Boston College Chronicle by Boston College

The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs october 29, 2015 VOL. 23 no. 5

Law Faculty Launching Forum on Philanthropy Issues

INSIDE 2 •Jesuit Alumni Mass

•BC celebrates ties to Asia at Global Forum Nikolova says we 3 •CSOM’s don’t learn from mistakes •Veterans Day ceremony health care, 4 •Economics, women in public office on center’s agenda

•Who pays for climate change impact?

5 •Clough Ctr. to host Na-

tional Book Award finalist •Lowe is named interim director of Office for Institutional Diversity

•BC to celebrate International Education Week

6 •In this class, students do as the Romans did

•Nurse of the Year award for Sutherland •Former Dean of Students Edward Hanrahan, SJ, dies Additions; BC 7 •Welcome in the Media; Briefings Sammy Chong, SJ; 8 •Artist La Farge concert

By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

Caitlin Cunningham

•BC junior to play in Symphony Hall

Is it really named for an Irish washerwoman who donated her life savings to BC? Archivist Shelley Barber is on the case. By Reid Oslin Special to the Chronicle

Who is Margaret Ford? And why is one of Boston College’s most iconic landmarks named in her honor? Those questions have puzzled University historians, archivists, students and alumni for decades. But Shelley Barber, reference and archives specialist in the John J. Burns Library, thinks she has found at least some of the answers. Ford Tower – one of BC’s legendary “Towers on the Heights” – is located on the northeast corner of Bapst Library, where this magnificent collegiate Gothic edifice is the entryway into the University Archives in the Burns Library section of Bapst. Ford Tower is also the first example of the University’s classic architecture to welcome visitors entering the campus through Linden Lane and an elegant sentinel overlooking the Boston College Veterans Memorial Wall and the University Memorial Labyrinth. A renovation and restoration of Ford Tower’s stately stonework and lofty spires – scheduled to be completed later this fall – helped prompt Barber to engage in her research into the tower’s namesake. For years, campus legend held that Ford Tower was named to honor an Irish washerwoman who donated her life savings to the University in the 1920s to assist the completion of Bapst Library as the primary study and research facility on BC’s still-new and growing Chestnut Hill campus. That legend is not altogether wrong, asserts Barber, who has worked in the University Archives for the past 16 years, and who spent

her own time on nights and weekends researching Margaret Ford. “Margaret Ford had actually been a successful milliner [hat-maker] on Newbury Street in downtown Boston, and it looks like she had done a pretty good job in looking out for herself and her family,” Barber says. “She had made investments through a family friend that made her a very rich woman. But, by the time BC ‘met her,’ so to speak, she was elderly and was not working as a milliner.

At a time when American society has grown increasingly dependent on philanthropy to fund everything from our most fundamental needs to our highest ideals, two Boston College Law School professors have launched the Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good to examine public policy issues in charitable giving. The forum’s inaugural event took place earlier this month, in Washington, DC, where it hosted “The Rise of DonorAdvised Funds: Should Congress Respond?,” which looked at the $50-billion charitable fund sector. With support from organizations including the Ford Foundation and Carnegie Corporation, Professor of Law Ray Madoff and Adjunct Professor of Law William Bagley said the non-partisan forum will serve as a much-needed philanthropy think tank. “Philanthropy is often surrounded by a hazy glow,” said Madoff, the forum director and an expert on philanthropy and tax law, whose commentary has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio. “People assume that

Ray Madoff: “A strong and open discussion [will] strengthen the role of philanthropy in advancing the common good.”(Photo by Caitlin Cunningham)

what happens under the umbrella of philanthropy must, by its very nature, be optimally serving the public good. But sometimes the rules governing philanthropy do not produce that result.” Bringing together scholars, practitioners and policy makers, the Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good will examine whether the rules governing the philanthropic sector best serve the public good and whether Congress and regulators need to take action. Among the leading issues: •Donor-advised funds (DAFs), the fastest-growing vehicle for charitable giving, provide benefits Continued on page 3

BCSSW Assoc. Dean Champions Value of Interdisciplinary Research John J. Burns Library archivist Shelley Barber. (Photo by Gary Gilbert)

“She was, however, taking in boarders in her Back Bay home and probably did not appear to be quite as fabulous as she had been at age 45 or 50, when she would have been described as a ‘successful Boston businesswoman’ or something,” Barber says. The idea that she had boarders living in her home in her retirement likely gave rise to the story that she was a domestic servant. Barber, who often dabbles in genealogy and family histories and Continued on page 4

QUOTE:

By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

Interdisciplinary research plays an increasingly vital role in social work, so for the Boston College School of Social Work, having someone like Professor David Takeuchi around is very handy. Now in his third year as BCSSW’s inaugural associate dean for research, Takeuchi provides advice, encouragement and suggestions for resources on research-related matters to the school’s faculty members. He also helps organize events and activi-

ties that promote the value of interdisciplinary research and its relevance to social work practice and policy – including a Nov. 9 symposium with sociologist Michael Omi, author of the groundbreaking 1986 book Ra‑ cial Formation in the United States. Takeuchi also continues to build on his own impressive research resume: He was among the co-authors of a recent National Academy of Sciences study on immigrants’ adaptation to life in the United States, a report that received considerable media exposure when it was released last Continued on page 5

“It’s a proactive and constructive conference: Instead of just looking at the growing risk of climate change, we’re asking, ‘How can we pay for the losses and how can we reduce the risk?’” –BC Liberty Mutual Law Professor Patricia McCoy, page 4

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle october 29, 2015

A ROUND

C AMPUS

A SUNDAY FOR ALUMNI St. Ignatius Church was one of four focal points for the Oct. 18 Jesuit Alumni Sunday, an event organized through the USA Northeast Province of the Jesuits for alumni of Boston College and other Jesuit colleges and universities to foster a common bond. Participants attended Mass, followed by a reception that highlighted opportunities for continuing spiritual growth and service to the local and global community.

world and loses his soul in the process?” That question, Fr. O’Keefe told the congregation in St. Ignatius, is still relevant, and goes to the heart of the Jesuit educational mission. “What has our Jesuit education taught us? To make a life, not just a living; to serve more than to be served; to forgo self-centeredness to embrace the love that decenters the self; to be men and women who live not for themselves but for God and his Frank Curran

St. Ignatius Church was one of four sites for the Oct. 18 Jesuit Alumni Mass.

