Boston College Chronicle by Boston College

The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs OCTOBER 6, 2011 VOL. 20 NO. 3

INSIDE

RAISING VOICES

Gretchen Ertl

•Commencement ‘callout’ epilogue, page 2 •Freshman’s family helps soldiers, page 2 •New year for ‘HEALTHY YOU,’ page 3

•Admission facts and figures, page 4

•Career Fair a big draw, page 4 •What’s on the ‘Dean’s List’ this year?, page 5

University Dedicates Maloney Hall BY REID OSLIN STAFF WRITER

Referring to Boston College’s newly named Maloney Hall at 21 Campanella Way as a “bridge between Middle and Lower campus [and] an apt metaphor for what Boston College is striving to do,” University President William P. Leahy, SJ officially honored the generosity and commitment of Nancy and T.J. Maloney ’75 — whose family involvement with the University has spanned three generations — by placing the family’s name on the structure in a special dedication ceremony on Sept. 23. The University Chorale performed as part of the annual Pops on the Heights gala Friday night in Conte “Bridges need foundations and Forum, an event that also celebrated Parents Weekend at Boston College. More photos on page 8. Boston College is an institution that is firmly anchored in its Jesuit, Catholic heritage, its commitment to intellectual excellence and to being an institution that is for other religious traditions.” religious educator, a teacher of engaged,” Fr. Leahy said during Groome: interfaith Religious education that “pro- religious educators, and a parent the naming ceremony. “We, in understanding, respect motes interfaith understanding to write Will There Be Faith?, a Continued on page 3 must guide religious ed and respect is imperative,” writes guide for parents and teachers on Groome, “not only for the future how to hand on the faith to the of religion, but for the future of next generation. BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN the world.” Parents and religious education STAFF WRITER Groome — chair of STM’s instructors have their work cut These are enormously challeng- Department of Religious Educa- out for them, says Groome, citing times for faith on earth, says tion and Pastoral Ministry and a ing research on social and cultural BY ED HAYWARD School of Theology and Ministry BC faculty member since 1976 influences that actively discourage STAFF WRITER Professor Thomas H. Groome, an — drew upon his 35 years as a Continued on page 6 The recent discovery of a molinternationally renowned authorecule that serves as a marker for ity on religious education who HIV activity by the lab of Professor recently authored the book Will of Biology Ken Williams has been There Be Faith? A New Vision for recognized as among the top biologiEducating and Growing Disciples. cal and medical research projects in “There’s plenty of religion,” the world, according to the research says Groome, citing the increaslibrary service the Faculty of 1000. ing role of religion in American The lab’s research into CD163 politics and in conflicts across the shows the molecule, which is shed by globe. “But there’s nothing more monocytes and macrophages during dangerous than bad religion.” HIV infection, increases in volume The need for life-giving faith in the blood of infected patients. Furis critically important in today’s thermore, for patients with long-term postmodern world, according to HIV infection the molecule remains Groome. “Good religious instruceven after anti-retroviral treatment tion not only informs and forms effectively reduces the presence of people in their own particular the disease, the team reported in July religious tradition, but also em- School of Theology and Ministry Professor Thomas Groome, author of Will There Be Faith? A New Vision for Educating and Growing Disciples: “There’s edition of the Journal of Infectious braces tolerance and appreciation plenty of religion. But there’s nothing more dangerous than bad religion.” Continued on page 3

Teaching Faith in Challenging Times •Plain speaking on public speaking, page 5 •New insights on the brain, page 6 •DeFilippo: ACC is place to be, page 6

Lee Pellegrini

•Prestigious honor for Liane Young, page 7

BC Research on HIV ‘Marker’ Recognized

•Arts Council seeks nominees, page 8 •Celebrating a Jesuit composer, page 8

QUOTE:

“Early onset Alzheimer’s. These fearful words describing the reality are usually followed by complex coping mechanisms of the person herself, her husband, daughters, colleagues and her friends. All this is movingly depicted in Lisa Genova’s novel Still Alice.” —William B. Neenan, SJ (page 5)

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Chronicle OCTOBER 6, 2011

glad her encounter with LaHood turned out the way it did. “I had a number of people telling me that I should definitely keep in contact with him. I thought his speech was very humorous in tone, and he gave me a very memorable graduation. I never would have guessed that I would be sitting in Washington, DC, writing about a job I was given by the Commencement speaker at my graduation. “Living in Washington was a dream of mine since I was in first grade and we first learned about the presidents. Back then I dreamed of being the president, but at the moment, I am quite happy with interning and taking journalism courses. I cannot express how grateful I am for this experience, and hope it makes me a better writer and prepares me for a life of writing, either journalistically or otherwise.” —Rosanne Pellegrini

‘There Continues to Be a Need’ When her older brother was stationed in Afghanistan with the US Marines, Taylor Laffey, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she would often try and think of ways to help him. Turns out her mom and dad – Eleanor and Donald Laffey — were struggling with the same feelings. “Scott would always ask us to send him more socks, both for himself and the other guys,” said Laffey. “Then my parents and I started hearing about other families’ sons in need of socks. One day when I came home from school, my mom and dad said they wanted to start a drive of some kind and I told them that I had already been thinking of the same thing.”

Taylor Laffey ’15, left, and her sister Christine Forrester hug their brother Scott Laffey before his deployment to Afghanistan.

