Boston College Chronicle

The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs summer 2016 EDITION

University Fills Three Senior Leadership Posts Yadama brings global perspective as School of Social Work dean

McDermott takes reins as vice president for development

Gautam N. Yadama, assistant vice chancellor for international affairs and professor in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, has joined Boston College as dean of the School of Social Work.

He succeeds Alberto Godenzi, who retired as dean after 15 years of service last month [see photo on page 4] but will stay at the University to assist in international partnerships and collaborations.

Yadama, an internationally respected researcher whose interdisciplinary work has focused on understanding the social and environmental challenges of the rural poor in South Asia and China, has conducted extensive community-based research throughout India, China and Nepal.

His research examines the overarching questions of how communities successfully self-govern and collectively provide essential public goods and common-pool resources vital for their livelihoods; how government and non-governmental organizations engage and collaborate

Beth E. McDermott has been promoted to vice president for development, after serving as associate vice president for development since 2014.

A nationally respected fund raiser with more than 20 years of experience, McDermott oversees all aspects of University fundraising — including annual and major giving and organizational and school-affiliated fundraising — and supervises a development staff of more than 70 employees.

Senior Vice President for Advancement James Husson said McDermott earned the promotion in recognition of her outstanding work and leadership in support of development efforts at Boston College.

“In each of her roles, Beth’s leadership and dedication have led to impressive gains in our fundraising results in support of the Light the World campaign,” he said, adding that in her new role McDermott would “partner with colleagues across the University as she continues to lead a team of outstanding development professionals in advancing Continued on page 4

Gautam N. Yadama

Thomas D. Stegman, SJ

Beth E. McDermott

with these communities; and how social and ecological interactions influence the sustained implementation of household and community interventions to overcome social dilemmas and improve wellbeing.

Yadama has won Distinguished Faculty Awards from both Washington University and the Brown School of Social Work. Fluent in English, Telugu and Hindi, he has also served as director of international programs at the Brown School of Social Work and as a visiting professor in India, Azerbaijan, Mongolia and the Republic of Georgia.

The author of the recent book Fires, Fuel and the Fate of 3 Billion: The State of the Energy Impoverished, Continued on page 4

Fr. Stegman appointed as new dean of School of Theology and Ministry

his most recent, Opening the Door of Faith: Encountering Jesus and His Call to Discipleship. He also has co-edited two books and written dozens of journal articles and book chapters on theological topics ranging from St. Paul’s letters to Pope John Paul II’s use of scripture.

Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley described Fr. Stegman as an accomplished teacher and scholar and experienced administrator who is well positioned to advance the School of Theology and Ministry.

“The Interview Committee was impressed with Fr. Stegman’s candidacy, and in particular his thoughtful reflections on his time as a faculty Continued on page 4

Thomas D. Stegman, SJ, associate professor of New Testament and chair of the Ecclesiastical Faculty at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, has been appointed the school’s dean. He succeeds Mark Massa, SJ, who will become director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life.

A highly regarded theologian and New Testament scholar whose research focuses on the interpretation of the Pauline Letters, Fr. Stegman is the author of three books including

BC Was Proving Ground for Three 2016 Olympians

INSIDE wins BC’s 3 •Malec Community Service Award

By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

•Broido, colleagues awarded major grant •O’Dair to leave BC

4 •A boost for LSOE’s City Connects program

the buzz at 5 •What’s Fulton Hall?

Members of the 2016 freshman class and their parents prepared to leave campus after the conclusion of this week’s orientation session for incoming Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences and Carroll School of Management students. They won’t be gone long: Welcome Week begins in a little over a month. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)

RECONNECT II July 21-24

August can’t get here soon enough for Joe Maloy ’08 MS’10, Briana Provancha ’12 and Annie Haeger ’12, who are preparing to head to Rio de Janeiro, where they will take part in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The Summer Games, which run from Aug. 5-21, represent the pinnacle of competitive achievement for Maloy, Provancha, Haeger, and the thousands of athletes from around the world who will join them in Rio. As they look forward to going

up against the best of the best in their respective sports – Maloy in the triathlon, Provancha and Haeger together in the women’s 470 class sailing event – the three Boston College alumni are mindful of the opportunities offered, and the helping hands extended, that brought them to the Olympics.

Count BC among those influences and factors.

“As a BC student, I learned that personal growth is a process that is less about what happens to you and more about how you respond to situations,” says Maloy, a Somers, NJ, Continued on page 8

Boston College will welcome alumni, parents and friends this week to Reconnect II, a four-day program celebrating the AHANA alumni community. Activities include a gala dinner, campus tours, a networking session and social events. See the BC Alumni website [www.bc.edu/alumni] for details.

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle summer 2016

2

A ROUND

C AMPUS

TAPAS IS TOPS Offering small, shareable portions from global cuisine influences, Boston College Dining Service’s Tapas station debuted last September in Stuart Hall on Newton Campus, and it’s already made a big impression.

Tapas was recently selected for the “Best Menu” honor by Food Management as part of its 2016 Best Concept Awards. Food Man-

the Tapas station provided this opportunity. In addition, it has provided our cooks with a great chance to offer menu selections from across the globe,” she said.

The Tapas station began in BC’s Test Kitchen, which encourages BC Dining team members – including managers, line cooks, cashiers, utility and food servers – to experiment and pro-

The award-winning Tapas station in Stuart Hall.

agement is a publication covering issues and events, operational topics and food trends that affect the noncommercial food service industry.

Tapas’ concept is simple: Rather than order an entire meal, during the dinner period students can ask for a small portion to go with an entrée, or share their selection with several guests. Tapas – a Spanish word that refers to a wide variety of appetizers and snacks – operates on an a la carte basis, with items priced separately and not sold as a single meal.

Menu items have included curried chicken empanadas, edamame-spiced puree, seared scallops with strawberry and mango salsa, and banana fritters, among others.

BCDS Director Beth Emery told Food Management that the goal for BC Dining is culinary innovation and Tapas allows the dining team to work on that goal. “We know that small plates are popular in the marketplace and students have asked us to offer options of items that are in smaller portions.

“Feedback from students indicates that they love to share menu selections with friends, and

vide creative menu ideas. If a dish receives a positive response, it moves out of the Test Kitchen and onto the permanent menu.

Keze Whitlow, winner of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association 2015 Line Chef of the Year, contributed to the test kitchen with Keze’s Tapas, “pan-seared scallops over chorizo drizzled with her secret sauce and seafood paella with mussels in an edible plantain boat,” according to Food Management.

The Tapas recipes are regularly altered to keep student interest buzzing; new tapas are introduced repeatedly.

“The unique ability to experiment with new Tapas menu items through the Test Kitchen has also kept students hungry, as it essentially allows Stuart to offer new tapas items every day a student enters Stuart for a meal,” said Emery, who adds that BCDS staff aren’t the only contributors to this station. “[Students] are always giving suggestions as to what they may have seen back home or locally, which has opened up a line of communication between dining staff and students.”

