Boston College Chronicle

OCTOBER 25, 2018 VOL. 26 NO. 5

PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

“The feedback from students will help us to identify areas where we are doing well, as well as those areas where we should focus greater attention.”

–Interim VP for Student Affairs Joy Moore

University to Launch First Student Experience Survey This Monday

BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Boston College will launch its first-ever student experience survey this Monday, Oct. 29, to gain a better understanding of undergraduate students and their experiences at Boston College.

The survey will seek input from students on a range of campus experiences, including diversity and inclusion, facultystudent interactions, and services to BC’s 9,300 undergraduates.

Sponsored by Student Affairs, University Mission and Ministry, and the Office of the Provost, and administered by the Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment, the survey—which is

confidential and takes 15 minutes to complete—will provide data on all aspects of student life to help administrators ensure that the Boston College environment is as supportive as possible for all students.

“The student experience survey is a vital tool in assessing the campus environment,” said Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Joy Moore. “The feedback from students will help us to identify areas where we are doing well, as well as those areas where we should focus greater attention.”

BC administrators and Undergraduate Government of Boston College leaders agreed to conduct a student experience survey last year following several racial issues that shook the campus community, including a racist social media posting and the defacement of several Black Lives Matter

signs in a University residence hall during the fall semester.

Vice President for Planning and Assessment Kelli Armstrong said that the survey will yield qualitative and quantitative data that will be assessed by senior leadership.

“Although we have surveyed students on many topics over the years, this is a unique survey because it covers a wide range of areas and is designed specifically for Boston College,” said Armstrong. “The student experience survey was created in collaboration with a University-wide committee and asks for feedback on many elements important to a BC education, both in and out of the classroom. We hope that all students will take the time to complete the survey; it’s important that we hear from as many Continued on page 4

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

Three of the University’s most-enrolled minors include two new offerings and a pre-existing minor in the Carroll School of Management, an example of the University’s strategic emphasis on expanding opportunities for students to take courses and earn minors outside of the college or school of their major.

This fall, 265 students have enrolled in the new finance minor, 195 in management and leadership, and 143 in the new marketing minor.

Rounding out the top five minors by enrollment are medical humanities (143) and history (141), according to the Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment.

The successful launch of more minors in the Carroll School, including Accounting for CPAs and Accounting for Finance

Continued on page 5

INSIDE

Class of ’22 Fits Profile of Diversity and Excellence

2 Endeavor 2019/Veterans Day

BC’s unique career exploration program for sophomores returns this January; Mike Dunford ’82 speaks at the Veterans Day Remembrance Mass and Ceremony on Nov. 9.

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

3 LRSA gets new name

The Office of Learning Resources for Student-Athletes has been rebranded as the Office of Student-Athlete Academic Services (SAAS).

8 ‘Seeding the Future’

A science education program for low-income high schools created

by Lynch School faculty member G. Michael Barnett receives a boost from the NSF.

Carroll School Minors Prove Popular Among All Undergrads

Time to Run

CHRISTOPHER HUANG

Runners gathered on Gasson Quad Saturday for the annual Red Bandanna Run. See page 8.

The 2,327 freshmen enrolled in Boston College this fall make up a class that continues the University’s trend toward an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse student body—one that is academically excellent and, by many indications, attracted

by BC’s commitment to the liberal arts educational tradition.

The Class of 2022 had 31,084 applicants, the third highest number in BC’s history, a pool from which 8,669 (28

Continued on page 4

NOTICE: EARLY CLOSING FRIDAY Boston College administrative offices will close at 3 p.m. Friday due to the BC-Miami football game beginning at 7 p.m. To help with game preparations, and to ease potential traffic and parking congestion, the University asks that all vehicles be removed from campus as close to 3 p.m. as possible.

Chronicle

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October 25, 2018

Around Campus

Endeavor, Popular Sophomore Program, Ready to Go for a Fourth Year Keynote speech by Facebook administrator will highlight three-day January event Endeavor, Boston College’s annual career exploration program for sophomores pursuing a liberal arts degree, will take place Jan. 9-11, featuring 2011 alumna and Facebook administrator Ariel Belgraves Harris as keynote speaker.

Harris, who will speak on the advantages of a liberal arts education, is a senior project manager at Facebook on its People Growth team, which focuses on talent development, employment branding, employee engagement, communications, and culture. Since graduating with a psychology degree from BC, she has worked in the investment banking sector, founded a wellness brand, and directed a nonprofit startup to advance the careers of black software engineers.

In addition to Harris, dozens of other BC arts and sciences alumni will share their experiences in the workforce and connect with current students at Endeavor, introduced in 2016 by the Career Center to help sophomores gain clarity about career options and learn how to connect the value of their liberal arts education to their

Endeavor speaker Ariel Belgraves Harris ’11

potential careers.

Over the course of three days, participants will reflect on their skills and interests during workshops, practice networking with alumni, faculty, and staff, and go on a “career trek” to various Boston companies and organizations.

“Endeavor provides students with the tools to explore their interests, articulate their skills, and make connections that will help them pursue a meaningful career and life,” said Rachel Greenberg, director of career education and strategy at the Career Center. “Above all, Endeavor helps students see the advantage a liberal arts degree can provide them in the workplace and instills confidence that they will be able to successfully achieve their goals.”

Endeavor’s mission reflects a key facet of Boston College’s Strategic Plan, which calls for the University to foster an educational culture that “promotes opportunities for students to integrate traditional liberal arts disciplines with professional preparation and vocational discernment.”

“We know that employers value the habits of mind and qualities of character that are developed through a liberal arts education,” said Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean Gregory Kalscheur, S.J. “Endeavor enhances our students’ confidence in their ability to articulate the connection between their BC education and

career paths after graduation.”

