Boston College Chronicle

Global Concerns

BC community supporting earthquake relief

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

Campus initiatives are underway across Boston College in support of relief efforts responding to the devastating series of earthquakes in Turkey and northern Syria that have killed at least 51,100 people and displaced or affected more than 30 million others.

For the past two weeks, all Masses on campus have been offered for Turkey and Syria and all collections have been dedicated to relief work in the two countries, said Haub Vice President for Mission and Ministry Jack Butler, S.J. Campus Ministry has also made additional contributions to aid efforts, he added.

Donations will be collected at the doors of Conte Forum tomorrow night at the

men’s hockey game against the University of Connecticut and the men’s basketball game on Saturday against Georgia Tech. Fr. Butler said plans are ongoing for a “points drive” where students can transfer dining hall credits to support relief efforts.

Funds will be directed to Catholic Relief Services or Jesuit Refugee Service, he said.

“Being men and women for others we have a responsibility to be in solidarity with people when they are going through difficult times and suffering,” Fr. Butler said. “It’s an important part of the BC family and who we are. The effects of these earthquakes have been devastating, with many thousands dead at this time. It is a horrific situation. People need our prayers, our support, and our resources.”

Continued on page 3

Faculty share their perspectives at Ukraine forum

BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER

Nearly one year to the day that Russia invaded Ukraine, and on the heels of President Biden’s surprise visit to Kyiv, an interdisciplinary panel of Boston College faculty met at Fulton Hall on February 23 to share their historical, geopolitical, cultural, and religious perspectives on the conflict, frequently characterized as a vicious war of attrition.

The occasion was one that went beyond purely academic analysis, as reflected in a comment from panel organizer Professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies Maxim D. Shrayer: “Three of my grandparents were born and raised in Ukrainian lands, and I feel not only an intellectual and professional connection but also a strong personal link to the suffering of Ukraine and her people.”

In addition to Shrayer, panelists included Associate Professor of History Nicole Eaton; Professor Gerald M. Easter, chair of the Political Science Department; and Professor of History Devin O. Pendas. Curt Woolhiser, a lecturer in Russian and Slavic Studies, provided an overview of the war’s history and served as moderator, while Professor of Near Eastern Studies Franck Salameh, chair of the Department of Eastern, Slavic, and German Studies, delivered the introduction.

Easter discussed the geopolitical impli-

cations of the Ukraine war, with neither side seeming ready to negotiate as the battle began its second year. “It’s a multidimensional conflict. At one level, it is a fight over Ukrainian nationhood: How is the nation defined, who is in, and who is out. When Russia intervened a year ago, civil war was already underway.”

Another key factor, he said, is Russia’s ambition to be a regional hegemon and maintain influence over non-Russian peoples on its periphery—long part of a Russian-dominated empire, but now independent—and its aversion to NATO’s military buildup on its borders.

Remember When?

In new co-authored book, Kensinger points out some surprising facts about how our memories work

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

Yet another dimension is “the proxy war,” said Easter: “Ukraine may be the battlefield, but the fight is between Russia and the United States.” The Biden administration and U.S. security establishment “see Russia as a ‘peer competitor,’ whom they seek to weaken economically and militarily, and to effect regime change. Russia would have won the war last summer were it not for U.S. and NATO intervention on Ukraine’s behalf.”

Continued on page 8

Explaining the science behind memory and memory loss—including why forgetting is a crucial property of memory, as well as strategies that help people remember better—is the subject of a new book co-authored by Professor and Chair of Psychology and Neuroscience Elizabeth A. Kensinger.

In Why We Forget and How to Remember Better: The Science Behind Memory, Kensinger and Boston University Professor of Neurology Andrew E. Budson, M.D., examine how memories exist in the short term and how they get stored for longerterm access, Kensinger said. The book explains how memory influences our behavior without our awareness, underscoring the fact that what and how we remember influences everything from our social re-

lationships to the decisions we make on a daily basis.

“When most of us talk about our memory, we are referring to our ability to bring specific past events to mind,” said Kensinger. “But memory is so much more than that, encompassing all the ways our past experiences influence our current thoughts and behavior.

“Everyone relies on memory, for everything from remembering how to type, to navigating a familiar environment, to re-

Continued on page 4

“Ukraine may be the battlefield, but the fight is between Russia and the United States.”

—Gerald Easter

Late February saw campus performances by student dance troupes including (clockwise from top left) African Student Organization, Boston College Irish Dance, and South Asian Student Association.

Around Campus

BC Students Get a Valuable Lesson in Civics on Recent Trip to Capitol Hill

Recently, four Boston College students with a passion for public service traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with the University’s extensive political alumni network and discuss issues facing the BC community.

The trip marked the 10th annual visit to Capitol Hill for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Advocacy Days Program, through which student representatives from ACC institutions meet with legislators, governmental officials, and professional staff to discuss student financial aid, undergraduate research funding, and other issues affecting higher education.

Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences

seniors Julia Spagnola and Devianna Smith and sophomore Onur Toper, and Woods College of Advancing Studies senior Ishaan Kaushal sat down with United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh—who recently announced he will leave the Biden admin-

istration to become head of the National Hockey League Players Association—and U.S. Representatives Stephen Lynch (DMass.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.), all of whom are BC graduates. Additionally, the students met with senior legislative and operations staff—also BC graduates—in Lynch and Scott’s offices, as well as Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass), an alumnus of BC and BC Law School.

What struck Toper about the individuals was how they have continued to uphold Jesuit principles from their BC years.

“It was evident that BC alumni on the Hill integrate Jesuit values like cura personalis in policymaking, which testifies to their being ‘men and women for and with others’ in all aspects of life, and especially in public service.”

Walsh left a particular impression on the students. Speaking with him, said Toper, “gave me a new appreciation for

Formative Ed. Advocate to Speak March 15

Boston College will host a talk on March 15 by Kevin McArevey, a Northern Irish school principal whose use of formative education to make a difference in his students’ lives is the subject of the award-winning documentary “Young Plato.”

