The Boston College
Chronicle
april 25, 2008-vol. 16 no. 16
Gennaro to Head
Connell School
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Expert in perinatal
nursing has extensive
international experience
By Kathleen Sullivan
Staff Writer
The Boston College men’s hockey team saluted their fans at the end of their 4-1 win over Notre Dame in the
April 12 NCAA Championship game. (Photo from BC Athletic Association)
Eagles Rule the Roost, Again
Boston College celebrates third hockey title, first since 2001
By Reid Oslin
Staff Writer
Hockey coach Jerry York
– like just about everybody else
in the Boston College travel
party – didn’t sleep a wink in
the excitement that followed
the Eagles’ 4-1 national championship victory over Notre
Dame on April 12 in Denver.
Early the next morning, the
team bus was headed from the
hotel to the airport where a
charter flight awaited to bring
the champions home to Boston. “I just happened to look
out to my left,” York recalled,
“it was a beautifully bright and
clear morning and you could see
right through the foothills into
the high Rockies. We’ve got the
trophy sitting up in the front of
the bus and I couldn’t help but to
think that BC’s 1949 championship team might have taken this
same route.
“It was a unique feeling of satisfaction,” York said as he thought
of the ’49 BC club that won that
year’s national hockey crown with
a 4-3 win over Dartmouth at the
venerable old Broadmoor Rink in
Colorado Springs. “We had gone
out to accomplish something and
we had done it. Now, we are going back to Boston.”
This year’s win was especially
sweet for the Eagles, who had
finished as runners-up in each
of the previous two “Frozen
Four” championship games. “I
have always thought that whatever endeavor you are involved
with, you want to become the
very best in that pursuit,” said
York. “That’s a special, special
feeling. We are the best team in
the country – no one else can
say that.”
When BC’s newest champions arrived back in Boston,
the similarities to the “olden
days” of college hockey quickly
ended. A police escort met the
team at Hanscom Field and
Continued on page 6
Two days later, coach Jerry York and the team were given of their own in Conte Forum (Photo by Frank Curran)
INSIDE:
BC hosts meeting on
student life (page 3)
Endowed professorships;
new CIS director (page 4)
Boston College has named
Susan Gennaro, the Florence
and William Downs Professor in
Nursing Research in the College
of Nursing at New York University, the next dean of its William
F. Connell School of Nursing.
She will assume the post on July
1, succeeding Barbara Hazard
who is retiring after serving as
dean since 1991.
An expert in perinatal nursing,
Gennaro has conducted research
throughout the United States and
abroad, including Uganda and
Malawi, and participated in educational and demonstration projects in Ukraine, Belgium, Taiwan
and India. Her work has received
funding from the National Institutes of Nursing Research and the
Office of Women’s Health at the
National Institutes of Health.
From 1988 to 2006, Gennaro
was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of
Nursing, where she retains the
title of professor emerita. Prior
Susan Gennaro
to her tenure at Penn, Gennaro taught at the University of
Alabama School of Nursing and
the Medical University of South
Carolina.
Gennaro’s writing has appeared in publications such as
Nursing Research, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Journal of Obstetrical, Gynecologic
and Neonatal Nursing, Journal of
Nursing Scholarship and Journal
of Perinatal Neonatal Nursing,
among others.
Continued on page 3
Center for Undergraduate
Global Studies Established
$10 million gift will
support international
study opportunities
Boston College has announced
the establishment of the Center
for Undergraduate Global Studies,
which will expand the international
experiences of BC undergraduates
by better integrating study-abroad
opportunities into the academic
curriculum.
The center will also provide
funds for students for whom studying abroad would otherwise be out
of reach, and enhance international program development. Bernd
Widdig, who has served as director of BC’s Office of International
Programs since 2007, will head the
center.
“Study abroad is at the core of
the Boston College undergraduate
experience,” said Widdig. “Nearly
40 percent of Boston College undergraduates participate in study
abroad programs, and most rate
A rite of passage,
and of faith (page 7)
their international experience as
one of the best aspects of their BC
education.
“With the formation of this
center, BC students will now have
greater opportunities to learn firsthand how transformative international study can be to their academic interests and personal growth.”
The establishment of the center
has been made possible by a $10
million gift from University Trustee Kathleen M. McGillycuddy and
her husband, Ronald E. Logue,
chairman and CEO of State Street
Corporation. The center will be
named the McGillycuddy-Logue
Center for Undergraduate Global
Studies in recognition of their support.
A key priority of the McGillycuddy-Logue Center will be the
development of a Fellows Program, which will combine intense
academic preparation before study
abroad with structured opportunities for reflection on the experiContinued on page 10
O’Toole writes history of
American Catholics (page 8)
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
april 25, 2008
AROUND
CAMPUS
Leading the way
Rev. Hubert Walters receives a hug from a well-wisher at the April 11 Voices of Imani concert. Rev. Walters will lead the choir for the final time tomorrow. (Photo by Justin Knight)
Final chorus
Standing behind a baby grand
piano, Rev. Hubert Walters struck
three keys and explained to the
audience in Trinity Chapel on
Newton Campus why “Dwell in
the House” is one of his favorite
spirituals.
“It’s never about the music.
It’s always about the message,”
Rev. Walters said quietly, striding
toward his stand before the smiling faces of his Voices of Imani
gospel choir.
The man who brought both
music and message to Boston College for the better part of three
decades is retiring this year, and so
the University community, along
with past and present students
and family, gathered in Trinity
Chapel April 11 to watch his last
spring concert with the Voices of
Imani. Rev. Walters’ finale with
the choir will be tomorrow night
when the Voices of Imani perform
selections from Duke Ellington’s
“Sacred Concerts” with BC bOp!
as part of the BC Arts Festival.
Filling the chapel with a reunion-like atmosphere, people
clapped, swayed and sang along to
hymns and spirituals. Rev. Walters directed both the Voices of
Imani and the New Fisk Jubilee Singers — founded in honor
of the original Fisk Singers, nine
men and women who were direct descendants of slaves credited
with preserving African American
spirituals.
Following the concert were
presentations to Rev. Walters and
a gala reception in his honor.
The choir’s roots go back to
1977, when a group of African
American students at BC began
a group that they called “Imani,”
the Swahili word for faith. The
search for a director was undertaken and in 1982 Rev. Walters — a
founding member of the AfroAmerican Studies Department at
Harvard, where he directed the
Kuumba Singers — came to BC
at the request of the late Amanda
Houston, director of the Black
Studies Department.
In addition to his ability as a
musical director, Rev. Walters’
admirers praise his enthusiasm for
making each song in the Voices
of Imani a teachable moment,
explaining the importance of
spirituals like “Bye and Bye” in
the African American historical
context.
“Rev. Walters has stressed the
importance of history, culture and
identity and the importance of
what spiritual and gospel music
helped the African and AfricanAmerican slaves overcome,” said
the choir’s incoming president,
Stephanie Sanabria, ’09. “The
spirituals convey messages of hope
for a better life, strength that extreme difficulties can be overcome
and a positive attitude that God
will save you in whatever way He
can.”
“Rev. Walters coincidentally
brought to campus academic
courses that set the historical, social and cultural context of this
music,” said Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs
J. Joseph Burns.
“He did this at a time when
there were very few black students
on an overwhelmingly white,
Irish, Catholic commuter campus.
He made Black Studies [now African and African Diaspora Studies] an emotional and intellectual
home for black students and gave
them the confidence to share their
music and their culture with other
students and faculty, a huge step
toward the more diverse university of today.”
The April 11 concert was a
bittersweet moment for students,
who have come to know Rev.
Walters and teacher and friend.
“[Rev. Walters] is the living
account of what we are learning,”
said Charisse Gilmer, ’08. “He’s
so wise and has such a great personality. I just don’t see how you
can possibly replace him. He has
these sayings he always uses and
one of his favorites is ‘The world
don’t get no better if you just let
it be.’ I think that’s one I’ll always
take with me.”
—MB
Earlier this month saw the
20th anniversary celebration of
the Emerging Leader Program
(ELP) as Boston College’s “flagship program” for first-year students interested in developing
leadership qualities and skills. The
April 12 event in the Yawkey
Center’s Murray Room honored
the program’s facilitators and coordinators, who play a key role in
helping ELP participants — many
of whom later become facilitators
and coordinators themselves —
realize their leadership potential.
Only 50 students are selected
from each year’s freshman class
for ELP. They must become involved in at least one activity on
campus, participate in community
service on a regular basis, develop
a service project with their small
group, and meet weekly on Tuesday evenings with the full group
to explore a wide variety of topics
in experiential, lecture, and discussion formats.
The 130 former ELP facilitators who came to the anniversary
dinner offer a living testament
for the program, says Assistant
Dean for Student Development
Mer Zovko, listing the careers
and vocations of some attendees: CEOs, broadcasters, law firm
partners and a Homeland Security
official. “They’ve gone on to lead
interesting, fulfilling lives,” says
Zovko, who has overseen ELP
since its inception.
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs and University Fellowships Committee
Director Donald Hafner has been
similarly impressed by the quality
of the program and all who take
part in it.
“For the past 11 years,” says
Hafner, who spoke at the event,
“I have met with the new ‘ELPers’ during the second week when
they are on campus, to talk with
them about aiming high and using fellowship opportunities as a
way of achieving their dreams.
I have often said to them in jest
that I must be nuts to be talking with newly-arrived freshmen
about what they might want to
do after graduation, when they
haven’t even used up all the clean
clothes in their suitcases yet.
“But they are a wonderfully
receptive crowd to the ideas of
challenge, and during their later
years at BC, I see many of them
again and again as they pursue
opportunities.”
ELP alumni express gratitude
for the many life-shaping experiences the program provided them.
Mike Hofman, ’96, now executive
editor of Inc. magazine, recalls a
debate among the group members about the value of a service
project they had just completed:
“Was one day of service really
meaningful in the grand scheme
of things?”
Campus Minister Rev. Tony
Penna told them “service didn’t
have to be about affecting change
on a grand scale,” recalls Hofman.
“There was something special and
meaningful about simply saying
‘Yes’ when somebody asked you
to help out. That’s always stuck
with me.”
Hofman says ELP taught him
that the capacity for leadership
exists in everyone, if nurtured and
encouraged properly.
“I learned that leaders are not
just people to be looked up to and
followed, although they often are.
Leaders can be your peers, people
who can and will ask for your help
and support when it comes to
accomplishing whatever they are
trying to accomplish.
“There’s a vulnerability to leadership, as well as an authority,”
he adds. “Leaders don’t have all
the answers, and in fact one of
the great qualities of at least some
leaders is modesty, humility, and a
willingness to reveal their humanness.”
—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
University President William P. Leahy, SJ, was the featured speaker at the
April 18 “Veritas et Vinum,” a monthly gathering of graduate and professional
school students that hosts Boston College administrators and faculty. Speakers
at the series discuss their career path in higher education, how they arrived
at Boston College and what it means to do their work in a Catholic and Jesuit
university. (Photos by Lee Pellegrini)
The Boston College Chronicle
(USPS 009491), the internal newspaper for faculty and staff, is published
biweekly from September to May by
Boston College, with editorial offices
at the Office of Public Affairs, 14
Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA
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Electronic editions of the Boston
College Chronicle are available via
the World Wide Web at http://
www.bc.edu/chronicle.
