Boston College Chronicle

NOVEMBER 29, 2018 VOL. 26 NO. 7

PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

A New Look for University Websites Improvements seen as strengthening outreach, engagement with students and alumni

BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER

With this month’s launch of the School of Social Work’s new website, the University has hit a significant milestone: All of Boston College’s eight schools boast new websites, thanks to the efforts of the Office of University Communications in partnership with Information Technology Services.

The new sites feature an attractive and innovative design with vibrant video content, photo slideshows, carousels, and graphic elements. Most significantly, the new webpages are responsive, meaning

INSIDE 3 Health, Dental Rates Hold

For the second consecutive year, BC employees will see no increase in health or dental insurance premiums. The University also will introduce a vision care plan.

5 Changing Times

Gustavo Morello, S.J., leads a study on religion in Latin American life.

7 Accomplished Alum

Prominent author/sportswriter Mike Lupica ’74 came back to the Heights for a three-day residency.

12 The Season’s Upon Us

A look at holiday happenings on campus over the next few weeks.

content is viewable on desktop computers, tablets, and smart phones to accommodate the preferences and user habits of high school and college–age students. Created by a BC team using the same content management system, the pages reflect a strong and unifying Boston College brand.

“The new websites are a welcome addition to Boston College. They have significantly enhanced the University’s marketing, student recruitment, and alumni engagement efforts,” said Associate Vice President for University Communications Jack Dunn. “The web team has done outstanding work in a true partnership between the Office of University Communications, ITS, and the academic community. Their work will pay meaningful dividends to the University and its eight schools and colleges for decades to come.”

“The development and delivery of these new websites for Boston College and the schools has been successful due to the Continued on page 9

Many Voices Campus Minister for Liturgical Arts Meyer Chambers conducts the Liturgical Arts Group as they perform a song at the Boston College MultiFaith Thanksgiving Celebration, held Nov. 16. Additional photo on page 7. photo by peter julian

‘It’s Not Easy Being a Trailblazer’ Challenges complicate the ‘feel-good’ achievements of first-generation college students

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

Ask Jesse Rascon ’19 about the First Generation Club, the student organization he founded during his time at Boston College, and he’ll tell you how diverse the membership is: students of color; white students; international students; students who are the children of immigrants, or are immigrants themselves.

“We could call it ‘Little America,’” laughs Rascon, a history major with a minor in education. “In spite of our differences, we all come together.”

The tie that binds them all? They are the first in their families to attend college.

Rascon and his fellow club members collaborated with the University’s Learning to Learn Office earlier this month on a weeklong series of events to celebrate the achievements of first-generation college students at BC and elsewhere. A reception in Stokes Hall near the end of the week provided an occasion for “first-gens” past and present to reflect on their experiences, and the hard work and helping hands that made their college dreams come true.

“When we got to college, with the idea of becoming scientists, doctors, teachers, lawyers, we found people who believe in us,” said Learning to Learn Director Rossanna Contreras-Godfrey, in her welcoming remarks. “This is a chance to embrace

our tenacity and persistence, and that of our families.”

A National Center for Education Statistics study found that nearly a quarter of high school sophomores in 2002 who went on to enroll in a postsecondary institution were first-generation students. BC has enrolled an average of about 260 first-generation undergraduate students during the past five years, including 263 in this year’s freshman class; during the last decade, the percentage of first-gens in the freshman class has ranged from 9 to 11.

First-generation college students have long been the stuff of feel-good stories with classic dramatic elements: the parents’ sac-

Continued on page 8

Children don’t come to school from just the neck up; they come as whole children, but schools—which have always responded to the needs of their students—can’t do it alone.”

–Kearns Professor of Urban Education and Innovative Leadership Mary Walsh, page 4

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November 29, 2018

Around Campus

Boston College Graduation Success Rate Remains in Top 10 Nationally

Student dance groups have been holding workshops, exhibits and performances as part of the fourth annual Week of Dance. 2015 photo by christopher huang

A Grand Finale BC Week of Dance finishes up tomorrow and Saturday Jazz, tap, hip hop, salsa, swing, Irish step, and modern dance are among the range of genres that have been showcased on campus this week during Boston College’s fourth annual Week of Dance.

The culmination will be a two-night collaborative showcase with numerous student dance organizations tomorrow and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Robsham Theater Arts Center.

Presented by the Arts Council and Robsham, Week of Dance features workshops offered by student dance groups—open to all students regardless of dance experience—as well as exhibits and performances. Organizers say the week brings together the Boston College dance community and encourages the development of student dancers.

“The main goal of this annual celebration is to give the dance organizations on campus an opportunity to showcase their hard work to the entire community in a non-competitive atmosphere,” said organizer and BC Arts Council Program Administrator Tatiana Flis. “The week is an opportune way for students who aren’t familiar with the dance community to learn about each individual group, and to be ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Jack Dunn SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

inspired by the passion of dance, art, and culture.”

Participating groups include the Dance Team, Dance Ensemble, Fuego del Corazan, Dance Organization, Conspiracy Theory, BC Irish Dance, Golden Eagles Dance Team, Synergy Hip Hop Dance Company, Phaymus, Masti, FISTS (Females Incorporating Sisterhood Through Step), UPrising Dance Crew, Vida de Intensa Pasion, PATU (Presenting Africa To U), Sexual Chocolate, On Tap, and Full Swing.

The week’s workshops “build strong partnerships and create new relationships with those who are like-minded, which is vital for the exchange in conversation and craft,” according to Flis. “The students’ incredible hard work is visible in their passion and creativity.

“It is infectious when you see these groups in practice or on stage, and the support that they receive from the Boston College community is a testament to why we are celebrating the art of dance.”

Admission to the Robsham Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 dance performances is $12. For information and tickets see tinyurl.com/ ydckde3g.

—Rosanne Pellegrini

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Chronicle

PHOTOGRAPHERS

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

Sean Smith

Gary Gilbert Lee Pellegrini Peter Julian

ing, women’s swimming and diving, and women’s volleyball.

Nineteen of Boston College’s 23 athletics programs scored a GSR of 92 or better and all 23 posted an 86 or better. Twentytwo of 23 programs scored at or better than the national GSR of 88.

BC football ranked fourth in the ACC with an 88 GSR. Men’s basketball moved up four spots to seventh in the ACC and improved its GSR score 17 points to 88 this year. The men’s basketball team’s single-year improvement marked the sixth largest among Power 5 programs and third largest improvement for programs with a starting GSR of 70 or higher from a year ago.

The GSR was developed by the NCAA as part of its academic reform initiatives, which were to more accurately assess the academic success of student-athletes. Institutions are held accountable for transfer students—unlike the federal graduation rate—as well as mid-year enrollees. The GSR is calculated both overall for a university, as well as for each sport sponsored by a school.

More information about the GSR is available at NCAA.org.

—Boston College Athletics

Carroll School of Management sophomore Annabel Hodson-Walker was among those attending the 2018 Career Night for the Arts, held Nov. 7 in the McMullen Museum of Art on Brighton Campus. The annual event offers an opportunity for current Boston College students to talk and network with BC alumni in a variety of arts-related careers, including music, theater, writing, film, photography, and more. photo by yiting chen

Christine Balquist Phil Gloudemans Ed Hayward Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan

Patricia Delaney EDITOR

For the second year in a row, Boston College ranks sixth in the nation in overall Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in all sports among FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) schools.

BC boasted an overall GSR of 95, the same as a year ago, for the class of studentathletes that entered the University in 2011. Boston College’s GSR was third in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and topped only by Duke (98), Northwestern (98), Notre Dame (98), Stanford (97) and Vanderbilt (97) among FBS institutions.

Since the GSR’s inception, Boston College has earned a mark of 95 or better in all 14 GSR reports, which first date back to the class of student-athletes that entered in 1998.

The NCAA saw an increase of one percentage point from a year ago, posting an overall 88 GSR. FBS participants saw an increase to 79 percent from 78.

