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Academy 3 Winfrey students visit BC
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Catholic intellectual tradition explained
‘Dean’s 5 Fr.List’Neenan’s for 2010-11 october 7, 2010-VOL. 19 No. 3
Stokes Hall Project Gets Underway On Tuesday, the crews began installing the temporary fencing that will encompass the perimeter of the construction area on the Campus Green. The fencing will force the rerouting of foot traffic to McElroy Commons and Carney and Lyons halls, but these and other buildings adjacent to the Campus Green will remain open and fully accessible. Vehicular traffic and parking in the Campus Green area will be prohibited during construction. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2012. Stokes Hall was formally approved by the Board of Trustees on Sept. 24. Walsh Brothers, Inc., a Boston-based construction company with a long and successful track record with the University — including the original Bapst Library and 21 Campanella Way — was awarded the construction contract. “The construction of Stokes Hall represents the first of our Master Plan projects and will provide classrooms and academic of-
A view of the future Stokes Hall as seen across the new Campus Green from Carney and McGuinn halls. Work on the building began Monday and will be finished in 2012. (Image by Tsoi Kobus & Stephen Stimson Assoc.)
fice space that will enhance the educational experience for students and faculty at Boston College,” said Executive Vice President Patrick Keating. “It is an exciting time for the University, and the beginning of more than a decade of planned construction projects.” Bearing the family name of current trustee and former board chairman Patrick T. Stokes ’64,
Drawing On Strength and Inspiration Her mother never gave up hope, not even when the family wound up in a homeless shelter. That’s why Adejire Bademosi ’14 (above) won’t give up, either By Melissa Beecher Staff Writer
At a very young age, Adejire Bademosi ’14 lost both her father and her home. Inspired by the example of her indefatigable mother, Bademosi grew up determined to get an education, and to put her skills and talents to use for the good of others. A Woodstock, Md., native, Bademosi was recently named among the “50 Young Champions for Women” by the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, an
the retired chairman and CEO of Anheuser-Busch Companies, in recognition of his $22 million gift, Stokes Hall will help to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among humanities departments, while also enabling staff from the Academic Advising Center and Office of First Year Experience to interact with faculty who teach the largest segment of undergraduate students.
A special website, www. bc.edu/stokeshall, has been created to provide information on the project and its impact on BC. Updates will be posted by the Office of News & Public Affairs on the website and on BC Info [www.bc.edu/bcinfo] throughout the duration of construction.
Doctoral Programs Study Has Good News for BC
KC Cohen
After years of planning, work began this week on Stokes Hall, a cornerstone of the University’s Institutional Master Plan and the first academic building to be constructed on the Middle Campus since 2001. The 183,000-square foot building will be built on the Middle Campus between Lyons Hall and McElroy Commons, and will include faculty offices for Classical Studies, English, History, Philosophy, Theology, the College of Arts & Sciences Honors Program, Arts & Sciences Service Center, Academic Advising Center and First Year Experience offices, as well as 36 new classrooms, a commons area, coffee shop, conference rooms and outdoor gardens and a plaza. On Monday, work crews began widening the pedestrian walkways that will serve the Middle Campus throughout the two-year construction project.
international organization formed to promote safe pregnancy and childbirth around the world, particularly in developing countries. As part of the honor, Bademosi attended the “Women: Inspiration & Enterprise (WIE)” symposium in New York City, which featured speakers including Arianna Huffington, Donna Karan, Melinda Gates and Queen of Jordan Rania Al Abdullah. Bademosi recently talked with Chronicle about her childhood, and the role it played in her becoming a “Young Champion.”
“Women Inspiring Women” was the theme for this year’s WIE symposium. Who are the women who inspire you? Irene Bademosi. She is my mother, inspiration, and confidant. Without her, I would definitely not be where I am today. Irene Bademosi was born to two middle class parents in West Africa. Although her parents were uneducated, she vigorously pursued her studies. Her hard work landed her at internationally renowned high school and undergraduate proContinued on page 4
A new study of doctoral pro- zner, Graduate School of Arts grams shows Boston College’s & Sciences associate dean for continuing ascent into the top academic affairs, the NRC study tiers of American research uni- showcased Boston College’s exversities in the qualcellence in doctority of its faculty and “The NRC results indi- al education not students. only in UniverThe National cate that Boston College sity mission-based Research Council is reaping the dividends programs such (NRC), which reas Theology and views 5,000 doc- of its sound investment Philosophy, but torate programs at in doctoral education.” also in Psychol222 of the leading ogy, Economics, —Candace Hetzner English, Chemisresearch institutions in the United try and Physics. States every decade, “The NRC rereleased its longsults indicate that awaited findings last week. The Boston College is reaping the Graduate School of Arts & Sci- dividends of its sound investment ences and the Connell School of in doctoral education over the Nursing’s PhD program partici- past two decades,” said Hetzner. pated in the latest NRC rankings, “The University’s investments in with both schools achieving high the mid-1990s in strategic funds levels of success, particularly in for Theology and the Institute for areas of University strategic in- Religious Education and Pastoral vestment. Ministry, as well as Economics Most noteworthy, adminis- and Philosophy, contributed to trators observed, the NRC data high ratings on various dimenindicated high faculty research sions of the new NRC report, productivity and highly competi- especially with regard to faculty tive doctoral programs, with BC scholarly output and student doctoral students scoring in the GRE scores.” upper reaches of the Graduate The Connell School of NursRecord Exam. ing experienced similar success According to Candace HetContinued on page 4
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle october 7, 2010
Screen gem
A ROUND C AMPUS
Beautiful Bapst Bapst Library regularly earns praise from the Boston College community and visitors alike for its architecture and design. So perhaps it’s not too much of a surprise that Bapst topped the list of “Most Beautiful College Libraries” compiled by CampusGrotto.com, a national college news website that covers a wide range of college-related topics. “We weren’t sure who the bestowers of this honor were, but I think it’s safe to say that the students, faculty, staff and alumni who come through our doors couldn’t agree more,” said Bapst Librarian Adeane Bregman. Rounding out the top 10 after Bapst were William W. Cook Legal Research Library (University of Michigan); Suzzallo Library (University of Washington); Butler Library (Columbia); Fisher Fine Arts Library (Penn); Chancellor Green Library (Princeton); Doe Library (Cal-Berkeley); Harper Library (University of Chicago); Frederick Ferris Thompson Memorial Library (Vassar) and Sterling Memorial Library (Yale). Other New England representatives on the list were Harvard’s Widener Library and Baker Hall, Dartmouth’s Baker Memorial Library, and Williston Library at Mt. Holyoke College. “Comfort and atmosphere play a huge role in getting in a quality study session,” read the introduction to the survey. “The problem is that some of these libraries are so beautiful that they almost become too distracting to study in.” The full list is at http://bit.ly/cRVMzQ. —Office of News & Public Affairs
If you think Connell School of Nursing Clinical Instructor Maureen Connolly looks a little familiar, there’s a good reason: She portrayed a nurse educator in the 2007 Johnson & Johnson “Campaign for Nursing’s Future” commercial series that has been broadcast on national television and frequently appeared in print media. The video depicts Connolly and other real-life nurses saving lives, offering medical advice and teaching others the art of their critical medical mission. Connolly is shown instructing nursing students in a Massachusetts General Hospital surgical amphitheater, administering emergency first aid at an accident scene and treating an infant in an ambulance. Connolly was working as a part-time instructor in CSON’s Simulation Laboratory in 2006 when she heard about a casting call seeking nurse educators to participate in the commercial, and decided to give it a try. “The producers asked me about what kind of nursing I had done and why I had decided to try teaching,” says Connolly. “There was no script – I just had to be myself,” she says. A few days later, Connolly found herself in front of the cameras and klieg lights making the 30-second spot that is still shown Boston College Chronicle is now available in “flipbook,” an easyto-browse digital format. If you would like to receive Chronicle flipbook editions, send e-mail to chronicle@bc.edu with “Subscribe flipbook” in the subject field, and include your name in the message. The flipbook edition also can be viewed at the Chronicle website, http://www.bc.edu/chronicle.
