Boston College Chronicle by Boston College

The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs april 28, 2016 vol. 23 no. 16

BC Survey Shows Strong Employee Satisfaction

INSIDE comes to 2 •C-SPAN campus

By Jack Dunn Director of News & Public Affairs

•BC helps start a special club at St. Columbkille •First Medical Humanities conference held

3 •Shaheen to speak at Law Commencement

Julia James ’17 prepared a costume for the Robsham Theater production “The Servant of Two Masters,” which premieres tonight as part of the annual Boston College Arts Festival [see below]. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)

•Bilder is named Founders Professor

Biologist Receives a $10M NIH Grant to Study Antibiotic Resistance

•Bloomberg ranks Carroll School third

By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

•Shalala to head up reaccreditation visit

Assistant Professor of Biology Tim van Opijnen has been awarded a five-year, $10 million grant by the National Institutes of Health as part of a multi-disciplinary group – evolutionary biologists, infectious disease specialists and two computer scientists – that will study the role of the immune system in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The research could aid the de-

5 •Excellence in Teaching Day will be May 9

delegation pres6 •BC ents at US science fair

•CSOM professor studies packaging for healthy foods •Obituary: Fr. Helmick, theologian and conflict resolution expert •Photo: BC hosts Irish trade mission Additions; BC 7 •Welcome in the Media; Jobs •Photo: Wall Street Council Tribute Dinner

8•Gawlick to present new composition

velopment of technological applications to help scientists forecast drug resistance in certain bacteria and identify effective courses of treatment for bacterial infections. “There are three factors at play: host, bacteria and antibiotic,” said van Opijnen, a microbial systems biologist who uses robotics, highthroughput sequencing and computational methods to study bacteria and antibiotic resistance. “In reality, we have very little understanding of how these three work Continued on page 5

Seeking Help for Her Home, Thousands of Miles Away By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

Carroll School of Management senior Maria Daniela Concha can practically pinpoint the time to the minute – 8:20 – on that recent Saturday evening when everything changed. One moment, Concha was in Conte Forum watching the annual “Showdown” dance event with friends; the next, glancing at her phone, she noticed a highly active group chat that, when she opened it, turned out to be high school

friends in her native Ecuador. They were asking after one another – “if they had ‘felt it,’” Concha recalled – and sharing photos of damaged buildings and streets. An earthquake had struck Ecuador. Then her parents began texting in the group chat, and while they were unhurt and their home in the coastal city of Guayaquil had sustained no significant damage, both were highly stressed about the dangers posed by aftershocks and the possible threat of violence and lawlessness. It took a few days beContinued on page 4

NOTICE:

Eighty-seven percent of Boston College employees said that they feel valued as a member of the University community, according to the Faculty & Staff Experience Survey that was administered to all full-time BC employees in the fall of 2015. The survey, which yielded a 51 percent response rate from 1,607 BC employees representing a variety of demographics – including age, gender, years of service and areas of employment – assessed BC’s work environment and community characteristics as well as employees’ general satisfaction and perceived opportunities for professional development. Overall, the survey revealed that faculty and staff are very satisfied with their experience at Boston College and feel fulfilled in their efforts, despite some specific areas that call for improvement. Among the notable findings:

•90 percent of BC employees agree or strongly agree that they like working at Boston College because of its mission, vision and core values. •90 percent of employees said they feel moderately to extremely fulfilled at BC. •78 percent of faculty described themselves as somewhat or very satisfied as a BC faculty member and 74 percent said they would probably or definitely encourage a colleague to accept a faculty position at Boston College. •60 percent of respondents believe that they had sufficient opportunities for advancement and promotion. •Overall, BC employees described the community as collegial, mission-driven and very supportive. The survey also revealed areas for growth and improvement, including a desire among employees for a stronger work-life balance, especially among those with young children. A number of comments from both faculty and staff identified the Continued on page 4

Self-Studies Current Focus of Strategic Planning Effort By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

For the past several weeks, the University Strategic Planning Initiative (USPI) has embarked on extensive conversations among groups – 24 in all – of administrators, faculty, staff and students, reviewing the University’s progress on a variety of fronts during the past decade, and identifying key issues and trends in higher education and elsewhere that will help inform the future of Boston College. This coming month, the substance of these discussions will be shared with the USPI Steering Committee, as the University’s newest comprehensive planning effort continues to take shape. Steering Committee members describe this part of the initiative’s

self-study phase as a period of “high engagement.” The working groups represent each of BC’s eight schools and other academic areas as well as most vice-presidential administrative divisions, including Student Affairs, Facilities Management, and Information Technology. Other self-study teams have assessed initiatives or areas of interest – such as undergraduate liberal arts or international programs – that involve multiple schools, departments, or divisions. To accomplish their tasks, these groups have sought additional insights by inviting comments and perspectives from elsewhere within the University community, among faculty, staff and students. The 24 self-studies are slated to be completed by the end of the spring semester, and will then be reviewed Continued on page 5

The annual Boston College Arts Festival begins today at noon and continues until Saturday. Programming, most free of charge, for all ages will be presented at the festival, which is open to the public as well as the BC community. There are daily events, exhibits, demonstrations (some with participation from attendees), music and dance showcases, and literary events. For all information, go to www.bc.edu/artsfestival.

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Chronicle april 28, 2016

A ROUND

C AMPUS

BUILDING INTEREST A retired Boston College faculty member’s study of research on alternatives to digital games has led to the creation of an elementary school club that encourages girls to consider engineering as a potential career. Nine students in the St. Columbkille Partnership School in Brighton, operated jointly by BC, the Archdiocese of Boston and Saint Columbkille Parish, have joined the Engineering Club for Girls since it began in February – and there is already a waiting list for the fall. Jean Mooney, a Lynch School of Education professor who retired in 2003, has been volunteering in recent years at St. Columbkille. As part of her work to help the school address the needs of students struggling academically and/or socially, Mooney came across research tout-

how their cognitive development and problem-solving skills benefit. And at a time when women make up only 14 percent of the world’s engineers, they should have the opportunity to contribute to this field.” Recently, the club invited BC Associate Vice President for Capital Projects Mary Nardone to talk about her career in engineering. She recounted the various steps along the way that led her to the profession, from making detailed treasure maps as a child to participating in her school’s math club to taking sketching classes. Nardone also showed the girls architectural plans (most of them created by female engineers) and photos of BC construction projects, such as the residence halls at 2000 and 2150 Commonwealth Avenue, and described some

Associate VP for Capital Projects Mary Nardone was a recent guest at the St. Columbkille Partnership School’s Engineering Club for Girls, which retired BC faculty member Jean Mooney helped found.