For the second year in a row, 13 BC teams scored a perfect 100 GSR: field hockey, men’s cross-country/track and field, men’s golf, men’s skiing, men’s tennis, women’s cross-country/track and field, women’s golf, women’s ice hockey, women’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, women’s ski-

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Chronicle

November 29, 2018

Holding Steady

3

Snapshot

‘Pride and Prejudice’

PHOTOS BY LEE PELLEGRINI

Employees’ health, dental insurance premiums will stay same again; University to offer vision care plan

BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Boston College announced this month that, for the second consecutive year, it will not raise health or dental insurance premiums for BC employees, bucking a trend of rising costs at for- and non-profit organizations nationwide.

Vice President for Human Resources David Trainor cited two factors that enabled the University to avoid raising premiums: healthier faculty and staff, and the successful management of BC’s health and wellness plans by Human Resources and Finance staff. Nationally, health insurance rates rose by an average of 4.7 percent in 2018, according to Willis Towers, a leading global human resources consulting firm.

During the past five years, costs have risen by an average of 8 percent.

“We were able to keep rates constant for a second year because our faculty and staff have been healthier, hopefully as a result of efforts to eat better, exercise, and take care of their physical, emotional, and spiritual health,” said Trainor. “Through popular HEALTHY YOU events—such as Walk Across Campus, yoga and Zumba classes in the Flynn Recreation Complex—and increased wellness programs that help our employees with issues ranging from financial preparedness to assistance with aging parents, we are helping to reduce stress and improve healthy lifestyles that benefit all BC employees.”

In addition, Trainor cited BC’s success in managing its insurance carriers as a major factor in avoiding insurance cost increases these past two years.

“As a self-insured entity, Boston College pays the majority of health and dental costs for its employees,” said Trainor. “We have made efforts to ensure that what we spend on health care benefits our employees and not our carriers’ profits—particularly in the

areas of prescription drugs. We are pleased that we have been able to keep our premium rates constant because it benefits all members of our community, especially our lowest paid employees.”

Trainor also stated that the University will offer a new vision plan in 2019 through EyeMed, which will provide assistance to faculty and staff in the purchase of eye glasses and contact lenses.

Routine eye examinations will still be covered by Harvard Pilgrim PPO and

“We were able to keep rates constant for a second year because our faculty and staff have been healthier, hopefully as a result of efforts to eat bet-

Robsham Theater presented a production of “Pride and Prejudice” Nov. 15-18. Jon Jory’s adaptation of the well-loved play based on Jane Austen’s classic 1813 novel was directed by Associate Professor of Theatre John Houchin.

ter, exercise, and take care of their physical, emotional, and spiritual health.”

–David Trainor

HMO plans, with a $25 co-pay, Trainor noted, but the EyeMed Vision Plan will cover an annual eye examination with no co-pay through participating providers.

“This new eye care benefit will be fully employee-paid, but with 3,500 employees and the relative health of our workforce, we were able to secure very favorable rates for our community,” said Trainor. “I believe people will be excited about this enhancement and the value of the benefit for all members of the BC community. I also hope that all BC employees will continue to take care of their overall health, in the hope that we can continue to achieve these cost containment successes in the years to come.”

UAW Graduate Student Union Claims Called into Question University administrators say union supporters’ petition based on misinformation University administrators have raised questions regarding the veracity of a claim made by graduate students seeking to unionize at Boston College, the latest in what administrators say is a series of false statements made to bolster support for unionization under the umbrella of the United Auto Workers.

Administrators cite a petition launched on Oct. 31 by union supporters claiming that a group of BC graduate students was disciplined for “distributing leaflets” on the BC campus. Rather, administrators say, the students were found responsible for interfering with a public event and infringing on the rights of others to hear a presenta-

tion in Robsham Theater on Sept. 27.

Dean of Students Thomas Mogan called the students in for a hearing after they disrupted an event for BC parents, who were on campus for Parents’ Weekend.

“Students cannot engage in conduct that disrupts the normal operation of an event and infringes upon individuals’ right to listen to remarks,” said Mogan. “Such behavior is in violation of the student code of conduct that pertains to all BC students.”

The union activists have been criticized by fellow graduate students for their decision to disrupt the parents’ event and to demonstrate before the Pops on the

Heights concert, the University’s annual fundraiser for financial aid for needy students. One graduate student, in a letter to the union, called its actions “completely inappropriate,” and said such measures “only subvert your goals in the eyes of most benefactors.”

The petition’s assertion, administrators said, represents the latest example in an effort by union activists to win support for their cause through a campaign of misinformation. In a letter to the BC community earlier this fall, Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley refuted several claims made by union activists and their supporters regarding stipends, health care

benefits, and parental leave.

Boston College administrators have said that they oppose graduate student unionization because it undermines the collegial, mentoring relationship among students and faculty that is the cornerstone of the graduate educational experience and a hallmark of the BC academic community. BC joins several peer institutions in this stance, including the University of Chicago and Yale University.

—University Communications For the full version of this story, see http:// bit.ly/uaw-response-nov2018.

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November 29, 2018

Guestbook Project to Mark Good Friday Agreement 20th Anniversary with a Dec. 3 Media Reception Guestbook Project—an initiative of two Boston College professors that uses the power of digital storytelling to promote peace and heal divisions—will honor the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) with a media reception on Dec. 3.

Guestbook Project will mark the landmark Northern Ireland peace accord because it was on the GFA’s 10th anniversary that the initiative was launched “to address the ongoing need to overcome cultural and religious barriers in Northern Ireland and beyond, through the exchange of stories,” says Seelig Professor of Philosophy Richard Kearney, who directs the project with Associate Professor of Studio Art Sheila Gallagher.

Its first documentary, “Beyond the Walls,” features an exchange of narratives between the divided communities of Derry/Londonderry.

“In the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, we have extended our Irish-British peace pedagogy mission to include digital exchanges between divided youths in over a dozen other countries, including India,

Seelig Professor Richard Kearney, co-director of Guestbook Project. photo by kevin sweet

South Africa, Uganda, Egypt, Israel, Peru, Brazil, the U.S., Mexico, Croatia, India, Korea, and more,” says Kearney, author of

many books on themes of narrative imagination, hospitality, and healing.

“As the current Brexit controversy reminds us, borders have become occasions of fierce contestation and are still a huge challenge in our conflicted world: from Northern Ireland to US/Mexico, Israel/ Palestine and beyond.”

The Dec. 3 press reception, which is open to invited media only, will highlight a decade of Guestbook’s international “peace pedagogy”: digital storytelling as a classroom without walls, enabling young people in divided communities to exchange perspectives by sharing old stories and inventing new ones, says Kearney.

Guestbook Project promotes innovative narrative models for advancing peace and reconciliation. Its goal is to transform hostility into hospitality, pain into peace, through creative and empathic storytelling.

Kearney will offer a special screening of Guestbook Project’s recent powerful short film, “In Peace Apart,” which features a Catholic and a Protestant student from Derry/Londonderry who exchange stories and uniforms in the historically divided

city. The documentary, viewed by more than 50,000 people online and featured in British and Irish media, exemplifies Guestbook Project’s peace mission, says Kearney: to change history by exchanging stories which foster empathy and understanding.

Its mission is to engage and educate for peace by exchanging stories across divides.

This concept and use of digital storytelling has been successfully extended and proves that personal stories can be inspirational triggers for change in divided communities, according to Kearney.

The belief is that exchanging stories is at the heart of conflict resolution. The key to mutual understanding and reconciliation is communication: an approach that supplements standard models of law, economics and politics, according to its website. Narrative exchange calls for imagination, empathy, and invention in emerging generations. If stories divide people, they also can be a powerful force of unity and mutual understanding, adds Kearney.

For more information about Guestbook Project, see www.guestbookproject.org.

–University Communications

BC Forum Lauds Benefits of Integrated Student Support

BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER

Boston College’s Center for Optimized Student Support (COSS) took a dramatic step toward leading the national discussion on integrated student support (ISS), hosting the first-ever conference focused on effective ways to improve U.S. K-12 student achievement by addressing unmet non-academic needs.

Titled “Building Systems for Academic Success: When Academics Are Not Enough,” the daylong convening, co-sponsored by the Rennie Center, drew education leaders, prominent panelists, and multistate policymakers to the Heights Room at Corcoran Commons on Nov. 13.

