Boston College Chronicle

FEBRUARY 3, 2022 VOL. 29 NO. 9

PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

INSIDE 2x Around Headline Campus

Carney dining hall reopens; xxxxx.

Women’s Summit is Saturday.

x Headline 5 Spiritual Foundations xxx.

New Thomas Groome book xexplains Headline what makes Catholic xxxxx. education so distinctive.

6 Insight into Criminal Minds

CSON’s Burgess co-authors memoir of her research on serial killers.

Still the Same: Econ., Finance, and Biology Remain Top Majors at BC

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

Boston College’s most popular undergraduate majors have remained largely constant over the last several years—including during the COVID-19 pandemic—with economics (1,208 students enrolled), finance (1,203), biology (807), political science (769), communication (615), and psychology (548) once again the top six for the 2021-2022 academic year, a ranking sequence that has changed little in the past decade.

Enrollment statistics for the University’s 9,532 undergraduate day students and 5,574 graduate students were compiled

Continued on page 4

$10M Gift Renames Center for Lynch School Prof. Mary Walsh

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

Through an anonymous $10 million gift, the Center for Optimized Student Support, a path-breaking, evidence-based approach to supporting students both in and out of school, will be renamed the Mary E. Walsh Center for Thriving Children in honor of the Lynch School of Education and Human Development professor who founded the program three decades ago.

Under the direction of Walsh, the Daniel E. Kearns Professor in Urban Education and Innovative Leadership, the center and its signature initiative, City Connects, have grown to serve 45,000 students annually

in public, charter, and Catholic schools in Massachusetts and other states, as well as Dublin, Ireland. A program has also been adapted to serve students at an Ohio community college.

“This transformative gift ensures we will be able to sustain our work and broaden our efforts in the future,” said Walsh, a clinical-developmental psychologist who has been a BC faculty member since 1989.

“It is a tremendous honor to all the members of our team over the years, our site coordinators, thousands of educators, and community partners who have been instrumental in this work. We are thrilled and delighted.”

The center has drawn from research in

Kearns Professor Mary E. Walsh

Continued on page 3

photo by caitlin cunningham

Resilience. Generosity. Hope.

Afghan refugee Farhad Sharifi escaped violence in his home country, and found a team of supporters at Boston College. Here’s how it happened.

BY ALIX HACKETT SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

Boston College School of Social Work part-time faculty member Maryanne Loughry, R.S.M., was teaching a course on migration and social policy in Washington, D.C., last August 15 when the news broke: After months of escalating violence, the Taliban had seized control of Kabul, marking the official collapse of the Afghan government and erasing 20 years of social and economic progress in the war-torn country.

Almost immediately, scenes of chaos and desperation were broadcast from the Kabul airport as Afghan citizens risked their lives to flee the country. In the days that followed, thousands of men, women, and children boarded planes bound for military bases across the United States, including the McCoy Air Force Base in Wisconsin, where Sr. Loughry had joined an emergency team formed by the U.S.

Farhad Sharifi had to sleep for several days outside the gates to Kabul Airport before he was finally able to get a flight to the United States. photo by caitlin cunningham

Continued on page 8

Derry’s Bloody Sunday in 1972 has a universal relevance as it relates to other events in which state forces used excessive violence against civilian protesters.

– sullivan professor of irish studies guy beiner, page 5

Chronicle

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February 3, 2022

Around Campus

Women’s Summit on Saturday

Snapshot

After the Flakes Fell

PHOTO BY CAITLIN CUNNINGHAM

Women’s Summit keynote speakers Leah Thomas, left, and Sarah Kay

The 2022 Boston College Women’s Summit takes place on campus this Saturday, featuring keynote addresses by environmental and social justice advocate Leah Thomas and slam poet Sarah Kay, founder and co-director of Project VOICE, a group dedicated to using spoken word as an educational and inspirational tool.

In addition to the keynote events in Robsham Theater—Thomas will speak at 10 a.m., Kay at 1:45 p.m.; both will be joined by the Women’s Summit planning team—the summit will offer workshops on a range of topics such as preparation for post-graduation life; how to make volunteerism more meaningful; the experiences of women of color in STEM fields;

and innovation in the fashion and retail industries. The workshops will take place in Fulton Hall from 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. and 12:45-1:30 p.m.

With the goal of empowering women of all backgrounds to realize their individual and collective potential to rise together and enact change, the summit is sponsored by the Boston College Women’s Center and the Boston College Office of Student Involvement, in partnership with the Council for Women of Boston College, the Undergraduate Government of Boston College, SLAM!, and Women in Business.

Details about the Women’s Summit are available at https://bit.ly/womens-summitbc.

—University Communications

Students, faculty, and staff trudged across a very wintry campus as the week began, thanks to Winter Storm Kenan (as named by the Weather Channel), which dumped upwards of two feet or more of snow in Eastern Massachusetts January 29-30. The National Weather Service predicted moderating temperatures mid-week, with rain on Thursday but possible mixed precipitation on Friday. March 20, the official first day of spring, is 45 days from today.

A New ‘Carney Kitchen’ Opens After seven months of renovations, the redesigned Carney Kitchen dining hall on the third floor of McElroy Commons began welcoming diners to the modern facility on January 14.

The space consists of four different stations, each with a unique concept and meal options which rotate on a three-week schedule.

“I’ve been here 20 years and seeing the transformation from when I started to this, it’s amazing,” said Sharyl Thompson, general manager of Boston College Dining Services in McElroy Commons.

“Being able to provide the service that we know that we can provide, the customizable items, that’s exciting for cooks. That’s what they want to do. That’s why they’re here—to make the students happy and give them what they want. Now we’re able ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Jack Dunn SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

to do that.”

New amenities include a gas-powered oven at the Eagle Oven station serving pizzas every day for lunch, a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine which provides soda options through a touchscreen, and a coffee corner with fair trade products.

The new facility was designed to give customers options for how their meals are made, according to BC Dining Services.

Diners can create omelets to order at the Upper Grill station, for example, and customize their bowls of greens at the BC Fresh station.

Carney Kitchen also aims to address concerns of students with allergies: They can pre-order a meal which will be prepared in a safe environment and then labeled for pick-up, or opt for a “plain and simple” offering that is made free from the

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Sean Smith

top nine allergens including milk, fish, and peanuts.

