Boston College Chronicle by Boston College

The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs march 27, 2014 vol. 22 no. 13

Trustees Set Tuition and Budget for 2014-2015

INSIDE •Relay for Life set to go, page 2

By Jack Dunn Director of News & Public Affairs

•BC economists in line for major award, page 3

•Faculty and staff email to go Google Apps, page 3 •Oliver Stone on campus next week, page 3 •PoliSci’s Krause to give talk on terrorism, page 3 •STM hosts ‘The Transformative Power of Faith,’ page 4 •Shrayer to speak at A&S Dean’s Colloquium, page 4 •Q&A: Carroll School’s Andy Boynton, page 5

•Sloan Center study on workplace flexibility, page 5 •Barrozo champions human rights for children, page 6 •Zadie Smith comes for Fiction Days, page 6 •GSSW’s McRoy recognized for child advocacy, page 6 •Lockerby and Waldron Award winner Folan are set to depart, page 7 •NRG Games, page 7

Sandy Kilbride of Brighton and Drew Carleton ‘ 14 enjoyed a dance at the fourth Intergenerational Senior Prom held last Friday at the Veronica B. Smith Senior Center in Brighton. More photos on page 8. (Photo by Christopher Huang)

Healthy Outlook

A Boston College undergraduate aims to help rural African communities deal with dangerous diseases By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

For Loic Assobmo ’15, launching an initiative to provide public health information to rural Africans isn’t simply about social entrepreneurship. For him, it’s personal. The biology major spent spring break in his native Cameroon, meeting with doctors and businesses to discuss his idea of using smart phones to deliver public health information to residents and villages without access to doctors and often hundreds of miles from the nearest hospital.

“There needs to be a way to empower people to recognize the illnesses that can harm them,” said Assobmo, “and to provide them with resources to understand an illness and to take care of themselves, or family or friends.” He knows the toll the onset of a debilitating illness can take and how delays in treatment can compound the obstacles patients face trying to get well. His spring visit, funded with the help of a Legacy Grant from BC, was Assobmo’s first to the country in west-central Africa since he was Continued on page 4 Loic Assobmo ’15 in his native Cameroon during spring break, where he met with doctors and businesses to discuss his idea of using smart phones to deliver public health information. (Photo courtesy Loic Assobmo)

•Music/dance events, page 8 •Classic Joan of Arc film to be screened, page 8

QUOTE:

The Board of Trustees set tuition for the 2014-2015 academic year at $46,670, as part of a 3.6 percent overall increase in tuition, fees, room and board. To maintain Boston College’s commitment to providing access to students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, the University increased need-based undergraduate financial aid by 6.7 percent, to $103.5 million. Boston College remains one of only 21 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 70 percent of Boston College undergraduates receive financial

aid, with the average need-based financial aid package projected to exceed $36,000 this year. In addition, the Board of Trustees set the University’s 2014-2015 operating budget at $916 million, which includes an additional $7 million in support of academic priorities outlined in the 2006 Strategic Plan. “The 2014-15 budget reflects our goal of limiting tuition increases while providing the best possible educational experience for our students,” said Executive Vice President Patrick Keating. “It addresses our priorities and builds on the existing strengths that help to distinguish Boston College among the nation’s best universities.” “Mindful of the sacrifices that parents make in choosing a priContinued on page 4

Biology Major Is Latest BC Goldwater Winner By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

Lee Pellegrini

•Big event for a new student club, page 2

Biology major Matthew F. Evans ’15, whose research interests focus on the neurobiology of cell growth, has been awarded a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, considered the premier undergraduate fellowship in the sciences. The Goldwater Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit to the country’s most promising college students in math, science and engineering. This year, 283 sophomores and juniors were selected from among 1,166 nominees. Many Goldwater Scholars go on to earn prestigious post-graduate fellowships, including Rhodes, Marshall and Churchill scholarships. “I’m honored to have been named a recipient of a Goldwater Scholarship. Just being considered among this group of outstanding students is very humbling,” said Evans. “I’m grateful to my mentors in the Biology Department faculty – Laura Anne Lowery and

Matthew Evans ’15

Danielle Taghian – for all of their encouragement and support.” Evans is the fourth Goldwater Scholarship recipient at Boston College in the last five years. James F. Brogan ’16, a chemistry and physics double major who has been working in the laboratory of Professor of Chemistry Paul Davidovits, received Honorable Mention recognition this year. Professor of Chemistry Mary Roberts serves as BC’s representaContinued on page 5

“What makes the Dean’s Colloquium this year so exciting is that we will have an opportunity to encounter some extraordinary individuals who have, in fact, followed St. Francis’ advice: the message of their lives will be matched by powerful words from those who know them.” –School of Theology and Ministry Dean Mark Massa, SJ, page 4

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle march 27, 2014

A ROUND

C AMPUS

THE WORD IS ‘RELAY’ How much of an institution, at Boston College and elsewhere, is the American Cancer Society Relay for Life? It’s taken on lexiconic life as a verb that denotes a unique blend of activities, experiences and emotions – as demonstrated in conversation with this year’s co-chairs of the BC Relay for Life. “I started Relaying in middle school,” says Casey Osgood ’14. “I’ve been Relaying since middle school, too,” says Mark Maleri ’15. “I didn’t start Relaying until I reached college age,” says Shannon Capozzola ’14, “but it’s become such a big part of my life.” Tomorrow at 6 p.m., the three will join more than 1,000 other participants – most of them fellow students – in Relaying at the Flynn Recreation Complex, marking the seventh year BC has hosted its own Relay for Life. Relaying is the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising activity: Participants form teams and get donors to sponsor them; throughout the overnight event, team members take turns walking around a track. Of course, there’s more to Relaying than that, as the co-chairs explain. Family or friends of participants typically drop in to cheer them on, and food, games and entertainment help enliven spirits during the long night.

Colon cancer claimed one of But more importantly, Relay makes a point of reminding par- Capozzola’s aunts; another aunt is ticipants, onlookers and supporters battling breast cancer. “She has an alike the reason for Relaying, through added challenge of being developevents that recognize cancer survivors mentally disabled,” says Capozzola, or caregivers of cancer victims, or “but she refuses to let it all get her honor the memory of those who have down. She is a proud survivor, and she makes me proud.” died from the disease. Maleri’s aunt also is a cancer “One of the things that you realize through Relay is how many people survivor, but others in his circle of are touched by cancer, directly or friends and acquaintances – a forindirectly,” says Capozzola. “Relay is a mer babysitter, a schoolmate’s father – have not been as great opportunity to fortunate. “When I share stories, whether first started Relaying, it’s with one person even before all these or everyone there; things happened, sometimes that can I was still struck by be difficult, but dohow moving an exing so makes it that perience it is. This is much more of a perChristopher Huang a good cause, worth sonal experience.” In fact, notes Maleri, the approxi- fighting for.” Last year’s BC Relay raised mately 100-strong organizing committee for BC Relay seeks to collect $146,000, and organizers set stories from participants as to why $150,000 as this year’s goal. They they Relay. “The act of sharing stories note that the window for making is often inspirational in and of itself; it donations for 2014 does not close at the end of this weekend’s maramakes you want to do more.” The three student co-chairs don’t thon event; the fundraising continues hesitate to talk about why they Relay. through August. For information on Osgood lost an aunt to breast cancer, making contributions, or for more and since then her mother and an- details on Relay for Life, see relayforother aunt have both been diagnosed life.org/bc. –Sean Smith with cancer: “They’re my inspiration,” she declares.