Over five sessions that tracked the path of ISS from its theoretical basis to implementation to policy and next steps, panelists and attendees underscored that a reduction in the achievement gap among U.S. K-12 students will only occur when non-academic factors are addressed.

“Children don’t come to school from just the neck up; they come as whole children, but schools—which have always responded to the needs of their students—can’t do it alone,” said COSS Executive Director Mary Walsh, the Daniel E. Kearns Professor of Urban Education and Innovative Leadership, during her welcoming remarks that tied improved student outcomes to the integration of education with social services, youth development programs, and health and mental health resources.

“One third of [the country’s] achievement gap is accounted for by what happens in the classroom,” said Walsh. “But twothirds are accounted for by out-of-school

Former Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville (at lectern) looked on as Washington state legislator Sharon Tomiko Santos spoke during a panel discussion at the Center for Optimized Student Support conference. State legislators Tyrone Thompson (Nevada), center, and Robert Behning (Indiana) also were on the panel. photo by lee pellegrini

challenges that children bring to school.

Why does the achievement gap continue?

We haven’t closed that gap because of poverty, significant public and mental health issues, demographic changes, the opioid epidemic, and violence in schools, neighborhoods and at home, all of which contribute to the gap’s persistence.

“To narrow the gap we need solutions that are integrated and comprehensive, that embrace the whole child. Schools and policymakers are eager for a new approach, and ISS has the potential to transform the education and development of all children.”

Kicking off the day’s first session, “Sys-

temic Challenges and Systemic Solutions,” Boisi Professor of Education and Public Policy and Education Research Henry Braun, director of BC’s Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation and Education Policy, described the devastating consequences of the technology-driven, globalized economy for many in today’s society.

“There’s substantial evidence that the current distributions of human and social capital not only contribute to the vast differences in adult life outcomes but also very strongly impact the transmission of opportunity to the next generation. In other words, social mobility is at a low; those who

are at the bottom tend to stay at the bottom and those at the top tend to stay at the top,” he noted.

“These different starting points place children on distinctly different trajectories of growth and lead to vastly different outcomes and divergent destinies. We need strong actions to counter the self-sustaining dynamics that are now driving the differences in opportunity for our children, but how can we make a difference?”

Braun advocated for a systematic, sustainable approach spanning the developmental trajectory from birth to early childhood harnessing “all the resources available in schools and the community, working together, to open the pathways of opportunity.”

Another panel discussed the increasing number of states that are considering or have embedded ISS into statewide education policy.

“We spend a fortune on education, and we owe it to taxpayers, to ourselves, and to the children to get better about the way in which we spend that money,” said panel moderator Paul Reville, professor of practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a former Massachusetts secretary of education.

Other speakers included Lynch School of Education Charles F. Donovan, S.J., Dean Stanton Wortham, who delivered an ISS-aligned message focused on formative education, the integration of education and human development. Lynch School Professor Eric Dearing and Stacey Raczek, COSS associate director of evaluation, both served as panelists, and Joan Wasser Gish, COSS director of strategic initiatives, was the fifth panel’s moderator.

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November 29, 2018

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View of a Shifting Religious Landscape A major study of how Latin Americans ‘do’ religion led by a BC sociologist finds that people seek out sacred space wherever they can—not just in a church

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

A native of Argentina, Associate Professor of Sociology Gustavo Morello, S.J., has had a front row seat as the religiosity of his fellow Latin Americans has changed during the past several decades.

As a sociologist of religion, he decided it was time to dig deeper into the shifting currents changing everyday religious practices and introducing a more diverse offering of denominations in a region that was once almost exclusively Catholic.

Through a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, Fr. Morello, the project leader, and colleagues from universities in Argentina, Peru, and Uruguay interviewed more than 250 individuals in three Latin American cities, the most widespread qualitative study of lived religion in Latin America.

During the three-year project, titled “Lived Religion in Urban Context: A Study of Contemporary Experience of the Transcendent,” researchers focused on residents of Lima, Perú; Córdoba, Argentina; and Montevideo, Uruguay.

“We wanted to find out how Latin Americans ‘do’ religion,” says Fr. Morello.

In these three cities with shifting religious landscapes and diverse cultural histories, researchers found Catholics must now share space with Protestants and non-affiliated persons, often within their families.

Latin Americans make up a more diverse religious region than ever before: 69 percent of the people in 19 South American countries identified as Catholic, while 19 percent identified as Protestant and eight percent as unaffiliated, according to a 2014 Pew Research Forum study.

Fr. Morello and colleagues Nestor Da Costa of the Catholic University of Uruguay, Catalina Romero of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, and Hugo Rabbia of the Council of National Scientific Research and the Catholic University of Cordoba wanted to look behind the raw numbers.

Religious diversification is linked to the growing influence of evangelical Christians—a presence dating back to the 1950s—as well as the dynamics of globalization. Throughout Latin America, there is broad access to international goods, cultural trends and also religious traditions, according to Fr. Morello.

“The respondents—Catholics, Protestants, and the unaffiliated—confirmed the shift. They described to us how an era of globalization and the reach of technology have touched the religious lives of everyday Latin Americans in new and profound ways.”

More than two-thirds of the interviewees have frequent contact with persons that

identify with a different religious tradition, an important change when compared to 50 years ago. Latin America is not just Catholic, but also Protestant and non-affiliated.

But that plurality has not meant dialogue.

Most of the time respondents said they avoid talking about religion.

Fr. Morello says Latin Americans today do many different things when they “do religion.” While many respondents do some sort of traditional praying—such as giving thanks, asking for something, meditating—just as many connect with God using technology, like streaming a liturgy, praying with their phones, or posting prayers on Facebook.

Slightly less than a quarter of the sub-

room to the living room, during their commute, and even in the workplace.

Many participants experienced religion as a “work-in-progress.” Religion is an existential journey more than a dogmatic or intellectual destination. People are on religious paths, and occupy certain “spiritual locations,” but they have not necessarily reached a “destination,” nor have they been looking for dogmatic clarity, the team found. To be a believer means to have doubts. Yet the individuals interviewed were comfortable talking about their doubts.

The findings tell the team that religion remains a significant presence in peoples’ lives, Fr. Morello says. Religion in the re-

funding, the team received support from BC’s Jesuit Institute, which funded fellowships that allowed Da Costa and Rabbia to spend time at BC working on the research with Fr. Morello and Romero. BC Undergraduate Research Fellowships funded undergraduate assistants who organized an archive of study data so it can be used by other researchers.

Managing such a far-reaching project across four countries and two continents sometimes posed logistical challenges. At one point, the team had logged 44 hours of online meetings via Skype.

To date, Fr. Morello and other members of the team have presented their findings to researchers in Argentina, Canada,

“Religion has changed and religious people are more autonomous from their institutions than religious leaders would wish. Latin Americans practice religion on their own terms, serving as their own religious authorities. Mandatory religious rituals are seen more as an imposition than a celebration.”

–Gustavo Morello, S.J.

photo by gary wayne gilbert

jects report some sort of “connection” when hiking in the mountains, running on the beach, or working out. For some, religion is literally under their skin—in the form of a tattoo with a transcendental meaning for them.

For these Latin Americans, the classical distinction between private religious places and secular public spaces has blurred, Fr. Morello and his colleagues found. People exercise their religiosity wherever they are and at any moment they feel they need it.

Their religious practice is not confined to a brick-and-mortar church: They find sacred space wherever they can, from the dining

gion remains relatively undiminished.

“However, religion has changed and religious people are more autonomous from their institutions than religious leaders would wish. Latin Americans practice religion on their own terms, serving as their own religious authorities. Mandatory religious rituals are seen more as an imposition than a celebration. What is really important for most of the interviewees is the personalization of the experience.

“Religiosity is more a work in progress than a fixed situation, a journey more than a destination,” Fr. Morello says.

In addition to Templeton Foundation

Chile, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The researchers have had their findings published or accepted by publications that include Sociology, Social Imaginaries, Sociedad y Religion, Estudos de Religião, Critical Research on Religion, and Visioni Latinoamericane.