Lynch School of Education Professor Joseph O’Keefe, SJ, director of BC’s Center for Ignatian Spirituality, concelebrated the Mass at St. Ignatius along with Robert VerEecke, SJ, University artist-in-residence and pastor of St. Ignatius. Other Jesuit Alumni Sunday events took place in Buffalo, New York City and Woonsocket, RI. Fr. O’Keefe took note of Jesuit Alumni Sunday toward the end of his homily, during which he touched on the experiences of Jesuit founders Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, and recalled Loyola’s memorable question to Xavier, taken from the eighth chapter of Mark’s gospel: “What profit a man if he gains the whole

Christ – for Christ who lived and died for all the world; men and women with and for others; men and women who cannot even conceive of love of God which does not include love for the least of their neighbors.” Reflecting on Jesuit Alumni Sunday last week, Fr. O’Keefe said, “It was a great day, and a nice way to provide some outreach. The event was specially geared to young adults as a means to give them a sense of connection, and I think that’s something they genuinely feel. People who go to different Jesuit schools will usually say something like, ‘Well, I didn’t go to BC, but I feel like I’m in the family.’” –Sean Smith

“Selma,” the 2014 film dramatization of one of the most dramatic chapters in US civil rights history, will be screened in Higgins 310 on Nov. 5 at 5:15 p.m. Directed by Ava DuVernay, “Selma” – which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture – depicts Martin Luther King Jr.’s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. A discussion will follow; light refreshments will be served. The event is sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Committee, Film Studies Program, African and African Diaspora Studies Program, Black Faculty Staff Administrators Association and FACES. For more information, contact Susan Michalczyk at michalcz@bc.edu. 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 Photographers Gary Gilbert Lee Pellegrini

STRIKING THE BOW Accomplished violist Haesoo Yoon — a Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences junior who has an impressive musical performance background – will take the famed stage of Boston’s Symphony Hall, as a new member of the prestigious Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Under the baton of Benjamin Zander – renowned conductor of both the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and BPYO, and a guest conductor around the world – the group will perform a free, public concert on Nov. 2 in Symphony Hall at 7:30 p.m. The program includes Glinka’s “Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila,” Stravinsky’s “Violin Concerto” with violinist Ayano Ninomiya, Debussy’s “La mer” and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 5.” “To be a member of the BPYO is to be a part of an extraordinary youth symphony under the one and only maestro, Benjamin Zander,” said Yoon, an art history major and philosophy minor who joined the group this fall. “I am incredibly thrilled to play at Symphony Hall. I hope everyone can come to our free concert, be-

cause it will really be worth every second.” The BPYO’s 112 members, chosen through a highly selective audition process, range in

age from 12 to 21. They reside or attend school throughout New England, and rehearse together on Saturdays. Yoon has high praise for the conductor: “I believe one of the most unique aspects of BPYO is Mr. Zander himself. His choice of repertoire is special because unlike other youth orchestras, BPYO performs more of contemporary music – a genre that is Mr. Zander’s favorite, I think, and one that is more open to interpretation and freedom which requires more professional experience from the players. “Individuality is a common theme in BPYO under his guid-

ance, as he also conducts in a European style that encourages every individual to play freely and expressively, yet musically stay all together as an ensemble.” Yoon, who began playing the viola in second grade and is a former member of the BC Chamber Music Society, believes the BPYO will be one of her last experiences to play in a pre-professional music group. “I am so thankful for this chance to play with all the talented members who awe me every rehearsal. The members of BPYO really serve as an inspiration for me. This orchestra experience without a doubt will expand my comfort zone in the classical music.” Formed in 2012, the BPYO has established itself as a significant feature in the cultural and educational fabric of Boston and beyond, its principals note. Among its venues, the orchestra has performed at Carnegie Hall, and toured Europe last summer. For more information on the concert, visit www.bostonphil. org. –Rosanne Pellegrini

GOING GLOBAL

Boston College celebrated its ties to Asia earlier this month with the Boston College Global Forum, a series of events and activities held for alumni and friends throughout the region. A highlight of the forum was an Oct. 15 gala dinner in Hong Kong at which University President William P. Leahy, SJ, conferred the President’s Medal for Excellence to Victor and Julia Fung, parents of 1999 alumnus Stephen Fung. Victor Fung, group chairman of the Fung Group and honorary chairman of Li & Fung Limited, and his wife Julia, who serves as chair of the Fung Hon Chu Education Trust Fund, received the award in recognition of their lifelong support of education. In his presentation of the medal, Fr. Leahy – noting the long-held ties between Hong Kong and the Society of Jesus – cited the Fungs’ extraordi-

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nary leadership and expressed gratitude for all that they have accomplished in their lives, including work, family, community and service. “Gratitude is one of the great virtues in our Catholic faith,” said Fr. Leahy, “and it’s important that we as humans understand that to be grateful and to give to others is a calling that each of us has. So, gratitude to you, Julia and Victor, for what you have done and – through you – what others have been enabled to do.” [Read more about the presentation of the President’s University President William P. Leahy, SJ, presents the President’s Medal for Medal for Excellence to the Fungs at Excellence to Victor and Julia Fung. http://bit.ly/1hQGCSN] The Fungs were honored as part of the –Beth McDermott, University Boston College Global Forum on Oct. 15. Advancement (Photo by Justin Lim) 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. Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to The Boston College Chronicle, Office of News & Public Affairs, 14 Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.

A flipbook edition of Chronicle is available via e-mail. Send requests to chronicle@bc.edu.

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Chronicle october 29, 2015

Learn from Your Mistakes?

FORGET ABOUT IT!

CSOM researcher says memory doesn’t always improve decision-making By Sean Hennessey Staff Writer

of two such successes. This ease of recall makes people believe that that they are good at self-control, and are the kind of person who can resist temptations. Since people usually want to be consistent with their views of themselves, they restrain again in tempting situations in the present.” Participants asked to recall 10 successes, on the other hand, experienced difficulty in coming up with so many examples, she says, which made them conclude that

“When we have to think about our failures, that puts us in a negative mood – and research has shown that when people are in a negative mood state, they tend to indulge to make themselves feel better.”

Lee Pellegrini

Those who don’t know history, the saying goes, are doomed to repeat it. But Carroll School of Management Assistant Professor Hristina Nikolova says that even knowing your own history may not help you exercise better self-control in your decision-making. Nikolova is the lead author of a study, published recently in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, that shows the effectiveness of memory in improving the way we make decisions depends on what we recall and how easily it comes to mind. “Despite the common belief that remembering our mistakes will help us make better decisions,” says Nikolova, a faculty member in the Carroll School Marketing Department, “we actually find that thinking about our failures at self-control leads us to repeat mistakes. “For example, people often think that remembering the last time they didn’t hesitate to enjoy eating the delicious, 2,000-calorie chocolate cake will help them resist the delicious dessert menu and go for some fruits instead. However, our findings reveal that remembering such selfcontrol failures would lead people to indulge again in the present.” The first-of-its-kind study, “Haunts or Helps From the Past: Understanding the Effect of Recall on Current Self-Control,” was conducted by Nikolova with Cait Lamberton, associate professor with the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, and Kelly L. Haws, associate professor with the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. Nikolova and her colleagues believe their research could be used by marketers who seek to design programs and interventions to help people with different self-control issues, such as credit card debt and unhealthy eating. In a series of experiments conducted over four years, the authors examined how the content of consumers’ recollections – whether they focus on their past successes or failures at self-control – and the limits of their memory – whether they recall few or many such instances – affected their decisions in self-control dilemmas such as budgeting money and time, and persistence with challenging tasks. For example, participants remembered instances in which they were faced with the temptation to

splurge on an expensive but unnecessary item that they really liked, and whether they were able to successfully control their spending behavior or failed to do so. Some participants were asked to recall two such instances, while others were instructed to recall 10. Subsequently, all participants were asked to imagine they were at a shopping mall and indicate how much credit card debt they were willing to incur to buy something they had wanted for a long time,

such as a pair of shoes, a handbag, or a video game. Results revealed that participants who recalled 10 successes in self-control were willing to take on about 21 percent more credit card debt than those who recalled just two successes. Furthermore, groups of participants who recalled two or 10 failures in selfcontrol were both likely to incur as much credit card debt as those who recalled 10 successes. Nikolova says the findings reveal that consumers only show better self-control following reflection on their past under very specific conditions. And when it comes to remembering successful self-control experiences, she says, less is actually more. “When people recall two past successes at self-control, these instances come to mind easily. It is relatively easy for everyone to think

