The Boston College
Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs october 4, 2012 VOL. 21 no. 3
INSIDE
TWO DECADES OF POPS
Rose Lincoln
Celebration Continues with Symposium, Faust Lecture
•Campus events focus on 2012 election, page 3
•BC student is first in Youth Observer role at UN, page 5
Keith Lockhart conducts the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra during Friday night’s 20th annual “Pops on the Heights” event in Conte Forum, which raised $3.3 million for student scholarships. This year’s performance was enlivened by guest stars Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis.
Kanstroom: US Deportation Policy Needs Major Reform By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor
•Bell named Monan Prof. of Theatre Arts, page 6 •Jacobs’ book examines US role in Laos, page 6
The United States’ increased emphasis on deporting immigrants during the past 15-20 years has torn apart families, placed untold numbers of persons at economic or health-related risk, and costs billions of dollars a year — while doing little to resolve the country’s myriad immigration issues, according to Professor of Law Daniel Kanstroom, author of the recently published Aftermath: Deportation and the New American Diaspora. In the book, Kanstroom assesses milestones in the history of immigration-related US policy and
legislation, notably the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which expanded the number of crimes that made people subject to deportation, limited judicial discretion and required mandatory detention of those subject to removal on the basis of a criminal conviction, as well as some non-criminal deportees.
•Boisi Center events, page 7 •Campus concerts hit different notes, page 8 •Robsham fall season set to open, page 8
By Ed Hayward Chronicle Staff
The Lynch School of Education, the nation’s leading Catholic school of education, is poised for a year of strategic planning across areas of research, service and professional training in education and applied psychology, according to Interim Dean Maureen Kenny. “The Lynch School of Education faculty and staff are spending time
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der School of Education Professor Kenneth Howe; Angela Valenzuela, associate vice president for Educational Equity at the University of Texas at Austin; and Joel Westheimer, CBC Radio education columnist and University Research Chair in Democracy and Education at the University of Ottawa. The second panel, “The Old Continued on page 5
how welcomed we have felt from day one. BC is a big Division I program and the fact that
Kanstroom examines nearly two decades of statistics and trends alongside stories and anecdotes that recount the deleterious impact of Continued on page 4
as a unit looking at our goals and aspirations over the next five to 10 years and how we go about getting there,” said Kenny. “We also need to look at the external forces that shape education and social policy because they influence what we do and where we are going.” Kenny and the Lynch School will also be using several symposia to connect with national thought leaders in the areas of education reContinued on page 4
Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust
“It’s really just been amazing
BC Law team plays role in landmark deportation case, page 3
Interim Dean Kenny Sees Active Year Ahead for LSOE •GSSW, Home for Little Wanderers partner, page 7
Boston College continues its Sesquicentennial Celebration with two major events in the next six days: a symposium on “Education and Its Role in Democratic Societies” tomorrow in the Yawkey Athletics Center, and a lecture by Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust on Oct. 10 in Robsham Theater to inaugurate the Sesquicentennial Speakers Series. The all-day symposium, which is being held as part of the Lynch School of Education public lecture series, features two panel discussions with educational experts and a keynote address by New York University researcher Pedro Noguera. (Registration for the event ended Sept. 28.) Following a welcome by Lynch School Interim Dean Maureen Kenny will be the first panel, “Justice, Citizenship and the Schools,” with: University of Colorado-Boul-
Rose Lincoln
•Quonset Hut is newest rec facility, page 2
•University to mark “Tip” O’Neill 100th, page 3
THE
Sesquicentennial
•Crowther’s life will offer lessons, page 2
•BC Law involved in major deportation case, page 3
Celebrating
they have taken the time to let us in has been great.” —Beth Harvey, mother of JB (left)
Little Eagle, Big Heart
JB Harvey’s illness precludes playing sports, but he’s a special part of the BC football team By Michael Maloney Special to the Chronicle
Standing in front of the entire Boston College football team, fiveyear-old JB Harvey clutches at his mother’s side, smiling but startled by the raucous clapping and cheering from men five times his size. Just seconds before, Assistant Coach Mike Siravo had announced to the team that Bos-
ton College had drafted JB as an honorary, and permanent, member. It’s the first team that JB has joined, and one he will surely not soon forget. JB has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), the only fatal type of muscular dystrophy, and at age five is already feeling the debilitating effects of this horrific disease. Although he’s a huge sports Continued on page 5
“We are struck by how people’s lives are changed when they hear us talk about Welles...A woman from Chile who teaches character development for young people came up to us and said she wanted to start a ‘Red Bandanna Hike.’” —Alison Crowther, mother of Welles Crowther ’99 (page 2)
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which recognizes and awards character development for young academic and athletic excellence people came up to us and said in young people who serve their she wanted to start a ‘Red Bancommunities. danna Hike.’ We also heard from Meanwhile, the Crowther a representative of an organization Charitable Trust has formed a that seeks to build relationships partnership with the Fetzer Insti- between Jewish and Muslim chiltute — a private foundation seek- dren. Welles’ story is going out ing to foster awareness of the pow- into the world. er of love and forgiveness — to “Our hope for the develop a curriculum curriculum is to create based on Crowther’s “Welles’ story continues tools for schools that life that will be made to captivate and inspire. might not have the available to elemenresources to do it on tary, junior and high His life is an example their own. We want schools and youth that animates Boston to get in there and sports programs. College in its mission charge a generation Later this month, of young people with to educate men and VSLC Director Dan a common vision of women for others.” Ponsetto and another character and motivaBoston College repre—Dan Ponsetto tion, and the power sentative will attend a that lies within us all.” conference of about Adds Epstein, 40 educators that has “Just as Welles is a symbol of love been organized by the partnership and action, Alison and Jeff are to discuss ideas for shaping the symbols of forgiveness and action. curriculum. The curriculum is ex- His memory goes on and serves pected to be ready next fall. as a symbol to everyone, young “Welles’ story continues to cap- people in particular.” tivate and inspire,” says Ponsetto, For information about the Oct. who finds that his talks about 13 Red Bandanna Run, and about Crowther at BC student orienta- the Welles Remy Crowther Charitation unfailingly generate an en- ble Trust and its activities, see http:// thusiastic response. “His life is www.redbandannarun.com. an example that animates Boston —Sean Smith College in its mission to educate men and women for others.”