–Siobhan Sullivan

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

Approximately 200 faculty and staff attended Boston College’s inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Summit on June 1, taking part in a daylong series of discussions about how the University contributes to the social justice mission of the Society of Jesus through its efforts to create a diverse and inclusive community.

The Office for Institutional Diversity sponsored the summit, titled “Building and Leveraging Partnerships Across Campus” and held in Gasson Hall.

In his remarks, President William P. Leahy, SJ, thanked the event organizers and those in attendance for supporting the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

“This summit on diversity is not just about our institution, but how we live in our world,” said Fr. Leahy. “As Boston College moves forward, it is important to me that we take seriously issues of diversity.

The bedrock is respect, a sense of welcoming everyone to our campus and entering into dialogues like this with each other, but also with our Jesuit, Catholic tradition.”

Damon A. Williams, senior vice president and chief educational and youth development officer at The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, delivered the keynote address, “Strategic Diversity Leadership: Ac-

Left, University President William P. Leahy, SJ, offering a welcome to the Diversity and Incusion Summit. Above, Gustavo Morello, SJ, speaks during a panel discussion.

(Photos by Lee Pellegrini)

tivating Change and Transformation in Higher Education.”

Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations Joy Moore moderated a panel discussion on best practices in the area of diversity and inclusion with nationally recognized experts from BC, including Janet Helms from the Lynch School of Education’s Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture; Brad Harrington, executive director of the Center for Work and Family; Assistant Professor of Sociology Gustavo Morello, SJ; and Lynch School Associate Professor Richard Jackson.

A showcase of campus programs, initiatives, and research related to diversity and inclusion highlighted efforts to provide a vibrant and continual learning experience for all BC employees. There were three concurrent discussion sessions that offered attendees the opportunity to choose from 20 talks on diversity and inclusion topics, including societal issues, campus initiatives and trends in higher education.

–Ed Hayward Read the full version of this story at http://bit.ly/2a7JKMd

HIGH PRAISE Boston College is ranked 22nd on Forbes’ ninth annual America’s Top Colleges survey, joining seven of eight Ivy League universities among the top 25.

The survey methodology emphasizes return on investment, according to Forbes, including factors such as undergraduate satisfaction and alumni outcomes. The survey is conducted in partnership with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, and uses data from the Department of Education, Payscale, and the America’s Leaders list, Forbes’ own curated tally of alumni success.

This is Boston College’s first ranking among Forbes’ top 25; the University’s previous high was 26th. Twenty of the top 25 schools on the list are located in the Northeast.

The Boston College

Chronicle www.bc.edu/chronicle chronicle@bc.edu

In addition, the University received an “A” from the 2016 Forbes Financial Grades survey, which measures the fiscal soundness of some 900 four-year, private, notfor-profit colleges with at least 500 students.

The survey is available at www. forbes.com/top-colleges/list.

USA Today College ranks BC among the top three universities for a degree in finance and cites the Carroll School of Management as having “a strong focus on introducing students to business and preparing them to take on leadership roles in the ever-changing global market.”

The Carroll School was ranked behind the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and the New York University Stern Business School. Other colleges and univer-

sities in the top 10 were Bentley, Washington University in St. Louis, Lehigh, CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Villanova and Georgetown.

Each of the top schools on the list, according to the article, also has a strong reputation for being among the best overall colleges in the nation and offering top programs across a wide variety of fields.

Graduates of these programs are successful in the job market, making higher than average starting salaries. While an advanced degree, such as an MBA, will help increase job prospects, graduates of these top colleges typically find influential positions in some of the best businesses and financial organizations.

–Office of News & Public Affairs

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.

A flipbook edition of Chronicle is available via e-mail. Send requests to chronicle@bc.edu.

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle summer 2016

Community Service Award winner Michael Malec says BC has provided ‘a supportive environment’ for his efforts to aid a Nicaraguan community

Associate Professor of Sociology Michael Malec, whose organization of service trips has reinforced Boston College community ties to a Nicaraguan coastal town some 4,000 miles away, is the winner of the 2016 Boston College Community Service Award, which honors a BC employee whose actions exemplify the Jesuit spirit of community service and involvement.

Described by one BC associate as “a beacon of good citizenship,” Malec has led several visits with faculty and students to San Juan del Sur in southwest Nicaragua, where they have installed ecological water filters and stoves in rural homes and schools, and aided local health outreach. He also has helped to maintain and expand the sister city project between San Juan del Sur and Newton, where he lives.

Malec’s colleagues also point out that he has put his ideals into action locally as well as in Nicaragua, as an advocate for affordable housing in Newton and a threeterm alderman for the city during the 1980s.

Malec says his 48 years at BC have provided him with ample motivation and guidance to serve.

“I’ve been able to do all this because of where I am,” he says. “The Boston College ethos – ‘men and women for others’ and ‘go set the world aflame’ – has nurtured me, and along with the people at Boston College, provided a very supportive

Lee Pellegrini

By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

“The service trips Mike Malec leads offer much more than an interesting and fun opportunity to do community service in another country: They are master classes in civic engagement,” said a colleague of Malec, shown accepting the Community Service Award from University President William P. Leahy, SJ. environment. I feel very blessed to be here.”

Malec’s colleagues, friends and former students (many of whom refer to him as “Don Miguel”) feel blessed themselves for having known him. Nominating him for the Community Service Award, Susan Choy ’11 – who participated in the Nicaragua service trip twice – wrote that Malec made it possible for students “to act out social justice ideals by working alongside Nicaraguan leaders to bolster educational resources, engineer a ‘green’ preschool, and improve local water sanitation, among other work.

“By his example,” she concluded, “we can envision how the power of one passionate individual can mobilize a coalition to engage in service against growing global challenges.”

“The service trips Mike Malec leads offer much more than an interesting and fun opportunity to do community service in another country: They are master classes in civic engagement,” wrote Sheila McIntosh, a part-time faculty member in the Romance Languages and Literatures Department. “It has been a pleasure to witness how Mike’s hands-on solidarity with the people of Nicaragua, his respect and admiration for their ability to achieve so much with so little, and his decades of commitment to the Newton-San Juan del Sur Sister City Project inspire Boston College students.”

Contact Sean Smith at sean.smith@bc.edu

Student Affairs AVP O’Dair to Leave BC Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Katherine O’Dair, who has led Boston College’s programs and initiatives in vital areas such as sexual assault issues and diversity, will leave the University next month to become the dean of students at Harvard College.

O’Dair joined BC in 2004 as associate dean for graduate student life, and in 2009 became executive director of the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. She was appointed associate vice president in 2014.

As associate VP, O’Dair has supervised several offices in the Student Affairs division that are vital to engaging students: Counseling Services, Graduate Student

Life, Health Services, the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center, and the Women’s Center. As the University’s Title IX coordinator for students, she has overseen the University’s efforts in sexual assault education, prevention and response.

Within the Student Affairs division, O’Dair has directed diversity initiatives and a comprehensive assessment program and supervised accreditation efforts.