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
april 25, 2008
Off-Campus Student Life Is Focus of Event
University hosts forum
for area police, officials,
educators and neighbors
By Melissa Beecher
Staff Writer
Representatives from 14 colleges and universities, area police
and city officials, neighbors and
student leaders from across the
Northeast came to Boston College
last week for an innovative conference aimed at candidly addressing
off-campus student life issues.
The April 15 summit, held
at Corcoran Commons, fostered
discussion about topics involving
public safety, off-campus student
behavior and ways to build community between residents and
students.
BC Executive Vice President
Patrick Keating said schools
shoulder the tremendous responsibility of helping students adapt
to their first experience living on
their own.
“Universities have to help educate and encourage students to be
good neighbors,” Keating said.
“It’s the role of the university to
help them participate in the lives
of the neighborhood.”
Judith Kurland, chief of staff
for Boston Mayor Thomas M.
Menino, urged schools to develop
more quality on-campus housing
Boston Police Department Captain William Evans speaks at the April 15 conference, “Student Life Off Campus: Perspectives, Issues and Strategies,” held in
Corcoran Commons. (Photo by Frank Curran)
and better educate the students
that choose to live off campus that
responsibilities follow.
“We like it when the universities are of the community, not just
in the community,” Kurland said.
University of MassachusettsAmherst representatives described
how they established the Campus and Community Coalition
to promote responsible decisionmaking about alcohol and drug
use. Since 2004, the group has
sought to educate students about
risks of binge drinking, helped
establish relationships with campus and local police, worked with
store owners to curtail underage
BC Class Hosts a Special Guest
Speaker — from the House
“It’s like operating with a giant
bullseye on your back.”
Commenting on the recent deFrom casino gambling to bate over legalized gambling in
bias in the media, Massachusetts the state, DiMasi — a vocal oppoSpeaker of the House Salvatore F. nent of Governor Deval Patrick’s
DiMasi, ’67, covered considerable plan to establish three casinos in
ground when addressing 20 stu- Massachusetts — said he felt figdents Tuesday in Gasson 301.
ures citing potential state revenue
Part-time faculty member Wil- were inflated.
liam Bulger, himself
“There was no
the former president
question in my
of the Massachusetts “My advice is go work mind that this was
Senate, hosted DiMain government and not the way to go,”
si as the latest guest
said DiMasi. “It is
in his Political Lead- find out what’s really a regressive tax,
ership class. Students
one that wouldn’t
going on there.”
listened closely as Dibe paid in Need—Salvatore DiMasi ham or Wellesley,
Masi described growing up in a tenement
but paid by people
in the North End of
in Dorchester or
Boston and working
Roxbury. It did
two jobs to pay for school.
not solve the fiscal crisis we are
DiMasi, a Democrat who has dealing with today.”
worked in the Massachusetts LegDiMasi expressed concerns
islature for nearly 30 years, spoke with the press and how journalof the importance of teamwork ism is currently practiced. After
and building consensus.
expressing his opinion that lo“This is a democracy. Leader- cal media focuses more on gosship doesn’t come from the top sip and less on substantive issues,
down, it comes from the bottom the speaker spoke directly to one
up,” said DiMasi. “As a leader, student who said she may be inyou are more a servant of the terested in pursuing a career in
membership.”
journalism.
Bulger asked DiMasi to re“My advice is go work in govspond to media reports dubbing ernment and find out what’s really
him the “King of the Hill” and going on there. Make a promise to
“the most powerful elected official yourself that everything you will
in Massachusetts politics.”
write will be fair, balanced and
DiMasi downplayed the title: truthful,” said DiMasi.
By Melissa Beecher
Staff Writer
alcohol sales and established partnerships with landlords to crack
down on excessive noise and parties in neighborhoods.
The Campus and Community
Coalition also devised BASICS
(Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students),
an intervention course for students
who believe alcohol or drugs have
become a problem in their lives.
BASICS is mandatory for students
who have undergone judicial proceedings due to alcohol infractions on or off-campus. Students
cannot register for classes without
fulfilling the BASICS program.
UMass Director of Health
Education, Community Outreach town has ever known.”
and Marketing Sally Linowski
Boston University Dean of Stucredited the program’s intense fo- dents Kenneth Elmore challenged
cus, combined with a marketing Ross. Students are the future of
campaign about moderate drink- the neighborhoods, he said, and
ing, for a more than 30 percent everyone needs to have a first
drop in student drinking in the neighborhood.
last three years.
“This is a city
“It all started
of young people
“Universities have to help edwith making sure
and I think that
the policies were ucate and encourage students we all need to rein place to aid in
ally evaluate what
to be good neighbors. It’s the
enforcement. Just
that means,” said
like the old say- role of the university to help Elmore.
ing, ‘clean your
Elmore called
them participate in the lives
own house first,’
on schools to enmeant we had to
of the neighborhood.”
courage students
make sure our
to register to
—Patrick Keating
on campus issues
vote, join neighwere addressed
borhood associabefore we went
tions and make
off campus,” she said.
meaningful contributions to the
Boston City Councilor Michael communities, in addition to being
Ross, who drafted the controver- responsible.
sial city ordinance that prevents
The conference was also atmore than four college students tended by administrative memto live together in the same apart- bers of Berklee College of Music,
ment, was also a panelist at the Brandeis University, College of
forum.
the Holy Cross, Emerson, EmRoss pointed to Mission Hill manuel, Hofstra, Massachusetts
as an example of a neighborhood College of Pharmacy and Health
that is on the verge of losing its Sciences, MIT, Northeastern,
identity because so many students Salve Regina, Suffolk, UMasshave moved in as families have Boston and Tufts. Members of
relocated.
Radnor Neighborhood Associa“There are seismic inequalities tion, Allston Brighton Substance
that need to be restored,” said Abuse Task Force and Cambridge
Ross. “We are about to lose one Prevention Coalition were in atof the greatest neighborhoods this tendance.
Gennaro to Take Connell School Reins
Continued from page 1
“The search committee was
impressed by Professor Gennaro’s
formidable record of research, faculty recruitment, mentoring, and
commitment to interdisciplinary
and inter-institutional collaboration,” said Provost and Dean
of Faculties Cutberto Garza in a
letter announcing Gennaro’s appointment. “Professor Gennaro
also garnered praise from leaders
at medical schools and hospitals
in the Boston area whom she
met in the course of the interview
process.”
“The Connell School of Nursing deanship is my idea of the
perfect deanship,” said Gennaro.
“I believe in the values of the Connell School and the University
and am really looking forward to
working with the stellar faculty
and truly exceptional students.”
A Staten Island, NY, native,
Gennaro has strong family ties
to the nursing profession. Her
mother and aunts were nurses,
as are her husband, cousin and
sister-in-law. “I’m very happy I’m
a nurse,” said Gennaro.
“I knew that in nursing I
would be helping people physically, mentally, emotionally and
spiritually at some of the most important moments of their lives,”
said Gennaro in an interview with
Reflections on Nursing Leadership.
“It’s a choice I have never regretted.”
Gennaro earned a bachelor of
arts degree from Le Moyne College in 1972, a master of science
in nursing degree from Pace University in 1975 and a doctor of
science in nursing degree from
the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1983.
Her honors include ASPO/LAMAZE’s “Outstanding Perinatal
Educator” award for 1993 and the
Association of Women’s Heath,
Obstetrical and Neonatal Nurses’ Excellence in Research award
(1994) and Distinguished Service
Award (2001). She was recognized
by the University of Pennsylvania
with the Lenore Rowe Williams
Award for her efforts to improve
the health of women around the
world. She was elected a fellow of
the American Academy of Nursing in 1990 and serves as editor
of the Journal of Nursing Scholarship, which reaches 130,000 readers in more than 100 countries.
Gennaro has served on the
Nurse Advisory Council for the
March of Dimes, working to
bring culturally sensitive care to
foreign countries to help improve
maternal and infant health.
Campus Arts Festival Continues
Today Through Saturday
The 2008 Boston College Arts Festival is in full swing, with
its first day completed and a variety of music, dance, film screenings and other activities still to come today and tomorrow.
Some events of special interest:
Tonight, 8 p.m., O’Neill Plaza: Catch a free screening of
“The Visitor,” the new film by Tom McCarthy, ’88, that has
been garnering many positive reviews. After the screening, stay
for a “talk back” session with McCarthy.
Saturday, 1 p.m., Gasson 100: Hear author Mike Lupica,
’74, discuss, and answer questions about, his career as a writer.
A book signing will follow, and copies of his new novel The Big
Field will be available.
Saturday, 8 p.m., O’Neill Plaza: See the very first collaboration between BC bOp! and Voices of Imani, as they present
excerpts from Duke Ellington’s “Sacred Concerts.” The concert
is free for BC students and faculty with ID, $10 for the public.
All information about the Arts Festival is available at www.
bc.edu/artsfestival.
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
tomer-based marketing strategy,
is the holder of The Accenture
Professorship.
“Professors Glynn, Goizueta,
Hollenbach, Keenan, and Lemon
are among University’s most dedicated and distinguished faculty,”
said Garza. “I am pleased their
many contributions have been recognized in this meaningful way.”
In addition to honoring exemplary scholars, endowed professorships assist in the recruitment and
retention of faculty who might
otherwise be lured away by competing institutions, Garza said.
“Endowed professorships are
critical to Boston College’s academic mission. They enable the
University to honor scholars of
extraordinary caliber who serve
other special roles in the University community and to retain or
attract such individuals when they
have competing offers from other
universities.”
Thomas Lockerby, associate
vice president for Capital Giving in the Office of University
Advancement, said donors who
support the endowed professorships are looking for ways to make
an impact on the Boston College
faculty.
“Endowed professorships represent the highest form of investment people can make in the work
of our faculty,” Lockerby said.
“These chairs are valued within
academia, but they are also valued
by donors. They get a chance to
know these professors. The pride
we hear that develops with our
donors is incredible.”
Gary Gilbert
Faculty members who have been
appointed to endowed professorships this academic year are:
(clockwise from top left) Rev. David Hollenbach, SJ; Rev. James
Keenan, SJ; Robert Goizueta;
Mary Ann Glynn; and Kay Lemon.
Lee Pellegrini
’73, M.Ed. ’74, in recognition of
Mr. Cotter’s father.
Roberto Goizueta, a specialist
Five of the University’s most in liberation theology, theology
accomplished faculty members of Latinos in the United States,
have been honored this year with culture and theology, and the inendowed professorships that rec- dividual and social responsibility,
ognize their teaching, research has been named to The Margaret
and service to Boston College and O’Brien Flatley Chair in Catholic
their respective disciplines.
Theology, funded by Trustee AsEndowed professorships are sociate Thomas J. and Charlotte
created through the generous gifts Flatley.
of alumni and other friends of the
Rev. David Hollenbach, SJ,
University. Two of the five profes- whose work focuses on the founsorships are newly endowed.
dation of Christian social ethics,
“Individuals selected to hold particularly in the areas of the huendowed professorships embody man rights, theory of justice, the
our highest ideals of
common good,
scholarly dedication,
and the role of
“Individuals selected
craft, and service to
religion in social
the University and to hold endowed proand political life,
broader community,”
has been named
fessorships embody
said Provost and Dean
to The Profesour highest ideals of
of Faculties Cutberto
sorship in HuGarza. “Perhaps most
man Rights and
scholarly dedication,
importantly they enInternational
craft, and service to
sure that our underJustice.
graduate, graduates,
Rev. James
the University and
and
post-doctoral
Keenan,
SJ,
students interact with broader community.”
whose scholarly
the very best and latwork has exam—Cutberto Garza
est thinking in and
ined fundamenout of the classroom
tal moral theoland research settings.”
ogy, the history of theological ethMary Ann Glynn, who teaches ics, Saint Thomas Aquinas, church
organizational studies and also leadership and ethics, HIV/AIDS
serves as director of research for the and genetics, has been appointed
Carroll School of Management’s to The Founders Professorship in
Winston Center for Leadership Theology.
