PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
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Elias Bloomer Joins WCAS
Far Away, So Close
BC Global
A 1991 BC alumna is appointed associate dean for undergraduate programs at the Woods College of Advancing Studies.
Hong Kong student reflects on events of this past year—and what might happen next.
Lynch School research team examines South Korean progressive education movement.
DECEMBER 12, 2019 VOL. 27 NO. 8
PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
OBITUARY
Pete Frates, 34; BC Athlete’s Fight Against ALS Became Global Story
Former Boston College baseball captain Pete Frates ’07, whose heroic battle with ALS served as the inspiration for the Ice Bucket Challenge that helped raise more than $220 million for ALS research, died Monday at his home in Beverley. He was 34. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Ignatius Church tomorrow, Dec. 13, at 11 a.m. Mr. Frates was diagnosed with ALS— also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease—in 2012 at the age of 27. The grim revelation closed the door on his life as a baseball player, but it opened another, with him and his family becoming a symbol of determination in fighting the ravages of the neurodegenerative
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Holy Season
BC Study: Disparities in Social Security Fall on Low-Income Recipients BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER
Pete Frates in 2015. photo by christopher huang
In the 36 years since Social Security legislation was last amended, society has changed. Many Americans are living longer and interest rates have decreased. As a result, say Boston College researchers, the fixed formulas designed to allow claiming at different ages have instead produced disparities for certain Social Security recipients.
The report, by BC Center for Retirement Research Director Alicia H. Munnell and Assistant Director of Savings Research Anqi Chen, looks at benefit adjustments implemented by the Social Security Administration. The goal of these adjustments was to create a system that paid benefits equally for recipients with an average life expectancy, regardless of when they started to collect their benefits, according to Munnell
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At the Core of Teaching and Learning It’s not just undergraduates who thrive in BC Core Curriculum classes: The University’s chief academic officer finds the experience ‘energizing.’ BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR
The School of Theology and Ministry held its annual “Advent Lessons and Carols” on Dec. 6. More photos on page 8. photo by
ADDRESS GOES HERE
frank curran
As a kid, Giovanna Eichner ’23 had a poster of first lines from famous novels, at the top of which was the phrase “Call me Ishmael.” Intrigued by this three-word sentence, she did a little research and found out it was from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, which she understood to be “a very long book about a whale who attacks a ship.” Over the years, Eichner formed a somewhat fuller impression of Moby-Dick and by the time she graduated high school she knew it was considered one of the most influential works of the mid-19th century American Renaissance. But she still hadn’t actually read the book.
Then she came to Boston College. This fall, the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences student thoroughly immersed herself in Moby-Dick while also learning about the cultural, political, social, and economic milieu that shaped the sensibilities of Melville and his contemporaries, from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Louisa May Alcott to Abraham Lincoln. Eichner was one of 17 first-year students who enrolled in a paired sequence of classes in the University’s Core Curriculum: The Worlds of Moby-Dick (for history credit) and Reading the Fate of Man, the Face of God, and the Malevolence of the Whale in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick (literature credit). Boston College has invested considerable time and resources during the past
Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley speaks during his The Worlds of Moby-Dick core class. photo by lee pellegrini
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“If we lose, the Chinese government can, and will, restrict our freedom. So for Hong Kong, and the young generation in particular, this is a fight for survival.” – hong kong native “A,” a bc student, page 6
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December 12, 2019
Around Campus
Rougeau Set to Take Reins of the Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Nominating Committee nominated Boston College Law School Dean Vincent D. Rougeau to become AALS president-elect. Rougeau, who completed a three-year term on the AALS Executive Committee in 2018, will join two former BC Law deans, Richard Huber and John Garvey, who served as AALS presidents. Rougeau, who has been the dean of BC Law since 2011, is widely recognized as an advocate for legal education reform, and writes and speaks extensively on the topic. At BC Law, he has led a reorganization in leadership structure that supports a more holistic approach to student services, expanded the school’s national and international recruitment of a diverse student body, and enhanced the school’s
commitment to experiential learning and global engagement. Other achievements of Rougeau’s administration include the Center for Experiential Learning, which brings all the school’s hands-on training programs under one roof, and the Global Practice Program, building on BC Law’s longstanding presence in Europe by launching new opportunities for students in Dublin, Germany, Chile, France, and other locations around the globe. Rougeau is an expert in Catholic social thought and the author of Christians in the American Empire: Faith and Citizenship in the New World Order. His current research and writing consider the relationship between religious identity and notions of democratic citizenship and member-
Vincent Rougeau
photo by gary wayne gilbert
ship in highly mobile and increasingly multicultural democratic societies. He is a senior fellow at the Centre for Theology and Community in London, where he researches broad-based community organizing, immigration, and citizenship in the UK as part of the Just Communities Project. The AALS is a nonprofit comprising 179 member schools and 18 fee-paid law schools dedicated to advancing legal education. The association encourages excellence in the classroom through teaching and scholarship, academic freedom, and promoting diversity in the legal profession. It supports professional development through meetings, mentorships, conferences, and workshops hosted throughout the year. –Boston College Law School
BC Dining Services Salutes Its ‘Stars’
Aleyda Castillo and Heraldo Laguerre. photos by peter julian
Two Boston College Dining Services employees were recognized last month at the Massachusetts Restaurant Association “Stars of the Industry” Awards Gala in their respective job categories: Aleyda Castillo, a dishwasher in Stuart Dining Hall, was a winner and Herlado Laguerre, a cashier in Carney’s Dining Room, was selected as a finalist. Thirty employees from eateries around the state were selected and honored at the gala. “We are very proud of the well-deserved recognition that Aleyda Castillo and Heraldo Laguerre received from the Massachusetts Restaurant Association,” said Director of Dining Services Beth Emery. “They both do great work at their dining locations and are respected members of their team.” “I couldn’t believe that I was the one ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Jack Dunn SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
getting recognized,” said Castillo, who has worked at BC for 20 years. “I felt like I was at the Grammys; it was my first time at an event like this.” General Manager of Stuart Dining Hall Sharyl Thompson said that she is “blessed to work with [Castillo]. She is always happy and very appreciative. She has a great heart.” Laguerre, a BCDS employee for 30 years, was described by McElroy Commons General Manager Michael Forcier as the “ultimate employee.” “I’m a big star now,” joked Laguerre, whose son flew in from California for the event. “BC is a good place to work. We are one family here.” Both employees said that they gave a portion of their winnings to their churches. –Christine Balquist
CONTRIBUTING STAFF
Sean Smith
photos by justin kinght and brian westerholt/sports on film
Christine Balquist Phil Gloudemans Ed Hayward Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan
Chronicle
PHOTOGRAPHERS
www.bc.edu/bcnews chronicle@bc.edu
Patricia Delaney EDITOR
The latter part of the fall semester saw two milestones for Boston College women’s sports. The Eagles field hockey team, at right, made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Final Four, losing to ACC rival (and eventual national champion) North Carolina in the national semi-final, 6-3, to finish the season 15-8. On Saturday, BC women’s hockey honored the founding members of the team (above), which started as a club program in 1973. Read about the founding of the team at https://www.bc.edu/content/ bc-web/bcnews/campus-community/alumni/power-play.html.