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Jefferson and Alison Crowther speak to participants in last year’s Red Bandanna Run. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
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Crowther’s story, already with a national audience (thanks in part to a special on ESPN produced by his BC classmate and friend Drew Gallagher), is fast gaining an international one. Last month, the institute held a conference in Italy that was attended by Welles’ parents Alison and Jefferson, and his fellow 1999 graduate and friend Timothy Epstein, who sits on the board of Fetzer and brought the Crowther Charitable Trust’s work to the attention of the institute. “We are struck by how people’s lives are changed when they hear us talk about Welles,” says Alison Crowther. “At the conference, a woman from Chile who teaches
A selection of recent Tweets
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As Boston College prepares for its annual tribute to Welles Crowther ’99, the story of one of BC’s most heroic alumni is about to take a new turn, and find an even wider audience. On Oct. 13, BC will host the eighth annual Welles Remy Crowther Red Bandanna Run, which honors the Nyack, NY, native who — wearing his nowiconic red bandanna — died on 9/11 while helping to evacuate survivors from the World Trade Center. The 5K road race is cosponsored by the Boston College Volunteer and Service Learning Center (VSLC) and the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust,
@Boston College
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A life worth learning about
Partner up
New look for ‘The Hut’ It’s undoubtedly one of the foot structure had been under most overlooked recreational fa- the administrative oversight of cilities Boston College has, not the Office of Residential Life, least because of its location. used largely for informal social But the Quonset Hut on and recreational purposes. Two Newton Campus — often called years ago, Campus Recreation “The Hut” — has become a busy assumed responsibility for the faplace these days, with group fit- cility and its operations. ness activities, cardio and weight “It just seemed a better fit in equipment and open recreation many ways,” explains Campus areas for basketball. The Hut Recreation Associate Director formally opened for use late last for Facilities & Operations Eric month, sporting a newly resur- Zeckman. “BC has been placfaced floor for ing greater its basketball emphasis on courts. promoting The Hut fitness and was among wellness for the buildings students and Boston Colemployees, lege acquired and The Hut in 1974 when represented a it purchased means to ofthe Newton fer more of College of the these kinds of Sacred Heart, programs to which became the University the site of Newcommunity.” ton Campus. Currently, Tucked away The Hut is on the norththe location western edge of for classes Newton Camin spinning, pus between the Improvements to the Quonset Hut on New- zumba, carfield hockey and ton Campus include a resurfaced floor. dio kickboxsoccer fields, ing and yoga. the approximately 5,960-square For more information, see www. bc.edu/rec. —Sean Smith
Affiliates Program Seeks Candidates The University Affiliates Program, which provides employees from underrepresented groups the opportunity to enrich their professional skills and increase their potential for upward mobility, is seeking members for the 2012-13 academic year. The deadline for applications is Oct. 12. Through the program, administered by the Department of Human Resources and Office for Institutional Diversity, AHANA administrators and staff get an in-depth look at BC through the eyes of senior managers in the University, who serve as mentors for the participants. For information on the Affiliates Program and details on applying, see http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/offices/diversity/programs/ affiliates.html. —Office of News & Public Affairs
The Office of International Students and Scholars invites faculty, staff and students to take part in the Conversation Partners Program, which matches graduate international students with native English speakers of the BC community. Conversation Partners enables international students to improve their speaking and listening skills, and presents an opportunity for all participants to learn about other countries and cultures. The program requires a one hour per week commitment. For information, see www.bc.edu/offices/oiss/ programs/cpp.html.
The Boston College
Chronicle
Director of NEWS & Public Affairs
Jack Dunn Deputy Director of NEWS & Public AFFAIRS
Patricia Delaney Editor
Sean Smith Contributing Staff
Melissa Beecher Ed Hayward Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan Michael Maloney Photographers
Gary Gilbert Lee Pellegrini
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. Contact Chronicle via e-mail: chronicle@bc.edu.Electronic editions of the Boston College Chronicle are available via the World Wide Web at http://www. bc.edu/chronicle.
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Chronicle october 4, 2012
BC Law Team Wins In Landmark Deportation Case
Politics In the Air, and On Campus
By Kathleen Sullivan Staff Writer
By Ed Hayward Staff Writer
Politics have taken center stage as America prepares to decide on its next president and Boston College is no exception. Former Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, NBC newsman Tom Brokaw and correspondent Luke Russert ’08, local television reporter Paula Ebben ’89 and BC’s political scientists are among the headliners at the speaking programs taking place on campus leading up to election day. This coming Tuesday, Oct. 9, Brokaw and Russert will team up at 4 p.m. in Robsham Theater for the Chambers Lecture, which is hosted by the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics at the Carroll School of Management. Brokaw is now a roving special correspondent at NBC, after spending 22 years as the anchor and managing editor of the “NBC Nightly News” as well as hosting the network’s other two signature news productions, “The Today Show” and “Meet the Press.” He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books. His journalistic acumen and historian’s perspective have helped his audience understand some of the most complex stories of our times, from the lives of the veterans of World War II to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to the
Former GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman speaking at the Clough Colloquium Tuesday night. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
challenges facing Americans today and in the future. His latest book, The Time of Our Lives: A Conversation About America, looks at how to strengthen enduring American values. Russert, who started his career with NBC News in August 2008 following his graduation from BC, will join Brokaw. A Washington, DC-based correspondent, Russert reports from Capitol Hill on the House of Representatives and covers youth and young adult issues for “NBC Nightly News,” “Today,” MSNBC and msnbc.com. His 2008 election-day reporting on the impact of young people on Barack Obama’s victory was nominated for a News & Documentary Emmy award as part of NBC News’ 2008 Election Night coverage. He is the son of the late Tim Russert, a well-respected broadcast journalist. Next Thursday, Oct. 11, WBZTV reporter Paula Ebben ’89 will moderate a roundtable discussion about the upcoming presidential election at 6:30 p.m. in Room 115
of Stuart Hall at BC Law School. Joining Ebben for a bi-partisan discussion of major campaign topics will be Political Science faculty members Associate Professor Dennis Hale, Assistant Professor David Hopkins, Professor Marc Landy, and Moakley Professor of Political Science Kay Schlozman. The event is being co-hosted by the Boston College Alumni Association, Political Science Department, and BC Political Science Alumni Network. Two days ago, Huntsman, the former Republican presidential candidate and Utah Governor, spoke at the Clough Colloquium, which is also hosted by the Winston Center. Huntsman, who was US Ambassador to both China and Singapore and served as Utah governor between 2005 and 2009, shared his insights into the leading issues of the day – from China and the economy to business abroad and political leadership in the US – and what impact they will have on the 2012 elections. Contact Ed Hayward at ed.hayward@bc.edu
BC to Mark ‘Tip’ Centennial Oct. 18 By Kathleen Sullivan Staff Writer
Boston College is marking the 100th birthday of the late Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr., a 1936 alumnus who rose from his modest North Cambridge neighborhood to become of one the most powerful figures in American politics, with a special course and exhibition. This fall, O’Neill, a member of Congress for 34 years and the Speaker of the US House of Representatives from 1977 to 1986, is the subject of a course taught by Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Professor of American Politics R. Shep Melnick. Later this month, an exhibition highlighting O’Neill’s life and career will go on display in O’Neill Library, which was dedicated in his honor in 1984. This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the Honorable Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. ’36 LLD ’73 (Hon.) Scholarship Fund. Established through gifts in honor of