Fr. Morello was also invited to serve as guest editor for a special issue of the U.S. journal Religions on the subject of religious transformation in Latin America. Several book projects are either in progress or under review.

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November 29, 2018

NIH Grant Will Aid Faculty Member’s Study of Adults with Autism

BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER

Assistant Professor of Computer Science Emily Prud’hommeaux has been awarded a $500,000 research grant from the National Institutes of Health for a study that will examine speech patterns of high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder. The project’s aim is to develop an automated means of analyzing spoken language deficits, possibly leading to therapies and interventions to aid this population in social and job-related tasks.

“Very few studies have been done on adults with autism,” said Prud’hommeaux, who before joining BC worked at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she co-founded the Computational Linguistics and Speech Processing Lab. “Research in this area is important because high-functioning adults with autism, despite having achieved the same educational milestones as their neurotypical peers, often have difficulty finding employment and making friends because of their communication challenges. And unlike children with autism, adults with autism have very few services available to them.”

Prud’hommeaux is collaborating on the study with Laura Silverman, associate professor of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Cecilia Ovesdotter Alm of Rochester Institute of Technology and Jan van Santen of Oregon Health & Science University will serve as advisors, sharing previously collected data and assisting with experimental design.

The three-year grant, administered by

NIH’s National Institutes on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, will fund a clinical study of adults with autism to determine the language and communication style they use when completing a variety of tasks, such as playing a cooperative game, retelling a story, categorizing objects, or describing a picture. Prud’hommeaux will then take the sound recordings from this study and use speech recognition software to create transcriptions.

“One of the exciting parts of this projects is that because we are using speech recognition software, we will be able to collect much more data per person to analyze,” said Prud’hommeaux, who seeks to automatically identify specific areas where an adult with autism does not communicate in a socially appropriate way or the way in which a neurotypical adult would communicate.

People with autism can miss social cues and subtle ways adults communicate, said Prud’hommeaux. An adult with autism who wants to give an instruction to someone else might phrase the request in a way that the directive is unclear or communicate it in an atypical manner. For example, someone with autism might say, “The person needs to hand over the book,” while a neurologically typical person might say, “Could you please hand me the book?”

This study is setting the stage for a future proposal to develop an automated software tool for analyzing spoken language to identify specific areas of weakness in conversational expression among this population, she said. Such a tool could help speech and occupation therapists and other health professionals develop targeted

Adults with autism, although they may achieve the same educational milestones as their neurotypical peers, explains Emily Prud’hommeaux, “often have difficulty finding employment and making friends because of their communication challenges. And unlike children with autism, adults with autism have very few services available to them.” photo by lee pellegrini

therapies and interventions for adults with autism that would help them with employment and relationships, allowing for more independent living.

Prud’hommeaux’s work as a computer scientist and researcher in natural language processing is enhanced by her background in linguistics. A classics and linguistics major at Harvard, she attended graduate school for linguistics, but a computer science class she took piqued her interest.

She worked in the software industry as a

linguistic engineer for several years, where she gained experience using computing and machine language to understand and analyze language. When searching for a doctoral program, she specifically looked for one that focused on artificial intelligence and natural language processing.

She went on to earn a Ph.D. in computer science and engineering from OHSU, the medical and graduate engineering school for the state of Oregon.

Bridgeman Elected Fellow of American Mathematical Society Boston College Professor of Mathematics Martin Bridgeman has been elected a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), the fourth member of the Mathematics Department to achieve the distinction.

Bridgeman—one of 65 distinguished mathematicians from around the world to be selected among the 2019 cohort—was recognized for his work in hyperbolic geometry and low-dimensional topology and service to the mathematical community.

The Fellows program honors members who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication, and utilization of mathematics.

“I’m very honored and humbled to have received this fellowship,” said Bridgeman, whose colleagues Avner Ash, Solomon Friedberg, and Tao Li were previously selected as AMS Fellows. “There are many ways to be a mathematician and part of

Martin Bridgeman: “There are many ways to be a mathematician and part of that process is to find out what kind you are, or want to be. My greatest joys have been to collaborate with my fellow mathematicians as well as to organize workshops and conferences to support the work of others.” photo by gary wayne gilbert

that process is to find out what kind you are, or want to be. For me, my greatest joys have been to collaborate with my fellow mathematicians as well as to organize workshops and conferences to support the work of others, so that is where much of my efforts go.

“In particular, with the support of

Boston College, I founded an annual international conference in Dublin called the William Rowan Hamilton Geometry and Topology Workshop, which has been running now for 14 years and has become an important international event. Mathematically, to have had the opportunity to work with collaborators whom I have admired for much of my early career is reward in itself. So, it means a lot to me personally to be recognized by my peers, especially for my contributions to the math community.”

“I am delighted that Martin Bridgeman has been honored by the American Mathematical Society for his outstanding scholarship as well as for his service to the mathematical community,” said department chair Professor G. Robert Meyerhoff.

“His selection as a Fellow is well-deserved and I am happy that Boston College has been able to contribute to his growth as a scholar and mathematician.”

–University Communications

Chronicle

November 29, 2018

7

The Moments That ‘Change Everything’ Author, columnist, and media commentator Mike Lupica (Class of ’74) returned to his alma mater to share some of his professional experiences—and an opinion or two

suggestion of former Knicks and Houston Rockets Coach Jeff Van Gundy, Lupica recruited all of the boys who had been cut and formed his own team, scheduled games, and created an opportunity that would not have ordinarily existed. The team was awful, but they improved with every game, and won their last game by one point on a free throw with three seconds remaining, and euphoria erupted, he recalled.

“We had our post-season party, but I couldn’t let go of the season,” said Lupica.

“I’d seen something special watching these kids, which motivated me to write a threepage outline for a novel, which became the best-selling YA [young adult] book Travel Team. I’ve written 20 YA books since then.

It changed my life.”

Prompted by an audience member’s question, Lupica cited the US Olympic hockey team’s “Miracle on Ice” victory over heavily favored Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics as the “greatest story” he ever covered—and one which also reflected the evening’s theme. He noted that after Team USA had tied the score at the end of the first period, the Russian coach benched the team’s starting goalie, widely considered the world’s best at that position. It was “the turning point,” he said: The US would go on to score two more goals off the replacement goalie, enabling them to advance to the finals and win the gold medal.

“While most people remember Mike Eruzione’s third-period goal which gave Team USA a 4-3 lead,” Lupica said, “it was Mark Johnson’s first-period goal with one second left—tying the game at 2-2—that changed everything.”

BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER

Mike Lupica ’74, the prolific and provocative sports columnist and best-selling author, recounted a very familiar and momentous Boston College football tale to underscore the topic of his Nov. 15 presentation in Gasson 305: “The Next Moment is the One That Can Change Everything.”

“Often forgotten in the retelling of the famous last-second ‘Hail Mary’ pass from Doug Flutie to Gerard Phelan that won the 1984 game for BC over Miami is the second-down, 13-yard pass to tight end Scott Gieselman that moved the ball to the Hurricanes’ 48-yard line,” he explained.

“Doug knew he needed to get to midfield so his final pass would reach the end zone.

But if Gieselman doesn’t catch that previous pass, there’s probably no ‘Miracle in Miami.’ That’s the moment that changed everything.”

Lupica, who characterized his BC diploma as “the degree of my dreams,” was back on campus for a three-day residency coordinated by English Professor Carlo Rotella. During his visit, Lupica took time to share his experiences as a writer and media professional with students who may follow a similar path. He gave talks to a class on sports writing taught by adjunct faculty member and Associated Press sports writer Jimmy Golen and both sections of Assistant Professor of Communication Michael Serazio’s Sports, Media, and Culture class.

“The first half-hour I posed questions about the professional challenges of sports journalism, the dramatically changing media landscape, and the fraught intersection of sports and politics, among other topics,” said Serazio. “During the second half-hour, students asked him a variety of questions, including the particularly incisive, ‘If a white quarterback like Tom Brady had taken a knee to protest racial injustice, as former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick had, would the National Football League, the president, and nation as a whole, have reacted differently?’”

