The Boston College
Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs march 31, 2016 VOL. 23 no. 14
Boston College Scientists Track Ancient Retroviruses
INSIDE first responders earn 2 •BC praise and thanks
By Ed Hayward Staff Writer
•Model UN program draws raves
•Promising start for new speaker series Bilder wins major 3 •Law’s history prize •A comeback for ’Blacks in Boston’ conference •Another Frozen Four •Photos: Peace Corps celebration
4 •Alan Wolfe reflects
on Boisi Center years
conference 5 •Biennial on history of religion is this weekend
wins Romero 6 •Lester Scholarship •Photo: Boston schools head speaks on campus
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•Welcome Additions; BC in the Media; Expert Opinion; Jobs; Nota Bene •’Big Data’ discussion •Photo: BC Club makes donation
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•Poet Afaa Michael Weaver to visit
Members of the Boston College Irish Dance student group perform to the accompaniment of BC Irish Studies music faculty members Jimmy Noonan and Sheila Falls at Monday night’s concert commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising, one of Ireland’s most important historical events. More photos on page 8. (Photo by Justin Knight)
Balance and Rhetoric
Kaveny’s books reflect her interest in complex relationship between the religious and secular in US
Lee Pellegrini
By Ed Hayward Staff Writer
The need for a space in American society where religious and secular opinions can co-exist, and the enduring role of religiously inspired political rhetoric, are the topics covered in two new books by Darald and Juliet Libby Professor Cathleen Kaveny, who holds appointments in both theology and law. Kaveny, who joined the Boston College faculty two years ago from the University of Notre Dame, said both books – the compilation of columns titled The Culture of Engagement and the history Prophecy Without Contempt: Religious Discourse in the Public Square – derive from her fascination with the history, language and place of religiouslyinspired debate and discussion in a country that pledges fealty to God yet remains committed to the separation of church and state. The Culture of Engagement, a collection of her columns for Commonweal magazine, examines the need to recognize the viewpoints of religious tradition and secular, liberal democratic tradition can meet for substantive, critical and collaborative discussions about the issues of the day.
There are millions of viruses found among all living things and in all parts of the world. New viruses emerge, while others die off and disappear. They leave behind no bones or physical artifacts to pick through. Only recently have genome sequencing and high-volume data analysis offered scientists a chance to look back millions of years at ancient viruses — a form of scientific detective work often referred to as “paleovirology.” A team led by Professor of Biology Welkin Johnson took one
Ignite Awards Supporting Variety of Faculty Research By Siobhan Sullivan Staff Writer
Studies on attention allocation, improved sleep for hospitalized patients, cesarean delivery rates, and a gene mutation that places women at higher risk for cancers are just a few of the projects being conducted during the 2015-16 academic year by Boston ColCathleen Kaveny
“Over the years as I wrote these columns, I focused on topical issues of the day and often they were infused with certain social, political or cultural tensions,” says Kaveny. “I’m interested in how in today’s society you are supposed to engage as a religious person who is an American and who takes seriously the claims on moral positions in a person’s life.” Somewhere between the need for religious traditions to assimilate into American culture and the nation’s resistance to movements viewed as highly sectarian or “on the fringe,” there should be a middle ground where divergent perspectives can co-exist, even thrive in the presence
lege faculty supported with funding from the University’s Ignite Awards. Designed to foster and fund research initiatives at BC, the grants awarded by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research help full-time tenure-track and nontenure track faculty advance their research and compete for external Continued on page 6
Coming Up a Little Short
Despite disappointing end, women’s hockey coach Crowley feels 2015-16 season was something special By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor
If you’re a coach, you have to look at the big picture, no matter how gratifying the win or wrenching the loss, and try to get your team to see it, too. But when that loss is the only one of the season, and it comes in a national championship, the task can be formidable. That was the situation facing Boston College women’s hockey coach Katie Crowley when she gathered her team in the locker room followContinued on page 4 ing their 3-1 loss to Minnesota in the
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such long look back and revealed the global spread of an ancient group of retroviruses that affected about 28 of 50 modern mammals’ ancestors some 15 to 30 million years ago. One of the most extensive viral evolutionary reconstructions undertaken generated a “family tree” that shows a virus that jumped from one host species to another and crisscrossed all but the polar regions of the globe during its lifetime. Just as a paleontologist might reconstruct a dinosaur skeleton from a few fossilized bones dug from the Earth, Johnson and his Continued on page 5
March 20 NCAA Championship. Crowley was dealing with her own disappointment, of course, but she knew it was important for her to take on a coach’s other persona, that of a teacher and mentor. So what do you say? “To be honest, I hadn’t thought that far ahead – how to handle it if we lost,” said Crowley last week as she sat in her office reflecting on the Eagles’ 40-1 season. “It’s just not what you do. But I knew there were things I wanted them to think about. This was the best season in BC women’s hockey history: We won Continued on page 5
“In an era that has seen the rise of the bombastic and the irrational, Alan [Wolfe] has consistently offered a thoughtful and humanistic take on our politics and our culture. I’ve long admired his writing and speak for his many colleagues in thanking him for what he and the Boisi Center have meant to the University community.” –Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley, page 4