ing the benefits of using non-digital games to aid learning: “They are just as engaging, infinitely less expensive and more available. It occurred to me that these games might fit well into the after-school program.” Meanwhile, her granddaughter, a first-grade teacher, directed Mooney to games and activities – such as Goldieblox – developed to encourage girls’ interest in science and engineering. Mooney purchased some of the materials with a grant from the BC Association of Retired Faculty and shared them with Anna Birnberg, a science teacher at St. Columbkille, who volunteered to lead the club. Its members, from third, fourth and fifth grade, meet once a week to build, keep journals to track and reflect on their work and contribute to a blog. “The girls just love it,” says Mooney. “There’s the fun, social aspect, obviously, but you can see

of the work these involve. “I had a ball visiting the club, and it also made me think,” says Nardone. “The girls said they didn’t know they could be engineers until their teacher talked about it. When I was their age, those conversations didn’t even take place. Hopefully, if any of them do seriously think about engineering, they can find the resources and encouragement they need.” Mooney, who hopes to help start an engineering club for St. Columbkille boys, feels it’s never too early for such inspiration. “I think career education begins in kindergarten. That doesn’t mean locking kids into a vocation, but simply giving them a sense of what’s possible – especially in communities where few people may have jobs in professions like engineering. Let them see what they can do.” –Sean Smith

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 Siobhan Sullivan Photographers Gary Gilbert Lee Pellegrini

A LENS ON HISTORY History Professor Heather Cox Richardson is one of Boston College’s most popular faculty members, and soon TV audiences nationwide will have a chance to see why. Earlier this month, a five-person crew from C-SPAN came to campus to film one of Richardson’s classes, Race, Riots, and Rodeos: America from the End of the Civil War to 1900, for its “Lectures in History” series. Richardson, author of five books, is the first BC professor whose class has been documented by C-SPAN. “Almost everyone we tape for the ‘Lectures in History’ classroom series is recommended in one way or another, either by a fellow professor, or by a C-SPAN producer who saw the person at another event we covered and thought they were an interesting speaker,” says Russell Logan, CSPAN’s producer for American History TV [www.c-span.org/ series/?ahtv]. “In Professor Richardson’s case, it is both.” Viewers have responded positively to the “Lectures in History” series, which goes inside college classrooms around the country every week to cover lectures on

C-SPAN cameras were on hand recently to film a class by Professor of History Heather Cox Richardson. (Photo by Liam Weir)

various American history topics, adds Logan. “Because these are real classes, they look and feel a bit different than many of our other programs, which are often talks or panels taped at public venues.” “It’s always a pleasure to work with the wonderful folks at CSPAN, and to have the chance to bring the great stories and patterns from American history to a larger audience,” says Richardson, who was last on C-SPAN discussing her latest book, To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party. “We chose that particular lec-

ture because years ago a student told me he had never before heard anything about the relationship between women’s suffrage, Reconstruction, and citizenship and asked me if I would someday talk about that in a setting where it could be put on the Internet for others. The C-SPAN project made that possible.” The broadcast of Richardson’s class is scheduled to air July 2 on C-SPAN’s American History TV at 8 p.m. and midnight, and then throughout that weekend. The broadcast will also air at various times on C-SPAN 3. –Sean Hennessey

SPOTLIGHTING MEDICAL HUMANITIES Earlier this month, students minoring in the medical humanities organized the University’s first-ever conference on the topic, which included presentations of a variety of student-submitted pieces exploring the intersection of medicine and the humanities. Titled “Body, Voice, Narrative: An Interdisciplinary Discussion in Medical Humanities,” the event featured a keynote address by Jonathan Adler, associate professor of psychology at Olin College of Engineering and Wellesley College, who studies how people make sense of difficult things that happen to them and how that meaning influences mental health, personality and psychotherapy treatment. The conference was divided

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into three areas of focus, Body, Voice and Narrative. For the first panel on Body: Living with Adversity, Saljooq Asif ’15 presented “Deaf Gain in ABC Family’s ‘Switched at Birth,’” which looked at deafness as a power rather than a disability. The section on Voice: Cultural Perceptions of Illness included junior Karolina Mieczkowska’s personal memoir – a comic strip on the common scene of people staring at the benign tumor she had as a child – and a presentation by graduate student Emily Simon ’15 on the portrayal of identity in photographer Nicholas Nixon’s AIDS photography series. The final section, Narrative: Healthcare Experiences, included poetry written by Sarah Ramsey

’18, based on a letter to her uncle who has Early-Onset Alzheimer’s, and Colleen Brady ’16, drawn from her volunteer experience in a hospice. “Medical humanities has a special ability to bring people together across a variety of fields,” said conference co-organizer Katie Carsky ’16, a biology major and medical humanities minor. “It is this interdisciplinary nature that allows each of us to look at a particular topic through a new lens. It seems that most people believe that medicine and the humanities naturally repel one another, but by bringing them together, we gain so much more.” –Kathleen Sullivan

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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Chronicle april 28, 2016

Bilder Appointed Founders Professor Senator Shaheen to Speak Boston College Law Professor Mary Bilder, a faculty member at BC Law School since 1994 and the 2016 winner of the prestigious Bancroft Prize in history, has been appointed Founders Professor of Law. The daughter and granddaughter of lawyers, Bilder came to BC Law straight out of Harvard, where she earned a JD and a doctorate in history. She teaches constitutional history, as well as property and estates and trusts, and is a frequent lecturer and guest on panels. Bilder is the author of the widely acclaimed Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention, which offers a close reading of James Madison’s notes on the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The book has has been featured on the front page of the Washington Post and was favorably reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, which called it “superb.” Madison’s Hand recently won the Bancroft Prize, perhaps the highest honor for an academic study of US history. Past winners include such luminaries as Arthur Schlesinger Jr., George F. Kennan, and Samuel Eliot Morison. “This appointment recognizes Mary Bilder’s excellence as a teacher, a scholar, and a University citizen,” said BC Law Dean Vincent Rougeau. “I cannot think of a more deserving person to hold the Founders Chair.” Rougeau called Bilder a “beloved” teacher and mentor to her students and a groundbreaking historian. “Madison’s Hand,” he added, “has catapulted her into

at Law Commencement

“I’ve spent my whole career at BC Law, so [the appointment as Founders Professor] really means a lot to me,” says Mary Bilder. “I don’t think I could have written Madison’s Hand anywhere else.”