O’Neill, the fund provides financial assistance to qualified students, with a preference for residents of the late congressman’s districts. Since the first scholarships were presented in 1987, some $4.2 million has been awarded to more than 300 students. “Tip O’Neill had a profound impact on Boston College,” said Senior Vice President James P. McIntyre, chairman of the O’Neill Scholarship Committee. “He sponsored two dinners in Washington DC, one attended by President Jimmy Carter and another attended by President Ronald Reagan, that raised millions for financial aid and an endowed professorship. Because of his advocacy, Boston College enjoyed an enhanced profile in the highest of political and social circles. The O’Neill Library is a symbol of his loyalty and generosity to his alma mater.” In conjunction with Melnick’s course, “Tip O’Neill and the Evolution of American Politics,” renowned congressional scholar
Thomas E. Mann, the W. Averell Harriman Chair and senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, will give a special lecture on Thursday, Oct. 18, in the O’Neill Library’s Reading Room at 4 p.m. A reception will follow, which will be attended by members of the O’Neill family as well as current and past O’Neill Scholarship recipients. Melnick uses O’Neill’s political career as a window for examining two key changes in American politics: the shift from the relatively conservative, seniority-based congressional system of the 1950s and early 1960s to the significantly more liberal and entrepreneurial Congress of the late 1960s and early 1970s; and the shift from the bipartisanship that characterized the House and Senate from 1912 through the early 1980s to the era of intense partisan polarization seen in Congress today. Contact Kathleen Sullivan at kathleen.sullivan@bc.edu
A case decided on Sept. 27 in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, argued successfully by a team of lawyers from Boston College’s Post-Deportation Human Rights Project (PDHRP), has given new hope to those wrongly deported from the US by opening up the possibility that their cases can be revisited even after their departure from the US. In the case, Garcia-Carias v. Holder, the PDHRP argued against a post-departure regulation that has prevented potentially many thousands of wrongly deported people from seeking legal reconsideration of their cases. The federal regulation states that after individuals have left the country, they are not able to even request that their cases be reconsidered, even if the reason for the deportation has been nullified. The Fifth Circuit, after years of upholding the post-departure regulation, has now concluded — as argued by the PDHRP — that the post-departure regulation is invalid. The case was argued by PDHRP supervising attorney Jessica Chicco and pro bono counsel Ronaldo Rauseo-Ricupero, a BC Law School alumnus and an associate with Nixon Peabody LLP. “This is great news and sets positive precedent in the Fifth Circuit,” said Chicco. “The court recognized that whether one is inside or outside the country should not have any bearing on the right to make a motion to reopen a deportation case.” The case, referred to the
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PDHRP by Trina Realmuto of the National Immigration Project, involves Wilmer Alberto Garcia-Carias, who was deported to Honduras in 2005. GarciaCarias had come to the US as a 10-year-old and was deported while in his 20s. His parents and siblings all reside lawfully in the US as US citizens or green card holders. He was deported because he was considered an aggravated felon based on a firsttime drug possession conviction that was later pardoned by the state of Louisiana under the firstoffender pardon provision. After his deportation, the US Supreme Court ruled that drug possession should not be considered an aggravated felony and that he should have been eligible to request discretionary relief from deportation. His deportation could not be reconsidered, however, because of the postdeparture regulation. “The legal struggle against a rigid interpretation of this regulation was one of the major issues for which the PDHRP was created,” said Law Professor Dan Kanstroom, who directs the PDHRP. “The case is extremely significant as impact litigation. “The victory is especially meaningful to our client, who was incorrectly deported after many years of legal residence in the US. Though he still faces further proceedings before perhaps being able to return to the US, the courts are now open to consideration of his claims,” added Kanstroom, author of the new book Aftermath: Deportation Law and the New American Diaspora [see story on page 1].
The University Chorale performs during last Friday’s Pops on the Heights concert in Conte Forum. (Photo by Rose Lincoln)
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Kanstroom Continued from page 1 deportation on individuals, families and communities. Analyzing a host of legal and philosophical questions — such as the relationship between the “rule of law” and the border, and whether some deportees might be entitled to a right of return — Kanstroom concludes that the US deportation system is in serious need of reform. “Deportation has always been recognized as a harsh sanction — it’s banishment, more or less,” says Kanstroom, who marked the publication of Aftermath last month with an event at Boston College Law School. “No countries do it to citizens anymore — and many limit removal of legally present noncitizens to only the most serious crimes after considering a person’s family ties. “It’s a very dramatic thing to send someone away from a place where he or she may have lived for years — or perhaps all his or her life.” As the number of foreign-born persons living in the US has reached a record level, so have incidences of deportation, notes Kanstroom. From 1991-2000, there were a total
gain asylum, he was deported back to El Salvador, and subsequently murdered by a member of the gang. “Studies of criminal-related deportations show that the vast majority of these deportees’ crimes were non-violent,” says Kanstroom, who directs the BC International Human Rights Program, and is associate director of the Center for Human Rights and International Justice, which houses the Post-Deportation Human Rights Project. “Of course, non-violent crime is still crime. But if we’re trying to assess crime-fighting priorities and methods, doesn’t the seriousness of the targeted offenses matter?” Moreover, he adds, research indicates that contrary to some popular beliefs, it is US-born citizens who are more likely to commit crimes rather than immigrants, illegal or legal. Deportees may not possess significant ties to the country where they are sent, having been gone for so long or, if they are children of immigrants, because they were born in the US, Kanstroom says. Some, such as the El Salvadoran youth, have reason to fear for their safety in their country of destination. The economics of deportation can cut more than one way, he adds, because a deportee’s income may not only support family members
Kanstroom, with Prof. Brinton Lykes (LSOE), left, and Harvard University sociologist Mary Waters, at a campus event last month to make the launch of Aftermath. (Photo by Caitlin Cunningham)
of more than 14.5 million “deportation events” in the US — 946,506 forced removals and more than 13.5 million returns, some of which may be considered “voluntary.” While overall deportation events decreased during 2001-10 to 12.1 million, the number of forced removals rose to 2.7 million. The statistics include persons deported for being undocumented as well as those in the country legally who were convicted of a crime. Their stories are often compelling, complex and heart-wrenching, Kanstroom says. Aftermath relates some of these cases: A Ghanan native in poor health, who had been a legal permanent resident for 33 years, died in custody while fighting deportation for a series of minor offenses committed years ago. A 15-year-old boy fled his native El Salvador to avoid being recruited by a violent gang, and attempted to rejoin his parents, who were living legally in the US — but after being detained upon trying to enter the US and then failing to
in the US but relatives back home as well. And the cost to the US of managing deportation and related immigration enforcement activities, an estimated $17 billion a year, does nothing to address the root causes and effects of illegal immigration. “Virtually everyone agrees about the need for comprehensive immigration reform, with things like a structured visa system and an earned legalization program,” says Kanstroom. “I’m not suggesting there is no place for deportation, but there needs to be a balance: Weighing the seriousness of the crime committed, for example, against the needs of the family. “Amidst all the ongoing debate over immigration in the US, we have paid scant attention to what happens to deportees once they actually leave the US. It is not an encouraging picture.” For information on the Post-Deportation Human Rights Project, see http://www.bc.edu/centers/humanrights/projects/deportation.html.