The Kherkoff family — including BC undergrad Kyle ’13 (second from right) and his mother Stacey Kardamis Kerkhoff, a 1987 grad (at far left) — during their recent appearance on “Family Feud.”
Connell School of Nursing Clinical Instructor Maureen Connolly in one of her scenes in the Johnson & Johnson “Campaign for Nursing’s Future” ad.
on television networks three years after its broadcast debut. “At first I was unsure,” she says. “I was wondering why I would be the right person to do this. I had only been teaching for about four years, and although I definitely know the nursing part of it, transitioning into a nurseeducator takes a long time. “But now that I have been teaching for a while, I get what they are trying to convey. I am not in every one of those places that you see in the commercial, but we do send off people who are. They are trying to point out that nurse-educators are very valuable people.” The enthusiastic and energetic Connolly gets the occasional
“Haven’t I seen you on TV?” question, but her favorite moment of recognition came from her niece, a US Army nurse, who was embarking with a medical unit to Afghanistan and saw the spot on the CNN International network when her military aircraft stopped to refuel in Kazakhstan. “She emailed me, ‘Auntie Maureen, I just saw you on TV!’” Connolly laughs. “She told everybody in her troop, ‘That’s my aunt!’” The “Campaign for Nursing’s Future” spot may be viewed at http://bit.ly/bSqdcg. -RO [Maureen Connolly is profiled on page 7 as part of the “Welcome Additions” series on new faculty.]
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: •Marc Muskavitch and the Southern House Mosquito Genome: A group of researchers, including DeLuca Professor of Biology Marc A.T. Muskavitch, has sequenced the genome of the Southern house mosquito, providing new insights into the most widespread disease-bearing mosquito. •Chris O’Donnell: The star of “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “Batman Forever” returned to his alma mater to give a talk. The Boston College
Chronicle Director of NEWS & Public Affairs
Jack Dunn Deputy Director of NEWS & Public AFFAIRS
Patricia Delaney Editor
Come on down! Superfan? Try Superfamily. The Kerkhoff family — which includes Carroll School of Management sophomore Kyle Kerkhoff and his mother, 1987 CSOM grad Stacey Kardamis Kerkhoff – recently appeared on an episode of the TV game show “Family Feud,” and credit some deep-seeded BC pride with getting them there. “When we made it to the callback audition, we were asked to show up with what made our family unique. We decided to become the ‘Superfamily’ – each of us showing what made us super,” said Kardamis Kerkhoff. “My son, Kyle, showed up the way he does for every athletic game – wearing his gold Superfan t-shirt, painted himself gold with a maroon wig. “We also had my mother, our
Sean Smith
Super-kickboxing-senior,” she laughed. The shtick – which included dancing into the audition site and maintaining enthusiasm throughout — made an impact and the Kerkhoffs got a callback. They were flown to Universal Studios in Orlando to film an episode with host Steve Harvey. It was a dream come true for the group who tried out 20 years ago, at the urging of family patriarch Steve Kerkhoff, who has since passed away. “Fast-forward 20 years and my mom was watching ‘Family Feud’ when she saw an announcement for auditions. She mentioned it to my brother, Mike, and that’s all he had to hear,” said Kardamis Kerkhoff.
“I’d always heard about how much fun they had trying out for the show so many years ago and it was a chance to do it again,” said Kyle. “We just got further than we ever thought we would.” Although the group didn’t manage to beat out the Darling family from Yorba Linda, Calif., seeing themselves at TV was a thrill. “I love BC. I’m a proud alum. And now with my kid at BC, we can continue the tradition of being fans,” said Kardamis Kerkhoff. “We’re a nutty family who love each other like crazy and this really was an awesome experience for all of us.” The episode is scheduled to air again locally on Nov. 11 at 3:30 pm on WHDH, Channel 7. —MB
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.
