The Boston College
Chronicle
september 8, 2006-vol. 15 no. 1
Fr. Leahy: Future of BC
a ‘Shared Responsibility’
At Convocation,
he outlines Master
Plan proposals
By Sean Smith
Chronicle Editor
THE BUSINESS OF MOVING—Nick Lunig of Carlisle, Mass., reads the Boston Globe, while (from left) his wife
Laura, daughter Emma, and son Nick — a member of the Class of 2010 who was moving into Duchesne Hall
on Newton Campus —unload the car during Opening Weekend at Boston College. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
AT A GLANCE
New wrinkles
for Chronicle
(page 2)
BC does well
in US News,
Newsweek
reports (page 3)
Look out! ‘Mad
Money’ is
coming! (page 6)
TODAY@BC
“Cosmophilia:
Islamic Art from the
David Collection,
Copenhagen,” at the
McMullen Museum
[see page 12]
“Francis Xavier:
Jesuit Missions in
the Far East” in the
Burns Library.
Senator John McCain to
Address Freshmen Class
US Senator and former presidential
candidate John McCain (R-Arizona),
an outspoken advocate for reform in
campaign finance and American immigration policies, will formally welcome the Boston College Class of
2010 at First Year Academic Convocation on Monday, Sept. 18.
Preceding the convocation will be
the First Flight Procession, as members of this year’s freshman class process from Linden Lane across campus
to Conte Forum, where the event will
take place beginning at approximately
7 p.m.
The convocation will open with
remarks by First Year Experience Director Fr. Joseph Marchese and University President William P. Leahy, SJ,
after which McCain will present his
keynote address.
McCain graduated from the US
Naval Academy in 1958 and began
a career as a naval aviator, eventually
serving in the Vietnam War. Captured
by the Viet Cong in 1967 when his
plane was shot down, McCain spent
nearly six years as a prisoner of war
— one of the defining experiences of
his life. During his military career McCain received a Silver Star, a Bronze
Star, the Legion of Merit, the Purple
Heart and a Distinguished Flying
Cross.
He was elected to Congress in 1982
and to the Senate four years later,
replacing the late Barry Goldwater.
In 2000, McCain ran unsuccessfully
for the Republican nomination for
president of the United States. He is
currently the chairman of the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs, and
serves on the Armed Services, and
Commerce, Science, and Transporta-
Rev. William P. Leahy, SJ,
marked his 10th anniversary year
as Boston College president by
presenting an update at Wednesday’s Convocation on the new
University Master Plan — a detailed and, by his own admission,
ambitious potential blueprint for
the University over the next decade, and beyond.
Fr. Leahy then called upon
faculty and administrators to
help bring that plan to fruition,
and by doing so enable BC to
continue striving for institutional
excellence while maintaining its
Jesuit, Catholic identity and an
ethos that stresses care of the
individual.
“All of us share responsibility
for the future of Boston College,
and for ensuring that it is not
only an outstanding university
but also a place of faith, community and compassion,” Fr. Leahy
told the audience in Robsham
Theater.
Much of Fr. Leahy’s presentation described the University’s
new Master Plan, which will be
reviewed by the Board of Trustees
at their Sept. 29 meeting and also
must be approved by the Boston
Redevelopment Authority, and
some aspects of a more broadbased strategic plan now under
development for BC’s academic
Continued on page 9
It was anything but a quiet summer for Boston College on the
administrative front, as Executive Assistant to the President Jim
Lehane said farewell to the University, while 1982 alumnus John
Fuedo returned to his alma mater as associate vice president for
alumni relations. Also, Jeffrey Ringuest, a 20-year faculty member at
the Carroll School of Management, was appointed as associate dean
for the school’s graduate program, and Graduate School of Arts and
Sciences Dean Michael Smyer announced he would step down following the 2006-07 academic year.
In addition, the University welcomed the appointment of Dr.
Anderson J. Franklin as the new holder of the Honorable David S.