After completing the 2018 Endeavor program, 98 percent of participants said they were able to identify at least one career field they want to explore further; 95 percent learned to articulate how the skills they develop at BC translate to the workplace; and 98 percent knew the first steps of their career discernment and planning process.

“The most important thing I have gained in the Endeavor Program is confidence” said Jessica Carroll ’19, a past participant and a student leader for the 2019 Endeavor program. “I am now more confident to reach out and build relationships with BC alumni and other professionals and am also more confident in my skills as a critical, interdisciplinary thinker and communicator. Endeavor has been one of the most formative and rewarding experiences in my BC career.”

For information about Endeavor, and to register, go to www.bc.edu/endeavor.

–Christine Balquist

BC to Commemorate Veterans Day with Mass, Remembrance Ceremony Retired Marine Corps Reserve officer Mike Dunford ’82, a combat veteran of the multinational peacekeeping force in Beirut and a veteran of both Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, will be the keynote speaker at the 18th Annual Boston College Veterans Remembrance Mass and Ceremony on Nov. 9.

Preceding his address, Jesuit Community Rector Robert L. Keane, S.J., ’71, MDiv’78, who served more than two decades as a U.S. Navy chaplain before retiring from military service as a captain, will preside and preach at a 10 a.m. Mass in St. Mary’s Chapel.

The ceremony honoring all alumni who have served, or are currently serving, in the armed forces will follow at 11 a.m. at the Boston College Veterans Memorial on Burns Library lawn. BC ROTC program students will emcee the ceremony and read aloud the names of Boston College graduates who died during the nation’s military conflicts. BC students, faculty, staff, and ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Jack Dunn SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

alumni will serve as representatives of those who have died in wars, and commemorative pins will once again be presented to alumni veterans. BC Jesuit community member John Monahan, S.J., also a veteran, will lead the prayer at the ceremony.

A noon luncheon reception in Gasson 100 will follow.

The event— organized by the Alumni Association with support from the BC Veterans Alumni Network, BC Army ROTC, Human Resources and Campus Ministry—is open to all members of the Boston College community.

A leadership and human resources consultant and principal of the Dunford Consulting Group, Dunford previously served as the chief human resources officer and senior vice president of human resources for Covidien, a Fortune 200 global medical device company with more than 38,000 employees operating in more than 70 countries.

Dunford also is an advocate for veter-

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Christine Balquist Phil Gloudemans Ed Hayward Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan

Chronicle

PHOTOGRAPHERS

www.bc.edu/bcnews chronicle@bc.edu

Patricia Delaney EDITOR

Sean Smith

Mike Dunford ’82, keynote speaker for the BC Veterans Day event on Nov. 9.

Gary Gilbert Lee Pellegrini Peter Julian

ans, particularly on issues related to employment and homelessness, with the Edge4Vets program and FourBlock. He serves as an advisor to and member of several health- and veterans-related boards.

“The Alumni Association is honored to have Mike Dunford with us for the annual BC Veteran’s Remembrance Mass and Ceremony,” said Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations Leah DeCosta. “Mike is a combat veteran, and an advocate who focuses on helping veterans transition out of the armed forces successfully. Throughout his extraordinary career, he has exemplified the BC mission of being men and women for others, and we are grateful that our veterans and guests will have the opportunity to engage with him.”

Advance registration for the Veterans Remembrance Mass and Ceremony is encouraged, but not required, at https:// tinyurl.com/y8v67fdb.

—University Communications

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 University Communications, 3 Lake Street, Brighton, MA 02135 (617)552-3350.

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Send requests to chronicle@bc.edu.

Chronicle

October 25, 2018

3

Learning Resources for Student-Athletes Renamed Change to Student-Athlete Academic Services reflects rebranding effort inspired by Athletics Strategic Plan

BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

The Office of Learning Resources for Student-Athletes, which provides individualized academic support services to nearly all of Boston College’s 750 varsity studentathletes, has been renamed the Office of Student-Athlete Academic Services (SAAS) as part of a rebranding effort inspired by the recent release of the Athletics Strategic Plan, the University announced.

Overseen by the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculties and located in the Yawkey Athletics Center, SAAS will continue to serve BC’s student-athletes by providing the resources to assist with academic success in collaboration with faculty and campus partners.

“Boston College student-athletes are among the best and brightest in the nation,” said William V. Campbell Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond. “Studentathlete formation is one of the four strategic priorities we identified in the Athletics Strategic Plan and corresponding Greater Heights campaign. We feel that rebranding the Office of Student-Athlete Academic Services best conveys the complete range of services we offer and illustrates the importance we place on academic growth, devel-

“We are fortunate to have University leaders who are willing to support our efforts to adapt to the diverse needs of BC student-athletes,” said SAAS Director Michael A. Harris. photo by peter julian

opment, and inclusion.”

As part of the rebrand, SAAS updated its mission statement to reflect its new focus: The Office of Student-Athlete Academic Services supports the Boston College academic community and the Athletics Department in our mission to pursue student-athlete excellence, student formation, and a just society by remaining committed to integrity, ethics, and

honesty. We provide comprehensive academic support services to meet the educational, personal, and career development needs of all Boston College student-athletes. Consistent with the Jesuit ideal of cura personalis, we will take a holistic approach to academic services and student formation, seeking to provide each student-athlete with the opportunity to excel at Boston College and in life beyond the Heights.

The name change and updated mission statement are components of a broader plan to shape and transform the office to achieve alignment with the institution and the Athletics Department’s strategic plans, administrators said. Future implementation phases will include enhancements to technology related to student-athlete retention, increase in study space, and additional full-time employees.

“I am pleased that the Office of Student-Athlete Academic Services is moving ahead with refreshing its image and mission,” said Associate Professor of Economics Robert Murphy, BC’s Faculty Athletics Representative. “The office provides vital support to our student-athletes for both their academic success and personal development, and I’m delighted it will be receiving enhanced resources for carrying out this important role.”

