Boston College Chronicle

FEBRUARY 26, 2019 VOL. 26 NO. 12

PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Economics, Finance, Bio Are BC’s Top Three Majors Political science, communication, psychology also remain among most popular; computer science continues rise, joins top 10

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

In a volatile world, one source of constancy is the list of Boston College’s 10 most popular undergraduate majors, which has changed little in the past five years.

Economics (1,227 current majors), finance (1,048), and biology (958) once again occupy the top three spots, as has been the case since the 2013-14 academic year. In addition, economics—which includes enrollments in Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences and Carroll School of Management—has been the most popular major at BC since 2012-13. And while the order has shifted at times, political science (873), communication (757), and psychology (506) have been mainstays in places four through six since 2014.

This year has seen computer science crack the top 10 for the first time, with 420 majors, placing it ninth behind nurs-

INSIDE 2 Around Campus

Latino Family Weekend marks 15 years; father of 9/11 hero Welles Crowther ’99 dies; upcoming C21 event will examine Catholic press and the Church crisis.

3 Faculty member honored

Chemistry’s Masayuki Wasa awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship.

8 BC Global

Sixty years old this month, the BC Language Lab is playing an important role in the University’s global engagement initiative.

ing (431) and applied psychology and human development (430), and ahead of English (408).

Computer science, whose enrollments also draw from both the Morrissey College and Carroll School, has experienced a 518 percent increase in majors during the past decade, from 68 in 2009 to its present 420, by far the largest among BC’s disciplines. Prior to 2016, when there were 238 computer science majors, the program’s highest number of enrollees had been 202 in 1999-2000. Other majors with significant hikes in enrollment in the past 10 years include operations management (182 percent) and International Studies and biochemistry (both 102 percent).

Associate Professor Sergio Alvarez, who chairs the Computer Science Department, chalks up the rising interest in part to a growing recognition of computer science’s applicability beyond programming and

photo by yiting chen

New Moon

In celebration of the Lunar New Year, on Feb. 16 the McMullen Museum of Art teamed up with the Chinese Students Association, Korean Students Association, Southeast Asian Students Association, Vietnamese Students Association, and Asian Caucus to present a program of arts and crafts, New Year’s food from various countries, and a Lion Dance.

Continued on page 5

Celebrating a Long Journey’s End Wrongfully deported, Wilmer Garcia fought back with the help of a BC program; last week, he came to campus to tell his story

BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER

Wilmer Garcia, the wrongfully deported Honduran-born, legal permanent resident whose arduous and contentious return to the U.S. was finally achieved in May 2018 after an eight-year legal struggle and 13 years in exile, re-stated his gratitude last week for his legal team from Boston College’s Post-Deportation Human Rights Project (PDHRP) and Boston law firm

Nixon Peabody: “I am beyond extremely grateful with you all; you saved my life and family.”

Garcia shared his remarkable story at a Feb. 20 celebration at BC Law School at which Nixon Peabody was presented with the first “Human Rights in Action” award for the firm’s pro bono contribution to the landmark legal victory.

“This case illustrates that post-deportation victories are indeed possible with hard work, persistence, and innovative legal strategies,” said BC Law Professor Daniel Kanstroom, co-founder and co-director of the PDHRP at BC’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice (which he also co-directs). “We are here to celebrate a very difficult legal victory that was in

Continued on page 4

Wilmer Garcia photo by reba saldanha

“It reaffirms that others are noticing and value all the things I’ve been involved in and that it has meaning for those who come after me. It is encouragement that I’m going in the right direction.”

– Roscoe Trimmier Jr. Diversity Scholarship Winner Bria Coleman, page 6

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February 26 , 2019

Around Campus

A Festive Milestone for OLAA’s Latino Family Weekend The Organization of Latin American Affairs (OLAA) 15th annual Latino Family Weekend, held Feb. 15-17, celebrated Latin American culture and tradition in music, dance, art, and social events.

The weekend’s festivities began with a Friday evening show in Robsham Theater featuring Boston College dance groups, an all-female mariachi band, and a Brazilian dance ensemble. During the day on Saturday, OLAA held a ceramics painting event at which attendees decorated pots that were later filled with cacti and used as centerpieces at the Saturday night banquet and Sunday brunch.

Saturday’s banquet included a live band, food, and dancing. Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center Assistant Director Joana Maynard, OLAA’s advisor since 2000, was also presented with the Orgullo Latino Award for her service to the organization and Latin American students.

At Sunday’s brunch, Arivee Vargas Rozier-Byrd ’05, JD’08, the OLAA president for the inaugural Latino Family weekend— now an executive at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.—spoke on OLAA’s impact on her life

Members of the Organization of Latin American Affairs (OLAA) performed the Cumbia, a Colombian folk dance, at the culture show in Robsham Theater that opened Latino Family Weekend on Feb. 15. The dance has been a staple of the OLAA event, which marked its 15th year. photo by christopher huang

and how her Latina identity has continued to develop after BC. She also shared her delight that the tradition she created her senior year of college has continued.

Latino Family Weekend concluded with a Spanish Mass in St. Ignatius Church.

“This weekend, we saw new faces at every single event” said OLAA Co-president Nicolas Thompson-Lleras ’19. “A student

who is not even a part of our organization brought her entire family—from her little sister to her grandmother—to multiple events. It was a big honor for our entire club to see that we had created a space where her family, who might not have come to a BC event, could gather.”

“I consider it our version of Parent’s Weekend,” said OLAA Co-president Lucia

Jefferson Crowther, Father of Welles, Dies at 73 Jefferson Crowther, the father of Boston College 9/11 hero Welles Crowther ’99, known as “the man in the red bandanna,” died on Feb. 13. He was 73.