Lee Pellegrini

the national spotlight, elevating the stature of Boston College in the process.” Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley echoed Rougeau’s praise of Bilder. “Mary Bilder’s teaching and scholarship have long been exemplary, and this spring’s Bancroft Prize is just the latest recognition of her pioneering work at the intersections of law and history. Her many fans at Boston College are pleased to see her appointment to the Founders Chair, and we look forward to the next chapter in her remarkable career.” “I’ve spent my whole career at BC Law,” said Bilder, “so [the appointment as Founders Professor] really means a lot to me.”

Citing the support of colleagues and summer stipends from the Michael and Helen Lee Distinguished Scholar program, she added, “I don’t think I could have written Madison’s Hand anywhere else.” Bilder said being appointed to a prestigious chair “signals that your university is behind you.” She added, “In a field where most of the writers are men, it’s a very helpful signal when one goes out in the public-speaking world.” A public lecture and reception marking the Founders Professor appointment will be held in the fall. –David Reich, Boston College Law School Magazine

Award for Health and Human Rights in 2010, in recognition of her work with disadvantaged populations in South Africa and elsewhere. She was president of the University of Miami from 200115, leading capital campaigns that raised $3 billion in private support for Miami’s endowment, academic and research programs and facilities. Shalala and the other CIHE committee members – educators from other institutions – will visit BC in March of 2017, following completion of the University’s self-study in January of that year. The CIHE representa-

US Senator and former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen will give the address at the Boston College Law School Commencement on May 27. The Law School’s graduation ceremonies will take place at 10:30 a.m. in Conte Forum. [For information see www.bc.edu/lawcommencement.] The only woman in US history to be elected both a governor and a United States senator, Shaheen has served in the Senate since 2009. She is a member of the Senate committees on Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Appropriations, and a ranking member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. “I am very pleased that Senator Shaheen has agreed to be our Commencement speaker,” said BC Law Dean Vincent Rougeau. “Her record of service as a governor and a US Senator — including her leadership roles on crucial Senate committees — is remarkable, and I am sure that she will bring a unique perspective to our graduating students and their guests.” Shaheen played a key role in passing the Small Business Jobs Act and the Small Business Innovation Research program, and led Senate efforts to pass a critical extension of unemployment benefits to help struggling families. She also has led an effort toward a bipartisan debt-reduction plan, introducing bills to reform the country’s budget process. She co-sponsored measures to

Jeanne Shaheen

cut government spending on vehicles by 20 percent and to eliminate unneeded tax breaks for major oil companies and ethanol production. Shaheen also introduced bipartisan legislation that would create a national energy efficiency strategy to foster job creation, save businesses and consumers money and reduce pollution. As ranking member and the former chair of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs, Shaheen was an outspoken proponent of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) and worked to secure its ratification, enabling the US to resume critical inspections of Russia’s nuclear arsenal. Shaheen served as governor of New Hampshire from 1997 to 2003, and prior to her election to the Senate was director of Harvard University’s Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government. –Boston College Law School

CSOM Rises to Third in Ranking

Shalala to Head Committee for Accreditation Visit Former University of Miami President Donna Shalala, who served as US Health and Human Services Secretary in the Clinton Administration, has been named chair of the New England Association of Schools and College’s Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) committee that will visit Boston College next year as part of the University’s reaccreditation process. Donna Shalala Currently president of the Clinton Foundation, Shalala was HHS secretary from 1993-2001. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008 and the Nelson Mandela

tives will review the self-study and spend three days on campus interviewing members of the BC community and examining supporting documents. The CIHE will consider both the self-study and visiting committee report in determining BC’s accreditation status. Good standing in a regional accreditation association is a requirement for participation in federal programs that support higher education. Earlier this semester, BC formally began the process of reaccreditation, convening a committee of faculty and administrators to direct the self-study, with Special Assistant to the President Robert Newton and Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies Associate Director Seth Meehan as co-chairs. –Office of News & Public Affairs

The Carroll School of Management is now in the top three of the nation’s best undergraduate business schools, according to new rankings published by Bloomberg Businessweek. The publication’s “Best Undergraduate Business Schools” survey lists the Carroll School at third, up one spot from Bloomberg’s last ranking two years ago. [See http://bloom.bg/1WmpHZb for the full survey.] Bloomberg surveyed nearly 30,000 students and recruiters at nearly 600 companies, examining such factors as student satisfaction, career outcomes and academic quality. The Villanova School of Business and Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business placed first and second, respectively, in the 2016 rankings, while the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce round out the top five. “We’re grateful for being ranked number three,” said Andy Boynton, the John and Linda Powers Family Dean of the Carroll School. “Each year the rankings change their methodology, yet the Carroll School has consistently risen and we have been ranked very highly for several years now.” Just 10 years ago, the Carroll School was ranked 23rd by Bloomberg, and 16th in 2011. Boynton, who has been dean during the period coinciding with the school’s rise in the rankings, has consistently pointed to research and teaching as key reasons why the Carroll School is a force in the management education landscape. “The reality is that there are a handful of really great undergraduate business schools in the world, and we are right up there among the elite,” he said. “I say this with great pride — because of our superb faculty, dedicated staff, terrific students and very supportive senior administration at Boston College, there is no better undergraduate management or business school in the country.” –Sean Hennessey

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“Many people have contacted me, and I’m surprised by all those who have donated even though they don’t know me personally. I really appreciate it.”

Maria Daniela Concha with board members of the Latin American Business Club at the club’s Latin American Leadership Conference, held at BC this past weekend. Concha (center, in front of the Ecuadorian flag) was able to promote the relief effort for Ecuador during the event.

Senior Starts Fundraising Effort to Aid Ecuadorian Recovery Continued from page 1 fore their anxiety began to lessen. Within 12 hours, Concha started an online fundraising campaign with the hashtag #BCforEcuador to enable the Boston College community to aid her home country [www.gofundme. com/BCforEcuador]. #BCforEcuador is partnering with the International Medical Corps, which will facilitate the transfer of donations to fund the Teatro Sanchez Aguilar Foundation’s relief efforts. As of Tuesday morning, nearly half of the $5,000 goal had been pledged. The funds will be used to buy medical supplies and materials for temporary shelters where victims will be assisted. [In another fundraising effort, BC students on Monday reported donations of some $2,000 for Catholic Relief Services. That same day, students led a prayer for victims of both the Ecuador and Japan earthquakes.] The April 16 7.8 magnitude quake was one of the worst natural disasters to strike Ecuador in decades. More than 650 people were reported killed, and some 16,600 injured; damage was widespread, and President Rafael Correa declared a national emergency, warning that reconstruction would cost billions of dollars. Ask Concha – one of six native Ecuadorians enrolled at BC for 2015-16, according to the Office of International Students and Scholars – what comes to her mind the most when she thinks of Guayaquil, and she has a ready answer. “The people are so warm and welcoming. It doesn’t matter what walk of life they come from, they will always have a smile for you.”