SAAS Director Michael A. Harris said he welcomed these changes as a means of strengthening an office that does important work on behalf of BC student-athletes.

“We are fortunate to have University leaders who are willing to support our efforts to adapt to the diverse needs of BC student-athletes,” said Harris. “In the future, SAAS looks forward to furthering our collaborations with campus partners, faculty, and Athletics Department staff.”

‘Towards Transitional Justice’

Conference Will Examine Irish Govt. Response to Institutional Abuse Irish Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone PhD STM ’86 will deliver keynote remarks on campus Nov. 1 to open a two-day conference, “Towards Transitional Justice: Recognition, Truth-telling, and Institutional Abuse in Ireland.”

The conference, organized by Associate Professor of English and Irish Studies James Smith, will bring together scholars in the international field of transitional justice along with survivors, people affected by adoption, and activists to focus on the Irish government’s response to historical abuse in the Magdalen laundries, county homes, mother and baby homes, and child residential institutions, and in the nation’s secret, forced-adoption system. Discussions will scrutinize the Irish state’s past and present treatment of women and children, and the state’s use of power in relation to people who are in vulnerable situations.

Zappone is currently overseeing an Irish State Commission of Investigation examining multiple concerns related to the institutional care of unmarried mothers and their babies from 1922-1998, including the discovery of a mass grave of child and infant remains on the site of the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam.

“Towards Transitional Justice” will discuss the key findings of the recently published CLANN Report, including the

“The Irish state has offered apologies and financial payments for some historical abuses, but it has failed to establish truth-telling mechanisms,” says James Smith, organizer of the “Towards Transitional Justice” conference. “Without truth-telling, there can be no guarantee of non-recurrence.”

photo by lee pellegrini

recommendations to provide a statutory right to information for adopted people and others affected by historical abuse, and the creation of a national repository of institutional records.

The conference, which will also examine whether truth-telling can take place in the absence of access to records, will feature a panel of abuse survivors on Nov. 2, from noon-2 p.m. in Gasson 100.

“In planning this event, we were aware

that holding it on the Boston College campus offers a neutral space for conversations that are still difficult to hold back in Ireland,” said Smith, an expert in the field and author of Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries and the Nation’s Architecture of Containment. “Since 1999, the Irish state has offered apologies and financial payments for some historical abuses, but it has failed to establish truth-telling mechanisms, including the provision of access to records and archives. Without truth-telling, there can be no guarantee of non-recurrence.”

Transitional justice addresses systemic human rights abuses through both judicial and non-judicial measures, including truth commissions, reparations programs, criminal prosecutions and a range of insti-

tutional reforms.

Speaking in 2017, Zappone said, “Transitional justice puts survivors and victims at the heart of the process. It commits to pursuing justice through truth. It aims to achieve not only individual justice, but a wider societal transition from more repressive times, to move from one era to another. Taking a transitional justice approach means that we will find out and record the truth, ensure accountability, make reparation, undertake institutional reform, and achieve reconciliation.”

Conference speakers will describe how different countries have dealt with traumatic histories related to institutional provision, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and what Ireland can learn from ‘transitional justice’ responses.

Additional speakers include Felice Gaer, of the UN Committee Against Torture, Ruth Rubio Marín, of the European University Institute, Fionnuala Ní Aolain, of the University of Minnesota, Shurlee Swain, of Australian Catholic University, Colm O’Gorman, of Amnesty International-Ireland, Patricia Lundy, of Ulster University, Emilie Pine, of University College Dublin, and James Gallen, of Dublin City University, among others.

For the full conference agenda and other information, see http://bit.ly/towardtransitional-justice.

—University Communications

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October 25, 2018

Class of ’22 Numbers Tell Encouraging Story Continued from page 1

percent) were admitted. The final number represents a yield of 27 percent, which BC enrollment management administrators say is consistent with recent years.

Thirty-three percent of the freshman class is AHANA (African, Hispanic, Asian, Native American descent) students, while international students make up eight percent of the class, holding steady from 2017.

The academic strength of this year’s freshmen enrollees is borne out in the combined SAT scores of the middle 50 percent of the class, ranging from 13401480 with a mean of 1392. The middle-50 percent range of ACT scores is 31-34 with a mean of 32, the latter equaling last year’s all-time high.

“We continue to compete with the best institutions in the country for the best students in the country,” said Vice Provost for Enrollment Management John L. Mahoney. “It’s a challenge, obviously, but Boston College is experiencing such strong momentum in regards to our academic reputation, and the results are very encouraging.

“It’s also heartening to see BC is succeeding in our efforts to become a more diverse university,” added Mahoney, noting that the percentage of AHANA students enrolled in the 1996 freshman class was 20 percent—a high-water mark at that time.

“Our undergraduate admission staff has steadily increased its outreach throughout the world as well as the U.S., and will continue to build on that work.”

“Boston College’s Class of 2022 is among the most talented and diverse classes ever enrolled,” said Director of Undergraduate Admission Grant Gosselin.

“These freshmen hail from 45 U.S. states and territories and nearly 40 countries

Members of the Class of 2022 at the annual Freshmen Welcome event in Conte Forum. BC’s commitment to the liberal arts has been a strong factor in attracting prospective students, according to University enrollment administrators. Said one: “I’ve been impressed by their focus on academic excellence and their immersion into BC’s community, both socially and in terms of the contributions they will make to our local, national, and global communities.” photo by peter julian

around the world, speaking to the University’s strong position in attracting students who resonate with BC’s educational mission and environment. In connecting with new students this fall, I’ve been impressed by their focus on academic excellence and their immersion into BC’s community, both socially and in terms of the contributions they will make to our local, national, and global communities.