Mr. Crowther and his wife, Alison, became the caretakers of Welles’ legend when, months after he was lost in collapse of the World Trade Center, stories circulated of a young man who had led others to safety during the disaster; nobody knew the man’s name, but all remembered that he had worn a red bandanna—a trademark of Welles from his days as a volunteer firefighter in his hometown of Nyack, NY. Jeff and Alison shared Welles’ experience as an example of leadership and character development. To forward that mission, they helped establish the Red Bandanna Project and a family foundation, the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust.

The Crowthers visited BC every fall for the Welles Remy Crowther Red Bandanna 5K road race, a benefit for the trust.

“That was the nature of Welles Crowther,” Mr. Crowther told Boston College Chronicle in a 2011 interview. “The good Lord put him here knowing that ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Jack Dunn SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Jefferson and Alison Crowther at the 2017 Red Bandanna Run, a benefit for the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust held every fall at Boston College. photo by christopher huang

he would be needed at some point. And, when the time came, Welles stepped up.

He did what he had to do and he did it well. There is nothing else I can say.”

His son had “loved Boston College,” Mr. Crowther said. “He loved it deeply.

He would often tell his BC roommates, ‘When I make millions of dollars, I am going to endow a chair in the economics

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Christine Balquist Phil Gloudemans Ed Hayward Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan

Chronicle

PHOTOGRAPHERS

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

Patricia Delaney EDITOR

Sean Smith

department or pay for a building or something.’ He always thought that would be his legacy.”

In addition to his wife, Mr. Crowther is survived by his daughters, Honor Fagan and Paige Charbonneau, and their families.

—University Communications

Gary Gilbert Lee Pellegrini Peter Julian

del Rincon Martinez ’19. “It is where our parents can celebrate their traditions and relate to other BC parents from similar backgrounds.”

The weekend’s events were well attended, said del Rincon Martinez, who quipped that “grabbing extra chairs was something I was more than happy to do.”

–Christine Balquist

C21 Event Looks at Catholic Press and the Church Crisis Crux editor John L. Allen Jr., a journalist widely acclaimed for his coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church, and Matt Malone, S.J., president and editor-inchief of America Media (which produces the Jesuit publication America), will be the guest speakers for “Revitalizing Our Church: Ideas from the Catholic Press” on March 12 at 7 p.m. in Devlin 110.

Associate Vice President for University Communications Jack Dunn will serve as moderator for the event, sponsored by the Church in the 21st Century Center.

Offering insights and analysis from their experience as editors of leading Catholic publications and multimedia platforms, Allen and Fr. Malone will discuss the Catholic press’ coverage of the controversies surrounding the Catholic Church, and how it might aid in setting a new direction for the Church.

To register, go to http://bit.ly/catholicpress.

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Chronicle

February 26, 2019

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BC Chemist Awarded Sloan Research Fellowship

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Masayuki Wasa has been awarded a prestigious 2019 Sloan Research Fellowship by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Wasa is among the 126 outstanding U.S. and Canadian researchers chosen this year to receive the fellowships, which are given to early-career scientists and scholars whose achievements and potential identify them as rising stars among the next generation of scientific leaders.

A native of Japan who moved to the United States as a youth, Wasa earned a doctorate at The Scripps Research Institute and carried out his post-doctoral research at Harvard University. He joined the Boston College Chemistry Department in 2015.

“I’m honored to be named a 2019 Sloan Research Fellowship recipient,” says Wasa.

“I am grateful to the foundation, to the researchers in my lab, and to my colleagues and Boston College for all the support I have received.”

Wasa’s research focuses on the development of novel catalysts to support the discovery of new synthetic methods that can be used to prepare biologically active molecules and pharmaceuticals. His research is also funded by the National Institutes of Health.

“My young colleague, Masayuki Wasa, is truly deserving of this prestigious recognition,” says Amir Hoveyda, the Patricia and Joseph T. ’49 Vanderslice Millennium Professor of Chemistry, who nominated Wasa for the award.

“In just a small number of years he has

Asst. Prof. Masayuki Wasa (Chemistry): “We have demonstrated that some of our methods can achieve the derivatization of those pre-existing drug molecules used for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease or cancer.” photo by peter julian

been able to establish a well-funded and highly dedicated research group, one that is engaged in enviably creative and highimpact investigations in catalytic chemistry,” Hoveyda adds. “My colleagues and I have no doubt that there is much more to come, and that this is only the beginning.”

Wasa’s research focuses on a class of chemical reactions that melds an organoborane catalyst and an amine catalyst, a combination also referred to as frustrated Lewis acid/Lewis base catalysts.

“The type of chemistry we are developing in our group may be applicable to the discovery of new drugs,” says Wasa.

“Pharmaceutical companies and academic researchers are investigating efficient and selective ways to modify the structure of drug molecules in order to improve their potency and also to reduce the dosage into the human body. We have demonstrated that some of our methods can achieve the

University Remains Among the Nation’s Top Fulbright Producers Boston College continues to rank among the nation’s top 25 Fulbright-producing research institutions, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, which recently published its compilations for the 2018-19 academic year. Fifteen BC students won Fulbright awards—which support a postbaccalaureate year abroad to study, teach English, or conduct research—out of an applicant pool of 64 in this period.

Since 2006, 265 BC students have earned Fulbrights, awarded on the basis of applicants’ academic merit and leadership potential. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program operates in more than 140 countries throughout the world, affording young scholars the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

“I am very happy for, and proud of, all the BC students who received Fulbright grants this past year,” said Political Science Professor of the Practice Paul Christensen, director of BC’s Fulbright program. “A number of our students are teaching English abroad with their Fulbright grants,

while others are doing research on a wide range of subjects. I am equally proud of all of our students who, although they did not receive a grant, took the time and energy to apply for a Fulbright. It is a great credit to our students that, year in and year out, Boston College has such a talented and accomplished pool of applicants.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of my colleagues on the Fulbright advising staff who do such a wonderful job working with our students on their applications, and all the other members of the BC community who support and mentor our students through this process.”