The tragedy in her homeland has darkened what would normally be a time of unparalleled excitement and joy for a graduating senior like Concha, a finance and information systems major, as she contemplates the end of her BC years and the beginning of a career in finance. As much as she feels tugged in the direction of home, though, Concha believes she has to stay put for now. “I wish I could go back to Ecuador, but raising the donations that will help the situation is more important,” she said. She has found comfort from her roommates – “They’ve been looking out for me” – and in the concern and generosity she’s seen from the BC community. “Many people have contacted me, and I’m surprised by all those who have donated even though they don’t know me personally. I really appreciate it.” As it happened, this past weekend saw the BC Latin American Business Club hold its annual Latin American Leadership Conference, which provided a forum for Concha to promote the #BCforEcuador campaign. “The Latin American Business Club was extremely supportive of this cause: They not only allowed me to make an announcement twice during the conference, but to set up a stand for the fundraising. The donations from BC students, parents and professors were extremely generous. “Most importantly, they gave me a platform to create awareness of this unfortunate event – from which so many of us could feel so disconnected on so many occasions.” Contact Sean Smith at sean.smith@bc.edu

Positives, Challenges in Employee Survey Continued from page 1 length of the workday, the lack of standard flex-time guidelines, and the perception of one’s individual unit as being understaffed as issues of concern. Female employees also expressed a lower overall satisfaction rate than male employees regarding opportunities for career advancement. While the majority of AHANA faculty and staff responded positively to questions concerning their work experience, white respondents responded more favorably to questions regarding the number of campus diversity programs offered at BC and the prioritization of diversity among BC’s key executives. In total, 68 percent of AHANA employees and 69 percent of white respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Boston College welcomes open discussions regarding diversity and inclusion issues. In addition, LGBT faculty and staff had a less favorable view than their heterosexual peers of the Uni-

port their teaching, and 65 percent said they were satisfied with the resources BC provides to support their scholarship and research, though some cited a lack of space as a negative factor in their work experience. Some faculty also expressed frustration with their role in University decision-making and governance, while others questioned the uneven distribution of service opportunities and/or responsibilities across their respective schools and departments, with female and AHANA faculty claiming a disproportionate amount of requests to serve on committees. The survey also solicited comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the overall BC work environment among all faculty and staff, with the goal of identifying steps the University could take to improve the employee experience. The most-cited strengths included generous benefits that contributed

“This survey in concrete terms shows how special a place Boston College is, and how it is the faculty and staff who make it special,” says Vice President for Human Resources David Trainor. “People clearly feel valued in their work at Boston College, and to continue that feeling, we need to redouble our efforts in certain areas to make sure that sense is shared equally by all BC employees.”

versity’s attitude toward sexual orientation. In general, respondents gave high marks to inquiries regarding their relationships with supervisors, with a total of 81 percent agreeing or strongly agreeing that their supervisor/manager treats everyone in the department fairly; 87 percent stating that their opinions are valued; and 91 percent responding that they are treated with respect. Faculty, who were surveyed for the first time in an attempt to gain a better understanding of their attitudes and experiences, expressed deep gratitude for the support they receive and the collegiality they experience at Boston College. They cited as a strength the role BC plays in mentoring junior faculty, while recommending “peer to peer” mentoring as a potential area for improvement. In addition, 78 percent of faculty said they were satisfied with the resources BC provides to sup-

to a positive work environment, and BC’s “family feel” in which employees cited repeated examples where the campus community offered kindnesses, understanding and strength to colleagues enduring difficult circumstances, a phenomenon that many attributed to BC’s Jesuit, Catholic heritage. In addition to work-life balance issues and the need to maintain the University’s commitment to understanding and accepting differences within the community, the most-cited areas for improvement were parking and pay, with respondents voicing concern over the high price of campus parking and the lack of spaces, and the challenge of keeping salaries at pace with the high cost of living in the Greater Boston area. “This survey in concrete terms shows how special a place Boston College is, and how it is the faculty and staff who make it special,” said Vice President for Human

Resources David Trainor. “People clearly feel valued in their work at Boston College, and to continue that feeling, we need to redouble our efforts in certain areas to make sure that sense is shared equally by all BC employees.” “This is our first survey of Boston College faculty focusing on their professional experiences and will establish a helpful baseline going forward,” said Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley. “Initial results suggest that we are doing well on a number of fronts. They also point to areas of focus for my office going forward, such as the need to explore ways of better supporting our faculty’s efforts to maintain a healthy work-life balance.” Added Vice President for Planning and Assessment Kelli Armstrong, “We are fortunate in that more than half of the members of the BC faculty and staff community voiced their opinions in this survey, and the responses reflect a wide range of roles and backgrounds on campus. This feedback allows us to see where we are doing well and where we need to be strengthened, and provides a roadmap for ways to continually improve the BC experience.” The survey, co-commissioned by Trainor and Quigley and administered by Armstrong and Director of Institutional Research and Assessment Jessica Greene, was offered confidentially in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Chinese and Russian to more than 3,000 BC faculty, staff and administrators, both online and through a paper version for employees without access to computers. It comprised 60 questions that were designed to identify strengths and perceived deficiencies with the goal of helping to improve the overall work experience for all BC employees. A survey of BC employees was last conducted in 2006. Trainor and Quigley said they plan to conduct the Faculty & Staff Experience Survey again in the fall of 2018, and repeat it every three years. Armstrong said she plans to analyze the data in more depth this summer and then meet with a variety of groups on campus in the fall to discuss the results. “Our plan is to use the survey and its results as an opportunity to engage in conversations and gather further input from members of the community,” said Armstrong. “It is an ongoing effort with the goal of enhancing the work experience for all of us at Boston College.” Contact Jack Dunn at jack.dunn@bc.edu

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Continued from page 1 by the USPI Steering Committee and the Executive Committee to examine potential areas of focus within the context of the University’s mission, ongoing institutional goals and available resources. Vice Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley, USPI co-chair, said, “I’ve been impressed by my conversations with the leaders and participants in the various assessment efforts across the schools and libraries. The academic community seems to be taking seriously the charge to take stock of the current state of higher education, and Boston College’s particular place therein. It’s exciting to hear some compelling themes resonating across different committees.” “David Quigley and I have spent

10-year Institutional Master Plan to provide the infrastructure to support the Strategic Plan, and inspired the “Light the World” campaign to fund selected programs and projects. Even as BC endeavored to implement the Strategic Plan, USPI members note, economic, social and political forces well beyond Chestnut Hill were changing the terrain for higher education. To ensure that the progress of the past decade would be meaningful and long lasting, and to position BC for more, they say, it was imperative for BC to embark on another broad-based planning initiative. What’s more, the members add, the planning process itself had to reflect the impact of such wide-spread changes, hence the creation of the

John Zona (Office of the Treasurer). Soo said his group has collected considerable data to address basic questions about graduate education’s role at BC and how to evaluate its costs and contributions, and to evaluate threats and opportunities facing graduate education not only at the University but in the field itself. “It’s been a very informative process because while most of us know a lot about our own segment of the University, the committee’s work has opened our eyes to better ways to understand and evaluate different graduate programs. These discussions have also revealed how programs are responding to their respective challenges and have raised new possibilities for future collaboration.”