Nelson Professorial Chair, and of Economics faculty member Peter
Ireland as the inaugural Murray Monti Professor of Economics.
For more, see pages 4 and 5.
BC to Offer Degree in
Church Management
By Jack Dunn
Director of Public Affairs
US Sen. John McCain
tion committees.
“Senator McCain has long been
a champion of public service in the
United States,” said Fr. Marchese. “He
is particularly interested in speaking
with college undergraduates about the
importance of service, both to our
country and to the world. He holds
great hope for the possibilities of a
selfless youth in America, noting that
‘public service is a virtue, and national
service should one be a rite of passage
for young Americans.’
“We feel his message will resonate
strongly with the BC freshman class
of 2006.”
The First Year Academic Convocation was initiated in 2004 as part of
an effort by the University to promote
campus rituals and traditions. Incoming freshmen are each given a book to
read during the summer — this year’s
selection was Lives of Moral Leadership:
Men and Women Who Have Made
a Difference by Robert Coles — as a
prelude to the convocation, which is
Continued on page 8
Responding to a growing need
within the Catholic Church to better manage its business operations,
financial resources and personnel,
Boston College this month introduces the nation’s first graduate
program in church management.
The program will include two
options: a master’s degree in pastoral ministry with a concentration
in church management, and a joint
MBA/master’s degree in pastoral
ministry.
Offered as both full and parttime programs, the degrees are
geared towards individuals who
work in pastoral ministry within
a church setting, as well as those
handling the financial or personnel
management of a diocese, Catholic
hospital system or social service
agency. It is estimated that the
Catholic Church does approximately $100 billion of business per
year in the United States, much of
it done by individuals with little
formal training in management
and financial practices.
University President William
P. Leahy, SJ, said he hoped these
new offerings would benefit individuals involved in the management of church-related institutions
throughout the country.
“I think recent years have shown
there is a need for training in church
management, especially in Catholic
parishes, schools and dioceses,” said
Fr. Leahy. “I am delighted that Boston College’s Institute for Religious
Education and Pastoral Ministry
and Carroll School of Management
are collaborating on these graduate
programs.”
The master’s degree in pastoral
ministry with a concentration in
church management will involve
the standard master’s curriculum
in ministry with at least four management courses in CSOM and a
field placement in a church-management role. It will take two years
to complete full time and will also
be offered on a part-time basis.
The MA/MBA option will be
available as a dual degree that can
be completed full-time in three
years. Intended for laity, priests
or religious working in significant
Continued on page 7
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
september 8, 2006
AROUND
AROUND
CAMPUS
This fall marks the 50th year for Alumni Stadium. (File photo)
A golden year
When the Boston College football team takes the field against
Clemson this Saturday afternoon,
it will mark the start of the 50th
season of competition for the Eagles
at Alumni Stadium.
To celebrate the occasion, the
Athletic Association has planned a
number of commemorative events
throughout the coming season.
“We realize that there is a lot of
great history in our football program,” says Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Marketing Jamie
DiLoreto, “and to mark the 50
years of Alumni Stadium seems like
perfect opportunity to take a look
back and to recognize some of those
great players, great moments and
great games.”
Pre-season print and television
ads have included photos of Alumni
Stadium over the years, as well as
ALC reaches out
Dorchester resident James Key
was the inaugural winner of a youth
scholarship award funded by the
Boston College AHANA Leadership Council at the Resurrection
Lutheran Church in Roxbury.
Key, a Madison Park High
School graduate who is entering
Bunker Hill Community College
this fall, received the award, a laptop computer, during the church’s
July 23 service.
The AHANA Leadership Council established the award through
sales of a DVD of a panel discussion, “‘Nigga’ It’s Just a Word or Is
It? Implications of ‘Nigger/Nigga’
as Used in Mass Media,” it cosponsored in February. The ALC
held an essay contest, open to college-bound students, through the
Resurrection Church youth program to determine the winner.