Lee Pellegrini Peter Julian
The Boston College Chronicle (USPS 009491), the internal newspaper for faculty and staff, is published biweekly from September to May by Boston College, with editorial offices at the Office of University Communications, 3 Lake Street, Brighton, MA 02135 (617)552-3350. 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 University Communications, 3 Lake Street, Brighton, MA 02135. A flipbook edition of Chronicle is available via e-mail. Send requests to chronicle@bc.edu.
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December 12, 2019
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Bloomer Is Named Woods College Associate Dean BY PATRICIA DELANEY SENIOR DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Michelle Elias Bloomer, a 1991 Boston College alumna, educator, attorney, and administrator with significant experience in continuing and adult education and professional studies, has joined the Woods College of Advancing Studies as associate dean for undergraduate programs. Elias Bloomer—who holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from BC, a juris doctorate from Suffolk University Law School, and is pursuing a doctoral degree in higher education at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development—brings to the Woods College an extensive background in education for non-traditional students, most recently at Bunker Hill Community College, one of the state’s most diverse institutions of higher education and its largest community college. At BHCC, Elias Bloomer led the Division of Professional Studies, which encompasses more than 65 associate degree and certificate programs serving more than 3,000 students across eight departments, as well as internships and career development
Michelle Elias Bloomer
programs. During her tenure, she oversaw curriculum development, streamlining of processes and staffing structures to prepare for the school’s launch of a new division of workforce and economic development, and implemented cost-saving measures that prioritized teaching and learning along with
efficient business processes. At the Woods College, Elias Bloomer will be responsible for the assessment and development of the school’s undergraduate courses, majors, and certificate offerings, including the creation or redesign of programs to align students’ educational experience with academic and workforce needs. She will be focused on ensuring the best possible teaching and learning environment for students and faculty. “I’m thrilled that Michelle has joined our team,” said Woods College Dean Karen Muncaster. “Her passion for BC, her broad experience in adult and continuing education, and her deep understanding of diverse and non-traditional students will enhance our ability to meet their needs, and help us to strengthen and grow our on-campus and online undergraduate programs in quality, rigor, and relevance.” Said Elias Bloomer, “I am excited to have the opportunity to bring my experience as an administrator and educator to Boston College, the institution that provided me with an outstanding education and reinforced the values and high standards upon which I have been able to build a successful career in higher education.”
Prior to joining BHCC, Elias Bloomer was assistant dean of education and public service at Middlesex Community College, where she led seven departments, oversaw assessment of academic programs to improve quality, and created and developed new programs and pathways to careers. She also served as professor and chair of the school’s Criminal Justice Department. Before beginning her career in education, Elias Bloomer worked as an assistant district attorney in the Essex County District Attorney’s Office and supervised the domestic violence unit at the Lynn District Court, then as an attorney in Bedford, Mass., representing clients in immigration and criminal justice proceedings. She is a member of the Juvenile Justice Advisory Council for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Hispanic Bar Association, and the Women’s Bar Association. She previously served on the advisory board for Arlington Catholic High School, acted as a pro bono attorney at the Lawrence Probate and Family Court for the Women’s Bar Foundation, and participated in the New England Resource Center for Higher Education Associate Deans Think Tank, among other activities.