Robsham Theater was full of leaps and bounds last Friday night when the Boston College Irish Dance Club gave its annual performance. This year’s show, “Treble,” featured a guest appearance by students at the O’Shea-Chaplin Academy of Irish Dance, above, and the Dance Organization of Boston College. Below, the club presented a “Dance About” to end the show’s first half. (Photos by Christopher Huang)

CLUB BRINGS BUSINESS FOCUS TO LATIN AMERICA Caitlin Cunningham

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and when a Latina sophomore saw a need, she created something: the Latin American Business Club of Boston College (LABC). “The largest amount of Latinos here at BC are enrolled in the Carroll School of Management, so they have an interest in business,” says Ana Gill ’15, president of LABC, which is in its first year. “I saw a need for this club because a lot of people were saying that, while they wanted to get involved in an activity, they couldn’t identify with any of the organizations in existence.” The LABC focuses on business and the social/political landscape of Latin America, say organizers. “Our mission consists of trying to get people aware of what Latin America really is,” says club treasurer Ibrahim Velutini ’16. “It resonated with me that Latin America

Members of the Latin American Business Club of Boston College met recently to discuss this weekend’s Latin American Leadership Conference.

is sometimes underrepresented and many times under-appreciated, particularly in the venture capital labor-seeking student body. They see Latin America as this emerging market that’s talked about a lot, but very few see it as potential for employment in the future or for an activity in the future beyond social

Director of NEWS & Public Affairs Jack Dunn Deputy Director of NEWS & Public AFFAIRS Patricia Delaney Editor Sean Smith

Contributing Staff Melissa Beecher Ed Hayward Sean Hennessey Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan Michael Maloney Photographers Gary Gilbert Lee Pellegrini

programs. “We wanted to change the paradigm and say, ‘Listen, Latin America is the land of opportunity right now. It’s one of the fastest growing emerging markets.’” This Saturday, some of the biggest names from those emerging markets will be on campus, as

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Chronicle www.bc.edu/chronicle chronicle@bc.edu

the LABC hosts the Latin American Leadership Conference. Eight speakers from five countries will gather in the Corcoran Commons Heights Room for a daylong discussion on business opportunities, along with the social and political aspects of the region. Among the invitees are: Maria Mejia, United Nations representative to Colombia; Francisco Aristeguieta, CEO of Citigroup Inc. in Latin America; Jose Hermosillo, chairman and CEO of Casa Noble Tequila; and Carlos García, director of Cuba Broadcasting. The conference is co-hosted by the AHANA Management Academy, BC Entrepreneurship Society, Enactus, Heights Capital and the Organization for Latin American Affairs. The club has invited students from Harvard, MIT, and BU, hoping a successful conference will create momentum for more events

next year. Aside from the conference, the Latin American Business Club hopes to re-connect with more alumni down the road. “We want this event to be very big, as big as possible, and we want to do what other prominent business schools do, which is to hold massive conferences and bring in leaders from different areas of the world,” says Velutini. “We wanted to do something like that to put BC on the map – even more than it is – in Latin America.” Adds Gill: “A lot of Latino BC alumni are tremendously successful and there is just no way the current students can connect with them. Those alumni can open up opportunities for current BC students, so moving forward that’s one of our biggest goals. We want to form connections.” –Sean Hennessey

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 News & Public Affairs, 14 Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 (617)552-3350. Distributed free to faculty and staff offices and other locations on campus. Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to The Boston College Chronicle, Office of News & Public Affairs, 14 Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.

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T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle march 27, 2014

Faculty, Staff Email Will Move to Google Apps By Kathleen Sullivan Staff Writer

Utku Ünver, left, and Tayfun Sönmez. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)

BC Economists Co-Finalists for Edelman Prize By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

Two Boston College economists are part of a team of researchers among six finalist organizations competing for the 2014 Franz Edelman Prize, considered the world’s premier honor for the use of advanced analytics to solve significant business and humanitarian problems. Professors Tayfun Sönmez and Utku Ünver, together with colleagues at Stanford University and MIT, have spent several years developing matching mechanisms to connect donors and recipients for paired kidney exchange. The team’s work has supported the Alliance for Paired Donation, which is developing a nationwide program to better serve more than 88,000 people waiting for kidney transplants. For Sönmez, being named a finalist is an honor, but he’s most proud of the impact the team’s work has had improving the health of individuals suffering from kidney disease and damage. “It is truly gratifying to see that what initially started as theoretical research evolved into one of the main kidney transplantation modalities has been recognized as a finalist for the Edelman Prize,” Sönmez said. “But for me the ultimate recognition is witnessing the use of our ideas to help hundreds of renal patients every year.” Sponsored by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), the Edelman Prize will be awarded Monday at a gala

event during an INFORMS national conference held in Boston. “As economists, we are really humbled with the fact that the main scientific community of operations research and management science recognized or work in this way,” said Ünver. “It is extremely rare for an economic theorist to make real impact on human lives. In this sense I feel blessed and this feeling makes me love my work even more.” Sönmez and Ünver are economic theorists who apply their market and resource allocation theories to important problems in areas where the exchange of goods and services between parties is far more complex than conventional commercial transactions. Their research has helped to create new models that improve the matching of students with public school assignments, multiple kidney transplant recipients with suitable donors, and tenants with housing units. They have collaborated throughout the years with economist Alvin Roth of Stanford, who in 2012 shared the Nobel Prize for economics, for their work on market design. At the time, the Nobel reviewers specifically cited the depth of the collaboration between Sönmez, Ünver, Roth and other economists. In 2004, Roth, Sönmez and Ünver developed a system that could arrange complicated, multiple-person kidney matches on a nationwide basis, greatly increasing the efficiency of exchange. The system overcame the constraints of finding perfect matches for si-

multaneous one-to-one kidney exchange by creating nationwide chains of donors and recipients. Roth and MIT economist Itai Ashlagi join Sönmez and Ünver to round out the Alliance for Paired Donation team nominees. Professor of Economics and Department Chairman Donald Cox praised the work of Sönmez and Ünver for successfully applying the theoretical and computational tools of economic science to help solve a crucial health care problem. “Tayfun and Utku are using their theories to save lives by improving the effectiveness of kidney exchange,” said Cox. “A common thread through all of their work is not just to come up with good ideas, but to put those ideas into action.” The Alliance for Paired Donation nomination is matched against teams from Twitter and Stanford, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Energy Authority, Grady Memorial Hospital and Georgia Institute of Technology and NBN Company and Biarri. Edelman Prize finalists have combined to contribute more than $200 billion in benefits to the economy and the public interest over the years, according to INFORMS. The prize is named in honor of Franz Edelman, a long-time RCA Corp. engineer and a pioneer in operations research and analysis. Watch a video about Tayfun Sönmez and Utku Ünver’s research at http://bit.ly/1roGN8I.