The Brighton family’s gesture has ballooned into a fullon campaign, Socks for Servicemen, which has collected and sent more than 7,000 pairs of socks to military members overseas. Laffey explained that be-

cause the foot patrols in Iraq and Afghanistan often cover great distances and trudge through canals to avoid improvised explosive devices (IEDs), soldiers must change their socks frequently to avoid infection and foot diseases. Weather also proves an issue – with temperatures ranging from below freezing to 120 degrees, troops are always looking for extra socks in a region where replacements are hard to come by. “We have been totally surprised by the response from people,” said Laffey. “We started with a Facebook page [http:// on.fb.me/q7ljnO] and soon started getting emails from friends of friends who wanted to hold sock drives or host a drop box location. Now complete strangers

her Commencement memorable, and recounted her experience in another Her Campus blog post, which was subsequently picked up by the Huffington Post [http://huff.to/lJHjkX]. “I’d like to thank Mr. LaHood,” she wrote. “Not only did he give a short speech, but he made my graduation completely unforgettable.” But that was not the end of the story. A few weeks after the article was published, Lantero was contacted by the secretary’s Office of Public Affairs and interviewed for a student intern position. The job’s responsibilities include working on press releases, contributing to the Transportation Department’s Fastlane blog and helping to plan departmentsponsored events. Lantero, now enrolled in Georgetown University’s Master of Professional Studies in Journalism program, certainly is

Allison Lantero was surprised when Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called on her to stand at Commencement in May, but a few weeks later she got an even bigger — and better —surprise from him.

Caitlin Cunningham

Just a few months after being publicly “called out” by US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood during his Boston College Commencement address, 2011 graduate Allison Lantero is working for him. Lantero, who earned a degree in English and theatre from BC in May, recently began a yearlong internship in the Transportation Department’s Office of Public Affairs. It seemed an unlikely destination for Lantero given the events of this past spring. Writing for the online magazine Her Campus shortly after BC had announced LaHood as the featured speaker at Commencement, Lantero noted the heightened speculation around campus as to who (James Franco? Sarah Palin?) would address the Class of 2011. “Now that our sighs of disappointment have subsided, what we really want to know is: Who is Ray LaHood?” she wrote in an introduction to a brief bio of the secretary. She concluded: “All we can hope is that the speech is short.” [Lantero’s article is available at http://www.hercampus. com/school/bc/commencement2011-who-ray-lahood] A few weeks later, early on in his Commencement address, LaHood asked Lantero to stand — in front of her fellow graduates, family members and thousands of other attendees in Alumni Stadium — and, after citing her blog post, offered a good-natured response: “Well, Allison, I’m Ray LaHood and I promise I’ll be brief.” Lantero handled the unexpected attention with grace, however. Afterwards, she sent LaHood a letter thanking him for making

Good fall-out follows Commencement call-out Gary Gilbert

The Academic Advising Center’s popular “Professors and Pastries” series — an informal way for students and faculty to meet and discuss common interests, plans and ambitions — started its fall schedule yesterday with a discussion on “Life Sciences and the Health Professions.” Coming up this month: “The Study of the Humanities and Preparing for the Law” (Oct. 12), “How to Succeed in Business with a Liberal Arts Degree” (Oct. 19) and “Living Ethically and Contributing Socially” (Oct. 26). All events will take place from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Fulton Honors Library. For the rest of the fall schedule, and to read more about “Professors and Pastries,” go to http://bit.ly/qpOgki T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle ON Be sure to check out the Boston College Chronicle YouTube channel [www.youtube.com/bcchronicle] for video features on Boston College people, programs and events. New and upcoming videos include: •Faculty/Staff Art Show: Every year, the student-run Art Club invites administrators, faculty and staff from across the University — from biologists to librarians to dining hall cooks —- to submit their artwork for exhibition in the Bapst Library Student Gallery. This year’s Faculty/Staff Art Show runs until Oct. 12. For information, see http://www.bcartclub.com •Career Fair 2011: The Career Center hosted 115 employers at Conte Forum so that current BC students could connect “Face2Face.” Organizer and BC Career Center Associate Director Janet Costa Bates describes the event and the importance of networking. See story on page 4. The Boston College

Chronicle

DIRECTOR OF NEWS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Jack Dunn

Reminder: The seventh annual “Red Bandanna Run” will be held on campus next Saturday, Oct. 15, starting at 9 a.m. The 5K race is co-sponsored by and will benefit the Boston College Volunteer and Service Learning Center and the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust. Complete information and registration forms are available at http://www.redbandannarun.com/race.html who attended those events want to hold their own. It just snowballed. So many people want to help in any way they can.” Her brother returned safely home in August, but Laffey has continued the campaign. In addition to socks – crew length that rise above the calf – Socks for Servicemen tucks letters of support in the care packages. “There was and continues to be a need,” she said. The family also collects donations, to help offset postal costs. For more information, or to start a drop off location, email SocksForServicemen@gmail.com —Melissa Beecher

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NEWS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Patricia Delaney EDITOR

Sean Smith CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Melissa Beecher Ed Hayward Reid Oslin Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan Eileen Woodward 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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Maloney Hall Joins Roster of Campus Names Continued from page 1 our own way, ‘bridge’ students into the contemporary world. “We have been a bridge for generations of students coming to Boston College to be connected to the wider society,” Fr. Leahy continued. “We also know that through our alumni, we have an impact not only on this local neighborhood and the Greater Boston area, but also nationally and even internationally.” Constructed in 2002, Maloney Hall is a five-story, 154,000-square foot building which houses faculty and administrative offices, a dining facility, University Bookstore annex and the Boston College Police Department headquarters. It is a popular thoroughfare and meeting place for students as they travel from Lower Campus residences to O’Neill Library and other academic buildings on Middle Campus. “I accept this tremendous honor with the utmost gratitude in the memory of my parents, and on behalf of myself, my wife Nancy, my children and my sisters and our relatives,” T.J. Maloney, a University trustee, told

the audience of several hundred people. “Honoring our family with the naming of Maloney Hall is a particular honor. All those who know Boston College know the buildings that dominate the campus – Gasson, Bapst, McElroy, Lyons, Devlin, Fulton, O’Neill,” he said, buildings named in honor of those who have helped establish and build Boston College into the great institution that it is today. “On behalf of my family,” he said, “I am deeply honored and truly grateful – through frankly overwhelmed – to have our name amongst [that] pantheon.” T.J. Maloney also acknowledged the late Sidney MacNeil, SJ, for his guidance and encouragement during Maloney’s days as a student. Fr. MacNeil, who served as a teacher and administrator at Jesuit-run Baghdad College in Iraq for many years, was a staff member in Office of Undergraduate Admission at the time when Maloney was a BC student. “He always believed in me and always had confidence in me,” Maloney said. “Fr. Mac-

Neil was a gentle, positive and supportive influence in my life. In honoring my family today, I feel that we are also honoring, posthumously, Fr. MacNeil and his legacy.” A native of Boston, T.J. Maloney is president and owner of Lincolnshire Management, a New York-based private equity firm ranked by Fortune magazine among the top five globally. He has served on the advisory board of the Boston College Center for Asset Management and has been a University Trustee since 2009. He currently serves as cochair of the Boston College Wall Street Council and the New York Regional Campaign Committee for the University’s “Light the World” campaign. Nancy Maloney, a 1975 graduate of Manhattanville College in New York, is an accomplished artist whose works have been exhibited and acclaimed nationally and internationally. She serves on the board for Proctor Academy in Andover, NH, and supports several local charities in the family’s hometown of Greenwich, Conn.