Social Security Formula Needs Update, Says CRR Continued from page 1
and Chen. Consistency would give beneficiaries the flexibility to choose when they retire, and help forecast costs to the system itself. Americans can claim Social Security benefits between the ages of 62 and 70, as a
until age 70 receive about the same lifetime benefit they would have received at age 65, Chen said. The researchers said the shortcomings fall disproportionately on low-income individuals because wealthier individuals can
system is sustainable beyond 2034, when the Social Security Trust Fund will run out of money. “The system was set up to try and be fair and give the average person the same lifetime benefit, regardless of when they decided to claim,” said Munnell, who is the Carroll School of Management Peter F. Drucker Professor of Management Sciences. “What has happened is the world has changed. People are living longer. Interest rates have gone down. There is a big dispar-
ity in life expectancy between low- and high-income individuals. There’s been no real Social Security legislation since 1983 and what this highlights is that when it comes time to solve the funding problem, we need to look at actuarial adjustments and make some updates—how much to reduce for late retirements and how much to increase for early retirements. They require some tinkering at some point.” The study is available at https://crr.bc.edu/ wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IB_19-18.pdf
University Will Seek Legal Recourse in Hammond Pond Parkway Taking Center for Retirement Research Director Alicia Munnell, left, and Assistant Director of Savings Research Anqi Chen authored the study on Social Security. photos by jared leeds and christopher soldt
result of changes made throughout the years to the income safety net created in 1935. Claiming earlier resulted in a benefit that was reduced to spread total payments across more years. Claiming later meant a larger monthly benefit for what was a shorter time span. “These laws were last set in place in the 1980s,” said Chen. “But in that time, life expectancy has increased. Interest rates are much lower than they were in the ’80s— which affects interest income for the system. Both changes have an effect on lifetime benefits if they are claimed at different ages.” Now, the average person claiming at age 62 gets 94 percent of the lifetime benefit they would get if they claimed Social Security at age 65. Individuals who defer claiming
afford to claim later and their life expectancy exceeds that of individuals who earn much less. In effect, the formula is working correctly for those claiming later. But it is falling short for individuals who claim earlier. “What we found was that the delayed claiming credit—claiming after age 65—is about right, even if you wait until age 70. The lifetime benefit is about equal to the benefit you get at age 65,” said Chen. “However, the lifetime benefit you get at age 62 is less than at age 65. So, people who claim early are being charged too much for claiming early.” Munnell said the system needs the attention of lawmakers to address these actuarial matters, but also other issues to ensure the
Boston College is considering all legal options against the City of Newton after the Newton City Council voted on Dec. 2 to take by eminent domain 17 acres of Boston College’s property at 300 Hammond Pond Parkway. The 17 acres is part of a 25-acre parcel of land the University purchased from Congregation Mishkan Tefila for $20 million in 2016. The congregation made the property available for purchase between 2014 and 2015, but the city chose not to acquire it. The 17 acres represents a small part of 160 acres of open space alongside of Hammond Pond Parkway, commonly known as Webster Woods. Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller says the city will pay for the land through its Community Preservation Fund; the city council has voted to allocate $15.7 million for the 17 acres and legal fees. “Our contention is that the City of
Newton overreached in taking the property by eminent domain, evidenced by its failure to follow its own procedures for review,” said Associate Vice President for University Communications Jack Dunn. “We also believe that the mayor and City Council have underestimated the current fair value of the property and the legal costs associated with its taking. “This could have been avoided if the mayor had not cut off discussions with the University, or had been willing to consider a land swap. Through her actions, the mayor has picked a needless fight against Newton’s largest employer and community benefactor.” The mayor’s office said that the order of taking will be recorded with the South Middlesex Registry of Deeds by the end of December. Boston College will begin to seek legal recourse immediately thereafter. –University Communications
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December 12, 2019
British Studies Organization Honors Ismay for ‘Best Book’ BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR
Associate Professor of History Penelope Ismay, whose studies of 18th- and 19thcentury British economic life illuminate the sweeping changes associated with modernity, has won a major honor for her book Trust Among Strangers: Friendly Societies in Modern Britain. The North American Conference on British Studies selected Trust Among Strangers for the Stansky Prize, which recognizes the best book published in 2018 in the field of post-1800 British history. NACBS is a scholarly society dedicated to all aspects of British studies, including history, literature, art history, politics, law, sociology, and economics. The organization sponsors the Journal of British Studies, online publications, an annual conference, several academic prizes, graduate fellowships, and undergraduate essay contests. “It’s very gratifying to be chosen,” said Ismay, recounting the process of researching and analyzing material that became the basis for Trust Among Strangers. “Starting in graduate school, I was fixated on the next big requirement for the doctorate. I would accomplish it only to find a new one loom-
Penelope Ismay
photo by gary wayne gilbert
ing on the horizon. “And then, one day, I looked up and realized that I was really done. Being on the other side of the book and then tenure, I realized anew how much I love my life and job here at BC. This prize came out of the blue for me, and I’m humbled by the implication that my peers think this is an important book and that so many friends and colleagues were there to see me receive the prize.” In Trust Among Strangers, Ismay ex-
Pete Frates Dies at 34 Continued from page 1