“The challenges our society faces will require solutions derived from diverse perspectives and experiences and this class is well positioned to make an impact. I look forward to watching what they will accomplish over the next four years on the Heights.”

Student Experience Survey Continued from page 1

voices as possible so that we can use the results to better understand and improve the student experience.”

Armstrong said that the initial survey data will be available this spring, followed by more segmented analysis and extensive reporting in the fall of 2019.

Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley said the survey will be helpful in gaining a better understanding of students’ views on their interactions with faculty from an academic, personal and vocational perspective, as well as their experiences regarding faculty research opportunities, faculty advising and mentoring.

“We expect to learn a great deal from this inaugural administration of the student experience survey as we strive to deliver on Boston College’s promise of a transformative liberal arts education,” said Quigley.

“In particular, I’m eager to learn more about students’ experiences with faculty and the ways in which different academic programs and initiatives impact our students.”

UGBC President Reed Piercey ’19,

whose administration worked with BC administrators to help bring the survey to fruition, said he expected a strong response from undergraduate students who are pleased that the survey is being distributed and eager to share their perspectives on the BC student experience.

“It is very exciting to see our administration deliver on the idea of a student experience survey that will holistically assess the wide spectrum of lived experiences at Boston College,” said Piercey. “I believe this is an important milestone in gathering specific feedback on the elements of life at BC that impact undergraduates in both fulfilling and challenging ways. I am especially grateful to the members of UGBC who worked tirelessly last fall to make this survey a reality, as well as the administrators who gave them a space to voice their concerns. It represents a major opportunity for people of all identities at BC to express their feedback directly to the top tier of University leadership.”

While BC’s reputation as an elite national university, and its proximity to Boston, have long been key attractions for prospective students, Mahoney said the University’s identity as a bastion of liberal arts in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition is not to be underestimated. In particular, the Core Curriculum renewal initiative, and the forthcoming Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, have impressed high schoolers and their families visiting campus—informational events on the core have been the most-attended at sessions for admitted students, Mahoney noted.

“For BC, this volatile time—where there is much national discussion about the changing economy, the future of work,

Snapshot

Council for Women of Boston College Colloquium Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, was the featured speaker at The Council for Women of Boston College event on Oct. 18. Girls Who Code works to inspire, educate, and equip girls for opportunities in computer programming through summer immersion programs, afterschool clubs, and other initiatives. photo by caitlin cunningham

and the impact of technology—underscores the importance of a liberal arts education,” said Mahoney. “BC is dedicated to giving students a thorough grounding in analytical thinking and reasoning, which helps them consider contemporary issues from many dimensions. The Schiller Institute will be a perfect example of BC’s commitment to a 21st-century vision of liberal arts: an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to solving critical societal problems in areas such as energy and global public health.

“When they visit BC, prospective students and their families hear how the University gives its graduates a versatility that positions them very effectively for an employment market that is transforming in unprecedented fashion.”

For Mahoney, meanwhile, the Class of 2022 represents a personal transition: It’s the last freshman class he helped recruit and enroll—earlier this year, after 28 years as director of undergraduate admission, Mahoney was appointed dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid, and then accepted the vice provost position in late summer.

But Mahoney will hold on, at least temporarily, to one facet of his old job: He’ll remain the University’s admission liaison to Delaware, where he’ll do outreach to high schools and maintain ties to the state’s alumni network.

“I’ve had a 34-year relationship with Delaware, going back to when I started in 1984 as senior assistant director of admission. It’s where my heart lies. We’ve had so many great alumni over the years from Delaware,” said Mahoney, noting that the winner of the 2018 Edward H. Finnegan, S.J., Award—presented to the graduating senior who exemplifies BC’s motto “Ever to Excel”— was Wilmington, Del., native Christopher Reynolds.

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October 25, 2018

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Carroll School Minors’ Popularity Seen as Part of BC Plan to Meld Liberal Arts, Professional Disciplines Continued from page 1

and Consulting, grew out of a history of “shadow” minors—students from BC’s other undergraduate schools who enrolled in courses of interest offered by the Carroll School—and an intensive planning process to determine how the school could best meet a range of demand scenarios.

“These minors for non-Carroll School students go to the heart of the University’s Strategic Plan, which calls for opportunities to integrate the liberal arts into professional preparation,” says Carroll School John and Linda Powers Family Dean Andy Boynton.

Under BC’s strategic plan, the University has placed a priority on creating more opportunities for students in the professional schools to take classes in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, and vice versa.

In 2017, the most-enrolled minors were led by history (137 students), International Studies (138), medical humanities (131), philosophy (114), and Hispanic Studies (104). The pre-existing Carroll School minor in management and leadership enrolled 83 students last year.

Students in the Carroll School are also enrolling in minors and second majors in the Morrissey College, Boynton notes.

“For a while now, we’ve been building bridges of learning between management and the liberal arts, and that bridge goes both ways. We’ve also made it easier for management students to add on a major or minor in the arts and sciences, and now, about 40 percent of our students are doing exactly that.”

Students who have enrolled in the new minors say they were drawn by the opportunity to earn formal recognition for taking

(L-R) Ronnie Sadka, Stephanie Jernigan, and Ethan Sullivan were part of the planning team of administrators and faculty that revamped the school’s minors program to meet the demand from Boston College’s non-management students. photo by lee pellegrini

classes outside their majors that interest them, as well as the chance to broaden skill sets they see as necessary for their postgraduation plans.

“I think a liberal arts degree is very marketable, especially in this economy. But I wanted more of a business background,” says Erik Gross ’21, a history major with an emphasis on pre-law, who enrolled in the management and leadership minor. “If I am going into the business world, what is the mindset? The minor allows me to get a business footing and background, while having the liberal arts as my overarching program.”

Roger Murray ’20 majors in economics and minors in accounting, with an emphasis on preparing for the CPA exam.