Dining Services also continues to promote sustainability by offering reusable to-go containers through the Green2Go

Christine Balquist Phil Gloudemans Ed Hayward Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan

Chronicle

PHOTOGRAPHERS

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

Patricia Delaney EDITOR

photo by caitlin cunningham

Caitlin Cunningham Lee Pellegrini

program and partnering with Fill It Forward, a company that contributes to charitable projects when a reusable water bottle is refilled.

—Christine Balquist

The Boston College Chronicle (USPS 009491), the internal newspaper for faculty and staff, is published biweekly from September to May by Boston College, with editorial offices at the Office of University Communications, 3 Lake Street, Brighton, MA 02135 (617)552-3350.

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Chronicle

February 3, 2022

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BC a Top Producer of Gilman Scholarship Winners

BY LUCAS CARROLL SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

Boston College is among the nation’s leaders in student selections for the Gilman Scholarship, a prestigious State Department-sponsored program for outstanding undergraduates to study or intern abroad.

In the past 20 years, 111 Boston College students have been awarded the competitive scholarship, more than any other university of its size in New England. This places BC as one of the 20 top Gilman producers in the medium-sized institution category nationally, alongside Notre Dame, Northwestern, and Georgetown.

Since the Gilman Scholarship program was created by Congress in 2000, nearly 35,000 students have gone to more than 150 countries around the globe. The scholarship supports Pell Grant recipients who would otherwise have difficulty affording to study or intern overseas.

“This award was really critical to me studying abroad, or at least studying abroad the way I wanted to,” said Ariel Lynch ’20, a 2019 Gilman recipient who spent several months studying at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

Her time in Cape Town coincided with a water crisis, she recalled, which helped

The Gilman Scholarship program is worth considering for those students with career goals in national security and diplomacy, according to Office of Global Education Director Larry Pickener. photo by lee pellegrini

“put things in perspective” for her—an illustration of how the Gilman Scholarship opened the door to a fundamentally new college experience for her, academically

and culturally.

Leaving the Western academic higher education system and “going into SubSaharan Africa was really important to me because it was uncomfortable,” Lynch said, “and I think that’s a level of discomfort that I hadn’t experienced yet in the classroom.”

Lynch’s comment echoes that of New York congressman Benjamin Gilman (1922-2016) after his namesake program was established: “Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views. It also provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community.”

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs Ethan Rosenzweig said Boston College’s impressive record in the Gilman program demonstrates the University’s commitment “to preparing Americans for today’s dynamic global economy and interconnected world.”

Office of Global Education Director Larry Pickener said the University works hard to help connect students to opportunities that will support their post-graduation

goals. The Gilman program is a particularly outstanding choice for undergraduates, he said, “especially if their career goal is to work in national security and diplomacy.”

Although Lynch hasn’t fully made up her mind about what path to take after she finishes graduate school at Brown University, she has already joined the many BC students who have taken part in distinguished study-abroad programs. The University is among the top 16 American doctoral institutions for producing Fulbright Scholars, and in 2018 saw Isabelle Stone ’18 become its third Rhodes Scholar.

Boston College alumni leading successful careers in international diplomacy and relations include former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry J.D. ’76, H’14, now the presidential envoy for climate issues; R. Nicholas Burns ’78, H ’02, former ambassador to NATO and Greece, and confirmed in December as U.S. ambassador to the People’s Republic of China; Catherine Russell ’83, who recently assumed the post of executive director of UNICEF; and Jane Hartley ’72, former United States ambassador to Monaco and France, and nominated in January

by President Biden to serve as ambassador to the United Kingdom.

—Lucas Carroll is a senior in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences

Student Support Ctr. Will Be Named for Founder Walsh Continued from page 1

child development and learning to advance “whole child” approaches that recognize students’ in-school performance is affected by out-of-school factors, such as hunger, homelessness, trauma, and stress affect, that shape a child’s readiness to learn, Walsh said.

“We are so pleased about this extraordinary gift,” said Stanton Wortham, Charles F. Donovan, S.J., Dean at the Lynch School.

“For three decades, Mary Walsh has been building an exceptional program that is im“We tried to actualize the phrase ‘It takes a village,’” says Walsh. “It takes a system.” photo by caitlin cunningham

proving lives for tens of thousands of children. She conceptualized it, raised funds for it, built it, and commissioned research that shows it is both successful and extremely cost-effective. Her consistent focus on developing the whole child fits wonderfully with the BC mission of formative education.

This gift will ensure that Mary’s program will continue to benefit children, across the United States and beyond, well into the future.”

At the core of the center’s approach is City Connects, an evidence-based intervention Walsh and her colleagues in the Boston Public Schools developed and formally launched in 2001. Implemented in schools

serving predominantly under-resourced neighborhoods and families, City Connects helps teachers and schools provide integrated supports to address the in- and out-of-school needs of students and foster their strengths.

Walsh calls the program a “long-standing research-practice partnership” that links the work done every day in schools to rigorous research intended to show what interventions work and how extra support translates into student success over time.

Groundbreaking research by Walsh and her colleagues from BC and other universities showed that students in City Connects schools, when compared to peers who never received City Connects, demonstrated gains in academic achievement that were similar in magnitude to the harmful effects of poverty.

In addition, Walsh and her colleagues have reported in leading peer-reviewed journals on a range of research discoveries, including: •How and why addressing out-of-school factors improves student social-emotional and academic outcomes.

•Demonstrating that an elementary school intervention can have lifelong positive impacts, decreasing high school dropout rates and increasing postsecondary completion.

•Understanding more about how to improve teacher-student relationships and school climate.

Walsh’s focus on improving education for students in urban schools grew out of her early work with homeless children and

families, where she saw firsthand the impact of out-of-school issues on students.

“That led me to think about how schools—without asking teachers to be social workers or nurses—can provide sufficient supports and resources to promote children’s positive development,” Walsh said.

“Schools are a natural place where, if we expand the resources of the school and modify their existing one-off approaches to supporting only the most challenged children, we can develop a systemic approach that meets the needs and supports the strengths of every child. That is the goal.”

Today, Walsh says, the City Connects evidence-based approach can be implemented in any school but is particularly helpful in schools where students have limited access to services and opportunities in both schools and the wider community.

From its beginnings in a few Boston schools, Walsh has led its growth into a program that serves 45,000 students through the work of BC- and school-based staff members, affiliated researchers, and collaboration with more than 1,000 teachers, principals, and school professionals.

“We are where we are today because of the support of Boston College and the Lynch School and the work of all the City Connects staff—here at BC and those working in schools across the country, and now Dublin, Ireland,” said Walsh. “It has been an enormous effort. No one could have ever done this singlehandedly or from the perspective of a single discipline or profession.

