Boston College Chronicle

Page 1

The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of University Communications

symposium to 2 •BCSSW address racism’s impact •BC hosts regional forum on recycling •Center spotlighted in comics (again) •Photos: Laetare Sunday; Ban Ki-Moon talk director talks about 3 •FBI cyber security

•Former US ambassador to UN to speak on campus studies 4 •Christianson brain’s avoid/approach function

grant to support 5 •NSF Barnett’s project for lowincome high schoolers

the new UGBC 6 •Meet leadership team

BC Ranks 6th in World for Theological Studies BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Boston College ranked sixth among the world’s top universities in Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies in the 2018 QS World University Rankings, further advancing the University’s strategic goal of becoming the world’s leading Catholic university and theological center. The Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies ranking, which aims to help prospective students identify the world’s leading schools in their field of interest, is based on academic reputation, employer reputation, and research impact. Boston College was the highest-ranked Catholic institution in the survey. The top 10 schools in this year’s QS rankings are Harvard University, Oxford, Durham and Cambridge universities in Great Britain, Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Boston College, Notre Dame, University of Toronto and KU Leuven University in Belgium

(tied), and University of Chicago. Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley said the ranking is a testament to the University’s well-earned reputation as a global leader in theological studies. “Here at Boston College, we take great pride in the strength of our faculty and students in theology and related disciplines, and in our scholars’ commitment to engaging a range of publics around Boston and around the globe,” said Quigley. “The QS World Rankings offer helpful external validation of our community of theologians and the high esteem in which they are held by colleagues in the field.” “The QS rankings are gratifying to see, as the School of Theology and Ministry strives hard to be a community of scholars and students who bring outstanding theological training to ministry in and for the Church,” said School of Theology and Ministry Dean Thomas Stegman, SJ. “Our primary concern remains to grow more in embodying the way of exContinued on page 6

Unlikely Friends One was a Nepali girl who needed help. The other was a former BC student who was willing to give it.

Additions/BC in 7 •Welcome the Media/Jobs •History of Religion conference in late March book launch to 8 •Concert, celebrate memory of T. Frank Kennedy, SJ

•Photos: Late February campus highlights

BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER

At age seven, Dorje Dolma was living in one of the most remote places in the world, protecting her family’s goats and sheep from wolves and snow leopards. By age 10, she was facing a life-threatening condition and would encounter an American woman with Boston College ties, who would change the course of her life. In her new memoir, Yak Girl: Growing Up in the Remote Dolpo Region of Nepal, Dolma – the oldest of 11 children born to Dolma Tsering and Karma Dhandul – describes her childhood in Dolpo, an isolated region of Nepal in

the Himalayas near the border with Tibet that has become more familiar to Westerners since the publication of Peter Matthiessen’s award-winning book The Snow Leopard and the Oscar-nominated film “Himalaya.” In a recent author talk at Boston College, Dolma recalled happy times from her childhood. “The river was my friend and my playground. I sang songs along to the soothing sounds of the water, and with the gifts the river brought down – sticks and stones – I built little rock houses.” By age five, Dolma’s days were filled with chores either in the home or, preferably, high in Continued on page 4

QUOTE:

Esther Chung ’18 performing at “Sing It to the Heights.” See page 6.

Trustees Set Tuition Rate for 2018-19 Academic Year BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

The Board of Trustees has set undergraduate tuition for the 20182019 academic year at $54,600, as part of a 3.6 percent increase in tuition, fees, room and board, bringing the overall annual cost of attendance at Boston College to $69,942. To maintain the University’s commitment to providing access to students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, the trustees voted to increase need-based undergraduate financial aid by 8.9

percent to $131.3 million. Boston College remains one of only 19 private universities in the United States that is need-blind in admissions and meets the full-demonstrated need of all undergraduate students. Overall, more than 67 percent of Boston College undergraduates receive financial aid, with the average need-based financial aid package projected to exceed $45,000 in 2018-2019. “We are mindful of the sacrifices that families make in order to send their children to Boston College, and we make every effort to limit Continued on page 3

Pullin to End BC Career BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER

Diana C. Pullin, an esteemed lawyer and scholar, former dean and Lynch School of Education faculty member for 31 years, and an affiliate professor at Boston College Law School since 1994, will retire at the end of the 201718 academic year, concluding a remarkable career that adroitly merged her dual professional expertise in education and law. The Wyoming native, who served as dean of the School of Education from 1987-94 (the school was named for philanthropists Carolyn and Peter Lynch ’65

Lee Pellegrini

INSIDE

Christopher Huang

MARCH 15, 2018 VOL. 25 NO. 13

Diana Pullin

in 2000), has published extensively on public policy, law, testing, educational quality, leadership and teaching, educational accountability, and the impact of social sciContinued on page 5

“Information security programs need to be thoughtfully designed so they don’t undermine the lawful tools we need to keep the American people safe. We need a thoughtful and sensible approach, one that may vary across business models and technologies, but — and I can’t stress this enough — we need to work fast.” ­–FBI Director Christopher Wray, speaking on campus, page 3


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