The film will be screened at the event, which takes place at 7:45 p.m. in Devlin 101, and is sponsored by the Irish Studies Program and Philosophy Department.

McArevey is head of the Holy Cross Boys’ Primary School (HCBPS) in Ardoyne, North Belfast, an inner-city, working-class community that is still dealing with traumatic social and economic effects of Northern Ireland’s troubled past: violence, poverty, drugs, and sectarianism. In 2001—three years after the Good Friday Agreement—a riot broke out in Ardoyne when loyalists sought to prevent pupils at nearby Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School from making their way to school as they passed a contested area.

Since taking the reins at HCBPS, the energetic, Elvis-loving McArevey has

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Jack Dunn

SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Patricia Delaney

EDITOR

Sean Smith

sought to instill in his students, who range from four to 11 years old, the lessons of ancient philosophy and inspire them to think critically about the world in which they live—and to look beyond boundaries and limitations. In turn, the boys challenge their friends, parents, and neighbors to forsake violence, prejudice, and the mythologies of war and conflict.

“Young Plato,” the nickname by which McArevey is known, depicts his interactions with HCBPS students—both in groups and one on one—and staff, as well as scenes of a typical day at the school, including its “philosophy board” for solving disputes and other problems.

Since its release in 2021, the film has been shown at numerous festivals and received several honors, including the Independent Film & Television Alliance documentary award.

For more information, email irish.studies@bc.edu.

—University Communications

executive leadership not only in the federal government, but also in state and local governments across the country.”

For Smith, meeting Walsh was among the high points of the trip to Washington, which she described as “one of the most formative moments” in her BC experience: “I really valued his kindness and honesty. I felt inspired by the conversations we had with him.”

Smith also was inspired by the number of BC alumni who work in the nation’s capital (“BC students have such a strong network to utilize”), and felt her time and participation in the trip would prove useful as she prepares to work for the Morgan Stanley Legal & Compliance Division.

“The trip not only exposed me to the opportunities available to students to participate in civic engagement, but also allowed me to better understand the people behind policy creation and implementa-

tion.”

While networking was a main component of the trip, the BC students made it a priority to thank officials and legislators for their efforts in supporting federal research funding, financial aid, and Pell Grants. Toper said the D.C. visit “solidified my interest in public service and helped to broaden my understanding of, and engagement in, public policy matters affecting students at BC.”

The experience is not only important for those passionate about public policy or civil service, noted Director of Government Relations Jeanne Levesque, who emphasized that the student delegation represented the University and that their discussions had potential implications for their peers at the Heights. “All of these issues affect the whole student body,” she said.

—Meghan Keefe is a junior in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences

REMINDER: IT Data Center Offline for Part of Weekend

Information Technology Services reminds the Boston College community that the IT data center will be offline overnight this Saturday, March 4, 8 p.m., through Sunday, March 5, 4 a.m. This outage is related to Information Technology’s infrastructure resilience testing.  Services that will be unavailable during this time will include the Agora Portal, EagleApps, and file shares/shared drives (NetApps). However, many other services will be unaffected, including the BC website [www. bc.edu]; Gmail and all of Google Workspace, including Drive, Docs, Meet, etc.; Canvas (available at bostoncollege.instructure.com); Eagle VPN; remote desktop; and BC wired and wireless networks.

If you have any mapped drives/servers configured on your computer, restart before connecting on Sunday morning or later.

If you have any questions, contact your local technology consultant (faculty and staff) or the BC Help Center at 617-552-4357 (2-HELP) or help.center@bc.edu.

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Phil Gloudemans

Ed Hayward

Rosanne Pellegrini

Kathleen Sullivan

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Caitlin Cunningham

Lee

Pellegrini

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

Boston College undergraduates in the ACC Student Advocacy Program traveled to Washington, D.C., where they met governmental officials and legislators, including (above right) alumnus Marty Walsh, the outgoing United States Secretary of Labor.

Northern Irish educator Kevin McArevey in a still from the documentary film “Young Plato.”

BCSSW Team Aiding Afghan Resettlement

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

The Boston College School of Social Work will assist efforts to provide mental health and family support needs for resettled Afghans in the United States, in partnership with a major resource hub for refugee service providers funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

BCSSW’s Research Program for Childhood Adversity (RPCA) will collaborate with the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) in assessing Afghan families’ needs, strengths, and challenges as they build new lives in the U.S. and identifying family support strategies that refugee service organizations can utilize. The partners also will share findings about the psychosocial consequences of war and forced migration on children as well as the evidence for multi-level interventions, and provide guidance for culturally informed practice with Afghan families.

Such responses are vital, according to the researchers, at a time when more than 85,000 Afghans are in the U.S. after being evacuated from their country in the wake of the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, and many others are expected to arrive in the coming months—40 percent of them minor-aged children and adolescents. The acute trauma and dislocation endured by the refugees raises the risk of poor family functioning and mental health and psychosocial problems among resettled children.

Resettlement itself brings additional

BC Community Responds to Turkish/Syrian Earthquake

Continued from page 1

The University community includes 22 undergraduate and graduate students from Turkey, and a number of faculty members who are natives of the country. Staff from the offices of Student Affairs and Campus Ministry have reached out to Turkish students on campus, Fr. Butler said.

“We have been making sure those folks know that we support and love them and understand how tremendously difficult this is for them,” he said.

Assistant Professor of Biology Emrah Altindis said he and his fellow Turkish colleagues have been in touch with family and friends. The scope of the devastation is immense, he said, and has been compounded by shortcomings in the government responses.

“Given the scale of the devastation, it is clear that ongoing, long-term sup-

sources of stress and anxiety, note the researchers, such as economic pressures, legal status, access to education and health care, and the overall challenge of adjusting to life in a new country and markedly different society. This tends to compound familial challenges, creating the mental health risks for children.