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle october 7, 2010
Far From Home
Students from Oprah Winfrey Academy get words of wisdom on education during stop at BC By Reid Oslin Staff Writer
Twenty-six students from the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa got some valuable advice for making their eventual college choices when the group visited Boston College on Sept. 24. Director of Undergraduate Admission John L. Mahoney Jr. offered words of welcome and guidance for the secondary school juniors who are beginning their search for higher education, and were at BC as part of a two-week, five-city tour that included some of the leading educational institutions in the United States. “You have seen lots of great schools,” he told the students as they sat in a semi-circle around him in the lower gallery of the McMullen Museum of Art. “But you can’t do a really good college search unless you know yourself pretty well first. “Make sure you give yourselves the time when you return home to do something very unusual in today’s world,” Mahoney said. “Go to a room by yourself – put your schoolbooks, extracurricular activities and iPods aside for half an hour – and ask yourself the questions: ‘Who am I and what do I really want out of my col-
lege experience? What kind of learning environment do I want? What kinds of role models and mentors do I want? Do I want a large school or a small school? Suburban, urban or rural? “If you go into your college search with a mindset that includes the things you are looking for, things will connect a lot more easily,” he said. “Make that part of your game plan.” The academy was founded in 2007 to provide a rigorous and supportive educational environment for South African girls from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The group of juniors who visited BC is part of the original class enrolled in the boarding school founded by Winfrey, who pledged to build the school after a meeting in 2000 with South African leader Nelson Mandela and has contributed more than $40 million. Leading the South African visitors was the academy’s Deputy Head of School Joy Haywood Moore ’81, Hon. ’10, who said that the American college visits were arranged to present not only the educational opportunities that may be available to the students, but also to give them an up-close view of American life. The group of 26 students and seven staff and faculty chaper-
ones has visited schools in Atlanta, Washington, DC, New York City, San Francisco and Boston, where they made stops at BC, Harvard University and Wellesley College. “This is the first year we have done the college tour,” said Moore, “and we would like to continue it. This gives the girls a great opportunity to figure out who they are and the campus environment they want to be in. “This is also the first time for these girls to be out of South Africa,” Moore added. “It has been a great opportunity for them to learn about the United States and they seem to have a great sense
of wanting to be in the United States.” In addition to visiting colleges, the group took in a number of popular American sites, including the White House — where the group briefly met with President Barack Obama — and New York City, where they went through Times Square, watched a Broadway show, and “had a big American burger with fries,” said Moore with a laugh. “We are trying to give them little pieces of American life.” During their BC tour, they listened to Mahoney describe the mission, character and identity
specific to Boston College, and heard from three undergraduate students, Danielle Rakus ’12, D.J. Murphy ’11 and Jung En Yi ’11, who related their own experiences in the classroom and beyond at BC and answered questions from members of the group. The South African contingent also was given a student-led tour of the Main Campus and treated to lunch at the Corcoran Commons dining facility, where they were joined by several international students. Reid Oslin can be reached at reid.oslin@bc.edu
Forum on Holocaust Is Next Week
NBC’s Costas Plans Visit with Students Emmy Award-winning sportscaster and talk show host Bob Costas will visit campus on Oct. 19 to share his experiences and insights with Boston College undergraduates interested in broadcasting and media-related careers. Costas — whose credits include hosting NBC-TV’s “Football Night in America,” “Costas Now” and “Later with Bob Costas,” and appearances on numerous shows and programs, such as the PBS documentary “Baseball” — will hold a discussion and Q&A session with students about what it takes to work and achieve success in broadcast journalism. He also will be the guest lecturer in a Broadcast Writing class taught by Communication adjunct faculty member Christine Caswell McCarron. A native of St. Louis, Costas joined NBC in 1980 and has been involved in broadcasts of most every type of major sporting event, including the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals and Olympics. He won an Emmy for Outstanding Informational Series and a Sports Emmy for “Later with Bob Costas”; he also has received 15 Sports Emmys for broadcasting and two more for writing. He has earned Sportscaster of the Year
Students from the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa toured the McMullen Museum of Art during their visit to Boston College Sept. 24. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
By Kathleen Sullivan Staff Writer
Bob Costas
honors from the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association a record eight times. “The Communication Department is delighted to welcome an industry professional of such national prominence as Bob Costas,” said Communication Professor and department chairwoman Lisa Cuklanz. “The value added to our students’ course of study by this Emmy Award-winning sportscaster is immeasurable. Our majors can see firsthand how Costas, who got his start announcing games on his college campus as an undergraduate, applies the communication theory he learned in the classrooms to the world of sports. “From the Olympic Games to Major League Baseball, Costas has a treasure trove of anecdotes and we are excited that BC students will have the privilege of hearing from him.” —Sean Smith
The mechanics of the Holocaust, and the ethos of those who were responsible for it, will be the subject of a discussion at Boston College next week that features leading Holocaust scholars. “The Industrialization of the Holocaust: Never Again?” will be presented on Oct. 13 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in McGuinn Auditorium. Fine Arts Professor John Michalczyk will moderate a panel of experts, including Robert Buckley of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, University of Massachusetts-Boston Professor Paul Bookbinder, Professor A. Ferenc Gutai of Moorpark College (Calif.) and George Eisen, executive director of the Center for International Education at Nazareth College. “Our goal is to give the audience a big-picture view of what happened behind the scenes during the Holocaust,” said Michalczyk, who has directed and produced several films about the Holocaust. “We have all seen the gruesome images of dead bodies and camps, but what was the mindset of the people who put these deaths in motion?” Each of the panelists will make a presentation: Gutai will talk about the Nazi camps; Buckley will discuss Nazi philosophy; Eisen will address the 1936 Berlin
Olympics; and Bookbinder will detail the Nazis’ production-line killing. Excerpts of Michalczyk’s films, “The Cross and the Star: Jews, Christians and the Holocaust” and “In the Shadow of the Reich: Nazi Medicine” will be shown. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be convened by Lorenz Reibling who teaches the course Hitler, The Churches and The Holocaust in the Woods College of Advancing Studies.
The sponsors for the event are the Laura and Lorenz Reibling Family Foundation, Woods College of Advancing Studies, Fine Arts Department, Jewish Studies Program, Faith, Peace and Justice Program, Jacques Salmanowitz Program for Moral Courage in Documentary Film, BC Hillel and German Studies Department. For more information, contact the Fine Arts Department at ext.2-4295. Kathleen Sullivan can be reached at kathleen.sullivan.1@bc.edu
Symposia on Interreligious Dialogue Begins Today The third Boston College Symposia on Religious Dialogue, which begins today and runs through Saturday, will focus on economic development as a potential means for collaboration and exchange between religions. Opening the conference will be a plenary lecture, “Profits and Prophets: Economic Development and Interreligious Dialogue,” by Paul Knitter, the Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture at Union Theological Seminary at 5 p.m. in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons. During the conference, which takes place at the University’s
Connors Conference Center in Dover, scholars from the US and abroad will present papers that examine how religious beliefs affect economic praxis, and how interreligious dialogue religions may enrich particular conceptions of market economics, and improve socio-economic relationships between individuals from different religious groups and cultures. Boston College faculty members Catherine Cornille, John Makransky, James Morris, Ruth Langer and Peter Ireland are the symposia organizers. For information, e-mail glenn.r.willis@gmail. com. —Office of News & Public Affairs
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle october 7, 2010
C21’s Catholic Intellectual Tradition Primer By Ed Hayward Staff Writer
Adejire Bademosi calls her mother Irene her “inspiration and confidant. Without her, I would definitely not be where I am today.” (Photo by KC Cohen)