He realized he had a deep interest in ac-

counting when he participated in Catalyst, the Carroll School’s summer program for non-majors.

“Taking financial accounting kind of set me on fire in a way that other classes had not. Economics is very theoretical; it’s about models. Accounting is very technical and puts a lot of economic theory into perspective with real-world situations. I like that aspect of the minor.”

Carroll School faculty and staff spent well more than a year planning for the new minors, having to account for the tradition of students from outside the Carroll School taking management courses, as well as the potential draw for additional students.

A close look at the numbers showed that “shadow” minors were closer to the rule than the exception.

“More than half of all non-Carroll School students were taking at least one course in the Carroll School,” says Carroll School Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs Ethan Sullivan.

“On average they were taking three to four courses. Many were nearing what a minor might be.”

In the Class of 2017, that meant 832 non-Carroll students had taken at least one Carroll School course, says Sullivan. In all, those students took approximately 3,000 management courses during their time at BC. Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Ronnie Sadka, chair of the Carroll School Finance Department, says the challenge for the planning team was understanding how many course sections and instructors would be required to meet existing and forecast demand. The planning team had to resolve some of the intricate connections that might affect enrollments not only for introductory courses, but further down the line in other courses required for both majors and minors within Carroll School. To answer those questions, the team ran scenarios through a computational model developed by Associate Professor of the Practice of Operations Management Stephanie Jernigan.

Of the response from students, Sadka says, “We think it’s great. For a long time, if you wanted to do finance, you had to come to the business school. You could major in finance and minor in computer science, but not do the opposite. We thought hard about how to facilitate that. I think we did the right thing. We’re excited that students find our classes and minors exciting.”

Corcoran Ctr. to Debut Housing Case Competition

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

Teams of Boston College students will vie for a $5,000 prize in a new case competition, sponsored by the Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action, focused on a crucial tax credit used to encourage the construction of affordable housing.

The Corcoran Center will kick off the case competition, “The Future of Housing,” on Nov. 5 at 5:30 p.m. with a panel discussion in Fulton 511 featuring U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-Mass.) and a group of experts in the field of affordable housing development.

Corcoran Center Executive Director Neil McCullagh says the case competition is intended to hone students’ analytical skills in the field, raise awareness about issues connected to affordable housing development, and offer an in-depth look at the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) as a tool that helps both communities and developers of affordable housing.

“This competition will be a way for students to understand that housing chal-

Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III will speak at the Nov. 5 launch of the Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action “Future of Housing” case competition.

lenges are deeply connected to every facet of our lives,” says McCullagh. “It will also provide them great vision into an industry

where they can do well while doing good.”

While learning about the program, students will form interdisciplinary teams, and participate in workshops with industry executives. The case competition, which will take place this coming spring, will enable students to present proposed solutions to a board of judges. Student teams will analyze and present a solution for a LIHTC project and will have the opportunity to participate in a final round of competition.

“In the competition, students will be analyzing a real housing deal,” says McCullagh.

“They will need to present their best understanding of the policy and their analysis of the deal outlined in the case. They will then present their solution and recommendations to the judges. The best team will walk away with the grand prize.”

The Nov. 5 panel discussion, moderated

by Boston Capital Vice President and Director of Communications David Gasson, will touch on issues essential to the teams participating in the competition, says McCullagh.

Panelists will discuss the LIHTC, its successes and perceived shortcomings, and its applications. They will also touch on a range

of issues relevant to affordable housing development project life cycles.

Panelists scheduled to participate are MassHousing Director of Rental Business Development Cynthia Lacasse, The Community Builders CEO Bart Mitchell, Preservation of Affordable Housing President and CEO Rodger Brown, and Local Initiative Support Corporation Executive Director Karen Kelleher.

The lack of availability of affordable housing has reached crisis proportions, says McCullagh, who notes that the U.S. loses approximately 125,000 units of affordable housing each year. One program that has long served to grow affordable housing and resulted in the engagement of the private sector in solutions to America’s housing crisis is the LIHTC, which supports the development of 50,000 new units of housing nationwide each year for households that earn less than 60 percent of the median income where they live.

To learn more about the “Future of Housing” case competition, see the Corcoran Center website at http://bit.ly/bc-corcoran-center.

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October 25, 2018

Burns Scholar Finds History in Unlikely Source

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

Throughout his education and his career in academia, Ciaran O’Neill has perused great historical tomes, canonical works of literature, and numerous academic journals. But the current focus of his scholarly attention is a personal diary from 1840s Dublin which chronicles an illicit love affair.

The diary kept by Trinity College Dublin law student James Christopher Fitzgerald Kenney, and what it reveals about love, class, courtship, and moral conduct, will be the subject of a lecture on Nov. 6 by O’Neill, who is the Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies this semester. The Burns Scholar Lecture will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in the Burns Library’s Thompson Room, and is free and open to the public.

A collaboration between the Boston College Center for Irish Programs and University Libraries, the Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies program brings to campus distinguished academics, writers, artists, journalists, librarians, and notable public figures who have made significant contributions to Irish cultural and intellectual life.

Burns Scholars teach courses, offer public lectures, and use the resources of the John J. Burns Library in their ongoing research, writing, and creative endeavors. O’Neill also will co-organize a daylong symposium on history and fiction on Dec. 1 in Connolly House [details will be available via www. bc.edu/irish.html].

For O’Neill, who has been the Ussher Lecturer in History at Trinity College Dublin since 2011, spending the fall at BC represented an opportunity to reconnect with

Ciaran O’Neill, the Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies for the fall semester. photo by gary wayne gilbert

friends and acquaintances like Center for Irish Programs/Irish Studies Program Director James H. Murphy, C.M., Associate Professor of English James Smith, and Professor of History Oliver Rafferty, S.J., to become more familiar with a university where he gave a talk three years ago—and to enjoy the wealth of holdings at Burns Library. He is utilizing Burns’ resources for a book about social and political power and its dynamics in Ireland.