& Ethics, has been appointed to
Kay Lemon, a member of the
The Joseph F. Cotter Professor- Carroll School’s Marketing Deship, newly funded and created by partment whose interests lie in
Trustee Robert Cotter, ’73, and the areas of customer equity, cushis wife, Elizabeth Ferriter Cotter tomer asset management and cusBy Ed Hayward
Staff Writer
Gary Gilbert
Number of endowed professorships at Boston College continue to grow;
administrators cite importance to University’s academic mission
John Gilooly
‘Scholars of Extraordinary Caliber’
Gary Gilbert
april 25, 2008
New Center for Ignatian Spirituality Director Feels at Home
By Sean Smith
Chronicle Editor
Rev. Michael Boughton, SJ, the
new director of Boston College’s
Center for Ignatian Spirituality
(CIS), is by no means unfamiliar
with the University: He earned
his bachelor’s and master’s degrees
in English from BC, in 1970 and
1973, respectively, and has visited
campus from time to time since
then.
But Fr. Boughton says he knows
full well the BC of today is significantly different in many ways than
the BC he knew as a student.
“When I was here, BC was
about to turn a new corner, and
began to blossom in many ways:
It’s become more complex, more
diverse and is a far stronger academic institution,” says Fr. Boughton, who joined CIS last month
after serving as pastor for the St.
Patrick and St. Pius X parishes
of Portland, Me. He also served
as rector of the Fairfield University Jesuit Community, director of
Campus Ministry at the College of
the Holy Cross for 10 years and as
president of Fairfield College Preparatory School from 1996-2006.
Rev. Michael Boughton, SJ, officially became director of the Center for Ignatian
Spirituality last month. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
“Yet some things are constant. I
always remembered BC as a great
intellectual and spiritual place, and
that is still very true. It also continues to have a rich sense of community. When I was at Fairfield Prep
we sent many of our students to
BC, and they were so enthusiastic
about the life they found here.”
Fr. Boughton is more than a
little pleased himself at having returned to the Heights, where he
becomes the third director in the
history of CIS, after reverends Julio
Giulietti, SJ, and Howard Gray,
SJ. Established in 1997 through a
gift from the Boston College Jesuit
Community, the center develops
programs on Jesuit education and
Ignatian spirituality, organizes retreats and other activities that help
faculty and staff to integrate Ignatian values in their professional or
personal lives, and encourage those
wishing to facilitate this process.
“Since coming to campus,” he
says, “I’ve been impressed with the
diversity of activities, in particular
with the variety of lectures and discussions which focus on issues of
faith and justice, faith and culture,
and matters of interest to Catholics
or people of other faiths — or
simply those who care about the
spiritual dimension in life.”
Fr. Boughton notes that the
University’s Strategic Plan devotes
considerable attention and resources to exploring questions of faith
and its place in the human experience.
“Clearly, BC is poised to take
another important step in its history, and issues pertaining to faith
and society will remain a key element in this process of growth and
transformation. That is why there
is a Center for Ignatian Spirituality in the first place: We want to
help the BC community reflect on
the University’s Jesuit, Catholic
mission and its place in their professional, and personal, lives. The
center seeks to do this through
offering opportunities for reflection, conversation, dialogue and
prayer.”
Fr. Boughton sees the next few
months as a time to become more
acquainted with BC and identify
the most effective avenues for CIS
to fulfill its mission — through retreat opportunities, for example, or
involvement with the Intersections
Project, a program for faculty and
administrators to share with each
other their own sense of vocation
as educators, and to discuss how
this relates to the Jesuit mission of
the University. The center’s Web
site and literature also will be updated.
Having attended the Jesuit 35th
General Congregation in Rome
— highlighted by the selection of
Rev. Adolfo Nicolas, SJ, as the order’s new Superior General — Fr.
Boughton sees the prospect of an
overall sense of renewal among
Jesuits and their institutions.
“The General Congregation
was a chance for 225 Jesuits to
pray and reflect together on who
we are and what we do,” he says.
“It was a fascinating experience for
all of us, and I think it reaffirmed
the Jesuit mission of the service of
faith and the promotion of justice,
in dialogue with culture and with
other religions.
“This mission, so central to the
life of a great university such as
Boston College, is one in which
Jesuits must collaborate with others, and that is a great blessing for
everyone.”
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
april 25, 2008
Boston College and the Sciences
Researchers at Boston College
have developed the first laboratory
mouse model that mimics cancer’s
spread through the human body.
Using their novel cell line, the team
discovered one of the body’s primary defensive cells plays a role in
cancer’s attack.
The development of a new animal model – a line of cancer cells
injected into a laboratory mouse
– that displays the full spectrum of
systemic metastatic cancer in humans removes a “scientific stumbling block” in advancing cancer
research, said Prof. Thomas Seyfried
(Biology), whose findings appear in
the online version of the International Journal of Cancer and were
presented April 13 at the annual
meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
in San Diego.
Metastasis, the spread of cancer
from a primary site to other tissues and organs within the body, is
the primary cause of death among
cancer patients and remains largely
unmanageable. Without an animal
model that consistently reproduces
human-like metastasis, researchers
have relied primarily on individual
cancer patients to assess new therapies.
“What we have developed is
the first model in the mouse that
replicates all of the hallmarks of
metastatic cancer,” said Seyfried, the
project leader. “Now, we have a tool
that can be effective in identifying
Prof. Thomas Seyfried (Biology).
basic mechanisms and new therapies to treat the disease.”
Researchers produced two cell
lines that when injected into mice
express all the major biological processes of metastasis. A third line,
when injected, grew rapidly, but did
not lead to metastatic cancer.
Previous mouse models contain limitations in effectiveness and
speed. Many models fail to produce
cancer in each animal subject and
it often takes several months before
cancer is detected. In other models,
cancer cells are transplanted into
animals with disabled immune systems. Within three weeks, the two
Seyfried models produced tumors
in 100 percent of the mice, which
had healthy immune systems.
The cell line enabled researchers
to make a new discovery about metastatic cells, namely that these cells
express properties of macrophages,
tissue cells that usually protect organisms against invading microbes
in the environment and bacteria
that lead to infection and disease.
“We show that the metastatic
cells have macrophage properties,”
said doctoral researcher Leanne
Huysentruyt, the lead author of the
paper, who presented the findings
to AACR. “Knowing this should
allow for new types of therapies that
target the macrophage-like cells.”
“The development of new drugs
for cancer lags behind basic research,” said Seyfried. “How can
you cure a disease when you have
no model system that replicates the
disease except for the sick humans?
It’s almost as if each person who develops the disease is a guinea pig.”
Seyfried said when a person has
metastatic cancer, the macrophagelike tumor cells multiply and attack
the body, system by system. Human
metastatic cancers include breast,
lung, colon and melanoma. When
injected into mice, the metastatic
cancer cells spread to other systems
within three weeks.
“This will have an impact on
how we view the role of macrophages in cancer progression,” said
Huysentruyt.
Seyfried’s research was funded,
in part, by a grant from the American Institute of Cancer Research,
which praised the findings. Additional funding for the research was
provided by the National Institutes
of Health and Boston College.
To read the International Journal of Cancer article, see www3.
interscience.wiley.com/cgibin/abstract/117954608/ABSTRACT (subscription site). For more information
about the Seyfried lab, go to www2.
bc.edu/~seyfridt/mission.html.
Fr. McNellis to Receive Waldron Honor
for members of the BC community drove us to pick him for
the award,” said Alex Hirs, ’10,
Nearly half of the student UGBC director of faculty adminnominations submitted for the istration student programming.
annual Mary Kaye Waldron “It seems clear from the nominaAward were cast for Asst. Prof. tions that Fr. McNellis’ life is his
Paul McNellis, SJ (Philosophy). students and ensuring the well
That overwhelming show of being and education of each of his
support will be realized at the students.”
Fr. McNellis said he was humMary Kaye Waldron Memorial Banquet on April 28 when bled by the honor.
“It’s a great honor to receive an
Fr. McNellis receives the award
award that comhonoring faculty
and administrators “It seems clear from the memorates such
an extraordinary
who make signifinominations that Fr.
BC student and
cant contributions
to Boston College McNellis’ life is his stu- it’s humbling to
be included in
student life.
dents and ensuring the
the company of
The
banquet,
which takes place at well being and education the previous re5 p.m. in the Murray of each of his students.” cipients. That the
award is entirely
Room of the Yawkey
—Alex Hirs, UGBC student-generatCenter, is open to all
ed makes it espefaculty, administracially dear to me
tors and students.
Fr. McNellis is the first Jesuit and I would like to thank all the
to receive the award, established students and others who nomiin 1996 by the Undergraduate nated me. I consider this award
Government of Boston College the greatest honor a BC faculty
in memory of Mary Kaye Wal- member could receive. I am very,
dron, who died of cancer her very grateful to my students.”
If the nominations are any
senior year in 1995 but whose
spirit and energy touched many measure, the students return the
feeling. “Fr. McNellis lives up to
lives on campus.
“Ultimately, Fr. McNel- Catholic, Jesuit ideals by sacrificlis’ dedication to his students ing his life for others – he is, as Peand his generosity with his time dro Arrupe, SJ, put it, a ‘man for
By Melissa Beecher
Staff Writer
others’,” read one entry, praising
Fr. McNellis’ leadership in the
Catholic Men’s Group and the
Sons of St. Patrick. “Of utmost
importance is the humility and
sense of duty that accompanies
Father everywhere he goes, in
everything he does, indeed, in
every word he speaks.”
Fr. McNellis’ challenging
philosophy classes have become
campus lore since he began
teaching at the University in
2000, as has his storied life before BC, which included military service in the Vietnam War;
he also worked as a journalist in
Vietnam and with Catholic Relief Services in Cambodia.
One nomination described
Fr. McNellis’ patience with students as one of his greatest attributes, citing an instance earlier
this year when the Sons of St.
Patrick attended a retreat that
included a Holy Hour of Adoration at 4 a.m.: “Father was up
early and there before us. We, of
course, were late. But he met us
at the door patiently. Not many
professors would get up before
4 a.m. in order to facilitate an
activity for students.”
For information on the Mary
Kaye Waldron Award Banquet,
e-mail alex.hirs.1@bc.edu or caitlin.hosek.1@bc.edu.
By Ed Hayward
Staff Writer
For the past decade, metamaterials have appealed to scientists
as a means to expanding the range
of material responses to waves of
electromagnetic radiation.
Last week, a team of researchers
led by Asst. Prof. Willie J. Padilla
(Physics) reported in the journal
Nature Photonics the successful
engineering and demonstration
of a new metamaterial capable
of bridging the “terahertz gap,”
something of an electromagnetic
no man’s land up until now.
Metamaterials are composites
that use unique metallic contours
to produce responses to light
waves, giving each metamaterial
its own unique properties beyond
the elements that constitute the
physical materials.