–Hristina Nikolova

they must not be good at self-control – and these participants indulged more than those who recalled only two successes. Individuals who remember failed attempts at self-control, meanwhile, are more likely to repeat them. The authors found that participants who recalled self-control failures engaged in equivalent levels of indulgence regardless of whether they recalled few or many such instances. The influence of mood on memory also might be a factor in our everyday self-control, Nikolova adds. “When we have to think about our failures, that puts us in a negative mood – and research has shown that when people are in a negative mood state, they tend to indulge to make themselves feel better.” Contact Sean Hennessey at sean.hennessey@bc.edu

Author Ta-Nehisi Coates spoke to a packed house in Gasson 100 on Oct. 21 as part of the Lowell Humanities Series. (Photo by Caitlin Cunningham)

Forum on Philanthropy Continued from page 1 to donors and sponsoring institutions, but do they also best serve the public good? •Private foundations often operate under the endowment model, paying out only income. But this model has come under criticism for what some say is an insufficient response to society’s current needs. Should the law be changed to encourage a faster payout? •University endowments have grown to unprecedented levels and play an important role in financing charitable activities. But is there a point at which bigger university endowments aren’t necessarily better for society? The Forum on Philanthropy is committed to a non-partisan approach to promote balanced discussions about philanthropy and the role of Congress in guiding how charitable dollars ultimately reach their intended beneficiaries. “There has been too little discussion and debate about these fundamental questions surrounding philanthropy,” said Madoff, the author of Immortality and the Law: the Rising Power of the Ameri‑ can Dead. “We believe that a strong and open discussion of these issues will ultimately strengthen the role of philanthropy in advancing the common good.” Additional events sponsored by the Forum on Philanthropy include Philanthropy Boot Camp for Journalists (Nov. 17, at BC Law

School), at which leading philanthropy and public policy experts will help journalists navigate the complex web of rules that define the way the philanthropic sector operates; and Giving in Time: Perpetuity, Limited Life, and the Responsibility of Philanthropy to the Present and the Future (in April, at Stanford University’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society), a conference that will explore research on a range of issues, including questions regarding the lifespan of foundations and the relative moral demands of the present and future on our philanthropic resources. A diverse consortium of funders, including large and small public and private foundations, supports the work of the Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good, including the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, David Bohnett Foundation, Barr Foundation, Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Foundation Inc., Chicago Community Trust, Andrea & Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, and the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. For more information about the Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good, see http://bit. ly/1PASHdj. Contact Ed Hayward at ed.hayward@bc.edu

Retired Gen. Hammond to Speak at Veterans Day Event Retired US Army Brigadier General Jack Hammond, whose 30-year military career included service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and support operations in post-Katrina New Orleans, will be the guest speaker at the annual Boston College Veterans Day Mass and Remembrance Ceremony on Nov. 11. Hammond, now the executive director of the Red Sox Foundation Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, will give his talk at 11 a.m. at the BC Veterans Memorial on Bapst Lawn, following the 9:30 a.m. Mass. A Reading, Mass., native, Hammond simultaneously commanded two battalions in Iraq in 2003. He became the first Massachusetts officer since World War II to achieve the rank of general in a combat theater in July of 2011. In Afghanistan during 2011-12, he commanded Task Force Yankee and the Kabul Base Cluster Command, and was commanding general for a multi-national security force. Task Force Yankee also was responsible for counterinsurgency, humanitarian assistance and area support for US forces in Kabul province.

In 2006, Hammond was deployed to New Orleans, where he served as the chief of staff for Massachusetts Joint Force Headquarters and oversaw operational readiness and strategic planning efforts for the Massachusetts National Guard in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In September of 2012, Hammond was named executive director of the Home Base Program, the first program of its kind to provide clinical care, community education and research in support of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and families affected by post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. Hammond and his wife, Colleen, a Lahey Medical Center transplant nurse, are co-founders of the Cystinosis Research Network, a nonprofit which promotes support, research, family assistance and medical education about cystinosis, a rare metabolic disease. The Veterans Day Mass and Remembrance Ceremony is co-sponsored by the Boston College Alumni Association, the Human Resources Department and BC’s Army ROTC unit. –Office of News & Public Affairs

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle october 29, 2015

Rappaport Center Events Tackle Major Policy Issues By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

Some of the most contentious policy issues of the day are among the featured topics of this semester’s Distinguished Public Policy Series sponsored by the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy at Boston College Law School. Economic development, health care, women in public office, and changes in the legal field will be addressed by the speakers and forums offered by the center, which moved to BC Law earlier this year as a result of a $7.53 million gift from the Phyllis & Jerome Rappaport Foundation. There are four events remaining this semester, many of which take place at the law school on the Newton Campus; others take place in Boston-area locations. All are open to the BC community. “We’re hoping to raise dynamic conversations that have public policy implications on big issues that affect Boston and Massachusetts – economic development, healthcare, criminal justice, women in politics and public service,” said Executive Director Elizabeth J. Medvedow. “We want to showcase the perspectives of practitioners and scholars, and engage decision makers in these conversations to bring issues forward for the good of the city and the Commonwealth.” The center will hold its ceremonial kick-off event Nov. 6, when former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift and former lieutenant governors Kerry Healey and Evelyn Murphy headline a discussion titled “Breaking Barriers: Gender Politics in Government,” at 3:30 p.m. at the Law School. US Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) will moderate. Additional upcoming speakers include Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman on Nov. 9, and former US Attorney for Massachusetts Donald Stern on Nov. 12, as well as BC Law faculty including Professor Mary Bilder on Dec. 8. Earlier speakers in the series included former Massachusetts attorneys general Scott Harshbarger and

Martha Coakley. “We have exciting speakers addressing dynamic, provocative issues,” said Medvedow. “These are open to the BC Law community, but also faculty and students from BC’s undergraduate and graduate programs. We hope people will join us to discuss these special topics we’re presenting and be inspired to be leaders in public policy.” Earlier this month, the center presented “Beyond Obamacare: Moving from Access to Cost Containment,” and on Sept. 30, “The Impact of Transit on Economic Development in Dudley Square,” in the square’s Roxbury neighborhood, with Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack and Boston’s Chief of Economic Development John Barros, as well as neighborhood business and nonprofit leaders. The speakers and panels are just one aspect of the Rappaport Center’s mission to provide educational programs, career mentoring and financial support to law students interested in government and public policy. The center, which began its work in 2000, is home to the popular Rappaport Fellows Program in Law and Public Policy, which provides 12 paid summer internships to talented law students from seven Greater Boston law schools interested in public service. The Rappaport Center’s faculty director, Professor of Law Michael Cassidy, said the forum series supports the education of BC Law students and builds on the school’s tradition of service to the Greater Boston region. “I view our mission as two-fold: one is to inspire law students to go into public service,” said Cassidy. “The other is to create a venue for conversations between academics and policy makers to help solve pressing public problems. We want the forums to bring these two groups together to create solutions together.” For more information about the Rappaport Center for Law and Pub‑ lic Policy, see www.bc.edu/schools/law/ rappaport.