She also has collaborated with the Office of the Provost, deans and faculty to integrate classroom and co-curricular learning.

In an e-mail to colleagues, O’Dair expressed her appreciation to “the BC community that has made my experience excep-

tional. I truly value our work together and will miss seeing and working with each of you.”

Vice President for Student Affairs Barbara Jones said, “Katie O’Dair has been a highly engaged member of the BC community during her 12 years here. She has worked closely with faculty, mentored students, been engaged in University-wide assessment, and supervised several departments in Student Affairs. Her work as Title IX coordinator has been exceptional in establishing comprehensive protocols for the university that have kept us at the cutting edge of this important issue.”

–Office of News & Public Affairs

Broido Aiding Work on Efficient Heat Conductors

By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

Professor of Physics David Broido is part of a team of researchers from six universities awarded a five-year, $7.5-million grant from the Office of Naval Research to develop new, highly efficient heat-conducting materials.

The grant came from the Department of Defense’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative program, which this year awarded $162 million to 23 teams focused on “high risk-high reward” projects pursuing significant scientific and technological breakthroughs.

Broido will collaborate with researchers David Cahill from the University of Illinois, Gang Chen from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ni Ni from the University of California, Los Angeles, Li Shi from the University of Texas, Austin, and former Boston College faculty member Zhifeng Ren, now at the University of Houston.

The team will work to develop cost-effective and high-quality substitutes for diamond, which is the best heat conductor. But natural diamond is too rare and expensive, and high-quality synthetic diamond is also costly and difficult to produce for widespread applications.

Materials with extremely high thermal conductivity are urgently needed for passive cooling, where they can efficiently channel heat away from performance-inhibiting “hot spots” that develop in microelectronic devices. As such devices continue to shrink in size, efficient cooling is becoming a top priority in order to yield advancements in design and performance, said Broido.

As part of this project, the team will try to confirm the prediction made by Broido and collabora-

Lee Pellegrini

Blessed to Be Here’

David Broido

tors that the compound, boron arsenide, can offer diamond-like performance at reasonable cost.

“If you look at all the elements on the periodic table and ask: Which ones can I combine together to make the best heat conductor? The conventional guidelines point to diamond as by far the best option,” Broido said.

That theoretical benchmark has stalled research to identify new high thermal conductivity materials for decades, he said.

Three years ago, Broido and collaborators Lucas Lindsay PhD ’10, of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Tom Reinecke from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory found that the conventional guidelines were incomplete.

Using powerful computational tools, they demonstrated that a combination of material properties not encompassed by the conventional guidelines could sharply reduce thermal resistance. They predicted that one material, cubic boron arsenide, should have a remarkably high thermal conductivity comparable to that of diamond. This finding contradicts the conventional guidelines, which predict that boron arsenide should conduct heat ten times worse than diamond.

Contact Ed Hayward at ed.hayward@bc.edu

Caitlin Cunningham

‘Very

3

The Connell School of Nursing alumni reunion on June 4 included presentation of the Dean Rita P. Kelleher Award to Darlene (MacIsaac) Hinojosa, a nurse practitioner and colonel in the Army Nurse Corps, US Army Reserve. See http://bit.ly/29Lrjs0 for more.

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle summer 2016

4

Grant Will Aid Impact of City Connects

By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

McDermott Promoted to VP

Yadama Joins BCSSW

separates black and Hispanic students from their white and Asian peers. Results have been mixed because few programs focus on the negative educational effects of poverty – factors researchers have tied to two-thirds of the gap.

More than any other wholechild support program, City Connects has backed up its work with peer-reviewed research. Its 10-year longitudinal study of nearly 8,000 Boston Public Schools K-5 students found children served by City Connects earned higher grades and performed better on statewide tests

“City Connects has demonstrated that urban schools can reduce the achievement gap when students receive the personalized supports and programs they need to develop, learn and thrive. And this can be done in a cost-effective manner.”

Caitlin Cunningham

City Connects, the Lynch School of Education research-based student support initiative, has received a $300,000 grant that will support efforts to expand the impact of its program.

The collaboration with Bostonbased venture philanthropy organization New Profit Inc. will enable City Connects to expand the impact Alberto Godenzi, left, was honored on June 30 for his tenure as dean of the Boston College School of Social Work. Among those paying of its best-in-class model of “whole his respects to Godenzi was University Trustee and BCSSW benechild” support services and increase factor John M. Connors ’63. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini) access to the pioneering research and best practices developed by the initiative since it was launched at Boston College in 2001.

Continued from page 1 City Connects is currently in the important work of Boston Col- of Management. She held several place at 87 urban public, charter lege and its Jesuit Catholic heritage positions of increased responsibil- and Catholic schools serving nearly and values.” ity, including executive director of 29,000 students in five states.

McDermott began working in school development and organi“This partnership with New University Advancement at BC in zational giving, and associate vice Profit is another exciting milestone 1999 as associate director of the president of capital giving. in the growth of City Connects and Boston College Fund, rising to the “It has been remarkable to see gives us the opportunity to expand position of director of special proj- the impact that the Light the World our reach and magnify our impact,” ects in 2003. campaign has had on BC, and I am said City Connects Director Mary She worked at Middlebury Col- even more excited by the possibility E. Walsh, the Kearns Professor lege between 2005 and 2010 as of what lies ahead,” said McDer- of Urban Education and Innovaassociate director of principal gifts mott. “I have come to know many tive Leadership at Boston College. and then executive director of insti- members of the BC community “Over the course of our 15 years, tutional advancement at the Mid- over the years, and I want to do City Connects has demonstrated dlebury Institute of International well by each of them, to know that that urban schools can reduce the Studies at Monterey, before rejoin- each day I am helping to advance achievement gap when students ing BC Advancement as director of the University in which they have receive the personalized supports development for the Carroll School all invested so much of themselves.” and programs they need to develop, –Jack Dunn learn and thrive. And this can be done in a cost-effective manner.”

With a single trained counselor, City Connects coordinates a combiContinued from page 1 nation of school- and communityhe currently serves as an advisory lenges for social work and taking on based services that address each stugroup member with the Imple- intractable and perennial problems dent’s unique in- and out-of-school mentation Science Network for the confronting our most vulnerable needs. Long-term studies have National Institutes of Health, ad- and disenfranchised. The school is shown that City Connects schools dressing the issue of household air pursuing social work practice rooted produce dramatic improvement in pollution around the world. in place to generate social innova- their students’ grades, standardized Provost and Dean of Faculties tion, integrate immigrants, explore test scores and long-term academic David Quigley praised Yadama as a race and place to provide stable success. A Columbia University leader whose reputation for interdis- lives for African-American children, study found a return on investciplinary collaboration in the field empower disadvantaged youth, and ment of $3 for every dollar spent on of social work will benefit Boston realize environmental justice in ur- services and supports, and a ROI College. ban spaces.

