The Boston College
Chronicle
2008
Yavarkovsky among this
year’s retirees (page 6)
Waddock book; Monan
Professor named (page 7)
may 22, 2008-vol. 16 no. 18
Lee Pellegrini
COMMENCEMENT
INSIDE:
CSON’s Eldredge wins
service honor (page 3)
‘Read, Read, Read!’
McCullough urges BC graduates to stay
committed to learning — even after college
By Melissa Beecher
Staff Writer
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David McCullough addresses the Class
of 2008 at Monday’s Commencement in Alumni Stadium. (Photo by Gary Gilbert)
Celebrated author and renowned historian David McCullough encouraged the Class of
2008 at Monday’s Commencement Exercises to “make the love
of learning central” in their lives
by forever remaining students of
the world.
“Read, read, read! Read the
classics of American literature that
you’ve never opened,” said McCullough. “Read your country’s
history. How can we profess to love
our country and take no interest in
its history? Read into the history
of Greece and Rome. Read about
the great turning points in the his-
Students Prepare for Fellowships
By Office of
Public Affairs Staff
One student plans to study
the nascent hip-hop culture of
Beijing, another aging-related issues in Egypt. Another student
will research Turkish calligraphy.
And another will help create an
HIV/AIDS preventative education program in a poor Dominican Republic community.
Those are just a few of the
projects in the works for Boston
College students who this year
have won Fulbright awards, considered one of the most prestigious
graduate fellowships. As of last
week, 16 BC students had earned
Fulbrights, and another three were
named Fulbright alternates.
Established at the end of World
War II to increase mutual understanding between the people
of the United States and other
countries, the Fulbright Program
supports one year of post-baccalaureate study abroad.
Elsewhere on the fellowship
front, two BC students have earned
Beckman Scholarships — which
supports outstanding undergraduates in chemistry and biological
research — and a third was chosen
as an International Institute for
Public Policy Fellow.
Here is a look at the 2008 BC
fellowship winners:
Maryclaire C. Abowd
HOMETOWN: Ithaca, NY
DESTINATION: Egypt
PROJECT: Anthropological study
FUTURE PLANS: Doctorate in
anthropology or Near Eastern Studies.
“My project will use ethnographic
and sociological methods to determine the perceptions of aging
among upper-middle class elders in
Egypt. I will focus on the types
of institutions, organizations, and
programs available for the elderly
as the proportion of elderly in the
population increases and average age
of death rises.”
Paul L. Astuto
HOMETOWN: Staten Island, NY
DESTINATION: Germany
PROJECT: English teacher
FUTURE PLANS: Teaching and/
or diplomatic service.
“Utilizing my coursework and ongoing research on the topic of Holocaust memory and national guilt in
both Germany and America, as well
as my experience as a teacher and
coach to a high school mock trial
team, I plan to go to Germany as a
teaching assistant. In this capacity, I
plan to bring not only my passion
for teaching and love for knowledge,
but also a new perspective with
which to engage German students
in a cross-cultural conversation that
will benefit us both.”
Danielle N. Belko
HOMETOWN: Wexford, Pa.
DESTINATION: Taiwan
PROJECT: English teacher
FUTURE PLANS: Graduate study
in linguistics or speech therapy.
“I will explore different teaching
techniques and try to find the most
effective ways of getting students
actively involved in learning a new
language. I am interested in organizing a play or theatrical performance
where students further explore English and build confidence in speak-
ing and conversation skills. If possible, I will set up an extra-curricular
Italian club, allowing students to
learn basic Italian and some of the
culture.”
Sean M. Brennan
HOMETOWN: Lusby, Md.
DESTINATION: Germany
PROJECT: English teacher
FUTURE PLANS: International
finance
“I hope to use my international experiences to help give my students a
better understanding of the cultural
divide between the United States
and Germany. I will complete this
goal by using the experience of the
University classes that I’ve taken,
and impart what I have learned
to my German students for their
benefit.”
Jenevieve M. Doerr,’05
HOMETOWN: Nashville, Tenn.
DESTINATION: Spain
PROJECT: International MBA
FUTURE PLANS: Third World
business development.
“I wish to continue building upon
my experience of working in the international non-profit management
field by achieving an International
MBA from the Instituto de Empresa, in Madrid. In addition, by
receiving my education in Spain,
I will be able to maintain and improve my Spanish language skills, as
well as attend international conferences on non-profit management
and sustainability in the developing
world.”
Continued on page 8
tory of science and medicine and
ideas.”
Thousands of parents, friends
and family packed Alumni Stadium on a sunny, but blustery day
to witness Boston College’s 132nd
Commencement Exercises, which
included song selections from the
University Chorale and salutes to
the Golden Eagle Class of 1958
and the Silver Eagle Class of 1983.
McCullough was one of five
recipients of honorary degrees
at Commencement, along with
Brother Celestino M. Arias, OFM
Cap., Jennie Chin Hansen Abrams,
Anne P. Jones and Vice President
and Special Assistant to the President William B. Neenan, SJ. [see
page 4].
Two 2008 grads are up in arms about
the end of their college years.
This year’s graduating class includes residents from 59 countries,
a fact reflected by 59 national flags
waving behind the staging area.
McCullough, author of the Pulitzer-Prize winning John Adams,
spoke of his own national pride and
returned to the wisdom of the second First Couple many times during his commencement address.
“Abigail Adams put it perfectly
Continued on page 4
Finnegan Award
A Story of Survival, and
Great Accomplishment
By Melissa Beecher
Staff Writer
Kuong Ly says with confidence
that he will become US Secretary of
State or a United Nations ambassador. Speaking with him at any
length, it’s hard to doubt that he
will have any trouble accomplishing anything he truly desires.
A serious, determined focus and
a little bit of anger fuel the 2008
Edward H. Finnegan, SJ, Memorial Award winner. The prestigious
honor is the latest entry Ly can
add to an already rich resume that
includes a Truman Scholarship, a
USA Today “All-USA College Academic Team” award, an Institute
for International Public Policy Fellowship and selection as BC’s Order of the Cross and Crown Chief
Marshal.
His merit, Ly says, is the standard by which he wants to be measured — not by his family history
or by virtue of his being a third
generation displaced person.
“As a person of color, or refugee
or anyone who is marginalized, you
never want what you are born into
portrayed as the only reason you
accomplish anything,” said Ly.
“So many people say, ‘Tell us
your story, tell us your story’ and
I often say ‘Why don’t you focus
on my accomplishments instead,
because for me, that’s more important.’”
But Ly’s family story is hard to
ignore.
Ly was born in Vietnam in
1984 to parents who had fled
Cambodia’s “killing fields” in the
late 1970s. His family migrated
Kuong Ly, the 2008 Finnegan Award winner. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
from refugee camps throughout
Southeast Asia before they were
able to seek political asylum in the
United States.
The family of seven moved to
Lexington, Mass., a complete culture shock for the then seven-yearold Ly who said he remembers
“arriving in sandals” to a New England winter, being stunned by the
cold and amazed by cars and electricity. He soon began attending
public school, but being a refugee
in a sea of affluence created deepseated identity issues that he says he
still holds today.
Looking through his blackrimmed glasses, Ly is quick to
laugh and often throws out verbal jabs oozing sarcasm. But he
shifts gears quickly and becomes
extremely serious about his role not
only at BC, but in his community
and in the world.
“Refugees are, essentially, the
poorest of the poor. So when you
go from a refugee camp in Southeast Asia to one of the richest comContinued on page 5
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
may 22, 2008
AROUND
CAMPUS
In a new light
Reflecting the growth in popularity of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Boston College,
this month saw the launch of
a new undergraduate journal, Al
Noor, or “the light” in Arabic.
The journal seeks to provide
undergraduate students a medium
for publishing about the Middle
East and Islam and promote a
discourse about the diverse opinions, myriad cultures, histories,
and perspectives that comprise the
Middle East, according to co-editors Christopher Maroshegyi, ’09,
and Michael Weston-Murphy,
’10.
“A critical region historically
linking Europe with Asia, the
Middle East has for thousands of
Another chapter
The University’s Read Boston
Program has expanded this semester to include a third Boston
Public School: Allston’s Jackson
Mann Elementary School, where
five Boston College students have
served as classroom tutors.
Read Boston — a local chapter
of the national America Reads
Program — is a children’s literacy campaign with a mission of
promoting reading and writing
among elementary-age students in
Boston.