Jack Joyce ’61, MBA ’70 (left) and other founding directors of the Boston College Club hosted a luncheon recently to thank retiring University Financial Vice President and Treasurer Peter McKenzie for his work in establishing the club.

Archivist Seeks to Solve Ford Tower Question

Continued from page 1 admits to having a special interest in 19th-century Boston history, researched a number of women named Margaret Ford who lived in the city at that time. She zeroed in on a young immigrant from New Brunswick, Canada, who had grown up in Lowell and then moved to Boston to open her own millinery shop, which proved to be quite successful. “There was a lot of fundraising going on at BC in those days and a lot of people gave money to the school,” Barber adds. “Margaret attended the Immaculate Conception Church in the South End, which was not a parish church, but was staffed by Jesuit priests. She does not seem to have a relative who attended BC or have some of the other tie-ins that you might normally expect.” Barber was able to pinpoint this Margaret Ford’s date of death in 1926, and she petitioned for a copy of Ford’s will in Suffolk Probate Court. When Barber received the document, the mystery was pretty much solved. “That was the clincher,” Barber said, noting that Margaret Ford left about $18,000 cash and a large portfolio of stocks to BC – enough for the University to complete the construction of Bapst, which opened in 1928. “That was a pretty good amount of money in those days. If she had lived a little longer she

your name on a plaque.’ Most of those names are on a plaque still in the library, but her name is not there. I have not found direct evidence that BC got the money – she left it in the will and they named the tower after her, so you have to assume that BC actually got the money. But I never found anything in the “We have a beauti- trustees’ records about ful building with them getting it. You can find evidence of BC rea fabulous tower ceiving the money in just about every other and it’s named case. after a woman that “I thought that it was a really neat story, nobody knew anywith all the little pieces thing about.” of it, and the fact that –Shelley Barber there still is some mystery around it,” Barber says. “We have a beautiful building relatives – also named Margaret Ford – to then-University President James with a fabulous tower and it’s named after a woman that nobody knew H. Dolan, SJ. “When I went looking for clues, anything about,” Barber adds. “And there was one letter in Fr. Dolan’s what was said about her seemed to papers that said ‘I am writing to diminish her in some ways. It’s not you about my late cousin, Margaret that there is anything the matter with Ford, and that you are going to bring being a washerwoman, but the fact the matter up with the Board of that it was all anyone could say – and Trustees.’ We don’t know what her it seemed like guesswork – was really question was,” Barber says, “but it aggravating to me. “There’s not much on this cammight have been about the naming pus named after women. It seemed of the tower. “Back in that time period, if any- like a fairly important thing and one gave BC over a thousand dollars somehow we had lost track of it.” they would say, ‘We’re going to put might have lost it in the [1929] stock market crash and BC might not have gotten it.” Barber is not sure if BC ever did get the money from Ford’s will, since there is no record of the cash ever having been received. She did discover correspondence from one of Ford’s

Forum to Examine Costs of Climate Change

Climate change has been associated with extreme droughts, floods, super storms, rising sea levels – and significant financial costs, most of which are borne by the victims of these disasters. Now, an upcoming symposium at Boston College Law School will examine the question of who should pay for climate changerelated losses, and whether the insurance industry has a role in helping prevent some of the damage. “Who Will Pay: The Public & Private Insurance Implications of Climate Change’s Drastic Challenges,” which takes place Nov. 5 from 10:15 a.m.-5 p.m. in East Wing 120, will feature two panel discussions and a keynote address by Michael Gerrard, director of Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. The symposium is being presented by the BC Environmental Affairs Law Review. “Pope Francis has spoken of how urgent the challenge of climate change is, and our conference fits into the theme of his encyclical by exploring how we can devise solutions to the issues climate change poses,” says BC Liberty Mutual Law Professor Patricia McCoy, an insurance law expert who is co-organizer of the event. “It’s a proactive and constructive conference: Instead of just looking at the growing risk of

climate change, we’re asking, ‘How can we pay for the losses and how can we reduce the risk?’ This is not talked about much in climate change debates, but the role of finance is going to be really important.” Symposium topics include: balancing risk, equity, and justice in coastal communities; specific impacts of climate change; insurance issues raised by climate change-induced drought; climate change and federal crop insurance; the unidentified problem of municipal risk management; reinsurance and climate change; and lessons for structuring insurance for properties facing progressive climate risk. While the conference’s main focus is on the United States, the global dimensions of climate change also will be on the agenda. Two speakers will discuss China, which has serious climate change challenges but a very different political system than that of the US. In addition, a World Bank official will speak on the impact of climate change on poor countries, which will need help from international organizations and possibly the capital markets. McCoy says the role of private insurers in encouraging pro-active measures against climate change effects is an intriguing one. She notes that some insurers require ocean-

front property owners to jack up their houses and put them on stilts to protect against flood damage as a condition of homeowners insurance. If insurers don’t provide that kind of impetus, she asks, what happens if the public sector fails to take initiative? Another question, McCoy adds, is whether the private insurance industry is equipped to pay the bulk of climate change losses. “Sometimes private insurers can bear climate change risk but in other situations it’s difficult for them to do so profitably. That suggests there will be a continuing need for government insurance to fill the gap.” Her co-organizer, Law Professor Zygmunt Plater, agrees: “Smalltown and large-city governments have to start thinking, ‘How do we adapt to the inevitable? How do we prevent future development from multiplying the problem rather than mitigating the problem?’ We are on the edge of a major societal initiative that will be forced on us. We can’t wait for the politicians.” For registration information and other details about “Who Will Pay: The Public & Private Insurance Implications of Climate Change’s Drastic Challenges,” see http://bit. ly/1MJijyH. –Sean Hennessey

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle october 29, 2015

Advocating for Interdisciplinary Research Clough Center to Welcome Continued from page 1 month. He received the American Sociological Association’s Leonard Pearlin Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Sociology of Mental Health and won election as ASA secretary-elect (2015-16) and secretary (2016-18). As associate dean for research, Takeuchi – a former faculty member and associate dean for research at the University of WashingtonSeattle School of Social Work and Department of Sociology – says his responsibility is “to understand where junior faculty want to go in their research, and to remove the obstacles so they’ll get there. Promoting their research is not very difficult: What they’re doing is enormously interesting, with implications for – or direct links to – major policy issues.” While he fills a role as mentor in addition to that of researcher, Takeuchi says that, for him, working at BCSSW is a window unto new experiences and ideas such as Scott Easton’s investigation into the long-term consequences of sexual abuse in childhood; Stephanie Berzin’s research on fostering social innovations among federal agencies and community programs; Jessica Black’s exploration of connections between social work and neuroscience to aid at-risk children; and the collaboration between Summer Hawkins and the Connell School of Nursing’s Melissa Sutherland on a global public health program. “I really value what we have in the School of Social Work, and at BC,” says Takeuchi, who is also the inaugural BCSSW Dorothy Book Scholar. “It’s very exciting to see people from different perspectives put their expertise together – and show the impact social work can have on some of the most pressing issues of our day.” Sometimes, Takeuchi says, opportunities to examine the scope and effect of research spring from unlikely circumstances – and the Nov. 9 Omi lecture is an example. The idea came about from a series of seminars with BCSSW doctoral students interested in issues of race, ethnicity and immigration. The students speculated as to how Omi would address such issues, he says, “so we wound up inviting him to come do that.” Omi’s talk, “Racial Formation and the Future of Racial Theory,” will take place at 5 p.m. in McGuinn Auditorium. The event, part of the City Awake Boston festival, is sponsored by BCSSW and the school’s Center for Social Innovation along with the African and African Diaspora Studies Program, Asian and Asian American Studies Program, Asian Pacific Islanders Employees Association, Lynch School of Education and Sociology