“The search committee and I “When you combine these apare confident that Gautam Yadama proaches with initiatives like the is the right leader for the School school’s Latino Leadership Initiative Continued from page 1 of Social Work,” said Quigley. and Research and Innovation in So- member and his hopes and ambi“His experience in the communi- cial, Economic and Environmental tions for the School of Theology ties of Cleveland, metro St. Louis Equity, what you have is the ability and Ministry,” said Quigley. “I look and around the globe, his vision to train the next generation of prac- forward to working with him.” for the field of social work, and titioners and scholars to understand Fr. Stegman said that he is “honhis imaginative approach to cross- and intervene in complex real-world ored and privileged” to assume the school collaborations all resonated problems, generate social change, deanship of the school he has served with faculty, staff and students. I and produce systematic evidence as a teacher and administrator since expect that colleagues across campus to shape cutting-edge social work its establishment in 2008. will quickly come to value Gautam practice,” he said.

“I very much look forward to as an important partner.”

Yadama, who came to the serving the STM in our mission to “The Boston College School of United States with his family after prepare individuals for ordination Social Work is highly visible in the high school, received his bachelor’s and lay ministry in the Church,” profession for its emphasis on tack- degree in management from Wil- said Fr. Stegman. “Thanks to the ling key challenges in social work,” kes University in Pennsylvania, and dedicated leadership of my predecessaid Yadama, a native of India and master’s and doctoral degrees in so- sors, Richard Clifford, SJ, and Mark son of a United Nations admin- cial policy and planning from Case Massa, SJ, the School of Theology istrator. “Its faculty have been sig- Western Reserve University. and Ministry is in great shape. The nificant in shaping the grand chal–Jack Dunn last years in particular have yielded

of $11 for every dollar spent on a specific intervention.

New Profit Inc. is a national nonprofit venture philanthropy fund that supports programs working to reduce and remove systemic barriers to opportunity in the US. It will support City Connects through its Reimagine Learning Fund, which focuses on innovative student-centered learning initiatives that help all students receive the support needed to succeed. Financial support for the Reimagine Learning Fund comes from some of America’s premier philanthropies, including the Bill &

–City Connects Director Mary Walsh

Melinda Gates Foundation, Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation, Poses Family Foundation and Oak Foundation.

“We are thrilled to invest in City Connects,” said Jody Cornish, a partner with the Reimagine Learning Fund. “We see them as one of the best-kept secrets in the social sector and aspire to ensure that their insights and approach can have broader influence on national practice. City Connects will make a powerful contribution to the Reimagine Learning portfolio of organizations focused on working with schools to put in place those capabilities needed to support the success of all students. They also will be an exemplar for the field given the combination of rigor, care and thoughtfulness they bring to their work.”

Policymakers and schools have used a number of initiatives to try to shrink the achievement gap that

in elementary school, continued to make math and literacy gains in middle school, and were less likely to drop out of high school than peers in non-City Connects schools.

Most recently, City Connects researchers reported in the journal Child Development that first-generation immigrant children in City Connects schools scored higher on math and reading tests than their first-generation immigrant peers at schools without the program.

“Research on the impacts of City Connects is garnering national attention because it shows what is possible for all students when they get the supports and opportunities they need to succeed,” said Walsh, who has spent more than 40 years studying how to improve education for at-risk children. “We’re excited for the work ahead.”

Contact Ed Hayward at ed.hayward@bc.edu

Fr. Stegman Appointed STM Dean significant growth of our student body, in terms of both numbers and quality. The STM serves the Church — locally, nationally and internationally — by training our students for learned ministry. That is only possible because of our talented faculty, who combine intellectual rigor with pastoral commitment.

“I’m delighted to be dean of such a faculty, one that has welcomed a number of promising new members the past few years. Having served as chair of the Ecclesiastical Faculty, I have the advantage not only of knowing the STM faculty but also of working closely with our topnotch administrative team and staff.

I will count on their help to ease my

learning curve.”

Fr. Stegman’s teaching career began in 1997 at Emory University where he served as a teaching assistant for his advisor, Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson. He taught at Weston Jesuit School of Theology from 2003-2008, and has held visiting chairs at Marquette and Creighton universities.

A graduate of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Fr. Stegman holds a master’s degree in philosophy from Marquette University, an MDiv and STL from Weston Jesuit School of Theology, and a PhD from Emory.

–Jack Dunn

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle summer 2016

Putting the

‘Bee’

Fulbright Grant Will Send CSOM Grad to Philippines

in ‘BC’

University is host to a colony of honey bees (about 10,000 or so) – and it’s for a good cause

By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

Gary Gilbert

Earlier this year, Fulton Hall became home to some new residents – somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 of them – but administrators, faculty, staff and others in Fulton are unlikely to have noticed.

That’s because these recent arrivals don’t spend any time in Fulton’s offices, classrooms or hallways. Instead, they hang out on the Fulton roof, buzzing around or inside a three-tiered structure that resembles a file cabinet, where instead of research they produce...honey.

Yes, they’re bees.

Thanks to a donation from the parents of a current undergraduate, Boston College is a recent Roman Pham, a beekeeper with the Best Bees Company, came to campus addition to a local firm’s “urban earlier this month to examine the beehive installed on top of Fulton Hall. beehive” program. University administrators say the initiative re- Beacon Capital Partners, which tenance of the beehive by Best flects BC’s strong interest in sus- has installed beehives on building Bees, which sends a beekeeper tainability issues and solutions, rooftops at its properties, once a month to check and offers a potential educational locally and elsewhere in the the bees’ health and wellresource.

US, in collaboration with being. On a recent visit, “There has been a lot of the Best Bees Company, a beekeeper Roman Pham concern about the world’s bee leading researcher of honey observed that the hive was population, and the numbers of bees that is seeking to adwell-established and had a beehives dying out,” said Office dress the decline in the bee good chance of surviving. of Sustainability Director Rob- population.

(He later reported that the bees ert Pion. “We felt that hosting Many major hotels in Boston had decided to “give themselves a a beehive would be have beehives, as new queen,” and he expected the a symbol of BC’s does the Prudential choice to be made very shortly. concern for the en- “There has been a lot of Center and Han- Pham reorganized the space in vironment.” concern about the world’s cock Tower. the hive to ensure the new queen There are ben- bee population, and the The Beacon would have room to start laying efits for BC, too, Capital urban new eggs.)

Pion and others numbers of beehives dying beehive program If all goes well, Pham said he out. We felt that host- reflects its support would be able to harvest honey note, since bees promote the polli- ing a beehive would be a for bee research, toward the end of August. nation of flowering Although nothing has been symbol of BC’s concern noting that bees plants. pollinate more discussed as yet, Pion said that for the environment.” than 130 crops; the beehives on Fulton could be And, of course, there’s the honey, –Robert Pion widespread devas- a useful curricular or extracurwhich once collecttation to the bee ricular tool in examining sustained will be the proppopulation, the ability, environmental or other erty of the University – admin- company has stated, carries “the scientific-related matters. istrators are discussing potential potential for significant repercusOne other important thing uses and how it might be made sions to our ecosystem and food about honey bees, note Pion and available. supplies.” Urban beehives pro- Pham: They won’t bother you if The beehive’s duce more honey than suburban you won’t bother them. arrival at BC or rural ones because there are Contact Sean Smith at came at the be- less pesticides and fewer predasean.smith@bc.edu hest of Fred and tors, according to the company, Donna Seigel, which estimates that each hive parents of a cur- will produce some 30 pounds, or rent sophomore four gallons, of honey per year. and a 2013 graduate. Fred SeiA donation by the Seigels will gel is president and COO of support the oversight and main-

Alyssa Trinidad MA’14 has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright grant, the coveted postbaccalaureate award that supports a year of study abroad. The Winthrop, Mass., native will travel to the Philippines next month.