Correction:
MBA Story
A caption for the photo accompanying a story on page 4
of the May 8 Chronicle about
Boston College MBA consultants misspelled the names of
students Danielle Blancada and
Aaron Zarwan. Chronicle regrets the error.
years been a focal point of great
civilizations, a source of great cultural development, and an epicenter of great cultural and political conflict,” Maroshegyi and
Weston-Murphy wrote on the
Al Noor Web site, www.bc.edu/
clubs/alnoor/.
“We hope this journal encourages its readers to develop a better
understanding of the real social,
political, and cultural underpinnings that continue to put the
Middle East at a crossroads.”
In addition to providing an
on-line version of the journal,
the Al Noor Web site will feature
a blog to encourage discussion
on Middle East-related issues and
news.
—SS
“We are thrilled with the new
partnership and look forward to
growing the program in the fall,”
says Boston College Neighborhood Center (BCNC) Director
Maria DiChiappari, who notes
that BC’s initiative is in its 10th
year.
Under BCNC’s auspices, the
program sends trained Boston
College undergraduate and graduate participants into local schools
to work with students for three to
six hours each week. According to
DiChiappari, it is regarded as a
useful tool in assisting children to
succeed academically.
With the 2008 addition of the
Jackson Mann tutors, there are
now 30 BC students participating
in Read Boston.
At Brighton’s Hamilton and
Winship Elementary Schools, BC
tutors work with children during
the school day and in after-school
programs.
BC students who receive workstudy funds are eligible to apply to
serve as Read Boston tutors.
—RP
FOND FAREWELL—Clinical Asst. Prof. Mary C. Simonelli (CSON) congratulates former student Nora Sheehan on the news of her job offer during the annual “Last Taste of Boston” luncheon May 15. Seniors invited
their favorite faculty and administrators to join them at the event, which was held in the Heights Room of
Corcoran Commons. (Photo by Suzanne Camarata)
Self-study
On Sept. 11, 2001, Wen Gu,
’08, and many of his Stuyvesant
High School classmates bore witness to one of the most horrific
events of our time: the terrorist
attack on the World Trade Center, only a few blocks away from
their school.
When he began studying psychology, Wen learned that adolescents — having less experience managing stress — are likely
to have developed fewer coping
mechanisms than adults. Although
Wen himself had never evinced
any symptoms of post-traumatic
stress disorder, he couldn’t help
but wonder how he and his peers
might have been affected by having watched the WTC’s destruction.
So Wen decided to satisfy his
personal and intellectual curiosity the scientific way, and for his
senior thesis surveyed his fellow
Stuyvesant alumni as well as adult
employees at a firm one block
from the World Trade Center on
9/11.
Wen’s study — selected as best
poster at the BC Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference
earlier this month — involved
asking participants to recall specific events from 9/11, report significant life changes since that
A PARTING GLASS—Members of the Class of 1958 presented a toast to the Class of 2008 and formally welcomed
them into the Boston College alumni family at a reception on Bapst Lawn May 16. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
day, rate how often they engage
in various coping behaviors and
describe their current physical and
mental well-being.
The results ran contrary to
Wen’s hypothesis that adolescents would be more negatively
affected than adults by 9/11. Age,
he found, was a significant factor in two aspects of post 9/11life changes: Compared to adults,
adolescents reported experiencing
a wider range of emotions and the
ability to focus on work despite
outside stressors.
“It was not too big of a surprise to me, as the results were
more aligned with my own experiences as a first-hand witness,”
says Wen. “Having talked to my
friends about the project, many of
them reported similar experiences
to mine.”
More eye-opening, Wen says,
was the role of gender. “Females
seemed to have internalized the
entire 9/11 experience, using coping styles of self-blame, denial,
and so on, whereas males were
more likely to use humor and other external means to cope. While
such phenomenon is documented
in trauma literature, I simply did
not expect such overwhelming
differences.”
If the mark of a good researcher
is to recognize the limits of one’s
project, and what could be done
to improve it, Wen certainly qualifies. “Although I am proud of my
study, it was survey-based, which
means it is highly susceptible to
response biases — people with
extreme opinions are more likely
to reply. Furthermore, there is a
big difference between self-report
versus actual impact of trauma.
I’d also examine the gender difference much more closely in future
studies.”
But Wen’s thesis advisor, parttime faculty member David Smith
(Psychology), was impressed nonetheless. “Like all good projects,
this one was born out of one’s
own experience, and the desire to
put some meaning to it by seeing
through the eyes of others. Wen
worked on this with little or no
help from me, even though my
background is in trauma. He’s a
great self-starter, and I enjoyed
working with him.”
Wen notes that while his study
did not provide an opportunity
for anecdotes or other personal
statements, he was struck by how
many details of 9/11 — such as
when the first jet struck the WTC
— participants remembered.
“I was also surprised by how
many people participated in the
project out of sheer good will,”
he adds. “It’s great to know that
people care.”
—SS
The Boston College
Chronicle
Director of Public Affairs
Jack Dunn
Deputy Director of
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
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at the Office of Public Affairs, 14
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Electronic editions of the Boston
College Chronicle are available via
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www.bc.edu/chronicle.
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
may 22, 2008
By Reid Oslin
Staff Writer
“She has a heart of gold and
never fails to respond to the needs
of those around her,” is how St.
Ignatius Church Pastor Robert
Ver Eecke, SJ, Jesuit-in-Residence
at Boston College, describes Maureen Eldredge, this year’s winner
of the University’s annual Community Service Award.
In addition to her work as
undergraduate program assistant
in the Connell School of Nursing,
Eldredge has made her mark in
the community, through numerous church and outreach activities
sponsored by St. Ignatius parish,
and far beyond – taking part in
service trips to Nicaragua and Jamaica in recent years and with a
long and helpful association with
future military nurses enrolled in
BC’s Army ROTC program.
Eldredge will receive the 2008
service award from University
President William P. Leahy, SJ, at
a recognition dinner to be held in
Corcoran Commons on May 29.
“If you are with a Jesuit school
why wouldn’t you be involved in
service?” asks Eldredge, who has
worked on campus for 17 years.
“It’s part and parcel of just who
we are.”
Eldredge is a native of Brighton’s Oak Square neighborhood,
only a short distance from the
front gate of Boston College. “I
Lee Pellegrini
Big Love, for a Big Community
Maureen Eldredge
grew up on this campus,” she
notes. “When I got married, we
lived on Commonwealth Avenue,
so my own kids grew up here
too.”
She made her early association
with the University “official” with
a bachelor’s degree in theology
and a master’s in pastoral ministry
— academic disciplines she says
come in handy when working
with overstressed future health
care professionals. “It’s a tough
world out there,” she laughs. “So,
it is training I can put to good
use.
“I love my undergraduate nurses,” she says. “They are so competent, so eager, so compassionate,
so energetic, so caring. It’s great to
work with them.”
The feeling is mutual, says
Kathleen DeTeso ’08, who was
commissioned as an Army nurse
in an ROTC ceremony on Sunday. “Maureen knows every one
of us by name. She’s always right
on top of everything we do and
need to do.
“She is especially good with
internship opportunities for us,”
DeTeso adds, “so that we all can
get some work experience too.”
“Maureen is committed to the
success of individual students and
goes well beyond the expectations
of her job to work toward this,”
notes CSON Associate Dean
Catherine Read. “But it is her
commitment to Boston College
and the surrounding community
that sets her apart.”
Eldredge traveled to Nicaragua
as part of a University service immersion trip in 2006, and has used
her experiences from that outreach effort to assist BC nursing
students who travel to the Central
American nation each spring to
provide health care in the Nueva
Vida clinic. She has also collected
donations of clothing and books
for Nicaraguan citizens.
As a 30-year member of St.
Ignatius parish in Chestnut Hill,
Eldredge has long been active in
parish affairs, including the Parish Council, Finance Council and
welcoming committees. This past
January, she traveled to Jamaica
with a group of 11 parishioners on
a service trip where she served as a
triage nurse in a pediatric clinic.
A Full List of Summer Campus Projects
By Reid Oslin
Staff Writer
’Tis the season of hardhats,
jackhammers and yellow caution
tape at Boston College, as contractor crews tackle improvement and
renovation projects across campus
during the University’s brief summer lull in full-scale academic activity.
The Facilities Management
Department’s Capital Projects Office lists dozens of jobs to be accomplished in the coming months,
ranging from the reconfiguration
of a simulated hospital room in
Cushing Hall’s Connell School of
Nursing to the replacement of the
boiler plant that services the Gonzaga and Kostka residence halls on
Upper Campus.
A look at some of this summer’s
campus projects, most of which
will start this week and be completed by mid-August:
•Exterior door replacement in
Devlin, Lyons, Fulton, McGuinn
and St. Mary’s halls and O’Neill
Library.