Filmmaker Oliver Stone to Appear in Robsham Academy Award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone and historian Peter Kuznick will speak at Boston College about their TV documentary series and book “The Untold History of the United States” on April 5 in Robsham Theater. Their talk, titled “Bush and Obama: The Age of Terror,” will take place from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Tickets are free, but are limited to one per person and must be picked up at the Robsham box office [www.bc.edu/

robsham]. Stone is the director of such films as “Platoon,” “JFK” and “Wall Street.” Kuznick is a professor of history at American University and director of the Nuclear Studies Institute. The two, along with Matt Graham, are the writers of “The Untold History of the United States,” which premiered on the Showtime network in the fall of 2012; a companion book of the same name was released at the same time. The series is a re-

examination of various chapters of American modern history, such as the Cold War, the United States’ use of nuclear bombs on Japan and the US global role in the post-Communism era, using little-known documents and newly uncovered archival material. The event is sponsored by the Institute for the Liberal Arts and Sociology Department with support from the College of Arts and Sciences. –Office of News & Public Affairs

Information Technology Services has announced that Boston College faculty and staff email and calendar will move to Google Apps for Education on June 16. The move follows the successful migration of student email to Google last summer. In addition to email and calendar, Google Apps offers a suite of tools, such as Google Drive, which offers cloud storage for data; Google Docs, which allows users to collaboratively create and edit documents online; instant messaging, and discussion groups, among other tools. “This was really a faculty-driven initiative,” said Scott Cann, technology director for ITS Support Services. “The faculty wanted a more integrated, collaborative platform that would strengthen faculty-student interaction and work with our learning management system (Canvas). “The user experience will be dramatically enhanced.” Cann pointed out that more than 70 of the top 100 US News & World Report colleges and universities are already using Google Apps for Education. Cann said he is committed to providing all necessary ITS resources to ensure a smooth tran-

sition to Google. Email addresses will remain the same (firstname. lastname@bc.edu or username@ bc.edu). Current mail and calendar data will be migrated over with no outage time. Faculty and staff will be requested to create an additional password for their Google account, as an added security measure. Security and privacy are key issues for ITS, according to Cann. He said BC’s contract with Google prohibits them from displaying ads and mining data – scanning the content of emails for marketing purposes. In advance of the June 16 conversion, ITS will move to Google Apps on April 7, followed by a group of approximately 200 “early adopters” who will move on May 12. ITS will offer training and support throughout the transition. Information on training classes will be emailed to all faculty and staff. In addition, a number of faculty and staff members have volunteered to serve as Google Guides, specially trained ambassadors who will share their technical expertise with their departments or offices during the transition. For more information, visit bc.edu/googleapps. Contact Kathleen Sullivan at kathleen.sullivan@bc.edu

Krause Talk Will Examine Terrorism, Marathon Bombings With the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings approaching, Assistant Professor of Political Science Peter Krause will discuss the causes and effects of terrorism, and their relation to the infamous 2013 event that killed three people and injured more than 260 others, at an April 8 campus event. Sponsored by the Boisi Center for Religion and American Peter Krause Public Life, “Terrorism and the Boston Marathon: Fear, Hope and Resilience” will take place at 7 p.m. in Higgins 300. Krause is a researcher and writer on international security, Middle East politics, political violence, and national movements, and he has offered analysis on those topics – as well as on the Boston Marathon attacks – to national and local media such as CNN, MSNBC,

NECN and the Boston affiliates of Fox, NBC, ABC and CBS. In the course of his talk, Krause will Lee Pellegrini offer findings from his own research on the role of education, emotion, and community resilience in the difficult choices faced by societies in the aftermath of terrorist attacks. A research affiliate with the MIT Security Studies Program who has conducted extensive fieldwork in the Middle East, Krause has published articles on the effectiveness of national movements and political violence, US intervention in the Syrian civil war, the politics of division within the Palestinian national movement, the war of ideas in the Middle East, and a reassessment of US operations at Tora Bora in 2001. For more on Boisi Center events and programs, see www.bc.edu/boisi. –Sean Smith

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Chronicle march 27, 2014

STM Forum to Spotlight Advocates for the Poor we will have an opportunity to By Kathleen Sullivan Staff Writer

Three American Catholics who embody Pope Francis’ call for Catholics to be advocates for the poor and agents of change will be in the spotlight at an event to be hosted by the School of Theology and Ministry this Monday, March 31. “The Transformative Power of Faith: Responding to Pope Francis’ Call,” which takes place at 5:30 p.m. in Robsham Theater, will feature a panel discussion of Catholics who have been honored nationally for their ministry by the nonprofit Catholic Extension. STM Dean Mark Massa, SJ, will serve as moderator. The panelists will share compelling stories about the work they do to transform the lives of people in some of America’s poorest communities. •Mary Susanne Dziedzic, CSSF, a Felician Sister, will describe the unexpected ecumenical movement her order jump-started since their move to the poorest county in South Carolina. •California husband-and-wife ministry leaders José Lopez and his wife Digna R. López will reveal how they are keeping the Church present for young people as an alternative to drugs and violence. •Rev. John Hatcher, SJ, will discuss his life-changing efforts to promote sobriety and build community while maintaining the Lakota traditions on the Native American reservation where he has served for 10 years. Also speaking at the event will be those who have been mentored or inspired by the three panelists. “St. Francis of Assisi told his earliest followers to ‘preach always. If necessary, use words,’” said Fr. Massa, who is hosting the event as his annual Dean’s Colloquium on Religion and Public Culture. “What makes the Dean’s Colloquium this year so exciting is that