Padilla and his colleagues incorporated semiconducting materials into critical features of their
metamaterial that interact with
light. The composite, dubbed a
frequency-agile metamaterial, was
able to “tune” terahertz resonance
beyond its fixed point on the
electromagnetic spectrum – sandwiched between microwaves and
infrared radiation.
Padilla and BC graduate student David Shrekenhamer, along
with Hou-Tong Chen, John F.
O’Hara, Abul K. Azad and Antoinette J. Taylor of Los Alamos
National Laboratory, and Boston
University’s Richard D. Averitt,
assembled a single layer of metamaterials and semiconductors that
allowed the team to tune terahertz
resonance across a range of frequencies in the far-infrared spectrum.
“Metamaterials no longer need
to be constructed only out of metallic components,” said Padilla,
the project leader. “What we’ve
shown is that one can take the
exotic properties of metamaterials and combine them with the
unique prosperities of natural materials to form a hybrid that yields
superior properties.”
The advance opens these novel
devices to a broader array of uses,
according to the group’s findings.
The team’s first-generation device achieved 20 percent tuning of
the terahertz resonance to lower
frequencies, thereby addressing
the critical issue of narrow band
response typical of all metamaterial designs to date.
Within the past decade, re-
Lee Pellegrini
By Ed Hayward
and Melissa Beecher
Staff Writers
File photo
Researchers At Forefront in Advances on Cancer, Electromagnetism
Asst. Prof. Willie Padilla (Physics).
searchers have sought ways to significantly expand the range of
material responses to waves of
electromagnetic radiation. Numerous novel effects have been
demonstrated that defy accepted
electromagnetic principles.
“Metamaterials demonstrated
negative refractive index and up
until that point the commonly
held belief was that only a positive
index was possible,” said Padilla.
“Metamaterials gave us access to
new regimes of electromagnetic
response that you could not get
from normal materials.”
Enormous efforts have focused
on the search for materials that
could respond to terahertz radiation; a scientific quest to find
the building blocks for devices
that could take advantage of the
frequency for imaging and other
applications. The team believes
that the creation of a metamaterial that addresses the narrow
bandwidth limitations of terahertz
radiation can advance the use of
metamaterials.
Potential applications could lie
in medical imaging or security
screening, said Padilla. Materials
undetectable through x-ray scans
– such as chemicals, biological
agents, and certain explosives –
can provide a unique “fingerprint”
when struck by radiation in the
far-infrared spectrum. Metamaterials like the one developed by the
research team will facilitate future
devices operating at the terahertz
frequency of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
In addition to imaging and
screening, researchers and hightech companies are probing the
use of terahertz in switches, modulators, lenses, detectors, high
bit-rate communications, secure
communications, the detection
of chemical and biological agents
and characterization of explosives,
according to Los Alamos National
Laboratory.
Annual Faculty Day Event Is
Set for May 2 in Heights Room
Boston College will once again recognize its outstanding
teachers and researchers at the annual Faculty Day Celebration
on Friday, May 2, in the Heights Room at Corcoran Commons. University President William P. Leahy, SJ, will present a
talk and winners of the 2008 Distinguished Teaching and Distinguished Research awards will be honored at the event, which
begins at noon with a buffet lunch.
Those wishing to attend should call ext.2-1838 or e-mail
samya@bc.edu by Monday, April 28.
—Office of Public Affairs
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
april 25, 2008
BC HOCKEY TAKES HOME THE CHAMPIONSHIP
York, Eagles Bask in the
Glow of Third Title
Continued from page 1
shepherded the buses back to cam- and for us to win it this year made
pus, where TV cameras and an us feel a little better.
enthusiastic crowd of well-wishers
“It all reflects back on the Uniwere waiting at Conte Forum.
versity,” added York, who won
From there, it was on to Fen- his 803rd career victory in the naway Park, where the coaches and tional title game – the most wins
players were introduced before of any active college coach. “And
the Red Sox-Yankees Sunday when you are a graduate of the
night game and
school [York is a
Eagle captain Mike
member of the
Brennan and assis- “It all reflects back on the class of 1967],
tant captain Matt
it’s even more
University. And when
Greene had the
so. It’s like someyou are a graduate of the thing that you
honor of throwing
out the ceremonial school, it’s even more so.It’s can do for your
first pitch.
Alma Mater. It’s
On
Monday like something that you can a great feeling.”
night, a crowd of
York also led
do for your Alma Mater.
3,000 students and
the 2001 Eagles
It’s a great feeling.”
fans took part in
to the NCAA
a rally to celebrate
—Jerry York Championship,
their BC heroes,
beating North
and on Tuesday
Dakota in overthe team was introtime to capture
duced on-ice during the Bruins- the crown, and his teams have
Canadiens play-off game at TD advanced to the “Frozen Four”
BankNorth Garden.
eight times in the last 11 seasons.
Ahead will be a trip for the “My perspective is that we want
team to the White House and to continue to be an elite school,
commemorative
champion- competing for national titles. I
ship rings for all team members don’t want to win one and then
and support personnel. The BC disappear for 20 years. I think
team will also be honored at the that the validity of the program
Massachusetts State House this is always competing in that group
Wednesday, April 30, where they of half a dozen schools that are alwill meet Gov. Deval Patrick and ways in contention to win. I think
be intoduced on the floor of the that we have accomplished that.
House of Representatives.
“And now that we have won
“The trophy only starts the eu- it, we want to go back again,” he
phoria,” York said. “We lost two laughed.
heartbreakers in the last two years,
April 14 was a day for the Eagles
to meet in Conte Forum with wellwishers from the Boston area
(above) and offer their thoughts
to the media, including WCVB-TV
sports anchor Mike Lynch (bottom, left). Later, at the University
celebration, President William P.
Leahy, SJ, congratulated coach
Jerry York and the team (right),
after which came the arrival of
the NCAA championship trophy
— courtesy of Baldwin and the BC
Zamboni machine, driven by Paul
Gallivan.
(Photos by Frank Curran)
Championship Notebook
Visit to Walter Reed Also
Part of Team’s Itinerary
When the team visits the White
House later this spring for a reception with President George W.
Bush, York also plans to bring
the players to Walter Reed Army
Hospital where they will visit with
patients wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“When you think of it, so
many of those soldiers are 18, 19,
20 years old,” he said, “the same
ages as our players. I think a visit
will help our kids and I think it
will be good for the soldiers.”
York is happy to share the
Hockey Championship Trophy
with others on the Boston College
campus. After the student rally,
he brought the hardware to University Health Services where he
personally showed it to Dr. John
McManama, a 1937 BC grad who
was the hockey team doctor for
many seasons.
From there, it went to the Undergraduate Admission Office in
Devlin Hall, where Director John
Mahoney eagerly put it on display
for high school students visiting
campus last weekend to see.
No BC player had a better year
than diminutive (5-foot-5) junior
forward Nathan Gerbe, who led
all Division I scorers with 35 goals
and 68 points this winter. The native of Oxford, Mich., was named
to the First Team All-America
squad and also selected Most
Valuable Player in the “Frozen
Four” after scoring a three-goal
hat trick in the semi-final round
victory over North Dakota and
two goals and two assists in the
championship game against Notre
Dame.
“Nathan Gerbe is among the
elite of all BC hockey players,”
said York. “To do what he did on
that stage is really, really something.”
—Reid Oslin
Tribute to BC Women Athletes Tomorrow
Boston College will pay tribute tomorrow, April 26, to its
female student athletes with the
first “Celebration of Women’s
Athletics: Honoring Yesterday,
Celebrating Today, Building
Tomorrow.”
The event will recognize the
accomplishments of the more
than 1,300 female athlete alumnae during nearly four decades
of women’s sports at the University, as well as the more than
350 current BC female student
athletes and women’s varsity
sports coaches, staff and administrators.
“We are very proud of the
contributions and accomplishments of the hundreds of female
student-athletes who have been
a part of our program,” said BC
Director of Athletics Gene DeFelippo. “ Over the course of the
past 35-plus years, they have made
us proud in athletic competition,
in the classroom and in the community. We are excited to have
the opportunity to welcome them
back to the Heights for this special
celebration.”
The event will begin with a barbecue at the tennis courts adjacent
to the Flynn Recreation Complex
from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., prior to
the annual Jay McGillis Memorial
Spring Football Game.
From 5-8 p.m. will be a dinner
and reception in Conte Forum
that features a speaking program
and interactive panels with Senior Associate Director of Sports
Medicine Donna Bennett and
former and current student athletes including: Candy O’Terry
Gaffny ’79, (swimming and diving); Kia McNeill ’08, (soccer);
Cristin Stuart ’08, (ice hockey);
Amy Campbell ’81, (basketball); Sheila Jackman Campbell
‘90, (field hockey, women’s basketball manager); Alison Corradi Wallace ’93, (field hockey);
Kathy Haley Powers ’76, (field
hockey); Angela Crowder ’96,
(basketball); Sally Driscoll ’89,
(softball, golf, ice hockey); Kate
Connelly Conry ’90, (soccer, lacrosse) and Suzanne Troy Cole
‘84, (lacrosse).
—Office of Public Affairs
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
april 25, 2008
‘When You Feel the Call, You Have to Respond’
Students who recently completed the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults share the experience
During the April 13 Mass at St.
Ignatius Church, 13 people — all
but one of them Boston College
undergraduate and graduate students — formally completed the Rite
of Christian Initiation of Adults
(RCIA), becoming full-fledged members of the Catholic Church. Of the
12 — who worked with Campus
Minister Mary Sweeney, SC, during
their year-long preparation — three
were baptized, five who had been
baptized in other Christian churches
made profession of faith as Catholic
Christians, and four received First
Communion and/or Confirmation.
Chronicle invited the BC students
who participated in RCIA to share
their thoughts about the experience.
DESIREE SANCHEZ
Photos by Suzanne Camarata
that faith is not just experienced
individually, but also in community. I feel that this is an unique
aspect of the Catholic faith, where
spirituality influences social action
and communal support.
MARLENA PAPAVARITI
Class of 2011, College of Arts and
Sciences
Since I was a young child I’ve
been longing to receive the Holy
Eucharist. Joining the RCIA group
was probably one of the wisest decisions that I’ve made so far at BC.
I just knew that I had to do this.
When you feel the call, you have
to respond. The whole Mass was
an incredibly emotional experience for me. Once I returned to
master’s student, Graduate School
of Social Work
Sunday’s Sacrament was an
overwhelmingly emotional and
spiritual experience for me —
something I have been thinking
about for over six years. What
really made it special was the
knowledge that I had 12 other
committed and caring individuals
going through the process with
me. Our Tuesday classes allowed
us to form a community that not
only supported each other spiritually, but in other aspects of our
daily lives — academically, personally, etc.
The welcoming from the spiritual community of Boston College was another inspiring part of
Sunday’s service. It reminded me
During the April 13 Mass at St. Ignatius Church, Vice President for University Mission and Ministry Joseph Appleyard, SJ,
performs the RCIA with Marlena Papavariti, ’11; her sponsor Elizabeth Muller, ’11, stands behind her.
my pew after receiving my First
Communion, I felt this wave of
gratitude pour over me. I then felt
such an overwhelming love for everyone present that I thought that
my heart would burst! April 13,
2008, is undeniably the day that
my love for Christ and His divine
message grew tenfold in me.