TEAM SPIRIT

Christine Ramsey ’14 (fifth from right) was joined by a host of her fellow sophomores, as well as family and other friends, at the recent Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk in a tribute to her mother, Anne, who died in late August after a two-year battle with cancer. Walking along with Ramsey were (L-R) Amy Hick, Ria McMahon, Emily Sheridan, Kathryn Saphire, Alex Lorditch, Morgan Dove, Marie McGrath, Thais Menendez and Maggie Scollan. [Read an article on the Ramsey family by the Belmont Patch at http://bit.ly/mPMwL0]

Boston College employees will have the opportunity this fall to learn about health and wellness – and a chance to earn BC Bookstore gift certificates and win an iPad in the bargain. The University’s “HEALTHY YOU” program, which aims to improve the health and wellness of all Boston College employees, will sponsor a number of fall semester events designed to help administrators, faculty and staff learn about pursuing healthy lifestyles. The schedule includes the annual BC Health Fair and the return of the popular “Walk Across Campus Challenge,” which begins later this month. This fall also will see the debut of a one-hour, lunchtime seminar series at the Flynn Recreation Complex and the Conte Forum Shea Room on health-related topics such as stress management, nutrition and exercise. Employees attending the seminars — lunch is provided at the Shea Room events — can participate in a raffle for a $25 BC Bookstore gift certificate, and an end-of-the-semester drawing for a health application-equipped iPad. BC’s employee Health Fair, which takes place on Oct. 27 from

10 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Yawkey Center Murray Function Room, will include free flu shots as well as information about smoking cessation, protecting skin from sun damage, and other topics. To participate in “Walk Across Campus” — through which employees track the amount of walking or other exercise activities during an eight-week period — sign up in the Campus Recreation Member Services office and then e-mail campusrec@bc.edu each Monday with your weekly progress. The top five walkers will receive prizes. Employees can also explore a variety of fitness programs, including kickboxing, yoga and zumba, through the Recplex [www.bc.edu/ plex]. These programs are offered in partnership with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and The Boston Consortium for Higher Education’s Healthy You program. For more details on the wellness seminars and other HEALTHY YOU information, go to www.bc.edu/hr and click on the HEALTHY YOU link, or see www.harvardpilgrim.org/bostoncollege. —Office of News & Public Affairs

Lee Pellegrini

Lee Pellegrini Left, T.J. Maloney unveils the new name for the building at 21 Campanella Way, watched by his wife and children. Above, the Maloneys — flanked by University President William P. Leahy, SJ, at right, and Vice President for University Mission and Ministry Jack Butler, SJ — receive applause.

‘HEALTHY YOU’ Set to Go Again

Williams with Burdo (right) and another member of his lab, Caroline Soulas.

Lab’s HIV Research Attracts Notice Continued from page 1 Diseases. “It’s gratifying to see our research recognized by our colleagues at other institutions,” said Research Assistant Professor Tricia Burdo, a member of the Williams lab and lead author of the paper. “What’s exciting is that the inclusion of the lab’s work on CD163 in a highly-respected database can help share this information with other researchers working in this critically important area.” Burdo said the Faculty of 1000, also known as F1000, reaches an important audience of faculty and researchers in the biological and life sciences. The research published in July shows that the CD163 molecule is a potential biomarker for the effectiveness of HIV therapies. The marker is viewed as a critical tool to better understand the damage infection can cause to the brain, even after effective therapeutic treatment. The findings are among the latest from the Williams lab, which has advanced the understanding of the role that seemingly protective

monocytes play in the progression of HIV and AIDS in the brain, which is an increasingly critical issue. While mortality rates from AIDS have declined thanks to antiretroviral drugs, AIDS-related dementia remains just as prevalent, particularly as AIDS patients live longer. White blood cells that play a critical role in the immune system’s response to sickness, monocytes migrate from bone marrow to blood and, in the case of HIV infection, cross the blood-brain barrier, which normally keeps monocyte levels low in the brains of healthy individuals. The lab has studied monocytes and their more aggressive infectionfighting form, macrophages. Burdo and Williams co-authored the research report with BC colleagues Patrick Autissier and Anitha Krishnan, Massachusetts General Hospital researchers Elkan Halpern and Eric S. Rosenberg, and University of California San Diego researchers Scott Letendre and Ronald J. Ellis.

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ADMISSION STATS AT A GLANCE

Data provided by the Office of Undergraduate Admission

32,974 30,800 19,000

Fourteen percent of the Class of 2015 are children of alumni (325 students).

The total number of applications received for the Class of 2015 was 32,974, eclipsing the University’s previous record of 30,800, set in 2008. In 1999, there were more than 19,000 applicants for the freshman class — also a record at the time.

BC admitted 28 percent of applicants to the Class of 2015, which numbers 2,280 students.

There was a record number of AHANA applicants for the Class of 2015: 9,962, 11 percent over last year, and comprising 29 percent of all applicants. BC enrolled 616 AHANA students, 29 percent of the freshman class.

Will Boston College continue to attract interest among collegebound high school students? Undergraduate Admission administrators note that the University welcomed 30,000 registered visitors — mainly prospective students and family members — to campus this past summer for informational sessions and tours. That number does not include walk-in visitors.