Lynch School of Education Interim Dean Maureen Kenny. “We’re lucky to have a cutting-edge scholar who is also a gifted and inspired leader,” says one colleague. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
LSOE Poised for Year of Strategic Planning Continued from page 1 search, policy and practice. Kenny also pursue a major within the Coland Professors Marilyn Cochran- lege of Arts and Sciences. Smith and Dennis Shirley are hostA counseling psychologist, ing the symposium “Education and Kenny has served in a variety of Its Role in Democratic Societies” leadership positions in the school, throughout the day tomorrow. including associate dean of faculty Kenny said it’s important to and academic affairs, chair of the constantly review the school’s Department of Counseling, Destrategic approach to carrying out velopmental and Educational Psyits mission of enhancing the life chology and director of the Americhances of children, college stu- can Psychological Association dents, and families through educa- (APA)-approved doctoral program tion and applied psychology. in counseling psychology. “I think the Lynch School has a It’s that kind of experience that clear view of its mission,” said Ken- made Kenny a natural choice to ny, who joined the school in 1988. lead the school while the Univer“But we need to revisit that mission sity searches for a replacement for and make operational our view of former Dean Joseph O’Keefe, SJ, social justice, and know how well who has returned to teaching and we are doing. We’re always looking research. to enhance our accomplishments “As a colleague, Maureen is a and level of achievemajor star within the ment and to position “We’re always looking world of counseling the school to best meet to enhance our accom- and prevention,” said the challenges of the Professor of Counselplishments and level ing, Developmental, future.” Kenny said the of achievement and and Educational PsyLynch School’s 682 to position the school chology David Blusundergraduate stuto best meet the chal- tein. “She is one of the dents and 1,003 gradtop scholars who is exuate students benefit lenges of the future.” amining the interface of from approximately —Maureen Kenny career development and 58 full-time faculty school engagement. who are nationally and There is a huge concern internationally known research- that students – particularly those ers, dedicated teachers and deeply who are from at-risk contexts – are committed to service. Representing not optimally engaged in school. just eight percent of the University Maureen has led original research faculty, the Lynch School gener- and developed programs focused ates 25 percent of the University’s on how we can better engage stusponsored research. dents in school; how we can get While rancorous debates over them to buy in.” standardized testing, teacher pay Blustein, who began collaboratand performance evaluation con- ing with Kenny in the late 1990s, tinue to make headlines, Kenny cited as an example the Tools for is bullish on the future for profes- Tomorrow program, which he and sional educators. Kenny developed in collaboration “It is an excellent time to become with colleagues from BC and Bosa teacher,” said Kenny. “From our ton Public School officials. The data, there are job opportunities program not only created a model and students who graduate with approach to increase school engageteaching credentials have had great ment for at-risk students, but also success gaining employment, par- produced research that has been ticularly in the areas of high need, cited repeatedly by others in the like science, math, special educa- field. tion and the instruction of English That kind of experience, rootLanguage Learners.” Furthermore, ed in both research and the real all Lynch School undergraduate schools, has helped to inform Kenstudents in secondary education ny’s leadership style, he said.
“It is incredibly important to have a person with that kind of experience in a leadership position because she brings a background in the disciplines of education and psychology, which are at the heart of the Lynch School. We’re lucky to have a cutting-edge scholar who is also a gifted and inspired leader.” Even though she is charged with leading the school, Kenny continues to maintain a robust research and service portfolio. Her work has focused on fostering engagement in urban schools and identifying the barriers to academic success that students perceive. Recent work has examined the value of workplace supervisors as mentors to high school students in work-based learning placements. “I’m interested in how teachers, administrators and policy makers can foster academic motivation among urban high school youth,” said Kenny. “And how to address the barriers that impede school engagement.” The APA honored Kenny in 2009 with a lifetime achievement award. Her latest research took her to Italy and produced a recent portrait of school engagement and career development among Italian teens. She also spent nearly two months at an orphanage in Tanzania that serves children who have lost their parents to AIDS. Accompanied by her husband and daughter on the service trip, Kenny worked with the children and also examined the curriculum and services offered by the remote educational outpost. Kenny said she draws on the energy and talents of her colleagues on the faculty and the administrative team that supports the school’s many initiatives. “The Lynch School benefits from a wealth of energy and vitality within our faculty and our staff,” said Kenny. “We direct that energy into our clear mission. When we hire faculty, it is with the intent that they are going to participate fully in that mission through teaching, research, and service.”
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Chronicle october 4, 2012
JB
Continued from page 1 fan, and especially loves football, playing this or most any other game is not an option. “It may seem insignificant to some, but that fact that JB could not participate in sports was heartbreaking for me,” explains his mother Beth, a former Division I lacrosse player at Holy Cross. “Sports played a huge role in my life, and I thought JB would never feel part of a team, and would not learn the life lessons that only team sports can provide.” But Boston College and the Harveys’ foundation “JB’s Keys to DMD” joined with Team Impact, an organization which pairs children who have life-threatening illnesses with collegiate sports teams, and made JB’s dreams of participating in sports a reality. JB is now invited on the field during BC games and in the locker room — where he has his own locker, with a nameplate, filled with Under Armour gear — throughout the season. He calls the coaching staff his coaches, and the players his teammates, and even communicates with some via text message and Facebook. He is a member of the team in every sense of the word, and his presence hasn’t gone unnoticed. During the project’s early stages, the Athletic Department sought to create a leadership team for JB, a small group of players who would forge a more personal bond with JB. Having a direct and personal connection, administrators said, would help the boy become more comfortable with the 100-plusmember team and staff. “When we asked the guys originally who might be interested in the leadership team, the response was amazing,” explained Student
BC Junior Is First US Youth Observer at UN By Rosanne Pellegrini Staff Writer
JB was a little shy when BC football coach Frank Spaziani talked with him, but the five-year-old is an avid supporter of the Eagles.
