The Boston College
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Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs
INSIDE:
BC tradition: 3 New ‘Mile 21’
book comes 5 Mariani’s to silver screen
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13th annual BC Arts Festival april 14, 2011 VOL. 19 no. 15
COMMENCEMENT 2011
US Transportation Chief to Receive Degree Senior VP McIntyre also among this year’s honorary recipients
tee, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Appropriations Committee. He was a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and organized bipartisan retreats for members of Congress.
By the Office of News & Public Affairs
United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will address the Boston College Class of 2011 at the 135th Commencement Exercises on May 23. University President William P. Leahy, SJ, will present LaHood with an honorary Doctor of Public Administration degree at the ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m. in Alumni Stadium (In the event of severe weather, Conte Forum will be the location). In addition, Boston College will present honorary degrees to: New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. Chairman James S. Davis and Vice Chairman Anne M. Davis — who is managing trustee of the New Balance Charitable Foundation (Doctor of Business Administration); Senior Vice President James P. McIntyre ’57, MA ’61, PhD ’67 (Doctor of Science in Education); and Trustee Associate Sylvia Q. Simmons MEd’62, PhD’90 (Doctor of Humane Letters). Ray LaHood was named the
SJC Chief Justice to Speak at Law Commencement United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will address this year’s graduating class at Commencement on May 23.
16th US secretary of transportation by President Barack Obama on Jan. 23, 2009, heading an agency with more than 55,000 employees and a $70 billion budget that oversees air, maritime and surface transportation missions. During his term, Secretary LaHood has launched initiatives to spur high-speed intercity passenger rail service, strengthen commercial bus and driver safety, and establish consumer protections for airline passengers. LaHood has also led the federal government’s efforts to combat distracted driving, asking Americans to put down mobile
phones and devices while behind the wheel. Earlier this month, he announced a safety campaign to overhaul and upgrade America’s oil and gas pipeline network and make more information available about potential hazards. He provides daily Department of Transportation news and updates through his Fast Lane blog [fastlane.dot.gov]. A native of Peoria, Ill., graduate of Bradley University and onetime junior high school teacher, LaHood was a seven-term Republican congressman from 1995-2009, serving on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Commit-
Christopher Sheridan ’12, a Presidential Scholar from Baltimore with both a scientific and artistic appreciation for the human brain, has won a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, considered the premier undergraduate fellowship in the sciences. Sheridan, who majors in biochemistry and philosophy, is the 12th Boston College student in the last 14 years to receive a Goldwater, awarded to the nation’s most promising undergraduates in math and science. The one- and two-year scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year. Many Goldwater Scholars go on to receive Rhodes Scholarships, Marshall Awards and other prestigious fellowships. “It’s very rewarding to see this kind of appreciation for the work you do,” said Sheridan. “It can be easy to lose sight of what you’re striving for, but to receive a unique and prestigious honor
Sean Smith
Junior Earns Goldwater Scholarship By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor
Anne M. Davis, vice chairman of New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. and managing trustee of the New Balance Charitable Foundation, is the architect and guardian of a corporate culture and value system that is a model for industries Continued on page 4
Christopher Sheridan ’12
like this represents a great opportunity, and is truly humbling.” Sheridan’s interest in the brain crosses disciplines, continually fostering conversations and experiences that have enriched his life. It’s led him to personal exchanges with leading scholars in both the natural and social sciences. Last summer, after having been selected as a Sophomore Scholar by the Chemistry Department,
Sheridan completed a German language immersion program at Munich’s Goethe Institute — thereby strengthening his ability to do research in science and philosophy. But Sheridan — equally at home writing poetry as he is contributing to BC’s undergraduate research journal Elements, for which he serves as a senior editor — doesn’t regard these and his other activities as purely academic. He sees this scientifichumanistic approach as integral to a future career in medicine and research, most likely focused on the emerging field of neuroimaging. “It’s extraordinarily important that doctors never treat people like mere constellations of cells,” he explains. “Our scientific understanding of disease, and the human body, is advancing so rapidly. The danger is that this makes it easy to see patients in overly definitive terms, as a collection of symptoms or biological problems X, Y and Z, rather than Continued on page 4
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland will give the Commencement Address at the 2011 Boston College Law School Commencement on May 27 at 10:30 a.m. on BC’s Newton Campus. A jurist for more than three decades, Ireland became the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Judicial Court when he was appointed in 1997, and last December became the court’s first AfricanAmerican chief justice. He is an expert in juvenile law and authored Massachusetts Juvenile Law, a volume of the Massachusetts Practice Series. He has received several awards for his
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland.
work with youths. “Chief Justice Ireland has had a long and celebrated career in public service, including over 33 years as a judge in the Continued on page 4
Catholic Social Teaching Expert Is New Law Dean By Jack Dunn Director of News & Public Affairs
The University has named Notre Dame Law School Professor Vincent D. Rougeau, a national expert on Catholic social teaching and the role of moral and religious values in law making and public policy, as dean of Boston College Law School, effective July 1. Rougeau has been a distinguished professor of contracts, real estate law and Catholic social thought at Notre Dame for the past 12 years. His current academic research focuses on global migration and multicultural citizenship, with a special emphasis on the challenges posed by religious pluralism. His book, Christians in the American Empire: Faith and Citizenship in the New World Order, explores the philosophical and theological underpinnings of Catholic social teaching as they relate to various aspects of American law. Provost and Dean of Facul-
Vincent D. Rougeau
ties Cutberto Garza, who chaired the search committee, praised Rougeau as a leader with the skills and experience to advance BC Law. “From the outset, the Law School community, the search committee and I agreed that our shared goal was to find the best dean to lead Boston College Law School,” said Garza. “I am delighted that Professor Rougeau has been named the next dean and know that his tenure will be marked by many sucContinued on page 3