CHRISTY TRAN
Class of 2011, College of Arts and
Sciences
Joanne Hallare, ’08, sponsor for Philip
Nguyen, ’08, during the ceremony.
BC Hosts Conference for
Boston Area Catholics
By Kathleen Sullivan
Staff Writer
As their church’s leader continued his visit to the United
States, thousands of Catholics
from Greater Boston gathered at
Boston College this past weekend to celebrate their faith.
The Archdiocese of Boston’s
annual Catholic Men’s and
Women’s Conferences, which
took place April 18 and 19 in
Conte Forum, included talks by
prominent Catholics, award presentations and a Mass celebrated
by Cardinal Seán O’Malley,
OFM Cap. Cardinal O’Malley
later traveled to New York City,
where he concelebrated a Mass
with Pope Benedict XVI, who
was in the midst of his first trip
to the United States as pontiff.
For Boston-area Catholics,
the event represented an “opportunity to come together with
men and women from all different parishes to pray and to
celebrate and to grow in our
Catholic faith,” according to organizers from the Archdiocese of
Boston, which is celebrating its
bicentennial this year.
Prof. Peter Kreeft (Philosophy), the author of such books as
Because God is Real: Sixteen Questions, One Answer; The Philosophy
of Jesus, and How to Win the
Culture War: A Christian Battle
Plan for a Society in Crisis, was
one of several guest speakers at
the conference.
Others invited to appear at the
event included: Kimberly Hahn,
lecturer, Bible study leader and
author of Life Giving Love: Embracing God’s Beautiful Design
for Marriage; Rev. Peter Grover,
OMV, a popular homilist and director of Saint Clement’s Eucharistic Shrine in Boston; Bishop
Robert F. Hennessey, auxiliary
bishop of Boston for the Central Region; musician, liturgical
music minister, songwriter and
worship leader Martin Doman;
businessman and philanthropist
Jack Shaughnessy Sr.; and Tarek
Saab, a New Bedford, Mass.,
native who is a Christian author
and speaker.
There conference also featured presentation of Catholics
of the Year awards in the category of Priest, Layman, Deacon
or Religious Man, Laywoman
and Religious Woman.
Going through the RCIA program has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire
life. This process has helped me
grow in more ways than just spiritually. I believe the change I experienced did not happen during the
ceremony on April 13. Throughout these last two semesters, I have
been able to hear other’s stories
which were surprisingly similar
to mine. What I drew from the
people in my group was a sort
of encouragement. With this en-
couragement, I was able to go
through the motions that led to
my baptism.
More significantly, I have been
able to learn from Sister Mary.
She has taught me more than just
about the Catholic Church, the
sacraments, the history of Christ,
etc. The advice she gave me helped
me grow. I have learned to make
better decisions based on the idea
that I should do what God would
want for me. God loves you and
wants the best for you, so be
accountable to Him with your
decisions. Through that idea, I
was able to transition into college
and actually mature. Through this
maturity, I have grown indefinitely closer to God. I realized a
little while back that being with
God is healthy and practical. I
have redefined the meaning of
“love” and have found a way to
love myself and others around me.
This is most definitely a change
in my way of thinking (I used to
consider myself rather selfish and
I did not have clear reasons for
the things I did and had very little
confidence in my own decisions).
The ceremony in and of itself
was just HAPPY. When [graduate student] Ryan Mattison was
baptized, I could not help but tear
up out of happiness, which is a
first in my lifetime. I feel the same
about the others in the group.
The liturgy was beautiful. The
readings were perfect, and litany
of the saints was just so nice. It
was perfect.
“I realized a little while
back that being with God
is healthy and practical. I
have redefined the meaning of ‘love’ and have
found a way to love myself
and others around me.”
—Christy Tran
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
april 25, 2008
Gary Gilbert
Taking It on ‘Good Faith’
Student’s documentary
seeks to spark dialogue
on Muslim community
By Sean Smith
Chronicle Editor
Clough Millennium Professor of History James O’Toole.
People of the Church
New book by O’Toole tells story of American
Catholicism from lay people’s perspective
By Reid Oslin
Staff Writer
The cover illustration of Clough
Millennium Professor of History
James O’Toole’s latest book, The
Faithful: A History of Catholics in
America, offers a classic statement of
faith shared by many lay people in
this country.
The photo shows the dashboard
of a 1950s automobile with a small
plastic statue of a saint – likely St.
Dominic, the patron saint of astronomers and falsely accused people among others – securely affixed.
Such displays of religious belief were
common in America a generation
ago.
“I like the cover, because it just
says ‘lay people,’” says O’Toole.
“The point of the book is to tell the
story of American Catholics from
the perspective of lay people rather
than the institutions of the Church
and the hierarchy and the clergy.”
O’Toole’s book tracks six distinct periods in the history of the
Catholic Church in America, starting with the “Priestless Church” of
colonial times to the rapidly changing Church of the 21st century. He
starts each chapter with an up-close
look at a person who practiced his
or her Catholic faith during the particular period and the effect that the
experiences, customs and actions of
the day had on the nation’s changing religious culture.
“I spent a lot of time looking
at the religious practice of ordinary
people,” says O’Toole. “I wanted to
tell the story from the perspective of
people who just came to Mass on
Sunday and sat in the pews. What
was their experience?
“That’s a topic that religious historians haven’t spent an awful lot of
time looking at,” he contends. “It’s
central to religious experience. You
can say it’s the main reason why
people are members of a church.
Nobody has really ever looked at
it.”
The Faithful begins by describing the religious life of Catholics
in the colonial period through the
American Revolution. “There were
small clusters of Catholics here and
there,” O’Toole says, “but there
were so few priests that six months
might pass before a priest could
wander through their town to say
Mass, hear confessions, baptize and
confirm. I found that there was a
lot of self-starting, self-conducted
religious activity on the part of lay
people. That was enough to sustain
the Catholic identity.”
With a current decline in vocations, O’Toole suggests that the
modern Catholic Church in this
country may, in some ways, have
to mirror the religious milieu of
those early days. “The situation we
are in now is perhaps ‘back to the
future,’” he says. “I think by looking
at episodes in history like that one,
maybe makes some suggestions as to
what the Church of the future will
look like.”
One of O’Toole’s chapters focuses on the huge growth of the
“Immigrant Church” in America
from the time of the Civil War into
the 1920s. “This had a decisive effect upon the Church because of the
numbers of people that came in a
short period of time and the variety
of places that they came from,” he
says. “Now, it is an ‘immigrant’
Church again – not from Italy, Ireland and Germany and places like
that, but from Central and South
America, the Caribbean, Asia and
so on. There again, it is ‘back to the
future.’”
O’Toole notes that the physical foundation of the Church in
America is changing as well. “The
Catholics built a huge infrastructure
of churches, welfare agencies, college
and universities. The largest system
of private education and social welfare anywhere in the world was built
by American Catholics in that immigrant era.
“It has left in place this huge
infrastructure that we have now,
which as the population shifts and
changes, you find churches in areas
where there might not now be many
Catholics, so they have to be closed
or consolidated,” he says.
“I sometimes say to students,
‘When people go to church what
happens? What’s going on there and
what did it mean to them when they
went to church week after week?’ It’s
to try to explore some of these questions that I found this to be such an
interesting effort.”
Junior Matthew Porter has
turned the act of asking questions
into an art form.
Porter, a theater and political
science major from Lawrence, recently completed his second documentary, “In Good Faith,” which
he screened yesterday as part of
the Boston College Arts Festival,
as well as earlier this month in
Higgins Hall — the latter event
included a discussion with Porter
and some of the film’s interview
subjects.
“In Good Faith” offers a portrait of the Greater Boston Muslim community and its relationship with other area faith communities, using as a point of reference
the construction in Roxbury of
New England’s largest mosque
by the Islamic Society of Boston
(ISB), as well as interviews with
Muslims and non-Muslims.
Porter, whose 2006 film
“American Voices” examined social and political protest in the
United States, uses a straightfor- Matthew Porter, ’09, producer and director of “In Good Faith.” (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
ward philosophy in his approach
seeing the obvious joy so many exto filmmaking: “When I want to the University’s Fine Arts Departpressed at this significant event.”
ment,
Porter
undertook
several
find out something — especially
Adam Berkland, ’09, a friend
months
of
filming
Boston
area
if it’s people’s beliefs and opinions
of Porter’s who took part in the
Muslims
in
faith,
family
and
rec— I don’t want to just read sumdiscussion that followed the Higmaries or explanations, I want reational activities. In addition to
gins Hall screening, echoes the
representatives
of
the
local
Musto get it straight from them. I
concerns Hale expressed in the
lim
community,
including
ISB
like asking questions, not to put
film about the threat of radical
officials,
Porter
spoke
with
Jewish
anyone on the spot, but to find
Islam — something he feels “In
and
Christian
leaders;
he
also
inout what they truly
Good Faith” does not take seriterviewed
critics
think and how they
ously enough.
—
among
them
“People shouldn’t be
feel.”
“But in our conversation, we
Assoc.
Prof.
Appropriately
unwilling to deal with
agreed that while skepticism is
Dennis
Hale
enough, “In Good
necessary and important for the
Faith” grew out of Muslims because of fear, or (Political Scisecurity of our society, a wholeence)
—
who
acconversations Poruncertainty, or what’s been cused the ISB of hearted attempt at dialogue and
ter had with three
understanding of that which is
former roommates, reported in the media. ‘Just drawing financial
‘different’ is needed before judgand
other
supall of whom were
talk to us.’ That was what I port from anti- ment is passed.”
Muslims. Porter
“It is a dangerous world out
Semitic, antiand his roommates heard from so many in the
there, and these are very contenWestern
and
followed with great
Muslim community.”
terrorist Islamic tious issues, but coming to know
interest the progour neighbors and removing the
organizations.
ress of the mosque’s
veil of suspicion is a key first step
Also
appearconstruction, which
if we are going to live up to the
ing
in
the
documentary
is
partbegan in 2003, as well as the
pluralist ideals embodied in our
time
faculty
member
Raymond
controversy that accompanied it
Constitution,” says Berkland.
Helmick,
SJ
(Theology),
a
me— including allegations reported
“It’s not the end of the stodiator
and
observer
of
the
Israeliin the press that radical Muslim
ry, but only the beginning,” says
Palestinian
conflict.
Fr.
Helmick,
groups had ties to the ISB. The
Porter, who will be an intern at
ISB filed a lawsuit against groups along with Prof. Kevin Kersten,
WBZ-TV this summer. “If nothSJ
(Communication),
and
Assoc.
and media outlets it claimed were
ing else, I would hope that the
Prof.
H.
John
McDargh
(Theoldefaming them, but eventually
film helps provoke discussion, esogy),
served
on
what
Porter
calls
dropped the matter last year after
pecially between the non-Muslim
his
“focus
group,”
advising
him
extensive negotiations.
and Muslim communities. People
on
several
aspects
of
the
project
To Porter, it seemed the pershouldn’t be unwilling to deal
prior
to
the
screening.
fect subject for a new film. “There
with Muslims because of fear, or
One
of
the
highlights
of
the
were a lot of positive and negative
uncertainty, or what’s been reexperience,
Porter
says,
came
at
efforts concerning interfaith diaported in the media. ‘Just talk to
the
capping
of
the
mosque
last
logue going on,” he says. “Some
us.’ That was what I heard from
July.