“The Fulbright grant combines my passion for education with my passion for international travel,” said Trinidad, who earned a master’s degree in accounting at the Carroll School of

Alyssa Trinidad MA’14

Management. “During graduate school at Boston College, I took an international business class in which I studied the politics and finance of Chile and Argentina.

The course ended in a spring break trip to these countries, where we spoke with renowned economists and toured various companies. I want to use the Fulbright experience to do similar field work and apply classroom practices to real-world business issues in the Philippines.”

Trinidad said she plans to examine the relationship between environmental accounting and the measure of economic prog-

5

ress in that country, while also identifying and analyzing the effectiveness of environmental accounting policies.

“My project seeks to understand the relationship between environmental management policies and sustainable development in the Philippines. In addition, I look forward to volunteering for non-profit organizations that aid in humanitarian relief for impoverished families in Manila.”

A graduate of St. Mary’s High School in Lynn who received her undergraduate degree at University of Massachusetts-Boston, Trinidad is one of 15 Boston College Fulbrights this year.

While at Boston College, Trinidad won a Dean’s Scholarship, was an American Institute CPA Legacy Scholar, National Council of Philippine American Canadian Accountants (NCPACA) Scholar, and Deloitte Campus Ambassador. She was also a representative in the Graduate Management Association and a member of the Philippine Society of Boston College.

Prior to attending the Carroll School, Trinidad was an AERS audit intern at Deloitte & Touche LLP, where she worked as an audit senior assistant after earning her degree. She obtained her CPA license in Massachusetts last year.

After her Fulbright year, she hopes to pursue another graduate degree as part of a transition to a career in higher education.

–Sean Hennessey

The Carroll School of Management’s 11th annual finance conference, held June 1 and 2, featured an appearance by former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, president emeritus and Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University, who presented the Daniel Holland III Keynote Address. The conference website is http://www. bc.edu/schools/csom/research/asset.html (Photo by Gary Gilbert)

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NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS GLI Broadens Its Focus to A look at some recent honors by her article “Mechanisms Linking Boston College faculty members: Neighborhood Age Composition Middle East •School of Theology and Ministry Assistant Professor Hosffman Ospino was selected for the 2016 Catechetical Award presented by the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL), which recognizes a life of witness to the Word of God; a magnanimous spirit of love and service to the Church; a vocation to ministry characterized by a pioneering spirit and innovative vision; and a dedication and significant contribution Ospino to the ministry of catechesis in the Church at large.

Ospino’s teaching is in the area of Hispanic ministry and religious education; he is actively involved in Hispanic ministry in the Archdiocese of Boston, and his research concentrates on the dialogue between theology and culture and the impact of this interchange upon Catholic theological education, catechesis and ministry.

Ospino was the principal investigator for the National Study of Catholic Parishes with Hispanic Ministry, which produced the widely Heyer recognized 2014 report titled “Hispanic Ministry in Catholic Parishes.” He and Roche Center Executive Director Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill are co-authors of “Catholic Schools in an Increasingly Hispanic Church,” a report published earlier this year based on the findings of their National Survey of Catholic Schools Serving Hispanic Families. The survey and the report explore how Catholic schools can better partner with Hispanic families to educate the next generation of Hispanic Catholics.

•Associate Professor of Sociology Moorman Sara Moorman was a winner of the 2016 Matilda White Riley Early Stage Investigator Honors, a competition sponsored by the National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research to recognize papers that demonstrate behavioral and social scientific excellence.

Moorman was honored for

to Health,” which she authored with BC graduate students Jeffrey Stokes and Jeremiah Morelock. The article was accepted for publication by The Gerontologist.

Moorman’s primary research interest centers on how relationships with family and friends shape older persons’ physical health and psychological well-being.

Her two major areas of focus are the social and psychological aspects of end-of-life medical decisionmaking, and how the age composition of neighborhoods influences daily experiences and psychological well-being.

•Three Theology Department faculty members were recognized for their books by the Catholic Press Association of the US and Canada. Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology Richard R. Gaillardetz took secondplace honors in the 50th Anniversary of Vatican II category for An Unfinished Council: Vatican II, Pope Francis, and the Renewal of Catholicism. Professor Stephen Pope won a third-place award in the category of Pastoral Ministry for A Step Along the Way: Models of Christian Service. Professor Kristin E. Heyer also earned a third-place honor as co-editor of Conscience and Catholicism: Rights, Responsibilities and Institutional Responses.

•Joseph L. Sweeney Chair of Accounting G. Peter Wilson of the Carroll School of Management was selected as a winner of the American Accounting Association’s J. Michael and Mary Anne Cook Prize Award, which recognizes individuals who consistently demonstrate the attributes of a superior teacher in the discipline of accounting. Wilson, who was chosen for the graduate award, is a past president of the AAA, was a member of the Accounting Education Change Commission and has served on the editorial boards of The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research, and Issues in Accounting Education.

Photos by Lee Pellegrini and Caitlin Cunningham

The summer has been an eventful one for Boston College’s Global Leadership Institute, which this week is hosting a leadership program for Kuwaiti youths, and last month signed a partnership to assist a Bahrain-based university in developing a doctoral program in innovation management.

GLI offers programs to enhance leadership skills, enlarge professional networks and expand expertise. The institute’s courses, built around its “four pillars” – learning, reflection, application and networking – utilize Boston College faculty and cutting-edge researchers, and integrate the Jesuit philosophy integral to BC’s academic and formational mission.

Recent years have seen GLI – which originally focused on professional education as a means to promote peace and reconciliation between Northern Ireland and Ireland – expand its geographical scope to other regions, notably the Middle East and North Africa, or MENA. With some of the fastest growing cities in the world, MENA presents opportunities for leaders in business, financial, and economic development as well as social and political change, according to GLI administrators.

As with any region, the Middle East faces a unique set of challenges and possibilities, the administrators say, and the GLI is uniquely positioned to provide educational training to help leaders work through those challenges and possibilities to achieve their goals.

This transition is reflected in GLI’s partnership with the Protégés program, which will be headquartered at BC for the next two weeks. The program, created six years ago by the Kuwait-based firm Kipco, is aimed at helping Kuwaitis aged 16-24 to capitalize on opportunities and skills that will enable them to become community leaders.

Protégés grew out of concern that Kuwait’s younger generations – because of the wealth generated by the country’s oil-based economy, among other factors – feel little impetus to become engaged with civic, governmental or entrepreneurial sectors, according to GLI Director Robert Mauro.