•Replacement of windows in
Gonzaga Hall.
•Excavation work adjacent to
Devlin Hall (Quadrangle side) for
Devlin high voltage tunnel structure.
•Renovation of main entryway
and lobby of Robsham Theater.
•Masonry restoration work on
Service Building, O’Connell and
Kostka halls and the on-going Gasson Hall project; structural restoration work on Beacon Street and
Commonwealth Avenue parking
garages.
•Removal of underground gasoline storage tank behind St. Mary’s
Hall.
•Lighting, ceiling tile, carpeting,
painting and AV upgrades on classrooms in Carney, Devlin, Fulton,
Gasson and Higgins halls and Stuart House on Newton Campus.
Pedestrian or vehicle traffic at
any construction or renovation site
may be rerouted on occasion while
work is in progress. For information, check BCInfo [www.bc.edu/
bcinfo] or the Facilities Management Web site at www.bc.edu/offices/facilities/home.html.
National Study Based on
Outcomes Ranks BC No. 11
Boston College ranked 11th in a recent study of American colleges and
universities by a Washington, DC, research organization that used outcomebased criteria in its methodology.
The Center for College Affordability & Productivity (CCAP) published
its listing of more than 200 schools recently in Forbes magazine [available
online at www.forbes.com/opinions/forbes/2008/0519/030.html].
Center director Richard Vedder differentiated the measures in the
CCAP survey from those in the more well-known US News & World Report rankings, which he noted rely on such factors as faculty-student ratios,
admissions selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. CCAP utilized
student evaluations of faculty posted on the Web site Ratemyprofessors.
com, graduation rates and — to gauge vocational success — entries in Who’s
Who in America: “Though imperfect, it is the only comprehensive listing of
professional achievement that includes undergraduate affiliations.”
In addition, said Vedder, the center calculated the percent of students
winning major post-graduate awards like Rhodes Scholarships and undergraduate Fulbright travel grants.
“Like other consumers,” he concluded, “students want satisfaction and
results, which is what CCAP measures.”
The top 10 schools in the center’s survey were Harvard, Yale, Princeton,
University of Chicago, Brown, Columbia, California Institute of Technology, Stanford, Northwestern and Dartmouth. Also making the top 20 were
Penn (12), Duke (15), Notre Dame (16), MIT (17) and Emory (20).
—Office of Public Affairs
Fr. Bernauer to Head BC
Christian-Jewish Center
Prof. James Bernauer, SJ (Philosophy), whose scholarly interests
include topics in Holocaust studies
and Catholicism’s post-Holocaust
relations with Judaism, has been appointed as director of the University’s
Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
(CCJL).
Fr. Bernauer succeeds the center’s
founding executive director, Philip
Cunningham, who stepped down
last July.
In addition, the center recently
announced that Raymond Cohen, a
researcher on issues of communication in conflict resolution, particularly regarding Christian-Jewish relations, will serve as CCJL’s inaugural
John Corcoran Visiting Professor for
the 2008-09 academic year.
Established in 2000 through a
gift of more than $5 million by the
late John M. Corcoran ’48, CCJL
is dedicated to fostering the growth
of new, mutually enriching relationships between Christians and Jews.
The center sponsors lectures, conferences, courses, research and other
activities that explore or encourage
Jewish-Christian discussion.
“With his scholarly background
and writing, Fr. James Bernauer is
uniquely positioned to lead the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning,”
said Provost and Dean of Faculties
Cutberto Garza. “I am grateful to
him for his willingness to take on this
appointment.”
A faculty member at BC since
1980, Fr. Bernauer was an original
member of the “Jesuits in JewishChristian Dialogue,” an association
established by the Society of Jesus in
1998. Last spring he received grants
to work at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem
where he began an investigation of
the lives of 12 Jesuits who have been
honored by the State of Israel for
their activities in assisting Jews during the Holocaust.
Fr. Bernauer’s published works
include studies on French philosopher Michel Foucault, the thought
of Hannah Arendt, and various topics in Holocaust studies. His current
research is devoted to two major
concerns: a study of the spiritual and
moral formation of German Catholics prior to the rise of National Socialism; and the investigation of the
Lee Pellegrini
Community Service Award
Prof. James Bernauer, SJ (Philosophy)
historical encounters between Jews
and Jesuits.
Accepting the appointment, Fr.
Bernauer praised Mr. Corcoran for
his “extraordinary contribution to
Boston College and its service to
inter-faith dialogue,” and said he
considered it “a privilege” to have the
opportunity to work with CCJL Associate Director Assoc. Prof. Rabbi
Ruth Langer (Theology) and Assistant Director Sister Audrey Doetzel,
NDS.
“Inter-religious dialogue is a
defining feature of today’s Jesuit
mission and, thus, of the spiritual
identity of Boston College,” said Fr.
Bernauer. “Judaism and the Jewish people have given Christianity
the most profound blessings and I
believe that the current conversation between Christians and Jews is
among the most important spiritual
events in religious history.”
While at BC, Cohen — whose
most recent books include Isaiah’s
Vision of Peace: The Bible and Modern International Relations, authored
with Raymond Westbrook, and Saving the Holy Sepulchre: How Christians Came Together to Rescue Their
Holiest Shrine — will focus his research on relations between the State
of Israel and the Holy See in the
aftermath of the 1993 Fundamental
Agreement between them, looking at
the political and theological implications of the various problems that
have emerged.
Information on the Center for
Christian-Jewish Learning is available
at the center Web site, www.bc.edu/research/cjl.
—Office of Public Affairs
Former Trustee Flatley Dies
A funeral Mass was said yesterday
at St. Agatha Church in Milton for
long-time Boston College Trustee
and benefactor Thomas J. Flatley,
who died Saturday. He was 76.
Mr. Flatley, a native of County
Mayo in Ireland who emigrated
to the United States as an 18-yearold insurance salesman, was one of
Greater Boston’s most renowned
real estate developers and dedicated
philanthropists.
A devout Catholic, Mr. Flatley
became one of Boston College’s
steadfast supporters and gave generously to the University over the
years. He also served as a trustee,
chairing the board’s Buildings and
Properties Committee.
One of Mr. Flatley’s most im-
portant contributions to BC was
the Urban Catholic Teachers Corps
(UCTC), which he funded along
with fellow Trustee Peter Lynch
and the Archdiocese of Boston.
The UCTC is a two-year service
program for teachers who wish to
gain experience teaching in urban
Catholic schools in the Boston area
and who want to live in a community with other teachers.
Mr. Flatley also endowed a chair
in Catholic theology at BC, named
for his mother, Margaret O’Brien
Flatley.
Mr. Flatley leaves his wife, Charlotte, his children Daniel, Mary
Margaret Darling, John, Patricia,
and Kathleen F. Ix, and 18 grandchildren.
—Office of Public Affairs
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
may 22, 2008
COMMENCEMENT
2008
Administrators and faculty members during the processional into Alumni Stadium
prior to the start of Commencement. (Photo by Gary Gilbert)
McCullough Urges Grads
to ‘Read, Read, Read!’
Continued from page 1
more than 200 years ago: ‘Learning
is not attained by chance. It must
be sought with ardor and attended
with diligence.’ Ardor, to my mind,
is the key word,” McCullough said.
“For many of you of the graduating class, the love of learning has
already taken hold. For others, it often happens later and often by surprise, as history has shown time and
again. That’s part of the magic.”
To get a better understanding of
Adams, McCullough explained, he
not only read what Adams penned,
but he made it a point to read
the books John and Abigail Adams
read, such as the works of Samuel
Johnson, Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift. McCullough said it was
in the course of this research that
he read Miguel de Cervantes’ Don
Quixote for the first time.
“Cervantes is part of us, whether
we know it or not. Declare you’re
in a pickle; talk of birds of a feather
flocking together; vow to turn over
a new leaf; give the devil his due
or insist that mum’s the word and
you’re quoting Cervantes every
time,” McCullough said.
McCullough said despite being
60 when he started reading the
great authors, he found “joy” in the
passages.
“Make the love of learning central to your life. What a difference
it can mean. If your experience is
anything like mine, the book that
will mean the most to you, books
that will change your life, are still to
come. And remember, as someone
said, even the oldest book is brand
new for the reader who opens it for
the first time,” McCullough said.
University President William P.
Leahy, SJ, congratulated the stu-
dents, but also recognized parents
and families for their role in the
graduates’ success. Archbishop of
Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley,
OFM Cap., who offered the Benediction, echoed those sentiments.
Fr. Leahy urged students to always remain people of intellectual
curiosity, generosity and service.