Lupica’s response: “The reaction would have been far less mean and far less extreme if it had been a white, Super Bowlwinning quarterback doing the kneeling, and I don’t believe the president would have called Tom Brady an SOB.” While at BC, Lupica wrote for The Heights—he met with some of the paper’s current staff during his residency this month—and freelanced for the Boston Phoenix, Boston Magazine, and The Boston Globe; an assignment from Globe sports editor Ernie Roberts, a well-known mentor to aspiring sportswriters, resulted in a front-page story on Pam Lake, BC’s star baton-twirler known as “The Golden Girl.”

“She had the best pair of hands on the BC campus but she doesn’t play football,” served as Lupica’s lede.

He started working for the New York

During his recent three-day residency on campus, Mike Lupica ’74 visited with staff members of The Heights (above) and spoke to students in a class taught by Asst. Prof.

Michael Serazio (Communication). photos by lee pellegrini (above) and peter julian

Post in 1975 on a temporary basis, and then the next moment changed everything: At age 23, he was assigned to regularly cover the NBA’s New York Knicks, which in 1977 led to a column for the New York Daily News, where he stayed for 40 years— not including short stints at the ill-fated The National, and one year writing for Newsday.

He began reaching a nationwide television audience in 1988 when he became a regular panelist on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters,” which aired until 2017. He also wrote “The Sporting Life” column for Esquire for 10 years.

At his Gasson 305 talk, the Oneida, NY, native—introduced to the crowd of students, friends, and faculty by his all-time favorite BC instructor, retired English Associate Professor Emeritus Paul Doherty—said, “I followed the advice that to be a good writer you need to be a good reader and be exposed to good writing.

While in high school, I decided I wanted to write for a newspaper and write books.

Life has come full circle.”

Lupica wrote his first sports book in 1984, an autobiography with baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, followed by 15 sports titles. But when his son Alex, then 12, failed to make a youth basketball travel team, lightning struck again. Based on the

Snapshot

Hug for the holiday

PHOTO BY PETER JULIAN

Attendees greeted one another at the end of the annual MultiFaith Thanksgiving Service, held on Nov. 16 in the Corcoran Commons Heights Room. Organized by Campus Ministry, the event celebrates Boston College’s diversity in song, dance, wisdom, and prayer.

Chronicle

8

November 29, 2018

Story of ‘First-gens’ Is a Diverse, Complex One Continued from page 1

rifice to provide their child with the higher education they never had, and the student’s determination to make the most of the opportunity. Boston College has been part of such narratives from its beginnings, when it was founded to educate Boston’s predominantly Irish, Catholic immigrant community.

But the story is more complicated and multi-faceted. During their college years, first-gens typically face educational, social, and economic challenges significantly different from those of their fellow undergraduates. College administrators, meanwhile, seek to discern the needs of first-gen students and develop the appropriate programs, resources, and supports, and researchers in academia—including at BC—are studying the changing profile of first-gen students in the wake of demographic trends and other factors.

All the while, Rascon and other firstgens continue to pursue that landmark college degree, grateful for the opportunity and those who are helping them seize it, yet also mindful of the contrast their experiences and impressions present among BC students.

“Things just hit you sometimes,” says Rascon, a Cuban-American Miami native.

“You’re talking with a friend whose father teaches at Yale Law School one minute, and then you find out there were three cop cars in your neighborhood because a kid was killed in front of your house. Or that the meal plan on your card is enough to feed you for the semester, and some of your friends don’t even have food in their house. I’ve had an amazing time at BC, and people are incredibly friendly here, but it feels like a different world.”

“As the oldest child, there’s definitely a pressure to succeed: ‘Don’t let the family down,’” says First Generation Club President Angela Zhang, a Carroll School of Management junior from New Jersey whose parents—neither of whom completed middle school—emigrated from China to the U.S. when they were 18. “I remember feeling self-conscious as a kid about my parents not speaking English, but I also felt belittled if I heard someone criticizing them.

“Once I got older, I realized how much they went through for their children, working at a restaurant until 2 a.m.—my father was robbed one night during a delivery— and how much I learned from them. My parents trusted me when I handled the paperwork and other details for going to college, so I had to figure everything out on my own.”

Such dynamics are critical to understanding college life for students like Rascon and Zhang, say Lynch School of Education Associate Professor Karen Arnold and her former student, University of Georgia doctoral candidate Jennifer MayTrifiletti ’10, MA’11, both of whom have studied first-generation students. Identifying someone as a first-gen isn’t enough, they say: You need to determine the “intersection” of other characteristics, such

“No one resource can help a first-generation student,” says Angela Zhang ’20, president of BC’s First Generation Club, shown above at an event held during the University’s weeklong celebration of “first-gens” and their achievements. “That’s why it’s important for different offices and programs, as well as faculty and administrators, to be aware of first-gens and our needs. Instead of having students feeling scattered and alone, they need to feel part of a team.” photo by lee pellegrini

as family income level (which tends to be lower among first-gen students), primary languages spoken at home, and parents’ marital status, as well as the family’s cultural background and country of origin.

As Zhang’s comment indicates, first-gen students may be the ones who take the lead in most, if not all, of college-related matters, because of their parents’ difficulties with English or general unfamiliarity with such processes. It’s often a complicated, delicate turn in the parent-child relationship.

“My parents just didn’t know about the American college system,” says Lynch School graduate student Mitchell Strzepek, a resident director in Vanderslice Hall.

“When we found a college to check out, we’d pack up the car and go there. But they had to trust me to be the leader, to ask the questions, get the information, fill out forms. So it was a real family effort.”

But when nobody in your family has any familiarity with higher education, supposedly routine parts of college life may be baffling. “I didn’t know at first what professors meant by ‘office hours,’” says Rascon. “Are those the times when they want to be alone? What are you supposed to do at these office hours? What are they for, exactly?”

And however well-intentioned and supportive your family is, as Zhang notes, they just can’t relate to your situation. “Whenever my friends at BC had an issue, they could call their parents: ‘Mom, Dad, I’m

having a tough time with this paper, and I flunked my test.’ But mine would say, ‘Well, just study harder.’ They weren’t being mean; they just didn’t know what else to say.”

“It’s not easy being a trailblazer,” says Arnold. “First-generation students come to campus with a general lack of savviness about higher education, and this manifests itself in navigating the everyday aspects of college, and seeking help for academic or personal issues. They may also have narrowly vocational ideas about higher educa-

tion, and not even understand its vocabulary. One student who was asked about his interest in the liberal arts said, ‘I’m not liberal, and I don’t want to study art.’”

Given that studies show first-gens are less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree than students who have at least one parent with post-secondary educational experience, Arnold says it’s incumbent on colleges to be aware of these characteristics and go the extra mile in aiding the students’ transition to college.

That’s where key providers of support for first-gens at BC, such Learning to Learn, the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center (BAIC), and University Mission and Ministry’s Montserrat Coalition, come in, administering initiatives like Options Through Education, the College Transition Program, the Gateway Scholars Program, and the Ronald E. McNair PostBaccalaureate Achievement Program. Other resources include the Office of Graduate Student Life’s Graduate Mentor Program; the Career Center, which has a website aimed at first-gens; and a series inaugurated this past spring by William V. Campbell Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond to cultivate connections, share experiences, and learn about campus resources for firstgeneration college students in the BC Athletics Department.

But outside-the-classroom connections with faculty members are what first-gens— like most all students—particularly value.

Once Rascon was clear about faculty office hours, he says, he would visit his Perspectives class professor once a week. Zhang, who had no idea what “networking” involved, is grateful to Carroll School Associate Professor John Gallaugher, who put her in touch with his friends and colleagues.

“No one resource can help a firstgeneration student,” she says. “That’s why it’s important for different offices and programs, as well as faculty and administrators, to be aware of first-gens and our needs. Instead of having students feeling scattered and alone, they need to feel part of a team.”

University Is Named Again to ScholarMatch College Honor Roll Boston College has been named to the 2018 College Honor Roll published by ScholarMatch, a San Francisco-based nonprofit founded by author Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) that helps to make higher education possible for low-income youth by providing free college counseling services.