In the next few years, California will become the fourth most represented state in the BC undergraduate population, moving ahead of Connecticut. Director of Undergraduate Admission John L. Mahoney cites the larger number of high school graduates in California and BC’s growing popularity in the Golden State as the reasons.

As Economy Struggles, Career Fair Draws Both Students and Employers BY MELISSA BEECHER STAFF WRITER

For the second year in a row, the Boston College Career Center’s annual Career Fair boasted a strong turnout of both students and employers. Bolstered by hopes that a grim economy would improve, the event, which took place Sept. 22 at Conte Forum, drew more than 1,400 undergraduate students and a record 115 employers – including Bloomberg, Cambridge Associates, Citi, Ernst & Young, Putnam Associates and Radio Disney — many who readily say they seek out BC alumni. BC Career Center Associate Director Janet Costa Bates, who organizes the fair, said the event allows students the rare opportunity to meet industry leaders and to practice presenting themselves in a professional manner – a huge advantage in a highly competitive job market. “Our theme this year is ‘Face 2Face’ and we’re trying to remind students that you can’t just go on the Internet to look for a job,” said Bates. “You have to get out there, you have to network; talk to people face to face and build the personal relationships. Networking is the number one way the students will find a job.” With a record number of em-

ployers attending, Bates said the perks of the Career Fair benefit companies that are trying to find the best candidate in a very crowded pool. “Employers see a lot of resumes. This allows them to put a face to the resume and get to know the students on a slightly different level,” said Bates. “A lot of employers are interested in Boston College students and this gives them the chance to brand their company for the students,” she said. Recruiters from the TJX Companies Inc. say they make it a point to attend the Boston College Career Fair, in which they have participated now for several years running. TJX Talent Acquisition Specialist Nicole Guelcher explains that her corporation decided to become a more formal partner this year after many positive experiences with BC hires. “For the first time, we made the decision to become a Career Fair sponsor. The BC alumni we have working at all levels of our organization are strong performers who are driven and focused on delivering results, so we are always eager to speak with BC students,” said Guelcher. “The students I met at the Career Fair were largely wellprepared, serious about their job

More than 1,400 undergraduate students attended the Sept. 22 Boston College Career Fair in Conte Forum, along with representatives from 115 employers. In the top right photo, juniors Katie Kiefer (left) and Ali McDonald reviewed listings of participating businesses before beginning their rounds. (Photos by Lee Pellegrini)

search, and able to communicate well. It was a great afternoon.” In addition to companies, each of the Boston College graduate schools were represented, providing students a chance to talk about postgraduate education. Students were pleased to have a venue in which to look for internship opportunities and test the waters for interviews after graduation. “Overall, the Career Fair was a valuable experience,” Morgan Haronian ’12. “I ended up meeting representatives from compa-

nies that I had not previously considered in my career search, and I ended up learning that there are a lot of interesting careers available that I should consider. “Most company representatives were helpful and friendly, and they were encouraging that I apply even though I do not have a traditional CSOM degree. I even have some interviews scheduled with companies I learned about at the Career Fair and would not have pursued had I not spoken with their representatives.” In addition to providing em-

ployment opportunities, the Career Fair also funds programs that provide experience for students. All proceeds from the event – employers pay $450 to set up a booth in Conte – pay for the Boston College Career Center’s Summer Internship Stipend Programs. To see a video about this year’s Career Fair, go to the Chronicle YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/bcchronicle Contact Melissa Beecher at melissa.beecher@bc.edu

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Chronicle OCTOBER 6, 2011

THE DEAN’S LIST

Struggles on a Personal and Historical Scale Lee Pellegrini

BY WILLIAM B. NEENAN, SJ

The 28th annual Dean’s List features four entries, two focusing on individuals while two address great historic movements. Jane Gardam’s God on the Rocks indeed features individuals, a menagerie of them: Margaret, a clear-eyed eight-year-old; her odd parents; a worldly-wise caretaker; and the inmates of a pre-World War II asylum — in other words, all distinct individuals representing all of us. Gardam weaves them all together keeping our attention to the very last page. I discovered Jane Gardam only this year even though she has been writing and winning awards for decades. Too late have I known you, Jane. Not on this year’s List are some of her books I’ve read just this year, Old Filth (“Failed in London try Hong Kong”) and Faith Fox. Immediately put down whatever you may be reading and pick up a Jane Gardam — any Jane Gardam. Early onset Alzheimer’s. These fearful words describing the reality are usually followed by complex coping mechanisms of the person herself, her husband, daughters, colleagues and her friends. All this is movingly depicted in Lisa Genova’s novel Still Alice. Alice is a successful scholar in mid-career, a wife, a mother of two daughters — and then, without a hint of warning, the onset of Alzheimer’s is followed by her gradual descent into the darkness of dementia. All around Alice, everyone and everything inexorably disappears until, despite

a ravaged mind, a person remains. Still Alice. Timothy Snyder’s is a disturbing and important book, Bloodlands. These areas are defined by him as Poland, the three Baltic nations, Belarus and Ukraine between 1933 and 1945. In those places during those years the murderous policies of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union killed 14 million individuals. Fourteen million! Each one of these fourteen million had a name, a Margaret, an Alice. This staggering number excludes the other tens of millions who were casualties of World War II. Who it includes are the millions of Jews shot or gassed by the Germans, the hundreds of thousand Poles and Belarusians shot by the

Germans as “reprisals,” the over three million Ukrainians deliberately starved by the Soviets in the 1930s and the 700,000 murdered by the Soviets during the Great Terror of 1937-38, and on and on in numbing horror. This is not a beach book. It is a simple reminder of man’s inhumanity to man and of what we are capable of doing in the name of a “cause.” A book to be read and reflected upon. John Allen is a knowledgeable and sophisticated journalistic observer of the Catholic Church. In The Future Church, he describes with considerable insight the world the Catholic Church will probably inhabit decades from now. A sampler: The three most populous Catholic countries in 2050 will be Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines. Inter-religious conversation by then will not involve Catholics with Protestants and Jews, but Catholics with Islam. By 2050, China is projected to have over 200 million Christians, which would make it the world’s second largest Christian nation after Brazil. For many of us, myself included, I suspect Allen’s projections will be startling. That Catholic world decades from now will not be our “grandmother’s” Catholicism. But then Jesus’ last words to us were “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” —Fr. Neenan is vice president and special assistant to the president. He has issued his annual Dean’s List of recommended reading annually since 1982.