Athlete Development Program Administrator Alison Quandt. “We had about 65 guys who volunteered right off the bat.” The leadership group was eventually narrowed down to two players from each class, and now they get together with JB for events that are smaller scaled and less overwhelming for him, such as pizza parties or readings of JB’s favorite night-time story: the BC football media guide. With season well underway, JB is already becoming more comfortable with his new teammates. The day before the Eagles were set to play Maine, he was on the field for walkthroughs. JB and his sister, Caroline, huddled with the team and even got in line for some dynamic stretching. The players all interact with their newest rookie, and Head Coach Frank Spaziani even goes out of his way to come over and thank JB for coming to practice. On the day of the game, JB wore his own personal credentials (or “presidentials” as he calls them) and stood in the tunnel as the players exited the field, each one rewarding JB’s extended arm with a big high-five.
“It’s really just been amazing how welcomed we have felt from day one,” Beth said of the experience. “BC is a big Division I program and the fact that they have taken the time to let us in has been great.” While JB is still very young and quiet around the cameras, his mother says the story is quite different when they leave the field. After his first game on the team, Beth drove JB back to Cape Cod to enjoy one of the final weekends of summer. She couldn’t get in a word during the one-hour ride in between JB’s unremitting playby-play description of every single detail that happened throughout his exciting day. About halfway home, Beth said, they heard an advertisement on the radio for BC football tickets. JB stopped talking for a second, popped up in his seat and excitedly yelled out, “Mom, That’s my team! I’m a BC Eagle!” For more information about JB and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, see http://www.JBskeys.org and an informational video at http://bit. ly/UJjnMA. Contact Michael Maloney at michael.maloney.3@bc.edu
Sesquicentennial Events Continue Continued from page 1 Civil Rights, the New Civil Rights, and the Future of the Teaching Profession,” includes: Kati Haycock, founder of The Education Trust; Schott Foundation for Public Education President and CEO John H. Jackson; and Kevin Kumashiro, professor of Asian American studies and education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Closing out the symposium will be Noguera’s keynote, “What Community Provides: The Role of Partnerships in the Transformation of Schools.” Noguera, who is Peter Agnew Professor of Education at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, studies and writes about socioeconomic factors and other influences on student achievement.
Faust, the 28th president of Harvard and a noted Civil War historian, will speak on the topic of scholarship when she appears in Robsham Theater next Wednesday at 4 p.m. She will be awarded a Sesquicentennial Medal in recognition of her professional achievement and commitment to teaching and scholarship. As president of Harvard, Faust has expanded financial aid to improve access for students of all economic backgrounds and advocated for increased federal funding for scientific research. She has broadened the University’s international reach, raised the profile of the arts on campus, embraced sustainability, launched an online learning partnership with MIT, and promoted collaboration across academic dis-
ciplines and administrative units as she guided Harvard through a period of significant financial challenges. She is the author of six books, including the 2008 release This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War, which won the Bancroft Prize in 2009 and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. This Republic of Suffering also was the basis for the recently aired PBS American Experience documentary “Death and the Civil War,” in which Faust appeared. —Office of News & Public Affairs
Information on Boston College Sesquicentennial Celebration events and activities is available at www.bc.edu/150
While her classmates are on campus ensconced in first-semester schedules, Brooke Loughrin ’14 has had an unprecedented opportunity to attend the United Nations General Assembly, which has drawn a panoply of world leaders including President Barack Obama. The Presidential Scholar and Islamic Civilizations and Societies and political science major was named as the first-ever US Youth Observer at the United Nations. Loughrin was selected — out of 730 student applicants from more than 200 colleges and universities nationwide — to the coveted inaugural position by the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) and the US Department of State. “The US Youth Observer program represents an unprecedented investment in the future of America’s youth and will help lay a solid foundation for youth engagement in international affairs for years to come,” she said earlier this week. “In today’s increasingly interdependent world, it is critically important that youth be engaged in issues beyond their borders. The UN is the world’s most important voice on international cooperation, and having youth represented at the UN helps ensure that the issues that most impact young people are addressed. For years, other countries have sent youth observers and delegates to the UN General Assembly, but this is the first time that the US is doing so.” Loughrin, who is reporting on her experiences via a blog on the official US Youth Observer website [http://www.unausa.org/ membership/us-youth], attended UN events last week. She is slated to return this month to address the Social, Humanitarian Cultural Affairs Committee, and is tentatively scheduled to visit the US State Department in December. The high-profile events she has attended or participated in include the Social Good Summit with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, where she was selected by Mashable as having delivered one of the top 10 most inspirational quotes, in company with Secretary Clinton, actor Forest Whitaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof [http://on.mash.to/QF2dua]. Other prominent events have included The Concordia Summit with former President Bill Clinton and the US Afghan Women’s Council roundtable, in which
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Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science Kathleen Bailey participated. Loughrin also met one-onone with US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, Assistant Secretary of International Organizations Dr. Esther Brimmer, Special Adviser to Secretary Clinton on Global Youth Issues Zeenat Rahman, and others. Her groundbreaking role is the result of a pilot program of the US Department of State, which seeks to empower young voices on the global stage. In addition to attending meetings, she will speak to UNA-USA Chapters around the country, advise UNAUSA on potential future youth
Brooke Loughrin ’14 at the United Nations last month.