“If we are not people who wonder, if we never entertain what is
new or different, we can easily become rigid and close-minded, never
leaving our familiar world with its
neat categories and answers,” he
said.
“When that happens, the wounds
of society and the suffering of others
will seldom enter our consciousness and we will feel little urgency
to question existing structures and
viewpoints. In addition, we run the
risk of living shallow and uncommitted lives,” said Fr. Leahy.
“As you graduates receive your
diplomas today, you leave the relative tranquility of the Heights. We
send you forth with our prayers,
best wishes, and confidence in your
abilities. We trust in your generosity, talents and willingness to be
men and women for others.”
Edward H. Finnegan, SJ, Award
recipient Kuong Ly [see story on
page 1] also enjoyed a standing ovation from his classmates when he
rose to accept his award.
Alumni Association President
Kenneth Pierce,’79, welcomed the
Class of 2008 to the more than
150,000 living Boston College
alumni worldwide.
“From the moment that you
walked onto campus four years ago,
you became a member of that family,” said Pierce. “You will always
have a home here.”
David Wu decides to try on his daughter Katherine’s mortarboard for size, much to
the amusement of Katherine and her sister Jackie. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
Anne P. Jones,’58, JD’61
From local roots to great heights,
this daughter of Boston College and
BC Law chipped away at the glass
ceiling for women with a forthright
demeanor and focused determination. As a new lawyer in the early
1960s, she experienced inequality
firsthand when gender alone was
sufficient justification for disproportionate pay.
Undaunted, she created opportunity in Washington, DC, where
she rose from legal assistant of the
Securities and Exchange Commission to director of the Division
of Investment Management. She
blazed a trail with key roles in government: the first female General
Counsel of the Federal Home Loan
Bank Board and the fourth woman
named to the Federal Communications Commission. Her four-year
term saw the launch of 20 communication satellites and the expansion
of television service, all while supporting the advancement of skilled
women and minorities. With a
quick, industrious and independent
mind, this gutsy lady yielded only
to a personal commitment to return
to private practice at Sutherland,
Asbill & Brennan, where she served
as partner until the mid 1990s. Embodying the Ignatian tradition of
service, this newly minted Golden
Eagle has been active on dozens
of corporate and civic boards, including her alma mater’s Board of
Trustees for three decades.
For a lifetime of service and
achievement, Boston College
proudly confers upon Anne P.
Jones the degree of Doctor of Laws,
honoris causa.
David McCullough
From your book-lined studio
on a quiet lane in West Tisbury,
you have forged from your trusted
Royal typewriter a reputation as
America’s “master of narrative history.” Your dogged research and
God-given sense for a story worth
telling have eloquently shared in
sensory details the lives and lessons
of America’s great men and women.
From Harry and Bess Truman in
your Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Truman, to Massachusetts’
own John and Abigail Adams of
the similarly honored John Adams,
your carefully crafted pages reveal
these monumental individuals as
not simply parts of our history, but
people much like us, who struggle,
as mortals do, as husbands and
wives, mothers and fathers, as they
lead our ongoing effort to create
“a more perfect union.” You convince us to read and compel us to
watch, as the seven-part adaptation
of John Adams debuted on HBO
this spring to a television audience
of 2.7 million. Twice awarded both
the Pulitzer Prize and the National
Book Award, and a 2006 recipient of the Medal of Freedom, the
nation’s highest civilian honor, you
have earned our sincerest appreciation for brilliantly chronicling our
past and astonishingly informing
our present unlike any other historian. Boston College proclaims
Gary Gilbert
University Presents Five Honorary Degrees
(L-R) Vice President and Special Assistant to the President William B. Neenan,
SJ, David McCullough, University President William P. Leahy, SJ, Celestino Arias,
OFM Cap. (Seated, L-R) Jennie Chin Hansen Abrams, Anne P. Jones.
you, David McCullough, Doctor of
Humane Letters, honoris causa.
William B. Neenan, SJ
“Hello, friend.” Three decades
ago, a respected Jesuit economist
and loyal son of Iowa told family
and friends that his migration east,
to a university in the wilds of Massachusetts, was a brief “missionary
effort”: He had some natives to
convert. Later, when he decided
to stay in the wilds, west went the
bulletin: “Natives more recalcitrant
than expected.”
This tale — one of many you
have shared with us, laced with
wit — holds hidden truth, for indeed, the natives of this University
are forever beholden to that missionary journey. Keenly insightful,
adroit in leadership, unflaggingly
aspirational — first as dean of arts
and sciences, then as academic vice
president — you played a pivotal
role in shepherding Boston College
to its place on the national stage.
Sixty years a Jesuit, you have graced
our days with your faith, wisdom,
warmth, and humor. Hundreds
of alumni have sought your blessing to begin their married lives; a
simple Dean’s List of favorite books
launched an eagerly awaited annual
tradition; you’ve kept the home
fires burning for fellow Hawkeyes
and other students from afar by
inspiring dozens of regional clubs;
now, as vice president and university ambassador, the honor of your
presence is requested nearly every
day of every year. You came to us
as our first Gasson Professor; today
the Neenan Millennium Chair in
Economics stands in testament to
your place as “the soul” of this
University. Now this day, to the
beloved missionary who came to
stay, we rise in tribute once more—
with a heartfelt “Thank you, friend”
— and joyfully proclaim William
B. Neenan, SJ, Doctor of Humane
Letters, honoris causa.
Jennie Chin Hansen Abrams,’70
The card of good wishes from
the AARP that arrives at the 50th
birthday of every citizen has come
to signal not the passing of time,
but a hopeful path to a vibrant
future. With this mid-life rite of
passage, the burgeoning generation of our nation’s Baby Boomers
now looks to Jennie Chin Hansen
Abrams for advice and advocacy as
they enter their Golden Years. The
values of her own Boston College
education coupled with boundless
vision, optimism and skills have
served her well as practitioner and
teacher of the art and science of
nursing; as a foresighted planner
and administrator of primary and
long-term health care for the elderly
citizens of her native San Francisco
and beyond; and, now, as the first
Asian-American President of the
rapidly increasing and influential
membership of AARP. Through a
lifetime of effective service and selfless dedication, she has helped to
make those senior years of our maturing population not just gray, but
indeed, golden. For all of this, the
old — and the young — of Boston
College join to honor Jennie Chin
Hansen Abrams by conferring the
degree of Doctor of Nursing Science, honoris causa.
Celestino Arias,’90, OFM Cap.
Named for the heavens, this
down-to-earth crusader is known
simply as “Brother Tino” on the
meanest of city streets. With the
dedication that propelled him to
soar to the rank of Eagle Scout as
a youth and compelled him to be
first in his family to pursue higher
education, this man of faith has
devoted his life to vital ministries
and ignited the light of hope for so
many lost in darkness. He heeded
Saint Francis of Assisi’s call to go
where he is most needed and be
a brother of the people. Architect
of the Catholic Charities Cape
Verdean Program, he empowered
Boston youths to reject the lure
of drugs and gangs and envision a
brighter future. Living and working among his brethren in Kenya
and Tanzania he crafted the visionary Capuchin Africa Initiative for
Development to combat infectious
disease and promote peace and reconciliation. A tireless humanitarian,
social worker, and advocate for the
poor and marginalized, he truly embodies the Prayer of Saint Francis,
sowing love where there is hatred
and hope where there is despair.
With profound admiration for the
humility and inexhaustible spirit of
this son of Boston College, his alma
mater confers upon Brother Celestino Arias, the degree of Doctor of
Social Science, honoris causa.
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
may 22, 2008
FINNEGAN AWARD
A Time to Reflect on the Meaning of ‘Ever to Excel’
By Melissa Beecher
Staff Writer
It’s the time of year when Boston
College’s motto, “Ever to Excel,”
is invoked at countless ceremonies
and celebrations. But the words will
always hold particular meaning to
the five nominees of the prestigious
Rev. Edward Finnegan, SJ, Memorial Award.
A longstanding member of the
History Department, Fr. Finnegan
left a legacy of leadership, service
and humility that is commemorated
through the annual award honoring
a senior who embodies the spirit of
“Ever to Excel.” Finnegan Award
winners have their names added
to a permanent plaque located in
O’Connell Hall.
This year, Kuong Ly was selected
as the award recipient [see related
story]. Chronicle sat down with the
four other nominees to get their reflections and observations about life
at BC, and beyond.
Christopher Napolitano, a major
in human development and history
in the Lynch School of Education,
will be pursuing a PhD in childhood
development at Tufts University in
the fall. At BC, Napolitano was a
member of the Education, History
and Jesuit Honor societies, took part
in the 4Boston and Natchez Immersion programs and served as an
undergraduate research assistant for
Prof. Jacqueline Lerner (LSOE).