“There is so much material at Burns I wanted to get my hands on,” said O’Neill, a native of County Laois, some 50 miles southwest of Dublin. “If you love teaching, which I do, you have to make the most of any opportunity to do research, because it feeds and enriches your interests and ulti-

mately makes you a better teacher.”

As a scholar with research interests rooted in 19th-century Ireland, O’Neill views the Kenney diary—which has been preserved and digitized at Trinity College—as a window unto a time when Ireland’s status as part of the British Empire seemed to simultaneously mask and amplify the complexity of its social relationships and mores. Part of the diary’s significance lies in the fact that Kenney was an elite Catholic, who represent a largely unexplored chapter in Irish history, explained O’Neill, who is collaborating on a study of the diary with Juliana Adelman of Dublin City University.

“Not much has written about the Catholic elite,” said O’Neill, whose 2014 book Catholics of Consequence: Transnational Education, Social Mobility and the Irish Catholic Elite, 1850-1900, won the James S. Donnelly Prize for History and the Social Sciences.

“There is an assumption that those who were in positions of power and influence in pre-independent Ireland were defined by their non-Catholic status. But it’s possible to trace the Catholic elites from school, where they came together, and through the various networks and clusters they built up over time.”

An heir to his family’s fortune and a future magistrate, Kenney became involved with Mary Louisa McMahon, a woman of lower social stature about four years his senior—two critical elements that made the affair an unsavory one, said O’Neill. It was a potentially, but not equally, dangerous relationship for both: McMahon, an unmarried woman in her mid-20s (practically a spinster by the era’s standards) from a scandal-wracked family, risked her chance

Shlala Is Named Asst. Director for Core Elizabeth Shlala, a Jesuit-educated scholar specializing in history, migration, and gender, has been appointed assistant director of the Core Curriculum, announced Associate Professor of Sociology Brian Gareau, associate dean for the core.

As assistant director, Shlala will assist Gareau in providing academic leadership and day-to-day management of the Core program; chairing the curriculum subcommittee of the University Core Renewal Committee, and participating in course development, promotion, and registration advising related to Enduring Questions and Complex Problems core courses.

She will also coordinate Core Renewal pedagogical workshops, support the Core Fellow/Visiting Assistant Professor postdoctoral fellow program, and assist with the assessment and review of Core Curriculum courses.

“I’m delighted to have Dr. Shlala as colleague at Boston College,” said Gareau.

“Elizabeth’s administrative experiences, interest in Jesuit pedagogy, and excellent scholarly work make her ideally suited for this role.”

“I was drawn to this position as a teacher, scholar, and administrator with a strong

Elizabeth Shlala: “The core is a distinctive aspect of Boston College and I hope to contribute to its continued success.” photo by lee pellegrini

passion for Jesuit education,” said Shlala, who earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Georgetown University and is the parent of a Boston College High

School student. “The interdisciplinary and integrative nature of the Core Curriculum is fundamental to re-envisioning liberal arts education, and I am tremendously excited to be a part of it. The core is a distinctive aspect of Boston College and I hope to contribute to its continued success.”

Shlala also holds the title of associate professor of the practice and will teach core courses in areas such as history, gender studies, and migration.

Prior to her arrival at BC earlier this semester, Shlala was a visiting scholar at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She was also a fellow at Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies from 2015-17. From 2012-15, she was a teaching fellow and research fellow in the International History Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she was awarded two teaching prizes. She has taught at Georgetown and Barnard College and spent a year as a visiting scholar at Columbia University.

She is the author of the book, The Late Ottoman Empire and Egypt: Hybridity, Law and Gender.

—Kathleen Sullivan

of redemption and respectability; Kenney risked his reputation.

“The power advantage is definitely on Kenney’s side, and even as he continues the relationship he keeps her at arm’s length; in his diary, he comes across as a somewhat unpleasant, emotionally diffident person,” said O’Neill.

An additional layer of complexity to the diary is that Kenney writes in a detached, novelistic manner, as if he and McMahon were characters in a story, O’Neill said.

“This diary offers many topics for reflection and discussion, about love, power, and consent, and the social structures in 19thcentury Ireland. But there are other questions beyond history that can be considered: How does a researcher deal with this material—a personal diary—in an ethical manner?

And how much do we trust the veracity of what the narrator is saying, especially if it’s written in this literary manner? The gender and social inequality glimpsed in the diary is all the more profound given that we know how Kenney’s life and career turned out, while Mary McMahon, as far as anyone can tell, just drops off the face of the earth.”

O’Neill enjoys such interdisciplinary inquiries, whether in his writing, teaching, or lectures: “Once, when I gave a presentation about the diary, half the audience decided that Mary was a figment of Kenney’s imagination, because it seemed so unlikely anyone would love him.”

Prior to Trinity College, O’Neill served as Irish Government Senior Scholar at Herford College, University of Oxford. He holds a degree from National University of Ireland Galway and a doctorate from the University of Liverpool.

McMullen Seeking Artwork from Students for ‘Looking Back to Look Forward’ Project The McMullen Museum of Art invites Boston College students to submit digital works of art that express personal interpretations of “looking back to look forward”—exploring the concept, effects, and/or personal experiences of history and memory on the present through various creative formats. The project is organized in association with the exhibition, “Carrie Mae Weems: Strategies of Engagement,” on display in the Daley Family and Monan Galleries through Dec. 13.

Students may submit as many works as desired. Formats can include photography, poetry, painting, creative writing, graphic design, sculpture, and video.

Submissions will be displayed on a monitor in the museum’s atrium and on the McMullen digital publication the Terrace through Dec. 13.

For full details, and submission requirements, see theTerraceBC.com.