“The typical high school or college student in Kuwait is not from a destitute family in the way we might imagine,” he explained.

“They have considerable means and an array of choices for how they can live their lives. The challenge is to get these young people to consider how they can contribute to society, to use their gifts in bettering their community.”

Global Leadership Institute Director Robert Mauro with Khalid Al-Ohaly, president of the Arabian Gulf University, at the ceremony earlier this summer formalizing the GLI-AGU partnership. (Photo by GLI)

This is a task well-suited to Boston College, said Mauro, and during their time on campus the 25 Protégés participants will explore intellectual, spiritual and vocational directions through various activities, including a talk from Vice President for Mission and Ministry Jack Butler, SJ; sessions with faculty from the Carroll School of Management on technology entrepreneurship and from Political Science on democracy; and visits to Boston points of interest such as the Museum of Fine Arts.

There also will be numerous networking opportunities for the participants, who will be encouraged to follow up during and after their full-year commitment to the program.

“They will experience a lot of what Boston College undergraduates do, in the Jesuit tradition of reflection and discernment,” said Mauro. “BC’s contribution to the program is not about giving the students a ready-made model to take home, but to use the experience as a basis for contemplation about their life, and to help them

make decisions.”

This September, meanwhile, GLI will formally begin its collaboration with Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, to advise on and execute a new doctoral program in Innovation Management at AGU. The partnership provides Boston College faculty and students the chance to interact and work with leading doctoral candidates and leaders from across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, according to organizers.

The agreement “holds the distinction of being the first to launch in the GCC countries, an academic partnership focused on innovation,” through high-level graduate education programs, according to the announcement of the partnership.

Said Mauro, “This is an excellent opportunity for Boston College to increase its global reach and network, providing faculty with exciting new opportunities and global interaction for Boston College and Arabian Gulf University students alike.”

–Office of News & Public Affairs

Fr. Penna’s Talk Strikes Chord Online University Chaplain Fr. Tony Penna became something of an Internet phenomenon in late spring, thanks to his address at the Class of 2016 Senior Toast on May 19.

Fr. Penna’s talk, which he titled “A Grateful Heart,” drew on the story of Charlie Plumb, a former US Navy fighter pilot and POW during the Vietnam War. Now an author and motivational speaker, Plumb has often related an anecdote in which, years after he leaving the service, he happened to meet the man who had packed the parachute Plumb used to escape when his fighter plane was shot down.

Plumb uses the experience to urge his audiences to consider the people who have made a difference in their lives – those who have “packed your parachute.”

Recounting Plumb’s tale to the Class of 2016, Fr. Penna said, “Who is it that packed your parachute so that you would land softly on your feet, to be under this tent, with glass in hand, friends to your right and left, about to graduate in 90 hours from this distinguished Jesuit university with a life of possibility ahead of you? Did you really do this on your own? Did you really get here without any help? Do you literally have wings to fly and to land on your own?

“Or did you, like Charles Plumb, have someone behind the scenes, covering your back, packing your chute, so that you would have this day in the sun, this weekend of celebration in Chestnut Hill, this life with education and possibility as your future?”

The following day, Boston College Campus Ministry posted the text of Fr. Penna’s talk on its Facebook page, and in less than two weeks it was shared nearly 1,000 times and reached some 148,000 people. The Facebook post also drew almost 80 comments, some from users with no direct BC affiliation.

Go to http://bit.ly/2a5Hwg7 to read “A Grateful Heart.”

–Office of News & Public Affairs

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Margaret J. “Peg” Kenney, a leader in mathematics education whose career at Boston College spanned nearly six decades – and whose high school teacher once told her that “Girls don’t do math” – died on July 5 at the age of 81.

Dr. Kenney’s arrival at BC in the 1950s came during a watershed period for the University – she was among the first wave of female undergraduates to study at the Heights – and for the profession that she would enter. Concerns about the quality of American schoolchildren’s mathematics and science education, prompted in part by the Soviet Union’s launch of its Sputnik satellite in 1957, spurred national initiatives to strengthen math and science teaching.

Boston College would figure prominently in the efforts to reshape mathematics education, and Dr. Kenney – starting out at a time when women constituted only six percent of math PhDs – would play an important role in preparing generations of future teachers at BC and elsewhere.

A Boston native and daughter of a 1930 BC alumnus, Dr. Kenney entered BC in 1953 as a member of the School of Education’s second class, but – heeding her teacher’s words of caution – initially decided on French as her major before “coming to my senses” and switching to mathematics, she recalled years later. Needing to catch up on math requirements, she took a summer course taught by Stanley Bezuszka, SJ, a mathematics education pioneer and director of BC’s Mathematics Institute – established to help improve content and instructional practice in mathematics at the pre-college level – who became Dr. Kenney’s mentor.

After earning a master’s degree in 1959 to go along with her undergraduate degree, Dr. Kenney (who later earned a doctorate from Boston University) joined the SOE faculty and the Mathematics Institute, as Fr. Bezuszka’s assistant director.

In addition to teaching undergraduates, Dr. Kenney was heavily involved in the institute’s projects, providing assistance, instruction or coordination in 49 National Science Foundation-funded programs.

Dr. Kenney – who would later succeed Fr. Bezuszka as Mathematics Institute director – also became a major contributor to her field through her involvement in the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in Massachusetts (ATMM) – for which she served as president – and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), where

Caitlin Cunningham

Margaret Kenney, 81; Math Education Leader

she was on its board of directors.

Dr. Kenney directed an NSF-funded NCTM project to train teachers in the instruction of discrete mathematics, which emphasizes data-gathering and problem-solving skills; the project reached thousands of grade 7-12 teachers and students.

Reflecting on her career in a 2013 Chronicle interview [see http:// bit.ly/29kKg3P] shortly before she retired, Dr. Kenney said, “In effect, my world has been defined by BC – personally and professionally. Many of the friends I have had from my undergraduate days remain close friends now. Spiritually, Boston College has been a trusted source for deepening my faith. Professionally, the Mathematics Institute pursuits afforded me the opportunity to work with teachers and students of all levels in this country and abroad for many years. A large number of these pre-service and veteran teachers became cherished lifelong friends. I am forever grateful to BC for all this.”

Even as Dr. Kenney tackled mathematics education issues on a national scale, her BC colleagues said, she showed equal care and concern for the BC community and her department in particular.

“I can remember Peg arguing, with quiet force, that we always needed to remember the students,” said Mathematics Professor William Keane. “She was always willing to listen, and to offer concrete and unerringly helpful suggestions. There remains a tradition among math faculty of taking teaching seriously, of discussing ideas and techniques; it’s a spirit Peg helped instill.”

“She touched me personally as she touched everyone concerned with the math education of young people,” said McIntyre Professor of Mathematics Solomon Friedberg, the department chair. “Peg had great wisdom, a tremendous appetite for working to improve math education, and a big heart.”