THE DEAN’S LIST FOR 2011-12 New additions in bold

James Agee, A Death in the Family John Allen, The Future Church: How Ten Trends Are Revolutionizing the Catholic Church Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim George Bernanos, Diary of a Country Priest Robert Bolt, A Man For All Seasons Albert Camus, The Fall Clare Dunsford, Spelling Love with an X: a Mother, a Son, and the Gene that Binds Them Joseph Ellis, His Excellency: George Washington Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Jane Gardam, God on the Rocks Lisa Genova, Still Alice Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory Patricia Hampl, The Florist’s Daughter James Martin, SJ, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything David McCullough, Truman Alice McDermott, After This Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son John O’Malley, SJ, The First Jesuits Marilynne Robinson, Home Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels Timothy Snyder, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin Wallace Stegner, Collected Stories Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter Robert Penn Warren, All the King’s Men

Q&A

A FEW MINUTES WITH... John Feudo

Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations John Feudo ’82 is the author of a “how to” book for public speakers titled I’d Rather Eat Live Spiders: A Definitive Guide to Becoming a Successful Speaker, published this summer by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). This is Feudo’s third book (the other two focused on alumni relations) and he says that he hopes this volume will be a help to anyone who has to stand in front of a microphone – even if they don’t want to. Feudo recently spoke with Reid Oslin of the Chronicle about his book and the art of speaking before an audience. Let’s start with the title. What does that mean? Back in the 1990s when I was doing research for my master’s degree thesis at Lesley College, I started reading all of these surveys that showed how petrified people were of speaking in front of a group. I actually did my own survey asking people if they would rank things – in terms of their own level of fear — and one of them was eating live spiders over speaking in public. The research I did showed that people would rather eat the spiders than stand up and give a speech. Lee Pellegrini What prompted you to write this book? This is something that I have had in me for decades, dating back to my student days at BC when I would get up and speak at pep rallies and do those kinds of things. I think I always felt comfortable in front of crowds. When I went out to the West Coast after graduation and worked for Toastmasters International [a non-profit group that promotes public speaking and leadership skills], that gave me more of a feel for being in front of audiences, understanding how to be a better speaker. When I was doing my master’s work at Lesley I focused on public speaking. That’s really where I wrote the majority of the shell of the book. About 15 years ago McGraw-Hill had brought me down to New York and talked to me about publishing the book and the editor said to me, “We are thinking of starting a series called Books for Dummies and we think this would be a good addition.” I said, “Books for Dummies? That doesn’t sound so great to me.” So, I took it back. Now I’m the “dummy” because those books became huge. So the book just sat. Then, last year, my editor from CASE and I were talking about it. Later, the editor called me back and said, “We’d like to publish it and also publish it as an e-book and even maybe do a DVD and a podcast with it. This time, I said ‘OK.’” Who should read the book? I think it is for anyone. Even though there are some specifics on how to build a formal presentation, I think that anyone who wants to improve their communication skills can benefit from it. A lot of the tips are about building your confidence level and understanding the importance of developing strong communication skills, understanding how to be a better listener, and knowing how to “read” your audience. Those are the kind of things that, even if you are just in a one-to-one conversation, can be helpful to you. Give us a few of your favorite speaking tips. First of all, understand the confidence level that you have in what it is you are going to say. [University President] Fr. Leahy is never going to ask me to stand up in front of a Boston College alumni audience and talk about what’s happening in the chemistry program, because that is not my strength. You are only asked to speak about subjects for which you have some level of knowledge and understanding. So, the confidence level you should have knowing that you are only talking about things in which you have a level of expertise should make you feel good getting up in front of a crowd. I do think understanding your audience is just as important as anything that you could possibly have in your own arsenal in terms of your knowledge base or your confidence level, or mechanics or anything else. Far too often, people get up and say what they think they should say regardless whether or not the audience has a certain knowledge level, whether or not they need to hear certain things. You really have to make sure that you are speaking for the audience and not for yourself. Copies of I’d Rather Eat Live Spiders are available at www.case.org. Proceeds from sales of the book will benefit Boston College.

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Chronicle OCTOBER 6, 2011

Photo by Lee Pellegrini

“People claim they believe in God and attend services on Sunday,” says Groome, “but their faith is not life-giving, meaning it does not permeate the ordinary and everyday of their lives.”

Groome Offers Help in Handing on the Faith Continued from page 1 faith. Data from the Pew Foundation bears this out, he says: All mainline Christian denominations are losing their youth and young adults at an alarming rate, with the Catholic community suffering the greatest losses. In fact, the survey states there are as many as 30 million “former” Catholics in the US. Groome proposes a holistic, contemporary, natural and flexible approach to religious education, 360-degree total community catechesis that emphasizes the shared responsibilities of parents, the parish and the Catholic school or religious education program in handing on the faith. You don’t “grow” Christians by merely sending them to religious education once a week, says Groome. To raise good Christians — who know the faith intellectually, feel it in their hearts and demonstrate it with their actions — Groome says parents need to have intentional Christian practices in their homes. “Parents and the family are the primary religious educators of children,” says Groome, who hopes that Will There Be Faith? will provide parents with the “confidence and resources to take on this responsibility.” It is interesting, notes Groome, that “back in 1965 the Second Vatican Council said the greatest heresy of our age was not materialism, Communism, or individualism, but rather the gap believers maintain between the faith they profess and the lives they live. “I think it is still probably true,” he said. “People claim they believe in God and attend services on Sunday, but their faith