encounter some extraordinary individuals who have, in fact, followed St. Francis’ advice: the message of their lives will be matched by powerful words from those who know them.” STM’s event co-sponsor, Catholic Extension [www.catholicextension.org], uniquely contributes to the growth and vibrancy of the Church in the US by strategically investing in poor mission dioceses that cannot financially sustain themselves. The “Transformative Power of Faith” panelists are past recipients or finalists for Catholic Extension’s Lumen Christi Award, which recognizes those in mission dioceses who have devoted their lives to serving the poor and to fostering Catholic communities that build faith, inspire hope and ignite change. The STM-Catholic Extension partnership includes several educational initiatives: Four adults in Catholic Extension’s Young Adult Leadership Program are pursuing masters in pastoral ministry degrees at the school, and four Hispanic Lay Leaders took classes last summer toward either a master’s degree or certificate program in Hispanic Ministry. “It is a rare and wonderful opportunity to bring these unsung heroes to tell their stories to this colloquium,” said Catholic Extension President Rev. John J. Wall. “The challenges of their communities might seem insurmountable to some, but through the remarkable transformative power of faith, these panelists are changing lives, hearts and society. They are living examples of Pope Francis’ call to bring the light of Christ to those on the margins.” Read more about the “Transformative Power of Faith” panelists at http://bit.ly/1du2BH0. Contact Kathleen Sullivan at kathleen.sullivan@bc.edu

Tuition, Budget Announced Continued from page 1 vate education for their children, we remain focused on identifying cost-savings and promoting campus-wide efficiencies to ensure that our tuition dollars are directed toward the teaching and research priorities of our faculty and the student-formation programs that support our mission.” Nationally, the average tuition, room and board increase for four-year private universities for the 2013-2014 academic year was 3.7 percent, according to the College Board. Boston College is ranked 36th

in the “Great Schools, Great Prices” category among national universities by US News & World Report. It also placed 24th in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s ranking of the top 50 “best values” among American private universities. Overall, the University is ranked 31st among national universities by US News & World Report, and 23rd in Forbes magazine’s “Best National Research Universities.” Contact Jack Dunn at jack.dunn@bc.edu

“There needs to be a way to empower people to recognize the illnesses that can harm them,” says Loic Assobmo ’15, shown below with doctors Kristou Metchum and Bouting Mayaka at the Dschang District Hospital in central Cameroon.

Student Envisions Public Health Program Continued from page 1

six, when he left Cameroon with his family in the months after his mother suffered a stroke and struggled to get the diagnosis and care she needed. The family relocated to America, joining Assobmo’s father, finding medical treatment for his mother and settling in Brockton. That experience and the frustration he felt have always haunted Assobmo. “I’ve always been bothered by the fact that we had to move across the world to get adequate health care for my mother,” he said. “It seems unbelievable that something like that should happen.” Now the pre-med student and aspiring physician has a plan to use smart phones to give Africans access to public health information that can help them spot and seek treatment for five major illnesses: stroke, HIV, malaria, pneumonia and Ebola virus. He spent last summer at Think Big, Dream Big, a social entrepreneurship incubator and mentoring program, where he marshaled online resources, constructed a prototype app and started to develop a plan to take his idea back to his homeland. He calls the initiative the Global Enterprise for Medical

Awareness (GEMA), which he has registered as a non-profit group in Massachusetts. His recent visit to Cameroon reunited Assobmo with his maternal grandfather, who dutifully drove him to appointments with doctors, public health advocates, mobile phone service providers and government officials. During the week he was in Cameroon, he also taped interviews for a television news report on his efforts and helped to script and produce three video public service announcements on public health issues. He received a positive response from physicians he met with at hospitals in the capital of Yaoundé and the Gulf of Guinea port city of Douala, Cameroon’s commercial center. “The first thing they said is they are glad someone is doing something about these issues,” Assobmo said. “They’re excited to see it. They think it can be successful because of the education component. They want the average person to be able to identify illnesses that happen so frequently and right now many people cannot do that.” Assobmo said he’s meeting

with faculty and fellow students who share interests in the issue and hopes to eventually establish a federally non-profit status and raise funds in order to develop the mobile app. He said the doctors he met with cited needs for a countrywide referral system and surplus medical technology, so those issues may be added to the GEMA agenda. He hopes to return to Cameroon next winter or spring and test the mobile app. He will travel to Africa again in May with Carroll School of Management Associate Professor of Information Systems John Gallaugher on TechTrek Ghana. For all he accomplished during his trip, Assobmo was most grateful to reconnect with members of his family who are still in Cameroon. “It was a lot of work, but I had a lot of fun,” Assobmo said. “My whole trip was with my grandfather, who drove me everywhere. The whole experience of being with my grandfather, building that relationship, was so special.” Contact Ed Hayward at ed.hayward@bc.edu

Dean’s Colloquium to Host BC’s Shrayer Critically acclaimed author Professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies Maxim D. Shrayer, right, will present a reading and discussion of his 2013 memoir Leaving Russia: A Jewish Story on March 31, as part of the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Colloquium series. The free and public event will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the O’Neill Library Reading Room. Leaving Russia, the first Eng-

lish-language, autobiographical and nonfictional account of growing up Jewish in the former USSR, poignantly conveys the triumphs and humiliations of Shrayer’s Soviet childhood and expresses the dreams and fears of his refusenik famLee Pellegrini ily, which never lost hope for acceptance and a better life. Shrayer’s memoir was a finalist in the 2013 National Jewish Book Awards – considered one

of the nation’s premiere literary honors – for the category of Modern Jewish Thought and Experience. A 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, Shrayer has published 15 books of nonfiction, criticism and biography, fiction, poetry and translations. [For more on Shrayer, see www. shrayer.com.] Additional details on the colloquium are available by emailing casdean@bc.edu. –Rosanne Pellegrini

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Chronicle march 27, 2014

By Sean Hennessey Staff Writer

Workplace flexibility: It’s a phrase that might be appealing to job seekers or make a company look good, but a new study by the Sloan Center on Aging and Work shows flexible work options are out of reach for most employees –and that when they are offered, arrangements are limited in size and scope. “While large percentages of employers report that they have at least some workplace flexibility, the number of options is usually limited and they are typically not available to the entire workforce,” said Graduate School of Social Work Associate Professor Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, director of the center and one of the researchers of the study. Pitt-Catsouphes and her collaborators – Stephen Sweet of Ithaca College, Elyssa Besen of the Center for Disability Research and Lonnie Golden of Penn State Abington – examined the flexible work arrangements of 545 US employers, and found only one in five companies offered more than one approach to workplace flexibility, despite the fact that different employees need different options. “We’re trying to help employers understand that flexible work