Read the full obituary at http://bit. ly/2a8o2Yo. –Sean Smith

BOSTON COLLEGE IN THE MEDIA The Washington Post reported on a new study, co-authored by Prof.

Andrew Jorgenson (Sociology), that examines the issue of “disproportionality” in fossil fuel-burning power plant emissions — the idea that some plants produce a heftier share of a nation’s total electricitybased emissions than others.

Interviewed by the Boston Herald on the killing of five police officers in Dallas, Assoc. Prof. C. Shawn McGuffey (Sociology) said the bloodshed could either bring people together or, if stoked by divisive leaders, prompt a series of violent protests across the country.

Monan Professor of Theology Lisa Cahill offered comments to the Washington Post on bishops’ responses to the call for mercy toward divorced and remarried

Assoc. Prof. Andrea Vicini, SJ (STM), published “Anthropocentric, Theocentric, Biocentric, and Cosmocentric: Ecotheological Visions in Tension,” and Canisius Professor and Jesuit Institute Director James Keenan, SJ, authored “Ten Lessons for Helping Theological Ethicists, other Theologians, Church Leaders, Religious and Laity to Respond to the Call to Sustainability” in Schöpfung bewahren: Theologie und Kirche als Impulsgeber für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung.

Fr. Keenan also published “Raising Expectations on Sin” in Theological Studies. He also presented the following: “University Ethics,” Fairfield University; “Scandal of Mercy,” Beiträge Tagung zu Barmherzigkeit, Innsbruck Zeitschrift

Catholics.

Prof. Ronnie Sadka (CSOM) discussed his co-authored paper, which claims some executives downplay good news for personal gain, in an appearance on CNBC’s “Nightly Business Report.”

Prof. Warren Zola (Law) talked about the spike in National Basketball Association player salaries in a New York Times article.

Prof. Michael Connolly (Slavic and Eastern Languages) offered his expertise on Russian language for an article in Motherboard about the possible identity of “Guccifer 2.0,” who claimed responsibility for hacking the Democratic National Committee and was suspected to be a Russian working for his country’s government.

für Katholische Theologie, Katholisch Theologische Fakultät der Universität Innsbruck; “Amoris Laetitia” and “Theological Ethics in the United States,” Theology Department, University of Vien-

BC BRIEFING na; “University Ethics: The Problem, Proposals for Best Practices, and a Call for the Promotion of Justice across the Contemporary University,” Moral Theology Session, Catholic Theological Society of America Convention.

Prof. Michael Connolly (Slavic and Eastern Languages) published “The Gains of August” in The Catholic Response.

Lee Pellegrini

obituary

In the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, Visiting Assoc. Prof. Peter Moloney (History) spoke with CNBC about the political reverberations of “Brexit,” while Prof. James Cronin (History) spoke with Boston.com on how British citizens living in Boston would be affected.

Prof. David Olson (Law) commented to the Boston Herald on the latest controversial patent infringement suit brought by a university.

Research Prof. Peter Gray (Psychology) shared his thoughts with The Atlantic for a story on why, for some, the vision of a world in which work is handled by robots rather than humans is a bleak prospect.

Assoc. Prof. Charles R. Gallagher, SJ (History), presented “Integrating the Liberal Arts into Intelligence Studies and Intelligence History” at the International Association for Intelligence Education conference held at the Royal Dutch Military Academy, Breda, Netherlands.

Assoc. Prof. Margaret Schatkin (Theology) co-presented the paper “Anti-heretical Motives in the Christological Teaching of St. John Chrysostom” at the “International Patristic Conference: Fathers of the Church in the Polemics against Heresies,” which took place at the John Paul II Catholic University in Poland.

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 Administrative and Fiscal Assistant, Office of the Provost

Boston College honored the dedication and commitment of 69 employees who completed undergraduate or graduate degrees at the University during the 2015-16 academic year while continuing to fulfill their work-related responsibilities.

University President William P. Leahy, SJ, and Vice President for Human Resources David Trainor offered their praise for the graduates – who included members of the professional/administrative, clerical and service staff – at a reception held May 26 at 2101 Commonwealth Avenue on Brighton Campus.

“We’re impressed with the tenacity you’ve shown,” said Fr. Leahy [above]. “Class after class, year after year, you stuck with it and achieved your goal. This is a great achievement, make no mistake about that. You’ve shown what it takes to be a better person, and to help BC be a better place.”

Read more at http://bit.ly/29SRP4L.

Communications and Marketing Assistant, Advancement Temporary Office Pool, Human Resources Associate Director, Annual Capital Projects, Facilities Services Associate Dean, Administration and Finance, Academic Affairs/ Provost Director, Career Advising, Residential Life Information Security Analyst, Information Technology

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Chronicle summer 2016

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Olympians Cherish Their BC Years Continued from page 1 native who was a four-year varsity swimmer at BC while earning his bachelor’s degree in English; he later added a master’s degree in administration from the Woods College in Advancing Studies. “After you get a poor grade on an exam, have a bad race, or get written up for doing something that’s against the rules, do you make excuses? Do you complain about the circumstances?

While at BC, I learned you can do these things – or you can go out and work on the actions that produced

ter teammate and athlete. Access nents of triathlon together into one to some of the best trainers, sports piece of work,” he says. “Learning med, tutors and coaches made to master anything is a process, and a platform that could only lead figuring out the nuances of how the to success, and this allowed Briana disciplines interact within the race and me to excel quickly. It’s a lesson has been the most challenging.” that we still hold today.”

Provancha and Haeger came to Maloy never visited BC before he sailing via different routes. Provanapplied, but felt drawn to the Uni- cha was introduced to the sport versity by its motto and institutional through a family friend when she values. “The institutional commit- was eight: “I loved being in the ment to personal growth and indi- water and the friends I made. The vidual empowerment echoed in my yacht club environment is a special pre-enrollment conversations with one. Some of my best friends are swim coach Tom the ones I grew up learning to sail Groden. Once I was with.” admitted, my choice For Haeger, sailing on Wisconto enroll was a no- sin’s Lake Beulah was a tradition in brainer.” her father’s family going back five At BC, Maloy generations; her dad “sparked my found a community interest and helped guide me along that nurtured and the way. My mom has been the motivated him. Be- off-the-water shoulder I rely on for sides Groden – “he support and my moral compass.” taught me that beBC, with its phenomenally succoming an elite ath- cessful sailing program, seemed a lete needs to start on natural destination for Provancha the inside and work and Haeger – who notes that when its way out” – Maloy she visited colleges she tried to “see cites as mentors Eng- myself there without sailing.” Both lish faculty members found the campus atmosphere Robert Farrell, SJ friendly and inviting, and never reand Bonnie Rudner, gretted their decision to enroll.