“Afghan families and communities demonstrate a tremendous amount of strength which we hope to illuminate,” said BCSSW Salem Professor in Global Practice Theresa Betancourt, who is heading the team with UIC Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Mary Bunn, director of the UIC Global Mental Health Research and Training Program.

“We also want to help ensure that evidencebased services are available to help promote child and family mental health with much more of a prevention focus.”

The BCSSW-UIC project is being supported through Switchboard, a project of the International Rescue Committee that is funded by ORR. Switchboard offers a library of learning resources, an online evidence database, a range of self-paced e-learning courses, regular live learning opportunities, and on-demand technical assistance for ORR-funded organizations.

BCSSW and UIC have worked together in researching mental health and family support needs of Afghan refugees in Maine and recently-arrived evacuees at Ft. McCoy, Wisc. These collaborations, along with others involving community partners serving Somali Bantu and Bhutanese refugee populations, will be the foundation for the new project, which centers on promoting mental health in Afghan families with children

aged 10-17 and their caregivers. The team will interview refugees and service providers to get a fuller understanding of behavioral or mental health challenges and issues, as well as the strengths and resources, that typify Afghan families’ resettlement experiences.

The BCSSW-UIC researchers will disseminate their findings to the Switchboard network, including state refugee health coordinators and ORR-funded refugee service organizations, and develop high-quality learning resources and materials, including a published manuscript, webinars, guides or hand-outs, and policy briefs. The team also plans to establish community advisory boards comprising parents, youths, leaders, and policy makers in New England to orient its research methods, ground research findings within the Afghan context, and eventually bring the findings of their research into further refinement of their Family Strengthening Intervention for Refugees initiative currently being piloted among Afghan families in Maine.

RPCA researchers said that some in-

“People need our prayers, our support, and our resources.”

sights and observations gleaned from existing refugee resettlement initiatives, such as those in Maine, are likely to be present in others. Postdoctoral researcher Euijin Jung noted that most Somali Bantus are Muslim, as are Afghans, and formative qualitative work revealed that many resettlement stressors are similar—including school and new-language adaptation, low literacy, and a simultaneous concern over losing cultural identity while adjusting to a new one.

“We do have to also appreciate the unique cultural and contextual differences that characterize Afghan populations,” said Betancourt. “For instance, many of the young girls and families with whom we work have never attended co-ed schools, so that entails pretty large adjustments at first.

“Additionally, as opposed to the Bhutanese and Somali Bantu families with whom we work—whose trauma dates back to wars in the late 1990s and subsequent displacement—Afghans experienced very acute trauma as recently as August 2021, so we have to proceed with additional sensitivity and care.”

—Jack Butler, S.J.

Destruction in Diyarbakır, Turkey, February 6. The earthquake is estimated to have killed at least 51,100 people and displaced or affected more than 30 million others.

port will be necessary to ensure that these communities can fully recover,” said Altindis. “As the American dollar is currently strong compared to the Turkish lira, I would strongly recommend sending impactful financial support to aid in the recovery efforts instead of clothes or other items.”

He added: “I believe that we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those affected by this tragedy. Finally, I would also like to encourage the BC community to be mindful of the impact this disaster has had on students and employees from Syria and Turkey. Many of us have likely experienced trauma as a result

of this event, and it’s important that we offer support and understanding during this difficult time.”

To support relief efforts in Turkey, see Catholic Relief Services [support.crs.org/ donate/earthquakes] or Jesuit Refugee Service [www.jrsusa.org].

“Afghan families and communities demonstrate a tremendous amount of strength which we hope to illuminate.”

—Theresa Betancourt

photo by lee pellegrini

photo by voa (wikimedia commons)

Big Gig in a Big Hall for Liturgy Arts Group

BY ROSANNE PELLEGRINI STAFF WRITER

The joke is a classic.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.

The Liturgy Arts Group (LAG) of Boston College has had both plenty of practice, and plenty of highly regarded performances.

The group reached a milestone on February 19, when they took the main stage at the famed New York City concert venue. Under the direction of Campus Minister for Liturgical Arts Meyer Chambers, LAG appeared in Carnegie Hall’s “Voices in the Hall” series, in a program titled “The Story of God: A Journey of Faith, Hope and Unity,” which expressed a message of love, forgiveness, and acceptance.

“With deep gratitude to ValLimar Jansen [acclaimed singer, composer, and recording artist], the Liturgy Arts Group and I joined musical artists John Angotti, Meredith Dean Augustin, Cliff Petty, Artistic Director Steve Petrunak, and more than 200 singers and musicians,” said Chambers.

Jansen—a special guest at the concert— asked Chambers to be a guest conductor; he in turn asked that LAG be included in the production. It was the only collegiate group invited to perform.

“Voices in the Hall” was presented in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium on the Perelman Stage, which has seen innumerable historical concerts and events. Since it opened in 1891, Carnegie Hall has set the international standard for musical excellence as the aspirational destination for

the world’s finest artists, according to its website, and hosted an honor roll of musicmaking artists representing the finest of every genre.

Chambers was grateful not only that LAG had the opportunity “to participate in this wonderful concert” but for his chance to conduct two pieces, “All of Me: Ode to Sr. Thea,” written by M. Roger Holland ll, and the world premiere of “When I Am Still,” based on the “Londonderry Air,” arranged by William Adams with text by Jansen.

Chambers said he is “beyond grateful to Val and Steve for entrusting me with this awesome responsibility. More importantly the latter piece featured my beloved LAG, with which I have been associated for 20 years.”

Also appreciative of this singular experience were LAG members.

“Performing at Carnegie Hall is a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity, and most of our members never expected to have this experience,” said LAG president Sarah Ryan ’23, noting that four members were featured as instrumentalists, including three violinists and a cellist. “Our singers were fortunate to join a diverse choir of voices from across the country. It was a privilege to meet ValLimar Jansen and John Angotti, who are incredibly talented liturgical musicians, and to share a space with other performers dedicated to ministry and a faith that does justice.”