“It’s been a very informative process because while most of us know a lot about our own segment of the University, the committee’s work has opened our eyes to better ways to understand and evaluate different graduate programs. These discussions have also revealed how programs are responding to their respective challenges and have raised new possibilities for future collaboration.” –Billy Soo Lee Pellegrini

a lot of time working with the chairs of the various assessment committees, particularly those that are looking at cross-University initiatives and programs,” said Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead, the other USPI co-chair. “The level of commitment, energy, and collegiality evidenced through the works of these groups has truly been impressive and bodes well for the remainder of our strategic planning process. I look forward to continuing this important work in the months ahead.” BC formally launched the USPI in February, led by an Executive Committee of Quigley, Lochhead, University President William P. Leahy, SJ, Financial Vice President and Treasurer John Burke, Vice President for University Mission and Ministry Jack Butler, SJ, and Senior Vice President for Advancement James Husson. Quigley, Lochhead and Fr. Butler also serve on the 18-member Steering Committee, composed of deans, faculty, senior administrators and students. A major component of the USPI is to evaluate the outcomes of BC’s previous strategic planning effort that produced the 2006 document Seven Strategic Directions, which set a clear institutional path for Boston College in anticipation of its sesquicentennial in 2013. The same planning initiative also led to an accompanying

self-study teams, in particular those that draw on expertise from crosssections of the University. Among those members of the University community working in such groups is Carroll School of Management Associate Professor Billy Soo, who is co-chairing with Institute for the Liberal Arts Director Mary Crane a committee evaluating the role, contributions and costs of graduate education at BC. “Graduate programs face a very different landscape since the last strategic plan,” said Soo. “The financial crisis has had a significant impact on labor markets and how students and employers view the economics of graduate education. Advances in technology have also created new channels of instruction – such as online and hybrid programs – and alternative providers that pose both challenges and opportunities for graduate programs.” Others in the group are Jennifer Bader (School of Theology and Ministry), Solomon Friedberg (Mathematics), Kevin Kenny (History), Penny Hauser-Cram (Lynch School of Education), Kathryn Mackintosh (Office of Institutional Research), Aimee Milliken (Connell School of Nursing), Darrell Peterson (Office of Graduate Student Life), John Stachniewicz (Law School), Thomas Walsh (School of Social Work) and

School of Social Work Dean Alberto Godenzi and Vice Provost Patricia DeLeeuw, meanwhile, are heading up a self-study of BC’s global engagement. The group’s other members are Hans de Wit (Lynch School), Frank Garcia (Law School), Nick Gozik (Office of International Programs), Jonathan Laurence (Political Science), Margaret Lombe (SSW), Robert Mauro (Global Leadership Institute), Adrienne Nussbaum (Office of International Students and Scholars) and Ellen Sullivan (University Advancement). “The growing internationalization of higher education is happening before our eyes,” said Godenzi. “The force behind our efforts is the belief that BC has something unique to offer in the international arena. Our Jesuit, Catholic mission and heritage positions us very well among other institutions of higher learning. Boston College’s focus on the liberal arts, on integrated sciences and society, and on the dialogue between faith and culture opens up many opportunities for global engagement and mutually beneficial exchanges.” For more on the University Strategic Planning Initiative, see www. bc.edu/sites/strategic-planning-2016. html.

MIT’s Turkle to Speak at Excellence in Teaching Day

MIT Professor Sherry Turkle, known for her work on the troublesome influence of technology on human relationships, will deliver the keynote address on the theme of “Rethinking Connection” at the Boston College Excellence in Teaching Day on May 9. Turkle, the author of Alone Together and Reclaiming Conversation, has argued that the explosive growth in technology has led people to “sacrifice conversation for mere connection.” Now, she argues, it’s time to reclaim the skills necessary for individuals to develop genuine relationships. Turkle, whose appearance is supported in part by the Institute for the Liberal Arts, will speak at 10:15 a.m. in Robsham Theater. “We’re very excited to host Sherry Turkle as our keynote speaker this year,” said Stacy Grooters, director of faculty programs for BC’s Center for Teaching Excellence, which organizes the daylong program. “Other programs throughout the day will continue the conversation about ‘Rethinking Connection’ through faculty-led workshops, panel discussions, and presentations by local experts on teaching.” Excellence in Teaching Day features sessions on topics that include the “flipped classroom,” BC’s MediaKron digital curation technology, learning diversity, course materials affordability, student resilience and motivation, and teaching the University’s Core Curriculum. Other programs include a resource fair focused on teaching and learning supports at the University and a poster session featuring best practices and teaching innovations from BC faculty. For complete program information and registration, see www.bc.edu/ BCTeach. –Ed Hayward

Van Opijnen Receives NIH Grant Continued from page 1 in relation to and with each other.” Since their introduction 70 years ago, antibiotics have been used to treat patients with bacterial infections. Over time, many infectious organisms have adapted to the drugs designed to kill them, making those treatments less effective. Van Opijnen, the project’s principal investigator, will team up with Assistant Professor of Computer Science José Bento and researchers at Tufts Medical School, St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis and the Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The project will use cuttingedge genomics research tools and techniques, including transposon sequencing, or Tn-seq, a technique that can quickly comb through millions of genetic sequences and single out gene functions in bacteria. Van Opijnen has developed Tn-seq, which he has used to identify certain genes in bacteria that are important in escaping from the immune system. “We want to comprehensively determine how bacteria interact with the immune system of the patient and how these interactions permit or prevent the evolution of antibiotic resistance,” said van Opijnen. The team will use high-volume genomics sequencing techniques, full-genome sequencing, immune system monitoring, neural networks and active learning techniques during the five-year study, which has been funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“Biology is flooded with data, but our analytical tools can be much more sophisticated than they are now,” he said. “What we need to reach that level of sophistication Gary Gilbert

Planning Process Incorporates Self-Studies

Tim van Opijnen

is a cross-over to other disciplines that doesn’t happen often enough now. This project is a chance to make those connections.” In addition to developing a computer model to guide optimal treatment, van Opijnen said treatment applications could include increased accuracy predicting resistance emergence and the development of new antibiotic targets and treatment strategies. Bento said, “I am very excited about this collaboration with Tim. It is focused on solving a pressing problem and coming up with solid new ideas that might help solve other new problems. Both Tim and I have to learn how to speak a new ‘language’ of another discipline and in doing so I hope we’ll bring new perspectives, in problems and solutions, to both his field and my field.”