Gary Wayne Gilbert

Sloan Ctr.: Workplace Flexibility Elusive

Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes

initiatives work best if their organizations offer a comprehensive set of options. Employers who implement limited programs might become frustrated if they don’t see the outcomes they had hoped for: ‘Gosh, this didn’t help us at all,’ or ‘It didn’t help us with recruitment,’ or ‘It didn’t help us with retention.’ In fact, it may not be that the flexible work options didn’t work, but that the companies didn’t offer a sufficient range of options to the employees.” The study, published in the journal Community, Work, and Family, found most arrangements center around allowing employees to move where they work and when they report in, but didn’t include reduction of work or temporary leaves from jobs. Addition-

ally, any flexibility options that are available aren’t being offered to the majority of a company’s employees. “We should probably set our standards and expectations a little higher,” said Pitt-Catsouphes. “Business leaders as well as academics have been trying to promote the adoption of quality flexible work initiatives for the past three decades. We have come to realize how important it is for employers to offer different types of flexibilities so that employees and their supervisors have some choice and control over when, where and how much they work. Employers and employees are better able to reap the benefits of workplace flexibility when the initiatives are comprehensive and well aligned with business priorities. “What we’re saying is flexibility can work if you make a commitment to making it work. Workplace flexibility is important to employees across the life course and can support the productive engagement of older employees as well as younger workers. In today’s business environment, organizations need to be adaptive and nimble. Flexible work options offer tools that can help companies remain competitive.” Contact Sean Hennessey at sean.hennessey@bc.edu

Evans Wins a Goldwater Scholarship Continued from page 1 tive for the Goldwater Scholarship program. Evans said he woke up last Friday to a string of congratulatory emails and was surprised to learn that he was among this year’s class of Goldwater scholars. “It was a great feeling after it sunk in,” said Evans, a native of Pittsford, NY. “I had to call my parents and I called my grandparents. They were all really happy for me.” Goldwater Scholars receive two-year scholarships and opportunities to meet peers from other universities. This summer, in a project funded by the Biology Department, Evans will work at a lab at Cambridge University in England, learning a new microscopy technique to track gene development in living organisms. He will lead workshops for BC researchers when he returns. Evans, a pre-med student, said he has always had an interest in biology and in helping patients. But his experience as an undergraduate researcher and during a Connell School of Nursing summer course that took him to Ecuador have fueled a desire to combine clinical and laboratory research with the practice of

medicine. In Ecuador, he climbed high into the mountains with a physician who was researching the unusual epidemiology of malaria in high-altitude villages. “I want to be a doctor who treats patients, but I love the kind of research I am doing now,” said Evans. “I really think the future of medicine is in studying the specifics of diseases in small rural populations where public health initiatives just haven’t reached them.” Evans spends 30 hours a week as a researcher in the lab of Assistant Professor of Biology Laura Anne Lowery, where he studies how nerves grow and connect in frog embryos. Specifically, he is analyzing the structure and function of a gene in a nerve that supports the eye. The research has implications for better understanding neurological development and disease. Lowery, who along with Adjunct Assistant Professor of Biology Danielle Taghian wrote letters in support of Evans’ nomination, said Evans is not only a top student, but also adept at solving complex problems and formulating original research projects.

“Matthew displays an intellectual intensity and focus for research that I have rarely seen in an undergraduate student,” Lowery wrote in a nomination letter. “Matthew is the person in our group of many talented individuals that is going to ask the most insightful and inquisitive questions regarding the particular research topic at hand. He has a gift for quickly absorbing and synthesizing new research material and identifying the most important points of an experiment.”

Feringa to Give Chemistry Lecture University of Groningen Professor Ben L. Feringa will deliver the 2014 University Lectures in Chemistry next week in Merkert Chemistry Center. Feringa, who is the Jacobus H. van’t Hoff Professor of Molecular Sciences at Groningen, will deliver lectures from 4-5 p.m. next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Merkert 127. For more information, see www.bc.edu/ chemistry.

Conversations with Boston College’s Academic Deans

DIALOGUE

ANDY BOYNTON CARROLL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Boston College has a Jesuit tradition of vigorous research and excellent teaching. How does the Carroll School of Management fulfill that mission? Since I started the job, we’ve had a few strategic things we wanted to do. One was faculty excellence – great teaching and great research. I don’t think there’s a business school in the country that has a better combination of research and teaching than ours. You can see it all over the place. We have great research and that’s essential; often times our best researchers are our best teachers, and we clearly have great teaching. We do many, many things here to help our faculty be great teacher and researchers in terms of processes, resources, community activities, and measurements for what we do. Lee Pellegrini There’s no other school in the country that measures teaching and research like we do. How do you influence the research culture? It’s not a simple answer but in effect, first you hire great scholars. And then you surround them with the context and the environment where they can excel. So we have resources when they need it; financial resources have increased dramatically. Technical resources, staff support resources, we have research seminars amongst the faculty, we track and measure how people are doing and we make it quasi-public so it’s transparent – people know who’s doing what. We have an ongoing research committee and we think constantly about how to provide an environment for better research. About a third of management students are now majoring or minoring through the College of Arts and Sciences — a figure you’ve said you want to increase to 60 percent within the next few years. What advantage do Carroll School graduates obtain through this marriage of the liberal arts and management education? Liberal arts, the humanities, and the sciences are the most important thing for young men and women to learn. And they’re going to get that through the Boston College core curriculum, but that’s just the first step. We think that the management education we provide is really important, but it plays a supporting role and we want all of our students to get broader exposure to liberal arts or sciences. The heart and soul of Boston College is the undergraduate experience and from a learning point of view, it’s the liberal arts. We recognize that and we want to promote it because it’s better for our students. Can you shed some light on some of the new things you’re thinking about? We’re going to have a center on real estate and urban action, and we’re hoping to get moving towards a center on entrepreneurship and maybe a co-concentration in entrepreneurship in the years to come. We want to start focusing more on curriculum around business analytics and the whole information revolution. We’re exploring the possibility of a co-concentration in analytics, so those are all pretty big changes within the school. Every time we change something one of our challenges is you have to do it in scale. We have 2,000 students so you can’t just make a change and hope it affects 50 students. So everything we do eventually has got to be big enough to support lots of students, or make a positive impact on our full-time MBA program. When we did Portico years ago for undergraduates, it was a big initiative, because we have 400-500 students a year in the program, depending on the size of the freshman class. What’s your daily challenge? I look at as kind of a prism of challenges. One is we can never get complacent. I think that’s the key – complacency is the sire of mediocrity. We’ve just always got to be better. Another challenge is to make sure everybody feels that way. We have a whole new team and I’ve got to get people on board with that. Everybody has to bring energy, ideas and the spirit of change to the table. I think we have it with our faculty and with our staff. We’re always changing. Everyday we’ve got to look to do new things better, better, better and I think it’s my job to personally do that, and then transmit that as the leader to get everybody energized. –Sean Hennessey