What was it that brought you to
Boston College? “I picked BC because
of a paper bag lunch with [LSOE
Associate Dean for Undergraduate
Student Services] John Cawthorne.
On Admitted Eagle Day four years
ago I came to Chestnut Hill completely torn between several fantastic
universities; they all had strengths
and they all had their charms. But at
that lunch — with families, teachers,
students and deans — I felt a sense
of community, a sense that this university and these people were opening their arms to me. They did that,
and much more, for four years.”
Jennifer Taylor, Connell School
of Nursing, plans to return to Seattle, where her family resides, and
work as a nurse in labor and delivery. She has worked in a residential
treatment center for people with
(Clockwise from lower left) Finnegan Award winner Kuong Ly and nominees
Jennifer Taylor, Patrick Twomey and Katie Schermerhorn. Missing from photo is
Christopher Napolitano. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
HIV/AIDS, volunteered to assist
with health care and women’s issues
in Kisumu, Kenya, and participated
in the Big Brothers-Big Sisters, Best
Buddies and Red Cross organizations. President of the Intervarsity
Christian Fellowship, Taylor has led
Bible study on campus and helped
organize volunteer efforts at soup
kitchens on Friday nights.
What was the most formative
experience you had at Boston College? “During my sophomore year I
received an Advanced Study Grant
from BC to go to Liberia, West
Africa, to study culturally effective
health education. In Liberia I saw
health education in action, worked
in a clinic and witnessed my first
birth. While I have had many international experiences throughout my
life, Liberia allowed me to see and
experience a nation ravaged by 14
years of civil war and yearning for
change. The people of Liberia gave
me insight into development and
health in a global context and motivated me to continue in my studies
as a nursing student.”
Patrick Twomey, Carroll School
of Management, has balanced academic achievement with volunteer
work — he’s helped BC forge ties
with the Haley House Bakery and
café, a nonprofit that aims to create economic sustainability for the
under-employed in the Dudley
Square community. Twomey’s family has considerable ties to BC: Both
his parents are alumni and his two
younger brothers are current un-
dergrads.
What was your reaction when you
found out that you were nominated
for the Finnegan Award? “It is such
an honor to be a nominee for the
Finnegan Award. Over the past four
years, I have enjoyed giving back,
both at BC and in the surrounding
community. To be acknowledged as
someone who lives the motto ‘Ever
to Excel’ is quite an honor.”
Katie Schermerhorn, nominated
by the Office of Student Development, started her BC career as a
participant in the Emerging Leaders Program, for which she ultimately became student coordinator. Schermerhorn has worked with
immigrants in her hometown of
Dallas, participated in the Arrupe
immersion programs to El Salvador
and was a student leader in the Arrupe program’s trip to Guatemala.
She said her travels opened her eyes
to the wider world experience and
helped her discover different measures of success.
What are your future plans? “In
the fall I will be moving to Chicago
to volunteer full-time at the Amate
House, which pairs individuals with
non-profit organizations. I’ll work
there as a volunteer coordinator. After that, I plan to pursue a master’s
program in public affairs with a
concentration in public policy or
nonprofits. I’m interested in helping
to provide infrastructure and support for the great programs that are
out there that help change lives.”
EAGLE RIDES THE BULL—Danica Noel, who will graduate next year, enjoyed one of the many amusements at the
Senior Block Party, held May 15 at the Campus Green. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
Continued from page 1
munities in all of the United States
to one of the most exclusive private
schools in the world, I know I have
an obligation,” Ly said. “I have to
make sure the message gets delivered.
“Anyone who becomes a change
agent, I believe, goes through a period of anger. At that time I couldn’t
make sense of why my family was
in the situation that we were in and
coming to BC my thought was ‘If
the world is going to make sure I’m
not going to succeed, what can I do
to make sure that that back-dealing
isn’t going to hinder my goals and
aspirations?’”
The answer was to shoehorn in
as many activities, service trips and
volunteer experiences as possible,
while paying strict attention to his
academic requirements and working to support his family, who now
resides in Woburn.
“I said to myself, ‘No matter
what I want to do, let’s start figuring
out where I want to head towards,’”
said Ly of his freshman year experience.
Ly’s focus through his four years
has been to bring attention to the
issues on refugee migration, refugee
rights and how best do deal with
trauma suffered by displaced persons. A philosophy major with a
double minor in studio art and the
Faith, Peace and Justice program,
Ly has also turned a passion for paper cutting, a Chinese art form, into
political commentary. His work in
the BC Senior Art show depicted
human rights violations of Asia.
Last year, Ly traveled to Beijing,
where, as an intern for the UN
Development Fund for Women, he
edited and reviewed grant proposals
to mainstream gender equality into
China’s political systems, researched
human trafficking and assisted in
policy proposals to encourage women’s rights.
Prior to that, Ly traveled in 2006
to Rwanda where he created workshops to educate Rwandan youth
about the history of genocide. He
led discussion groups between the
Tutsi and Hutu youth about human rights and reconciliation.
At BC, Ly has served on the
PULSE Council for four semesters,
worked as a mentor at the Cambridge Youth Guidance Center, volunteered in the Foot Clinic at Boston Healthcare for the Homeless
and was a member of the Navajo
Nation Volunteer Corps, where he
was a leader in the service trip to
a Native American reservation in
New Mexico.
Ly has also worked in the office
of former State Senator Jarrett Barrios, the Committee to Elect Sam
Yoon — the first Asian-American
elected to the Boston City Council — and the Asian Community
Development Corporation, where
he pushed for affordable housing in
Chinatown.
In his letter nominating Ly, College of Arts and Sciences Associate
Dean William Petri wrote, “In one
of my first conversations with Kuong, he told me about an incident
in his family when his mother asked
him why his grades were not better.
He explained to her that he could
be one of two kinds of sons to her.
One kind would make his first
priority getting the best possible
grades and making a second priority
working for social justice. The other
kind would make social justice the
first priority and grades second. He
said ‘He would be the second kind
of son for her.’”
PLAY AND POSE—The Class of 2008’s Sean O’Connor poses with brother Michael and Michael’s children for a celebratory photo after the completion of
Commencement Exercises in Alumni Stadium. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
may 22, 2008
BC Retirees/25-Year Employees
University Librarian Is Set to Check Out
By Sean Smith
Chronicle Editor
University Librarian Jerome Yavarkovsky: “I’ve been immensely impressed with
BC’s support and recognition of the library and its contribution to research and
teaching. It’s been a critical factor in what we’ve been able to achieve over the
last decade or so.” (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
ees are Institute for Scientific Research Co-director Brian Sullivan,
’63, MA ’65, who has worked at
the University for more than 40
years, and former Vice President
for Student Affairs Kevin Duffy,
now a professor in the Lynch
School of Education.
Provost and Dean of Faculties
Cutberto Garza praised Yavarkovsky for playing “an important
role in Boston College’s impressive ascendance.
“Under his tenure, the University has had ‘watershed’ moments,
such as the acceptance of BC as a
member of the Association of Research Libraries in 2000,” Garza
said, “and with his leadership the
library staff has garnered praise
consistently from all corners for
the professionalism, dedication,
creativity, and craft they bring to
their work. “Current faculty and students,
alumni, and retired faculty have
much to be grateful for because
of his contributions to the university’s intellectual and academic
life.” Yavarkovsky said he was gratified at the growth of “leadership,
initiative and decision-making at
all levels” he has witnessed in
the University Libraries. He also
expressed satisfaction at the Libraries’ wholehearted embrace of
emerging technology, expanding
its capabilities and outreach to
beyond the immediate BC community.
“When I first arrived, perhaps
1 to 2 percent of our acquisitions
budget went to digital resources;
now it’s 40 percent,” he noted.
“We’ve become a library system
Voke Leads BC Outreach to Senior Citizens
By Reid Oslin
Staff Writer
“They don’t die of hunger. They
die of loneliness.”
Larry Voke is one of dozens
of Boston College volunteers who
are trying to bring the sunshine of
hope into the too-often desperate
lives of Boston’s growing population of senior citizens.
Voke, an applications developer in University Information
Technology Services, has been active in the Little Brothers-Friends
of the Elderly service program for
the past eight years and currently
is vice-chairman of the group’s
board of directors. He is joined
in his charitable work with the elderly by some 60 Boston College
students each year, many of them
affiliated with the University’s
PULSE or 4Boston service volunteer organizations.
Little Brothers-Friends of the
Elderly was founded in France
shortly after World War II in
response to the issues of poverty
facing that nation’s elders during
the post-war era. Chapters have
since been established in metropolitan areas across the United
States, including Boston, where
the Jamaica Plain-based operation
serves citizens 70 years and older
in all of the city’s neighborhoods.