The organization analyzes college data to determine which schools are offering excellent opportunities for low-income and first-generation students, from which it publishes a College Honor Roll of the schools making a difference in this area.

Boston College also made the previous list in 2016.

ScholarMatch works with the White House and its college database to assess 1,400 U.S. colleges and universities, including metrics that are specifically relevant for students from households earning less than $50,000, in four areas—financial aid, academics , student support, and postgraduation affordability—to determine the “institutions that are truly offering robust support and achieving excellent outcomes with this population,” according to ScholarMatch.

—University Communications

Chronicle

November 29, 2018

9

Website Overhaul a Collaborative Effort Continued from page 1

great teamwork and professionalism of our partners in the academic community and the Office of University Communications and Information Technology Services,” said Vice President for Information Technology Michael Bourque. “These sites represent a new platform for presenting the very important and very impactful work of Boston College. We are truly proud of our involvement in this effort.”

The OUC Web Services team is led

by Scott Olivieri and includes Melissa Beecher, Brock Dilworth, Diana Parziale, and Brian Snyder. OUC Web Services partners with Yanyan Hou and Kul Thupa from ITS. The team worked closely and collaboratively with academic partners and site owners on the redesign process, conducting peer assessments and focus groups for each of the schools and colleges. A content strategy was created to guide the development of the website to ensure it met the goals of the schools and departments, while also connecting it to the larger BC brand.

The websites’ important roles in attracting prospective students and faculty, as well as in peer assessment, cannot be overstated, administrators say. Based on analytics, the BC home page has been viewed 26 million times during the course of one year. The Law School had more than a million page views, as did the Lynch School of Education. The University’s largest school, the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, has had 3.4 million page views.

But visits to the websites tell only half the story. The goal is to make certain users are fully engaged with the website.

Through analytics, the web team is able to see how users navigate the site and how much time they spend on a particular webpage. According to Olivieri, “time on page” has doubled on many top-level webpages, indicating that visitors are engaging with the content—reading student profiles, reviewing program information, and watching videos.

“The STM’s new website has been a real boon for us,” said School of Theology and Ministry Dean and Professor Thomas D. Stegman, S.J. “The site’s functionality for prospective students, the attractiveness of

faculty pages—which are also easy to update—the ability to communicate all the events that go on at the school, and the professionally produced videos are all major improvements. The website presents well the STM’s ‘face’ to the world.”

In addition to the school websites, the web team has redesigned the Uni-

Integrated Science and Society, and a page for BC’s Global Engagement initiatives.

In total, the BC web team has redesigned and launched 81 websites in less than three years.

“The new Admission website is an extraordinary enhancement both in terms of its design and functionality,” said Undergraduate Admission Director Grant

“Technology drives the college search for today’s generation of college applicants, and having a first-rate University website is essential in enabling students to explore all that Boston College has to offer. Given that the vast majority of students view websites on their phones or tablets, the website’s responsive design also ensures that content will be easily accessible.”

-Undergraduate Admission Director Grant Gosselin

versity’s home page, BC News page, and Undergraduate Admission site, as well as sites for virtually every center and institute. They have also created new webpages for the Schiller Institute for

Gosselin. “Technology drives the college search for today’s generation of college applicants, and having a first-rate University website is essential in enabling students to explore all that Boston College has to of-

fer. Given that the vast majority of students view websites on their phones or tablets, the website’s responsive design also ensures that content will be easily accessible. We are grateful to the Office of University Communications for leading this initiative, which has greatly enhanced our ability to engage with this important audience.”

The web team’s job is not limited to making the website aesthetically pleasing: Members work on the “backend” to make sure the sites are at their optimal effectiveness. This means trimming page counts and making sure the site is prominent on search engines (search engine optimization or SEO), as well as making certain the content is compliant relative to copyright and fair-use rules, and accessible to those with disabilities.

The web team has also developed a new University Events calendar tool that is integrated with the new websites, so events uploaded via the tool are automatically displayed on the website. Also, all the new webpages are unified under a universal bar that provides quick links to BC’s resources, as well as a search function.

Olivieri noted that the team is consistently enhancing webpage components and developing new features. Because all the new sites use the same content management system, these enhancements can be utilized by website managers across campus, so that even “completed” websites can benefit from ongoing improvements.

With the University’s home, admission, and academic websites completed, the web team will turn its attention to redesigning websites for the administrative side of the University, starting with University Advancement on Dec. 3.

“It is an intensive process, led by a hardworking team of professionals who have devoted themselves to this important task throughout the past 30 months,” said Dunn. “Having a new website that reflects the BC brand, and which can be constantly updated and improved by internal staff, will ensure that we are presenting the University in the best possible light to all those who visit our site. We look forward to embracing the administrative phase of web redesign beginning in December.”

BC Dining Ranked 7th in U.S. by The Daily Meal With menu options and food quality which rival that of restaurants, Boston College Dining Services has been ranked seventh in The Daily Meal’s “75 Best Colleges for Food in America” for 2018.

“These colleges and universities excel in gastronomy,” according to the website of The Daily Meal, which since 2012 has annually considered more than 2,000 U.S. schools, and shortened its list to 75 finalists based on accessibility and service; nutrition and sustainability; education and events; surrounding area; and “X factor”—extras

that go above and beyond to offer good food to students.

“We are very excited that we moved to seventh from 59th this past year, and attribute this improvement to several innovative initiatives,” said Dining Services Director Elizabeth Emery, citing the FRESH to Table program piloted at Corcoran Commons, which Emery noted has been “recognized by our professional organization with a GOLD medal,” as well as the implementation of mobile ordering at Hillside Cafe and College Road Cafe and Market.

Other factors are creative pop-up dining events, for which she credits “our talented team at Heights Catering,” collaboration with student organizations to reduce waste campus-wide, and a focus on sustainable sourcing.

The Daily Meal’s citation praised BC for offering “locally sourced, always-fresh, never-frozen seafood,” along with “customizable and made-to-order dishes such as stir-fries, wraps, aero press coffee maker, pho, and pizzas.” The citation also notes the FRESH to Table program, BCDS’ ded-

ication to food waste reduction, exclusive use of fair trade coffee, use of energy-saving equipment, sourcing food from local farms, donating excess food to more than 40 area nonprofits, and the “Plain and Simple” dinner station free of the top eight food allergens.

BC was one of only three New England schools ranked in The Daily Meal’s top 10; Northeastern was sixth and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst was eighth. For more, see www.thedailymeal.com/bestcolleges-food-america.

–University Communications

Chronicle

10

OBITUARIES

Francis Soo, Philosophy Professor A memorial Mass and celebration of life dozen stools so they could do it properly. will be held on Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. in GasHe later served on a task force studying son 100 for retired Professor of Philosophy student formation as part of the University Francis Soo, who taught elements of Chinese Academic Planning Council initiative in the philosophy and Eastern thought to Boston mid-1990s.

College students for more than 30 years. Dr. In 1992, he was honored as Teacher of Soo died on Nov. 11 at the age the Year by the Boston College of 80. chapter of the National Jesuit Born in Xuzho, China, Dr. Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Nu. Soo was baptized a Catholic at Interviewed by the Boston College an early age, and left his native BiWeekly, Dr. Soo explained his country when he was 18. He passion for his profession: “An joined the Jesuit order and was old Chinese proverb says, ‘To ordained in 1971, the year he teach is to learn; to learn is to came to Boston for graduate live.’ This ancient wisdom seems studies in classical Chinese histotrue in my teaching career. In ry at Harvard University. But his teaching, I continue to learn; in plans to complete his Jesuit trainlearning, I continue to live, to biweekly file photo grow, and to mature. The more I ing took a different turn: He met a graduate student named Margaret Hackteach students, the more I learn from them enberger, who would one day become his and hence love them.” wife; and he entered the doctoral program Dr. Soo, who retired from BC in 2004, in philosophy at Boston College, where he sought to maintain his connections to his joined the faculty in 1978.