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By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

tritional label and basically summarizes it into one score that is displayed on the shelf pricing tag,” she said. “Consumers can very easily identify the healthier products.” Nikolova and Inman’s study – published in the Journal of Marketing – recommended that the federal government contemplate establishing a new standardized nutritional scoring system. They also suggested the rest of the nation’s approximately 37,000 supermarkets consider POS nutritional scoring implementation, because there are advantages for the seller as well as the buyer. “After the introduction of a POS system, shoppers start paying more attention to nutrition and they have less attention to devote to other factors in their shopping decisions, such as price,” explained Nikolova. ”They are then looking for shopping heuristics that would save them mental energy – anything that makes their decisions easier. Promotions, which are usually prominently highlighted in the store, are one such heuristic. Thus, shoppers become more sensitive to promotions.” To read the study, see http:// journals.ama.org/doi/abs/10.1509/ jmr.13.0270. Contact Sean Hennessey at sean.hennessey@bc.edu

On April 20, Boston College hosted delegates from the Ireland Gateway to Europe (IGTE) trade mission as part of its three-day visit to Boston to speak with members of the area business community about considering Ireland as a destination for European expansion. Robert Mauro (above), director of the BC Global Leadership Institute – which hosted the first day of the IGTE visit – welcomed the delegates, who attended a business breakfast at the BC Club and several other events, and took a tour of the BC campus.

The science fair conjures up childhood memories of baking soda volcanoes, backyard experiments and moments of truth in school cafeterias and gyms transformed into showcases of student work. Earlier this month, a group representing Boston College participated in a science fair of considerably larger scale and scope: the fourth biennial USA Science & Engineering Festival, Expo and Book Fair in Washington, DC, held April 15-17. The festival, which drew an estimated one million visitors, saw more than 1,000 academic and private-sector researchers, graduate students and undergraduates present some 3,000 hands-on exhibits of research, inventions and other scientific highlights to showcase the world of science to hundreds of thousands of K-12 students who travel to the event. The contingent of nearly 30 Boston College faculty, graduate students, undergraduates and alumni were the first from the University to take part in the festival. “It’s very exciting,” said Assistant Professor of Chemistry Frank Tsung, who presented some of his work (“Introduction to Nanomaterials”), as did his departmental colleagues Vanderslice Professor T. Ross Kelly (“Principles Through Toys”) and Associate Professor Eranthie Weerapana (“Paper2Plastics”). “I hope to help build momentum for these students to help them enjoy science more.” Other presenters at the festival

Hannah Chambless ‘15, a graduate student in Geology and Geophysics, leads a seismology demonstration at the USA Science & Engineering Festival.

included: Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Weston Observatory Director Alan Kafka (“Build Your Own Seismograph,” “Make Your Own Earthquake”); Lynch School of Education Professor Mike Barnett (“STEM Education Initiatives,” featuring robotic arms, hydroponic urban gardening and environmental monitoring); and Associate Professor Ken Burch of Physics (“TwoDimensional Atomic Crystals,” captured perfectly from graphene on the sticky side of scotch tape). Vice Provost for Research Tom Chiles said BC’s participation put faculty on the same stage as their peers in the arenas of teaching, research and innovation – and gives BC the chance to help inspire future generations of scientists and connect with prospective undergraduates. “This event showcases science on the national stage,” said Chiles. “Students and their families from around the country are in atten-

dance, including many looking at potential colleges. Given our ranking as a national research university as well as our reputation as a leader in the liberal arts, it is critical that BC be a part of this showcase.” Rajeev Rupani, MEd ’15, a science teaching consultant in the Barnett lab, said the STEM education presentations highlighted programs developed at BC that focus on “doing science” as much as learning essential principles and facts. He hopes the demonstrations reached students of high school age, when many begin to dismiss science courses and careers. “What we want to do is show that science is still a fun subject during high school,” said Rupani. “Hopefully, they can go back to their schools and see these subjects in a new light.” Read a longer version of this story at http://bit.ly/1SqgNIB. Contact Ed Hayward at ed.hayward@bc.edu

obituary

Fr. Helmick, Theologian and Problem-Solver

A funeral Mass for Rev. Raymond G. Helmick, SJ, an eminently respected theologian who was internationally regarded for his conflict resolution skills, was held on Tuesday at the Campion Center in Weston, Mass. Fr. Helmick died on April 21 at the age of 84. Whether teaching theology, mediating conflict in world trouble-zones or crafting a harpsichord of fine wood, Fr. Helmick – who marked his Jubilee in the Society of Jesus in 2001 – considered himself a problem-solver. He served as an unofficial emissary between Catholic and Protestant paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland, and played a similar role as a founder of the US Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East. In recognition of his conflict resolution efforts, Fr. Helmick was invited to the White House for the 1993 signing of the peace accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and traveled with Rev. Jesse Jackson and

Lee Pellegrini

Hristina Nikolova

Media Technology Services

A recent study co-authored by Hristina Nikolova, Coughlin Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Carroll School of Management, finds that simpler nutritional packaging is more likely to help consumers decide to purchase healthier food products. Nikolova and her co-author J. Jeffrey Inman, a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business, examined the effectiveness of NuVal, a simplified point-of-sale (POS) scoring system that uses a single number to represent the nutritional value of a food product. Their study – involving more than 535,000 shoppers, eight different food categories and a major grocery store chain – showed that NuVal had a significant impact on shoppers’ decisions: Its simplified nutritional information increased health choices by more than 20 percent. NuVal scores food products on a scale of 1 to 100: the higher the score, the better the nutrition. The system, available in more than 1,600 stores in the US, was a response to the 1990 Nutritional Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) requiring nutritional labels list ingredients such as fat content, sodium, calories and carbohydrates. As Nikolova and Inman noted in their study, the NLEA-mandated data often proved difficult for consumers to absorb and interpret. “When you go do your grocery shopping, you don’t have a lot of time to pick up every product, look at the label, take another product and compare the labels on all the different ingredients,” said Nikolova. The benefit of NuVal, or any POS nutritional scoring system, is that “it takes all the nutritional information available on the nu-