The area chapters do not receive
Administrators, faculty and staff marking 25 years at BC:
Dan Bunch; Terrance E. Granahan; T. Scott Kinder;
Mary T. Poillucci; William A. Toof; Cheryl A. Wright;
Kevin R. Croke; Ian Hobson; Lula Albert; Paul La Vecchia;
Kevin L. Larner; Michele H. Latimer; Cyrilla Mooradian;
Karen Potterton; Jane Ashley; Matilda T. Bruckner; Walter
M. Haney; Alan L. Kafka; Thomas C. Kohler; Rena Lamparska; Larry H. Ludlow.
government or United Way funding, relying on volunteer workers
and local fund-raising efforts to
support their services.
“These are people from what
Tom Brokaw called ‘The Greatest Generation,’” says Voke, “and
now they have been left behind.
Many of them live in small oneroom apartments and that is their
whole existence. It’s depressing.
They don’t die of hunger, they die
of loneliness.”
The Little Brothers-Friends
of the Elderly program arranges
home visits, special parties and
programs, holiday and birthday
meals and transportation and assistance for medical or shopping
needs. “Some of the elderly sit
there and wait all week for our
visit,” notes Voke. “If we have a
big function, like at Thanksgiving
or Christmas, they will talk about
it for months afterwards.
“Their gratitude is more than
you could ever imagine.”
Martha Guerin, who is executive director of the Boston chapter, says BC’s student volunteers
are huge contributors to the Little
Brothers’ mission. “They have a
fresh, enthusiastic and wonderful
way of looking at the world,” she
says. “The elders love them and
can’t wait to see them. They think
of them as their own kids.
“Until recently, we only had
four staff persons here,” Guerin
says, “and we work with over
600 elderly. So when a PULSE
student from BC comes along, for
example, who gives us 10 hours a
week, that person is matched with
an elder and the rest of the time
helps us out in the office.
“Multiply that by eight to 10
PULSE students each semester
and all of the other volunteers,
and it’s phenomenal the amount
of work that they contribute and
the impact that they have on our
organization,” she says. “PULSE
is a wonderful program. I wish it
could be duplicated in every college in the United States, because
it puts into practice the philosophies of giving and caring.”
Guerin says many BC student
volunteers continue to serve with
Little Brothers even after their
PULSE commitment has ended.
“Many continue to be matched
with their elder for the rest of their
time at BC. These kids are fabulous,” she says. “They get involved
and they care.
“Some years ago, there was an
elder who died,” recalls Guerin.
“Three of the five people at his
funeral were former PULSE students from BC.”
William “Jake” Burke, a BC
sophomore from Phoenix, Ariz.,
is a member of the PULSE service
program now in his second year as
based on network distribution of
research and learning resources,
which enables us to play a major
role in BC’s e-teaching program.
“So you can now accomplish
via computer just about anything
you can by coming to the library.
That has been our goal, and it’s to
the credit of our administration
and staff we’ve been able to accomplish it.”
Sullivan has been affiliated
with the Institute for Scientific
Research (ISR) since it was known
as the Space Data Analysis Laboratory – its previous incarnation, the
Ionospheric Research Laboratory,
was the first recipient of government sponsored research funding
at BC. ISR’s work includes developing mathematical formulae
used in analyzing the ionosphere,
taking infrared readings of stars
and measuring atmospheric emissions involved in global warming.
Sullivan’s BC connections are
familial and personal as well: All
four of his children graduated
from BC and he is a long-time
football and basketball season
ticket-holder.
“When I started working here,
we were in a wooden shack [at
the site of what is now McGuinn
Hall], and BC felt lucky just to
have enough applicants to fill the
freshman class,” quipped Sullivan, reflecting on the current era’s
steady rise in applications, with
more than 30,000 received this
year alone.
“It’s amazing to see how the
school has grown so much.”
Frank Curran
Jerome Yavarkovsky remembers the positive impression Boston College made on him when
he visited 13 years ago as a candidate for head of University Libraries. Much to his delight, that first
inkling proved to be a harbinger
of his BC experience.
“When I first came, I heard
people at BC say the right things:
attention to social justice, care of
the individual, education for others,” he says. “Once I took the job,
it didn’t take long to discover that
those values are taken very seriously here. One thing that characterizes BC is the application of
the rhetoric of caring into actual
practice.”
That aspect of BC is one of
many Yavarkovsky says he will
miss when he steps down as University Librarian on June 30. “I’ve
been immensely impressed with
BC’s support and recognition of
the library and its contribution to
research and teaching,” he says.
“It’s been a critical factor in what
we’ve been able to achieve over
the last decade or so.”
Yavarkovsky, along with other
retiring or 25-year administrators, faculty and staff – and 2008
Community Service Award winner Maureen Eldredge [see page
3] — will be honored by University President William P. Leahy,
SJ, at a special recognition dinner
May 29.
Also among this year’s retir-
Administrators, faculty and staff retiring this year:
Joseph P. Andrews; Robert Bruns; Alexandra Connors;
Maureen Deeley; Dolores Finklea; Maria Flores; Edward
J. Hanrahan, SJ; Paulo Jacome; Margaret A. Lee; Pasquale
Marano; Stephen McGrath; Liya Moshinsky; Claudette
Picklesimer; Brian F. Sullivan; Judith L. Sweeney; Jerome
Yavarkovsky; David A. Belsley; Mary E. Duffy; Kevin
P. Duffy; Joellen W. Hawkins; Gerald Pine; William R.
Torbert; Robbie W. Tourse; Nancy W. Veeder.
Betty Lewis entertains Information Technology Services applications developer Larry
Voke and BC sophomore William “Jake” Burke at her Commonwealth Avenue apartment. The visits are arranged through The Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly program.
a Little Brothers volunteer. “Our
society basically ignores the elderly,” says Burke, a double major in
political sciences and Islamic studies. “A lot of our elders are forced
to live in isolation. Little Brothers
provides these elders with friendship and company. It makes them
feel that they are a part of the
community.
“It’s a great program,” he says.
“It’s a great way to relieve some
of that isolation and depression.
When you talk to elders after an
event, they are just so grateful.”
Burke feels that a lot of the campus interest in the Little Brothers
program stems from the Jesuit
ideal of service to others. “It’s a
great community of service here,”
he says. “There is an attitude of
‘giving back’ to our community.
It’s remarkable.
“I had a great experience last
year and wanted to carry it over,”
Burke says.
Voke recently organized a May
17 fund-raising reception at his
home in Milton, with proceeds
to be used for providing medical
transportation for elders served
by Boston’s Little Brothers. The
event will include presentations
to the attendees from Burke and
a senior citizen who is served by
the program.
“The BC students have been
great,” Voke says. “But someday
we would like to get alumni involved as well. It’s the perfect
charity.”
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
may 22, 2008
Publications
•Prof. Juliet Schor (Sociology)
published “Mental Health and
Children’s Consumer Culture”
in the Journal of the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry.
Time and a Half
•Research Prof. Lisa Dodson
(Sociology) co-presented “Family
Ties and Blind Policies: Mothers
and Children Climb Together” at
the national Civil Rights Project
held at UCLA.
•Prof. Arthur Lewbel (Economics) presented “Estimation of Col-
lective Household Models with
Engel Curves” at the SOLE 2008
Annual Meetings, Columbia University.
•Prof. Juliet Schor (Sociology)
gave the following talks: “Consumption and Climate Change,” Solutions Summit, Nashville;
“Consumption and Sustainability: The Social Death of Things,”
University of Minnesota Sociology Department; “Acting Sustainably in a Consumer Culture,”
Adolphus Gustavus College;
“Getting to Sustainability: Work,
Consumption and Everyday
Life,” Grand Valley State University, Mich.
Marc Fried Dies; Authored
Major Study of Urban Life
A memorial service was held at
Harvard Hillel in Cambridge on
May 18 for Prof. Emeritus Marc
Fried (Psychology), founder of
Boston College’s Institute for
Psycho-Social Studies, who died
on May 11 at Central Maine
Medical Center. He was 85.
Dr. Fried taught at BC for 35
years and, through the center he
established, conducted innovative research on the impact of urban community dislocation on
people’s lives. His 1963 study
“Grieving for a Lost Home”
— a look at the communities
dislodged by redevelopment of
Boston’s West End of Boston
— and monograph The World
of the Urban Working Class were
considered foundational for the
field of environmental psychology.