We are a multi-disciplinary and highly committed group of professionals. It is a true

team effort.”

Walsh said the center and its programs have succeeded because all stakeholders share the same outlook in their work with students.

“Their focus is on supporting the strengths and the needs of every single child in the school in a comprehensive way that of course addresses academics but in the context of their social-emotional development, their physical health, their family and family strengths and needs,” she said. “And the community. We tried to actualize the phrase ‘It takes a village.’ It takes a system.”

STM Dean Search Is Under Way Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley has announced that Boston College has begun the process of selecting a dean for the School of Theology and Ministry. Quigley is chairing a committee including STM faculty members Associate Professor Andrew Davis; Associate Professor Hosffman Ospino, chair of religious education and pastoral ministry; and Associate Professor Margaret Guider, O.S.F., chair of ecclesiastical faculty. Ronald Mercier, S.J., of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, also will serve on the committee. Interviews will take place this semester with the hope of finalizing an appointment in the summer.

—University Communications

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February 3, 2022

Little Change in Most Popular Undergrad Majors Continued from page 1

last fall by the University’s Institutional Research and Planning (IR&P) office.

The other most-enrolled majors for the current academic year include computer science (494), nursing (419), and applied psychology and human development (414), while neuroscience—introduced in 2019—has already become the 10th most popular major at BC, with 383 students.

The 2021-2022 IR&P report also found that 37 percent of BC undergraduates are majoring in a STEM field.

In addition to being BC’s second-most popular major, finance is its most-enrolled minor (491), followed by management and leadership (267), marketing (241), philosophy (152), history (144), managing for social impact (128), medical humanities (119), computer science (118), global public health (108), and international studies (94).

The Carroll School of Management has the highest number of graduate students at BC, with 1,037, followed closely by the Lynch School of Education and Human Development with 1,035. BC Law is third with 880. The Carroll School and Lynch School also awarded the most graduate degrees between August 2020 and May 2021—366 and 313, respectively—along with the BC School of Social Work (273) and BC Law (235).

Annually assembled statistics such as these offer potential insights into the interests, motivations, and aspirations of BC undergrads, according to University administrators and faculty members. The popularity of certain majors and minors at BC may reflect wider societal and generational trends, they say, but also likely speak to the ethos of students who have chosen to pursue a Jesuit, Catholic education.

“I’m not surprised that our top majors

have stayed constant,” said Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs Akua Sarr.

“Our students have such an awareness of, and interest in, big issues—climate change, health disparities, economic inequities, racial justice—and big questions in matters of faith, values, morals, and ethics. They also are pragmatic, and so they will consider those majors they see as most likely to help lead them to a job.

“But at BC, where the mission is to educate the whole person, undergrads have the best of both worlds. They get a thorough grounding in their chosen field and, through our Core Curriculum and our interdisciplinary minors, they can also explore those big issues and big questions. So, these students are able to bring a unique perspective and world view to their career in economics, finance, biology, political science—whatever their major may have been.”

Economics faculty have previously cited a greater awareness and appreciation of the discipline as a reason for its continued popularity among students, who view economics as a useful analytical lens for a multi-faceted understanding of issues like climate change, income inequality, crime, and now, the effects of the pandemic.

Professor Christopher Baum, the current department chair, cites two developments in recent years that also have had a favorable impact on enrollment. Like a number of colleges and universities, he said, BC opted to reclassify economics from a social science to a STEM field, which for many undergraduates—especially international students—makes it more attractive in terms of potential career prospects.

In addition, the Carroll School’s decision in 2018 to make its minors available to non-management students has led some

students to choose economics because they can supplement the major with courses in finance, accounting, management and leadership, managing for social impact, and marketing. Likewise, notes Baum, Carroll School students can complete the full economics major or minor rather than a concentration in economics.

“From what we’ve seen in our recent graduating classes, the economics major is providing a strong background for a productive career or further studies,” he said.

A new addition to the top 10 majors at BC is neuroscience, which was introduced in 2019.

Psychology/Neuroscience Chair Elizabeth Kensinger says she and her colleagues “are thrilled” that the new major “is resonating with so many students.”

“We’ve often said that an economics background trains a student to think, to understand costs and benefits, assess externalities, and apply quantitative analysis to the data to produce science-based judgments. The emphasis placed on these learning outcomes is paying off.”

Haub Family Professor and Finance Chair Ronnie Sadka sees the appeal of finance as stemming from its propensity—like many business and management fields—for adapting to new circumstances, especially the pandemic.

“First, the pandemic brought to focus

BC Historian Named AAAS Fellow History Professor Conevery Bolton Valencius has been named a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for her “outstanding contributions to the history of seismology and American health and the environment, and for excellence in communicating the history of science to the public.”

She is the author of The Lost History of the New Madrid Earthquakes and The Health of the Country: How American Settlers Understood Themselves and Their Land.

Valencius, who joined BC in 2016, was previously a Katherine Hampson Bessell Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She began her academic career as an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis after earning a Ph.D. in the history of science from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University.

She is currently writing a book about earthquakes and contemporary energy, focused on the emerging science of induced seismology and hydraulic fracturing.

“Professor Valencius has done path-

Conevery Bolton Valencius

breaking work in the history of science,” said Professor Prasannan Parthasarathi, chair of the History Department. “It’s gratifying to see that the country’s leading association of scientific scholars has recog-

nized her seminal contributions.”

The 2021 class of AAAS Fellows includes 564 scientists, engineers, and innovators from around the world. Since 1874, election as an AAAS Fellow has recognized scientifically and socially distinguished achievement.

The world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals, Washington, D.C.-based AAAS advances the goal of socially engaged science through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, and public engagement.

“AAAS is proud to honor these individuals who represent the kind of forward thinking the scientific enterprise needs, while also inspiring hope for what can be achieved in the future,” said Sudip S. Parikh, chief executive officer and executive publisher. “These honorees have gone above and beyond in their respective disciplines. They bring a broad diversity of perspectives, innovation, curiosity, and passion that will help sustain the scientific field today and into the future.”

—Phil Gloudemans

the rise of the retail trader, armed with social media and easy access to financial markets via trading platforms, and some cash in their pockets during the pandemic.

Retail traders now significantly impact financial markets. Many asset management firms hired thousands of financial advisers to service individual investors.

“Another aspect is the amount of attention drawn to financial economics, such as the rise in inflation,” Sadka added. “The market and the economy are so dynamic and ever evolving, and I think many students find this interesting.”