It is often LAG that provides the soundtrack for the University’s religious and spiritual life. The group serves the BC community by sharing its gift of music at Sunday liturgies and campus events such

BC’s Kensinger Co-authors Book

Continued from page 1

membering a favorite dish at a restaurant,” said Kensinger. “Yet most of us are also surprised by how our memory works— sometimes we are pleasantly surprised by what we’ve managed to remember, and other times we are frustrated by what we’ve forgotten.”

Memory is an active and cyclical process, Kensinger said, analogous to building a structure out of blocks.

“As you experience an event, you’re representing different features of the event in different regions of the brain; one portion of your brain is representing the sounds, another the sights, another the emotions,” she said. “A particular region of your brain, the hippocampus, is serving as the tape that binds those blocks together, and that stores the blueprints for how to later rebuild that memory structure.”

When we need to access that memory, we have to use the blueprints for that structure to actively rebuild memory, she said.

“Thinking of memory in this way can help to understand how memory errors and omissions can arise. It’s easy to grab an incorrect block, perhaps one that should be in another memory structure, or to omit a

set of blocks that might change the overall structure or interpretation of a past event.”

Kensinger and Budson discuss memory as a cycle because, as individuals rebuild a memory, they’re likely to update it with current information—such as, has a friend changed their appearance by growing a beard, or cutting their hair? Once updated or modified, these revised blueprints are stored again.

“In this way, memory is a continually changing representation; it is not a static representation of the past,” said Kensinger.

At a time of increased attention to memory and brain health, Why We Forget examines a range of cognitive issues that affect people on a daily basis: changes that accompany normal aging, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, and other disorders—including COVID brain fog.

As they incorporated their own findings, as well as the body of research on the subject, the co-authors were surprised to discover that memory is not really about the past.

“Memory can be thought of as a powerful source of data that the brain can use to make sense of the present moment and

as the Mass of the Holy Spirit and the Arts Festival. LAG is committed to enlivening and enriching the University’s worship experience. Members meet weekly for prayer and to practice for the upcoming Sunday liturgy as well as for special celebrations.

About half of LAG’s some 65 members took part in the concert, which involved extra work and dedication: learning 18 pieces of new music and conducting fundraising to defray travel expenses.

“The ‘Voices in the Hall’ concert was an unforgettable experience, and I am grateful to have had this opportunity with

to make predictions about the future,” Kensinger said. “Memory holds onto the features that are going to be the most useful pieces of data for the brain to use for these purposes. Most of the time, those features don’t include very specific details about an experience but rather are broader representations of the gist or general concept of what happened.”

Why We Forget and How to Remember

Better offers evidence-based lessons and strategies readers can use to improve their memory, including:

•Ways to control what you remember and what you forget

members

said Ryan. “LAG has been a great source of community throughout my time at Boston College, and I am proud of how we persevered through the pandemic. Our alumni showed immense support from the time we announced our trip, and this performance felt like an opportunity to celebrate together, with many former LAG members traveling from near and far to watch our concert. I’m so impressed by the way this community has stuck together over the past few years, and I’m excited to see how it will continue to thrive moving forward.”

“Memory can be thought of as a powerful source of data that the brain can use to make sense of the present moment and to make predictions about the future,” says Elizabeth Kensinger. “Memory holds onto the features that are going to be the most useful pieces of data for the brain to use for these purposes.”

•Ways to distinguish between a true and false memory

•Effective methods to study for an exam

•How exercise, nutrition, alcohol, cannabis, sleep, mindfulness, and music affect memory

•How to remember people’s names, 50 digits of Pi, and anything else you desire

“We hope that by reading this book, individuals will come to understand their memories in a broader way and will benefit from science-backed strategies to minimize unwanted forgetting,” said Kensinger.

Meyer Chambers directed the Liturgy Arts Group at a rehearsal held in St. Patrick’s Cathedral before LAG’s February 19 appearance at Carnegie Hall.

photo by sarah kadlick ’25

of the Liturgy Arts Group,”

photo by lee pellegrini

Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship

A ‘Leadership Category of Her Own’

BY ROSANNE PELLEGRINI STAFF WRITER

When Maria “Christie” Louis ’24 was awarded the 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship, she acknowledged her family in Haiti and emphasized that the honor was not just for her, but also for them: “I stand on the shoulders of people back home. I hold them with me and I carry them with me.”

A first-generation college student originally from Port-au-Prince, Louis moved to Boston as a young child and now resides in Wrentham. Her parents, brother, and best friends were in attendance when University President William P. Leahy, S.J., announced her award at the 41st anniversary scholarship banquet on February 21.

The annual scholarship 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. Event organizers said Louis finds inspiration “in Dr. King’s assertion that ‘Freedom is never freely given by the oppressor but must be demanded from the oppressed,’ and describes this quote as a catalyst for the rest of her future.”

“Winning this award has meant absolutely everything to me and my family,” Louis said in her acceptance speech. “I do not take this award as my own; it’s for all my family that is back in Haiti and it serves as a reminder to the incredible responsibility I have to them and to my community to become the change.

“Similarly, Dr. King’s legacy reminds me that the fight against injustice is mine and that taking it up is a necessity for ensuring that Black people, specifically Black mothers, are provided with the justice and resources that they deserve,” Louis added.

Passionate about racial justice issues with an emphasis on maternal health for Black mothers in the United States and Haiti, Louis will work this summer with TeamBirth, a nonprofit dedicated to safe birthing plans for women of color.

In her speech, she cited both the higher childbirth mortality in the United States

for Black mothers compared to their white counterparts, and that “Haiti’s maternal mortality rate remains the highest of any country in the Western hemisphere.”