One Mother’s Strength Continued from page 1 grams, which provided opportunities for lucrative careers. She, instead, chose to be an educator and an advocate for children. In 1987 she moved to the United States to join my father. Despite her educational achievements, as an immigrant she held menial jobs to make ends meet. By 1992, my mother was married and had my older sister Jolaade and me. Six months after my birth, my father contracted cancer of the pancreas. With no immediate family and scarce resources, my mother became the sole breadwinner for a family of four. Oftentimes, she would seek additional income serving as a housecleaner. A woman with two bachelor degrees was cleaning toilets and homes. During this time, she volunteered as a counselor at the Montgomery County Sexual Assault Department. She would accompany rape victims to court for support. Her ability to commit herself to public service despite her personal situation taught me the importance of not dwelling on one’s personal circumstances. After the death of my father in 1995, my family became homeless. Eventually, we received subsidized housing. Instead of my mother dwelling over the loss of my father, she opted for graduate school. She juggled supporting two children under the age of seven, graduate school, and a full time job. How she did it? She persisted through determination and dedication. Without my mother’s responsibility, my family would be destitute. Her actions have shown me what self-determination can create. I choose to volunteer in the public service sector because I have a sincere enthusiasm about every project I pursue. Throughout my short 17 years of life, I have been fortunate to utilize my passion for research to affect people. You volunteered for a number of causes in high school – Grassroots (a program for homeless families), Habitat for Humanity, the Howard County Human Rights Commission, Howard County Board of Education, among others. Why did you become involved in these groups? To be completely honest, I did what I loved and what I was most passionate about. Every single activ-
ity I did throughout high school had a meaning to my life experiences. For example, my work as board member on the Howard County School Board was something I did because I saw the need in the community when I had researched educational inequities in Howard County. At BC, I would love to transfer my experiences at various levels of government to UGBC, ALC, Model UN, and various cultural groups. How did you become involved with the White Ribbon Alliance? I recently became involved with the cause of maternal health, but I’ve been involved in the rights for women for several years now. My interest stems from issues relating to education and empowerment. I have been able to expand my involvement through advocacy and different positions held from County Commissioner on the Commission for Women to, most recently being appointed Advisor on the Youth Advisory Board for Running Start, a 501(c)3 organization in Washington that works to get young women involved in politics. What was the WIE symposium like? What events did you find the most beneficial? Where do I begin? It was a fairly intimate setting, which allowed people to be very comfortable. Actually, at one point during the event, I was sitting next to a BC alum! Everything was so informative, because each session had a different focus. I was able to hear from artists, bloggers, writers, and medical professionals all in the same day. The most compelling aspect was the relatability each of the stories had to an everyday college student like myself. Nonetheless, the words of a young girl named Nthabiseng Tshabalala inspired me the most. She shared how she and her friends saved their lunch monies to provide school uniforms for one of her friends. Her humility and ability to discuss this issue as a community human rights issue truly inspired me. It was not about the recognition; it was about making a change then and there. Taking advantage of what one has and sacrificing for the well being of others. Her story reiterated what I do and why. Melissa Beecher can be reached at melissa.beecher@bc.edu
A new publication by The Church in the 21st Century Center offers a primer on the Catholic intellectual tradition and its place within the University. Written and edited by a crosssection of BC faculty, the 10-page booklet was designed to offer students, faculty, staff and alumni – as well as a broader national audience – a chance to reflect on the Catholic intellectual tradition that has guided students, scholars and institutions for two millennia. The booklet, titled The Catholic Intellectual Tradition: A Conversation at Boston College, is intended to start a discussion about the Catholic intellectual tradition as an intellectual entity consisting of a vast repository of theological thought. The tradition centers on philosophizing; devotional practices; works of literature; visual art; music and drama; styles of architecture; legal reasoning; social and political theorizing; and other forms of cultural expression that have emerged in different parts of the world in the course of the 2,000 years of Christian religious experience. The editors hope the book’s influence spreads beyond the BC campus. The reflections within its pages are intended to make a contribution to American higher education by engaging other universities — both Catholic and nonCatholic — in discussion about the Catholic intellectual tradition and its relevancy in contemporary society. “You have to start with some-
(L-R) Assoc. Prof. Gregory Kalscheur, SJ (Law), Clough Millennium Professor of History James O’Toole and Special Assistant to the President Robert Newton played major roles in producing The Catholic Intellectual Tradition: A Conversation at Boston College. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
thing people can read and understand and that is what was at the heart of this effort,” said Robert Newton, special assistant to President William P. Leahy, SJ, and one of the project leaders. “The booklet is not the end of a conversation, but just the beginning.” Since Pope John Paul II spelled out his vision for Catholic higher education in his 1990 decree “Ex Corde Ecclesiae,” Catholic colleges and universities have engaged in deep reflection about their Catholic identity. A responsibility of the University to sustain its Catholic identity as a Jesuit, Catholic university is to recapture, rediscover and enhance the Catholic intellectual tradition. The booklet represents BC’s efforts to do so. In addition to being made available throughout the BC campus, the booklet will also be sent to each American bishop, every president representing the member institutions of the Association
of Catholic Colleges and Universities, as well as each of the 300 speakers who have presented at Boston College since the announcement of the Church in the 21st Century initiative in 2002. “A university illuminated by the Catholic intellectual tradition is a place of shared, transformative, intellectual life — a place where the Church, always acknowledging that there is more to learn, is informed by ongoing scholarship, and where the wisdom developed over centuries within the Catholic tradition permeates a university’s core values, curriculum, and search for truth,” according to a short summary on the booklet cover. Copies of the publication are available from the Church in the 21st Century Center, as well from a download available online at www.bc.edu/church21. Ed Hayward can be reached at ed.hayward@bc.edu
BC Doctoral Programs See Progress Continued from page 1 in its doctoral program, according to Associate Dean for Graduate Programs Patricia Tabloski. “We are pleased with the success of the Connell School among the 52 nursing PhD programs included in the NRC analysis, and especially in the area of support for our doctoral students,” said Tabloski, who noted that since the data-gathering period, the school has undergone continued growth and hired as dean an internationally regarded nurse researcher and educator in Susan Gennaro, recruited several new faculty, formed collaborative relationships with the Harvard Catalyst Consortium, enhanced research opportunities for faculty and PhD students, and increased the number of electives in its PhD program to enhance scholarship opportunities for students. The 2010 NRC study differs in its methodology from its earlier assessments in 1982 and 1993, as well as from those of most organizations that evaluate academic program quality, administrators said. The NRC, for example, chose not to rank institutions based on institutional reputation, but rather by analyzing data such as the numbers of faculty publications and awards, the extent of
doctoral student funding, time to degree, and diversity of student population. In addition, in perhaps its biggest departure from traditional evaluations, the NRC declined to provide a specific ranking for each program and instead located all programs within a range of rankings, making this year’s NRC results incomparable to earlier NRC studies. The new NRC methodology
has generated a fair amount of controversy among universities and the media, including criticisms that the survey is based on outdated information gathered more than five years ago. To counter the criticism, the NRC has made its assessment publicly available on its website [www. nap.edu/rdp] and offered a wealth of data for a variety of uses by prospective students as well as research universities. —Office of News & Public Affairs
COLLABORATIVE EFFORT—A conference on Catholic education held last week at Boston College featured a discussion led by President William P. Leahy, SJ, right, and Fordham President Joseph McShane, SJ, on successful school-university partnerships focused on the Catholic intellectual tradition. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle october 7, 2010
By Rev. William B. Neenan, SJ