Department. Omi’s work, according to Takeuchi, “allows us to talk about race in a more complex, nuanced way, rather than as something that is ‘fixed’ from birth to death. He enables people from different fields – social work, sociology, education, health and the behavioral sciences – to see race and racial categories as changing over time, and to view race not only in terms of social

though their well-being declines in the areas of health, crime, and some family patterns. Of particular interest to Takeuchi were the health-related findings: Immigrants are less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and all cancers, and they experience fewer chronic health conditions, have lower infant mortality and obesity rates, and a longer life expectancy. However, over time and gen-

“It’s very exciting to see people from different perspectives put their expertise together – and show the impact social work can have on some of the most pressing issues of our day.” –David Takeuchi Lee Pellegrini

discourse but also political activity.” Omi will talk about the new edition of Racial Formation and also consider contemporary events – including national controversies on race and immigration over the past year – in the context of racial formation theory. As a researcher interested in the association between race, ethnicity and socio-economic status with health and health care – and a key architect of one of the most comprehensive studies of Latinos and Asian Americans ever conducted – Takeuchi was a natural fit for the National Academy of Sciences study on immigrant integration. Contrary to concerns voiced in media and political circles, the study painted a generally positive picture of immigrants’ adaptation to life in the US. Takeuchi and his 16 co-researchers found that as immigrants – documented or undocumented – and their descendants become integrated into US society, many aspects of their lives improve, including educational attainment, income and language ability, alThese students from the St. Columbkille Partnership School of Brighton took part in the closing ceremonies for Hispanic Heritage Month at Boston College, held Oct. 16 in Gasson 100. (Photo by Duncan Johnson)

erations, these advantages decline as their health status converges with that of the native-born population. “Where immigrants fare poorly is in gaining access to care, and receiving quality care,” says Takeuchi. “This has been evident for the past few decades and will continue to be so, especially given that the Affordable Care Act excludes undocumented immigrants. “Overall, however, the study confirms that immigrants make a contribution to health care, and to the workforce, as well as to the tax system that funds health care programs.” [The study is available at http:// bit.ly/1PAL074] Takeuchi says the NAS study exemplifies the kind of research experience he encourages for his colleagues: “You have a rare opportunity to work with people you may only know about through publications or journals. This experience validates what BCSSW has done in bringing disciplines together to study vital issues.”

Book Award Finalist Johnson It’s a pretty good dose of literary luck for a university to host not one, but two current National Book Award finalists, and within only a few weeks of one another. Last week, Ta-Nehisi Coates (Be‑ tween the World and Me) spoke at Boston College’s Lowell Humanities Series, [see page 3 photo] and on Nov. 12 Adam Johnson (Fortune Smiles) will be part of a distinguished panel for “Authority and Authoritarianism in Fiction and Politics,” sponsored by BC’s Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy. The event, part of the Clough Center’s Arts and the Culture of Democracy Lecture Series, will take place at 6 p.m. in Devlin 101. Joining Johnson – the 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner in fiction – on the panel will be acclaimed novelist Gish Jen, author of Typical American, The Love Wife and Tiger Writing: Art, Culture and the Interdependent Self;

poet Edward Hirsch, a National Book Critics Award winner; and BC Professor of English Elizabeth Graver, a novelist whose The End of the Point was long-listed for the 2013 National Book Award in fiction and selected as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. According to the Clough Center, the discussion will explore how “the authoritative and the authoritarian in literature and law rely on narratives for their claims to legitimacy”; in this scenario, the writer uses language “that creates a community of discourse, and offers the reader a place from which to observe and judge the world itself. What stories are we telling in 21st-century fiction and politics? What stories are not being told?” For more on the event and speakers, and on the Arts and the Culture of Democracy series, see http://bit. ly/1RNco03. –Sean Smith

Lowe Appointed Interim Head of Office for Institutional Diversity Patricia Lowe, senior human resources officer in the Employment Division of the Department of Human Resources, has been named interim executive director of the Office for Institutional Diversity, effective Nov. 1. In this role she will oversee the University’s inclusion and diversity efforts, while directing an office that helps to foster a supportive working and learning environment for all members of the Boston College community. In particular, Lowe will be responsible for coordinating the University’s compliance efforts under state and federal law, including Title IX and ADA compliance. “As a respected employee and alumna of Boston College, and an attorney, Patricia Lowe possesses the

experience needed to guide the Office for Institutional Diversity in the wake of Richard Jefferson’s recent retirement,” said Vice President for Human Resources David Trainor. “I look forward to working with her in the coming months in this important area.” The Office of Institutional Diversity was established in 2004 as the successor to the Office of Affirmative Action. The office develops policy statements and progress and performance reports, identifies deficiencies and offers problem-solving assistance on matters of diversity and inclusion. In conjunction with BC’s Office of Employment Development, it also conducts seminars, programs and activities that advance the University’s diversity agenda. –Office of News & Public Affairs

International Education Week Nov. 9-20 Boston College’s observance of International Education Week — a nationwide initiative with the goal of fostering international education — from Nov. 9-20 will be centered on the theme “A World on the Move: Who Are We and Where Are We Going?” IEW organizers say the theme will set the stage for a broad campus conversation among faculty, students and staff on interrelated topics including displacement, immigration, migration, and refugees, among others. Other events will showcase aspects of BC’s international programs and activities. Highlights of IEW include: a panel discussion on teaching opportunities abroad; a screening of a documentary on the immigrant experiences of BC employees, and a follow-up Q&A with some of the film’s subjects; a presentation on study-abroad scholarship and grant opportunities with BC students; a conference on “Media, Freedom of the Press and Democracy in the Middle East”; a panel discussion on the legal, ethical and practical dilemmas facing Syrian refugees; a forum with BC faculty members on how immigrants have transformed the Boston area; an international fashion show; and a presentation highlighting local support services for area refugees and immigrants. International Education Week is a collaborative effort organized by a wide array of University departments and offices, under the direction of the Office of International Students and Scholars and the Office of International Programs. See www.bc.edu/offices/international//events/iew2015. ‑Office of News & Public Affairs

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle october 29, 2015

Making a Spectacle, and Making Sense, of Ancient Rome In Christopher Polt’s class, students bring Roman culture to life By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