Louis hopes to be a change agent through her volunteer and professional pursuits. With a major in biology and minors in African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS) and Global Public Health and the Common Good, her long-term goal is to become an obstetrician to serve primarily BIPOC in low-socioeconomic communities.

“I intend to be the one who does everything in my power to change the system,” Louis said. “I’ve dedicated all my service work and my career aspirations towards achieving this vision.”

Among other extracurricular activities, Louis serves as the Haitian Association events coordinator, AHANA+ caucus coordinator, Black Women Matter Retreat coleader, and as a volunteer at Rosie’s Place.

“Christie is in a leadership category of her own,” said Katie Dalton, director of the BC Women’s Center where Louis is a staff member. “She combines her intense passion for advocating for those who are marginalized in our society, especially women and individuals of color, with an approachableness that welcomes others into conversation about difficult issues.”

Louis cited Dalton as among BC administrators who have helped shape her undergraduate experience and said she is honored to work in the office, which aims to create an inclusive space for women on campus. Others she named include Academic Advising Center Assistant Director Helen Ha, Learning to Learn Director Rossanna Contreras-Godfrey, and Donicka Pamphile of University Counseling Services.

In addition to her family, Louis thanked the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship finalists for their support: Kaylee Arzu, Srina Lacet, Osasenaga Owens, and Ashley-Rae Stewart [see separate article].

The event included a keynote speech by Institute for the Study of Race and Culture Director Alex Pieterse, a faculty member in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development.

“I intend to be the one who does everything in my power to change the system. I’ve dedicated all my service work and my career aspirations towards achieving this vision.”

—Maria

Other finalists for the 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship:

Kaylee Arzu, Bronx, NY

•International Studies major; minors in marketing and African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS)

Arzu is a stepper on FISTS (Females Incorporating Sisterhood Through Step), Black Student Forum treasurer, a trainer for the Bystander Program, and a resident assistant. She has initiated creative projects in service to the AHANA community and met with photographer Matthieu-Armara Diamondé for a research project. After graduation, she hopes to continue to foster community among Black creatives, and “uplift Dr. King’s ideals and pave the way for the authentic, Black experience to be seen and acknowledged through my lens.”

Srina Lacet, Frederick, Md.

•Political science and AADS major; minor in film

•Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program member

An AHANA+ Leadership Council member, Lacet also is a FISTS team cocaptain and Haitian Association AHANA+ caucus representative. She works at the AADS office and Women’s Center, and served as co-leader for the Black Women Matter Retreat. Lacet hopes to pursue both legal and film studies after graduation, through which she will continue her passion for social justice and politics.

Osasenaga Owens, Randolph, Mass.

•Business management major (accounting for financing and consulting concentration)

The African Students Organization vice president, Owens is a member of the BC men’s club soccer team and volunteers as an assistant varsity soccer coach at his alma mater, Boston College High School. After graduation, he hopes to work at Deloitte Services LP, where he has done summer internships. In his career, Owens hopes to “combat the knowledge gap between Black and white students through community engagement with my corporate firm.”

Ashley-Rae Stewart, Hollis, NY

•Sociology major; minor in finance

Stewart has served as a resident assistant, a Management Leadership for Tomorrow Career Prep campus ambassador, a BAIC ambassador, Caribbean Culture Club secretary, and a Pine Manor Institute for Student Success coach. She wrote a children’s book on bullying, The Friend I Never Wanted, given to schools and churches. She helped to launch the Carroll School of Management’s Diversity in Business Education Series and participated in the Community Advocacy and Research Engagement seminar. Stewart will pursue a banking career after graduation, and hopes to inspire and mentor other people of color.

—Rosanne Pellegrini

Kaveny Is Selected as a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar

Darald and Juliet Libby Professor Cathleen Kaveny, who holds appointments in both the Theology Department and Boston College Law School, has been appointed a Phi Beta Kappa Society Visiting Scholar for 2023-2024.

Since 1956, the PBK Visiting Scholar Program has been dedicated to exchanging ideas and contributing to the intellectual experience on campus. Visiting Scholars spend two days apiece at universities and colleges where PBK chapters are located, taking full part in the academic life of the institution. They meet informally with

students and faculty members, participate in classroom discussions and seminars, and give a lecture open to the academic community and the general public.

Kaveny is one of 14 outstanding scholars in the liberal arts and sciences selected for the 2023-2024 cohort of PBK Visiting Scholars, who are expected to make more than 100 campus visits during the academic year.

“I am very honored and excited by the PBK appointment,” said Kaveny, whose work focuses on the intersections of law, religion, and ethics in a divided, plu-

ralistic society. “I am sure that I will learn so much from talking with undergraduates and others at different schools across the country about the challenges facing our nation and our world.”

Kaveny is expected to lecture on topics such as the connection between nostalgia for the 1950s and American nationalism and the tension between civil discourse and “callout” culture in American public life. In the classroom, she will address religious liberty and freedom of conscience after Dobbs v. Jackson.

Kaveny served as the Cary and Ann Maguire Chair in Ethics and American History at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress during 2018-2019. Her books

include Law’s Virtues: Fostering Autonomy and Solidarity in American Society; Prophecy without Contempt: Religious Discourse in the Public Square; and Ethics at the Edges of Law: Christian Moralists and American Legal Thought.

The Phi Beta Kappa Society is the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society, with chapters at 293 colleges and universities in the United States, nearly 50 alumni associations, and more than half a million members worldwide. Its mission is to champion education in the liberal arts and sciences, foster freedom of thought, and recognize academic excellence.

—Kathleen Sullivan

“Christie” Louis photo by frank curran

photo by christopher soldt/mts

Clough Ctr. to Unveil Journal, Host Major Symposium

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

This month will see two milestones for Boston College’s Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy: a major symposium capping its yearlong “Renewing Journalism, Restoring Democracy” theme, and the launch of a new studentled annual journal that mirrors the center’s mission: promoting interdisciplinary reflection on constitutional government in the United States and throughout the world.