DRAMATIC PRESENCE—Internationally acclaimed Peruvian theater group Yuyachkani performed “Adios Ayacucho” — the story of a “suspected” terrorist who has been tortured and murdered by the military — on Sept. 28 in Robsham Theater. Members of the group, whose name is a Quechua word that means “I am thinking, I am remembering,” also visited undergraduate classes of Lynch School of Education Professor Brinton Lykes and Associate Professor of Theater Crystal Tiala. (Photo by Frank Curran)
New Academic Year, New Programs Boston College has introduced a doctoral program in mathematics this fall, a move Mathematics faculty say reflects the University’s longstanding excellence in, and dedication to, the discipline. “This program shows that Boston College is engaged in a high level of mathematics scholarship,” said Mathematics chairman Professor Solomon Friedberg, “and that the University is committed to training the next generation of mathematics teachers and researchers.” Six candidates have entered the PhD program, according to Friedberg, and the department envisions a total enrollment of 25 students who will specialize in two broad research areas, geometry/ topology and number theory/representation theory. Admission to the first doctoral class was highly selective, with less than 20 percent of applicants being offered a place. “A doctoral program represents an opportunity to interact with young people in the next, critical stage of their careers,” said Friedberg. “We appeal to students who want a small program with engaged and accomplished faculty members. We are committed to helping our students realize their potential as both scholars and teachers.” Mathematics has a distinguished place at Boston College, notably the work of the late Stanley Bezuszka, SJ, founder of the Mathematics Institute, which has helped support national efforts to improve math and science programs. Fr. Bezuszka and colleague Professor Margaret Kenney were among the five inaugural members of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in Massachusetts Hall of Fame. Friedberg won the 2009 Northeastern Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching from the Mathematical Association of America. A recent external review of the
Gary Wayne Gilbert
Doctorate in Mathematics Now Being Offered
Solomon Friedberg
Mathematics Department had praised its level of purpose and collegiality, and recommended the establishment of a doctoral program. In addition to the PhD pro-
gram, BC has now introduced a bachelor of science degree in math to complement the bachelor of arts. The new degree program will enable undergraduates to study key areas, such as algebra and analysis, in greater depth at the upper-division level, said Friedberg. “At the same time,” he adds, “we remain strongly committed to our BA students. For those undergrads who want to pursue a double major or teach math at the pre-collegiate level, the BA program may be a more attractive option. “We feel that these initiatives have strengthened our department and our programs overall, and will add to BC’s international reputation in mathematics.” —Sean Smith
BC Law, Tufts Join Forces for Urban, Environmental Degree Boston College Law School and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University have launched a program that allows students to earn a law degree in combination with a degree in urban and environmental policy and planning. The concentrated program offers a master of arts in urban and environmental policy and planning and juris doctor degree in four years rather than the five normally required. This new collaboration plays on the strengths of two Greater Boston institutions: Tufts Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), which offers a distinguished program in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP), but which does not have a law school, and BC, which has nationally-recognized environmental and land law programs, but has no master’s programs in environmental science and policy planning. “We’re very excited to be able to offer this new dual degree,” says Law Professor Zygmunt Plater, who was instrumental in setting up the program. “It teams up two highly-
ranked programs in these two fields. No other graduate program in New England offers an opportunity like this.” Plater cited Tufts UEP faculty member and BC Law Adjunct Professor Jonathan Witten, a certified planner and lawyer and Tufts’ coordinator of the dual degree program, for writing the proposal adopted by both institutions. Students apply to both schools independently and during their first year take courses exclusively through either Tufts’ UEP department or BC Law. In subsequent years, students split their courses between the two schools. Over the course of their dual degree studies, students will be offered a range of courses at UEP including environmental justice, urban planning and design, and water resources policy. Relevant law school courses include administrative agency process, environmental law, land use regulation, environmental regulatory compliance, and real estate finance. To read more about the joint program, see http://bit.ly/cMNiAt. —Office of News & Public Affairs
The Dean’s List first appeared in 1982. Some years later Oprah Winfrey also began recommending books. But not until 2010 has there been an overlap between a Dean’s List selection and a book recommended by Ms. Winfrey. The book? Say You’re One of Them by the Nigerian Jesuit Uwem Akpan. Fr. Akpan’s five stories powerfully portray the harsh reality of life for children in modern day Africa. They are all the more poignant because these young folk caught up in unspeakable horrors are in so many ways just like children we see playing in neighborhood parks in the United States. Have a Little Faith is Mitch Albom’s moving account of how two believers, a rabbi and a Baptist pastor, face central issues of life: redemption, forgiveness, doubt in God, the afterlife. Two very different individuals from very different backgrounds and yet they both respond in remarkably similar ways to the same core life issues that are found both in Fr. Akpan’s Africa and in Mitch Albom’s middle America. Jesuits have long been noted for their lack of modesty. This virtue is in full display in the title of the masterful introduction to Ignatian spirituality, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by James Martin, SJ. I suggest you buy this book and, whether devout or a doubter, settle down, establish a regimen and reflect on brief sections of this book over a period of time. If you do so, you will be practicing Ignatian spirituality and will soon find your-
Gary Wayne Gilbert
What to Read? Check Out the ‘Dean’s List’
self responding to St. Ignatius of Loyola’s injunction to “find God in all things.” And if you do what I am suggesting, you may indeed come across the Guide to Absolutely Everything. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls is a good read. The author’s grandmother is the central character in her book and she was a character indeed — born in a dirt dugout in New Mexico, experienced Prohibition in Chicago, was a school marm, flew biplanes a la Amelia Earhart, and rounded up horses with a pinch of grain, not a lasso. Probably won’t make Oprah’s list, but this would be a good page-turner while working on your Ignatian spirituality assignment. I suspect Ms. Winfrey may well be pleased to find one of her selections on the Dean’s List. Wouldn’t you be pleased? If she is pleased, I too am pleased. And who knows? This might happen again. 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 2010-11 New additions in bold
James Agee, A Death in the Family Uwem Akpan, SJ, Say You’re One of Them Mitch Albom, Have a Little Faith 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 F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby 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 J. Donald Monan, SJ, Echoes of a University Presidency Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son John O’Malley, SJ, The First Jesuits Marilynne Robinson, Home Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels Wallace Stegner, Collected Stories Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter Jeannette Walls, Half Broke Horses Robert Penn Warren, All the King’s Men Garry Wills, Saint Augustine Simon Winchester, River at the Center of the World Jay Winik, April 1865, The Month that Saved America
T he B oston C ollege
The Bookshelf Breaking Bread: Recipes and Stories from Immigrant Kitchens [http:// bit.ly/9FLsxx], by English Department Adjunct and ESL Program Coordinator Lynne Anderson, recounts in loving detail the memories, recipes and culinary traditions of people who have come to the United States from around the world. She has been featured by the Boston Globe and on Wisconsin Public Radio.
In her nonfiction book Missing Lucile: Memories of the Grandmother I Never Knew, [http://amzn.to/atyqwf] English Department Adjunct Professor Suzanne Berne creates a vivid portrait of her dying father’s mother, reconstructing “through a box of trinkets and photographs a woman who has been missing from the family for 75 years — and about whom little is known. By doing so, she finds the father she has been missing herself,” says Berne. She is the author of three critically acclaimed novels; the first, A Crime in the Neighborhood, won Great Britain’s Orange Prize. What We Have: One Family’s Inspiring Story About Love, Loss, and Survival [http://www.amyboesky.com], a memoir by Associate Professor of English Amy Boesky, is about a family dealing with the pressure of previvorship – not having cancer, but having a known (elevated) risk for it. A Boston Globe reviewer called What We Have “extremely moving” and it was cited as a “book to watch” by Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine.