disease. Mr. Frates’ story had an unmistakable BC dimension. His parents, John and Nancy, his sister, Jennifer and his wife, Julie, are all alumni. He and Julie, like his parents, met while students at Boston College. Mr. Frates enjoyed an accomplished career as an outfielder for the Eagles, setting a modern BC record with eight RBIs in one game. Head coach Mike Gambino ’99 hired Mr. Frates as BC’s director of baseball operations in 2012, and he provided advice, support, and inspiration to Eagles players even as the progression of the disease made it impossible for him to travel with the team. He created a special “Mentor Night,” when former players speak to current Eagles about life after baseball. In the summer of 2014, Mr. Frates was at the center of what became a worldwide phenomenon and one of the most celebrated social media campaigns in history—the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge [#IceBucketChallenge]. For several weeks, people around the world posted videos and photos that showed them dumping buckets of ice water on their heads, and challenging friends and relatives to do the same, while urging donations to support ALS research. Mr. Frates did not invent the Ice Bucket Challenge: Its origins involved a convergence of several other charitable efforts and longstanding traditions like the Polar Bear Plunge. Mr. Frates, however, became involved in mid-July of that year, inspired by a friend and fellow ALS patient, Pat Quinn. He put the call out through Facebook to family members, friends, and a vast network of acquaintances and well-wishers that included New England Patriots stars Tom Brady and Julian Edelman, Red Sox owner
John Henry, and BC alumni husband-wife athletic duo Matt and Sarah Ryan. Other high-profile personalities—ranging from George W. Bush and Bill Gates to Lady Gaga and Kermit the Frog—joined the campaign and the momentum grew. The ALS Association reported that it had received more than $100 million in donations for one month alone during the height of the Ice Bucket Challenge; altogether, the campaign was credited with raising more than $220 million. Almost three years later, in the spring of 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced approval of a drug that slows the effects of ALS. In 2019, Boston College honored Mr. Frates by naming Phase II of the Harrington Athletics Village as the Pete Frates Center. The facility, which will open in the summer of 2020, will provide a 31,000-square foot indoor baseball and softball facility featuring locker rooms, hitting tunnels, indoor turf field, strength and conditioning space, and a hospitality area. A University statement read in part: “Pete Frates possessed the characteristics we hold dear as a university—courage, integrity, selflessness, and a commitment to helping others. He accepted his illness and devoted the remaining years of his life to raising awareness of ALS and helping to raise money for a cure. He is a role model for all BC students and a beloved figure on our campus. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Frates family, who have been an inspiration in their loving devotion to Pete and the cause of ALS research.” –University Communications Read the full obituary at on.bc.edu/InMemoriamPeteFrates
amines the role of friendly or mutual assistance societies in helping foster a sense of community and shared responsibilities in Britain during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period of rapid social and economic change. This was a critical moment in British history, she said, marked by widespread concerns about the increasing number of poor people while the internal migration of a growing population challenged the means of relieving poverty. “How could communities determine whether to trust the people asking for relief in the ‘society of strangers’ that Britain was rapidly becoming?” she said. “Whereas in the past, the belief that ‘the poor are always with us’ held sway, now people were saying, ‘We can do something about it.’ New conceptions of the friendly society were the answer to the question of trust. They promoted relationships between new kinds of social classes and relationships between strangers. The ideas did not always work in practice, but the fact that Britons spent so much time and money experimenting with
new forms of reciprocity shows that reformers and laborers alike were looking for socially meaningful ways of integrating the poor into a rapidly changing society.” Trust Among Strangers illustrates the “problem-centered approach” to researching history Ismay employs. Her newest project also uses this method to explore how Victorians worked to keep self-interest within socially tenable boundaries as their economy experienced unprecedented growth. This fall, Ismay taught the undergraduate course Study & Writing of History: Odd Women to New Women and the graduate course Women and Work in the World. Ismay joined the Boston College faculty in 2013 and the following year was named the Cooney Family Assistant Professor, an endowed position made possible through a gift by Robert J. Cooney ’74 and family, as part of a University initiative to support junior faculty research and early-career development. She was promoted to associate professor this past spring.
BC a Haven for Visiting Tajik Scholar BY ROSANNE PELLEGRINI STAFF WRITER
More than 6,000 miles from his native Tajikistan, where he faced censorship and the threat of imprisonment, linguist and historian Barakatullo Ashurov is finishing up what he regards as a very satisfying first semester as a visiting assistant professor at Boston College. “I am happy to be part of the BC community and have the opportunity to teach subjects that I am most passionate about: histories and cultures of ancient, medieval, and modern nations of the Central Asian region,” said Ashurov, who specializes in the languages and religions of pre-modern Central Asia, particularly those of the Sogdians, who lived in modern-day Tajikistan and Uzbekistan between the fifth and 11th centuries CE. As the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund 2019 Beau Biden Scholar, Ashurov also is writing a book that explores the history of Christianity in Central Asia from an ethnolinguistic and ethnocultural perspective. The IIE-SRF arranges and funds fellowships for threatened and displaced scholars at partnering higher education institutions worldwide, which offer temporary academic positions where fellows can continue their work in safety. Prior to his arrival at Boston College, Ashurov held an appointment at Harvard University with the support of IIE-SRF in partnership with Harvard Scholars at Risk. In his country, Ashurov experienced suppression for his advocacy and critical academic efforts to prioritize the communitycentered documentation and preservation of minority languages and cultural expressions. He has relished the opportunity to work in a different environment. “My colleagues and students at BC are very supportive, encouraging, and inspiring,” he said.
Barakatullo Ashurov
photo by lee pellegrini
This semester, he taught undergraduates the political and cultural history of Tajikistan focusing on 19th-21st century pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet eras. His spring course offerings are Introduction to Zoroastrianism and Sogdian and Silk Roads Linguistic and Cultural Perspective. “We are extremely fortunate to have Dr. Ashurov with us this year,” said Political Science Professor of the Practice Kathleen Bailey, who is acting as his sponsor. “He brings politics, history, culture, religion, and ethnolinguistics together in a truly interdisciplinary manner that few scholars can authentically achieve. Barakat’s research is focused on the Sogdians of Central Asia and the ways in which culture, language, and religion were transferred from ancient to modern times. His latest work on Sogdian Christianity is of great interest to scholars in many fields. “His courses give BC students the opportunity to study topics that are rarely covered, such as the politics of Tajikistan, Zoroastrianism, and Sogdian sociolinguistics,” she added. “We are also delighted to participate in the Scholars at Risk program to protect intellectuals such as Dr. Ashurov, who would be silenced in his home country.”