The publication’s first issue contains articles written by Clough Fellows—a cohort of BC undergraduate and graduate students from across the University, including the Philosophy, History, Sociology, Psychology/Neuroscience, English, Theology, and Political Science departments and the Law School. As will be the case each edition, its title and contents reflect the center’s programming theme for the academic year: Among the offerings in Renewing Journalism, Restoring Democracy are “Journalism and Government Advertising: The Relationship Between Corruption, Democracy, and Human Rights in Brazil”; “The American Jury and The American Media”; and “Haven’t We Heard This Before? Narratives of Polarization in the Catholic Church.”

Finishing touches on the debut edition come as the center prepares for the climactic event of its yearlong examination of the challenges journalism and democracy face, and the possibilities for renewing both.

Featured keynote speakers at the symposium, which takes place March 15-17, include New York Times columnist and CBS political analyst Jamelle Bouie; awardwinning journalist, author, professor, and speaker Farai Chideya, creator and host of the “Our Body Politic” radio show and podcast; Maria Hinojosa, anchor and executive producer of Peabody Award-winning “Latino USA,” distributed by NPR; and journalist and author Charlayne HunterGault, a longtime reporter, anchor, and

BC Scenes

correspondent for NPR.

Among others appearing are WBUR “Radio Boston” host (and former BC faculty member) Tiziana Dearing, Boston Globe columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr, National Review Editor-at-Large Kathryn Jean Lopez, and former BBC director and New York Times executive Mark Thompson.

BC-affiliated speakers include Clough Center Director Jonathan Laurence and Assistant Director Nicholas Hayes-Mota; BC faculty members Michael Serazio, Angela Ards (director of BC’s journalism minor), and Carlo Rotella; BC visiting fellow Charles Sennott, Boston Globe writer and founder of the GroundTruth project; and Samuel Sawyer, S.J., ’00, M.Div.’14, editor-in-chief for America.

Finishing up his first year as center director, Laurence expressed happiness with the quality of the events and the response they generated, especially among students.

“It’s been exciting to see BC students from different disciplinary backgrounds come together around a common theme. In our weekly seminar and in conversation with visiting speakers, we all gained a deeper appreciation of how the news media shape our understanding of social and political life.”

The “Renewing Journalism, Restoring Democracy” theme proved to be particularly relevant in light of notable events and trends in recent months, he said, noting coverage of the January 6-related investigations as well as controversy over the impact of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media.

“We’ve seen a resurgence of the role journalists play in providing accountability

when our political system fails to function adequately. The coverage has been helpful in showing how close our democracy came to veering off the rails. We’ve learned about the weaknesses in our system, and how to shore them up.”

Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences graduate student Dennis Wieboldt III ’22 and Morrissey College junior Caroline Brewster have relished the experience of serving as Renewing Journalism, Restoring Democracy co-editors and co-organizers: It’s been an opportunity to work with other students from various academic disciplines, they said, and to reflect on journalism’s historic role in sustaining democracy.

As a double major in political science and theology, Brewster feels the Clough Center’s mission aligns with her interest in how religion influences social choices and political behavior. “I appreciate how the center aims to revitalize civil political discourse on campus, offering opportunities

for the BC community to ponder questions facing our generation and beyond. The success of our constitutional democracy depends on our ability to engage sincerely and productively with those around us, including and especially around difficult questions. The center’s programs help to give students the experiences they need to develop these crucial skills.

“As co-editor, learning from students who study sociology, history, and other subjects has given me a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between journalism and democracy. I hope our readers similarly benefit from the interdisciplinarity of the journal.”

Wieboldt, who is pursuing a master’s degree in history, expressed gratitude for the center’s support of his interest in the historical relationship between law, politics, and religion in the 20th-century U.S., particularly American Catholic legal thinkers’ views on how constitutional provisions positively shape—and negatively limit— democratic decision-making.

“For historians of the 20th-century U.S., there are few better primary sources available than newspapers to learn about American democracy. My own research has relied extensively on newspaper reporting about the administration of BC Law School Dean William J. Kenealy, S.J., and his later civil rights-era advocacy to better understand his historical context and the types of questions that everyday Americans had about the virtues and vices of their democracy.

“By integrating both historical and contemporary accounts of journalism and democracy, this year’s publication is well suited to highlight how journalists have, and still can, promote the success of constitutional democracy in the U.S. and abroad.”

The journal will be available in print and online, hosted via the Clough Center website [bc.edu/clough], which also provides information on the March 15-17 symposium.

Clough Center Director Jonathan Laurence

photos by lee pellegrini

Last weekend in Robsham Theater’s Bonn Studio, the Theatre Department presented its production of Jessica Swale’s “Blue Stockings,” directed by Associate Professor of the Practice Patricia Riggin. The play centers on—and chronicles the struggles of—the first group of women allowed entry to England’s Girton College in 1896.

‘Blue Stockings’

photo by lee pellegrini

Wilson Selected for the Accounting Hall of Fame

BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

The late Peter Wilson, one of Boston College’s best and most beloved professors who was credited with helping colleagues at BC and across the world become better accounting teachers and researchers, has been inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame. He joins an elite group of 113 individuals who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since its inception in 1950.

Wilson, who held the Joseph L. Sweeney Chair in Accounting at Boston College until his retirement in 2018 and the title of professor emeritus until his death from complications of Parkinson’s Disease in 2020, was one of four individuals selected for the Hall of Fame this year by the American Accounting Association (AAA). His wife, Carolyn Wilson, will accept the award in his honor during the organization’s annual meeting in Denver this August.

According to the AAA announcement, Wilson was “an exemplar of a master teacher and scholar who became a teacherof-teachers, and inspired others to make a

difference. His overarching goals were to help students and other educators develop robust conceptual frameworks to navigate complexity and uncertainty; build relationship skills that promote effective and rewarding interactions with others; and gain a passion for lifelong learning. His aim was a more prosperous society.”