Professor Elizabeth Kensinger, who chairs the Psychology and Neuroscience Department, expected the neuroscience major to be popular—“It’s one of the fastest-growing scientific disciplines, and there had been long-standing student enthusiasm for developing the major”—but she and her colleagues are pleasantly surprised by its meteoric rise.

“We are thrilled that the major’s focus, which leverages the study of brain mechanisms toward an improved understanding of the human condition, is resonating with so many students.”

The arrival of the neuroscience major on the eve of the pandemic proved to be fortuitous, she added. “The societal impacts of the pandemic have highlighted the importance of social connection, and the intricate links between mental and physical health. Our majors are exploring these topics as they take courses on the neural systems of social behavior, or on the effects of stress on learning and development. Our faculty are terrific at encouraging students to think about how the topics they’re studying are relevant to their daily experiences.”

Compensation Statement to Be Mailed Soon Later this month, full-time employees of Boston College will receive the Total Compensation Statement: a personalized document that details the total compensation, salary plus benefits, they receive from the University. The TCS, which represents information for the calendar year 2021, will be mailed to employees’ home addresses.

The annual statement lists an employee’s base salary plus health and wellness benefits, retirement plans, and tuition remission. The non-salary section will be detailed further to show an employee’s contribution and BC’s contribution.

Also included are descriptions of all the benefits the University offers, from disability coverage to group auto and home insurance to adoption assistance.

Note: New employees who started on or after July 2, 2021 should not expect a statement this year.

—University Communications

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February 3, 2022

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Groome Explores What Makes Education Catholic

BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER

The vast network of Catholic schools likely constitutes the largest single system of education in the world today. This enormously influential educational system has some 55,000 schools, ranging from kindergartens to research universities, located in 200 countries, and serving more than 150 million students.

But what exactly does it mean to place the word “Catholic” before such terms as school, education, or teacher?

In his new book, What Makes Education Catholic: Spiritual Foundations, internationally renowned religious education expert Thomas Groome explores the history of Catholic education from its spiritual roots to present day, to define what Catholic education is and provide a reflective resource for today’s Catholic school educators.

“I’ve been thinking about this book for about 40 years,” said Groome, a professor of theology and religious education in the School of Theology and Ministry and founding director of the Ph.D. program in theology and education.

He recalled an experience decades ago in Pakistan where he witnessed what he called an excellent example of Catholic education.

Unlike the Catholic schools he was familiar with in his native Ireland or in the United States, the Pakistani school was staffed predominately by Muslim teachers and the students were also Muslim. Groome has seen

School of Theology and Ministry Professor Thomas Groome. photo by caitlin cunningham

a similar phenomenon in places like Korea and Hong Kong—Catholic schools delivering a Catholic education even though the educators and student body were primarily not Catholic.

“Catholic schools educate from a faith perspective and for a faith perspective,” said Groome, a Boston College faculty member since 1976 and an award-winning author whose other publications include Educating

for Life, What Makes Us Catholic, Will There Be Faith?, Faith for the Heart, and a widelyused textbook series.

The curriculum of a Catholic school should give students an academically rigorous, competent, and capable education that prepares them to make a living, he said, but also to have a life grounded in some kind of faith perspective as they engage in the world.

This doesn’t mean imposing Catholicism on students, he added, but rather inviting students “to consider a spiritual grounding for their lives in the world that might make them a little more meaningful, worthwhile, purposeful, ethical, and might sustain them in the tough times.”

In the face of the declining presence of the ordained and vowed religious in Catholic schools, said Groome, the key to maintaining the Catholicity is forming and nurturing teachers and staff in the deep values that undergird Catholic education and Catholicism: mercy, compassion, justice, integrity, truth-telling, care for the poor, respect, and care for the neighbor and the common good.

A Catholic school also needs its top person to be a spiritual leader who can articulate the school’s faith-based vision, with support from a cadre of faculty and staff who know the charism and can serve as custodians of the institution’s Catholic identity, Groome said.

In What Makes Education Catholic, Groome offers brief overviews of some im-

portant voices in the Catholic intellectual tradition and Catholicism with whom he feels Catholic educators should be familiar, such as Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Julian of Norwich, Ignatius of Loyola, Angela Merici, and Mary Ward. He shows how these foremothers and fathers of Catholic education can ground and shape the spirituality of Catholic educators in today’s postmodern world. These foundations ensure that Catholic schools deliver the education they promise to students—not only to Catholics but to those of many religious traditions. Prompts throughout the text encourage readers to engage in reflection and dialogue.

Catholic education is best realized in practice, added Groome. It is seen in “how teachers go about teaching and principals go about administering schools: the environment, the atmosphere, and values the school reflects in its own way of being.”

Groome would like to see What Makes Education Catholic become a catalyst for a fresh conversation among Catholic educators around the world. Since the book’s launch, Groome has been contacted by educators from Canada to Australia who are interested in getting What Makes Education Catholic into the hands of Catholic school teachers and principals.

“There is great purpose in Catholic schools: They are the Catholic Church’s contribution to the common good,” Groome concluded, “and they have never been more needed.”

Irish Studies Event to Mark Tragic ‘Bloody Sunday’ The Boston College Irish Studies program will mark the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday”—a tragic milestone in the decades-long Northern Irish conflict, “The Troubles”—with a symposium on February 18 and 19 that will examine the events of the fatal day and its legacy.

On January 30, 1972, British paratroopers opened fire on a protest march for civil rights in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, shooting 26 unarmed Catholic civilians, 14 of whom died. Bloody Sunday—which is still memorialized by the Bogside community— became a foundational moment for The Troubles and its repercussions continued to reverberate over the following decades.

Unsatisfied by a flawed tribunal, the bereaved families launched a campaign demanding truth and justice. As part of the peace process that led to the Good Friday Agreement, in 1998 a Bloody Sunday inquiry was established and, following a lengthy and comprehensive investigation, in 2010 the British prime minister David Cameron issued a public apology.

The BC symposium will include screenings of two dramatic films based on Bloody Sunday and presentations by Julieann Campbell, an award-winning author—and niece of a Bloody Sunday victim—whose new book on the tragedy will be formally launched during the event; political scientist and historian

Niall Ó Dochartaigh, a researcher of the Northern Irish civil rights movement; and Salem State University historian Margo Shea, whose book Derry City: Memory, and Political Struggle in Northern Ireland was published last year.