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A Core Class Enriches Teacher and Students Alike Continued from page 1
several years in revitalizing its Core Curriculum, and that commitment plays out on a daily basis around the Heights, through faculty members who interpolate the vision and mission of the core through readings, class discussions, and writing assignments. Those faculty members include Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley, who taught The Worlds of Moby-Dick; his longtime friend and colleague Michael Martin, an associate dean and associate professor of the practice in the Morrissey College Honors Program, led the complementary class (the two classes also met jointly for reflection and discussion). In the classroom, the University’s chief academic officer is first and foremost a professor of history who encourages his students to hone their analytical and reasoning abilities, think deeply about what they read, and present their views in class—and to see how the things they learn in this and Martin’s class apply elsewhere during their BC education, and beyond. Eichner, who is considering a major in Environmental Studies with a minor in English or history, is one student who embraced the task. “I often find myself reading Moby-Dick while thinking both about what it is influencing, and is influenced by historically, and using themes from the literature itself to better understand the impact of the events going on within the time it was written,” said the Potomac, Md., native, in an interview earlier this fall. “Beyond that, in my Perspectives class, and even my course on climate change, I cannot help but link certain ideas from the Moby-Dick class to what I am reading and learning about. I’ve begun to realize that a lot more from literature and history can be applied to contemporary problems than I ever thought possible, and in ways I would not have expected.” Eichner also appreciated the format, structure, and general atmosphere promoted by Quigley. “Our class has a bond that makes participation and discussion very engaging and fun. This has helped me become better at forming my own opinions and raising questions, all very important skills that have helped me in other areas of my life.” As far as Quigley is concerned, the benefits go both ways. “It’s energizing to me to be in the classroom, and especially in a core class,” said Quigley, who usually teaches one class during the academic year. “I’m a better provost because I take part in the core, but most of all because I get to interact with undergraduates, and freshmen in particular: I like to see the unique energy they bring to class, and their engagement with one another.” Having worked with Martin over the years and sharing a mutual interest in Melville, Quigley felt that the two of them could devise a pair of classes suited to the core’s interdisciplinary Enduring Questions model, through which subjects crucial to the human experience—health and illness, love and marriage, and the relationship between humans and the natural world—are explored. While The Worlds of Moby-Dick
“I’m a better provost because I take part in the core, but most of all because I get to interact with undergraduates, and freshmen in particular,” says Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley, above, who has regularly taught Core Curriculum courses. “I like to see the unique energy they bring to class, and their engagement with one another.” photo by lee pellegrini
was rooted in historical elements of the era, such as the whaling industry and its place in the global economy, Quigley also wanted to focus on period writing and other modes of expression. “There’s something about this generation of Americans and their use of language that is distinctive and enduring,” he said. “It’s not just what they say but how they say it—this offers insights into the defining events of the time, and the nation the U.S. was becoming.” On one recent raw, damp November day in a Stokes Hall classroom, Quigley and his students trained their collective lens on Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, examining words and phrases from various angles to discern their intent and meaning. Quigley—who asked how many in the
class memorized the Gettysburg Address while in school (several had)—periodically nudged the students to comment (“What’s Lincoln doing here?”) and they responded thoughtfully: One said the speech’s “structured phrasing makes it easier to remember and repeat”; another saw Lincoln warning of higher stakes beyond America’s survival, that “if America fails, this whole experiment of freedom fails”; another was struck by the way “Lincoln grouped all the combatants together, not ‘Union’ and ‘Confederate.’” At one point in the discussion, Quigley gave some advice: “Read the Gettysburg Address aloud. You really benefit from hearing how the words sound, and the rhythms they take on.” As immense a figure Lincoln might be,
York Enters Hockey Hall of Fame Schiller Family Head Hockey Coach Jerry York ’67, the winningest coach in college hockey history, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame at the Induction Celebration last month in Toronto. He is the fifth NCAA coach to earn the honor. York has won five national titles and posted 1,074 victories in his nearly five decades as a Division I head coach at Clarkson, Bowling Green, and Boston College. Last season he won his 600th game at BC, becoming just the fifth Division I coach to win 600 games at the same institution. In 25 seasons at his alma mater, York has led the Eagles to four NCAA titles, 12 Frozen Fours and nine Hockey East Tournament championships. The all-time leader in NCAA Tournament victories with 41, York collected his fourth Hockey East Coach of the Year Award in 2018. For more coverage of York’s induction, go to bceagles.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey.
Jerry York relishing his 1,000th career victory in 2016. photo by john quackenbos
Quigley invited students to see him as a man of his time, not without flaws, trying to move where events led him even as he remained tethered to less enlightened ideas and attitudes. Only months before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, he said, Lincoln declared that he favored establishing colonies in Central or South America for American blacks, so as to separate the races (Melville dealt with colonialism in his writing, too, Quigley noted, with similarly complicated ideas on race and democracy). “Even after all these years, I’m still grappling with this,” Quigley told the class. “What was going on with Lincoln in the late summer of 1862?” Students offered their takes: “Maybe he was trying to prevent a war he thought would come after the Civil War,” said one; “It was a cop-out,” said another, to which Quigley replied, “Yeah, but it wasn’t just a Lincoln cop-out, it was part of what many in his generation believed.” With class time running down, Quigley quickly set the stage for an assessment of the Emancipation Proclamation and how Lincoln used it “as the basis for turning the overall war, and the Union, into a liberating force.” Students closed their notebooks, picked up backpacks and water bottles, and headed into the hallway. Afternoons like this helped make freshman Michael O’Shea’s first semester at BC an enjoyable one. “College is all about learning new and different things, so I wanted to push myself in a field I really knew nothing about,” said O’Shea, a Morrissey College student mulling an economics major. “I felt that reading this book would be a great entry into my college experience, where I could learn a lot from two very knowledgeable people in Professors Quigley and Martin. So far the class has been just that.” To learn more about the Core Curriculum, see www.bc.edu/core.
Eagles Heading to Birmingham Bowl Boston College has accepted an invitation to the 2019 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl and will face No. 21 Cincinnati from the American Athletic Conference on Jan. 2 at 3 p.m. at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. Boston College (66, 4-4 ACC) finished the regular season with a 26-19 victory at Pitt to become bowl-eligible. This year’s bowl appearance marks the fourth straight for Boston College and the sixth bowl trip in the previous seven seasons. Cincinnati, which plays in the American Athletic Conference, compiled a 10-3 record and appeared in the AAC Championship Game against Memphis, losing 29-24. The Bearcats are ranked 21st in the country. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. For more details, see bceagles.com.