Chinese roots, keeping in touch with and In addition to foundational courses such visiting relatives in his native country and as Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, and Philosestablishing links to the country’s academic ophy of Person, Dr. Soo taught classes that community—he served as a visiting profesreflected his ties to both East and West insor to the universities in Lanzhou, Nanjing cluding Classical Chinese Philosophy; Com- and Shandong and the Huazhong Institute parative Religion: East and West; Taoism, of Technology, and helped several family Psychology and Existentialism. Dr. Soo also members and Chinese scholars pursue study was a faculty member in the Woods College in the U.S. of Advancing Studies, where he taught his He is survived by his wife, Margaret; sons popular class Marriage and the Family.

David and Jeffrey; and two grandchildren.

Dr. Soo’s dedication to teaching went In lieu of flowers, donations can be made above and beyond the typical: In one of to the Woods College of Advancing Studhis classes, he had his students practice Zen ies at Boston College in honor of Professor meditation—and handcrafted almost twoFrancis Soo. –University Communications

Paula Forget, Administrator Longtime University administrator Paula Forget, who during her 44 years at Boston College became well-known for spearheading an annual holiday campus drive for needy children, died on Oct. 24. She was 63.

A Mass of Christian Burial was said for Ms. Forget on Oct. 30 at St. Timothy’s Catholic Church in Norwood.

A native of Newton, Ms. Forget joined the University in 1974 and went on to hold several positions, including maintenance functions coordinator, assistant to the vice president for administration, assistant director of administrative services, and human resources manager for Facilities Management.

She began taking undergraduate classes at BC in 1975 and earned a bachelor’s degree in English and literature in 1981.

Starting in 1982, when she bought gifts for a handful of children at the Italian Home in Jamaica Plain, Ms. Forget made spreading Christmas cheer her holiday tradition—and got Boston College involved, too.

Each year, she received a list from the state’s Department of Social Services (later Children and Families) with the names of several hundred needy children, and asked the University community to show its generosity of spirit through donations.

The BC community responded: In its first 30 years, Ms. Forget’s drive provided clothing and other gifts to some 14,000

children. Individual employees and University offices, as well as BC athletic teams, “adopted” children on the list, student organizations collected bags full of toys that were sent along to Ms. Forget, and the BC Bookstore donated boxes and tissue paper. Volunteers helped to wrap, load, and transport the gifts. The campaign even developed a life of its own beyond BC: Employees at some Greater Boston-area companies transported their own contributions to campus.

What made the drive so appealing, Ms. Forget explained in a 2007 interview with Boston College Chronicle, was that donors were provided with a child’s first name and last initial, age, and a short wish list. “People feel connected to ‘their’ child. It’s not like handing over a gift and not knowing who gets it or where it is going. They can see that the child likes Dora [the Explorer] or doesn’t like anything red. There’s an instant connection.”

Ms. Forget, who received a Community Service Award in 1988 from BC in recognition of her efforts, happily put off her own Christmas shopping to make sure all details for the collection and distribution of gifts were finalized. She praised the support “from the top down” she received from the University in making the drive a success.

“That’s why I don’t worry about my own Christmas shopping. Somehow it all gets done. We so easily lose sight of the impor-

November 29, 2018

Donald White, GA&S Dean A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated and GA&S. In 1984, Fr. Monan selected Saturday at Saint Agatha Church in MilDr. White to chair the Graduate Educaton for Donald J. White, who revitalized tional Policy Committee, which resulted graduate education at Boston College durin an assessment of resource needs and ing his 23 years as dean of BC’s Graduate methods for graduate programs. The evenSchool of Arts and Sciences tual outgrowths of this work and helped guide the Uniincluded the Merkert Chemversity through turbulent istry Center and a doctoral financial times in the early program in nursing.

1970s. Dr White died on GA&S went on to Nov. 18 at the age of 96. achieve some significant A 1944 BC alumnus milestones. During 1992who joined the Economics 93, the school awarded 120 faculty in 1946, Dr. White doctoral degrees, the largserved as associate dean and est number in its history at associate dean of faculties for that time, and introduced what was then the College a program at the Institute of Business Administration of Russian Literature of the (later the Carroll School of Russian Academy of SciManagement) from 1955ences, making BC the first 61. He also was an adjunct American university to offer chronicle file photo professor at Boston College a graduate-level program for Law School, where he taught arbitration. the study of Russian culture. The school Dr. White stepped into a challenging also established programs that reflected the situation when he was appointed GA&S increasing numbers of women and AHAdean in 1971. Graduate education in NA students desiring graduate education: general was going through an unstable eco- GA&S began offering Clare Booth Luce nomic period, he recalled in an interview Fellowship grants to encourage women with Boston College Chronicle upon his to enter, study, graduate, and teach in the retirement in 1994, and the state of affairs sciences, and received a three-year U.S. at GA&S was magnified by the University’s Department of Education grant enabling overall fragile financial condition. ColAHANA students to pursue doctorates in leagues had described graduate education English, history, philosophy, psychology as “a depressed industry,” he told Chronicle, and sociology. although some expressed the view that Dr. White was awarded an honorary “perhaps the best time to get in is when an Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the industry is depressed.”

1994 Commencement Exercises. The “I just thought BC should be a uninext year, he received another tribute: The versity and that meant a commitment to Teaching Excellence Awards Program, graduate studies,” he said. which he helped create in 1984 to recogThe next year, BC’s new president, J. nize and reward BC’s outstanding teachDonald Monan, S.J., named Dr. White ing fellows and laboratory assistants, was chairman of a committee charged with en- named for him. acting a plan for stabilizing the University’s —University Communications financial health and developing long-term Read the full obituary at http://bit.ly/ fiscal planning measures—an important donald-white-obituary. step in the road back for the University

Ms. Forget organized a popular holiday campus drive for needy children. chronicle file photo

tant things, the things we take for granted.

This gives me a chance to stop and think about the less fortunate and how we all can help to make things better. That’s what Christmas should be about.”

In 2012, the 30th anniversary of the drive, Ms. Forget spoke with Chronicle about the thank-you notes she had received over the years. One mother wrote that the donations “made all the difference” for her children; another family said the items they received helped them have “the greatest Christmas ever.” A Department of Children and Families administrator expressed gratitude to the BC community as well as Ms. Forget: “You did this for children you will never see or meet. I’ve witnessed what it means for a child who has nothing to be given something. Often times, these gifts are the only things they receive. These gifts let them know that they were remembered, and that someone cares. It is everything.”

Reflecting on the 30 years of overseeing the collection, Ms. Forget said, “No person in their right mind would think at the beginning that it would last this long. But the people here at BC are so generous, and it’s been wonderful to see the response.”

She is survived by her daughter Brianna, and was the sister of Joan, Janet, Ronald and Gail.

—University Communications

Chronicle

November 29, 2018

WELCOME ADDITIONS

BC in the Media

An Introduction to New Faculty at Boston College EMRAH ALTINDIS Assistant Professor of Biology Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences DEGREES: Ege University (BS); Middle East Technical University (MSc); Bologna University (PhD).

WHAT HE STUDIES: Why and how microbes mimic human proteins, especially human hormones, and the role of these microbial mimics in human disease.

WHAT HE’S TEACHING: Microbiome and Human Disease

For the non-scientist, what is microbial mimicry and how does it work?

“Microbes and their hosts have co-evolved, allowing both microbes and hosts to develop mechanisms to manipulate each other. Hosts developed better immune systems and microbes developed better host evasion/ survival mechanisms. One such microbial survival mechanism is known as microbial mimicry, where the microbe encodes a protein that mimics a host protein in structure and function, conferring a survival advantage to the microbe. Scientists have found many instances where viruses and bacteria are able to mimic their host proteins to manipulate or evade the host organism.”

RAQUEL MUNIZ Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Higher Education Liaison to BC Law School Lynch School of Education DEGREES: Texas A&M International University (BA); Pennsylvania State University (JD, PhD) WHAT SHE STUDIES: How education law and policy can create more equitable educational opportunities for all students, particularly those who have experienced substantial adversity.

WHAT SHE’S TEACHING: Education Law and Public Policy

Recent research estimates the national average of child abuse and neglect to be over nine victims for every 1,000 children. How are states contributing

11

to educational environments that will promote academic success and general wellbeing for this vulnerable population?