BC speakers will include Sullivan Professor of Irish Studies Guy Beiner and Robert Savage, interim director of the Irish Studies program, speaking as part of a panel chaired by Rachel Young, a Ph.D. candidate in history.

“Derry’s Bloody Sunday in 1972 has a universal relevance as it relates to other events in which state forces used excessive violence against civilian protesters,” said Beiner, who will give the talk “Bloody Sundays: Remembrance of State Violence Against Civilian Protest” and introduce “Sunday,” a 2002 film directed by Charles McDougall and written by Jimmy McGovern that narrates the events from the point of view of the families of the dead and the injured.

“Television images of the shootings were broadcast around the world, undermining the British narrative that its soldiers were in Northern Ireland to keep the peace. Televised reports spoke of a massacre of civil rights marchers provoking international outrage that damaged Britain’s standing as a leading global democracy,” said Savage, whose presentation is titled “Televised Terror: The BBC’s Coverage

An iconic photo taken during “Bloody Sunday” in 1972, when British troops opened fire on a protest march in Derry, Northern Ireland.

of Bloody Sunday”; he also will offer an introduction to the 2002 Paul Greengrass film “Bloody Sunday” that was inspired by the Don Mullan book Eyewitness Bloody Sunday: The Truth.

In addition to her talk “Bloody Sunday: Then and Now,” Campbell will launch for a United States readership her book On Bloody Sunday: A New History of the Day and its Aftermath by Those Who Were There

as part of a memorial tribute in Connolly House that will close the symposium. That event also will recognize Shea’s Derry City and Ó Dochartaigh’s Deniable Contact: Back-Channel Negotiation in Northern Ireland, published last year.

The schedule for the symposium, and registration links, will be available through the Irish Studies website [bc.edu/irish].

—Sean Smith

Chronicle

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An Academic’s Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind

BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER

Connell School of Nursing Professor Ann Wolbert Burgess received a phone call at her Boston College office in 1978 that would alter the course of her career and lead to a seismic shift in the practice of law enforcement.

The call from Roy Hazelwood of the FBI was the beginning of a decades-long collaboration between Burgess and the agency’s nascent Behavioral Science Unit (BSU). Armed with scholarly knowledge of sex crimes, victimology, and criminal psychology, as well as research skills, Burgess worked alongside the agents and helped them to identify, interview, and track down dozens of notoriously violent offenders and serial killers.

Burgess’s role in the evolution of criminal profiling and its application to several serial killer investigations are detailed in the new book, A Killer by Design: Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind, written by Burgess with Steven Matthew Constantine, associate director of marketing and communications at the Connell School.

While the book gives readers an insider’s view of the development of criminal profiling, it also offers an equally compelling perspective on Burgess as a trailblazing forensic and psychiatric nurse, whose story partly formed the basis for a popular TV show years later.

It was research Burgess conducted with BC colleague Lynda Lytle Holmstrom, a sociologist, that put Burgess on the FBI’s radar.

The pair interviewed nearly 150 victims of rape to understand the emotional and traumatic effects of sexual violence. Their study found that sexual violence was more about power and control than the act of sex—a novel concept in the early 1970s. They also coined the phrase “rape trauma syndrome” to describe the psychological aftereffects of an attack that would often outlast the physical effects. They published their research in journals, and their article, “The Rape Victim in the Emergency Ward” in the American

Journal of Nursing, caught the attention of Hazelwood.

Burgess was brought to the FBI Academy in Quantico to give lectures and teach the agents about victimology and violent sex crimes. There she met agents Robert Ressler and John Douglas, who were conducting a side project interviewing 36 serial killers.

As she recalled in her book, the taped interviews they shared with her were “like eavesdropping on the rawest fringes of humanity.” Burgess saw that the agents were onto an approach that could lead to a whole new way of understanding criminal behavior.

“As far as I know, no one’s ever tried to figure out why serial killers kill,” she recalled telling the agents.

Though Burgess found the agents’ project fascinating and the possible implications profound, she said the interviews were “poorly structured and had zero footing in any conventional school of research.” She joined forces with Ressler and Douglas, contributing her knowledge of sex crimes and applying proper research methodology to the project.

A Killer by Design depicts how the team’s criminal personality study then pivoted from abstract research to an investigative tool.

Burgess and the agents applied their insights into criminal behavior to an active murder investigation of young teen boys in Nebraska in 1983. The team developed a profile of the likely killer of the unsolved murders, which helped law enforcement officers apprehend the perpetrator, John Joseph Joubert IV. The case received national media attention and was reported on in the Congressional Record.

Burgess said the Joubert case validated the BSU and criminal profiling, which had doubters even within the FBI. “We’d proven that there was value in understanding the criminal mind…to be able to actually use criminal profiling in an active case to hunt down a killer was the most satisfying reward of all,” wrote Burgess.

“That case elevated criminal profiling to a known tool that the FBI could offer local authorities,” said Constantine, who noted that the FBI needs to be invited in by local

February 3, 2022

Connell School of Nursing Professor Ann W. Burgess with Killer by Design co-author and Connell School colleague Steven Matthew Constantine: “The public understanding of rape—once dismissed as a ‘women’s issue’—has come so far and that’s a testament to Dr. Burgess and her work,” he says. photo by lee pellegrini

law enforcement to look at a case. “It snowballed from there as more cases were solved via profiling.”

Burgess, Douglas, and Ressler would write a book titled Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives. The trio’s work was the inspiration for the hit Netflix show “Mindhunter,” in which actress Anna Torv played a fictionalized version of Burgess.

Burgess was often the only non-agent and only woman working with the so-called “mindhunters.” She had been told throughout her career that the graphic, violent, disturbing world of sex crimes was no place for her. Discussing a case with Hazelwood in the 1980s, she recounted, “He tried to walk some imaginary line of social decorum while talking to me about extreme acts of violence, regardless of how many times I told him to knock it off.”

“Many of these original profilers had their own books, but very little of that content mentioned Dr. Burgess’s story,” said Constantine, who worked closely with Burgess on a 2018 campus event called “The Minds behind ‘Mindhunter.’” “I thought Dr. Burgess’s story was particularly interesting and needed to be shared.”

Burgess “broke the glass ceiling,” continued Constantine. “She was a pioneer. Her work helped change how law enforcement thought about these cases and it changed how the legal system thought about these cases. It’s the foundation of the modern aspects on how sexual crimes are dealt with.

The public understanding of rape—once dismissed as a ‘women’s issue’—has come so far and that’s a testament to Dr. Burgess and her work.”