The Stokes Hall amphitheater is a popular campus spot for al fresco studying, socializing, snacking, and occasionally, for a musical or theatrical performance. Earlier this month, the amphitheater was the venue for something a little different: a chariot race. Well, sort of. The “chariots” were actually cardboard boxes that were worn, rather than ridden, by the competitors, who – instead of horses – used their own feet to propel themselves around the “track.” But this wasn’t some spur-ofthe-moment activity concocted by students at loose ends: It was a project for the Roman Spectacles undergraduate class taught by Assistant Professor of Classical Studies Christopher Polt. Polt’s course examines Ancient Rome’s penchant for public spectacles – theatrical shows, gladiatorial combats, military parades, animal hunts, funeral processions, even ritual sacrifices and Christian martyrdoms, as well as chariot races – and the role such events played in Roman society and culture. While Roman spectacles have been a staple in popular media over the years – from “Ben Hur” to “Star Trek” to Monty Python – Polt says his course seeks a deeper understanding of such events, from a perspective less focused on Rome’s political, social or artistic elites, and more from the viewpoint of every-

day citizens. “What I want students to pay attention to is, who produced these spectacles, and why?” he explains. “What benefits did they get from doing so, whether real or intangible? How did the spectators respond to and participate in the events? And most of all, how did these spectacles reinforce or challenge the social norms and traditional values – for individuals and for society at large?” Such questions, Polt adds, are equally relevant in considering latterday versions of spectacles, like the Super Bowl or blockbuster movies. “The culture of Ancient Rome was different from ours, obviously, but the manner in which spectacles promote common values and beliefs is similar in many respects. And there was a lot of concern voiced back then about the arena or the circus as ‘a debauched place’ that would foster immorality. So the conversation about violence or other negative aspects in popular entertainment that we’re having today is not a new one; they had it centuries ago.” Rather than rely on lectures or readings, Polt has his Roman Spectacles students immerse themselves into the subject matter. Earlier this semester, he assigned the class to adapt and stage scenes from a comedy, “Curculio,” by Plautus. Besides fashioning costumes, scenery and props – however minimalist – students also had to make masks, which actors in Ancient Rome typically wore during performances, Polt notes: This necessitated them to rely more on voice, gestures, movements and body language to effectively communicate emotions and nuances.

Sutherland Wins Nurse of Year Honor Connell School of Nursing Associate Professor Melissa Sutherland has been named a 2015 Nurse of the Year by the Massachusetts Chapter of the March of Dimes. Sutherland was honored in the category of Community and Public Health. Nurse of the Year awards recognize distinguished nurses for their outstanding contributions to health care in Massachusetts. Sutherland received the distinction this month at a ceremony in Boston. “I am honored to have won a March of Dimes Nurse of the Year award,” said Sutherland, a family nurse practitioner. “Each of this year’s finalLee Pellegrini ists made incredible contributions to the lives of women and babies. A special thank-you to those who nominated me and those who have supported my work to improve health outcomes.” Sutherland’s research is on interpersonal violence and its influence on health outcomes among adolescent and young adult women. She is leading a study, funded by the National Institute of Health’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which is looking at violence screening in college health centers. Her work has been published in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing. Among the courses she has taught is Public Health in a Global Society, in collaboration with BC School of Social Work’s Summer Hawkins, an offering in BC’s Global Public Health program, an interdisciplinary undergraduate initiative. –Kathleen Sullivan

“I wanted the students to have a sense of what went into these productions by putting themselves in there, to be thoughtful and make decisions about how to meet the criteria.”

man Gerardo Martinez Cordeiro, who had to plan the event’s itinerary, provide food and programs for the spectators, build the chariot for his team’s contestant, and even construct an obelix (like the chariots,

person or entity who is willing to spend the time, effort and resources to provide some sort of entertainment for the people – whatever the ulterior motives may be.” The students also staged a mili-

Assignments in the Roman Spectacles class have included recreating a chariot race, above, and staging scenes from an Ancient Roman comedy. (Photos by Christopher Huang and Sean Smith)

Similarly, Polt had the students assume specific roles and tasks associated with staging an Ancient Romestyle chariot race. In addition to the four contestants, the event featured two race officials; a herald who served as the Ancient Rome equivalent of a public address announcer; and – perhaps most importantly – the sponsor for the event. The remaining students were the spectators, whose loyalties were divided among, and represented by, the respective colors of the four racers: red, blue, white and green. The event began with a procession of the contestants, officials and sponsor, and included what might be called “half-time entertainment” between the heats: a marching exhibition, and an animal hunt – in this case a teddy bear conveyed by one of the race officials (the teddy bear met its doom in less than five minutes). The sponsor’s role fell to fresh-

it was made of cardboard) as the centerpiece of the race track. But, as Cordeiro explains, he also had to assume the mien of a generous sponsor. “I was the guy who sat in the middle of the stands and at the very front so those in attendance – those enjoying my sponsorship – could see me. This was a display of wealth, power and generosity and I had to present that.” Cordeiro found no shortage of modern-day parallels on which to model his character: “Politicians in rallies and galas, and in the way they display their love for the people; celebrities and professional athletes who throw parties or charitable events, especially when open to the public; private and public corporations when they sponsor sports tournaments or have other athletic competitions like the Olympics, the World Cup, or March Madness. “We pretty much see this in any

tary parade and reenacted a wedding this month. Max de la Rosa, a junior history major who played the herald to Cordeiro’s sponsor (“I tried to convey the best qualities and nobleness of my ‘employer’”), has greatly enjoyed Polt’s class. “I am of the opinion that we can always learn from the past. I am continuously surprised how similar Roman and American cultures are to each other – how extravagant, lavish, and at times gaudy each can be, for example. We might not watch murder happen before our eyes like in Ancient Rome’s gladiatorial battles, but our athletes are no less than what gladiators were in Rome. “This similarity between the ancient world and our world is absolutely fascinating to me.” Contact Sean Smith at sean.smith@bc.edu

obituary

Fr. Hanrahan, 89; Former Dean of Students Edward J. Hanrahan, SJ, who served as dean of students and director of the Office of Resident Students at Boston College from 196486, died at Campion Center in Weston on Oct. 21. He was 89. The wake will be held today from 3-5 p.m. at Campion Center in Weston. The funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday at 10 a.m. Fr. Hanrahan came to BC as the University was transforming itself from a mostly commuter school into one with a largely residential student body. He oversaw all housing and disciplinary matters, created a handbook of student discipline and, colleagues said, learned through experience how to deal with the often challenging issues of the 1960s and ’70s. Part of his legend, colleagues said,

was an uncanny ability to turn up at just the place on campus where problems were about to occur. He left the dean of students’ position in 1986 and became a special assistant in the BC Development Office, where he assisted University fundraising efforts – he is said to have found a natural client base in alumni who had passed through his disciplinary procedures but remembered him fondly. A native of West Somerville and the son of Irish immigrants, Fr. Hanrahan grew up during the Great Depression – as an adult, he would recall spending hours talking with the unemployed men working in the government-sponsored Civilian Conservation Corps about their backgrounds, educations, and the careers they were planning. After graduating high school, he

enlisted in the Army, serving in the field artillery in France and Germany during the final months of the war. Discharged in 1946, he worked in the Somerville Post Office for a year, and then attended Newman Prep in Boston to prepare himself for Boston College. It was there, fellow Jesuits said, that he thought about becoming a priest. In addition to his position in Development, Fr. Hanrahan worked in various pastoral ministries while living in the Jesuit Community at Boston College until 2008, when he moved to Campion Center. Although his health occasionally suffered, he remained an active part of the community, enjoying visits from old friends and graduates he had known as students. –Office of News & Public Affairs Read the full obituary at http://bit. ly/1GDgeaG