Vice Provost for Faculties Billy Soo praised his friend and former colleague for his unwavering devotion to his students and his mentorship of colleagues at Boston College and beyond.

“Pete’s induction into the Accounting Hall of Fame is a wonderful testament to the impact he had on students and colleagues alike,” said Soo. “I had the privilege of being his office neighbor and saw first-hand the devotion to, and time he spent with, his students. I know so many students who recall fondly their time in his class. Pete shared generously his mastery of teaching and research with his colleagues not only at Boston College, but around the world. I am beyond pleased that so many others share this sentiment.”

Carolyn Wilson, who often assisted Peter during his classroom lectures and helped develop many of his popular and

OBITUARY James “Jimmy” LaCroix, 57

James Douglas “Jimmy” LaCroix, a 30year employee at Boston College, died on February 18. He was 57.

A funeral Mass was held for Mr. LaCroix on February 24 at St. Joseph’s Church, in Needham, Mass.

Mr. LaCroix was born with Down syndrome, but his parents, Arthur and Marjorie, rejected doctors’ recommendation for permanent institutional care and kept him at home in Needham along with their three other children. He learned to swim the width of an Olympic-size pool by age three and to row a small boat by age five.

Mr. LaCroix began his formal education in the Charles River Workshop, then entered the Needham Public Schools. He was a graduate of Needham High School and a member of the varsity swim team. After completing a two-year vocational technical program at Minuteman High School in Lexington, Mass., he was hired by Boston College as one of the first members of the University’s Supported Employment Program (SEP) and worked in a variety of jobs in Dining Services, Facilities, and Buildings and Grounds.

During his 30 years at BC, Mr. LaCroix lived in a specialized housing residence in Brookline, attending church regularly and traveling in and around Boston by public transportation and foot.

He retired from BC in 2017 and was feted at a farewell party on campus along with fellow SEP member Kevin Browne, who had started work at the University the same year as Mr. LaCroix. In an interview with Chronicle shortly after his retirement, Mr. LaCroix reminisced about his time at

BC, and said being there meant more than just a job: He liked the feeling of “working together as a team—everybody treated me well and helped me out.” He cited several members of the Corcoran Commons kitchen staff as among his favorite coworkers: “I liked listening to them and doing things together: teamwork.”

Mr. LaCroix was predeceased by his parents and brother Steven. He is survived by his sisters Jeannine Mara and Suzanne Vreeland, brothers-in-law John Mara and John Vreeland, and sister-in-law Kim LaCroix.

—University Communications

widely used educational materials, said that his induction was a fitting tribute to a person who devoted his professional life to teaching and advancing the field of accounting.

“Pete benefited from many mentors, colleagues across the academy, former students, and the support and encouragement from family and friends,” she said. “I am sure he would share this honor with his colleagues at Boston College, knowing full well his individual success depended greatly on our collective success. This was his ‘Journey from Me to We,’ recognizing that we all contributed to making a difference.”

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 or scan the QR code at right.

Staff Psychologist or Staff Clinician

Associate Director, Athletics Communications

Assistant Director, Reporting & Data

Analytics

Senior Events Specialist

Patrol Officer

Staff Nurse

Lead Wait Staff

Associate Director, First Year Experience

Video Production Specialist

Head Librarian, Social Work Library

Senior Network Systems Engineer

Program Administrator, McNair Scholars Program

Associate Director, Student Affairs Title

IX

Supervisor, Audio & Event Services

Transitions & Summer Operations Assistant

Wilson, who earned a doctorate in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon University in 1985, taught at Stanford University, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before his appointment at Boston College in July 1997.

During his illustrious teaching career, he earned many awards, including the Distinguished Teaching Award (Stanford Business School, 1988); Teacher of the Year Award (MIT Sloan School of Management, 1995); the AAA Outstanding Educator Award (2005); Teaching with New Media Award (Boston College, 2009, 2010); AICPA Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award (2010); AAA Lifetime Achievement in Accounting Education (2014); AAA Financial Accounting and Reporting Innovation in Accounting Education Award; and the prestigious J. Michael and Mary Anne Cook/Deloitte Foundation Prize for teaching excellence (2016).

Upon his death, John and Linda Powers Family Dean Andy Boynton praised Wilson for the unique and lasting contributions to the Carroll School of Management and Boston College.

“Pete was the very definition of a master teacher, but he was also a great and generous mentor of teachers at our school and in the accounting discipline,” said Boynton.

“While teaching was Pete’s signature craft, he also was a superb scholar. He exemplified careful thought and assessment of a wide variety of theoretical and empirical research. He was BC at its best.”

Principal Data Architect

Research Economist

Quality Assurance Lead

Public Safety Dispatcher

Senior Applications Architect/Engineer

Software Release Analyst

Alumni Relations Assistant

Research Program Manager

Dining Management Intern

Senior Research Associate, Connell School of Nursing

Post-doctoral Research Fellow (multiple positions)

James “Jimmy” LaCroix at his retirement party after 30 years at Boston College.

photo by gary wayne gilbert

Peter Wilson, who died in 2020, was the Sweeney Chair in Accounting.

BC Global

Next Steps Coming for TIMSS & PIRLS Major World Studies

BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER

The release of the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)—the de facto worldwide standard for monitoring reading comprehension achievement—is expected this May, despite numerous pandemic-driven obstacles, according to Matthias von Davier, co-executive director of the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development.

“The global pandemic posed particularly daunting challenges for the execution of the recent assessment,” said von Davier, who assumed the Lynch School’s J. Donald Monan, S.J., University Professorship in Higher Education in fall 2020. “There were considerable delays, postponements, and students’ irregular school attendance, all of which were overcome to complete the appraisal.”