In Soundings in the Christian Mystical Tradition [http://bit.ly/ cuoKZc], Professor Emeritus of Theology Harvey Egan, SJ, draws on 50 years of reading and teaching the mystics to sketch the varieties and passion of the mystical life across more than two millennia. Through their stories and words, Fr. Egan reveals that all were conscious of the paradox of human identity — supremely and unsurpassably manifested in the GodMan — that the genuinely human is disclosed only through surrender to God and that the search for God cannot bypass the genuinely human.
Chronicle october 7, 2010
O’Donnell Comes Home to the Heights Alumnus/actor offers advice and fond reminsicences at Chambers Lecture Actor Chris O’Donnell ’92 shared lessons learned from screen and stage, and from family life, at a talk Oct. 1 in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons, held as part of the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics Chambers Lecture Series. Speaking to a packed house, O’Donnell — known for his roles in films such as “Batman Forever” and “Scent of a Woman,” and now starring in the CBS-TV series “NCIS: Los Angeles” — talked about dealing with the pressures of a show business career, and how after a down period he found success after dedicating himself to improving his craft. Self-improvement can often entail taking on new challenges, he said; in his case, it included acting in a play (Arthur Miller’s “The Man Who Had all the Luck”), an experience completely unfamiliar — and at first unnerving — to O’Donnell. “The lesson of preparing to succeed applies whether you are an actor, a businessman or a notfor-profit worker,” he said. “The lesson transcends industries.” But the role O’Donnell said has been the most important in his life is that of a family man — as husband to his wife Caroline, and father to their five children. “For me, the structure I get from my family life and my faith give me the balance to survive the crazy roller coaster that is show biz. Whatever you end up doing, stay true to your beliefs and values. Make sure you decide what will define you as a person. Learn from your mistakes, prepare for success and lead a balanced life.” A question-and-answer period following his talk afforded O’Donnell to speak on a variety of topics. •Life at BC: “I was constantly amazed at how talented my friends here were. There was something special about every kid at BC, and
Chris O’Donnell ’92 chatted with students following his talk in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons, where he also met Caitlin McGarry ’11, in photo at right, the current holder of a scholarship he endowed. (Photos by Lee Pellegrini)
that was kind of overwhelming at times. But the friendships I made here are still so strong.” •Dealing with fame: “I’ve never had a real problem with paparazzi...Occasionally they’ll camp outside our kids’ school, but they’re not there for me, they’re there for someone else. They’ll get a picture of me just because I happen to be passing by.” •Coolest person he’s met in Hollywood: “You mean besides LL Cool J [his “NCIS” co-star]? The man just defines cool...He’s got a confidence level way above me and optimism which is fantastic, because I’m the world’s biggest pessimist.” Prior to the talk, O’Donnell met with senior Caitlin McGarry, the current holder of the scholarship O’Donnell endowed at BC. Established by O’Donnell in honor of his mother Julia, the O’Donnell Fund at Boston Col-
lege provides financial aid for qualified undergraduates from the Chicago area, with preference for students from Loyola Academy of Wilmette, Ill., the high school he and McGarry attended. McGarry, a native of Glenview, Ill., majoring in political science and philosophy, has been working on the congressional campaign of BC alumnus Bill Keating, and next month will begin an internship in the area office of US Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) JD ’76. Her post-graduation plans include law school and a possible career in the foreign service. “I was so happy to meet Chris,” said McGarry. “I was humbled by his sincerity, and very impressed that he’s been able to keep a normal life, with a wife and family, with such a demanding career. The O’Donnell Fund has helped me stay here at BC, and I couldn’t have picked a better place to go.” —Sean Smith
OBITUARY Ethics of the Word: Voices in the Catholic Church Today [http://amzn. to/bWLcpT], by Founders Professor of Theology James Keenan, SJ, explores the power of the word of God and the word of human beings. An America review calls it “a helpful and instructive book, given the many experiences of loss and suffering, misunderstanding and scandal that characterize much of our everyday lives.”
“The Bookshelf” takes note of new or recent books by current Boston College faculty and staff. These entries and other BC-related book news are available via the “BC Bookmarks” blog, at bcbookshelf.wordpress.com. Authors can submit their books for consideration to bcbookmarks@bc.edu with “The Bookshelf” in the subject line. Please include: author’s name, hometown, rank or title and school, department or office at BC; book title and publication date; summary of the book (three to four sentences, written for a general audience rather than a scholarly publication); an electronic image of the book cover. Books must have been published within the last six months to be considered new or recent. Textbooks, reissues or translations of previously published books will not be accepted. Chronicle reserves the right to reject any submissions that do not supply sufficient information or are otherwise deemed as inappropriate for inclusion.
Ellen Hominsky, Wellness Group Coordinator A funeral Mass was celebrated Sept. 28 at Holy Name Parish in West Roxbury for Ellen Hominsky, fiscal coordinator in the Office of Residential Life, who died Sept. 23. She was 58. A native of West Roxbury, Ms. Hominsky worked at Boston College for 35 years. She was cocoordinator of the University’s Wellness Support Group for faculty and staff members whose lives have been affected by cancer and other serious health events. Ms. Hominsky’s colleagues described her as a compassionate, considerate person who was loyal to her many friends at BC, and who helped those in need of moral support. They fondly recalled how Ms. Hominsky would recount her experiences at the 1969 Woodstock rock festival — and could
produce her tickets to prove she had been there. “Ellen was a classic, and she loved working here,” said Executive Director of Auxiliary Services Linda Riley, who noted that as Ms. Hominsky struggled with her health in recent years, “she cherished the friendships she made here and often commented about the support systems that existed for her at BC.” Residential Life Assistant Director of Facilities Catherine O’Connor and Assistant Director for Off-Campus Housing Marianne Carrabba lauded Ms. Hominsky’s budgetary acumen, as well as her enthusiasm for office holiday competitions and retreat activities: “If Ellen was on your team, you were sure to win. Family was very important to her and BC was Ellen’s second family.”