Burgess’s expertise led to her providing expert testimony in court and being interviewed for true crime podcasts. Her course, Forensic Mental Health, is considered one of the most popular courses on campus.

She is proud of the advancements in the field of forensic nursing, particularly in the establishment of sexual assault nurse examiners who play a critical role in collecting evidence from victims. Her entire career as a nurse and her research on sexual, violent crimes have been about putting the priority on victims, she said—giving victims a voice, destroying myths around rape, and improving the medical, legal, and investigating communities’ interactions with victims.

Burgess continues to work on behalf of victims. She and psychiatric nursing colleagues from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland have formed the “Super Sleuth Club,” meeting monthly via Zoom to try to solve cold cases. They are joined by Greg Cooper, a former FBI profiler who heads the Cold Case Foundation, and other former BSU agents.

Only a little over half of such cases are solved, which means “thousands of cases have never been solved,” according to Burgess, who said that the Super Sleuth Club heard from a woman connected to one of the cold cases they are investigating. The woman was only nine years old when her mother was killed; the murder remains unsolved.

“She was just so grateful that someone is still paying attention to her mother,” said Burgess. “I always wanted to speak for the victim who didn’t survive, because nobody spoke for them.”

Donald Brown to Speak at MLK Scholarship Banquet Educational consultant Donald Brown, who served as director of Boston College’s Office of AHANA Student Programs for 27 years and led efforts to support first-generation, underrepresented students, will be the keynote speaker at the 40th Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Banquet, which takes place on February 22 at 5:30 p.m. in the Yawkey Center Murray Function Room.

During the banquet, University President William P. Leahy, S.J., will announce the winner of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship, which recognizes a Boston College junior who has demonstrated superior academic achievement, extracurricular leadership, community service, and involvement with the African American community and African American issues.

This year’s scholarship candidates are

Lubens Benjamin, Tamara Hyppolite, Kudzai Kapurura, Michael Martins, and E’Sachi Smalls.

Brown is founder and president of Brown and Associates Education and Diversity Counseling, which aids in developing and facilitating diversity dialogues as part of strategies aimed at preparing young people for the challenges of the 21st century. He also developed Christian Soldiers Inc., an innovative education program that aims to improve the quality of life for young people by focusing on their academic, social, cultural, and spiritual growth and development.

In 1978, Brown came to BC as director of what was then the Office of Minority Student Programs. He changed the office’s name to incorporate “AHANA,” an acronym for “African-American, Hispanic, Asian, Native

American” created by BC undergraduates Valerie Lewis-Mosley ’79 and Alfred Feliciano ’81 as an inclusive alternative to the term “minority.” (The office is now part of the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center.)

Brown is credited with championing initiatives such as the Options Through Education Transitional Summer Program (OTE), the Thea Bowman Scholars Program, the Benjamin E. Mays Mentoring Program, and the Jaime Escalante Tutorial Program.

Interviewed by the Boston College Chronicle in 2004—the 25th anniversary of the “AHANA” acronym, which was adopted by other higher education institutions and programs, and eventually trademarked by BC— Brown said, “Dr. Martin Luther King talked to us about the need for people of good will

coming together, and the need to launch coalitions. What Alfred and Valerie talked about back then was the need for Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, and progressive whites coming together. That’s what undergirds this AHANA concept.”

In 2007, the University established the Dr. Donald Brown Award, presented annually to a senior who, throughout his or her undergraduate career, has made extraordinary contributions to the BC community in ways that have benefited AHANA students in the areas of leadership, service, and academic development.

February 15 is the deadline to register for the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Banquet. Send email to mlkjr@bc.edu.

—University Communications

Chronicle

February 3, 2022

OBITUARIES

Francine Cardman, STM Faculty School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Francine J. Cardman, known for her pioneering contributions to theological education and her scholarship on early Catholic Church history, died on January 21. She was 74.

Dr. Cardman taught at STM and its predecessor, Weston Jesuit School of Theology, for 40 years. Her teaching and writings focused on early Christian ethics and spirituality, ministry and leadership in the early Church, and questions of gender and justice in contemporary Church practice.

Her work was grounded in an historical approach that placed theology and ministry in their social and cultural contexts.

Last April, the STM held “History, Hope, and Justice: A Symposium on the Role of Women in Theological Education” to celebrate the contributions of Dr. Cardman. She and more than 100 current and former colleagues and students gathered virtually for the event that featured talks by theologians and Church historians, panel presentations by former students, and a prayer service of thanksgiving.

“Francine Cardman was a quiet giant who incrementally, through her teaching, mentorship, publications, and advocacy persistently challenged and moved the Church forward to approximate better the more justice-loving and inclusive institution it should be,” said STM Associate Professor of Church History Catherine Mooney, who knew Dr. Cardman for more than 40 years and was one of the faculty presenters at “History, Hope, and Justice.”

Dr. Cardman was a respected and influential teacher remembered by former students for her wisdom, humor, kindness, mentorship, and colorful handouts.

One of her former students was STM Dean Thomas D. Stegman, S.J. “I can attest that Francine was an outstanding teacher who cared deeply for her students.

As dean, I will always be grateful to her for her role in helping the school draft our self-study in preparation of the accreditation process. We will miss her.”

In a social media post, bestselling author James Martin, S.J., M.Div. ’98, called Dr. Cardman “one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.” He added that she was a “brilliant scholar and wonderful person.”

He noted the significance of Dr. Card-

Francine Cardman

man’s death on the feast day of St. Agnes, one of the Virgin Martyrs, because Dr. Cardman “wrote brilliantly and provocatively on women in the early Church, and specifically the Virgin Martyrs, whom she reframed as women taking control of their own selves in an era of patriarchy.”

He added: “Francine was one of the most beloved of teachers at the old Weston Jesuit School of Theology [which became BC’s School of Theology and Ministry]: she was at once humble, knowledgeable, demanding, fair, interesting, and helpful.

Her classes were models of clarity.”

Dr. Cardman published a translation of Augustine’s homilies on the Sermon on the Mount as well as essays on Augustine, women’s ministries and ordination in early Christianity, lay leadership and participation in the early Church, structures of governance and accountability in the Church past and present, the development of early Christian ethics, and Vatican II and ecumenism. She also edited and contributed to Partners in the Conversation: The Role of Ecumenical Divinity Schools in Catholic Theological Education, a study conducted by the Catholic Task Force at Yale Divinity School, and was a co-investigator and contributor to a pilot study on “A Profile of Spiritual Resilience in Persons Who Live Well with Lifelong Disabilities.” She contributed essays to two STM book projects, Hope: Promise, Possibility & Fulfillment and The Holy Spirit: Setting the World on Fire.