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle october 29, 2015

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

Mattia Acetoso

Assistant Professor of Italian Romance Languages and Literatures Department Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences

DEGREES: Yale University (MA, MPhil, PhD); University of Bologna, Italy (BA) WHAT HE STUDIES: 20th-century Italian literature, poetry and poetics, Italian contemporary cinema, European romanticism, history of opera and opera librettos, theory of translation digital humanities WHAT HE TEACHES: Italian Conversation, Composition and Reading, Calvino’s Worlds; graduate seminar on the Italian novel of the 20th century (spring) You are managing editor of, and a faculty advisor to, the department’s online graduate journal, Romance eReview. How is the journal an important component of students’ scholarly development? “Romance eReview is a peer-reviewed graduate online journal that aims to revive the legacy of Romance Review [1989-2007], the discontinued graduate publication of Romance Languages and Literatures. We wish to create a dialogue among the languages and national literary traditions within our department and display the intellectual liveliness of our graduate program. Our ultimate goal is to give our students a unique opportunity to practice their writing and fine-tune their critical reading skills, while offering them a venue to showcase their best work and prepare them for the challenges that await them in today’s academia.” Photos by Lee Pellegrini

André Brouillette, SJ

Assistant Professor of Systematic and Spiritual Theology Director, Licentiate in Sacred Theology program School of Theology and Ministry

DEGREES: Centre Sèvres, Paris (BPh); University of Montreal (MA); University of Toronto (MA); Weston Jesuit School of Theology (MDiv); Boston College (STL); Institut Catholique de Paris (STD); Université Laval, Quebec (PhD) WHAT HE STUDIES: Systematic and spiritual theology, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries; theology of pilgrimage; St. Teresa of Avila WHAT HE TEACHES: Exploring Salvation; Ignatius the Theologian; The Jesuits in the Modern Church; Fundamental Theology You’re a native Canadian who’s studied in Europe and taught in Haiti. What impact have your international experiences had on you? “Living, studying and working abroad taught me many things: the richness of cultural diversity, which goes beyond linguistic differences, the importance of respecting and not judging too quickly another culture, human skills of adaptability (working with a cardinal one day, and in an African refugee camp another day), and also a special care for those who are ‘different’ (and I’m reminded daily that I’m part of an audible minority in Boston, as a French-speaking Canadian).”

Aeron Hunt

Assistant Professor of English Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences

DEGREES: University of Toronto (BA); University of Chicago (PhD) WHAT SHE STUDIES: Victorian literature and culture, with particular interest in the relationship of literature and economic life, the novel, Victorian popular and mass culture, and gender and sexuality studies. WHAT SHE TEACHES: Victorian Inequality, The Literature of Service; Studies in Narrative, Gender and Sexuality in Victorian Literature (spring) Your current research focuses on the figure of the veteran in Victorian literature and culture. What parallels do you see with modern portrayals? “It’s not perfectly parallel to our experience this last decade-and-a-half, but British Victorian writers also lived at a time marked by nearly constant military engagement, albeit on smaller and larger scales. Victorian literature frequently represents veterans in terms of service and work — much less through the lens of psychological or even physical trauma. Trauma rightly claims our attention today (and no doubt it should claim even more). But I think recapturing those other Victorian stories about coming home after military service may open up important ways for us to consider questions of social responsibility and welfare that also have proven hard to grapple with.”

Yajun Mo

Assistant Professor of History Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences DEGREES: Fudan University (BA); Chinese University of Hong Kong (M.Phil.); University of California-Santa Cruz (Master’s, PhD) WHAT SHE STUDIES: Modern China/East Asia, Chinese social and cultural history; history travel and tourism; history of photography; women’s and gender history WHAT SHE TEACHES: Asia in the World (Part 1); Modern China and Women and Gender in Modern China seminar (spring) What are some important insights you’ve gained from studying China’s travel and tourism industry? “One of the key questions I want to answer in my research is why present-day China took the shape it did. Today’s China has inherited much of its geographical contour from the Qing empire (1644-1911). By focusing on travel culture and tourism in the first half of the 20th century, I want to show how the consciousness of the oneness of China was negotiated and maintained through tourism business and travel writing even as the country remained fragmented, both politically and territorially, after the fall of the Qing.”

–Rosanne Pellegrini, Kathleen Sullivan and Sean Smith

Today’s American dream doesn’t export as well as the original, wrote College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program Visiting Associate Professor Martha Bayles in a piece for The Atlantic.

Asst. Prof. Peter Krause (Political Science) was a guest on “WBZ Nightside with Dan Rea,” where he discussed the merits of establishing a no-fly zone to deal with the conflict in Syria.

Center for Irish Programs Executive Director Prof. Oliver Rafferty, SJ (History), offered comments to the Boston Herald on the extradition hearing in Boston for David Drumm, former CEO of the bank at the center of Ireland’s economic crash, who faces multiple criminal charges.

With the influx of Syrian refugees into European Union countries continuing, Asst. Prof. Mathis Wagner (Economics) – in a piece for The Conversation – looked at the im-

Assoc. Prof. of the Practice Richard McGowan, SJ (CSOM), spoke with Bloomberg News and The Boston Globe about the controversy over the legal foundations of the fantasy sports industry and its business practices. Prof. Emeritus Harvey D. Egan, SJ (Theology), presented the lecture “Soundings in the Christian Mystical Tradition,” at Glastonbury Abbey. Assoc. Prof. of the Practice Michael C. Keith (Communication) was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in fiction by the Boston Liter‑ ary Magazine and in creative nonfiction by the Lowestoft Chronicle. Prof. Maxim D. Shrayer (Slavic and Eastern Languages and Literatures) presented “Soviet Poetry

pact in Turkey, which has borne the brunt of the crisis since the Syrian civil war began. In an interview with Panorama Magazine’s “Boston Guide,” McMullen Museum Director and Professor of Art History Nancy Netzer discussed the stained glass works at the center of the current museum exhibition, “John La Farge and the Recovery of the Sacred.”

EXPERT OPINION Law School Associate Professor Sharon Beckman on the federal overhaul of sentencing guidelines: “It’s shocking that a country founded on principles of liberty and equality imprisons 2.3 million of its people, mostly the poor and people of color, and does so at the cost of $80 billion dollars per year. Reducing America’s use of mass incarceration of nonviolent offenders is a no-brainer and an important first step, but being smart on crime requires more. It requires taking some of that $80 billion and spending it on education, jobs, mental health, and substance use treatment. That would help revitalize America’s communities and keep them safe.”

and the Legacy of Bearing Witness to the Shoah” at the Ninth International Council for Central

BC BRIEFING and East European Studies World Congress at Makuhari, Japan; and “Bunin and Nabokov: A History of Rivalry” at St. Petersburg State University-Vladimir Nabokov Museum, Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, Velikii

NOTA BENE The Connell School of Nursing has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Coca-Cola Company and Foundation to support the nursing school’s leadership development initiative, Keys to Inclusive Leadership in Nursing (KILN) Program. The grant will support approximately 55 KILN Scholars for the 2015-16 academic year, providing student stipends and funding for nursing exam course reviews, conference registrations and faculty mentor-student workshops. Established in 2009, KILN assists nursing students by maximizing their leadership potential, preparing them academically and professionally to provide nursing care in an increasingly multicultural society and nurturing their ability to create positive social change. “The Connell School of Nursing and KILN Scholars are grateful for the generous contribution of the Coca-Cola Company and Foundation,” said CSON Associate Professor Catherine Read, who directs the KILN program. “With this support we will be able to develop our nursing students into competent and caring nurse leaders. This grant will have a tremendous and transformative impact on our students.” “The Coca-Cola Company believes that education is one of the keys to socioeconomic development,” according to a company statement. “Support for the Boston College Connell School of Nursing’s KILN program will provide under-represented or under-resourced students with support and opportunities to maximize their leadership.” –Kathleen Sullivan

Novgorod, Russia, and Yale University. He also read as part of a “Panel with and Reading by Translingual Writers” at Writing the Stepmother Tongue: A Symposium on Translingual Literature, Amherst College. The story “Pie,” by Prof. Suzanne Matson (English), is included in Omnibus Volume 3 of the Ploughshares Solos series, published by the literary magazine Ploughshares.