Read the full interview at www.bc.edu/chronicle

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle march 27, 2014

Lowell Series, Fiction Days Welcome Zadie Smith By Rosanne Pellegrini Staff Writer

Award-winning novelist, short story author and essayist Zadie Smith – considered one of the most acclaimed young writers plying their craft today – will appear on campus next week at a Lowell Humanities Series event. Smith will read from a new story, “Miss Adele Amidst the Corsets,” on April 1 at 7 p.m. in Gasson 100. During her visit at Boston College, she will talk to faculty in a Diaspora Seminar group, read and comment on undergraduate student work in an Advanced Fiction Workshop led by Professor of English Elizabeth Graver and meet with students in the African and African Diaspora Studies Program (AADS). Her work has consistently garnered coveted awards and critical accolades. Smith’s first novel, White Teeth, won The Whitbread First Novel Award, The Guardian First Book Award, The James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, and The Commonwealth Writers’ First Book Award. Her second, The Autograph Man, took the Jewish Quarterly Wingate Literary Prize and her third, On Beauty, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won The Commonwealth Writers’ Best Book Award (Eurasia Section) and the Orange Prize for Fiction. Following suit, Smith’s most recent novel, 2012’s NW, was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize and the Women’s Prize for Fiction. When The Guardian asked Smith in 2010 for her rules for writing fiction, she replied, “Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.” “I have long wanted to bring British novelist Zadie Smith to campus, and the fact that she’s now living in the US for part of the year — teaching [creative writing] at NYU since 2010 — made the idea more tenable,”

said Graver, who is hosting Smith’s campus visit. “I expect our students to find Zadie’s energy, deep learning, desire to reinvent, and willingness to take risks as exciting as I do.” She describes Smith – who divides her time between her native London and New York – as “an extraordinary novelist and short story writer, as well as a smart, perceptive and bold cultural and literary critic. Her novels are quite different from each other, but all explore questions of identity, community, multiculturalism, social class. “Her fiction asks complex questions in embedded, quirky, playful ways. It’s funny and heartbreaking, full of language that manages both to surprise and illuminate. Her books cross all sorts of borders in brilliant and unexpected ways. Hers is a mind I love to follow, wherever it goes.” [Author Edwidge Danticat was originally scheduled to be on campus, but when she had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances, she asked Smith to take her place.] Smith’s visit is one of several Institute for the Liberal Artssponsored author visits Graver has hosted over the years as part of BC’s Fiction Days; others have included acclaimed writers Gish Jen and Junot Diaz in three-day residencies – due to logistics this year’s Fiction Days were shortened. “Instead of a three-day schedule, Zadie will spend a packed 24 hours on campus – a brief period but one during which she will interact with many different groups,” Graver explained. Her appearance as part of the Lowell Humanities Series is her only public campus event. In addition to the ILA, Smith’s visit is sponsored by Fiction Days, AADS, and the Lowell Humanities Series. For more information, see www.bc.edu/ Lowell. Contact Rosanne Pellegrini at rosanne.pellegrini@bc.edu

By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

Boston College Law Assistant Professor Paulo Barrozo calls the predicament of unparented children – orphaned, institutionalized, abandoned to the streets or otherwise without the care of a loving parent – “the greatest unrecognized humanitarian crisis of our time.” So Barrozo is helping marshal support within his profession for pending US legislation that promotes domestic and international adoption worldwide. Barrozo and his colleague Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Bartholet recently organized 24 fellow BC Law faculty and 34 Harvard Law faculty members to sign a letter urging Congress to uphold the core principles in the Children in Families First (CHIFF) bill under consideration in both the House and Senate. They see the letter as an important part of the efforts to raise awareness of, and support for, CHIFF. The proposed legislation affirms the recognition of a child’s fundamental human right to a nurturing permanent family, and commits the US government to vindication of that right. As Barrozo explains, “CHIFF stipulates that the resources of the United States ought to be directed through the Department of State to promote policies around the world which pursue

Lee Pellegrini

Barrozo Advocates for Unparented Children

Asst. Prof. Paulo Barrozo (Law).

concurrently solutions to unparenthood — be it maintenance or reunification with family of origin where appropriate or adoption incountry or inter-countries — so as to decrease to a maximum possible the period in which children are deprived of their fundamental human right to a family.” Barrozo says the letter was meant to urge lawmakers to preserve the human rights integrity of the bill. “The time is approaching when committees in the House and Senate will start to study in earnest the details of the bill, and then begin negotiations on what form it might take. That is when legislation often can be watered down or changed in such a way that it is not as effective as it might be. “So we thought of bringing together some of the best jurists around, representing a variety of political viewpoints and legal ex-

pertise, to show agreement on this very important issue. We want to say to Congress, ‘As you negotiate and compromise, the voice of the children asks you not to water down the core human rights provision of the proposed legislation.’” The response to the letter campaign has been gratifying, says Barrozo. “It’s been overwhelmingly positive. The letter caught the attention of the press, and fortified the position of the senators and representatives who have sponsored the bill, while also helping attract others in support. “We’ve also been very pleased to see a movement in other law schools to sign onto the letter or start a similar campaign. You can’t underestimate how phenomenal it is that this diverse group of legal scholars of the highest caliber and reputation are united behind the perspective of human rights for children.” Barrozo’s advocacy for unparented children has included bringing a case before the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights, along with Bartholet and other experts, on the right of children to grow up in a nurturing family. He is currently working with a major international law firm as part of an initiative to design a global strategy to aid children who lack a family environment. Contact Sean Smith at sean.smith@bc.edu

McRoy Chosen as Child Advocate of the Year

Donahue and DiFelice Professor of Social Work Ruth McRoy has been chosen to receive a Child Advocate of the Year Award by the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC), which provides support and services to waiting children and adoptive families. Among its various activities, NACAC recognizes individuals, groups and organizations for efforts to promote adoption and improve child welfare. McRoy, a former NACAC board president, will receive her award this July at the council’s 40th annual conference in Kansas City. A member of the Graduate School of Social Work faculty since 2009, McRoy is a nationally recognized expert on adoptionrelated issues, and has researched and written on topics such as open adoption, transracial adoption, special needs adoption, African American adoptions, older child adoptions, successful adoptive families, post adoption services, barriers to adoptions from foster care, and adopted children in residential care. “I am so excited and honored to receive this award from the North American Council

Rose Lincoln

“Her fiction asks complex questions in embedded, quirky, playful ways,” says Prof. Elizabeth Graver (English) of Zadie Smith, left, who will be on campus next week. “It’s funny and heartbreaking, full of language that manages both to surprise and illuminate. Her books cross all sorts of borders in brilliant and unexpected ways.”

