Boston College Chronicle

Page 1

The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs may 26, 2016 VOL. 23 no. 18

Embrace Change, ‘the Only Constant,’ Moniz Tells Graduates By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

US Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz ’66 told the Class of 2016 at Monday’s Commencement Exercises to be prepared for momentous changes, on both a personal and a global scale, in the coming years – much like what he himself experienced in the half-century following his own graduation from Boston College. But rather than fear the future, Moniz said the graduates, empowered by the intellectual and spiritual formation they experienced at Boston College, should embrace and make the best of change in ways that will have the best possible effect on society, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. “Whether you make that differ-

INSIDE •COMMENCEMENT COVERAGE pages 1, 6-8

3 •Psychology’s Christian-

son named first Gianinno Family Asst. Prof. •Diversity and Inclusion Summit is June 1

4 •Veterans Affinity Group •New recreational facilities for St. Columbkille to head up Coun5 •Burns seling Services wins Dr. 9 •Gabelus Donald Brown Award •Rappaport Ctr. announces fellowships •Corcoran, Sherman earn Embracing the Legacy honors 25-year em10 •Retiring, ployees recognized

ence at the individual, community, national or world level, you will decide,” he said. “You’ll have opportunities placed in front of you. Communities of faith have historically played a critical role in these areas. Boston College has given you tools. Use them or lose them – and use them to good end, because you will write history.” Also presented with honorary degrees Monday were: St. Boniface Haiti Foundation founding president emeritus Nannette Canniff; Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. Managing Director John (Jack) Joyce ’61, MBA’70, chairman of the Boston College Club; María Eugenia (Gena) McGowan, principal of St. Matthew Catholic School in Phoenix, Ariz.; and Father Emmanuel Mwerekande MA’06, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima parish in

US Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz ’66 addressing the graduates at Monday’s Commencement Exercises. (Photo by Gary Gilbert)

Uganda. [See page 7] Some 4,000 BC students received their undergraduate and graduate degrees following the main Commencement event at Alumni Stadium, fanning out to separate ceremonies held around campus.

Wortham Is Choice to Lead the Lynch School By Jack Dunn Director of News & Public Affairs

Boston College has named Stanton Wortham, the Judy & Howard Berkowitz Professor and former associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, as the inaugural Charles F. Donovan, SJ, Dean of the Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch School of Education. He will begin at Boston College in July and succeed Maureen Kenny, who will return to the faculty after five years of service as dean. Wortham, a noted scholar whose research interests include classroom discourse and the linguistic anthropology of education, is also a respected expert in online education who serves as faculty director of the Penn Online Learning Initiative. During his 18 years as a teacher and administrator at Penn, Wortham won multiple awards for teaching excellence — including the University of Pennsylvania Lindback Foundation Award for Distin-

Stanton Wortham

guished Teaching — and served as both acting and interim dean of the Graduate School of Education. The author or editor of nine books and more than 80 articles and chapters, he has written widely on immigration and the social identification of children in schools, among other topics. His work has included action research and service learning, ethnography in schools and their surrounding towns, and discourse analysis. Continued on page 5

QUOTE:

Associate Professor of History Charles Gallagher, SJ, offered the invocation, and Rev. Peter J. Uglietto, vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Archdiocese of Boston, delivered the benediction. University President William P.

Leahy, SJ, in his welcoming remarks, asked the family and friends of those receiving degrees to stand and be recognized as “special people whose support, encouragement, and guidance made such a difference to our graduates.” Fr. Leahy touched on some of the milestones that were part of the Class of 2016’s time at BC: the construction and opening of Stokes Hall – “a building which reaffirms BC’s commitment to the humanities” – the record snowfall of the winter of 2015, and the terrorist bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon. The Boston College community is “part of a world that is certainly more complicated and as, or perhaps more, challenging, than any that Boston College graduates have Continued on page 8

Fulbrights: World of Opportunity Nine members of the Boston College Class of 2016 and five recent BC alumni (one of whom received a graduate degree Monday) are headed overseas for a year of scholarly activity supported by prestigious Fulbright grants. Fulbright awards support a year’s post-baccalaureate study abroad, and students typically pursue research in various disciplines, or serve an English Teaching Assistantship, through which they not only teach English language but also use the opportunity to provide insights about American culture. The ports of call for the 14 Boston College Fulbrights will be Germany, South Africa, Greece, Belgium, India, Malaysia, Cyprus, Spain, Bulgaria and the Philippines. In addition, one graduating senior who received a Fulbright declined the award; another was named an alternate for a Fulbright award but is pursuing other postgraduate plans. A look at the 2016 Fulbright winners:

Ricardo Alberto HOMETOWN: San Francisco DESTINATION: India PROJECT: English Teaching Assistantship; plans to engage youths in the community through the formation of a basketball club, to promote health and wellness as an essential part of leading a happy and healthy life. FUTURE PLANS: Law school, in preparation for a career in the field of immigration law. •“Before embarking on my undergraduate studies, I had rarely ever traveled outside of my home state of California, let alone outside of the United States. Boston College provided tremendous opportunities for me to gain international experience to support my development as a global citizen. With the aid of resources on campus in funding study-abroad experiences, service and immersion programs, research endeavors and conference trips, I can proudly say that I will graduate from BC having visited 12 different countries. This Fulbright grant serves as the culmination of my four years here; the skills I’ve acquired in global awareness, cross-cultural collaboration and quick adaptability to new environments will prove incredibly valuable as I endeavor to serve as an English Teaching As-

Continued on page 12

“Veterans add a lot to our University. Although missions differ between a university and a branch of the armed services, veterans are accustomed to serving a mission and a cause that is greater than themselves and in that regard they can and do contribute in meaningful and important ways to an institution like Boston College.” –Executive Vice President and US Army veteran Michael Lochhead, page 4


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Boston College Chronicle by Boston College - Issuu