Other top Fulbright producers among research institutions include Brown, Princeton, Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, Northwestern, North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Yale, UMass-Amherst, and Tufts. The Chronicle also included rankings for master’s and bachelor’s institutions as well as specialfocus four-year institutions such as art schools, conservatories, and seminaries.

–University Communications

derivatization of those pre-existing drug molecules used for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease or cancer.”

The son of a physician, Wasa says he knew as an undergraduate that he wanted to be a scientist whose work strives to improve human lives.

“I know that being a medical doctor is a great way of saving lives,” says Wasa. “But I also thought that being a chemist working to prepare new pharmaceuticals could be an effective way of saving people’s lives as well. That is our ultimate goal.”

Wasa says the Sloan award would sup-

port a range of projects in his research lab.

“I have several directions I would like to work on.”

He joins a number of other Sloan Foundation Fellowship winners from BC, including faculty in the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, and Mathematics.

Administered and funded by the Sloan Foundation, the fellowships are awarded in eight scientific fields—chemistry, computer science, economics, mathematics, evolutionary and computational molecular biology, neuroscience, ocean sciences, and physics.

Fellows receive $70,000 to be used to further their research.

Past Sloan Fellows have gone on to receive some of the highest honors in science, engineering, economics, and mathematics, including 47 Nobel Prizes, 17 Fields Medals in mathematics, 69 National Medals of Science, and 18 John Bates Clark Medals in economics.

“Sloan Research Fellows are the best young scientists working today,” says Adam F. Falk, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “Sloan Fellows stand out for their creativity, for their hard work, for the importance of the issues they tackle, and the energy and innovation with which they tackle them.

To be a Sloan Fellow is to be in the vanguard of 21st-century science.”

OUC, Advancement Earn Excellence Awards from CASE Boston College’s Office of University Communications (OUC) and Office of University Advancement have won four prestigious 2019 Excellence Awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), in the areas of videography, marketing and communications, and fundraising and alumni relations.

“Boston College Special Delivery”— a Harry Potter-themed video created to welcome the class of 2022—has been recognized with a Gold award from CASE District I’s “Admissions Excellence” video category.

The “Special Delivery” production was written, directed, and filmed by University Communications Creative Producer John Walsh ’17. Senior Digital Media Producer Paul Dagnello created the props and special effects for the piece, which also featured members of the BC community.

In addition, OUC staff won an award for promotional materials for the “The Minds Behind ‘Mindhunter,’” which tied with MIT for a Gold award in best practices in communications and marketing, and a Gold award for “The Minds behind ‘Mindhunter’” campaign, in the low-cost programming category. The fall 2018 special event, presented by the Connell School of Nursing, featured a conversation with Connell School Professor Ann Burgess and former FBI special investigator John

Douglas. Tracy Bienen, senior associate director of marketing communications in University Communications, oversaw the award-winning effort with assistance from OUC staffers Christine Hunt (design), Zanna Ollove (social media), Kathleen Sullivan (news), Lee Pellegrini (photography), and Maureen Dezell (editing).

The “Mindhunter” award for best practices in communications and marketing was presented within CASE’s “Platinum Categories,” which recognize the “best of the best programs and practices.”

Other Boston College initiatives receiving CASE Excellence Awards included “Gasson Circle Door Openers: A Campaign for Financial Aid,” for which University Advancement won a Bronze award in the website category of “Fundraising and Alumni Relations Excellence Program.”

CASE District I annually bestows its Excellence Awards, which recognize “work that raises the bar for the entire profession,” on individuals and schools doing innovative work in the fields of special events, fundraising, stewardship, volunteer engagement, alumni relations, advancement services, and communications.

More than 260 submissions—“all of outstanding quality”—were received this year, according to CASE. Awardees will be recognized at the March 14 Achievement and Accolades Luncheon during the annual CASE District I Conference in Boston.

–University Communications

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February 26 , 2019

Garcia Talks About Long Legal Struggle Continued from page 1

many ways against all odds. We also celebrate some joy and satisfaction in striking a meaningful blow against a large, unjust system that has taken root in our country for more than a quarter century. And we celebrate this very special man, a person of great courage and optimism with a deep commitment to justice and his family, and an indomitable human spirit.”

In 1993, when he was 10 years old, Garcia legally immigrated to Louisiana from Honduras, but was deported to his native country in 2005 based on a mistaken interpretation of the removal statute.

Convicted of a simple controlled substance possession charge under Louisiana state law in 2002, he paid a fine, served probation, and obtained a first-offender pardon, but before the pardon was executed, he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and entered into removal proceedings.

He served time in five detention centers in as many months, and his immigration file was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Deemed deportable as an aggravated felon by a Louisiana immigration judge, and advised by his prior legal counsel that he had no basis for an appeal, Garcia, by then 22, was returned to Honduras, a country he barely knew.

“I didn’t know where to go,” explained Garcia, describing his arrival in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. “I was by myself; I had just a few bucks in my pocket. I barely knew how to speak Spanish.”

Always striving to find a way back to the U.S., Garcia, through online research, discovered a 2006 Supreme Court deci-

sion, Lopez v. Gonzalez, which stated that a simple drug possession was not an “aggravated felony” under immigration statutes. It was a bolt of legal lightning: He had been erroneously deported. There were two telephone numbers at the bottom of the law article; he reached the second—

to make a case to the immigration judge as to why he should be permitted to remain in the U.S. As Chicco noted then, “Rather than be bound by an ironclad rule—aggravated felony equals deportation—the judge should have determined Garcia’s fate based on fairness and circumstance.”

Wilmer Garcia’s story should serve as inspiration for law students and teachers “to see that such victories are possible if you are willing to fight long, hard, and creatively enough,” said BC Law Professor Daniel Kanstroom. Above, Garcia with members of his legal team at last photo by reba saldanha week’s BC Law event.

the National Immigration Project—which referred him to the PDHRP. “This [was] a very clear case of a wrongful deportation pursuant to a wrongful interpretation of the law,” said Jessica Chicco, PDHRP’s supervising attorney, in a 2012 BC Law Magazine article. She further clarified that Garcia should have been allowed

PDHRP, founded to address the harsh effects of U.S. deportation policies, partnered with Nixon Peabody to attempt to re-open Garcia’s immigration case. Following a long, frustrating, and complex ordeal before several immigration judges, many panels of the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for

the Fifth Circuit, his case was re-opened.