is not life-giving, meaning it does not permeate the ordinary and everyday of their lives.” Groome’s approach to religious education is a “life to faith to life” model that harkens back to the way Jesus taught during his ministry. Jesus talked with people, learned about their lives and then used parables to talk about faith. He then let people appropriate the faith into their lives and make decisions in its light, according to Groome. Groome urges teachers and parents to tackle religious education in much the same way: Start by talking to children and young people about their lives and follow that by an introduction on a tenet of the faith — then circle back to the person’s life to reflect on how the two can be incorporated. It is a simple, not simplistic, approach that is very effective, says Groome says, who emphasizes that in the end all the work is worth the effort. While you can live a good, moral life without faith, he adds, we are spiritual beings and faith enriches life with purpose, meaning, value and hope. Groome’s latest book has been praised as the capstone of his career as an educator. US Catholic magazine calls Will There Be Faith? “an amazing tour de force,” while America magazine writes that “every religious education director in the country — in fact, anyone with serious hope for the future of the Catholic faith in America — needs this book. Urgently.” Contact Kathleen Sullivan at kathleen.sullivan@bc.edu

Research conducted by Assistant Professor of Psychology Sean MacEvoy and colleague Russell Epstein of the University of Pennsylvania finds evidence of a new way to consider how the brain processes and recognizes a person’s surroundings, according to a paper published in the latest issue of Nature Neuroscience. For the study, MacEvoy and Epstein used functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) to help them identify how the brain figures out where it is in the world (scene recognition). Study participants had their brains scanned while they looked at photos of four types of scenes: kitchens, bathrooms, intersections and playgrounds. Separately, the researchers took brain scans while the subjects looked at photos of individual objects particular to those scenes, such as refrigerators, bathtubs, cars and slides. Scene patterns evoked by actual scenes in one half of scans were compared to predictor patterns derived from object-evoked patterns from the opposite half. MacEvoy and Epstein found that they could use the brain patterns produced by objects as keys to decipher the brain patterns produced by scenes, and

Lee Pellegrini

A New Perspective on Brain Function

Assistant Professor of Psychology Sean MacEvoy

could “read out” what type of scene a participant was seeing at a given point in time. Neuroscientists typically link the brain area involved, known as the lateral occipital complex, to object recognition. “While previous research on scene recognition has emphasized the role of the three-dimensional layout of scenes in this process, our results suggest a separate system that utilizes information about the objects in scenes to piece together where we are. While that’s a strategy that many of us think we might use, here we have evidence of a brain area that could be responsible for it,” ex-

plained MacEvoy, investigator of the Psychology Department’s Vision and Cognition Lab, which uses fMRI combined with behavioral methods to understand the neuroscience of visual perception and cognition. “The existence of a second route for scene processing could be helpful in the development of treatment strategies for patients with brain-injuries that impact their ability to recognize where they are, which can be severely debilitating.” MacEvoy and Epstein’s paper can be viewed online at http://bit. ly/oPAtBA —Kathleen Sullivan

DeFilippo Sees Benefits in ACC Growth BY REID OSLIN STAFF WRITER

Boston College is benefitting from a safe and secure seat in the Atlantic Coast Conference as many universities and leagues endure a roller-coaster ride of athletic conference realignments, changing affiliations and television contract negotiations, according to Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo. “Our future is secure,” says DeFilippo. “There is no question about that.” The ACC recently added Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh to its membership, expanding the conference to 14 schools and firmly establishing the league’s geographic footprint from New England to Florida. That decision came as other major conferences, notably the Big 12, the Big East, the Pac 12 and Southeastern Conference, confronted the possibility of expansion or contraction. The addition of the two northeast region schools and their storied athletics programs also has cemented the ACC’s stature among the nation’s top conferences, DeFilippo says, and will likely produce even greater revenue for league members in coming years. “We have a huge television

market,” DeFilippo notes. “The studied league expansion, an effort addition of Pitt and Syracuse gives that was hastened by rumblings of Boston College some northeastern changing alliances throughout the rivals, and gives us some great extra college athletics world. The subvisibility in this part of committee is composed the country. Instead of of four university presibeing the only ACC dents, four directors of team up here now, we athletics and four athare going to get more letics department faculmedia coverage in New ty representatives, with York, and more in Philone member from each adelphia and western of the ACC’s current Pennsylvania. It’s going schools. to provide more televiDeFilippo says the sion revenue and more ACC’s recent expantelevision exposure for sion was a pro-active “Our future is both Boston College move by Commissecure. There and the entire ACC.” sioner John Swofford DeFilippo says the and member school is no question addition of the two officials that places the about that.” new schools will enleague among the top able BC teams to again collegiate athletic con—Gene DeFilippo compete against some ferences in the country. traditional Eastern ri“Having 14 teams is vals. “Other than our very workable for us,” old football rivalry against Holy DeFilippo says. “We are going to Cross [which ended in 1986], we hold there for a while.” have played Syracuse [46 previous Boston College formally joined games] more than anybody,” De- the ACC in 2005 and conference Filippo notes. “From the time the membership has been positive for Big East Conference was started in Boston College, DeFilippo says. the late 1970s, we played Pitt and “The ACC has been wonderful for Syracuse on a regular basis. They us. Anybody who can’t see that is are great football and basketball blind – or stubborn.” rivals for us.” Contact Reid Oslin at DeFilippo is one of 12 members reid.oslin@bc.edu of a select ACC sub-committee that

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle OCTOBER 6, 2011

BY PATRICIA DELANEY DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NEWS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Assistant Professor of Psychology Liane Young has received the 2011 Early Career Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Social Neuroscience from the Society for Social Neuroscience. Young, who holds a doctoral degree from Harvard University, joined the BC faculty this year from a position as a postdoctoral associate in brain and cognitive sciences at MIT, where she also was a visiting scholar of philosophy. Her research focuses on moral psychology and neuroscience, specifically the role of theory of the mind in moral judgment; moral judgments vs. moral behavior; motivated moral reasoning; conceptions of the self and free will, and cultural and individual differences in moral cognition. She was the recipient of a National Science Foundation graduate student fellowship, among other awards, and was co-author of a study of moral judgments by autistic adults that was reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences earlier this year. Young becomes the Psychology Department’s third earlycareer award winner in recent months, joining Associate Professor Elizabeth Kensinger — who won the American Psychological Foundation’s 2010-11 F.J. McGuigan Young Investigator Prize — and Assistant Professor Alexa Veenema, recipient of a Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on