adoptions. She now directs a team conducting a 10-year evaluation of AdoptUSKids. Another of McRoy’s major undertakings is a longitudinal study of open adoptions – where the birth mother and the adoptive family may have contact and may know each other’s identities – she has conducted with University of Massachusetts-Amherst professor Harold Grotevant for three decades. The project has shown considerable promise for open Ruth McRoy adoptions, according to McRoy on Adoptable Children,” said and Grotevant, especially with the McRoy. “Throughout my social right blend of social services, legal work career, I have been focused and policy supports. McRoy’s work has earned her on trying to find ways to improve our child welfare system and most such recent recognition as the St. importantly, to improve outcomes John’s University Outstanding for children and families. Every Scholar in Adoption Award, the child deserves a permanent family. US Children’s Bureau’s Adoption “Currently, about 100,000 Excellence Award and the Council children in care are awaiting adop- on Social Work Education Mention and we must increase pub- tor Recognition Program Award. lic awareness about the need for In 2010, she was selected by the adoptive families, and overcome board of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare barriers to permanency.” McRoy has contributed her for her distinguished accomplishexpertise to the federally funded ments as scholar and practitioner AdoptUSKids project, leading a dedicated to achieving excellence research team in studies on barri- in high-impact work that advances ers to adoption and factors associ- social good. –Sean Smith ated with successful special needs

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle march 27, 2014

Lockerby, Folan Bidding BC Goodbye Two key Boston College administrators are departing to take leadership positions at eminent Massachusetts private schools. Thom Lockerby is leaving the University after 10 years as vice president for development to join Phillips Academy in Andover effective June 1. In his role as secretary of the Academy, he will oversee the Office of Academy Resources, which comprises development, alumni engagement and communications. Lockerby was instrumental in planning BC’s ongoing $1.5 billion “Light the World” campaign, the largest fundraising effort in Jesuit, Catholic higher education history. In addition to managing strategy for all University fundraising efforts, he has directed the Development division, focusing on organizational effectiveness, resource management and professional development of his team. “While I am very excited about the new horizons at Andover, I will miss my colleagues at Boston College,” said Lockerby, who expressed gratitude to University President William P. Leahy, SJ, and Senior Vice President for University Advancement James Husson. “In the past 10 years, I have been introduced to the treasure of Jesuit education and have been the recipient of many acts of friendship and kindness. I appreciate the opportunities that Fr. Leahy and Jim Husson have given me and I wish the very best for BC as it continues its amazing path forward.” Peter Folan ’97, assistant direc-

tor of the University’s First Year Experience program, will become the fourth president and 11th head of school at Catholic Memorial in West Roxbury, a Christian Brothers school for boys in grades 7-12. Folan, who also holds a master’s of education degree from the Lynch School of Education, was a popular figure in the University community in particular for his leadership of the 48 Hours retreat program, among others. In addition, he taught a course on gender as part of the University’s Cross Currents Seminar program. He also worked in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Academic Advising Center and the Office of the Dean of Students during his six years at BC.

“I am thrilled and humbled about this new opportunity at Catholic Memorial,” said Folan, who will formally begin his new duties on July 1. “I know that this would not have been possible without the great mentors and conversation partners that I have had here at Boston College. I truly appreciate the support that BC has provided to me over the past six years. I will never forget the students who have shared their hearts with me, as they have made me a better teacher, administrator, husband, and father. “BC has taught me that one can only truly experience and embrace their education by sharing it with others, which is what I plan to do at Catholic Memorial.” –Sean Smith

...and Folan Leaves with Waldron Award First Year Experience Assistant Director Peter Folan has earned a distinctive honor in his last semester as a Boston College administrator. Folan, who will become president and head of school of Catholic Memorial in July [see separate story], has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the Mary Kaye Waldron Award. The award is presented annually to the faculty member, administrator, or employee who demonstrated a continual commitment to the ideals of Boston College with a self-evident belief in the need to enhance student life in a positive manner. Past Waldron Award winners include Adj. Assoc. Prof. Brian Braman (Philosophy), former Dean of Student Development Robert Sherwood (now special advisor to the associate vice president for alumni relations), Campus Minister Daniel Leahy, Lect. Edward Taylor (CSOM), Assoc. Prof. Father James Weiss (Theology) and, in 2013, Woods College of Advancing Studies Student Services Coordinator Mary Hennessey. –Office of News & Public Affairs

Ignacio/Rubenstein Win NRG Games The Ignacio/Rubenstein residence hall community is the winner of this year’s NRG Games, the annual campus-wide competition held to raise awareness of conservation by challenging students to lower their energy and electric consumption. Residents in the Ignacio/Ru-

houses for a year, during the fiveweek competition. The NRG Games are sponsored by the offices of Sustainability and Engineering & Energy in coordination with Eco Pledge, Eco Reps,

the Residence Hall Association and the Office of Residential Life. For more information on conservation and sustainability at BC, see www. bc.edu/sustainability. –Office of News & Public Affairs

Atlanta Falcons star quarterback Matt Ryan ’07 and his wife Sarah Ryan ‘07, a sponsorship sales consultant for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, spoke with Carroll School of Management Dean Andy Boynton (left) at the Brennan Symposium for Leadership and Ethics on March 12 in the Yawkey Center. (Photo by Frank Curran)

Newsmakers Adj. Assoc. Prof. Paul Christensen (Political Science) was interviewed by New England Cable News about the evolving situation in Ukraine. Presidential Scholar Nathan Schwan ’16, state captain of Students for Education Reform, co-authored an op-ed in the Boston Globe about a new bill that could transform the way English language learners are educated in Massachusetts.

BC BRIEFING Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology Richard Gaillardetz discussed Pope Francis’ first year, and what it may mean for the future of the Catholic Church, in interviews with Reuters, Fox News Boston and the Buenos Aires Herald. The Federal Reserve can best help employment by stabilizing prices, not targeting unemployment, according to Murray and Monti Professor of Economics Peter Ireland, who wrote on the topic for Economics 21.

Earlier this month, the Boston College Center for Work & Family hosted a group of South Korean government officials, who are involved in an initiative to improve the work-life balance for South Korean citizens and expand economic opportunities. Among other activities, the group, along with center director Brad Harrington (at far right in above photo), attended a “Women in the Workplace” celebration hosted by Bentley College at which Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick spoke. (Photo courtesy of Center for Work & Family)

Assoc. Prof. Michael Malec (Sociology) discussed aspects of basketball’s “March Madness” for the French publication Eurosport.com.