In early 2018, the BC-Nixon Peabody team secured Garcia’s return to the U.S. for immigration detention so he could appear in court before an immigration judge who would apply the proper legal standard.

On May 7, 2018, the immigration judge granted cancellation of removal, the government waived its right to appeal, and Garcia—now 36—was released with his rights as a legal permanent resident fully restored, and he resumed his life with his family in the U.S. “We still don’t know what swayed the judge,” said immigration lawyer and PDHRP attorney Heather Friedman during the panel discussion. “It may have been the sheer bulk of the case files, which was huge.”

“He has endured deep injustice and unfairness, harsh detention, the deep pain of family separation, and many years of unlawful banishment to Honduras,” said Kanstroom, the Thomas F. Carney Distinguished Scholar and faculty director of the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy. “As we gather here tonight, tens of thousands of people are still in immigration detention in this country, facing deportation. They are caught in a system that I have described as a radical social experiment that is unprecedented in history and unique among constitutional democracies in its disregard of basic fairness, family ties, proportionality, and respect for human dignity.

“Our hope is that [this case] will inspire law students and teachers to see that such victories are possible if you are willing to fight long, hard, and creatively enough.”

BC Prepares to Host Third Cyber Security Conference on March 6

BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER

Cybersecurity had the look of cyber chaos throughout 2018, as some trusted brands—including Amazon, Facebook, Macy’s, Kmart, adidas, Under Armour, and Delta Airlines—suffered costly and damaging data breaches. Simultaneously, concerns swirled around the cyber tampering of U.S. elections and allegations of foreign hacking of the Democratic National Committee, while internationally, the new General Data Protection Regulation security standards imposed greater culpability on global corporations for data privacy.

Seeking better ways to defend against today’s invasive cyber threats and the growing apprehension about the vulnerability of U.S. information systems, Boston College and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will stage the third annual Boston Conference on Cyber Security (BCCS 2019) on March 6 in Gasson 100, an event expected to again attract hundreds of attendees from academia, private industry, and law enforcement.

The daylong conference—which is sold out—is the result of an ongoing alliance

between the FBI and the Masters in Cybersecurity Policy and Governance Program at BC’s Woods College of Advancing Studies.

Last year, current FBI Director Christopher Wray served as the keynote speaker; he was preceded in 2017 by the former director, James B. Comey.

“Our partnership with the FBI on these annual conferences is part of our effort to build and strengthen the cybersecurity ecosystem in the Northeast,” said Kevin R. Powers, founder and director of the Cybersecurity Policy and Governance Program, and an assistant professor of the practice at BC Law School and the Carroll School of Management’s Business Law and Society Program. “That’s the goal: to bring together industry, academia, and government on these issues. We’re taking the lead with the FBI in assembling the leaders and experts so these respective organizations can collaborate to enhance cybersecurity.”

Conference co-chairs are Woods College Interim Dean David M. Goodman and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, FBI special agent in charge and head of the Boston Field Office. Powers and FBI Special Agent Doug Domin, who oversees the Boston office’s Criminal Cyber Squad, will serve as co-

masters of ceremonies.

The co-hosted event will feature lectures and panel discussions within the disciplines of emerging technologies, operations, and

Bank, Charles River Labs, Arbella Insurance, Holland & Knight, Venable, LPL Financial, VMware, Massachusetts Public Safety, Data Protection Commission (Ire-

“Our partnership with the FBI on these annual conferences is part of our effort to build and strengthen the cybersecurity ecosystem in the Northeast.”

–Kevin Powers, Woods College photo by gary wayne gilbert

enforcement, and actual cyber and national security experiences focusing on risk, compliance, policy, threat trends, preparedness, resilience, and defensive strategies.

In addition to speakers from the FBI and BC Law, representatives from the following organizations, government agencies, and companies will participate: FireEye, IBM Security, Ropes & Gray, Raytheon, Rapid7, Splunk, Cisco, Jones Day, Guidehouse, MITRE, State Street, Citi Group, Mintz Levin, General Electric, HYCU Inc., U.S. Steel, Draper Labs, Federal Reserve Bank, Liberty Mutual, Oracle, Dell EMC, Eversource, Orrick, Facebook, Circle, U.S.

land), Bank of Montreal, Internal Revenue Service, Secret Service, the National Security Agency, and the U.S. departments of Justice, Treasury, Homeland Security, and Defense.

BC Law’s Program on Innovation and Entrepreneurship is one of 14 event sponsors.

“Combating cyber-crime is one of the FBI’s top priorities because of the direct threat it poses to our national security and economy,” said Bonavolonta. “The work we do wouldn’t be possible without close collaborative partnerships with the private sector.”

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February 26, 2019

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Reflecting Social and Academic Trends, Computer Science Now Ranks Among the University’s Top 10 Majors Continued from page 1

other purely technological areas, and thus its potential advantage in career and job searches. But there is a more fundamental component as well, he said.

“People are awakening to the idea that CS—the science of data and algorithms— provides a powerful language with which to model complex interactions in a way that can be communicated clearly and unambiguously. Those interactions may arise in a variety of contexts, including social or political networks, collections of biomolecules, and financial transactions. In this way, CS has become indispensable to understanding and talking about the world around us. As such, concepts from the academic field of computer science belong at the core of a contemporary liberal arts education.”

With this mindset, he said, students are drawn to the distinctive elements of BC’s teaching and research in computer science, in the context of a Jesuit, Catholic liberal arts education.