Woods College of AdHaeger is especially grateful to vancing Studies fac- Wilkinson. “The investment he ulty member Cathy made, and continues to make, in Joe Maloy (Image from joetriathlon.com) Utzschneider and Se- Briana and me during our time at that negative result. nior Associate Athletic Director Jody BC was incredible. No other coach “‘Ever to Excel’ is not about suc- Mooradian. in my life will put as much time and ceeding all the time. Nobody does He also thinks of “countless life- commitment into my career. I work that, and to expect it would be un- long friends, my teammates from hard every day in practice mostly reasonable. It’s about working every the swim team, the crew who went to win a gold medal, but in part day to be a little bit better than you to Mass at 10:15 p.m. in Lower to make him proud. He has an were the day before. You do that Dining Hall, and plenty of others. I incredible sense of what it will take work with the support of loved ones who you can lean on through the hard times and celebrate with during the good ones. The journey is only meaningful because it is shared.”

A shared journey describes Provancha and Haeger’s path to Rio. The two paired up while members of BC’s sailing team – both credit sailing coach Greg Wilkinson for his direction and support – and formed a bond that has endured.

“My years at BC taught me how to be a good teammate, and a lot about communication,” says Provancha, a San Diego native and Carroll School of Management grad.

“Annie and I have such a great relationship. We are very good to each Annie Haeger, left, and Briana Provancha (Image from ussailing.org) other and that has helped our perfor- grew into the person I am today to become a champion on and off mance immensely. We support each with their mentorship, support and the water. Even to this day, I have other not only when things are going friendship.” phrases that will pop up in my head, great, but when things just seem to BC prepared Maloy for the with Greg’s voice reminding me of be falling apart. This skill definitely triathlon in more practical ways, past mistakes and ways to fix them. helped us pull through some tough too: In addition to competing on “Without him, Briana and I situations on the race course.” the swim team, he taught spin- would have never sailed together and Haeger, a CSOM alumna from ning classes at the Flynn Recreation I would not be anywhere close to Lake Forest, Ill., agrees. “Being a Complex and ran laps around the the strong, self-assured person I am part of the Eagles athletic program Chestnut Hill Reservoir. today.” taught me how to accelerate my “The hardest part was figuring Contact Sean Smith at sean.smith@bc.edu love for sailing and become a bet- out how to put the three compo-

Q&A: BOUND FOR RIO Boston College Olympians Joe Maloy ’08 MS’10, Briana Provancha ’12 and Annie Haeger ’12 took some time from their preparations for the Summer Olympics to answer a few questions.

Q: Joe, give us an overview of the triathlon at Rio: Have you had a chance to go over the course?

Maloy: I had the chance to compete on the actual Olympic course last summer in a “test event.” It was an opportunity for the local organizers to practice setting the course and for the athletes to have a first-go at racing in Rio. It will be a challenging course: a choppy ocean swim, a hilly bike, and a hot run.

Q: What about the competition – is there a generally acknowledged “favorite” to win the event?

Maloy: All three medalists from London 2012 will be on the starting line in Rio. I’m sure there is a favorite, but it depends on whom you ask. The last I checked, we all start the race at the same time. The Olympic Triathlon is a one-day competition, and an opportunity like that rewards the athlete who is most prepared for that slice of time. Past accomplishments and future aspirations are irrelevant.

Q: The triathlon doesn’t take place until near the end of the Games [Aug. 18]. Will you be able to keep yourself fit and ready, but still be able to experience being at the Olympics?

Maloy: I’ve decided to skip the opening ceremonies and head down to Rio on Aug. 12. While I’m disappointed to be missing the first week of the Games, this plan will ensure I bring my best self to the starting line on the 18th. I think being fully present and enjoying the moment is a big key to excellent performance in anything. I plan to enjoy all aspects of the experience – the build-up, the race, and the closing ceremonies – with my family, friends and teammates.

Q: So you’ll have a cheering section there?

Maloy: Yes! My brother John (BC ’11) comes to all of my big races. He’ll be in Rio with his girlfriend, my parents (Joe and Mary), my grandmom (Barbara Monahan), and a pretty large contingent of extended family and friends.

Q: Trying to get to the Olympics certainly isn’t a casual decision. What factors were key in deciding to go for it?

Maloy: Obviously, the chance to compete in the Olympic Games is an incredible opportunity. That opportunity, though, is a byproduct of the decision-making process that’s set my path to Rio. It’s never been an “Olympicsor-bust” journey. This process has, and will continue to be, about doing things that challenge me and inspire others to be a little bit better every day.

Q: Briana and Annie, sailing is probably not as familiar an Olympic event as gymnastics or track and field. Tell us about the format.

Haeger: Briana and I will be competing together in the women’s 470 class.

The boat is 4.7 meters long and is known as the double-handed women’s boat.

I am in the back of the boat steering and Briana is in the front of the boat. My job requires more finesse while Briana’s is more athletic and forceful.

Sailboat racing is similar to NASCAR: There is a racetrack that you must sail around as quickly as possible. Scoring is based on your place in the race. If you finish first, you receive one point; second, two points and so on. In the Olympics there are 10 races with a final race, called a medal race. The top 10 teams after the series compete on a smaller race course where the points are doubled and the race cannot be thrown out. Whoever has the lowest amount of points after the medal race is complete wins.

Q: What went into your decision to try for the Olympics?

Provancha: We actually decided we wanted to pursue an Olympic campaign while on the sailing team together at Boston College. We began a four-year effort the following fall after graduation.

Haeger: Both Briana and I have always wanted to go the Olympics, so it was an easy transition once we graduated from BC. In order to qualify, we participated in the US Olympic trials, which included two regattas: the 470 Worlds in San Isidro, Argentina, and the European Championship in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. With our competition, it was a who-beat-who system and we were lucky enough to qualify.

Q: You were able to spend some time in Rio recently. Do you feel you have a good sense of the course?

Haeger: With sailing, it is crucial to get down to the venue early. Unlike other sports that have a set field with boundaries, sailors have to deal with Mother Nature: the current and weather patterns that come through during competition. Rio is very challenging as a venue. There are six different race courses that we could be sailing on and each one is different. Four of the courses are inside while the remaining two are outside in big breezes and waves. The current is very strong, making it even more challenging.

Q: Even though you’ll be focusing on the sailing competition, do you look forward to experiencing other aspects of the Games?

Provancha: This Olympics will be a special one as it’s the first Olympics in a while where the sailors get to stay in the main village. I am definitely looking forward to meeting all the other athletes. The Olympics brings people together from different cultures and sports and to be able to interact with those amazing athletes will definitely be a highlight of this experience for me.

Haeger: One thing I am looking forward to is to walk into the cafeteria and run into other athletes! Our event finishes on the 18th, so we will have some time to enjoy the other sports. Not sure what our plan will be, but I will try to see as many as possible.

Q: Will you have any supporters down there?

Provancha: I have a great support system coming down to Rio. My mom, dad, boyfriend, sister and her boyfriend will all be cheering me on.

Haeger: I am going to have a big cheering section – and probably the most obnoxious! There’ll be my entire immediate family, including my two brothers and parents, two aunts, two uncles and two cousins. They are not a quiet crowd, so if you see people wearing Team Haeger/Provancha gear and yelling at the top of their lungs, chances are it will be them.