Publications Assoc. Prof. Andrea Vicini, SJ (STM), published “Nuove frontiere della procreazione umana: prospettive etiche (New Frontiers of Human Procreation: Ethical Perspectives)” in L’Arco di Giano, and “Medicina Virtuosa: Oltre le Cure ‘Miracolose (A Virtuous Medicine: Beyond ‘Miraculous’ Cures)” in Corriere del Mezzogiorno. Assoc. Prof. of the Practice Michael C. Keith (Communication) published a short story in the spring issue of The Grey Sparrow Press, and another story in Lowestoft Chronicle’s 2014 anthology, Somewhere, Sometime, for which he also was interviewed.

JOBS

Survey results suggest that companies are starting to derive real value from social business tools – but that value is concentrated most strongly in companies that have reached a certain level of social sophistication, wrote Assoc. Prof. Gerald Kane (CSOM) and colleagues in Sloan Management Review.

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

Claiming Social Security shouldn’t be a question of gamesmanship for those with the resources to figure out

Senior Associate Athletic Director for Marketing

NOTA BENE

benstein buildings saved 15,845 kilowatt-hours of energy, and will receive the NRG Eagle trophy. Overall, students in the 13 BC residence hall areas saved 30,436 kilowatt-hours of electricity, or enough energy to power three

clever claiming strategies, wrote Center for Retirement Research Director Alicia Munnell in a post for Dow Jones MarketWatch.

Frederick J. Adelmann, SJ, Professor of Philosophy John Sallis has been appointed a Senior Fellow at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies in Germany. He will visit the institute this year and next to pursue research in the philosophy of art.

Associate Vice President/Dean of Students Assistant General Dining Services

Manager,

Resident Director, Residential Life Financial Systems Manager Research Assistant, Connell School of Nursing Associate Director, Annual Giving Classes, Development Web Services Librarian, O’Neill Library Grant Developer, Office of Sponsored Programs Technology Manager, Residential Life

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle march 27, 2014

LOOKING AHEAD Another Glimpse at a Film Classic Dreyer’s “La passion de Jeanne d’Arc” is subject of April 5 event

By Rosanne Pellegrini Staff Writer

French heroine and Roman Catholic saint Joan of Arc has inspired numerous works of literature, music and film, including the 1928 silent movie masterpiece “La passion de Jeanne d’Arc,” which will be presented on the Boston College campus next week. Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and renowned for the performance of Renée Falconetti as Joan, “La passion de Jeanne d’Arc” will be screened on April 5 at 7 p.m. in St Ignatius Church. The free public, screening, which is sponsored by an Institute for the Liberal Arts grant, will be enhanced by original instrumental and choral musical accompaniment by the Boston-area group The Seraphim Singers in collaboration with organist Peter Krasinski, and will include a panel discussion. “I think the event should have a broad popular appeal because of the endless fascination with Joan of Arc and the importance of this film in the history of cinema,” said organizer Professor of Philosophy Eileen Sweeney. Dreyer’s film, based on the actual trial record of Joan of Arc, is hailed as a landmark of cinema for its innovations and techniques, she noted, while Falconetti’s portrayal of Joan is widely viewed as one of

Prof. Eileen Sweeney (Philosophy) says there is “an endless fascination” with Joan of Arc. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)

the best performances ever captured on silent or sound film. “The musical accompaniment at this event combines organ improvisation with choral settings by different composers using texts appropriate to particular scenes in the film, including music composed for this performance,” said Sweeney, a member of The Seraphim Singers, known for performances of sacred music and commitment to new music and neglected parts of the choral repertoire. “As the chorus has rehearsed,

we have come to see how much the music heightens the drama and spirituality portrayed in the film,” she added. Professor of Fine Arts John Michalczyk will be part of a panel discussion on the historical Joan of Arc, the film and the nature of musical accompaniment to silent film that will precede the screening. Other participants include Karen Sullivan, a Bard College Joan of Arc scholar, and Krasinski, a specialist in silent film accompaniment who performs in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan. “Six hundred years after Joan of Arc, ‘the Maid of Orleans,’ participated in the battle against the English for the city of Orleans, we still are concerned about women in a combat milieu,” Michalczyk said. “Joan in battle will break all gender stereotypes, something even more radical in the 15th century. Carl Dreyer’s film, with the incredible actress Falconetti in the title role, focuses not on the battle but on her trial. Using the transcripts of the 18-month Inquisition-like trial, Dreyer constructs a profound and deeply psychological study of the heroic Joan.” For more information on the event, see www.bc.edu/ilaevents or email the ILA at ila@bc.edu. Contact Rosanne Pellegrini at rosanne.pellegrini@bc.edu

BC SCENES

Here’s a quick look at some upcoming music and dancerelated campus events: •Tonight: Irish Studies faculty member Sheila Falls (fiddle) and Mark Roberts (guitar, flute) play Irish music, 6:30 p.m. in the Walsh Hall Function Room. •March 29: Instrumental and vocal jazz ensemble BC bOp! will present “007, James bOp!” – a program of James Bond-themed pieces, classic jazz standards, and jazz arrangements of contemporary pieces – at 8 p.m. in Robsham Theater. •March 30: The Dunya Ensemble will perform a concert showcasing the history of Turkish protest songs, from the 16th century to present day, 7:30 p.m., Gasson 100. •April 6: John Finney conducts the Boston College Symphony Orchestra in its spring concert, 3 p.m., Gasson 100. •April 8: The Boston College Symphonic Band presents “Spring Vortex,” a concert featuring works such as “Band of Brothers” and “Shenandoah,” 8 p.m., Gasson 100. •April 10: Judith Rock will speak on the tradition of dance in Jesuit education, with a focus on the Louis le Grand Jesuit school in Paris during the 17th and 18th century. The lecture will include video excerpts from a 1985 restaging – by BC Jesuit Artistin-Residence Robert VerEecke, SJ – of the 1709 ballet “L’Esperance,” 7 p.m., Higgins 300. •April 12: The University Chorale will perform Francesco Durante’s “Magnificat” and other works, 8 p.m., Trinity Chapel, Newton Campus.

Information on these and other Boston College events are available at events.bc.edu.

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC Photos by Christopher Huang

BC bOp! and the Boston College Full Swing Dancers – including (above) Dewan Woods ’14, with Claire Weston of Brookline – helped enliven the Intergenerational Senior Prom held March 21 at the Veronica B. Smith Senior Center in Brighton. The event featured (right) a crowning of the prom king and queen – Wing Chen of Brighton and Neomila Bteyukeyuk of Allston. State Rep. Kevin Honan (D-Boston) crowned the winners while City of Boston Commissioner of Elderly Affairs Emily Shea and Smith Center Executive Director Millie Hollum-McLaughlin led the applause.