“The Technology and Culture course, required of students in the department’s bachelor of science program, emphasizes the social and ethical facets of computer science and technology,” said Alvarez, who also noted that the Computer Science Society student group has organized “hackathon” events—in which participants strive to create a device, program or product over 24 hours—with a social-good dimension.

Many undergraduates studying CS have interests in additional disciplines, he said: About 10 percent of CS majors are dual majors in economics, for example,

“People are awakening to the idea that computer science—the science of data and algorithms—provides a powerful language with which to model complex interactions in a way that can be communicated clearly and unambiguously. Those interactions may arise in a variety of contexts, including social or political networks, collections of biomolecules, and financial transactions.”

–Sergio Alvarez, Computer Science Dept. Chair photo by peter julian

and a number of others are double majors with mathematics. “This interdisciplinary character enriches the classroom experience through, for example, project presentations by students that combine components from both CS and another discipline.”

One such interdisciplinary initiative under development is a proposed Core Curriculum course being devised by Professor Howard Straubing with Law School Professor Alfred C. Yen. Alvarez points out that computer science will play an important role in the University’s soon-to-be-launched Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society.

Updated CCIHE Classification Confirms BC In Top Tier of Nation’s Research Universities Boston College has retained its status as among the nation’s best research universities in the recently updated designations used by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education (CCIHE).

The University was included in the CCIHE classification “Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activities” that was announced in December. According to CCIHE, the doctoral university categories include institutions that conferred at least 20 research/scholarship doctorates and reported a minimum of $5 million dollars of total research expenditures. The research activity index was then used to determine a cutoff between the “very high research activity” (R1) institutions, and “high research activity” (R2) institutions. The R1 classification includes less than three percent of educational institutes in the U.S. This designation, CCIHE notes, “represents a return to the labels used for those categories in 2005 and 2010.”

“The classification reflects Boston College’s continued commitment to engaging

in research and scholarship at the highest level,” said Vice Provost for Research and Academic Planning Thomas Chiles, the DeLuca Professor in Biology. “Boston College faculty, students, and staff are conducting basic and translational research that is impacting people’s lives and the planet.”

Starting in 1970, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education developed a classification of colleges and universities to support its program of research and policy analysis. Using empirical data on colleges and universities, the Carnegie Classification was originally published in 1973, and as of December has now been updated eight times to reflect changes among colleges and universities. This framework has been widely used in the study of higher education, CCIHE explains, both as a way to represent and control for institutional differences, and also in the design of research studies to ensure adequate representation of sampled institutions, students, or faculty.

—University Communications

On the research front, Alvarez highlighted Assistant Professor José Bento’s collaboration with Associate Professor of Biology Timothy van Opijnen, which involves constructing computational models of networks of genetic interactions that inform the development of antibiotic resistance. Supported by $1.6 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, Bento is working with colleagues from Northeastern University on networks, “which will surely have a beneficial impact on a number of fields outside of CS.” Alvarez also cited studies on security in distributed systems by Assistant Professor Lewis Tseng, winner of a “best paper” award at a major conference in his field, and the application of Natural Language Processing techniques to Autism Spectrum

Snapshot

Disorder by Assistant Professor Emily Prud’hommeaux, under a National Institutes of Health grant.

Computer science also is BC’s 10th most popular undergraduate minor, with 86 enrollees. The top three minors are offered through the Carroll School: finance (265), management and leadership (195), and marketing (143). The finance and marketing minors are new offerings, as part of the University’s efforts to expand opportunities for students to take courses and earn minors outside of the college or school of their major. [Read more at http:// bit.ly/csom-minors-popular] The remaining top minors are medical humanities (143), history (141), philosophy (121), International Studies (119), economics (98), and Hispanic Studies (87).

PHOTO BY LEE PELLEGRINI

Slings and Arrows

The Theatre Department presented a production of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” directed by Professor of Theatre Scott T. Cummings, Feb. 21-24 in the Robsham Theater Arts Center’s Bonn Studio.

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February 26 , 2019

Taking Journeys of Discernment Undergrads explore stories of courage, resilience, and compassion through the Manresa Experience of BC's Woods College

(L-R)Current Woods College Manresa Scholars Aidan Walsh, Billy Kimball, and Christina Smith with Sarah Harvey of last year's cohort.

BY PATRICIA DELANEY SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

How can setbacks, marginalization, and obstacles be catalysts for growth?

Vice President for University Mission and Ministry Jack Butler, S.J., addressed that question through the lens of his own experience for a standing room-only audience in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons, as part of the Woods College of Advancing Studies Manresa Experience.

Fr. Butler shared the trajectory of his own indirect and obstacle-filled journey, as well as the stories of students he has worked with over his career, with those assembled in his remarks—titled “Finding Beauty in the Messiness of Life”—at the signature fall event of the Manresa Experience, a yearlong student formation program for the Woods College undergraduate community.

Now in its second year, the initiative is designed to encourage and support students in their professional, personal, and

spiritual discernment, according to Woods College Interim Dean David Goodman.

“The Manresa Experience is one of many ways in which the Woods College helps its students, whether full- or part-time, connect to the broader Boston College community and mission,” he said. “It is an extraordinary program, of a kind not ordinarily available through adult education.”

Through the program, participating Woods College undergraduates share a common read, which is also discussed in seven courses across varying disciplines.

This year’s selection is New York Times best-seller Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle, S.J., founder of Homeboy Industries in Los

Triple Eagle Bria Coleman Named a Diversity Scholarship Winner Bria Coleman ’15, M.Ed.’17, JD ’20, right, a Triple Eagle with a long track record in diversity advocacy, has been named one of five recipients of the 2019 Ropes & Gray Roscoe Trimmier Jr. Diversity Scholarship.

The scholarship honors the memory of Roscoe Trimmier Jr., an accomplished trial lawyer, the firm’s first African-American partner, and a pioneering leader of Ropes & Gray’s diversity and inclusion efforts.