Lee Pellegrini

By Sean Hennessey Staff Writer

Khadiyjah Jordan

Packaging Key in Attracting BC Represented at USA Science Festival Consumers to Healthy Foods

other religious leaders during the 1999 Kosovo crisis to negotiate the release of three US soldiers captured by the Serbs. “Raymond Helmick was a wonderful colleague who modeled what respect and compassion mean in every domain of life,” said Professor of Theology Stephen Pope. “He was always a collegial colleague, a caring professor and a quietly passionate activist devoted to the cause of justice and peace. His discussions of his involvement in peacemak-

ing in Northern Ireland and the Middle East enthralled his students and inspired them to want to do more with their lives. The Theology Department will miss him greatly, as will the wider University.” An accomplished woodworker, the Arlington-born Fr. Helmick kept a woodshop at St. Theresa’s Church in West Roxbury, where he lived in residence with his brother, Rev. Msgr. William M. Helmick, St. Theresa’s pastor. “Woodworking is all problemsolving,” he said in a 2001 Chronicle interview. “Every intricate detail is a problem to be solved.” Fr. Helmick was at BC for 17 years, doing his conflict-resolution work while teaching in the University’s Theology Department and at St. John’s Seminary. He served from 2002-04 as senior associate at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington. Read the full obituary at http://bit. ly/231re75. –Office of News & Public Affairs

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BOSTON COLLEGE IN THE MEDIA An introduction to new faculty members at Boston College

Edward Chazen

Senior Lecturer, Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action Carroll School of Management DEGREES: Emory University (BA); New York University (MBA) WHAT HE STUDIES: Real estate development, finance, investment, urban planning WHAT HE’S TEACHING: Real Estate Fundamentals; Real Estate Finance; Real Estate Development; Field Projects in Real Estate What is the importance of teaching about real estate? “Real estate is such a diverse business that has tremendous impact on a neighborhood and community, and the potential to be a catalyst for neighborhood transformation. I see my role as teaching the ‘nuts and bolts’ of real estate, making sure students learn multiple dimensions about the industry, and help them think about where they might find a fulfilling career path.”

Assoc. Prof. Spencer Harrison (CSOM) offered comments to Boston Globe Magazine on the trend toward more workers in freelance or non-traditional jobs. Irish national broadcaster RTÉ featured a primer on the events of the 1916 Easter Rising by BCIreland Academic Director Mike Cronin. Research Prof. Phil Altbach (LSOE) weighed in on colleges’

use of international recruiting agents for a story in The New York Times. A Center for Retirement Research report on jobs that are more affected by cognitive decline was cited by Dow Jones Marketwatch and NBCNews.com. Bankruptcy preparedness plans for banks remain a work in progress, explained Liberty Mutual Insurance Professor of Law Patricia

Assistant Professor of the Practice in Theology Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences DEGREES: Middlebury College (BA); Georgetown University (MA, PhD) WHAT SHE STUDIES: Modern and contemporary Islamic thought and practice; Islamic-Christian relations; Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf countries; women and gender in the Islamic world WHAT SHE’S TEACHING: The Religious Quest: Islam and Christianity; Women and Gender in Islam You served as editor-in-chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women. What is one of the most prevailing myths about women and Islam that you try to educate others about? “One of the most prevailing myths about Muslim women is that they lack agency in their own lives. The Encyclopedia documents both historical and contemporary roles played by Muslim women at all levels of Islamic societies and civilizations, from education to stateswomanship to serving as both role models for and contributors to the religious tradition, in both scholarly and creative ways.”

Assistant Professor of the Practice of Theology Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences DEGREES: Tufts University (BA); Harvard University (MDiv.); Boston College (PhD) WHAT HE STUDIES: Medieval spirituality; virtue ethics; Thomas Aquinas WHAT HE’S TEACHING: The Person and Social Responsibility (PULSE core course) What first interested you in the life and work of Aquinas? “I’m interested in Thomas Aquinas because of what we share – he’s a scholar and a priest, and I am, too. So I turned to him because I wanted to see how this eminent figure accomplished something we struggle with in today’s world, namely living a life of determined intellectual pursuit and devoted faith. I wanted to see how he integrated his knowledge and his commitment to learning into his daily life, and how he shared these things with others.”

Rosen Valchev

Assistant Professor of Economics Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences DEGREES: Duquesne University (BSBA); Duke University (MA, PhD) WHAT HE STUDIES: Macroeconomics, international finance WHAT HE’S TEACHING: International Finance What are the main features of your research? “My research focuses on how individual agents cope with the complexity of their specific economic situations, and how their individual reactions cause macroeconomic fluctuations and asset price movements. I am particularly interested in decisions under broad, unstructured uncertainty.”

–Ed Hayward, Sean Hennessey, Kathleen Sullivan and Sean Smith Photos by Lee Pellegrini

Prof. Alan Rogers (History) discussed with The Guardian laws that protect parents who deny their children necessary medical attention.

Assoc. Prof. Tiziana Dearing (BCSSW) discussed Bernie Sanders’ trip to the Vatican on the New England Cable News show “The Take.”

Joshua Hartshorne

Rev. Matthew Kruger

Asst. Prof. Matt Sienkiewicz (Communication) spoke with WMEX-AM about the Boston Globe’s editorial and satirical jabs against Donald Trump.

Guidance that can help students develop a career plan earlier is valuable, Prof. David Blustein (LSOE) told The New York Times.

Natana DeLong-Bas

Assistant Professor of Psychology Morrissey College of Arts and Science DEGREES: Oberlin College (BA); Harvard University (MA, PhD) WHAT HE STUDIES: Language acquisition; syntax; semantics; pragmatics; critical periods in skill acquisition; relationship between language and common sense; syntactic and semantic bootstrapping. WHAT HE’S TEACHING: The Logical Problem of Language Acquisition (fall); Research Workshop in Developmental Psychology (fall) As director of the Language Learning Lab, what do you see as the next “big things” in the study of what makes language learning and language use possible? “The biggest challenge for the science of the mind – other than the fact that we are very limited in the kinds of experiments we can do with people! – is inadequate mathematics. Although we have reasonably good ideas about how the mind works, the math to turn those ideas into precise theories just doesn’t exist. In the last 10-15 years, this has started to change, and we are finally seeing remarkably precise mathematical models of human behavior. One of the areas that has seen the greatest successes is language. The math is so new that there are many, many more potential applications than there are researchers equipped to do the work. So right now, pretty much anywhere you turn, there are major discoveries waiting to be made. These explosive periods of scientific discovery come only so often, so it exciting be a part of one.”

McCoy in an interview with Marketplace Radio.