Born Abraham Fried, in
Newport, RI, Dr. Fried served
as a medic in World War II
in Europe before earning his
bachelor of arts degree from
City College of New York. He
was awarded a doctorate of psychology from the Department
of Social Relations at Harvard
University. In 2001, he received
a license to practice clinical psychology from the Massachusetts
Institute of Psychology.
Dr. Fried is survived by his
wife, Joan Zilbach of Brookline,
his daughters Lise, Diana and
Susana, and son Alan.
Those wishing to make taxdeductible donations in his
memory can send their contribution to the Marc Fried Memorial Fund, c/o Rose Dobosz,
3 Woodlawn St., Amesbury,
MA 01913.
—Office of Public Affairs
Nota Bene
Jodi-Ann Burey,’08, was selected as the inaugural recipient of the
Dr. Donald Brown Award, named for the long-time director of the
Office of AHANA Student Programs.
Burey, a Ronald E. McNair Research Scholar who majored in communication with a minor in history, was co-director of the AHANA
Leadership Council’s AHANA Caucus and a resident assistant. She
also served as a mentor for the FACES freshmen program, moderator
for United Front and group leader for the Ghana Service and Immersion Program.
The American Sociological Association has selected an article cowritten by Asst. Prof. Natalia Sarkisian (Sociology) as winner of the
2008 Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Article Award for its
Race, Gender and Class Section. The article, “Extended Family Integration Among Euro and Mexican Americans: Ethnicity, Gender, and
Class,” was co-authored with Mariana Gerena and Naomi Gerstel and
appeared in the Journal of Marriage and Family.
David S. Nelson Professor Anderson J. Franklin was invited to
speak at the United Nations on May 15 at a briefing of the UN’s
Non-Governmental Organizations unit, “Fathers and Families: Responsibilities and Challenges,” in conjunction with the “International
Day of the Family.”
Franklin and other speakers addressed the role of fathers in families
and their impact on future generations. He was joined by Nurper
Ulkuer, senior advisor and chief of the Early Childhood Development
Unit at UNICEF, as well as a government representative.
Those Who Made a Difference
Waddock profiles key players in corporate responsibility
By Ed Hayward
Staff Writer
Ever since economist Milton
Friedman challenged the validity
of corporate social responsibility in
his landmark 1970 essay, social and
institutional entrepreneurs have labored to create a system capable of
defining, measuring and assessing
why being a good corporate citizen makes sense for companies and
their shareholders.
In a movement now commonly
referred to as “corporate responsibility” or “corporate citizenship,”
the goal has been to create a set of
constraints on business that counter
the dominant economic logic of
maximizing shareholder wealth and
growing multinational corporations
in size and power.
The key players in this cause, and
its history, are the subjects of a new
book by Prof. Sandra Waddock
(CSOM), The Difference Makers:
How Social and Institutional Entrepreneurs Created the Corporate Responsibility Movement.
According to Waddock, the
movement has drawn a great deal
of its inspiration from a critical mass
of corporate responsibility thought
leaders in the Boston area. “These
are the people who have been working within the system to create new
institutions to put pressure on corporations to behave in ways that
account for their core values,” she
adds.
Thinkers profiled by Waddock
have led the development of socially
responsible investing, the United
Nation’s Global Compact – joined
by 5,200 corporate signatories – the
Triple Bottom line (“People, Planet, Profit”), and the Global Reporting Initiative, now used by 1,500
corporations.
Bradley Googins, executive director of BC’s Center for Corporate
Lee Pellegrini
PEOPLE
Prof. Sandra Waddock (CSOM)
Citizenship, is among the 23 difference makers profiled by Waddock,
along with Joan Bavaria (Trillium
Asset Management), Amy Domini
(Domini 400 Social Index), Laury
Hammel (CEO of Natick-based
Longfellow Clubs), Peter Kinder
(president, KLD Research and Analytics), Steve Lydenberg (Domini
Social Funds), Bob Massie (Ceres), Jane Nelson (Kennedy School
of Government), James E. Post
(Boston University), John Ruggie (United Nations Global Compact), Timothy Smith (Walden Asset Management), Steve Waddell
(Global Action Network Net) and
Allen White (Tellus Institute).
These pioneers and others took
an activist cause and created frameworks that now have investors and
CEOs talking about how corporate
responsibility can be integrated into
a company’s DNA. “There’s been
a decided shift in the conversation
over the past 30 years,” Waddock
says.
As a range of world forces – from
global warming to sky-rocketing gas
prices to financial scandals – shift
attention to sustainability, accountability and transparency, these difference makers say corporate responsibility frameworks offer solu-
tions toward creating the kinds of
successful companies shareholders
and citizens need now.
This has pushed corporate responsibility from the margins of
strategic discussions closer to the
actual margin at the bottom line,
as companies quantify the business
return on decisions that might run
counter to traditional thinking in a
range of operational areas – from
packaging to waste disposal to hiring and labor practices.
Yet many corporate leaders have
trouble supporting their words with
actions, says Waddock.
“There is some understanding
of the problems around ‘shorttermism’ in the current system, but
not a lot of understanding about
how to change the system,” she
says. “There is a lot of pressure from
Wall Street on a quarterly basis even
though companies need to make
decisions based on the long-term
interests of their company.”
Empowered by its Jesuit tradition of social justice, Boston College boasts a significant voice in
the corporate responsibility arena,
led by professors like Waddock,
and think-tanks like the Center for
Corporate Citizenship, its Institute
for Responsible Investment and the
Carroll School’s Winston Center
for Leadership and Ethics.
“We have a constellation of resources here that are not available
on any other campus,” says Waddock, who is also a senior research
fellow at the Center for Corporate
Citizenship. “People engaged in
this issue do get involved with BC
because of our Jesuit tradition. It
certainly played an influence on my
decision to be here. That philosophy has been very supportive of my
work.”
For more information about the
book, see www.greenleaf-publishing.
com/differencemakers.
Campbell Is Monan Chair in Theater Arts
Mary-Mitchell Campbell, an
award-winning Broadway orchestrator and music supervisor who
created an arts-based non-profit to
combat childhood poverty, is the inaugural holder of the Rev. J. Donald
Monan Professorial Chair in Theater Arts for the 2008-09 academic
year.
As the Monan Professor in Theater Arts, Campbell, the founder
of Artists Striving to End Poverty
(ASTEP), will lecture and conduct
workshops. She also will direct a
May 2009 production of “Songs
for a New World” that will benefit
ASTEP.
“Having Ms. Campbell work
with our students would give them
a chance to receive training from
one of the most gifted talents in
contemporary New York theatre,”
said Theater Department chairman
Prof. John Houchin. “The ASTEP
benefit will allow us to demonstrate
how humanitarianism and theater
have been merged to fulfill Boston
College’s Jesuit Catholic mission.”
Named for University Chancellor and former University President
dren, and encourJ. Donald Monan, SJ,
age artists to use
the professorship enthe power of the
ables nationally and
arts to transform
internationally recogsociety.
nized theater artists to
Current ASwork and teach at the
TEP initiatives inUniversity.
clude arts camps
In addition to
for disadvantaged
honoring Fr. Monan’s
youths in New
dedicated service to
York City, Florida
Boston College, the
and South Africa,
professorship was esand a volunteer
tablished in memory
program through
Mary-Mitchell Campbell
of late Trustee E. Paul
with Paul Newman.
which artists teach
Robsham, M.Ed.’83
— benefactor of the campus theater children in India.
The North Carolina native is
arts facility named for his son — and
in celebration of the longstanding the music director of the annual
relationship between the Robsham Broadway Care-Equity Fights AIDS
family and the BC Theater Depart- concerts, and has toured with the
Boston Pops Orchestra and with
ment.
Campbell’s inspiration for AS- Tony award-winning actress Kristin
TEP originated from her volunteer Chenoweth. She holds the distincwork at Mother Teresa’s missionary tion of being one of the youngest
in India. The group seeks to em- individuals to serve on the faculty at
power young people through self- The Juilliard School.
Campbell earned degrees from
expression and decision-making,
renew communities’ commitment the North Carolina School of the
to the arts while strengthening re- Arts and Furman University.
—Office of Public Affairs
lationships between adults and chil-
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
may 22, 2008
2008 Fellowship Winners Include
(At Least) 16 Fulbright Scholars
Continued from page 1
Alexandra Hinojosa,’07
HOMETOWN: Providence, RI
DESTINATION: Spain
PROJECT: Ethnographic field research and immigration studies of
the Dominican community in Madrid.
FUTURE PLANS: Graduate studies
in social and cultural anthropology.