Coleman will receive a $25,000 award to offset the expenses of her legal education and will join the firm’s Boston office as a summer associate in 2019.

Active throughout her undergraduate and master’s degree years at Boston College, Coleman remains indefatigable in her involvement with diversity issues at the Law School. She is currently co-president of BLSA and a BC Law Ambassador; she also spoke at the National Black Pre Law Conference, and participates in meetings of the Black Alumni Network, student groups, and the administration to promote diversity at the Law School and the legal profession.

The scholarship is significant to Coleman because it means she can continue to break diversity barriers. “It reaffirms that others are noticing and value all the things I’ve been involved in and that it has meaning for those who come after me. It is encouragement that I’m going in the right

direction,” she says.

The scholarship was established in 2015 to commemorate Trimmier’s legacy and advance diversity at the firm by attracting exceptional talent from backgrounds that are historically underrepresented in the legal profession. In four years, the firm has awarded 20 scholarships.

“These students have already demonstrated the kind of leadership skills, commitment to excellence, and high levels of achievement that were hallmarks of Roscoe’s life and career,” said Joan McPhee, a partner and co-chair of Ropes & Gray’s diversity committee.

—Boston College Law School

Angeles, the world’s largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program.

The award-winning book relates Fr. Boyle’s experience working in the ghetto in a series of parables exploring themes of kinship, care for the marginalized, redemption, and the power of unconditional love.

For his work, Fr. Boyle received the California Peace Prize, and was inducted into the California Hall of Fame and named a White House Champion of Change, among other recognition.

As part of the Manresa Experience, participants gained insight into the work of Homeboy Industries through an evening with former case manager Kathryn Rigby, who remained closely connected to the

initiative while earning a master’s degree at the Boston College School of Social Work.

Named for the small town in Spain where Society of Jesus founder Ignatius Loyola spent nearly a year engaged in the prayer and penance that would illuminate him and guide his life, the Manresa Experience reflects the Woods College’s commitment to Boston College’s Jesuit educational tradition, which invites students to reflect on their own life experiences to determine how best they can use their talents to respond to the world’s needs.

Two students in each class are designated as Manresa Experience Scholars, who lead classroom discussion, attend an off-campus weekend retreat, and take part in other program activities such as meeting with mentors and volunteering at Boston’s Haley House Community Tables.

Participants in last year’s inaugural Manresa Experience read The Red Bandanna: A Life, A Choice, A Legacy, the best-selling book by ESPN national correspondent Tom Rinaldi that tells the story of Boston College alumnus Welles Crowther, a volunteer firefighter and equity trader at Sandler O’Neill & Partners, who died rescuing more than a dozen people in the south tower of the World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks [see related story on page 3].

Read more information about the Woods College Manresa Experience at bit. ly/woods-college-manresa-experience.

Snapshot

Meeting the Chancellor

Solina Jean-Louis ’18 (at left), currently in Chemnitz, Germany, as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, recently found herself in a one-to-one conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel The encounter took place in Berlin, where Merkel received an honorary Fulbright Award for International Understanding.

Jean-Louis is keeping a journal of her experiences abroad; go to http://bit.ly/solina-jeanlouis-fulbright. (Boston College has again been included among the nation’s top Fulbrightproducing research institutions. See story on page 3.)

Chronicle

February 26, 2019

WELCOME ADDITIONS

BC in the Media

An Introduction to New Faculty at Boston College Francesco D’Acunto

Assistant Professor of Finance and Kauffman Junior Faculty Fellow in Entrepreneurial Research Carroll School of Management DEGREES: Universita La Sapienza (BA); Universita Tor Vergata (MSc); University of California at Berkeley (MSc, PhD).

WHAT HE STUDIES: Cultural finance, entrepreneurship, and FinTech; formation of beliefs and financial decision-making of households and corporations.

WHAT HE’S TEACHING: Basic Finance

In an interview two years ago, when he was an assistant professor of finance at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, D’Acunto described how culture and history influence his work.

“My research focuses mainly on two broad areas—one is called cultural finance and the other one is entrepreneurial finance. In the area of cultural finance, I am interested in how ingrained, deep cultural norms affect the way people make financial decisions and, ultimately, accumulate wealth.

“What is really exciting is for part of my research having the chance to read very broadly in terms of historical characteristics of different geographic areas or even political debates and debates that are more current.

Even if I’m in a field most people think is quite dry, like finance or economics, there is a very broad spectrum of different topics.”

Laura Dzurec

Senior Scholar Connell School of Nursing DEGREES: University of Connecticut (BS), The Ohio State University (MS), Case Western Reserve University (PhD).

WHAT SHE STUDIES: Psychiatric and mental health nursing, family nursing, health policy, workplace bullying.

WHAT SHE’S TEACHING: Introduction to Professional Nursing; Transition to Professional Nursing

You have been the dean of nursing schools at Widener University, Kent State University, and the University of Connecticut. What drew you to come to Boston College at this point in your career?

“I’ve found that I always end up where I need to be. It was through my work with Connell School faculty members as they prepared the school for designation as a National League for Nursing Center of Excellence that I learned about BC. The BC community and its many opportunities lured me back to New England and provided an opportunity for me to dive into my research in workplace bullying.”

d’acunto, dzurec, kent photos by peter julian

7

Adam Jørring

Assistant Professor of Finance Carroll School of Management DEGREES: University of Copenhagen (BSc); University of Chicago (PhD).

WHAT HE STUDIES:

Household and firm behavior in consumer credit markets; impact of technological advances and behavioral biases on pricing and allocation of credit.

WHAT HE’S TEACHING: Basic Finance

Give us an overview of your research interests.

“I study everyday finance—that is, I study the behavior of households and firms in consumer credit markets. For example, I study how banks make money from credit cards by profiting when consumers forget to pay their bills on time. Currently, I am studying how new technological advances and behavioral biases might affect consumer credit markets and how they affect the pricing and allocation of credit. For example, does more competition help minority borrowers get a better mortgage?”