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December 12, 2019
For Hong Kong Native, an Anxious Look Homeward BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR
For most of the Boston College community, the recent siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University by police pursuing pro-democracy protesters was a compelling news story glimpsed via TV, the Internet, or print media. But “A,” a Hong Kong native studying at BC, did more than observe. As police tightened their hold around the campus, some Hongkongers sought to slip in and bring to safety those trapped inside. Among the rescue parties were friends of A, who kept in contact by encrypted phone apps to help them avoid getting captured, or worse. “I tried to let them know where the police might be coming from, what were the best escape routes—any information that might help,” said A, whose name is withheld here out of his concern for family members and friends. Media reports of the stand-off, which lasted nearly two weeks, showed protesters escaping the campus by sewer tunnels or shimmying down ropes to board waiting motorbikes. No definitive numbers of successful escapees have been given. A said his friends were able to get in and out safely. The improbable rebirth of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, five years after the “Umbrella Revolution” starkly revealed the territory’s tensions with mainland China— which administers the region—has been one of the year’s most gripping international developments. A has not lived full time in Hong Kong for several years—he has dual citizenship in the European country where he attended school—but he maintains strong ties there, not least because of his family members. He keeps in touch through social media and other means, follows news however he can, and maintains hope that Hong Kong can retain its legal and economic systems. The alternative is too terrible to contemplate, he says. “If the movement stops, there is no second chance,” said A, interviewed late last month. “If we lose, the Chinese government can, and will, restrict our freedom. So for Hong Kong, and the young generation in particular, this is a fight for survival.” A’s historical impression of Hong Kong during its 156 years as a British colony is of a place rife with racial inequality and corruption, but which improved beginning in the 1970s, when Murray MacLehose became governor and enacted a wide range of reforms. His Hong Kong memories are of a big, bustling city where pedestrians are impelled to move quickly across busy streets, its numerous shopping malls always packed. But hundreds of thousands emigrated after the Sino-British agreement paving the way for China to assume authority over Hong Kong in 1997, while guaranteeing its governmental and economic systems for 50 years. A cites the Tiananmen Square massacre as a key flashpoint in Hongkongers’ concerns about life under Chinese administration: Many people, including members of his family, began obtaining dual-citizenship
status in the United Kingdom and United States, as well as Canada, Australia, and other countries. A was abroad when the 2014 prodemocracy protests began, as Hongkongers expressed displeasure over electoral reforms they saw as allowing China to pre-screen candidates for the territory’s chief executive position. “China wouldn’t allow universal suffrage,” he explained. “They said, ‘We’ll let you vote, but we’ll choose the candidates you can vote for.’”
Hong Kong street protest in August.
photo by studio incendo via wikimedia commons
Protesters—many of whom carried umbrellas as protection from pepper spray and tear gas from police—occupied three districts, including one housing the government headquarters, for two months but were unsuccessful in wringing concessions from China. “I knew many friends who were at the occupation for a day or two; everybody seemed to know someone who had taken part,” said A. “When the movement failed, there was a lot of despair and lost hope,
Snapshot
and you would hear many people talk about emigrating.” The protests that began back in June— over a proposal to extradite suspected criminals to the mainland, which opponents claim would result in suppression of activists and journalists—were a pleasant surprise for A. He believes the extradition bill was not so much the cause of the backlash but rather “the trigger” that rejuvenated the nascent pro-democracy elements in Hong Kong.
The scope of the protesters’ demands broadened beyond withdrawal of the extradition bill (which occurred in September) to include universal suffrage for the election of Hong Kong’s legislative council and chief executive, an investigation into alleged police brutality, the release of arrested protesters, and a retraction of the official characterization of the protests as “riots.” The so-called “Five Demands” became the cornerstone of the democracy movement. While Hongkongers studying abroad
have not personally experienced the turmoil back home, they have concerns of their own. According to the Associated Press, Hongkongers at U.S. colleges have reported tensions, even clashes, with students from mainland China who view the pro-democracy movement as a threat to Chinese territorial integrity and rule of law. A, who makes no secret of being a Hongkonger, said he has not had any conflicts with Chinese students at BC. But shortly after arriving in Boston in August he took part in a pro-Hong Kong march that was met by Chinese counter-protesters shouting “Hong Kong will always be a part of China.” According to A, a middle-aged Chinese man approached one marcher with the apparent intent of physically attacking him; police intervened shortly thereafter (A did not witness whether an attack actually took place). The pro-democracy movement was cheered recently by U.S. sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials responsible for human rights abuses in Hong Kong, and the overwhelming triumph of prodemocracy candidates in the Hong Kong district council elections. But these events by themselves are widely viewed as unlikely to push China to change its hardline approach. Universal suffrage is more crucial for Hong Kong than ever, A believes. “China has already started taking away our freedom and trying to replace our rule of law by rule of man. It is now necessary for us to get democracy immediately as a tool to protect our freedom and the rule of law. If we don’t win now, Hong Kong will become a place where political dissidents are no longer safe to live in, just like China. Without the rule of law, who knows what the police and the Chinese government will do to people who get arrested in the mass prosecution that comes after the failure of the movement? “So besides fighting for democracy and protecting our freedom, the movement is also a fight for literal survival.”
photo by christopher huang
‘Asian Boss Girl’ The First Gen Club, Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center, and Asian Studies Program recently presented “Asian Boss Girl,” a podcast hosted by (L-R) Janet Wang, Melody Chen, and 2010 alumna Helen Wu, former president of the Boston College Chinese Students Association, with Wendy Wang ’20 serving as moderator. At the event, held in the Fulton Honors Library, Wang, Chen, and Wu shared their insights on personal and professional development, among many other topics.
Chronicle
December 12, 2019
WELCOME ADDITIONS
OBITUARIES
An Introduction to New Faculty at Boston College Daniel Daly
Associate Professor of Moral Theology, School of Theology and Ministry DEGREES: St. Anselm College (BA); Boston College (MA, PhD) WHAT HE STUDIES: Virtue ethics, social structures and moral agency, issues in contemporary clinical medical ethics. WHAT HE’S TEACHING: Virtue Ethics; Christian Ethics and Social Structures; The Moral Dimension of the Christian Life; Health Care Ethics.
What do you consider are the most challenging bioethical issues facing us today?
“In this country, we’re still dealing with abortion and physician-assisted suicide. Emerging issues include the role of individualized medicine, and its benefits and costs, genetic engineering, transhumanism, and the tendencies of pharmaceutical corporations to research and develop drugs for the Global North and not the Global South. However, the most critical issue remains access to primary health care, both in this country and globally. The World Health Organization estimates that in 2018, 6.2 million children under 15 throughout the globe died from preventable causes. This is a supreme affront to human dignity, that intrinsic, transcendent value that all persons possess because they image God. “Liberation theologians have taught that people of good will should preferentially focus on the poor and to prioritize their needs. Pressing issues for the poor include access to childhood vaccinations, morphine to control pain, and effective treatments for infectious diseases. Addressing these issues can prevent the unjust suffering and death that afflicts so many around the globe.”