—Kathleen Sullivan Read the full obituary at bit.ly/francinecardman-obituary

Joe Yukica, Coached Football Joseph M. “Joe” Yukica, one of Boston College’s winningest football coaches, died on January 22. He was 90.

Mr. Yukica coached the Eagles from 1968-1977, compiling a 68-37 record, including 9-2 in 1971, earning New England Coach of the Year honors. His 68 victories are second only to Tom O’Brien (75) in BC football history. During Mr. Yukica’s tenure, BC began playing major football powers like Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Georgia Tech. A highlight of his career at the Heights was a 14-13 upset of highly-ranked Texas in 1976.

He went on to coach at Dartmouth College from 1978-1986, where he had been an assistant coach from 1961-1965 before heading the University of New Hampshire football program for two seasons prior to joining BC. He finished his college head coaching career with a record of 111-93-4.

Mr. Yukica is survived by his sons Joseph Jr., James, and Jackson, and five grandchildren. His wife Betty died in 2015.

—University Communications

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BC in the Media Pacific Gas & Electric, the biggest utility in California, landed five years of probation due to a pipeline explosion that killed eight people a decade ago. With the probation ending, Carroll School Galligan Chair Sandra Waddock offered her views on the case in a piece for Marketplace.

Medical history was made recently when doctors transplanted a genetically modified heart from a pig into a human recipient.

Walsh Professor of Bioethics Andrea Vicini, S.J., provided a Catholic perspective on this milestone in America magazine.

Pope Francis’ installation of lay men and women in the ministries of lector and catechist is a continuation of the unfinished work of Vatican II, according to Prof. John Baldovin, S.J. (STM), who provided comments to National Catholic Reporter.

Editorial choices can impact the amplitude of business cycles even if the information that is reported is correct, according to a study by Assoc. Prof. Ryan Chahrour (Economics) and colleagues, published in the American Economic Review and featured by PhysOrg Economics and Business.

The Boston Business Journal highlighted two recent Boston College milestones; the opening of 245 Beacon Street and the announcement of plans for the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success.

Tablet Magazine published “One Day in Venice,” a tale of lost luggage and a Jewish Christmas miracle, penned by Prof.

Maxim D. Shrayer (Eastern, Slavic, and German Studies).

To make a meaningful impact, business leaders and policymakers should foster a mindset of supporting not only ventures that offer strong returns, but also those that help poorer places achieve sustained self-reliance, wrote Asst. Prof. Suntae Kim (CSOM) in a co-authored piece for Harvard Business Review.

A Q&A with Global Public Health Program Director Philip Landrigan, M.D., about the pandemic, the importance of vaccines, the Omicron variant, and the way forward ran in Crux.com.

In separate WalletHub Q&A features, Geoffrey Sanzenbacher and Anqi (Angie) Chen of the Center for Retirement Research provided advice for retirement, and Prof. Pablo Guerron (Economics) weighed in on choosing an auto insurance provider.

Synodality may seem like a new concept, but it’s actually an ancient tradition, Assoc.

Prof. of the Practice Rafael Luciani (STM) said in a webinar moderated by Sister Maria Cimperman Ph.D.’03 of Catholic Theological Union that was covered in the National Catholic Reporter Global Sisters Report.

Jobs The following are among the recent positions posted by the Department of Human Resources. For more information on employment opportunities at Boston College, see www.bc.edu/jobs.

Administrative Assistant, Office of Senior Vice President for University Advancement Senior Environmental Officer Program Director, Ever to Excel Assistant Director, Annual Giving Staff Nurse (multiple positions) Assistant General Manager, Catering

Nota Bene Associate Professor of Theatre Stuart J. Hecht has been selected as a member by the College of Fellows of the American Theatre of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts—one of the highest honors given to American theater community educators and professionals. “It means a lot to me to be nominated and elected by my peers and to receive this honor,” said Hecht, who will be formally inducted into the college in late April. An American theater historian and editor-in-chief of New England Theatre Journal, Hecht has worked extensively in Chicago theater history. He is co-editor of Makeshift Chicago Stages: A Century of Theater and Performance, an anthology of essays published last fall by leading historians on the work and aesthetics of the city’s theater community [see bcbookmarks.com/2021/10/18/ chicago-takes-center-stage].

Job Coach/Case Manager Director, Catholic Religious Archives Program Assistant Registrar Fiscal & Grant Administrator, Morrissey College Service Center Assistant Dean for Clinical Placement, Connell School of Nursing Campus Minister Development Assistant Associate/Senior Associate Director, Gift Planning Assistant Director, Biology Labs Resident Director Health Care Assistant Lead Teacher, Pine Manor College Laboratory Safety Specialist Student Services Associate Post-doctoral Research Fellow (multiple positions)

Chronicle

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A New Life at the Heights Continued from page 1

Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Service.

“It was literally a humanitarian emergency,” recalled Sr. Loughry, who was recruited to assist because of her background working with refugees. “We had no idea how many were arriving or who they were.

When I arrived, the first 800 people had come to the base that day, and by the time I left, there were 13,000.”

Little did Sr. Loughry know then that she and her BC colleagues would wind up providing a direct and much-needed lifeline to one of those many thousands seeking refuge.

A promising connection For three weeks, Sr. Loughry ran a morale and wellness center within the base, where women and children could safely congregate and play. She and the other volunteers distributed donated clothing and supplies—many refugees had arrived with only the clothing on their backs—and offered legal assistance, but the needs of the population quickly exceeded their limited resources.

“It was a very tough time for the population,” said Sr. Loughry. “Many adults were overwhelmed, first by having survived and then by the system: What do I do now? How long am I going to be here?”

As Sr. Loughry worked on the ground, her colleagues back at the Heights, led by Vice Provost for Global Engagement James Keenan, S.J., were discussing another way to assist. In order to build new lives in the U.S., a majority of the Afghan refugees would need to secure employment. They wondered: Would someone with an academic or humanitarian background be interested in working at Boston College?

Through her contacts, Sr. Loughry learned that a young Afghan man named Farhad Sharifi was staying at Camp Atterbury in Indiana, just seven hours away from Fort McCoy. Sharifi was fluent in

English and had a master’s degree in social work from St. Joseph’s College in Bangalore, India. Prior to his evacuation, he worked for an international non-governmental organization supporting the education of girls in Afghanistan. Sr. Loughry arranged to speak to him.