Stacie Kent

Assistant Professor of History and International Studies Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences DEGREES: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (BA); University of Chicago (MA, PhD)

WHAT SHE STUDIES: Global capitalism in imperial

and post-colonial contexts; connection of temporal rhythms, expansionist needs, and spatial integration of capitalist reproduction to governance and work regimes in East and Southeast Asia.

WHAT SHE’S TEACHING: Colonial Pasts/ Global Presents; Is All Commerce Capitalism?

Global Histories of Production, Exchange, and Power.

Your class Colonial Pasts/Global Presents is premised on the idea that colonial history—perhaps contrary to expectations—offers some useful insights into the globalization of today. What’s an example of this?

“The course asks students to parse historical continuities and discontinuities. And it also is trying to bring attention to less obvious forms of power and coercion that characterize the modern world. So we are asking, for example, what are the significant differences, if any, between a dam built in Egypt when it was occupied by British colonial forces and one built in the 1960s when decolonization was also coupled with development programs? Or, knowing as we do that the human body is a site where power operates, what do we learn about changing forms of power when we compare how the state has intervened in reproduction in colonial Korea and in contemporary India?

Many students of the post-colonial era argue that our globalized present is shot through with an imperial/colonial past. The course uses the juxtaposition of colonial pasts and global presents to investigate what has changed since decolonization and what hasn’t.”

–Ed Hayward, Kathleen Sullivan, Sean Smith

Boston College faculty members continued to offer their expertise for media coverage of crises facing the Catholic Church. Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology Richard Gaillardetz commented on the laicization of ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick for NBCNews.com; Prof. Thomas Groome (STM), Canisius Professor of Theology James Keenan, S.J., and Prof. of the Practice Tiziana Dearing (BCSSW) were quoted in an article for The Atlantic on Boston Archbishop Cardinal Seán O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap., and his role in the Church’s response to the clergy abuse crisis; interviewed by The Boston Globe, Prof. Stephen Pope (Theology) weighed in on the crisis response from Church leadership.

In an essay for The American Interest, Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences faculty member Martha Bayles reflected on the controversies surrounding elected officials in Virginia and on the narrative surrounding blackface.

Cleary Professor of Finance Jeffrey Pontiff

Nota Bene Lynch School of Education and Human Development Research Professor Philip Altbach was selected by the Institute of International Education for its IIE Centennial Medal for his “leadership and guidance” that has enabled the organization to “maintain our standard of excellence in international education.”

Altbach is the founding director of the Lynch School’s Center for International Higher Education and a former J. Donald Monan, S.J., University Professor at BC. He was presented with the medal at the IIE Summit last week.

William V. Campbell Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond has been named to the Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 Class of 2019. The publication compiles an annual list of 40 executives who are recognized for excellence and innovation in their careers, all before the age of 40.

In addition to achievements of BC sports teams during the first year of Jarmond’s tenure—including a bowl berth for the football team, the sailing team’s three different national championships, and the women’s lacrosse team’s ACC season title and second straight national championship appearance—the honor recognized Jarmond’s administrative accomplishments: launching the first strategic plan in Boston College athletics history, to be supported by a $150 million capital campaign, the first 24/7 studentathlete “fueling station” at Boston College, and a program for first-generation student-athletes.

It’s the second time Jarmond has received the honor; he was named to the Forty Under 40 in 2017 while deputy athletics director at Ohio State.

discussed GOP Senator Marco Rubio’s proposal to end to stock buy-backs’ tax advantage with CNN Business.

Murray and Monti Professor of Economics Peter Ireland was interviewed by The Boston Globe about the impact of President Trump’s tax plan on Americans’ refunds.

Asst. Prof. Cal Halvorsen (BCSSW) was quoted in a column running in the Daily Iowan and Des Moines Register that explained how health insurance and retirement packages don’t always cover necessities, forcing some to continue in the workforce.

Assoc. Prof. Daniel Lyons (Law) discussed Round 4 in the fight over the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality rules in a Bloomberg News podcast.

Assoc. Prof. of the Practice Sam Richardson (Economics) spoke with WBUR News and the Washington Post on President Trump and prescription drug pricing.

Center for Retirement Research Director Alicia Munnell discussed the proposed Social Security 2100 Act in an interview with Bankrate.com.

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, Facilities Management Information Systems Director, Annual and Leadership Giving, University Advancement Admissions Assistant, Carroll School of Management, Academic Affairs/Provost Stewardship Operations Assistant, University Advancement Development Assistant, Marketing and Participation, University Advancement Chef Manager, Dining Services, Dining & Catering/Auxiliary/Public Safety Window Systems Administrator, Information Technology Electronic Resources Access and Discovery Librarian, Academic Affairs/Provost Senior Business Intelligence Analyst/Developer, University Advancement Assistant Director, Career Education and Peer Career Coaching Program, Student Affairs/Residential Life Grant and Contract Post Award Administrator, Academic Affairs/Provost Fiscal and Grant Administrator, Academic Affairs/Provost Library Systems Administrator, Academic Affairs/Provost Professor of Catholic Educational Leadership, Academic Affirs/Provost

Chronicle

8

February 26 , 2019

BC Global

From Tape to Skype, Exploring Language The Language Lab, which opened 60 years ago this month, is a valuable asset to BC’s global engagement efforts

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

Sixty years ago this month, Boston College hailed a new addition to the University’s academic resources, the Modern Language tape library, which had just opened in Lyons Hall 313. Its features included 36 individual booths, each with tape recorder, microphone, and earphones; a three-channel console for faculty members to lead group exercises; and a large, widely diversified collection of instructional tapes in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese.

Benedetto Fabrizi, the library’s director, was effusive about its benefits to students.

“The mastery of a language is gained infinitely faster through oral work, which, when acquired, leads to a more thorough facility in reading and writing the language,” he told The Heights. “The profit gained from one hour’s constant work with a tape recorder can amount to that gained from a number of classes, where the student has relatively few chances to exercise himself orally.”