Mo Jones-Jang
Assistant Professor of Communication, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences DEGREES: Seoul National University (BA); University of Michigan (PhD). WHAT HE STUDIES: Digital information behavior, political/science communication, big data analytics, and media psychology. WHAT HE’S TEACHING: Persuasion; Social Media; Communication Methods: Social Science.
You’re involved in a research project, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, with computer scientists and a linguistic scholar on how online fake news evolves over sharing processes. How’s that going?
“Looking at online news and Twitter data, we’ve found several patterns in the process by which fake news spreads online. People just name any information that is not supporting their own partisan views as ‘fake news.’ It’s not about the veracity of information but about ‘liking’ of information. Also, partisans interpret the same fake news in a very different way, which leads to social polarization at the aggregate level. “Working with people from different disciplines is so much fun because, ironically, we speak totally different languages. It took us lots of time to learn how to speak with one another.”
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Elisa Magrì
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences DEGREES: University of Pisa (BA, MA); Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa (PhD and Diploma)
WHAT SHE STUDIES:
Empathy, phenomenological philosophy, G.W.F. Hegel, modern and contemporary European philosophy. WHAT SHE’S TEACHING: Philosophy of the Person; 19th and 20th Century Philosophy
Your research looks at the roles of habit, attention, and attitude in empathy. Can you give a brief overview of how these elements interplay?
“Crucial questions of my research are the following: What are the dispositions involved in perceiving and acknowledging other subjects? Is empathy a two-level phenomenon, as it often assumed in contemporary debates where empathy is associated with sensory-motor responses and direct perception independently from personhood and values? Or is there a way to account for the unitary structure of the empathic experience? My project aims to defend the second hypothesis by investigating the dimension of habit formation and its relation to attentiveness. In so doing, I aim to make a case for social sensitivity as a cultivated state that facilitates a stance of attunement and attentiveness to the diversity of others’ emotional backgrounds.”
Andrew F. Miller
Assistant Professor, Lynch School of Education and Human Development DEGREES: University of Notre Dame (BA, MEd); Boston College (PhD). WHAT HE STUDIES: Catholic education; educational leadership and policy; social justice teaching and leadership; teaching/teacher education; whole person education. WHAT HE’S TEACHING: Ethics and Equity in Education; Theories of Leadership.
Enrollment in US Catholic K-12 schools has precipitously decreased during the last 50 years, causing the closure of many Catholic schools each year. How should the U.S. make sense of this persistent trend? “There has been a somewhat narrow focus in the field of Catholic education in the U.S. on preventing school closure by improving school leadership structures. While highquality leaders are needed in schools, going forward, the field needs to embrace new frameworks that look across multiple dimensions: leadership, governance/policy, school quality, curriculum, Catholic identity, and social justice. Conducting research informed by this kind of cross-cutting framework will help us determine distinct kinds of classroom-, school-, and systemlevel leadership methods best suited to face the distinct managerial, spiritual, and educational challenges facing contemporary Catholic schools.”
–Phil Gloudemans, Sean Smith and Kathleen Sullivan photos by peter julian and lee pellegrini
Fr. Philip J. King, 94; Old Testament Scholar and Archeologist A funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Church in Boston for Fr. Philip J. King, a retired professor in theology at Boston College and an expert in Old Testament studies, who died Dec. 7. He was 94. Fr. King, who taught at BC from 1974 until his retirement in 2001, was a widely respected scholar of the Hebrew Bible as well as of the archaeology of the ancient Near East, and excavated at numerous sites in Jordan, Israel, and Yemen. He published widely in these fields, including books illuminating prophecy from an archaeological perspective: Amos, Hosea, Micah: An Archaeological Commentary and Jeremiah: An Archaeological Companion, and a coauthored volume, Life in Biblical Israel. He was the only person to have held the presidencies of the three main North American scholarly societies in these fields: the American Schools of Oriental Research, Catholic Biblical Association, and Society of Biblical Literature. Fr. King also served as president of the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, and on the board of governors for the American Research Center in Egypt and the Archaeological Institute of America.
Leo Power Jr., 84; Directed Institute for Scientific Research A funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 6 in St. Ignatius Church for Leo F. Power Jr., who worked at the Boston College Institute for Scientific Research for 46 years, including 30 as its director. Mr. Power died on Nov. 22 at the age of 84. Mr. Power, who played basketball at BC as an undergraduate and earned a degree in mathematics in 1956—he also held a master’s degree and MBA from the University—joined the ISR, then known as the Ionospheric Research Laboratory (later as the Space Data Analysis Laboratory and then the Institute for Space Research), in 1959 as research mathematician. He became director in 1975. Under Mr. Power’s leadership, the institute was able to adapt to shifts in priorities and funding for space-related research; ISR worked on projects related to the U.S. space shuttle program and climate change,
among other areas. The ISR is the largest sponsored research center at Boston College, with a team of scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and research associates working in theoretical and experimental studies that include space physics, space chemistry, solar-terrestrial research, space weather, and astrophysical studies. “We’ve built up a reputation for being reliable,” said Mr. Power, interviewed by Boston College Chronicle in 2000, five years before he retired. “Our motto has always been, ‘Give ’em what they need, when they need it.’” Mr. Power is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and children Leo III MBA’89, Elaine Cosseboom ’86, Karen McNamara ’87, MA’95, and Bill ’93, and his sister, Margaret Spellman. For more about Mr. Power, see www.eatonfuneralhomes.com/notices/Leo-PowerJr. —University Communications
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: Research Economist, Academic Affairs/ Provost Assistant Director, Advising Operations, Academic Affairs/Provost Recovery House Manager, Student Affairs/Residential Life Senior Information Security Analyst, Information Technology Associate Director, Technology Transfer, Academic Affairs/Provost Content Development Specialist, Academic Affairs/Provost Senior Records Specialist, Advancement Head Coach, Men’s Soccer, Athletics Assistant Director, Financial Aid, Academic Affairs/Provost Geographic Information Systems Research Consultant, Information Technology Fiscal & Procurement Assistant, Student Affairs/Residential Life Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Academic Affairs/Provost Report Writer, University Advancement Systems and Data Analyst, Academic Affairs Manager, Diversity and Inclusion, Human Resources
This is the final edition of Boston College Chronicle for the fall 2019 semester. Our next issue will be published on January 16. For news and other information about Boston College, see BC News [www.bc.edu/bcnews].