roles at the United Nations, and share her experiences via the blog, Twitter and in discussions with the media and the general public. At BC, she serves as editorin-chief of Al-Noor: The Boston College Middle East and Islamic Studies Journal, and as vice president of the Boston College Iranian Culture Club, which she helped launch. Last spring, she was one of three BC students, and the only undergraduate, to be awarded a prestigious Department of State Critical Language Scholarship for intensive foreign language study abroad. Loughrin traveled to Tajikistan to study Persian and participate in cultural excursions and community activities. An Undergraduate Research Fellow, Loughrin focuses her research on political cultures of the Middle East; comparative study of religion, civil society, and politics in the Middle East; and Iran’s social history and contemporary domestic politics and foreign relations. Contact Rosanne Pellegrini at rosanne.pellegrini@bc.edu
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle october 4, 2012
John Bell Named As Monan Prof. in Theatre By Rosanne Pellegrini Staff Writer
Theater scholar, artist, educator, curator, social activist and arts leader John Bell has been John Bell named the Rev. J. Donald Mo- Robsham family and the Theatre nan, SJ, Professor in Theatre Arts Department. for the 2012-2013 academic year. An active artist and performer, Bell is recognized as a leading Bell is a founding member of international authority on pup- the Brooklyn-based, Obie Awardpet theater and the allied artistic winning Great Small Works, a forms of object theater and toy theater company that uses folk, theater. Since 2007, he has been avant-garde and popular theater director of the Ballard Institute traditions to address contempoand Museum of Puppetry at the rary social issues. For 12 years University of Connecticut, where early in his career, he was a memhe curates exhibitions and oper- ber of the world-renowned Bread ates outreach programs. and Puppet Theater. He is the author of many arBell received a PhD in Theticles and several books, includ- atre History from Columbia Uniing Strings, Hands, Shadows: A versity, and has since taught at Modern Puppet History and Amer- numerous universities including ican Puppet Modernism, which Harvard, MIT, Emerson College, received the 2011 Prix de la Re- New York University and Rhode cherche from France’s Institut Island School of Design. International de la Marionette During the fall semester, Bell and the 2011 Jalal Sattari prize will teach a course titled Playing from Iran’s International Tradi- with the Material World: Puppet tional-Ritual Perand Object Theformances Semi- Bell will teach a course on ater as Global Tranar. He is also the the history and theory of ditions, which will editor of Puppets, survey the history Masks, and Per- puppet and object perfor- and theory of pupforming Objects. mance in various cultural pet and object per“I’m pleased formance through and honored to be traditions and another an examination of the Monan Profeson the conception, design, traditions in Indosor of Theatre Arts nesia, China, Jathis year at Bosconstruction, and perpan, Europe and ton College,” says formance of puppet and North America. Bell. “Puppetry In the spring, he — a centuries-old object theater pieces. will lead Workglobal tradition shop in Puppet with roots in evand Object Theery culture — has ater, an intensive become a valuable component hands-on course that will provide of theater education today and a instruction in the conception, conspicuous element in contem- design, construction, and perforporary theater, film, television, mance of puppet and object theas well as on the Internet and ater pieces. in community performance. This “We’re excited about John’s ancient form is an utterly viable residency,” said Associate Profes21st-century medium.” sor Scott T. Cummings, chair of Named for University Chan- BC’s Theatre Department. “It’s a cellor and former Boston Col- rare opportunity for our students. lege President J. Donald Monan, Under his guidance, this will be SJ, the professorship enables the the Year of the Puppet at BC.” Theatre Department to bring In addition to teaching coursnationally and internationally es, Bell will curate a puppet therecognized professional theater ater festival in the fall and conartists to the University. In ad- sult on the Theatre Department’s dition to honoring Fr. Monan’s spring production of “Avenue service to BC, the professorship Q” — the Tony-Award-winning was established in memory of late musical that features both human Trustee E. Paul Robsham, M.Ed and puppet characters — which ’83 — benefactor of the campus will be directed by Associate Protheater arts facility named for fessor of Theatre Stuart J. Hecht. his son — and in celebration Contact Rosanne Pellegrini at rosanne.pellegrini@bc.edu of the relationship between the
A Cold War Road Not Taken
Laos, not Vietnam, was almost the battleground for Southeast Asia, says Seth Jacobs — and the reason it wasn’t makes for a valuable history lesson By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor
It sounds likes an intriguing “what-if” question of 20th century American foreign policy: What if the US had chosen Laos, instead of Vietnam, as the battleground to oppose what experts saw as the spread of communism in Southeast Asia? In fact, as Associate Professor of History Seth Jacobs explains, this scenario almost happened. “During the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, Laos received at least as much attention as — or even more than — Vietnam,” says Jacobs, author of the recently published The Universe Unraveling: American Foreign Policy in Cold War Laos. The US paid 100 percent of Laos’ military budget, he notes, equipped Laotian tribespeople to fight against communist guerillas, and weighed using atomic weapons to counter communist attacks on the Laotian capital, Vientiane — which could have triggered nuclear war with the Soviet Union. “Laos was not a sideshow in the 1950s and early ’60s. When Eisenhower briefed Kennedy prior to JFK’s inauguration, they hardly talked about flashpoints like Cuba, Berlin, the Congo, or Vietnam. They discussed Laos.” Laos, however, became a largely forgotten aspect of the US-Vietnam conflict. Now, in The Universe Unraveling, Jacobs throws a spotlight on the events, circumstances, and in particular the perceptions and attitudes that shaped American decision-making in Laos. While logistical considerations have been cited for the US decision to focus its Southeast Asian strategy on South Vietnam instead of Laos, Jacobs says there is another, darker explanation: Cultural differences prompted Americans to dismiss the Lao as morally, intellectually and spiritually inferior, lazy, weak, incapable of standing up to communist aggression — and thus unworthy of US support. “The accepted explanation for why the US chose South Vietnam over Laos had to do with geography: that Laos was a landlocked, mountainous country, a terrible place to fight. Laos had important advantages, though, including a thousand-mile border with Thailand, which was willing to allow the US to use it as a base to launch operations against the communists. “But when you read archival material and other accounts of the era, what you see is ethnocentrism,
Lee Pellegrini
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“People with impressive educational and professional credentials convinced themselves that their take on Laos and its people was solid — but they misread almost everything.” —Seth Jacobs
a poisonous contempt for an entire country.” The Wall Street Journal, for example, claimed the “very passive” Laotian people “do not care one way or another about communism or other big questions,” while Newsweek said, “No one is less interested in the struggle for his country than the gentle Lao.” American diplomats referred to Laos as “Never-Never Land” and “The Land of Oz,” and one prominent US missionary called the Lao “retarded children.” Jacobs says the purpose of The Universe Unraveling is not to speculate on how history might have changed with Laos as the arena for the Southeast Asian conflict, nor is it to simply bash Americans’ unsavory attitudes toward the Lao. “The experience in Laos should be seen as a cautionary tale,” he explains. “People with impressive educational and professional credentials convinced themselves that their take on Laos and its people was solid — but they misread almost everything.” Laos was in an unenviable position in the 1950s and ’60s (“the Poland of the Far East,” Jacobs says), bordered by historic enemies China and Vietnam, as well as Thailand — which wanted Laos as a buffer against North Vietnam.