“Ellen exemplified strength and loyalty, beauty and grace,” said Connors Retreat Center General Manager Susan Burton. “She was a fun, caring person, who touched the lives of many people here,” said Human Resources Service Center Assistant Director of Special Projects Ruth Chobit, who coordinated the Wellness Support Group with Ms. Hominsky. The daughter of Mildred (Foley) and the late Frank Hominsky, Ms. Hominsky is survived by her mother and sisters Joan Driscoll and Nancy Meade. Ms. Hominsky was buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury. Donations may be made in her memory to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Massachusetts Chapter, 9 Erie Dr., Natick MA, 01760. —Sean Smith
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle october 7, 2010
WELCOME ADDITIONS Assoc. Prof. Julian Bourg (History) specializes in 19th and 20th century European intellectual history, intellectuals and politics, the history of terrorism, history and film, modernism and postmodernism, and biopower. He is teaching The Ends of Human History and leading a colloquium in Modern European History. Bourg’s first book, From Revolution to Ethics, won the 2008 Morris D. Forkosch book prize from the Journal of History of Ideas. He previously taught at Bucknell University, Bryn Mawr College, Washington University in St. Louis (where he was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow) and the University of California-Berkeley, where he earned his doctorate. Connell School of Nursing Clinical Instructor Maureen Connolly — who portrayed a nurse educator in the 2007 Johnson & Johnson “Campaign for Nursing” commercial series [see story on page 2] — has been a nurse for 25 years, 20 of those as a nurse practitioner. A graduate of Worcester State College with advanced degrees in nursing from Laboure College and Simmons College, she was named “Nurse of the Year” for 1985 at Boston City Hospital. In addition to her CSON teaching assignments in the areas of health assessment and clinical skills, Connolly continues to work one day a week as an urgent care nurse practitioner at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. Asst. Prof. Michelle Meyer (Biology) has won numerous academic awards and citations for her work in the fields of computational biology; non-coding RNA discovery and validation; molecular evolution; and RNA and protein structure. As a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, Meyer earned the National Institute of Health’s Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Fellowship, and as a doctoral candidate at California Institute of Technology, she was awarded the Howard Hughes Medical Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship and the Graduate Dean’s Award for Outstanding Community Service. Meyer also won a number of academic honors as an undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry major at Rice University. She will be teaching courses in genetics and biochemistry. -Reid Oslin Photos by Lee Pellegrini “Welcome Additions,” an occasional feature, profiles new faculty members at Boston College.
Thomas E. Buckley, SJ, a professor of Modern Christian History at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., will hold the Gasson Chair for the 2010-2011 academic year. Fr. Buckley has written and lectured extensively on Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and the struggle to establish religious freedom in the early republic. He is currently completing a study of Virginia’s efforts to understand and implement Thomas Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom. In addition to teaching Pacifism and Peace Movements this fall and English Reformation next spring, Fr. Buckley will deliver the fall Gasson Lecture, “Mentoring and Jesuit Education: Ignatius Loyola, Thomas Jefferson, and Us” on Nov. 15. Fr. Buckley holds a bachelor’s degree from Gonzaga University; a master’s in history from Loyola University, Los Angeles; a master’s
Lee Pellegrini
Fr. Buckley Is Gasson Professor for 2010-11
Thomas E. Buckley, SJ
in divinity from Weston School of Theology; and a doctorate in history from University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gasson Chair, the University’s first endowed professorship, was established in 1975 with a gift from the Jesuit Community to support a distinguished Jesuit scholar’s visiting professorship in any discipline at BC. —Reid Oslin
NEWSMAKERS Asst. Prof. Lisa Fluet (English) wrote in the Chronicle of Higher Education about her week-long “adventure in assessment”: evaluating essay answers on the 2010 Advanced Placement exams in English literature and English language, administered by the Educational Testing Service. Monan Professor of Higher Education Philip Altbach, director of the Center for International Higher Education, discussed with Times Higher Education the US dominance in THE’s recent world rankings. Following an earthquake in New Hampshire, the Lawrence EagleTribune interviewed Weston Observatory Director Prof. John Ebel (Environmental and Earth Sciences) about the cause of New England tremors and the region’s potential for a more serious quake. Assoc. Prof. Mary Ellen Carter (CSOM) offered comments to the Boston Globe on mistakes made by publicly traded Massachusetts companies in reporting executive compensation. Asst. Prof. Richard Albert (Law) wrote in the Huffington Post that President Barack Obama will find himself in a stronger position to face reelection in 2012 if his Democratic Party loses its congressional majority in the 2010 midterm elections. Clough Millennium History Professor James O’Toole was quoted by the Miami Herald regarding the first international tour of the relics of St. John Bosco. Career Center Information Services Manager Kelly Alice Robinson discussed the importance of the library as a college tour stop in an interview with US News & World Report.
PUBLICATIONS
Assoc. Prof. Bruce Morrill, SJ (Theology), published “Pratiques
BC BRIEFING occasionelles ou pratiques régulieres: miracles, médias, marchandisation, et fonction des rites” in La Maison-Dieu. Prof. Jeffrey Cohen (CSOM) published “Corporate governance in the post Sarbanes-Oxley era: Auditors’ experiences” in Contemporary Accounting Research.
TIME AND A HALF
Dean for Enrollment Management Robert Lay was the invited keynote speaker at the Beijing International Education Expo on the topic “Selective Private Universities and the Public Good.” He also joined panelists from University of Virginia and New York University at the College Board for a seminar for senior enrollment professionals to discuss data-driven decision making for institutional mission. Economics faculty members made the following presentations: •Neenan Professor James Anderson, “Specialization: Pro- and Anti-Globalizing, 1990-2002” at the Trade Costs and International Trade Integration – Past, Present and Future Conference, Venice, Italy, and also chaired a session at the International Conference on Economic Modeling, Istanbul. •Roche Professor Arthur Lewbel, “Nonparametric Euler Equation Estimation,” the Semiparametric Methods in Economics Finance Conference, London School of Economics; “Identification of Children’s Resources in Collective Households,” and was a discussant at the Workshop on Household Economics at Columbia University; Lewbel also presented the same paper at the Society of Labor Economists Annual Meetings at University College London.
NOTA BENE Two members of the Communication Department were honored by the National Communication Association. Professor Dale Herbeck received the 2010 Donald H. Ecroyd Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education, the highest honor bestowed for excellence in pedagogy by NCA. The award committee praised Herbeck’s “sense of humor, organization, willingness to advise and mentor students, availability outside of the classroom, concern for students, generosity and passion for teaching.” The association selected Associate Professor Charles Morris for the 2010 Golden Monograph Award — the second time he received the honor — for his essay “Hard Evidence: The Vexations of Lincoln’s Queer Corpus,” which appeared in Rhetoric, Materiality, and Politics. Hee Yeon Cho, a fourth-year graduate student in chemistry working with professors Lawrence Scott and James Morken, has been awarded a 2011 Graduate Fellowship by the Division of Organic Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. Hee Yeon’s fellowship, sponsored by Roche, is one of only 10 that the ACS awards annually nationwide “to outstanding third and fourth year graduate students in organic chemistry.” In addition to supporting Hee Yeon’s dissertation research, the fellowship will fund her participation in the 2011 National Organic Chemistry Symposium.