Chronicle
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December 12, 2019
BC Global
Combining High Achievement ‘with Dignity’ A Korean educational program draws inspiration from the Lynch School. Now, the Lynch School is taking a look at it. BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER
A Lynch School of Education and Human Development research team embarked this fall on an arduous but fulfilling two-week investigation of 16 Hyukshin middle and high schools in South Korea—the starting point for an assessment of an educational program greatly inspired by Lynch School teaching and scholarship. The schools are part of a progressive public school movement, driven by educators and community members, that began in 2009 to counter the competition-driven meritocracy so prevalent in East Asian education. Hyukshin (which translates to “innovation”) schools promote democracy-based education and humanism, and eschew the prevalent preoccupation with testing and grades. Leading the BC contingent were Stanton E. F. Wortham, the Charles F. Donovan, S.J. dean of the Lynch School, and Lynch School Professor Dennis Shirley and Associate Professor Deoksoon Kim. They were joined by BC undergraduates Eunhye Cho Grad ’22, Jieun Lee ’21, and Yoonmi Kang ’20. Rounding out the research team are Crystal Mengru Pu ’20 and Sooji Yang ’22, and graduate students Adam Agostinelli and Han Gil Kim. The team’s project is underwritten by a grant from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE). “Since we are the first international research team from outside of Korea to study Hyukshin schools, it’s a significant vote of confidence for the Lynch School,” said Shirley, noting that the highly competitive SMOE grant covers two years of investigation and evaluation. “It’s a chance of a lifetime to examine such a system, particularly because of South Korea’s considerable visibility in attaining high levels of student achievement on large-scale assessments. We anticipate that our findings will generate
interest from educational change leaders worldwide.” Kim cited two critical factors in SMOE’s selection of the Lynch School: Its focus on “whole child” education, and Shirley’s coauthorship with retired Lynch School Professor Andy Hargreaves of The Fourth Way: The Inspiring Future for Educational Change and its sequel, Global Fourth Way: The Quest for Educational Excellence. These two influential books, which were translated into Korean,
in 1987 by then-South Korea President Chun, in what The New York Times characterized as a “political transformation that would usher in a new era of democratic development and mature politics.” The prophesy has proven to be true, say Shirley and Kim: The transition from authoritarian rule to democracy was the critical turning point in the eventual liberalization of all realms of Korean society, particularly education. By the mid-1990s, a national school re-
the education system; it’s supporting students’ learning process and developing a new school culture focused on equity, democratic rights and responsibilities, and the full realization of every student’s potential.” While South Korean education has consistently earned high scores in its worldwide Programme for International Students Assessment ranking, the global education community’s acknowledgement of this success has been restrained, explained Kim, The Lynch School of Education and Human Development research team in South Korea: front row L-R, Dean Stanton Wortham, Assoc. Prof. Deoksoon Kim, Prof. Dennis Shirley; back row L-R, Eunhye Cho, Mengru Crystal Pu, Yoonmi Kang, Adam Agostinelli, Han Gil Kim, Jieun Lee, Sooji Yang.
have had a significant impact on the Hyukshin school movement. Collaborating with a Korean research team from Hongik University, the BC group conducted seven to eight hours of interviews daily, in Korean, with school-based educators, project leaders, and ministry-level coordinators, said Kim, a Seoul native. “Our research focus during year one is qualitative; we will return in the spring to conduct the quantitative portion.” The research objectives, she explained, are to provide new findings on the schools’ plans for change; document the ways innovation is implemented; and offer recommendations for improvement. “We anticipate that this study will provide a major overview of the Hyukshin school innovation movement for educators, policy makers, and the public on a worldwide scale,” said Shirley. The Hyukshin movement has its roots in sweeping constitutional changes announced
form plan was proposed as a replacement for the state-driven industrialization model that served as a means of developing hard-working, loyal employees who would contribute to the national economy’s growth. The plan set the stage for a decentralized, communitydriven approach that would surface some 1015 years later, according to Shirley and Kim. Key to its existence was the introduction of popular elections to select school superintendents in 2007, resulting in progressive (“jinbo”) school leaders heading six provinces. Beginning with 13 schools in the Gyeonggi Province, Hyukshin schools spread quickly and now total an estimated 1,000 locations, or approximately nine percent of the 11,000 South Korean schools. “Hyukshin schools are a model of innovative education that aim to overcome challenges in Korean education, particularly an extremely competitive school environment and a lack of respect for students’ rights,” said Kim. “It’s more than just modifying
because of the perception that South Korea’s excessively rigid educational model exerts unhealthy, fanatical pressure on students to achieve academically. “Many Korean parents are obsessed with high test scores, since admission to a prestigious college is considered the gateway to upward mobility for their children,” said Kim. “This perspective is historically and culturally based on Confucian values, in which education was always associated with social rank and prestige. The Hyukshin movement, in contrast, envisions schools as sites that prepare students for democratic citizenship and student voice.” As Shirley noted, the BC team’s investigation strives to identify Hyukshin’s strengths and weaknesses, and to offer recommendations accordingly. “We firmly believe students can highly achieve with dignity, and with their wellbeing at the center of their education,” said Shirley.
BC Scenes Glad Tidings
PHOTOS BY FRANK CURRAN
Holiday season events were plentiful at BC this month, among them “Advent Lessons and Carols,” held by the School of Theology and Ministry in St. Ignatius Church (far left), and the campus Christmas tree lighting (near left and above), which included a very special guest.