Exacerbating the situation was a civil war between the US-backed Royal Lao Government (RLG), the communist Pathet Lao, and a neutralist front. “Neutrality was the only option for Lao patriots seeking to keep their nation intact, independent and at peace. Anticommunism would have led to balkanization and foreign control, a point the RLG tried to make over and over.” American statesmen, diplomats and media members, looking through a Cold War lens and with little appreciation of Laos’ historical and political complexities, says Jacobs, were frustrated by what they perceived as the country’s inability or unwillingness to adhere to a strong, purposeful anti-communist policy. Cultural differences worsened this mind-set. “In American eyes, the Lao didn’t demonstrate sufficiently ‘masculine’ behavior. The neutralist leader, Kong Le, wept in public and seemed earnest but clueless. Lao statesmen spoke softly, smiled while being hectored, rarely interrupted, and never invaded someone’s personal space. This gave the impression of a people who were apathetic, infantile and nonconfrontational. “What nobody seemed to see was that not all Lao were battleshy — only the royalists were. Kong Le captured Vientiane with a single battalion and held it for four months. The Pathet Lao also fought with valor against betterarmed opposition.” Under Eisenhower and Kennedy, Jacobs says, Laos became a “testing ground” for strategies that came of age in Vietnam, and which produced similar problems — support of unpopular but proWestern despots, clashes between US civilian and military bureaucracies, and ignorance of the native population’s needs. Ultimately, Kennedy rejected the Eisenhower-initiated support for the Lao right wing and accepted a neutralist government. But this decision made a military solution in Vietnam harder to avoid, Jacobs says. “Kennedy’s dovishness in Laos paradoxically dictated hawkishness in Vietnam. He felt he had to confront the communists in Southeast Asia, but Vietnam — whose people were judged to be of far sterner stuff than those of Laos — was going to be the place.” Contact Sean Smith at sean.smith@bc.edu
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle october 4, 2012
By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor
A collaboration between the Graduate School of Social Work and the Home for Little Wanderers (HLW) — a renowned Bostonbased non-profit child and family service agency — achieved a milestone last month with its first cosponsored event, a conference titled “Finding Common Ground: Foster Care, Adoption, and Permanency for Children.” The event, which took place Sept. 21 in the Yawkey Athletic Center’s Murray Room, also was organized by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF). An audience of human services and social work scholars, professionals and students heard speakers discuss challenges, opportunities, research, best practices and other relevant matters in adoption and foster care. “It was a great day,” said GSSW Donahue and DiFelice Professor Ruth McRoy, who has led GSSW’s collaboration with the Home for Little Wanderers, in an interview last week. “Planning the conference together was an important experience — bringing together a group of scholars and practitioners to share viewpoints, observations and expertise. We were very pleased with the number of attendees, and the diversity of affiliations.” McRoy noted that this diversity was reflected in the roster of speakers, which included HLW Senior Director of Program Operations Lesli Suggs and President and CEO Joan Wallace Benjamin, GSSW Associate Dean Thomas Walsh,
DCF Deputy Commissioner for Field Operations Olga Roche and keynoter Thomas Mallon, Lathrop Professor of Child Welfare at Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work and executive director of the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections. The conference dealt with the need to find permanent living situations for the estimated 400,540 children now in foster care, and the potential of collaborations between child and family experts from public, private and academic settings in addressing the situation. Suggs and Benjamin, in their remarks, affirmed their enthusiasm for the approximately two-year-old GSSW-HLW partnership, which they said would benefit the agency by providing access to theory, research, best practices and other resources related to child and family care. “We hope this event is the beginning of further opportunities for us to share and learn together,” said Suggs. Walsh reciprocated the sentiment: “This collaboration, and this event, is a coup for GSSW. To have a gathering of a scholars, clinicians and administrators like this is a pleasure.” Speaking last week, McRoy said the next step in the collaboration will be a follow-up and review of the conference, and discussion of the potential for holding similar events in different areas of the state, as well as other initiatives, such as roles for GSSW students. “This has been a very promising start,” she said.
Newsmakers Drucker Professor of Management Sciences Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research, analyzed the Romney/Ryan tax plans in a piece for SmartMoney. Globalization means it is just not enough to explain, in terms that make sense to us, why we protect speech so vigorously in the US when its effects are felt immediately and dramatically in other cultures with a very different approach, wrote Prof. Frank Garcia (Law) in the Huffington Post.
BC BRIEFING something was deemed blasphemous, wrote Asst. Prof. Franck Salameh (Slavic and Eastern Languages) in the Jerusalem Post. Caitlin Cunningham
Conference on Foster Care Affirms GSSW Partnership
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out?” Muslims, Christians and others, people of good will everywhere, may wish to inquire why
Rather than asking “who is the author of this abomination, and how might revenge be meted
Fr. Vicini
Publications Adj. Assoc. Prof. Michael C. Keith (Communication) published short stories in Clever Magazine, Green Briar Review, The Legendary Journal, and Connotation Press.
Higgins 310. Panelists will be Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Yale University Professor of History and American Studies Stephen Pitti and Susan Eckstein, professor of sociology and international relations at Boston University. Former CIA interrogator Glenn Carle will present “An Update on the ‘War on Terror’: Facts and Fears” on Nov. 14. The lecture, co-sponsored with the Institute for the Liberal Arts, Law School, International Studies Program, Islamic Civilization and Societies Program, Sociology and History departments, takes place at 7 p.m. in Fulton 511. University of Notre Dame Associate Dean and Professor of Law Richard Garnett will speak on “Two There Are: Understanding the Separation of Church and State” on Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m. in Gasson 100. For more on the Boisi Center and its events, see www.bc.edu/boisi. —Office of News & Public Affairs
Time and a Half
“Kinderkreuzzug,” a cantata by Asst. Prof. Ralf Yusuf Gawlick (Music) based on Bertolt Brecht’s epic anti-war poem, had its European premiere performance in Dortmund, Germany, by the Boy Choir of the Choral Academy Dortmund. Gawlick also served as a visiting professor at the summer program of the University of Vienna in Strobl, Austria.
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/: Marketing Database Analyst, Center for Corporate Citizenship Reference and Instruction Librarian, O’Neill Library Nursing Clinical Placement Specialist, Connell School Of Nursing
Upcoming Boisi Ctr. Events The role of nuns in American public life will be the subject of an Oct. 18 panel discussion sponsored by the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life as part of its offerings of events examining some of the most pressing political and social issues in the US. Associate Professor of Theology Mary Ann Hinsdale, IHM, will join Sara Butler, MSBT, the Chester and Margaret Paluch Professor of Theology in the Ecclesiastical Faculty of the University of St. Mary of the Lake (Ill.) and Syracuse University Associate Professor of History and Political Science Margaret Thompson for the discussion, which will be moderated by Boisi Center Associate Director Erik Owens. The event takes place at 5:30 p.m. in Higgins 310. Boisi Center Director Alan Wolfe, a professor of political science, will moderate “Latinos and the 2012 Election” on Nov. 1, which also takes place at 5:30 p.m. in
“Ultraviolet,” a short story by Prof. Suzanne Matson (English), appeared in the inaugural issue of Mussoorie Writers.