•Prof. Peter Gottschalk, “Changes in the Transitory Variance of Income Components and Their Impact on Family Income Instability” the 12th IZA/CEPR European Summer Symposium in Labour Economics, Buch, Ammersee, Germany, and “Some Evidence on the Importance of Sticky Wages--the Role of Measurement Error,” the Society of Labor Economists Annual Meeting, London. •Assoc. Prof. Fabio Ghironi, “Optimal Fiscal Policy with Endogenous Product Variety” at the 25th Annual Congress of the European Economics Association in Glasgow. Prof. Robert J. Starratt (LSOE) presented “Should Ethics Be Included in the Mission of the School?” at the annual international UCEA Conference on Values and Leadership in Umea, Sweden. Send items to: people.chronicle@bc.edu
JOB LISTINGS 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.edau/offices/hr/: Interlibrary Loan/Circulation Assistant, O’Neill Library Bio-Informatic Programmer, Biology Department Director, Irish Institute Associate Director, Web Development, Carroll School of Management, Finance Department Associate Director for Employer Relations, Career Center Senior Digital Media & Web Developer, Office of Marketing Communications Associate Director, Development, Annual Giving, Classes Associate Director, Special Gifts, Development, Annual Giving Education Technical Specialist & Legal Info. Librarian, Law Library Director, Recruitment & Training, University Relations Staff Assistant, Development, Annual Giving, Classes Assistant Director, Ctr. for Human Rights & International Justice Statistician/Programmer, Trends in Mathematics & Science Study Associate Director, School Development
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle october 7, 2010
LOOKING AHEAD Blue Heron Raising Its Voices at the Heights By Rosanne Pellegrini Staff Writer
Boston’s premier professional early music vocal ensemble, the Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, joins Boston College as artists-inresidence this academic year and will present a concert on campus Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. in St. Mary’s Chapel. The concert, which is free and open to the public, will be preceded on Oct. 12 by an open rehearsal at St. Mary’s from 6:30-9:30 p.m., offering an opportunity to meet and chat with the performers. [For more information on these events, call ext.2-6004 or e-mail concerts@bc.edu.] “Blue Heron is much more than a mere choir,” says Professor of Music and Department Chair Michael Noone, who describes the group as “a highly flexible performing organization which draws from a roster of musicians in order to constitute the ensemble best suited to the repertoire at hand.” Under the leadership of founder and director Scott Metcalfe, the internationally acclaimed choir [www. blueheronchoir.org/] combines a commitment to vivid live performance with the study of original source materials and historical performance practice. The residency program at BC in which Blue Heron is participating is an Institute for Liberal Arts initiative that brings a professional ensemble to campus, providing students the opportunity to work closely with musicians in the preparation and presentation of their performances. It “promises a rich experience for BC students and for the whole BC community,” ILA Director and Rattigan Professor of English Mary
The Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, artists-in-residence this year at Boston College, will perform at St. Mary’s Chapel Oct. 14. (Photo by Liz Linder)
Crane noted. Said Metcalfe, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with BC students and faculty as we prepare two programs this season — both this month’s concert, featuring a North American premiere of a work written in the first half of the 16th century, and the concert in March of Victoria’s six-voice ‘Requiem,’ in a program commemorating the composer’s death in 1611.” “It is especially good to make numerous visits to the campus and work with students, in both classroom and rehearsal settings, over the course of several weeks leading up to a concert,” added Metcalfe, who said the group welcomed the chance for “a closer and more sustained collaboration” with Noone, an expert in 16th-century Spanish music. For their fall concert, Blue Heron will present “Music from the Peterhouse Partbooks,” a collection
BC SCENES
of precious musical manuscripts that, Noone notes, “somehow survived Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries,” and “stand as a testament to the incredibly rich music traditions of pre-Reformation Catholic England.” Because essential parts of the manuscripts are missing, musicologists have “ingeniously reconstructed the original music,” so “these superb masterpieces of the English Renaissance can be heard today with the freshness that greeted their first performances in the cathedrals of Renaissance England.” Metcalfe said the concert is “the latest installment in the ensemble’s series of programs drawing on music from the Peterhouse Partbooks, which were copied c. 1540 for Canterbury Cathedral, and features the North American premiere of a radiant Mass by Nicholas Ludford (c. 1490-1557). The program includes plainchant from England’s Sarum
Frank Curran
rite for a Mass on St Margaret’s feast day of July 20, and concludes with a dramatic antiphon by Hugh Aston (c. 1485-1558), recorded on Blue Heron’s recent CD. The ensemble’s BC affiliation — “our first largescale residency” at a university, Metcalfe said — will include coaching BC’s Madrigal Singers. Madrigal Singers’ co-director Kayleigh Dudevoir ’11 said, “The chance to work with such a brilliant group of singers is not only useful to the directors, but inspiring for our newest members. I am very excited to see how the Madrigal Singers will benefit from Dr. Metcalfe’s guidance, both as individual singers and as a group.” Fall events related to the Blue Heron residency, Noone noted, are part of a week of activities that focus on the Renaissance. They include the Annual Josephine Von Henneberg Lecture in Italian Art, which precedes the Oct. 14 concert at 5 p.m. in Devlin 101. An interdisciplinary conference, “The Pamphilj and the Arts: Patronage and Consumption in Baroque Rome,” follows on Oct. 15 and 16. It is free and open to the public (registration required) and will be held on the Brighton Campus. More information on the conference is available at http://bit.ly/aNci8f. Rosanne Pellegrini can be reached at rosanne.pellegrini@bc.edu
PARENTS AND POPS
DATE & TIME The Church in the 21st Century will sponsor the talk “Does Vatican II’s Theology of the Laity Have a Future?” by Richard Gaillardetza, an expert on structures of authority in the Roman Catholic Church, on Oct. 12 at 4:30 p.m. in the School of Theology and Ministry Room 100. Gaillardetz is the Thomas and Margaret Murray and James J. Bacik Professor in Catholic Studies at the University of Toledo. See www.bc.edu/church21 or e-mail kellyk@bc.edu. Meika Loe will present “The Rise of Viagra,” a lecture on contemporary constructions of gender and sexuality in American media, medicine, and popular culture, on Oct. 12 at 4:30 p.m. in Fulton 230. She is the author of The Rise of Viagra: How the Little Blue Pill Changed Sex in America. For information, e-mail calverts@bc.edu. The University Wind Ensemble gives its first fall performance, a program of music by British composers, on Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons. See www.bc.edu/offices/odsd/ bands/events.html. Boston College and MIT are continuing their Number Theory Seminar series this year, with six events taking place during the academic year. On Oct. 19, the series will present Eyal Goren (McGill College) at 3 p.m. and Pierre Colmez (Jussieu Campus, Paris). For information, see www.bc.edu/ schools/cas/math.
One of Boston College’s biggest events of the year, Pops on the Heights, ushered in Parents Weekend 2010 on Sept. 24, as the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, conducted by Keith Lockhart, performed at Conte Forum (below) with Ann Hampton Callaway, Michael Chertock and the Boston College University Chorale.
Rose Lincoln
The weekend included a number of activities for Boston College families, including a cook-out at the Flynn Recreation Complex prior to the BC-Virginia Tech football game (above).
Author and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, above, will speak as part of the Clough Colloquium on Oct. 19 at 4:30 p.m. in Robsham Theater. Noonan, who served as speech writer and special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, is the author of What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era, Character Above All, John Paul The Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father and Patriotic Grace: What It Is and Why We Need It Now, among other books. Contact winston.center@bc.edu. For more on Boston College campus events, see events.bc.edu or www. bc.edu/bcinfo.