“There
were
thousands
of
people criticized the building of
so many in the Muslim commuMuslim
men,
women
and
chilthe mosque, others defended it.
nity.”
dren
on
hand,
just
filling
up
the
I thought, ‘Why not use this as a
A trailer of “In Good Faith”
area.
Everyone
was
talking
about
tool to illustrate the nature of the
can be viewed at www.ugbc.org/
what
a
great
moment
this
was,
not
Muslim community in Boston?’”
nyk/segments/0708/goodfaith.php.
Supported by a grant through just for them but for the commuTo obtain a copy of the film, e-mail
nity.
For
all
the
controversy,
you
the Jacques Salmanowitz Program
MPReports06@gmail.com.
couldn’t
help
but
be
impressed
for Moral Courage in Film in
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
april 25, 2008
Embarking On a Journey of Hope
2007 grad’s Fulbright
project offers insights
on immigration issues
By Melissa Beecher
Staff Writer
Few people have the perspective
on illegal immigration that Allison
Ramirez, ’07, does.
The hot-button issue looks very
different from her vantage point,
says Ramirez, who is currently in
El Salvador on a Fulbright award
chronicling the plight of migrant
workers, and of their families left
behind, as they travel from Central
America to the Mexican-Guatemalan border.
Their passage is fraught with
danger, says Ramirez. The vulnerable migrants are repeatedly
robbed, beaten, raped and maimed
by delinquents, corrupt government officials or dishonest guides.
Many become stranded in small
villages along the way and rely
on churches or donations to ensure their survival. Age and gender
are no guarantors of safety, adds
Ramirez — child trafficking and
forced prostitution are other potential hazards of the journey.
(Above) Salvadorans stage a march to raise awareness of the plight of immigrants who face violence, exploitation and death on their way through Mexico to the United
States. Allison Ramirez, a 2007 alumna on a Fulbright grant, is working with an organization to help immigrants travel legally to the US, and in June will accompany a
family seeking to locate relatives who disappeared on the journey. In photo at right, Ramirez (second from left) recently visited with fellow classmates Laura Hopps,
left, and Christine Ruppert, right; to the right of Ramirez is Jocelyn Courtney, a Yale graduate, also in El Salvador on a Fulbright grant.
The “lucky” ones continue to
the United States, she says — an
additional journey of some 2,500
miles — where many live uncertain existences as undocumented
immigrants.
Ramirez believes the immigration issue is one of basic human
rights. Working with The Central
American Resource Center (CARECEN), she and other activists
are attempting to help migrants
travel legally to the United States,
provide education and technology
training, hold English classes and
promote advocacy against abuse.
“It seems we live in a world
where the most marginalized and
poor in our midst are obliged to
sacrifice their physical security and
their dignity in the search for a better future,” says Ramirez.
Post-Service Trip Program Offers ‘More’
Magis encourages BC
community to reflect on
experiences abroad
By Melissa Beecher
Staff Writer
For Christa Martens, ’08, and
her 11 fellow students, the service
trip they took to Uganda in January was a highlight of their year
— for many, the defining moment
in their collegiate career.
But once they returned to Boston College, something seemed
wrong, Martens recalls. Some trip
participants found themselves
dwelling on the desperate poverty they had witnessed in Uganda. When they tried to describe
their experiences and observations
— and the emotions these had
generated — to family, friends
and classmates, they felt no one
understood them.
Bassam Zahid, ’09, also felt
vaguely troubled by his service trip,
to Tijuana, Mexico, with the Pedro Arrupe Volunteers. It had certainly been a full, active time — he
had studied immigration issues,
put up drywall in local shelters and
assisted with other projects.
But Zahid was bothered by
his reaction to the sight of local
residents rummaging for scraps in
a local dump. “I felt desensitized to
the poverty I saw,” he says.
However unnerving such responses might be, they are often
quite common, says Volunteer &
Service Learning Center Director
Daniel Ponsetto. It’s the reason
he started a pilot program, Magis,
aimed at helping students, faculty
and staff returning from service trips
to reflect on and process their experiences.
“For many,” says Ponsetto, “this
is their first exposure to extreme
poverty, extreme human suffering.
Magis was a response, a way to offer
post-trip support.”
University Counseling Services
Staff Psychologist Julie Ahn Allen
said students can often feel very
alone in the process of adjusting
back into their lives after a trip and
can experience physical or psychological distress.
“I often meet with students before and after their trips and have
heard reoccurring themes of confusion and stress,” said Ahn Allen.
“There is tremendous power and
healing in knowing that you are not
along in the process and that other
students can empathize with your
feelings.”
Magis is the Latin term for
“more,” which as Ponsetto explains
aptly describes the program’s mission: more support, more time for
reflection and more resources to
ensure service trip participants get
the follow-up they need.
Twenty students and four faculty and staff members participated
in the first Magis session after winter break. The program comprised
four consecutive Sunday morning
sessions where returnees gathered
together, shared brunch and heard
one another’s stories, as well as tips
from professionals. Discussions at
the sessions ranged across psychology, politics, religion and personal
vocation, among other topics.
Early returns on Magis suggest
it is fulfilling its goals. Martens says
the program provides a community for those, like her and her fellow
Uganda trip participants, who feel
a need to make sense of what they
have experienced abroad.
“No matter the country, many
of the emotions involved with the
return process are parallel to one
another. Many students question
the materialism of Boston College,
what they will now do with their
experience – do you put it away
and never talk about it? Do you
incorporate it into your life? If so,
how? – and many struggle with relationships with friends and family
who have not been abroad.”
Zahid, meanwhile, says the
Magis sessions helped him understand that the “desensitization”
he thought he felt often occurs
when an individual encounters
something he or she simply can’t
comprehend. “The Magis group
gave me a different perspective on
this defensive mechanism of mine.
It was a very good supplement.”
Lynch School of Education
Associate Dean John Cawthorne
became a facilitator because he
saw the need for a program like
Magis.
“Having had similar experiences as an undergraduate, I realize
how important it is to actively
reflect on the trips and what the
implications are for us personally,
given what we saw and learned,”
said Cawthorne, who as a faculty
member has led three international
and two national service trips.
With a second session underway, Cawthorne said “if the goal is
to help those who went on service
trips to reflect purposively, Magis
is already a success.”
“They are very aware that they
are seen as criminals, but so many
are desperate to provide a better
life for their children they would
do anything. They are men and
women who have been frustrated
time after time in their lives, not
because they aren’t willing to work,
but because no matter how many
hours they spend selling things on
the streets or working in the fields,
they can’t make ends meet.
“There is no possibility for ‘upward mobility’ in El Salvador,”
Ramirez says. “Rather than going
to the US with the idea that they
will freeload off the economy, they
know that it will be a tough struggle. They are humble and dedicated
to do what they have to do.”
In June, Ramirez will accompany a family who is embarking
on the “Caminata de Esperanza,”
or Journey of Hope, to locate missing relatives who disappeared on
their immigration journey. Among
those making the trip will be Anita
Zelaya, who has not seen her son
since 2002; he left their village
to escape dismal economic conditions, lack of jobs and the ganginfiltrated high schools, according
to Ramirez.
Like many others in El Salvador
enduring the similar torment of
not knowing what became of their
loved ones, Zelaya is desperate for
answers, says Ramirez.
“The Journey of Hope will help
families find closure, especially
those who have loved ones who
have disappeared and would like
the chance to go to the place where
they were last seen and hopefully
find out something about what
happened,” said Ramirez. “Or, at
very least, to visit the place where
their loved one died and was buried. It’s a huge help for grieving
families why did not get to say
goodbye.
“The purpose is to raise awareness and demand change, so more
families do not go through the
same thing,” she said.
Ramirez, originally from Midland, Michigan, graduated from
H.H. Dow High School in 2003.
At BC, she majored in international studies and minored in Latin
American studies.
While at BC, Ramirez had what
she calls a “life-changing experience” when she studied abroad in
El Salvador with the Casa de la
Solidaridad, an academic initiative
between the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, the
University of Central America and
Santa Clara University.
While an intern, Ramirez established COFAMIDE, a committee
of family members of migrants
who have died or disappeared.
The group held peaceful demonstrations at the Mexican Embassy
and the Salvadorian government
to encourage the establishment of
a database of migrants found in
Mexico.
“I learned so much and was
particularly shaken up by seeing
the kind of influence the United
States has on a day on day to day
life there,” said Ramirez. “I had
always been interested in migration in this general region, because
it is an extremely complicated and
fascinating phenomenon that, I believe, really gets at the relationship
between Latin America and the
United States, with all its injustices
and complications.”
Ramirez pinpoints her Mexican
heritage for her interest in issues
of cultural identity. She arrived
in El Salvador last September and
has been interviewing immigrants,
assisting in the production of a
documentary and been fundraising
for CARECEN and COFAMIDE.
Each project aims to raise awareness about migrants and Ramirez
hopes to remain in El Salvador
after her Fulbright year to ensure
the work continues.
“I am not an expert fundraiser
and it is sad to think that the activities they want to do depend on
how much support I can personally
muster,” said Ramirez. “Despite
having so little, the families are
really motivated to do what they
can. “
Ramirez is raising tax-deductible donations for Caminata de
Esperanza or CARECEN. Checks
can be sent to Fundacion Romero,
c/o Jose Artiga, 315 Castro Street,
San Francisco, CA 94114.
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
april 25, 2008
10
Postings
Georgetown’s Brough to
speak this afternoon
John Brough, a professor of philosophy at Georgetown University,
will deliver the talk “Consciousness
Is Not a Bag: Immanence, Transcendence and Constitution in Husserl’s
‘Idea of Phenomenology’” today at 4
p.m. in Gasson 305.
Brough has written a number of
essays on themes in Husserlian
phenomenology, including time, the
experience of time, perception, memory, imagination, and picturing.
For more information, e-mail mccoyma@bc.edu.
Against the Current, Chamber
Music Society perform next week
Boston College’s Christian a cappella group Against the Current will
perform its annual spring concert on
Sunday from 7-9 p.m. in McGuinn
121.
The event is free and open to the
public. For more information, e-mail
kimnn@bc.edu.
The Boston College Chamber Music
Society will present a concert on
Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Gasson
100, under the direction of Sandra
Hebert. Call ext.2-6004 or e-mail concerts@bc.edu for more information.
Nobel laureate to appear
at first Magde Colloquium
Sheldon Lee Glashow, the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics winner, will present “Does Science Progress Through
Blind Chance or by Intelligent Design?” on Wednesday as part of the
inaugural Arline and Michael Magde
Colloquium in Physics.
The talk by Glashow, who has appointments in Boston University and
Harvard University, will be held at
4:30 p.m. in Higgins 300.
This series is made possible by a
gift from Douglas Magde, ‘63, vice
chair of the Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry at University of
California San Diego. For information call ext.2-3575, e-mail chevry@
bc.edu or see www.physics.bc.edu/
Deptsite/seminars_new/coll4_30_
08.shtml.
Joyce Award nominees sought
Nominations are now being accepted for the W. Seavey Joyce, SJ,
Community Service Award, which
honors Boston College juniors who
show leadership in community service, advocacy, political, or other
work to improve the City of Boston
or the plight of its more underserved
citizens. Established in 1988, the
award is named for the former Boston College president and School of
Management dean.
Candidates for the award must submit a letter of self-nomination along
with letters from a BC staff member
and a representative of a Boston
organization. Letters of nomination,
which are due by the end of April,
should briefly describe the nominee’s
motivation and leadership as well as
his or her project and its impacts.