Prof. Maxim D. Shrayer (Slavic and Eastern Languages) presented “In Memoriam Dmitri Nabokov” and “Sights and Sounds of Western Pomerania in Nabokov’s Works” at an international symposium he co-organized at the Vladimir Nabokov Museum at St. Petersburg State University.
Assoc. Prof. James Smith (English) wrote an op-ed in the Irish Times and spoke with RTE about ongoing efforts to seek redress for survivors of the Magdalene Laundries. A Cologne court’s decision to halt non-medical circumcisions marks a new low for religious freedom in 21st century Europe, Assoc. Prof. Jonathan Laurence (Political Science) wrote in the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.
Assoc. Prof. Andrea Vicini, SJ (STM), published “New Insights in Environmental and Sustainable Ethics” in Asian Horizons: Dharmaram Journal of Theology.
Members of the Boston College community visited the Plaza at O’Neill Library on Sept. 21 for “Healthapalooza: Be Healthy. Be Safe. Be Together.” Organized by the University’s Office of Health Promotion in cooperation with numerous other BC offices and departments, the event provided health and safety information and resources, as well as giveaways, chair massage, food tastings, yoga and exercise demonstrations. For more Office of Health Promotion events and activities, see www.bc.edu/healthpro.
Web & Social Media Manager, Center for Corporate Citizenship Program/Communication Specialist, STM Continuing Education Nursing Clinical Placement Specialist, Connell School of Nursing Executive Director of Advancement, Law School BC bOp! Vocal Director, Boston College Bands Associate University Librarian Resident Director, Office of Residential Life HVAC Mechanic, Management
Facilities
Assistant Manager, Dining Services Athletic Director Photos by Caitlin Cunningham
Senior Library Assistant, Burns Library
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle october 4, 2012
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LOOKING AHEAD Robsham Season Opens Oct. 18
The Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, which performs Oct. 10, is among the artists-in-residence featured at campus concerts this month.
Music Dept., ILA Team Up for Concert Series By Rosanne Pellegrini Staff Writer
A series of campus concerts this month feature an array of musical periods and genres presented by distinguished artistsin-residence. The Blue Heron Renaissance Choir returns on Oct. 10 to perform newly reconstructed music from pre-Reformation England. The Skalholt Quartet, led by noted Dutch violinist Jaap Schroder, will present masterworks of classical chamber music on Oct. 13, and on October 22, pianist Stephen Drury will lead the contemporary Callithumpian Consort. All concerts, co-sponsored by the Music Department and the Institute for the Liberal Arts, will take place at 8 p.m. in Gasson 100. “While Scott Metcalfe and the members of his Blue Heron ensemble bring us first North American performances of newly-edited works from the first de-
BC SCENES
cades of 16th-century England, the Callithumpian Consort bring a very different engagement with the world of music,” says Music Department Chairman and Professor Michael Noone. “Founded in the 1980s by pianist and conductor Stephen Drury, the Callithumpian Consort performs cutting-edge contemporary music. If the music Blue Heron brings to BC reminds us of a winter’s evening in the hot tub, the provocative and challenging repertory of the Callithumpians is more like a romp in the snow.” Directed by Metcalfe, the Blue Heron ensemble will present Nicholas Ludford’s “Missa Inclina cor meum,” and the North American premiere of music from the Peterhouse Partbooks (c. 1540), the largest and most significant existing source of pre-Reformation English sacred music. For centuries this repertoire has been unsung and unheard, according to organizers, and the
ensemble has been involved with the repertoire since its founding in 1999. The concert will be preceded by a lecture at 6 p.m., also in Gasson 100. Under violinist Schroder, a leader in the movement to perform early music in a style authentic to the period, Iceland’s Skalholt Quartet will present three works from the height of the Classical period: quartets by Haydn, Boccherini and Mozart, whose “Clarinet Quintet” will feature Owen Watkins on a period clarinet. In addition to presenting concerts, the Callithumpian Consort — which is in residence this academic year — will conduct workshops and rehearsals for music students and perform with them in a Dec. 10 concert. For more details on these and other Music Department concerts see http://www.bc.edu/music.
The true, compelling story of the “radium girls” — young women in the 1920s and ‘30s who painted the faces of luminous watches and clocks, unknowingly becoming some of the early victims of radium poisoning — will come to campus this month as the Robsham Theater Arts Center (RTAC) fall season opens. “These Shining Lives,” which runs Oct. 18-21 and is directed by Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theatre Patricia Riggin, is set in Chicago and Ottawa, Ill., home of the Radium Dial Company. Melanie Marnich’s play depicts the story of Catherine Donohue, from when she began she began work at the factory in 1922 — with the excitement of a newly liberated woman entering the workforce — through the litigation she pursued into the late 1930s, when she and other young women workers found themselves at the center of a landmark labor law case. Calling it a “transcendent story,” organizers say “These Shining Lives” — which is being presented by the Theatre Department and RTAC — interweaves aspects of law, social and women’s history, and the personal details of the women’s lives. The play, they note, raises issues relevant in the 21st century, notably the hazardous conditions faced by many workers around the globe today. “The Arabian Nights,” adapted by Mary Zimmerman from the ancient Arabic Tales and directed by Associate Professor of Theatre John Houchin, will be presented by the Theatre Department and RTAC Nov. 15-18. This adaptation blends lesser-known tales with the recurring theme of the transformational power of storytelling. In the story, the maiden Scheherazade manages to avoid her own execution for 1,001 nights, by mesmerizing her husband, the cruel King Shahryar, with cliffhanger tales of love, honor, deception or revenge. As a result, he is cured of his madness and Scheherazade returns to her family. Organizers describe the production as comprising “sumptuous music, dance and design, which promise to make it an epic theatrical feast.” More information on the productions, which will be performed on Robsham’s main stage — including details on cast and crew members, as well as the full 2012-13 season — is available at http:// tinyurl.com/cv68yay. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students with a valid ID, and $10 for seniors and BC faculty and staff (one ticket per ID). For tickets, visit or call the Robsham Theater Box Office (ext.2-4012), or see http://tinyurl.com/bvs6k4y. —Rosanne Pellegrini
Contact Rosanne Pellegrini at rosanne.pellegrini@bc.edu
VOICES CARRY
A sold-out crowd in Robsham Theater enjoyed the 2012 Acappellafest on Sept. 22, as 10 a cappella student groups performed. The event raised more than $5,500 to support the Morgan Center, a preschool program for chldren with cancer. Among those in attendance were Morgan Zuch (in photo at right) — the namesake of the center — and her parents and siblings. Morgan, who was diagnosed with leukemia at age 3 but is now in high school and cancer-free, spoke to the audience at one point during the show. (Photos by Christopher Huang)