Lee Pellegrini

Psychology’s Liane Young Earns Early Career Award

Newsmakers In a recent Boston Globe column, American Studies Director Prof. Carlo Rotella (English) advocated unstructured play for children, citing a report on the subject by Research Prof. Peter Gray (Psychology), who discussed his research with Fox News Boston. New research published by the Journal of Service Research — which is edited by Carroll School of Management Accenture Professor of Marketing Katherine Lemon — shows rude employees have a devastating impact on customer opinions and the bottom line for employers. The study was noted by Time magazine and the Los Angeles Times.

Liane Young

Schizophrenia and Depression in January. “Liane Young, the newest faculty member to join the Psychology Department, is carrying out innovative and important work on the neural bases of moral reasoning,” said department chairwoman Professor Ellen Winner. “We are extremely proud that she is our third faculty member to have been honored with a young investigator award.” The Society for Social Neuroscience is an international, interdisciplinary, scientific, nonprofit society established to advance and foster scientific research, training, and applications. Young, who will receive the award at the organization’s annual meeting next month, said, “Social neuroscience is an exciting new field, and I’m honored to be a part of the movement. It has been a total delight to get to know my colleagues both in the department and across the University.”

Boisi Lecture Features Talk by Teacher Preparation Expert Shepard The purposes of evaluating teacher preparation — and whether these purposes are served by current practices — will be discussed by University of Colorado at Boulder School of Education Dean Lorrie Shepard on Oct. 19, as part of the 18th Annual Boisi Lecture in Education and Public Policy. Shepard’s talk, “Principles for Evaluating Teacher Preparation: Validity, Integrity, and Coherence,” will take place at 5 p.m. in Higgins 300. A University Distinguished Professor at UCB, Shepard is an expert on psychometrics and the use and misuse of tests in educational settings. She is a past president of the American Educational Research Association and the National Council on Measurement in Education. In her lecture, Shepard will address the shift to the evaluation of outcomes in teacher preparation, and how issues of validity affect categories such as content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and skills and retention. She also will explore how measures and indicators can be made meaningful, coherent and not be overly burdensome in evaluation. A reception will be held following the event. —Office of News & Public Affairs

Stories such as the news of a Bostonarea toddler dying after being left in a daycare van bring dread to any parent, and such mistakes are gutwrenching and perhaps inexcusable. But they are not incomprehensible, especially the more we understand how the brain works, wrote Prof. Kent Greenfield (Law) in the Huffington Post. Assoc. Prof. John Gallaugher (CSOM), “whose lectures on the technologies that drive and change the business world are really more of a master class in entrepreneurship,” was featured in Entrepreneur Magazine.

BC in the Media Gary Gilbert The long, arduous and incomplete process of civilizing humankind and suppressing its most violent impulses was the subject of a book review for the Wall Street Journal by James Q. Wilson, senior fellow at the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy. Wilson, in his assessment of Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels Of Our Nature, writes that the author’s most important statement “is, so to speak, the one he doesn’t say. As an evolutionary psychologist, he generally incorporates heritability into his explanation of human behavior. The claim might thus be made that people have become genetically less disposed to violence. But Mr. Pinker’s careful attention to the evidence will not let him say this. We have, as yet, no reason to think that our biological make-up has changed in a way that makes us less violence-prone.”

When news broke of Google’s $12.5 billion plan to buy Motorola Mobility, Carroll School of Management Dean Andy Boynton — writing in a blog post for Forbes — recalled the company’s mission statement that declares in part, “It’s best to do one thing really, really well.” That thing for Google was always clear — until this recent announcement. Assoc. Prof. Jonathan Laurence (Political Science) offered comments for an article in the Financial Times Magazine on the end of “Eurabia” — the idea expressed by some po-

BC BRIEFING

Dividing attention between the screens of two devices can have a negative impact on productivity, according to a study by Carroll School of Management Egan Professor of Computer Science James Gips and Assoc. Prof. S. Adam Brasel that was reported in the UK’s Daily Mail and New Zealand’s Daily Herald.

With an event marked by joyful celebration and hope, the Republic of South Sudan was born on July 9, hopeful that a new democratic government would lead to a peaceful future based on justice. Writing in America magazine, Center for Human Rights and International Justice Director David Hollenbach, SJ, discussed how Catholic teaching can help shape the life of the world’s newest country. The Boston Herald and Gatehouse News Service ran stories on the new documentary by Prof. John Michalczyk (Fine Arts), “Kenya: Passing the Baton,” that premiered last month at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In foreign interventions, the parameters of the possible are narrower than most people think, wrote doctoral candidate in philosophy Ian Marcus Corbin, a freelance cultural critic, in his analysis for the Wall Street Journal of the new book Can Intervention Work?

litical and social commentators that jihadist Muslims are conquering Europe and the world. Researchers led by Asst. Prof. Jianmin Gao (Chemistry) have developed a new class of small molecule receptors capable of detecting the telltale signs of cellular death, particularly cells targeted by anti-cancer drugs. Their research, reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society was noted in Science Daily, First Science, Private Healthcare (UK), LifeSciences World and PhysOrg.

Publications Asst. Prof. Maia McAleavey (English) published the article “The Discipline of Tears in The Old Curiosity Shop” in Dickens Studies Annual 54. Founders Professor in Theology James Keenan, SJ, was the subject of “Catholic Ethics in Manifold Voices: An Interview with James Keenan” in Asian Christian Review.

