Boston College Chronicle

Page 1

The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs summer 2014 Edition

INSIDE

Lynch School Program to Certify Bilingual Educators

HEIGHTS GREETING

•Read Aloud Program marks 20 years, page 2

TDLL program will be first of its kind in the state By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

•Walk Across Campus still gaining in popularity, page 2

•Ismay is first Cooney Family Asst. Prof., page 3 •Hard-earned degree, honors for Woods College grad, page 4

•Hoveyda receives the Eni Award, page 4 •BC among winners in Catholic Press Association book awards, page 4 •Alan Rogers on religious exemption for use of prayer to heal children, page 5 •Q&A: Woods College Interim Dean Fr. Burns, page 5

•Carrabba is Community Service Award winner, page 6 •Gilman Scholarships aid foreign study for juniors, page 6 •Obituary: Alice Jeghelian, page 6 •Waddock chosen for lifetime achievement honor, page 7 •Teaching management to non-management students, page 8

In Memoriam: William B. Neenan, SJ

‘Goodbye, Friend’

Crowded in amongst the pews of St. Ignatius Church were former colleagues and students, fellow priests and academics – but whatever their titles or backgrounds, they had known the joy of being called “friend” by William B. Neenan, SJ. Fr. Neenan, who died June 25 after more than three decades of administrative leadership and pastoral care at Boston College, was remembered July 1 at a funeral Mass in a packed St. Ignatius. Mourners paid tribute to the beloved Jesuit from Iowa, celebrated for his many accomplishments in key posts at BC – including academic vice president and dean of faculties – but also for his uniquely personal touch throughout the University community, exemplified by his trademark “Hello, friend” greeting to acquaintance and stranger alike. In interviews on the day of the Mass, some of those friends spoke fondly of the man and his impact on BC. “The ability to be funny and also be serious might seem incongruous, but Fr. Neenan brought these two qualities together in a wonderfully synergistic way,” said Associate Professor of Psychology Joe Tecce. “He could tell a joke and kid around, but then in the next minute, he would talk to you with great seriousness about some aspect of BC policy.” Said Diane Fahey, an administrative assistant in the President’s Office, “He made everyone who worked with him that much happier. Always a smile, and he made you smile, whatever the circumstances.”

EVP Keating to Step Down After 2014 Fall Semester By Jack Dunn Director of News & Public Affairs

Monan Professor of Law Daniel Coquillette recalled when his daughter attended her BC freshman orientation, where the guest speaker was none other than Fr. Neenan, who was AVP at the time. “He got up and said, ‘I’m Fr. Bill Neenan, and I just want to sit and talk with you.’ In 10 minutes, everyone was in love with him. I thought how marvelous it was that here was an institution where the AVP takes time out of his day to go and talk with about 30 freshmen. “But that was how Fr. Neenan saw this school – as one student, one staff member, one faculty member, one administrator at a time.” In his various roles at BC – he also was Gasson Professor and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences prior to being named AVP – Fr. Neenan “allowed so many to be part of his life, and brought many people together,” said University President William P. Leahy, SJ, in his eulogy at the Mass. Continued on page 6

QUOTE:

Gary Gilbert

•International PhD program is renewed, page 3

Members of the Class of 2018 got an introduction to Boston College, and each other, at a First Year Experience session Monday. (Photo by Caitlin Cunningham)

Lee Pellegrini

•Frates writes about his ALS struggles, page 2

The Lynch School of Education will launch a program in September to certify bilingual education teachers who work in schools offering dual-language immersion classes where English- and Spanishspeaking students develop fluency in both languages across their academic subjects. The Teaching Dual Language Learners (TDLL) Certificate Program is the first to be offered in Massachusetts and builds on the Lynch School’s strengths in bilingual education. The school already offers a certificate in Teaching English Language Learners (TELL) for educators in programs that offer English-only “sheltered” immersion instruction to students.

“Our goal is to establish the dual-language certificate as a natural extension of the TELL program, with a focus on preparing elementary teachers for teaching positions in dual-language immersion programs,” said Lynch School Associate Professor Patrick Proctor, an expert in English language learners, who developed the program with his Lynch School colleagues. The new certificate is intended to support teachers and principals in an area largely devoid of state oversight since Massachusetts voters supported a 2002 ballot initiative that outlawed so-called “transitional” bilingual education programs, Proctor said. The vast majority of students who are learning English are now taught in “sheltered” immersion classes. Continued on page 8

Patrick J. Keating, Boston College’s executive vice president since 2001 and a key figure behind the University’s successful strategic planning and campus development efforts, announced recently that he will step down from his position at the end of the fall semester. Keating, a respected administrator who leads the areas of facilities management, finance, human resources, information technology, student affairs and planning and assessment, has agreed to stay on as a consultant to the provost, beginning in April of 2015. He will also serve as a professor of the practice in higher education in the Lynch School of Education, and continue to oversee Boston College-Ireland and the Irish Institute programs. During his 13 years as executive vice president, Keating assisted University President William P.

Patrick J. Keating

Leahy, SJ, through a period of extensive campus growth, including the construction of Stokes Hall, the renovation of Gasson and St. Mary’s halls, and the design of the new student residence hall at 2150 Commonwealth Avenue, among other projects. He also coordinated many important technology improvements, ranging from the data center at St. Clement’s Hall to the implementaContinued on page 3

“We all supported each other. I felt like I needed to set the tone and be a role model, especially when the going got tough.” –Anissa Lane, a single mother and Woods College of Advancing Studies grad, page 4


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