—University Communications

Chronicle

October 25, 2018

WELCOME ADDITIONS

BC in the Media

An Introduction to New Faculty at Boston College CLAIRE DONOHUE

WHAT SHE’S TEACHING: Mass

Assistant Clinical Professor Boston College Law School DEGREES: Cornell Uni-

Communication Ethics, Religious Expression in the Digital Media Age.

versity (BS); Boston College (JD, MSW); George Washington University (LLM) WHAT SHE STUDIES: Family law; critical legal theory (feminist theory, race theory, and narrative theory); interdisciplinary (psychosocial) perspectives.

WHAT SHE’S TEACHING: Donohue coordinates social work services for the clinics in the Center for Experiential Learning, supervising graduate students of social work who are placed in the law clinic. Donohue’s teaching within the clinic and in her classes incorporates social work methodology and theory with legal theory and practice.

In what ways does an interdisciplinary social work perspective enhance teaching and learning at the law school?

“A social work frame considers human behavior as inextricably linked to context (environment, settings, relationships). From there, enhancing someone’s functioning can involve unearthing the individual’s competencies and supporting them in their own change, mediating the individual’s interactions with various systems or in their relationships, or striving to reform the systems or environment within which the person operates. In this way, the theories that motivate a social worker’s efforts can enhance law students’ understanding of avenues for, and means of, advocacy—direct client services, impact litigation, policy work, pursuing government office, etc. Social work theories and methodologies also provide inspiration, language, and a skill set to enhance law students’ commitment to social justice—social justice being a principle not just evident in a Jesuit institution, but a mandate of attorneys in general.

KRISTIN PETERSON Assistant Professor of Communication Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences DEGREES: Dominican University (BA); University of Colorado (PhD, MA) WHAT SHE STUDIES: Islam in North America, specifically examining how young Muslims engage with online media sites, images, videos and creative projects as spaces to explore different discourses, styles and emotions.

7

Your current research examines a series of creative projects in which Muslim American youth engage with aesthetics, affects, and hybrid styles to shift assumptions and present the complexities of their lives. What have been some of your most compelling findings thus far?

“In my research and in talking with young Muslim Americans, I have found that they use the creativity and flexibility of digital media spaces to produce multifaceted representations of their lives. Instead of trying to fit a mold of a normal American young person, they are unapologetic in their portrayals that they can be Muslim and American and many other identities without compromising aspects of who they are.

These representations go beyond simply showing a positive, but one-dimensional, view of Muslim lives, and instead the young Muslim Americans use digital media spaces to work through the complexities and contradictions of their experiences.”

NANCY XU Assistant Professor of Finance Carroll School of Management DEGREES: University

Assoc. Prof. of the Practice Natana Delong-Bas (Theology), a faculty member in Islamic Civilization and Societies, discussed the disappearance of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, and the relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, in an interview with New England Cable News’ “The Take.”

Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology Richard Gaillardetz discussed changes in the Catholic Church, including the resignation of Cardinal Wuerl, in an interview with CBS Boston.

The measure of a well-functioning democracy is a tax system that fairly apportions its burdens, writes Prof. Ray Madoff (Law) in an op-ed for The New York Times. She also spoke on philanthropy and donoradvised funds with “Bloomberg Markets: The Close,” The Atlantic, and New England Cable News’ “The Take.”

Assoc. Prof. Robert Murphy (Economics) weighed in on the pros and cons of secured

Nota Bene

“Unlike traditional firm- or country-level variables that directly reflect sources of risk to the economy, an investor’s risk aversion is an unobservable yet influential driver in asset price movements. To overcome this challenge, I develop a risk aversion index which is extracted from a wide set of economic and financial variables and is consistent with a dynamic asset pricing theory. This index enables us to ‘track’ timevarying risk aversion at high frequency which appears to spike during economic turmoil, like the 2008 crisis, and when pure fear arises due to non-economic traumatic events.”

–Ed Hayward, Rosanne Pellegrini and Phil Gloudemans photos by lee pellegrini

Assoc. Prof. Judith Shindul-Rothschild (CSON), former president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, appeared on New England Cable News’ “The Take” to discuss her stance on a Massachusetts ballot question that, if approved, would establish patient assignment limits for registered nurses in hospitals.

Digital tools help ensure the academic success of students who are first in their families to go to college, wrote Lynch School of Education faculty Prof. Ana M. Martinez Alemán and Assoc. Prof. Heather RowanKenyon and Ph.D. alumna Mandy SavitzRomer in an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed. Prof. Jonathan Laurence (Political Science) addressed the distinctions between English and American approaches to Islam in The Economist.

Visitors to Boston’s Old Corner Bookstore, which has four eateries on its ground floor, would never guess that it nurtured American literature, wrote Prof. Paul Lewis (English)—who advocates repurposing the site as a literary museum—in an op-ed for the Boston Globe Magazine.

Jobs

of Washington (BS); Columbia University (PhD) WHAT SHE STUDIES: Asset pricing and financial econometrics; identification of the dynamics of risk aversion (price of risk) and economic uncertainties (amount of risk) and their effects on both domestic and international asset markets.

WHAT SHE’S TEACHING: Data Analytics in Finance

You’ve developed a risk aversion index that has garnered attention from colleagues—how it can be used and what are its benefits?

and unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit in a Q&A with WalletHub.com.

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: Manager, Digital Communications, Center for Corporate Citizenship School of Theology and Ministry Professor Mary Jo Iozzio was awarded the prestigious St. Elizabeth Seton Medal

by Mt. St. Joseph University in Cincinnati. Following the award ceremony, she presented the lecture “Disability, Poverty, and the Common Good: An Imago Deiinspired Preferential Justice.”

The Seton Medal, named in honor of the founder of the Sisters of Charity, is presented annually to a woman who has made outstanding contributions to an area of theology.