Letters may be sent to JoyceAward@WorldComputerExchange.
org.
Making the Appropriate Response
BCPD officer is the
go-to guy on addressing
emergency situations
“The days of waiting
for the Boston Police
or the State Police to
By Reid Oslin
Staff Writer
Boston College Police Lt. Tom
King has examined every exterior
door on campus, so if needed, he
and his fellow officers can open
them at any time – and in a hurry.
King studied emergency building entry and other critical response
tactics as part of the advanced curriculum at the FBI National Police
Academy in Quantico, Va., where
last spring he became the first BC
police officer to take the intensive
10-week course for senior law enforcement officers from all over the
country.
While King and his 300 police classmates were at Quantico,
a gunman at Virginia Tech killed
32 students and teachers before
taking his own life. The campus
tragedy — which was memorialized last week at Virginia Tech and
elsewhere in the country — put a
new focus on the immediate and
appropriate responses needed by local police agencies to address emergency situations, he says.
“Unfortunately, the Virginia
Tech incident has changed the way
we do some things,” says King.
“Now that we have the tools –
things like extra halogen bars, sledge
hammers, chains and straps to pull
doors open – we are expected to
use them.
“The days of waiting for the
come are gone. There’s
no waiting anymore.
The people who are on
duty at the time have
to have the training
to at least make the
initial response.”
—Lt. Tom King
Photo by Lee Pellegrini
Boston Police or the State Police to
come are gone,” he says. “There’s
no waiting anymore. The people
who are on duty at the time have
to have the training to at least make
the initial response.”
In the year since he took the
FBI course, King has prepared and
delivered a series of power-point
presentations on the effective use of
BCPD’s latest equipment and has
assisted in the planning of purchases of new equipment that will assist
the department’s response efforts.
“Incidents can happen at any
time of the day or night,” he says.
“The whole department has gone
through training on our new equipment.”
King also attends regional meetings of FBI National Academy
“alumni” who get together periodically to share the latest in law en-
forcement technology and training.
“It’s an on-going exercise,” he says.
King was nominated for the
academy program by BC Police
Chief Robert Morse. When he
earned one of the few slots allocated to university police officials,
King spent nearly a year preparing
for the concentrated physical and
academic demands of the program
– losing more than 100 pounds in
the process.
The class spent a lot of time
reading and discussing police leadership functions, King says, including the evolving communication
channels between command levels
and patrol officers that have developed in the field. But inevitably,
the Virginia Tech shootings dominated the classroom work and the
conversations of the law enforcement officers.
“A lot of us talked about how
we would be prepared if a major
event happened on our own campuses or districts. After that, I took
a good look at what we could do
here at BC and I made it a mission
of mine to get as much information
as I could from larger departments.
Do we have the necessary tools,
equipment and training to get into
a building, for example? I took a
lot of that information home with
me.”
King, who is BCPD’s night shift
commander, has been a member of
the University’s police department
for 27 years, joining the force after
graduating from Northeastern. “I am
especially grateful to Chief Morse for
nominating me,” King says, “and to
my wife Rebecca for putting up with
my absence for 10 weeks. It was really the highlight of my career.”
McGillycuddy, Logue Gift Supports International Study
Continued from page 1
ence afterwards, in the form of a
Capstone seminar taken during students’ senior year. Capstone seminars help students evaluate their BC
education and prepare for lifelong
commitments to work, relationships, society and spirituality.
“A fully developed study abroad
experience includes three phases:
preparation, experience, and reflection,” said Widdig. “The Fellows
Program will enable us to enhance
students’ academic preparation during their sophomore year, and to
provide a forum during their senior
year in which they can discuss the
experience in a structured way. We
hope that these initiatives will bring
about a longer-term engagement by
students with the world.”
Additional areas of focus for the
McGillycuddy-Logue Center include implementing a Travel Grants
Program and increasing the number
of nontraditional study abroad destinations, including Latin America,
Southeast Asia, and South Asia,
from which students can choose.
Currently, 88 percent of the 1,000
students who go abroad each year
study in Western Europe.
“Part of a well-rounded education in the 21st century is learning
what it means to be a global citizen,” said McGillycuddy. “Enabling
students to experience a broader
view of the world and their role in
it, while supporting their ability to
attain practical skills and first-hand
experiences to apply in their future
careers, will be key areas of focus for
this center.”
Added Logue, “Kathleen and I
are committed to BC’s Strategic
Plan and the ambitious course it
lays out for the University’s future.
The goal to develop a student formation program that will be a contemporary model for other colleges
resonated with us because of its focus on undergraduate education.
Boston College is well positioned
to become a leader in linking study
abroad experiences with on-campus
programs focused on student formation.”
Provost and Dean of Faculties
Cutberto Garza said, “Kathleen and
Ron have been energetic proponents
of providing BC students with the
experience, guidance, and perspective necessary to serve in leadership
roles as globally competent citizens.
Their generosity has made it possible to implement a key part of the
University’s Strategic Plan. I am
grateful for their leadership in this
critical area.”
A trustee since 2002, McGillycuddy is a 1971 graduate of Newton
College of the Sacred Heart, which
was acquired by Boston College in
1975. Logue, who received bachelor of science (1967) and master
of business administration (1974)
degrees from Boston College, has
been chairman and chief executive
officer of State Street Corporation
since 2004.
—Anne Merrill, Development Office
BC Wall Street Council Holds Tribute Dinner
More than 1,000 alumni, parents and friends of Boston College filled the grand ballroom
at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria
Hotel last night for the 20th annual Wall Street Council Tribute
Dinner.
The gathering generated
more than $1 million for the
University’s Presidential Scholars Program, an elite curriculum
for select undergraduate scholars that integrates course work
with summer programs focusing
on service, internationalism and
professional skills. The annual
Wall Street Council dinner has
raised more than $12 million for
the program since the event was
instituted in 1989.
Among the highlights of last
night’s dinner was the presentation of the President’s Medal for
Excellence by University President
William P. Leahy, SJ, to William
C. Weldon, chairman and chief
executive officer of Johnson &
Johnson and parent of a 2000 Boston College graduate. An endowed
fund will be established within
the Presidential Scholars Program
in Weldon’s name to reflect his
award.
Seventeen seniors in the Presidential Scholars Program attended
the dinner.
“The fact that this annual
event has enabled the founding
of the Presidential Scholars Program has provided an enormous
academic enticement for Boston
College to be able to attract the
most academically talented students in the country,” said Terrance Granahan, director of principal gifts in University Advancement and an original organizer of
the event. “The dinner not only
raises funds for the Presidential
Scholars, it also creates a tremendous camaraderie among all of
the New York-area alumni and
friends. It’s a tremendous night
for Boston College.”
—Reid Oslin
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
april 25, 2008
11
PEOPLE
•Prof. Ellen Winner
ogy) was quoted in an
Education Week about
for better research on
cognition.
(Psycholarticle in
the need
arts and
•Lynch School of Education Dean
Joseph O’Keefe, SJ, was interviewed by the New York Times for
a story about teachers at Catholic
schools in the New York Archdiocese striking over health care
issues.
•Calderwood Professor of Islamic
and Asian Art Sheila Blair discussed the place of calligraphy in
Islam’s rich tradition of decorative
arts for a story that appeared in
US News and World Report.
•The Boston Globe “Living” section profiled Prof. Maxim D.
Shrayer (Slavic and Eastern Languages and Literatures). Shrayer
also was a guest on WBZ-AM’s
“Jordan Rich Show.”
•Part-time faculty member Jim
Hamm (Sociology) published
“Pablo and Maria: A Marxian
Class Analysis” in Rethinking
Marxism.
•America published a response by
Prof. Rev. Robert Imbelli (Theology) to the final Laurence J. McGinley lecture delivered by Cardinal Avery Dulles at Fordham
University.
Honors/Appointments
•Prof. Diana Pullin (LSOE) has
been appointed to a three-year
term as a member of the Board
on Testing and Assessment at the
National Academy of Sciences,
which advises the federal government and Congress on matters
concerning testing and assessment
in education and employment.
•Prof. Charlie Derber (Sociology) co-authored a piece in the
Christian Science Monitor suggesting the time is right in American
politics for “peace heroes.”
•Assoc. Prof. Harold Petersen
(Economics) was interviewed by
the Boston Globe about income
disparity in Massachusetts.
•Prof. Paul Lewis (English) was
quoted on the political impact of
late-night comedy in a Chicago
Tribune article.
File photo by Gary Gilbert
Newsmakers
•Several Boston College faculty
members offered remarks to, or
were cited by, the media about the
recent visit to the United States
by Pope Benedict VI, including: Prof. Stephen Pope (Theology), Bloomberg News, Newsday; Professor of Human Rights
and International Justice David
Hollenbach, SJ, Philadelphia Inquirer; and Institute for Religious
Education and Pastoral Ministry
Director Prof. Thomas Groome
(Theology), Boston Herald.
Publications
•Assoc. Prof. Kalpana Rahita Seshadri (English) published “When
Home is a Camp: Global Sovereignty, Biopolitics, and Internally
Displaced Persons” in Social Text.
Sofer
•Asst. Prof. Jennifer Steen (Political Science) discussed changes
in place or afoot for the 2008
congressional elections in an essay
published by The Forum: A Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics.
•Prof. Sharlene Hesse-Biber (Sociology) co-edited The Handbook
of Emergent Methods in Social Research.
Time and a Half
•Assoc. Prof. Andrew Sofer (English) gave an invited talk, “Desiring Bottom: Invisible Sexualities in ‘A Midsummer Night’s
Dream,’” to the Interdisciplinary
PhD Program in Drama and Theatre at Northwestern University.
Chorale Conducts Salute to Its Leader
University Chorale of Boston
College Director John Finney
received a heartfelt tribute last
weekend from the ensemble he’s
conducted for 15 years.
Following the Chorale’s
spring concert April 19 in Trinity Chapel, he was presented with
a golden baton in honor of his
service to the organization and
the University.
Chorale president Kate Balch,
’08, calls Finney “a special treasure in the Boston College music
scene,” noting that he also directs
the Boston College Symphony
Orchestra.
“Only John Finney can conduct 180 singers with one hand,
play the accompaniment with
the other, make direct eye contact to signal a crescendo, and
translate Latin to German in the
same breath,” says Balch.
“There are multiple places any
of us could be on Mondays,
Tuesdays, and Thursdays at 4:30
p.m. But we choose to be with
John Finney. For 90 minutes,
he gives us everything he’s capable of sharing. From his wit
to his talent, we relish in the
opportunity to experience every
•Prof. Zhijie Xiao (Economics) presented “Estimating Conditional Quantiles in GARCH
Models” at the Cass Conference
in Financial Econometrics, City
University, London, and “Unit
Root” at the New Zealand Econometric Study Group, University
of Auckland.
•Asst. Prof. Vlad Perju (Law)
served as a judge in the US Regional Round of the European
Union Moot Court Competition
at Southern Methodist University
Law School, and taught an intensive week-long course on the
“Theory of the State” at the European Academy of Legal Theory
in Brussels.
•Prof. Paul Lewis (English) spoke
on “What Stephen Colbert Could
Have Taught Don Imus: Recent
Eruptions of Controversial Humor in the United States” at the
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Brandeis University.