Earlier this month, Karen Daggett, a part-time faculty member in Romance Languages and Literatures, sat in Lyons 313—now called the Language Laboratory—preparing for an oral exercise that would likely have seemed incredible to Fabrizi: BC undergraduates in her Spanish class interacting via Skype with students from ITESO (Instituto Technológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente), a Jesuit university in Guadalajara, Mexico. During these sessions, the BC students receive help in their conversational Spanish from the ITESO students, who in turn are aided in their English by their BC counterparts.

Daggett’s assessment of the impact of this Virtual Dual Immersion (VDI) session on the students was as upbeat as Fabrizi’s comments from 60 years ago: “The BC students walk in nervous, and walk out pumped up. Before, they couldn’t imagine speaking conversational Spanish for such an extended time, especially with people they’ve never met. And then, they become the ones who give the help. It’s an incredibly enlightening and empowering experience for them.”

That the Language Lab’s resources and facilities have evolved dramatically since 1959 isn’t exactly a revelation—six decades of educational technology advances will do that. But what’s also changed is the nature of the lab’s mission, and its centrality to the University’s academic and formational mission. As part of the commitment to global engagement inscribed in its Strategic Plan, BC envisions an “internationalized” campus with increased opportunities for students, faculty, alumni, and others in the University community to spend time abroad, whether for long-term study and research or short-term experiences, such as

immersion or service programs.

In this light, administrators say, the more BC can do to prepare people for encountering different languages and cultures, the better—and that’s where the Language Lab comes in.

“Fluency in more than one language is a significant advantage for our students and alumni,” said Vice Provost for Global Engagement Alberto Godenzi. “Multilingualism builds bridges to other cultures and traditions. And it makes it easier for students to find internships and jobs in the global marketplace. Boston College’s Language Lab is a tremendous asset for students aspiring to learn and master a foreign language.”

“The Language Lab has come a long way since the days of sit, listen, and re-

Supporting language classes is still the lab’s major task, but its resources have been used for other purposes: by Connell School of Nursing students in need of medical Spanish for their service trip to Nicaragua, for example; for supporting events or programs of the Office of International Students and Scholars, Office of International Programs, and the Volunteer and Service Learning Center; and by a visiting scholar from abroad looking to improve his English pronunciation.

The VDI project, which began in 2010, is a partnership between the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and its Latin American version, AUSJAL (the Spanish acronym for Association of Universities Entrusted to the Society of Jesus in Latin America). VDI is a milestone not

photos by lee pellegrini

Language Lab Director Cynthia Bravo, below, recently helped facilitate a Skype session between BC undergraduates in a Spanish class and students at a Mexican university.

peat,” said Cynthia Bravo, who joined the lab as supervisor in 1978 and has been director since 1983. “But it’s not just the technology we now have available.

Our outreach extends beyond language departments to other departments or non-academic areas of the University that might have a need for our services and resources—all in the spirit of encouraging multicultural exploration.”

The lab’s offerings include audio CDs with self-instructional programs in more than 30 languages, among them Tagalog, Urdu, Punjabi, Czech, Pashto, and Mandarin Chinese; international news broadcasts and other television programming accessible through BC’s subscription to SCOLA Web Services (a SCOLA app is available for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices); and DiLL (Digital Language Lab) for Macs, enabling students to listen to audio and make recordings, engage in self-practice, and interact with the instructor and classmates. Digitized audio programs from the lab’s collection are available on the BC network 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via the Canvas course management tool to students officially enrolled in courses using these programs as curricular material.

just because of the technology involved, said Bravo, but that it brings into play some key, basic aspects of personal communication.

“It’s human nature: You like to see to whom you’re talking. And when you see them speak, you see their gestures, their facial expressions, body language, the way

their lips move when they enunciate—visual cues that help your understanding of language. Moreover, VDI is where people are now, especially the college-age generation: They’re used to Facetime or other apps that have video as well as audio. It feels familiar.”

Economics major Matthew Cerny ’21 wanted to continue his Spanish studies from high school upon entering BC (“I think it’s vital to have, at the very least, enough knowledge and confidence in another language to hold a basic conversation”). He had been nervous in anticipation of his VDI session, but after he and his conversation partner, Carlos, had talked for a few minutes the anxiety fell away: In addition to going through the planned conversational exercises, the pair talked about favorite soccer teams and dream vacation spots, among other things.

As much as Cerny enjoyed making a friend thousands of miles away, there were other important benefits to the session, he said: “It gave me so much more confidence in my Spanish-speaking abilities, and that confidence has helped me in the classroom.

Often times, the classroom in a Spanish course can be stifling, as you become afraid of mistakes leading to bad grades. With the VDI program, there were no grades and no costly mistakes: just a casual conversation which allows you to open up and speak freely.

“To hear a Mexican student, the same age as me, compliment me on my Spanish is better encouragement than any A on an exam.”

“I learned a lot from my conversation partner, whether discussing the topics we were assigned, and simply talking about ourselves,” said Philip Acinapuro ’22, a finance major in the Carroll School of Management. “We had a blast talking about our common love of the music of The Doors.”

Bravo said the informality of the VDI sessions belie all the preparation that takes place weeks, if not months, beforehand: accounting for time, class schedule and academic calendar differences between Boston and the partner institution, determining how many students will take part, and how their respective levels of language facility match up. On the day a session takes place, she noted, the computer stations all have to be up and running, logged in and connected before the students enter the lab, so there’s no time lost for the interaction.

For all the state-of-technology resources, Daggett—who calls the lab “one of BC’s best-kept secrets”—says the Language Lab’s sheer volume of materials can yield unexpected treasures. “Some of the items from the past are gems. I found a little mystery thriller from the 1970s, a book with an audio component—it’s so corny, but it really works. And that’s what’s important: finding the things that help your students learn.”