly/2dH6ZfW]

Photos by Rose Lincoln