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: Executive Director, Office for Institutional Diversity Assistant Director, Assignments and Occupancy, Residential Life Financial Vice President and Treasurer Assistant Director, Employer Engagement, Career Center Director of Annual Capital Projects, Facilities Management Fiscal Manager, Auxiliary Services Manager, Career Services, Carroll Graduate School of Management Associate Director, Finance and Business Operations, Center for Center Assistant Director, Core Curriculum, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Job Coach, Campus School, Lynch School of Education

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle october 29, 2015

FALL IN WITH BC SOCIAL

www.bc.edu/social Q&A with artist Sammy Chong, SJ

BC SCENES

sculptures, etchings, icons, stained glasses, and even stamps. I always felt I myself could portray him in a way that would do justice to his persona and his spiritual legacy. Ten years ago I decided to address this desire, yet the project never progressed beyond its sketching phase. I kept those drawings, which a decade later inspired the creation of “The Pilgrim” series. Even though the final project differs from its primal sketches, the

he created of “The Life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola” made an impression on me when I saw them for the first time in a book long time ago. Today, computer digital printing is continuously evolving and is intrinsic to our modern technological arsenal. To bridge the old with the new, I appropriated Rubens’ etchings and printed them on large canvas. These became the ground or surface on which I painted with oils.

stress on narrative remains. The story of Ignatius of Loyola is worth telling because he is an example to follow for anyone concerned with finding true meaning in life. Q: What artistic challenges did that “recasting” present? From the get-go I aimed to keep the past in conversation with the present and the future in this body of work. During the Renaissance, etchings became a novel visual medium in tandem with printmaking. Rubens received several commissions from the Jesuits in the early 17th century. Among them, the etchings

My painting approach also reflects the dialogue between past and present, by using traditional techniques along with compositions inspired in cinematography and graphic novels (or comic books), which are more attuned with modern sensibilities. Q: Why is this journey relevant to today’s viewers, and what do you hope they take away from the exhibit? It might sound cliché to address life as a journey, but we can only move forward, while learning from the past. It all comes down to the choices we make along the road that

Lee Pellegrini

An interdisciplinary artist who practices mainly in drawing, paint‑ ing and installation, Sammy Chong, SJ, is a visiting assistant professor in the Fine Arts Department. With an academic background in theology and philosophy, his studio practice builds on the notion of individual identity and transcendental meaning in contempo‑ rary society. He has taught courses in the his‑ tory of Christian Art, and theology and film, at Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, after which he completed the MFA program at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Fr. Chong has exhibited in the US and South America, and has a stu‑ dio in Jamaica Plain. His BC courses include Issues and Approaches to Studio Art; Drawing: Introduction to the Fig‑ ure; The Art of Portraiture; Making Art through a Spiritual Lens, and Introduction to Painting. He serves as faculty advisor to the Art Club. Fr. Chong discussed his latest work: a set of 12 paintings titled “The Pil‑ grim,” which depicts the journey of a modern man in search of his authentic self, for which he appropriates Baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens’ etchings of “The Life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola” to create a parallel narrative that fol‑ lows one’s path from self-centeredness to a man for others. The works will be on display Nov. 2 through Dec. 4 as the inaugural exhibition in the new stu‑ dent and faculty gallery in Carney 203. Q: What was your inspiration to recast Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s journey for today’s audience? Throughout my Jesuit formation I saw many visual depictions of Ignatius of Loyola in books, paintings,

determine who we are as individuals. The challenge has always been to make the right decisions. Most of the time, we are unaware that our decisions are tarnished or conditioned by economic, political, religious, family, and personal concerns. In other words, we are not free. Ignatius of Loyola is relevant because he developed a technique in The Spiritual Exercises to achieve total freedom as we orient ourselves towards a greater cause. Q: In what ways has your experience as a visiting professor at BC enriched you, both as an artist and a teacher/scholar? I have embraced the liberal arts educational nature of BC. I appreciate BC’s multidisciplinary and integrative curriculum that pursues shaping students as well-rounded human beings. From this perspective, my teaching expands beyond skills and contents pertinent to students’ careers and touches other areas such as the spiritual, social justice, the environment, and so forth. I enjoy engaging in conversation with students, especially in informal settings such as the BC Art Club or over coffee. My practice as a visual artist has been informed by being professor in and outside the classroom inasmuch as I make art that is accessible to those reflecting upon their own journeys. Q: How do you feel about your exhibit inaugurating the new Carney gallery? I am grateful to have the opportunity to display my paintings in the new Carney gallery. My students and the larger community will have their first opportunity to view and re-

FALL RUN

Soprano Charlotte de Rothschild, whose acclaimed career has taken her worldwide, will perform Nov. 5 at a concert that will serve as a complement to the McMullen Museum of Art exhibition “John La Farge and the Recovery of the Sacred.” The concert, which is free, takes place at 8 p.m. in Gasson 100. With accompaniment by pianist Adrian Farmer, “Mirages: The Light and Life of John La Farge through Music” will feature “Mirages,” a song cycle by Gabriel Fauré, and Japanese songs. As part of the performance, de Rothschild will explain her selection of each piece of music and how it ties in with the exhibition, or the life of artist La Farge. With an extensive song repertoire that spans different eras, countries and genres, de Rothschild has created many celebrated themed programs. In 2011, she performed a harp and voice program at BC, created to complement the “Making History: Antiquaries in Britain” exhibition organized by the Society of Antiquaries of London with the McMullen Museum, where it was then on display. For more information call ext.2-6004. –Office of News & Public Affairs

spond to the work. I am positive that “The Pilgrim” is a solid and sound body of work that will enlighten students, professors, administrators and others. (The Carney faculty and student gallery was created by the Arts Council and the Office of Student Involvement with the Office of Institutional Re‑ search, Planning & Assessment. Call ext.2-4935 for gallery hours.) –Rosanne Pellegrini

Photos by Peter Julian

Members and friends of the Boston College community flocked to campus Saturday for the annual Welles Crowther Red Bandanna 5K Run. The event is held in memory of 1999 alumnus Welles Crowther, who died while trying to perform rescue operations during 9/11 in New York City. See www.bc.edu/offices/service/ welles5k.html for information.

Welles Crowther’s parents, Alison and Jefferson, were on hand to encourage the participants.