Time and a Half Rattigan Professor of English Emeritus John Mahoney led a symposium on “The Romantic Voice and Ulti-

mate Meaning” at the 16th Biennial Conference of the International Society for the Study of Ideas of Ultimate Reality and Meaning at Regis College, University of Toronto. O’Neill Library Nursing Bibliographer Wanda Anderson presented several sessions on the “Role of the Library Subject Liaison” to members of the University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain Science Library and Department of Nursing. Several faculty of the University of Navarra have been visiting scholars at Boston College. Asst. Prof. Mathis Wagner (Economics) was a discussant at the 4th AFD-World Bank International Migration and Development Conference at Harvard University. Send items to people.chronicle@bc.edu

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/: Associate Director, University Fellowships office Report Writer/Analyst, vancement Services

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Athletic Maintenance, Facilities Management Application Server Administrator, Information Technology Senior/Applications Systems Developer, Information Technology Staff Nurse, University Health Services Investment Officer, Treasury Operations Associate Project Manager, Information Technology Services Assistant Director, Flynn Fund Operations, Athletic Association - Development Director, Campus Recreation, Athletic Association

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle OCTOBER 6, 2011

LOOKING AHEAD

BC Concerts a Celebration of ‘Masterworks’ Events, CD launch a tribute to Jesuit priestcomposer Victoria BY ROSANNE PELLEGRINI STAFF WRITER

The sacred music of priestcomposer Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) — regarded as the greatest Spanish composer of all time and one of the premier High Renaissance/early Baroque composers of any nationality — will be spotlighted in two campus concerts next week to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his death. Organized by the Music Department, the concerts — free and open to the public — take place on Oct. 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. in St. Mary’s Chapel, and showcase the extraordinary musical activity of the Jesuit German College in Rome at the height of its glory, according to Music Department Chairman and Professor Michael Noone. The two musical events — titled “Masterworks from the Jesuit German College in Rome: Tomás Luis de Victoria and Giacomo Carissimi” and “Making HistoryMaking Music: the Jesuit Musical Tradition in Italy and England” — also accompany the United States release of a 10-CD collection of Victoria’s works by Noone and his London-based Ensemble

Music Professor Michael Noone, at left, at a rehearsal with Ensemble Plus Ultra, which will perform Oct. 12 and 13 at St. Mary’s Chapel as part of a celebration of the music of Tomás Luis de Victoria.

Plus Ultra [www.ensembleplusultra.com]. Jesuit Institute Director and Rector T. Frank Kennedy, SJ, will mark the CDs’ BC launch at a McMullen Museum of Art reception following the Oct. 13 concert. “At a time when the CD industry is in crisis, it’s remarkable that a label as prestigious as DGG Archiv would release not one but ten CDs of liturgical polyphony by Tomás Luis de Victoria,” Noone said. “Yet the fact that they have is resounding testimony to the superlative quality of his composition. This is music of the highest quality.” The project, he notes, brought

BC SCENES

together 42 musicians from several countries to record more than 90 works. In 2008 and 2009, Noone’s team spent more than 60 days in Spanish and English churches renowned for their acoustics recording in excess of 12 hours of music. Following the release in Spain of six of the CDs, two were named among 2010 “exceptional discs” by the magazine Sherzo. The BBC described the CDs as “an absolute polyphonic feast,” “beautifully recorded” and “a treasure trove for the Victoria anniversary.” A student, and later a professor, at the Jesuit German College, Victoria was the first of a long line of great composers whose associa-

tion with the Society of Jesus was decisive for the history of Western Music, according to Noone. Under Noone’s direction, the Ensemble Plus Ultra will present the composer’s finest works, as well as compositions by Victoria’s successor at the college, Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674). Noone describes the Oct. 13 concert as something of a movable feast: It begins in St. Mary’s Chapel and concludes in the McMullen Museum, where the ensemble will perform music by William Byrd (1543-1623) as an accompaniment to the current exhibition “Making History: Antiquaries in Britain.” The concert “takes its cue from the exhibition,” Noone said, “especially the portraits and objects associated with the reign of Elizabeth I” and Byrd, her “most favored composer.” Scott Metcalfe, director of the Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, will join the ensemble as violinist on Oct. 12, and the choir will return to campus next semester to work with students and to perform a concert in March. The concerts are sponsored by the Institute for the Liberal Arts. For information, contact the Music Department at ext.2-6004 or via e-mail at concerts@bc.edu. Contact Rosanne Pellegrini at rosanne.pellegrini@bc.edu

Arts Council Seeks Award Nominations The Boston College Arts Council is going public in its quest to honor members of the University community for their achievements in, and contributions to, the arts. For the first time, the Arts Council has issued a public call for nominations for the 2012 Arts Council Awards, which are presented at the annual Boston College Arts Festival in the spring. At this time, the council will accept nominations for the Alumni and Faculty awards; suggestions for student arts awards will be accepted next March. University faculty, staff or alumni can submit a nomination for candidates working in the performing, visual, and literary arts. The nomination criteria and nomination forms for are available at www.bc.edu/artsawards. Entries must be submitted by Friday, Oct. 21. Past recipients of the Faculty Award include John L. Mahoney Sr., Nancy Netzer, John Michalczyk, Suzanne Matson and Jeffery Howe. Actors, directors, studio artists, musicians, writers and other artists have received the Alumni Award, including actors Chris O’Donnell ’92 and Amy Poehler ’93, author Chuck Hogan ’89 and photographer James Balog ’74. For more information, contact Arts Council Program Administrator Cathi Ianno at ext.26500.

—Office of News & Public Affairs

POPS AND PARENTS Lee Pellegrini

Two of the University’s more popular traditions once again converged this past Friday. At left, John Rogers and Marian Racette — parents of freshman Emily Racette — talked with Office of Residential Life administrators during the Student Affairs “open house” in Corcoran Commons as part of Parents Weekend. That night, Broadway stars Stephanie J. Block (in photo at right) and Julie Murney performed in Conte Forum with the Boston Pops and conductor Keith Lockhart at the Pops on the Heights gala, which also featured student performance groups. Parents Weekend included a host of other events and activities, including a liturgy by University President William P. Leahy, SJ.

Gretchen Ertl