Iozzio, director of STM’s Master of Theological Studies Program, focuses her teaching interests on Catholic social teaching, disability studies, theological anthropology, and bioethics/healthcare ethics. She also serves as the series editor of Content and Context in Theological Ethics. She has shared her scholarship in multiple disciplines through journal articles, essay collections, book reviews, presentations, and popular digital media.

She is the fifth Boston College faculty member to receive the Seton Medal, joining Pheme Perkins, Lisa Sowle Cahill, M. Shawn Copeland, and Mary Ann Hinsdale, IHM.

Director, Stewardship and Donor Engagement, University Advancement Assistant/Associate Director of Annual Giving, BC Law School Senior Data Analyst, University Advancement Development Assistant, Athletic Advancement, University Advancement Associate Director, Student Organizations, Student Affairs/Residential Life Web, Social Media & Events Specialist, Academic Affairs/Provost Post-Doctoral RPCA, Academic Affairs/ Provost Head Librarian, Data & Assessment Services, Academic Affairs/Provost Senior Business Intelligence Analyst/Developer, University Advancement Assistant Director, Alumni Affinity Programs, University Advancement Public Safety Dispatcher, Dining & Catering/Auxiliary/Public Safety Externships Program Director, Academic Affairs/Provost Senior Writer, University Advancement Associate Director, Church in the 21st Century Center, President’s Office

Chronicle

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October 25, 2018

BC Research

‘Seeding the Future’

Lynch School initiative for area high school teachers gets additional NSF funding

BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER

Just six months ago, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Lynch School of Education Professor G. Michael Barnett a three-year, $1.2-million grant to engage low-income high school students in a science and an emerging agricultural technology project, designed to guide them in conducting scientific research and prepare them for post-secondary scientific study.

Like a flourishing garden, the “Seeding the Future with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) Researchers Through Emerging Agricultural Technologies” program recently received a second NSF grant of $1.52 million over three years to support environmental science teachers as they guide their students through authentic science inquiry. The program launched on Sept. 1.

“Planning and performing scientific research is challenging for students and teachers alike, given its complexity and iterative nature, but learning and executing proper procedures are absolutely critical for students to fulfill the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS),” said Barnett, who explained that NGSS are research-based, K-12 science content principles developed by states to improve science education, stimulate students’ interest in science, and prepare them for college and careers.

“Our goal was to design a program where teachers and their students not only learn how to perform scientific investigations, but also understand the important role that technologies and computation play in supporting it.”

Unlike the initially NSF-funded Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program, the new award focuses on supporting teachers in their classrooms. Teachers from Boston Public

G. Michael Barnett worked with area high school students (L-R) Eduardo Aquino, Keili Ramon, Caroline Roman, and Kayson Cardoso this past summer as part of his Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program. photo by lee pellegrini

Schools and partner districts who instruct low-income students of color will be recruited to work with a hydrogel, a transparent soil that allows examination of plant roots and how their structures are affected by differing environmental conditions. Teachers will help their students to design increasingly more complex scientific investigations, utilizing state-of-the technology employed in university research labs. They also will use computational science practices to help students learn to code their systems to automate data collection, and better control variables, while simultaneously building the educators’ knowledge, confidence, and skills in using technology to support their students’ research.

In addition to Barnett, who is the principal investigator, the BC faculty leadership includes LSOE Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology Department Professor David Blustein and Senior

Research Associate Helen Zhang, a visiting research faculty member in the Lynch School and Biology Department. Assistant Professor Ludovico Cademartiri, who has led the development of hydrogel-based transparent soil for plant growth, and Ben Shapiro, assistant professor and director of the Laboratory for Playful Computation at the University of Colorado-Boulder, round out the team.

“We are very grateful to the NSF for its ongoing, generous support of this project, which will build the confidence and capacity of our partner teachers and the youth participants—most of whom are underrepresented in science—to become excited about pursuing a career in computer science or a related STEM field,” said Barnett.

Read more about the NSF grant awarded to the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program at http://bit.ly/ LSOE-seeding-the-future.

Grant Aids LSOE Science Learning Program with Children’s Theater Science educators from the Lynch School of Education have teamed up with the Watertown Children’s Theatre (WCT) at the Mosesian Center for the Arts to land a two-year, $300,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to engage local middle school students— particularly those from populations underrepresented in STEM—in sciencelearning experiences.

The students will take part in a summer program, during which they will produce 10-minute plays focused on scientific themes relevant to their lives. Participants’ science learning will continue during the school year, part of which will involve honing their productions in preparation for the Cambridge Science Festival and at other local venues where professional adult actors will perform their plays.

The innovative pilot program, which kicks-off on Nov. 1, reflects the NSF’s strategy to enhance STEM learning in informal environments.

WCT Producing Artistic Director Meghan Hill will serve as principal investigator; Lynch School of Education professors G. Michael Barnett and Belle Liang, and Senior Research Associate Helen Zhang are co-principal investigators.

The program builds off a one-act play, “The Important Thing About Earthquakes,” the first production of The Converge Theatre Project, which Barnett established to connect the WCT and faculty from LSOE and the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. The production, which debuted last spring, was supported in part by a grant from the Office of the Provost’s Research Across Disciplines and Schools program.

–Phil Gloudemans

BC Scenes

Red Bandanna Run

The 14th Red Bandanna Run took place last Saturday, the annual tribute to 9/11 hero and 1999 grad Welles Crowther. Sponsored by the University’s Volunteer and Service Learning Center, the event brought thousands of runners to the Gasson Quad, where (above) they prepared for the 5K race by, among other things, putting on red bandannas similar to those worn by Crowther. Welcoming the participants to the finish line (right) were Crowther’s parents, Alison and Jefferson, and other members of the Crowther family. Proceeds from the event support the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER HUANG