•Prof. Zygmunt Plater (Law) coordinated the symposium “A 30
Year Retrospective on the Legendary Snail Darter Case” at the
University of Tennessee. •Prof. Hugh Ault (Law) spoke at
the Global Forum on Investment
meeting held at the OECD in
Paris.
•Center for Work & Family Research Director Jacquelyn James
presented “Engaging Older Workers: The Importance of Job Quality and Inspired Leadership” at the
annual meeting of the American
Society on Aging, Washington,
DC.
•Prof. Dwayne E. Carpenter (Romance Languages) delivered the
keynote address at the National
Honor Society’s annual induction
ceremony at Winchester High
School.
•Assoc. Prof. Christina Klein
(English) presented “Monsters,
Military Bases, and Other Anxieties of Influence: Korean Cinema
in the Age of Globalization” at
Old Dominion University as part
of the ON Film Festival.
John Finney receives a gift in honor of his 15 years as director of the University
Chorale of Boston College. (Photo by Christopher Huang)
minute of his artistry. To meet
him is to love him, but to work
with him is to appreciate music
in a way unlike any other. John is
the Chorale and year after year, he
makes it a greater reflection of his
vibrant personality and staggering
genius.”
The Chorale tribute was the
second such salute Finney received this month, Balch points
out: He was honored on April
5 by the Handel and Haydn
Society, for which he serves as
associate conductor and Cabot
Family chorus master.
—Office of Public Affairs
•Adj. Assoc. Prof. Chris Constas
of the College of Arts and Sciences
Honors Program presented “The
Medieval Invention of Faith” to
the 14th annual conference of
the Association of Core Texts and
Courses in Plymouth.
•Assoc. Prof. Paul Gray (Sociology) presented an invited talk
on “Participatory Evaluation Research in Business” at the School
of Management, University of
Bath, England.
•Prof. J. Christopher Hepburn
(Geology and Geophysics) presented two invited papers during
the Geological Society of America
meetings in Buffalo, “Mid-Paleozoic Arc Accretion on the Eastern
Side of the Appalachian Orogen,
Eastern Massachusetts and Adjacent Areas” and “Significance
of Detrital Zircon Ages from the
Westboro Quartzite, Avalon Terrane, Eastern Massachusetts.”
•Prof. Ellen Winner (Psychology)
spoke to the teachers and staff of
the Reggio Emilia preschools in
Italy about the role of the arts in
education.
•College of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean Clare Dunsford presented “Mutants and Wild Types:
Our Sequence, Ourselves” and
gave a reading from her book
Spelling Love with an X: A Mother, A Son, and the Gene That
Binds Them during the symposium “Disability, Reproduction,
and Parenting” held at the St.
Louis University School of Law’s
Center for Health Law Studies.
Jobs
The following are among the most
recent positions posted by the Department of Human Resources. For
more information on employment
opportunities at Boston College, see
www.bc.edau/offices/hr/:
Accounting Specialist, Student Services
Teacher Assistant, Campus School,
Lynch School of Education
Health Educator/RN, University
Health Services
Associate Buyer, Procurement Services
•Gene Gorman, a doctoral student in the English Department,
presented “Bearing the Marks of
Haste and Violence”: Memory
as History’s Fulcrum in Ralph
Ellison’s Invisible Man” at The
First Conference of the Columbia
Graduate Colloquium in 20thCentury Literature, “Twentieth-Century Literature and the
Weight of History.”
Grant Manager, Connell School of
Nursing
•Assoc. Prof. Kalpana Rahita Seshadri (English) presented “Power
as Freedom Beyond Will: Hannah
Arendt and Frantz Fanon” at the
EACLALS conference at Venice
International University.
Assistant or Associate Director, Annual Giving, Classes, Development
Manager of Utilities, Facilities Management
Assistant Director, Practicum Experiences and Teacher Induction,
Lynch School of Education
Senior Systems Programmer, Information Technology
Associate Director, STM Continuing Education
Communications Specialist, Lynch
School of Education
Associate Director, Merchandising,
BC Bookstore
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
april 25, 2008
12
LOOKING AHEAD
READINGS • LECTURES •
DISCUSSION
April 25
•Lecture: “Consciousness is Not a
Bag: Immanence, Transcendence,
and Constitution in Husserl’s
‘Idea of Phenomenology’,” with
John Brough, Georgetown University, 4 p.m., Gasson 305. See
fmwww.bc.edu/pl/lectures/dep.
html or e-mail mccoyma@bc.edu
for more information.
April 28
•Lectura Dantis Series: Purgatorio
XXVIII, with Alessandro Vettori,
Rutgers University, 7:30 p.m.,
Devlin 101. See www.bc.edu/
schools/cas/honors/bcdante.html
for information.
April 30
•Arline and Michael Magde Colloquium in Physics: “Does Science
Progress Through Blind Chance
or by Intelligent Design?” with
Sheldon Lee Glashow, 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics winner, 4:30
p.m., Higgins 300. Call ext.23575 or e-mail chevry@bc.edu for
more information.
•Lecture: “Detecting Clandestine
Underground Nuclear Explosions:
Forensic Seismology,” with James
Lewkowicz, Weston Geophysical
Corp., 7 p.m., Boston College
Weston Observatory, 381 Concord Rd., Weston. Reservations
required due to limited seating,
call ext.2-8300.
May 14
•Reading for Pleasure: A Thousand
Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, with Mary Ellen Kiddle, noon,
O’Neill 413. Contact perrypd@
bc.edu for more information.
•Lecture: “Forecasting Earthquakes: A Statistical Approach,”
with Assoc. Prof. Daniel Chambers (Mathematics), 7 p.m., Boston College Weston Observatory,
381 Concord Rd., Weston. Res-
IN THE RHYTHM
The 2008 BC Arts Festival continues today and tomorrow. (File photo by Lee Pellegrini)
ervations required due to limited
seating, call ext.2-8300.
UNIVERSITY EVENTS
April 28
•Annual Mary Kaye Waldron
Award Banquet, 5 p.m., Murray Room, Yawkey Center. Email alex.hirs.1@bc.edu or caitlin.
hosek.1@bc.edu.
May 2
•Annual Faculty Day event, noon,
Heights Room, Corcoran Commons. To attend, call ext.2-1838
or e-mail samya@bc.edu by April
28.
MUSIC • ART • PERFORMANCE
April 25
•Boston College Arts Festival,
through April 26. See www.
bc.edu/artsfestival for events,
times and locations.
•Performance: “Urinetown,” by
Greg Kotis, 7:30 p.m., Robsham
Theater. Adults $15, students/
staff/senior citizens $10. See www.
bc.edu/robshaminfo for information.
April 26
•Concert: BC Dynamics, 7 p.m.,
Devlin 008. See www.bc.edu/dynamics for information.
•Concert: “Selections from Duke
Ellington’s Sacred Concert,” with
BC bOp! and Voices of Imani,
8 p.m., O’Neill Plaza. See www.
bc.edu/bands for information.
April 27
•Concert: Against the Current,
7 p.m., McGuinn 121. E-mail
kimnn@bc.edu for information.
April 30
•Master Class — Alumni in Residence: author Barbara Delinsky,
MA’69, 7 p.m., Murray Room,
Yawkey Center. Call ext.2-4820.
•Concert: Boston College Chamber Music Society, directed by
Sandra Hebert, 7:30 p.m., Gasson
100. See www.bc.edu/schools/cas/
music/calendar.html.
ONGOING EXHIBITIONS
•“Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire,” at
the McMullen Museum of Art,
through June 6.
•“Neenan, Have You Read a
Good Book Lately?” O’Neill Library Lobby, through June 10.
•“Fighting Irishmen: Celebrating
Celtic Prizefighters 1820 to Present,” Burns Library, through Sept.
5.
For more on Boston College events,
see events.bc.edu or check BCInfo
[www.bc.edu/bcinfo] for updates.
BC SCENES
Members of the student group Presenting Africa To U (PATU) perform during the “ALC Showdown 2008” on April 10 in Conte
Forum. The event was presented by Black Student Forum and the AHANA Leadership Council as part of Black Family Weekend. (Photo by Christopher Huang)
No Secret to Bestselling
Author Delinsky’s Success
By most any yardstick, Barbara Delinsky, MA’69, is one pretty successful author. Published in 25 foreign languages, her books (including The Woman Next Door and Family Tree) invariably wind up on
national bestseller lists and garner positive reviews.
Her most recent work, The Secret Between Us, is another of what
the Boston Globe’s Diane White describes as Delinsky’s “straightforwardly written, insightful stories about family relationships.” The
book chronicles the personal, familial and professional consequences
of a doctor’s decision to take the blame for an accident caused by her
daughter.
“Delinsky is a first-rate storyteller who creates believable, sympathetic characters who seem as familiar as your neighbors,” writes
White.
But Delinsky, who will present a master class on writing April
30 at 7 p.m. in the Murray Function Room of the
Yawkey Center, had no inkling of her career when
she came to Boston College in 1967 as a graduate
student in sociology.
“I wish I could cite
some grand intellectual
motivation for going to
BC,” she says. “Back then,
though, women weren’t
thinking about grand intellectual motivations. In
fact, I was drawn to BC
largely because my husband was about to start law
school there and making
the commute from Cambridge together was a very
newlywed thing to do.”
Although
Delinsky
spent just one year actually Barbara Delinsky, MA’69, will present a master
on the Heights — the fol- class at BC April 30.
lowing year she wrote her master’s thesis at night while working days
for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children — she has very pleasant memories of her time at BC.
“My BC experience was delightful — wonderful people, interesting
classes. Did it contribute to my becoming a writer? I’ve actually gone
back and forth on this ad infinitum. Did my training in sociology at
BC teach me insight into people, or was it my insight into people
that drew me to the field of sociology in the first place? I suspect the
latter. But the time I spent at BC exposed me to new and different
people. Any such exposure adds depth to a writer’s work.”
It wasn’t until 1981 when Delinsky, by then a stay-at-home mother, had her career revelation — “a fluke,” she calls it. One day, she
happened to glimpse a newspaper article profiling three women writers
and she was intrigued enough to try research, plotting and writing her
own book. It sold, and she was on her way.
While her resume includes an undergraduate degree in psychology
from Tufts as well as her MA in sociology, Delinsky plays down her
academic background’s influence on her writing.
“What makes my writing effective has nothing to do with formal
training and everything to do with my fascination with people. My
mother died when I was young; this set me up to be both independent
and attuned to life’s traumas. As a child, I was the confidante of my
friends. As an adult, I still ask questions that get people to open up. I
am naturally inquisitive. I can sit in a mall people-watching for an
hour and come away with a dozen plot ideas. “When it comes to my books, it’s all about interpersonal relationships, family dynamics, and emotions.”
At the April 30 master class, where she will be interviewed by
Newton College Alumnae Professor in Western Culture Judith Wilt,
Delinsky plans to talk about the creative aspect of being a writer, but
also about other areas critical to one’s success.
“I’ll be talking about how one actually crafts a novel, from inception to completion, even the afterwork of editing, revising,
and proofreading. I’d like to talk about the pitfalls, too — the
whims of publishers, the morass of competition, the challenge of selfdiscipline. I’ll run through a day in the life of a writer and, of necessity, I’ll touch on the business side of being a writer — PR, Web sites,
blogs — because, believe it or not, that eats up a good third of my
work time.”
Delinsky’s master class is sponsored by Boston College Magazine.
For more information, call ext.2-4820.
—Sean Smith