“I propose to do ethnographic field
research on the Dominican immigrant community is Madrid in order to discern how this community
constructs self-representations and
identities in modern-day Spanish society. One of my approaches to this
problem will be a case study of the
use and organization of social space
in the neighborhoods in Madrid
frequented by Dominicans.”
Alexander Jasset
HOMETOWN: Newton, Mass.
DESTINATION: France
PROJECT: English teacher
FUTURE PLANS: Graduate studies
in international security or international relations.
“I propose to use my linguistic background and experience with second
language acquisition to assist in a
French classroom and to lead weekly
discussions in English about current
American social and cultural issues.
I also plan to examine the effectiveness of dialect revival attempts by the
French government and to conduct a
small-scale survey of French citizens
about their opinions of these efforts
by the government.”
Karen Kauffman
HOMETOWN: Southbury, Conn.
DESTINATION: Germany
PROJECT: English teacher
FUTURE PLANS: Career in strategic management consulting for international firms and governments.
“Through my experiences abroad,
I have developed a passion for the
German language and a renewed
appreciation for my native language.
I have grown to love inspiring students to learn new concepts and
ideas. A Teaching Fellowship offers
me the perfect opportunity to combine these two interests.”
Jamel Mims
HOMETOWN: Washington, DC
DESTINATION: China
PROJECT: Sociological study of
Beijing’s hip-hop, urban and street
culture.
FUTURE PLANS: Teach in Washington, DC; start Beijing summer
program for at-risk African-American high school students.
“During my last year in Beijing, I
discovered a subculture where my
own distinct African-American culture was translated across the Pacific and mutated into something
completely new. My proposal is a
multi-media ethnographical account
of this subculture through literature,
photography and a short film.”
Rohan Mulgaonkar,’07
HOMETOWN: North Caldwell, NJ
DESTINATION: Indonesia
PROJECT: English teacher
FUTURE PLANS: Advanced de-
Lee Pellegrini
gree in English literature; teaching
career.
“The nature of my project is, first
and foremost, pedagogical. I intend
to devote my time to teaching conversational English to young Indonesian adults. I also hope to learn the
basic elements of Bahasa, Indonesia,
in order to facilitate student-teacher
discussions about American culture.
On a secondary level, I hope to learn
about Indonesian literature and, perhaps, to develop several essays that
promote its inclusion in the curricula
of American universities.”
Mary Emily Neumeier
HOMETOWN: Tampa, Fla.
DESTINATION: Turkey
PROJECT: Study of Turkish calligraphy
FUTURE PLANS: Doctoral study
in art history, focusing on Islamic
art; possible career as a museum
curator or registrar and professor in
art history.
“I propose to study the tradition of
Turkish calligraphy and how modern Turkish calligraphers both absorb and react against this tradition.
I will take university courses in Ottoman art and history and Sabanci and
Bogazici universities, volunteer at the
Sabanci University Museum of Art
and research their vast calligraphy
collection, and meet contemporary
Turkish calligraphers.”
Merril Augusta Putnam
HOMETOWN: Minneapolis
DESTINATION: Honduras
PROJECT: Impacts of tourism on
Copán
FUTURE PLANS: Master’s degree
in landscape architecture with a focus in environmental planning; create and design unique, sustainable
landscapes.
“Copán is simultaneously Honduras’
poorest region and premier tourist
destination. My findings will aid in
the development of Copán’s resources to maximize community involvement, improve health and education and retain the region’s cultural
integrity.”
Andrea Reichert
HOMETOWN: Berkley Heights, NJ
DESTINATION: Indonesia
PROJECT: Teaching English
FUTURE PLANS: Work in Southeast Asian tourism industry; return
to Brazil to enter the family business
of international fragrance development.
“I would like to obtain some knowledge of the Indonesian perspective of
cultural identity in a country where
bilingualism and ethnic groups and
their languages are prevalent.”
Erica Robinson
HOMETOWN: Cheektowaga, NY
DESTINATION: Indonesia
PROJECT: English teaching assistantship
FUTURE PLANS: Considering career in law or business.
“My goal is to apply the knowledge
that I have gained from relevant
linguistic coursework and volunteer
experiences to the role of English
This year’s Boston College Fulbright Scholars and alternates include: (seated L-R) Karen Kauffman, Benjamin Seidl, Danielle
Belko (on table) and Merril Putnam. (standing L-R) Erica Robinson, Alexander Jasset, William Keane and Maryclaire Abowd.
teaching assistant. I will become involved in school athletics strengthening my social and community ties
and interacting in Bahasa, Indonesia,
as well as providing a relationship
of information exchange with students.”
Benjamin Seidl
HOMETOWN: Portland, Ore.
DESTINATION: Dominican Republic
PROJECT: Study in non-profit administration
FUTURE PLANS: Work with management team in American nonprofit organization; pursue MBA with
focus on social entrepreneurship or
non-profit management.
“I intend to formulate an intensive
case study for two small non-profit
organizations in the Dominican Republic, in addition to helping create
an HIV/AIDS preventative education program in the community.
The two NPOs I propose to study
are providing basic education and
health services in the impoverished
province of Barahona. The project
is an invaluable opportunity to study
non-profit organizations from the
ground level.”
Nathan Staudinger
HOMETOWN: Niskayuna, NY
DESTINATION: Germany
PROJECT: Teaching English language and American culture
FUTURE PLANS: Graduate study
of German film
QUOTE: “I propose a performancebased pedagogy to the English language and American culture based
upon American plays and films. Dramatic and cinematic works would be
studied to enhance awareness of the
broader American culture, and performed to encourage language practice. I hope to pursue a PhD graduate study of German film, specifically
post-New German Cinema film,
with the eventual goal of becoming
a university professor or working a
German film production company
such as X-Filme in Berlin.”
Fulbright Alternates
William Keane
HOMETOWN: Baltimore
DESTINATION: Germany
PROJECT: Teaching English language
FUTURE PLANS: Graduate study
in English literature or American
Studies; teach at college level.
QUOTE: “I feel that my background in literature will allow me to
teach English through the study of
English-language novels and short
stories. I believe that books have the
power to shape young minds and
inspire a lifetime zeal for learning.
In sharing my love of literature,
I hope to educate German high
school students about more than just
language.”
International Institute for Public
Policy Fellow
John Choi,’10
HOMETOWN: Lawrenceville, Ga.
DESTINATION: Atlanta, College
Park, Md., Washington, DC, New
York City and Seoul, South Korea.
PROJECT: International public
policy
FUTURE PLANS: Pursue degree in
Master of Public Policy or Master of
Public Administration.
“The knowledge I will gain through
my participation in the International
Institute for Public Policy Fellowship Program will better educate and
equip me for my future aspirations
of becoming a diplomat or ambassador.”
Leah Maloney
HOMETOWN: Hamden, Conn.
DESTINATION: Yemen
PROJECT: Yemenis and foreign aid
organizations
FUTURE PLAN: Pursue doctorate
in Islamic studies.
QUOTE: “My research explores the
relationship between Yemenis for
whom Zaydiyyah is a strong component of personal identity and foreign
aid organizations; focusing on the
United States Agency of International Development’s effectiveness
serving Zaydis. I will research government reports and development
studies available through the American Institute for Yemeni Studies,
and work with USAID investigating
their organizational practices and interviewing Zaydis.”
Beckman Scholars
Maryann Odusanya
HOMETOWN: New Brunswick, NJ
DESTINATION: France
PROJECT: English teacher
FUTURE PLANS: Graduate studies in psychology
QUOTE: “I plan to be an assistant
teacher in a French school while
teaching English to students. I will
also collect the stories of North and
West African immigrants and compile these stories into a collection of
their experiences.”
Julian J. Vastl, ’10
HOMETOWN: Andover, Mass.
PROJECT: Biochemical research
FUTURE PLANS: PhD in chemistry
“Many people are affected by amyloid diseases such as Alzheimer’s
disease and type II Diabetes. I will
synthesize varying amyloid binding
compounds and test their binding
efficiency in hopes of creating a new
diagnostic tool that aids in the detection of such diseases.”
Elizabeth Guenther,’11
HOMETOWN: Cresskill, NJ
PROJECT: Synthesis of inhibitor to
rigidify NcsB2
FUTURE PLANS: PhD in chemistry and pharmaceutical research
“There is an undeniable significance
and importance for research involving the comprehension of the biosynthesis of natural products and
applicability of this knowledge to
synthesize novel compounds. My
project will involve the synthesis of
an inhibitor, possibly the naphthoic
sulfamoyl adenosine inhibitor, in
order to co-crystallize it with the
enzyme NcsB2 and thus aid in understanding the biosynthesis of the
anti-tumor agent neocarzinostatin.”