When he heard from Sr. Loughry for the first time, Sharifi was in the midst of navigating one of the most difficult transitions of his life. Thirty-three years old, he had been living in the city of Herat with his parents and younger brother before the government collapsed, working with internally displaced people to provide education, local leadership, and capacity-building programs. His job responsibilities included fieldwork in remote villages, where he risked kidnapping and violent attack by the Taliban.

“I had times when I needed to look over my shoulder to see if someone was following me,” he recalled.

Fearing persecution, Sharifi and his colleagues left Herat the day before the city fell, and were among the thousands standing outside the Kabul airport in the days following the August 15 takeover.

Sharifi slept on the pavement outside the airport gates for several nights, awakening frequently to the sound of gunshots being fired into the air by Taliban guards. On August 23, he was granted access to the airport and boarded a plane bound for the United Arab Emirates. On September 11, he arrived at Camp Atterbury, where he would live for the next three months.

Building a new life Looking back, Sharifi believes he had no choice but to leave Afghanistan, a fact that weighs heavily on him.

“When you don’t have any control over what’s happening in your life, it is always stressful,” he said. “Like many other evacuees, I feel uprooted, betrayed, and oppressed all at the same time. We in the

February 3, 2022

Farhad Sharifi feels that hardship has made Afghans “stronger and more resilient to our environment. We will rise again and prosper and do our part to make this world a better place.” photo by caitlin cunningham

Afghan community, especially the youth and the new generation, feel like we’ve been thrown back more than 100 years, like everything that was meaningful has been lost and what remains is only hope for many of us.”

For a month after their first phone call, Sr. Loughry and Sharifi spoke daily by phone, hammering out a plan to bring him to BC. BCSSW Dean Gautam Yadama had offered Sharifi a position on the Research Program on Children and Adversity, but there were other details to consider.

“There was the job but also the logistics of housing and clothing and food and donations,” said Sr. Loughry. “I was immensely supported by the BC system—everybody played a role once I pulled them in. People were constantly ringing me up saying, ‘I can do this,’ or ‘We can do that.’”

On December 3, Sr. Loughry and a host family from Chestnut Hill met Sharifi at Logan Airport. He was carrying a single backpack of possessions, ready to start a new life.

“I’ll never forget that moment,” said Sr. Loughry. “He trusted us to get on that plane and come to Boston. That would have over-

whelmed anybody, I think, but he was able to do it.”

A new beginning Since arriving at BC, Sharifi has thrown himself into his work as a way to keep his mind busy. In his new position, he’s helping to adapt programs designed for specific refugee populations so they can be used to help Afghan refugees.

“It’s similar to my job in Afghanistan in that I’m in the social work realm and I’m getting to work with families and communities,” he said. “I’m learning a lot.”

Outside of his job, Sharifi hopes he can be a resource to members of the wider BC community interested in hearing his story and learning about the political and cultural landscape of Afghanistan. On February 2, he joined Sr. Loughry and Fr. Keenan for his first public event, “On Refugee Work and Afghanistan: An interview with Farhad Sharifi.”

Becoming a refugee himself has given Sharifi a deeper understanding of the experiences of other displaced people, and made him even more determined to work to ensure that all humans are free from oppression. While he misses his family back home, he remains hopeful for the future, at BC and beyond.

“Sometimes, when my Afghan colleagues and friends text me about the situation [at home] and the imposed limitations on the already limited freedom they had, I feel numb,” he said. “But what I’m certain about is that hardship has made us stronger and more resilient to our environment. We will rise again and prosper and do our part to make this world a better place.”

Alix Hackett is a senior digital content writer in the Office of University Communications

Gaelic Roots Spring Series Spotlights Irish Musicians The Gaelic Roots spring semester series at Boston College will include performances by two premier traditional Irish musicians, one of them American-born, and a tribute to one of the most important figures in the 20th-century Irish music revival.

Sponsored by the Irish Studies Program, Gaelic Roots explores Irish, Scottish, American and related folk music traditions through concerts, talks, and other events featuring accomplished performers widely considered among the best at their craft— and many with ties to Massachusetts or elsewhere in New England or the Northeast.

The series begins with uilleann piper Jerry O’Sullivan on February 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the McMullen Museum of Art room 111. The New York City native is one of the most eminent American-born pipers— equally proficient on highland and Scottish small pipes as well as uilleann, with a mastery of both the technical and the expressive aspects—and a fine player of tin and

low whistle. O’Sullivan has toured throughout much of the world, including the Middle East and Asia, and performed with luminaries ranging from James Galway and the Boston Pops to Dolly Parton; he also was among the musicians who performed and taught at Boston College’s Gaelic Roots summer program.

He has recorded four solo albums and appeared or Jerry O’Sullivan been featured on more than 90 others, with film soundtracks (including “Far and Away” and “The Long Journey Home”) and numerous TV commercials to his credit.

On March 31, Gaelic Roots will present “Remembering Seán Ó Riada and Ceoltóirí Chualann,” at 6:30 p.m. in Gasson 100.

This concert of music and poetry will pay homage to Seán Ó Riada (1931-1971),

who played a seminal role in the Irish folk music revival that emerged in the 1960s. Classically trained and with an interest in modern, avant garde techniques, Ó Riada incorporated traditional Irish music into his work— much as composers like Bela Bartók and Ralph Vaughn Williams did with the traditional folk music of their respective homelands—for theater, film, and performance. In 1960, he formed the ensemble Ceoltóirí Cualann (“ceoltóirí” is Gaelic for “musicians”; Cualann is the area near Dublin where Ó Riada lived), whose repertoire of traditional Irish tunes was arranged in nontraditional, orchestral fashion by Ó Riada.

Some members of the band went on to form one of the most popular acts to come

out of the Irish folk revival, The Chieftains, who promulgated Ó Riada’s approach to Irish traditional music.

Oisín McAuley, a fiddler in the western Ireland tradition regarded as among the finest in recent generations of Irish musicians, will perform on April 21 in Gasson 100 at 7 p.m. A Donegal native now living in the Greater Boston area, McAuley began playing traditional music at age nine but in subsequent years studied classical violin and took an interest in other kinds of music, including jazz and bluegrass. He is a longtime member of acclaimed band Danú, with whom he has recorded seven albums; he released a solo CD, “Far from the Hills of Donegal,” in 2007. McAuley is the director of summer programs at the Berklee College of Music.

Links to Gaelic Roots events are available at bc.edu/irish.

—Sean Smith