The Boston College
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Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs
INSIDE:
dean to give 3 STM first address
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Muskavitch aids genome project
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New BCPD officers; Schor’s Plenitude october 21, 2010-vol. 19 no. 4
McLaughlin Is Appointed Vice Provost for Research
Alexander Guittard ’11 in the Panjshir Valley of Afghanistan in August 2009. He also has visited Lebanon, Tajikistan and Kuwait, among other places, during his time at Boston College.
Taking a World View from the Heights His years at Boston College have sent Alexander Guittard far and wide By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor
When Alexander Guittard ’11 made his way to Chestnut Hill three years ago, he thought he was just coming to Boston College. Instead, he wound up seeing the world. Not all the world, to be sure. But during his time at BC Guittard has traveled to places like Lebanon, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Yemen and Egypt. Along the way he’s amassed memorable, enlightening experiences: interviewing Afghani politicians; being mistaken for a journalist and shuttled to a Hezbollah rally in Beirut; and enduring a tense police interview in Tajikistan.
ONE OF THE GIRLS—Deirdre McCourt ’12 portrayed the character Dullgret in the Robsham Theater-Theatre Department production of Caryl Churchill’s “Top Girls,” which was staged at Robsham earlier this month. Tonight through Saturday, the Boston College Dramatics Society will present “References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot” at Robsham. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
To say that these journeys, along with his classroom and extracurricular activities at BC, have broadened Guittard’s worldview is putting it mildly. The San Diego native feels he has undergone the intellectual growth hailed as the hallmark of a classic Jesuit, Catholic liberal arts education. But it’s not something that just happens, Guittard says: You have to seize opportunities, take some risks, and above all be prepared to think. A lot. “My mindset starting out at BC was, ‘How can I develop a skill that will serve my country?’” says Guittard, a member of BC’s Army ROTC program who is majoring in political science and Islamic Civilizations and Societies (ICS), and who has served as
editor of Al Noor, BC’s undergraduate Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies journal. “But then it became far more important to develop a more comprehensive and realistic understanding of the issues that have interested me.” For someone drawn to international affairs — especially the Middle East, in Guittard’s case — experiences abroad are an absolute necessity, even if your itinerary doesn’t always work out as planned. “It’s like studying art history and never painting, or never setting foot in an art museum,” he says. “You have to go see for yourself what the Middle East is like — or Africa, or Asia, or Continued on page 4
Professor of Chemistry Larry W. McLaughlin has been appointed vice provost for research, Provost and Dean of Faculties Cutberto Garza announced recently. McLaughlin assumes the new post Jan. 1. McLaughlin, a biological chemist who has taught at BC for 25 years, will work with faculty and administrators, as well as students, to support, enhance and advance research activities across BC. He replaces Rourke Professor of Physics Kevin Bedell, who returned to teaching and research. “I am grateful to Professor Kevin Bedell for his service as the inaugural vice provost for research and am delighted that Professor McLaughlin will be taking on this important role,” Garza said in a letter to faculty. McLaughlin, who served as Chemistry Department chairman from 1999 to 2001, said the time was right in his career to take on a senior leadership role in shaping BC’s research portfolio. “It’s a time when I’m willing to try something else,” said McLaughlin, adding that he is excited to apply his experiences
Lee Pellegrini
By Ed Hayward Staff Writer
Larry W. McLaughlin
as a researcher to the challenges of coordinating the broad range of research that takes place on campus. “I don’t want to just be an administrator. I want to be an administrator who can use his capacity as a researcher to improve the greater good of the research community at BC.” The vice provost for research oversees the Office of Sponsored Programs, which administers the University’s $66.2 million annual portfolio in externally funded research and projects, the Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing, which works with faculty to license and commercialize Continued on page 3
University Hosts Forum on Financial Reforms Oct. 25 By patricia Delaney Deputy Director of News & Public Affairs
A panel of key figures in the financial marketplace will assess the impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act — deemed the most comprehensive overhaul of financial rules since the Great Depression – at Boston College’s Robsham Theater on Monday, Oct. 25, from 5–6:30 p.m. US Rep. Barney Frank (DMass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and co-sponsor of the reform legislation, will be joined by Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Paul A. Volcker, chairman of the Obama Administration’s Economic Recovery Board and former chairman of the US Federal Reserve System. Carroll School of Management Finance Professor Cliff Holderness, an expert on cor-
porate finance and governance, will moderate the discussion, after which participants will take questions from an audience of leading business and financial executives, economists, academics and students. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, approved by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in July, is a sweeping measure that tightens regulations across the financial industry in an effort to prevent a repetition of the fiscal crisis that began in 2007 and is still affecting individuals and industries across the nation. The Oct. 25 forum will address the effect of the legislation on the financial world both now and in the future. The forum is open to the public; seating is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Frank represents the Fourth District of Massachusetts in the Continued on page 3