“As of November 2018, all 50 states have adopted some form of socio-emotional learning standards for children in early childhood education to secondary schooling.

Most of the focus remains at the preschool level.”

CHARLES MURRY Assistant Professor of Economics Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences DEGREES: University of Delaware (BS); University of Virginia (MA, PhD) WHAT HE STUDIES: How automobile retail markets are organized; implications of regulations and dealer and manufacturer market power on consumer welfare; market power and consumer welfare in airline markets.

WHAT HE’S TEACHING: Industrial Organization; Empirical Methods in Applied Microeconomics; Economics of Sports.

What is the impact of a used-car superretailer such as CarMax on the pre-owned auto industry? Are consumers better served?

“On the plus side, CarMax provides benefits to consumers associated with what economists call ‘economies of scale’: large selection of cars, reputation for quality, knowledgeable service technicians. On the other hand, such a large retailer might be too powerful in the market, i.e., driving down the price of trade-in or wholesale cars, charging prices that are higher than the value of their service, and forcing smaller dealers out of business. Some of my own research suggests that large dealers like CarMax provide value to markets by acting as a guarantor for quality, which is likely very important in the market for used cars. Besides its size, CarMax’s other unique feature is that its salespeople do not negotiate. I have a new project where we try to understand if the no-negotiation tactic of CarMax is something that improves outcomes for consumers, even though consumers might be able to wait for a better price in the future.”

—Phil Gloudemans and Ed Hayward photos by lee pellegrini and peter julian

Saturday Conference to Explore History, Fiction in Irish Culture “By Counterfeit Enhanc’d? History, Fiction, and Adaptation in Modern Irish Culture,” a one-day conference organized by Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies Ciaran O’Neill, will take place this Saturday from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in Connolly House (300 Hammond Street). The event, supported by the Thomas J. Flatley Fund, examines the interaction between history and fiction in modern Irish culture, and will include a conversation with acclaimed Irish novelist Emma Donoghue (Room) at 4:45 p.m. in Devlin 101. For information, see the Irish Studies Program website at www.bc.edu/irish.html.

Prior to the New England Patriots’ defeat of the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 4, scholars from Massachusetts and Wisconsin were asked to use hard statistical data to determine a winner in the debate about whether Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers is the superior quarterback. Assoc. Prof. of the Practice Sam Richardson (Economics), above, put his stats to work for Brady during the pre-game show on NBC Sports. [Watch the video segment at http://bit.ly/richardson-brady-rodgers-debate] Entrepreneurship is a high-risk, highreward endeavor, and those approaching retirement age need to weigh these two elements carefully, wrote Asst. Prof. Cal Halvorsen (BCSSW) in a piece for Fast Company.

Asst. Prof. Hiba Hafiz (Law) offered her views to Bloomberg News on the National Labor Relations Board’s “joint employer” plan.

New York Times columnist Thomas B. Edsall cited comments by Moakley Professor of Political Science Kay Schlozman in a column on a central phenomenon of the 2018 election: a record-setting gender gap.

Appearing on New England Cable News’ “The Take,” Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology Richard Gaillardetz discussed the Vatican request that the annual gathering of U.S. Catholic bishops delay planned votes on proposals to address clergy sexual abuse.

Murray and Monti Professor of Economics Peter Ireland and Assoc. Prof.

Robert Murphy (Economics) weighed in on the U.S. labor market and economic outlook for Fortune and CNN Business, respectively; Murphy also addressed considerations for students beginning a credit history in a Q&A with WalletHub.com.

The upside to the debate about mandatory nurse staffing ratios in Massachusetts hospitals, wrote Connell School of Nursing Carroll Professor Judith Vessey in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, is that it has served as a clarion call for change.

Bloomberg Baystate Business’ live radio coverage of Bank of America President and CEO Brian Moynihan’s talk at the Boston College Chief Executives Club included interviews with Global Leader-

ship Institute Executive Director Robert Mauro and Prof. Ronnie Sadka (CSOM).

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: Manager, Digital Communications, Center for Corporate Citizenship Director, Stewardship and Donor Engagement, University Advancement Assistant/Associate Director of Annual Giving, BC Law School Senior Data Analyst, University Advancement Development Assistant, Major Giving, University Advancement Associate Director for Selection, Development and Formation, Student Affairs/ Residential Life UI/UX Designer/Developer, President’s Office Post-Doctoral RPCA, Academic Affairs/ Provost Engineering Project Manager, Facilities/ Trades Senior Business Intelligence Analyst/ Developer, University Advancement Assistant Director, Alumni Affinity Programs, University Advancement Patrol Officer, Dining & Catering/Auxiliary/Public Safety Financial Systems Project Manager, Financial/Budget Senior Writer, University Advancement Associate Director, Annual Capital Projects, Facilities/Trades

Chronicle

12

November 29, 2018

Campus Arts

Holidays Will Light Up the Heights

BY ROSANNE PELLEGRINI STAFF WRITER

The music of the season ushers in the holidays at Boston College this weekend when the University Chorale and Symphony Orchestra present their annual “Christmas on the Heights” concerts.

Under the direction of conductor John Finney, performances will be held on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at 8 p.m., and Dec. 2 at 2 p.m., in Trinity Chapel on Newton Campus. Contact the Robsham Theater Box Office [www.bc.edu/tickets or ext. 2-4002] for ticket information, prices and purchase.

•Finney also will raise his baton on Dec. 6 at 5 p.m. to conduct members of the University Chorale in performance at St. Mary’s Chapel, during the Music at St. Mary’s Christmas Concert.

•Santa Claus is coming to town a few weeks early—on Dec. 4—to celebrate the Christmas tree lighting with BC revelers.

Officiated by University President William P. Leahy, S.J., the ceremony on the Plaza at O’Neill Library will take place from 4-7 p.m., with caroling and performances by student groups, including the Heightsmen, Dynamics, Bostonians, Acoustics, Liturgy Arts Group, BC Bells, and BC Irish Dance.

There will be Campus Activities Board giveaways, Christmas games—including a “Twelve Days of Christmas”-themed raffle—and a Christmas market. BC Dining Services will be on hand with treats, and hot chocolate will be available to warm the crowd.

photo by lee pellegrini

•On Dec. 7, the School of Theology and Ministry presents Advent Lessons and Carols at 7 p.m. in St. Ignatius Church.

•The Alumni Association offers more merriment at the Cadigan Alumni Center with its popular seasonal celebration for alumni, their families and friends: Winter Wonderland, on Dec. 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Festivities include photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, Christmas cookie decoration, musical performances and a holiday puppet show, arts and crafts, visits with baby animals, and rides around campus on a horse-drawn carriage and a holiday train.

Attendees are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys for boys and girls, ages six to 14, for donation to the Italian Home for

BC Scenes

Veterans Remembrance Mass and Ceremony

Retired Marine Corps Reserve officer Mike Dunford ’82 (below) was the keynote speaker at the Boston College Veterans Remembrance Mass and Ceremony on Nov. 9. Right, cadet Cole Kennedy ’21 sounded “Taps.”

Children.

Register for Winter Wonderland at https://tinyurl.com/yc5xysdx; the cost is $15 for adults and $10 for children under 12; there is no charge for children under age three.

•In conjunction with Winter Wonderland, Second Saturdays at the McMullen Museum of Art will feature a festive holiday celebration with activities throughout its hours of noon to 5 p.m. Visitors of all ages are welcome to tour the exhibitions, participate in arts and crafts and storytelling activities, and enjoy holiday-themed vocal performances, hot chocolate, and holiday treats.

•The weekend festivities continue on

Dec. 9 with the Boston College Bands Christmas Festival. The family-friendly performance—which features the University Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band—will include traditional favorites, a sing-along, special appearances by members of BC bOp! and the “Screaming Eagles” Marching Band, and an instrument “petting zoo.” The event will be held at 3 p.m. at 300 Hammond Pond Parkway. The concert is free but attendees are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item for donation.

For more information on these events and their sponsorship, visit the University Calendar [events.bc.edu].

PHOTOS BY PETER JULIAN