University President William P. Leahy, SJ, presented the President’s Medal for Excellence to 1975 alumna Denise Morrison, president and CEO of Campbell Soup Company, at the 28th annual Boston College Wall Street Council Tribute Dinner held April 21 in New York City. In the photo above, Fr. Leahy and Morrison are flanked by Wall Street Council Tribute Dinner co-chairs and University Trustees T. J. Maloney ’75, left, and Steve Barry ’85. This year’s dinner raised more than $2 million for the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program at BC; the event has raised a total of $26 million for the program over its 28-year history. (Photo by Donna Alberico)

Carroll School Grads’ Success on CPA Exam Continues to Grow The Carroll School of Management’s accounting program has raised the bar when it comes to the national Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. Not only did Boston College set an all-time high for the percentage of graduates who passed, but it’s among a handful of schools with multiple graduates who have won the prestigious Elijah Watt Sells Award for mastering the rigorous exam. Carroll School of Management graduates taking the CPA exam established an all-time high passing rate of 74 percent (up from 69.8 last year); nationally, the average is 49.8 percent. Among first-time test-takers, the University set a school-record pass rate of 82.5 percent (55 percent nationally), which ranks 13th in the country and eighth among schools with 60 or more exam candidates for the year. In 2015, four BC graduates – Jiaqi Gong, Marcos Carreno, Courtney Fogelman and Mark

Piorkowski – scored 95.5 percent or better on all four parts of the exam on their first attempt, earning the Sells Award. To put this feat in perspective, of the 93,742 individuals worldwide who sat for the examination, only 75 – including the four from BC – scored 95.5 percent or better. Only the University of Michigan had more (six). BC had two Sells Award winners in 2012. “Receiving the Elijah Watt Sells Award is a remarkable achievement attained by fewer than 1 percent of all CPA exam candidates around the world,” said Associate Professor Billy S. Soo, Accounting Department chair. “It takes great knowledge and a lot of perseverance to do so well in all four parts of the exam. Having four graduates attain that level in one year, and having BC exam candidates achieve an alltime high passing rate, illustrates the quality of our students and program at Boston College.” –Sean Hennessey

Prof. Paul Lewis (English), who was instrumental in the campaign to reclaim native son Edgar Allan Poe for Boston, wrote an op-ed for The Boston Globe advocating the Longfellow Bridge be renamed for the poet and author.

JOBS 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: General Service Worker, Dining Services Audio and Event Services Specialist, Media Technology Services Associate Director, Events and Programs, Center for Corporate Citizenship Campus Minister for Arrupe Programs, Campus Ministry Head Librarian, Digital Scholarship, O’Neill Library Asst./Assoc. Director, Alumni Chapters, Alumni Association Director, University Counseling Services Development Assistant, Corporate Foundation Relations Head of Special Collections Technical Services, Burns Library Director of Career Education, Career Center Communication and Events Administrator, Roche Center for Catholic Education Gift Processing Analyst, Development, Advancement Services Associate Dean for Enrollment Management, Woods College of Advancing Studies

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“The Beginning” New on BC YouTube www.youtube.com/BostonCollege

BC composer creates music from ‘imagined memories of a distant, severed past’

BC SCENES

The Hugo Wolf Quartet, founded in Vienna in 1993, has won such coveted awards as the Special Prize of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the European Chamber Music Prize. A major name in the international chamber music scene, the quartet performs a concert series in Vienna’s renowned Wiener Konzerthaus Concert Hall. The debut of “Imagined Memories” at BC, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by a performance tomorrow in Carnegie Hall. For more information on the concert, email ralf.gawlick@bc.edu or call ext.2-6004.

Lee Pellegrini

The internationally acclaimed Hugo Wolf String Quartet of Vienna, artists-in-residence, will appear on campus tonight at 7:30 p.m. in St. Mary’s Chapel to premiere Associate Professor of Music Ralf Yusuf Gawlick’s “Imagined Memories,” or “Bîraninen Xeyalî” – a work inspired by the biological mother he never knew. Gawlick was born to a young Kurdish woman, Naciye Zeren, who put herself at risk to ensure his life, and placed him in an orphanage in Germany. His new, autobiographical composition “probes into the realms of a relationship that never was, a bond with my biological mother whom I never met,” says Gawlick. “The intimate relationship that exists between the creative and recreative processes in music is particularly poignant and electric in a world premiere – in the calling to life of a new work.” Gawlick believes that the preservation of our identities “depends upon the active presence and cultivation of memory, real or imagined,” and this is the aim of his piece. “Imagined Memories” is the musical centerpiece of an interdisciplinary campus symposium, “The Kurdish Question: Ethnicity, Identity and Integration,”

Ralf Yusuf Gawlick says his new work “Imagined Memories” – which is premiering tonight in St. Mary’s Chapel – “probes into the realms of a relationship that never was, a bond with my biological mother whom I never met.” which also included events on April 24 and 27. Tonight’s concert also will include Shubert’s “String Quartet No. 13, D. 804, op. 29 ‘Rosamunde.’” Gawlick describes as “Imagined Memories” as “my musical archive: intimate musical reflections based on imagined memories of a distant, severed past.” It will bring the audience through a series of musical memories, from

Gawlick imagining his own, to him imagining those of Naciye, and finally to Naciye’s. “I am profoundly grateful that ‘Imagined Memories’ is in the hands of an ensemble so renowned and dedicated to new music as the Hugo Wolf Quartet, and for all the support the University has provided so that I can share this performance with the Boston College community.”

Hosted by the Institute for Liberal Arts, “The Kurdish Question” involved a range of University departments. Events included a screening of the film “Good Kurds, Bad Kurds: No Friends But the Mountains,” and a panel discussion with a keynote address by Kani Xulam, director of the American Kurdish Information Network, with Political Science Department panelists Professor Ali Banuazizi and Associate Professor of the Practice Kathleen Bailey, and Associate Professor of Slavic and Eastern Languages and Literatures Franck Salameh. –Office of News & Public Affairs

“Art & Digital Technology” Through May 16 O’Neill Library Level One Gallery

In Art & Digital Technology, a studio art course taught by Fine Arts Assistant Professor of the Practice Karl Baden, students combine text and image to produce a variety of design and art-oriented pieces, including book and magazine spreads, posters, advertisements and CD covers, using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator as creative tools. This exhibition consists of excerpts from the students’ final projects.

CUPCAKES FOR A CAUSE Members of the BC Baking Club worked with BC Dining Services Executive Pastry Chef Tim Fonseca to prepare cupcakes for yesterday’s Bakes for Breast Cancer campus fundraiser. A national non-profit, Bakes for Breast Cancer raises money for breast cancer research through dessert-oriented events.

Photos by Lee Pellegrini