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Men’s hockey wins 3rd straight conference title, now eyes are on Frozen Four, B1
ROTC students are a strong force and close family on campus, B10
The BC Dance Ensemble displayed an array of talent at their spring show, A10
‘Escape’ in robsham
Monday, March 19, 2012
Vol. XCIII, No. 15
GSSW earns top-10 rank among national peers Dean set top-10 as 10 year goal in 2004 By Andrew Skaras Heights Staff
A year after celebrating its 75th anniversary, the Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) has reached another milestone. It is the first of Boston College’s graduate schools to be ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News and World Report. After coming to BC in 2001, Alberto Godenzi, dean of the GSSW, made a top-10 ranking the school’s 10-year goal in 2004. Originally from Switzerland, Godenzi came in 2001 from the University of Fribourg, where he chaired the department of Social Work and Social Policy. He spent the first few years making an assessment of the GSSW’s strengths and weaknesses before setting the goal. “It was a goal that we set in 2004, when we were 19th, and some people laughed at us,” Godenzi said. “The social work ranking is done by reputation, and you are not in full control of that.” After setting this target, Godenzi led strategic retreats with the faculty. In order to achieve his goal, he asked them the questions, “Where do we want to make a name for ourselves? What fields aren’t already highly populated?” The impetus behind the retreats was to get the faculty to engage with the goal and form an iden-
Winston Center recruits student ambassadors
tity as an organization. Godenzi thought it favorable that he worked at a Jesuit Catholic school. “The fortune for the school of social work is its center in BC’s identity,” Godenzi said. “We grapple with issues of equality, injustice, the poor, and the sick. What we do, in a way, is God’s work.” In his attempt to create an identity for the school, Godenzi concentrated on making the school prominent in three areas. He wanted the school to excel on global issues, issues of aging, and diversity. “Schools of social work were relatively U.S.-centered,” Godenzi said. “We decided that we wanted to be known for our global perspective. [The students] work with international agencies and relief programs. When we are engaged with global communities, we are in line with the vision that Ignatius had for setting the world aflame.” After noticing the changing demographics in the world population, Godenzi settled on the problems associated with aging for the second area for the school to focus on. There are three centers at BC, one in CSOM and two in GSSW, that form the Institute on Aging. The director of the institute is James Lubben, who holds the Louise McMahon Ahearn Chair in Social Work at Boston College. The third goal was that Godenzi wanted to create a distinction for the
By David Cote News Editor
display on for the exhibit, which will be shown at the Boston Public Library. There is a section on children’s writers, a section on literary magazines, a section focused on Edgar Allen Poe, and a variety of other literary topics. For one section, titled “Treasures or Turkeys?” the students looked at a wide range of literature to decide what was worth including, and what was a “turkey” and perhaps better left forgotten. Kristen House, A&S ’12, prepared her display on children’s novelists. “Any children’s author that we don’t know about that was relevant at the time, I’m sure no one knows who they are today.” House commented also on her tie to the city of Boston and how, as a native to the city, this project was particularly eye-opening. “I’ve lived in Boston my whole life, and I’m coming across this information for the first
The Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics has announced a new program to encourage student participation in the center’s activities. The new Winston Center Ambassador program will begin in the fall semester, and will give interested students the opportunity to work closely with the program’s administrators in planning and publicizing the center’s events. “We are looking for students who are interested in promoting and advancing the mission of the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics,” said Brooks Barhydt, assistant director of the center, in an e-mail. “The students who are selected to serve in this important volunteer role will work in collaboration with [the] assistant director of the Winston Center to publicize key events to the campus community.” “In addition to working to help publicize important Winston Center events throughout the year, students will have the opportunity to help brainstorm what notable leaders to bring to campus, and will be able to meet and spend time with those individuals.” The Winston Center will look specifically for students who have attended previous events put on by the center, and hopes to recruit 10 to 20 ambassadors for one-year commitments or more. “I think it goes without saying that we will be giving preference to those who have attended past Winston Center events and have a passion for the core components of the Center–Leadership and Ethics,” Barhydt said. In terms of potential effects, Barhydt said he hopes that involving more students will allow the center to gain more student input when planning events and give students the chance to interact on a personal level with the center’s speakers. The ambassador program also hopes to bring the Winston Center’s events to students from all of BC’s schools, not just the Carroll School of Management. “Student input is always welcomed, and we want to ensure that students have the opportunity to connect with worldclass speakers on a more personal level,” Barhydt said. “I believe that too often in the past, members of the campus community have attributed the Winston Center to only benefitting members of the Carroll School.” Although the ambassador program will not officially begin until the fall, the
See Exhibit, A4
See Winston Center, A4
daniel lee / heights editor
See GSSW, A4
The GSSW, housed in McGuinn Hall, was named a top-10 school by ‘U.S. News and World Report.’
‘Forgotten Chapters’ brings to light Boston’s lost literature Students research Boston’s forgotten literary works By Brigid Wright Heights Staff
photo courtesy of kristin house
BC students have spent several months researching Boston’s numerous lost literary landmarks.
Students in an English seminar class are preparing for an upcoming exhibit on which they have worked all year long, titled Forgotten Chapters of Boston’s Literary History. The exhibit will feature a wide variety of mid-19th century literature that today’s culture has not preserved. This elite class, taught by Paul Lewis, has researched disregarded Boston-area novelists, poets, and journalists, along with their works. Each student selected a writer or piece of writing to research and then prepare a
Five teams remain in BCVC competition Editor-in-Chief
Students participating in the annual Boston College Venture Competition (BCVC) have been refining their startups since first submitting their business models in October. Out of the 20 teams who initially pitched their ideas, five are now left standing: the “2012 Accelerator Teams.” They have been awarded $1,000 in seed money and given two months to further develop their businesses in hopes of turning the $1,000 into $10,000. BCVC, a university-wide business plan
competition, seeks to promote and support entrepreneurship at the undergraduate level at BC. In past years, the entire competition has taken just two weeks, beginning with teams submitting their business plans and ending with a final event in front of a panel of judges. This year, after a semi-final event in mid-February, the number of teams was narrowed down from 10 to five, with the top five teams moving on to the accelerated program to work with with mentors and advisors. CJ Reim, chair of BCVC, and Mateusz Kaliski, who is in charge of all mentor / mentee relationships for the competition,
Maji is a water bottle Green start up Lightning is a focused on company focused solving the on producing eco world’s friendly water crisis surfboards
Per Diem Connect is an application that provides users with a unique networking environment
both CSOM ’13, explained that each of the final teams has been given access to free financial service and legal advice, as well as being flooded with a number of events that focus on topics including the best ways to pitch your company. “There is now more coaching involved,” Kaliski said, mentioning that each team meets and Skypes with professionals every week. The teams are given personal feedback rather than just presenting their startup to an open audience. The five BCVC finalists are: Maji, Green
See BCVC, A4
Namid Beetle Design is a start up company inspired by the namib desert beetle
Neuro Tone is a company that consults for record labels and advertising agencies
woogeon kim / heights editor
By Taylour Kumpf
Noted Author visits the heights
Robyn kim / for the heights
Earl Lovelace, author of ‘Is Just a Movie,’ visited BC for a lecture on Thursday, Mar. 15. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Lovelace specializes in Carribean literature.