PIRLS provides data on trends in comparative reading achievement from more than 50 countries for the past two decades. Based on a comprehensive framework that focuses on the two overarching purposes for reading both in and out of school—literary experience and to acquire and use

Ukraine

Continued from page 1

Although media coverage often strikes an optimistic tone, Easter said, the fact is Ukraine is losing the war, and desperately needs more weapons from the West—although such aid won’t bring things back to the way they were.

“Ukraine has already lost one-fifth of its territory and population; its economy and infrastructure are in shambles. Sadly, neither side is backing down. Ukraine’s hopes lie in conflict expansion by drawing in more parties. The risk of escalation into a wider regional war or worse is considerably higher today than it was a year ago when the conflict began.”

Pendas described Russia’s war as “comprehensively criminal [and] a clear violation of international law.” The UN charter forbids state-on-state military force except in self-defense or when authorized by the UN Security Council, neither of which is the case, and Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory is also illegal.

Russia’s targeting of civilian infrastructure is a particularly serious violation of the laws of war, he added, and it’s possible that—in addition to war crimes and large-scale crimes against humanity—Russia has committed acts of genocide by targeting Ukrainian children for kidnapping and deportation to Russia.

But it’s highly unlikely that more than a small number of low-level perpetrators will ever face criminal trial for their actions, Pendas added, even though Ukraine accepted

information—PIRLS has conducted assessments of fourth graders every five years. Reading literacy is the foundation for academic success, and PIRLS is a valuable vehicle for studying whether new or revised policies impact achievement.

In addition to PIRLS, the center conducts regular international comparative assessments of student achievement in mathematics and science, known as TIMSS, on behalf of the Netherlands-based International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), which enables participating countries to make evidence-based decisions for improving educational policy.

Von Davier also reported that the eighth cycle of TIMSS is underway, which when completed will provide nearly 30 years of trend data on fourth- and eighth-grade student achievement for more than 70 countries, and mark the complete transition to digital assessment, which began in 2019.

“The TIMSS 2023 assessments will include new and engaging item formats and interactive features and scenario-based Problem Solving and Inquiry tasks (PSIs) that motivate students and capitalize on the digital environment,” said Ina V. S. Mullis, co-executive director. “As TIMSS’

International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction and the ICC has been investigating since last March.

“Past experience suggests that the ICC will struggle to secure evidence held by the Russians or to arrest Russian defendants not already in Ukrainian custody. Vladimir Putin will almost surely evade international prosecution.”

Panelists also provided historical and cultural perspectives on the conflict. Eaton explained how Russia repeatedly exploits antiquity to justify its aggressive war in Ukraine. Both countries draw on ancient and recent history as an act of national identity formation, and both appeal to the same inheritances as the foundations for their modern nations, but in ultimately different ways.

“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia is dealing with a nationwide identity crisis as it seeks to create a positive Russian domestic character in the post-colonial period after the loss of its imperial territories,” she said. “Denying sovereignty and nationhood to Ukraine, paradoxically, is part of Putin’s goal to form a new Russian identity.”

Eaton described three historical myths Russia has used in legitimizing its aggression: modern Ukraine was created by Vladimir Lenin, first head of the Soviet Union; Russia is merely reclaiming “historic Russian lands”; and Russia’s mission is to “denazify” Ukraine. “Each of these is fundamental to Russia’s own sense of identity, but each is ultimately a gross simplification and ignores Ukrainian state sovereignty and national selfdetermination.”

Shrayer focused on Ukraine as a multi-

first fully digital administration, the next report—anticipated in December 2024–will collect not only achievement and contextual data, but also gather statistics that will shed light on how students navigate through the digital assessment.”

Building on the TIMSS 2019 Environmental Awareness scales, which assessed environmental awareness in students using content from fourth-grade Earth and life science, and eighth-grade Earth science and biology, TIMSS 2023 will also feature context questionnaire items that assess students’ environmental attitudes and behaviors, Mullis added.

“In light of the increasing urgency of global environmental issues, the questionnaire examines the environmental practices of parents, teachers, and schools,” she said. “For example, students are asked how often they reuse materials, while parents are queried on how often they engage in various activities with their child to promote environmental responsibility.”

The center is also focused on producing

the next IEA Rosetta Stone report for the Conference of Ministers of Education of French-speaking States & Governments’ Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems—comprising more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East—and the Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study assessment results in Colombia and Guatemala.

The project measures global progress toward the UN’s sustainable development goal for education quality by linking regional assessment results to TIMSS and PIRLS international benchmarks of achievement. A concordance table translates those scores to the TIMSS and PIRLS scales, a process analogous to the original Rosetta Stone that provided a translation link between Greek and Egyptian hieroglyphics.

“This study is particularly helpful for developing countries to assess their respective proficiency levels in literacy and numeracy in comparison to international metrics and benchmarks,” said von Davier.

ethnic and multireligious country, and on the role of religious leaders and Ukraine’s minorities during the war. He noted that Ukraine is home to about 38 million ethnic Ukrainians and more than eight million ethnic Russians, but also to Moldovans, Poles, Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Jews, Greeks, and other minorities. More than 70 percent of Ukrainian citizens are Orthodox Christians and approximately nine percent of the population is Ukrainian Greek Catholic or Roman Catholic, while smaller but vibrant communities of Jews and

Muslims also live there.

“All of Ukraine’s ethnic and religious communities have banded together to defend their country,” Shrayer concluded. “As we fervently pray for Ukraine’s full victory, we also worry about the prospects of survival for Ukraine’s smaller ethnic and religious communities.”

The panel was sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences; BC’s departments of History, Political Science, and Eastern, Slavic, and German Studies; and the Jewish Studies Program.

TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center Executive Directors Matthias von Davier and Ina V. S. Mullis.

photos by lee pellegrini and caitlin cunningham

(L-R) Faculty members Nicole Eaton, Devin Pendas, Maxim D. Shrayer, and Gerald Easter at last week’s panel discussion on the situation in Ukraine.

photo by tim correira