In his entry, Key briefly discussed the origins and usage of
the words “nigger” and “nigga,”
and the circumstances under which
each might be considered offensive
or a familiar and friendly form of
some of the famous BC players who
have demonstrated their skills on
the field in the past half-century.
During the 2006 season, fans
will have a chance to cast an on-line
vote for their favorite BC players of
the past 50 years at the school’s athletics Web site, bceagles.cstv.com/.
Banners commemorating key victories and leading players from the era
have also been placed throughout
the stadium.
Members of the 1957 Boston
College team – the first to play in
Alumni Stadium – will be invited
back to attend the BC-Buffalo game
on Oct. 28 and the group will be introduced at halftime of that contest.
Tickets for the Buffalo game will
also be sold at a “throwback price”
of $20, DiLoreto said.
The football Eagles played their
first game at Alumni Stadium on
Sept. 21, 1957, losing to nationally
address.
“Usually when you do essays,
like in school, you don’t have an
opportunity to truly express yourself,” said Key, who plans to study
graphic design, in a recent interview. “I was really glad to be able
to put across my personal views on
something that’s very important
to me.”
ALC Vice President Seye Akinbulumo ’07, the ALC hopes to
make the scholarship an annual
event, while continuing the public
discussions on controversial issues
related to race and society.
“We’re trying to keep the campus dialogue ongoing, because
there are subjects which — even
though they might make us feel
uncomfortable — need to be out
there. At the same time, we also
want to continue promoting social
justice in the greater community.
“The success we’ve had so far is
very encouraging.”
[The panel discussion “‘Nigga’
It’s Just a Word or Is It?” can
be viewed at frontrow.bc.edu/program/jawpanel/.]
—SS
ranked Navy by a score of 46-6.
That dedication game was scheduled by University officials with the
assistance of the then junior US
Senator from Massachusetts, John
F. Kennedy.
—RO
Lee Pellegrini
There’s a new look this fall for Boston College Chronicle,
and not just on paper.
The Chronicle has been significantly reorganized, with
many of its regular features changing places and in some
cases sporting a new format.
The “People” section is now located on page 7, as is
“Nota Bene,” while “Around Campus” shifts to page 2.
Page 3, the former home for “Postings” (now on page 6),
will encompass the occasional features “Quote/Unquote”
and “Extra Credit.” The “Looking Ahead” section remains
on page 8, but has been reformatted.
These changes will, the Chronicle staff believes, help to
make for a more attractive, readable layout and design.
In addition, the Chronicle’s campus distribution will be
aided by the use of vending racks located in Gasson Hall,
O’Neill Library, 21 Campanella Way, McElroy Commons, Stuart Hall and other locations.
The Boston College
Chronicle
Director of Public Affairs
Jack Dunn
Deputy Director of
Public AFFAIRS
Patricia Delaney
Editor
Sean Smith
Contributing Staff
John McManama, MD, of Health Services is presented with a citation by State Rep.
Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham). (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
Greg Frost
Stephen Gawlik
Reid Oslin
Rosanne Pellegrini
Lauren Piekarski
Kathleen Sullivan
To his health
Dozens of current and former co-workers, friends and family and University administrators turned out on Aug. 29 to honor John McManama,
MD, a long-serving member of the University Health Services staff.
“Dr. John McManama is a gentleman’s physician,” said Health Service
Director Thomas Nary, MD. “and that is the highest compliment I can
give. Dr. John is from a generation where medicine was a calling and where
they served medicine with dignity and with honor.”
Dr. McManama, a 1937 Boston College graduate, has been a staff physician for Health Services and a sports medicine physician for the Athletic
Association since 1970. Fit and hale at age 90, he is eager to begin another
year of service to the University this fall.
“I came to Boston College as a student in 1933 and I have really never
left here,” Dr. McManama told the gathering. “I have enjoyed the people
here — no, I have loved the people here.”
State Rep. Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham), chairman of the House
Committee on Public Health, presented a legislative citation honoring Dr.
McManama’s lifetime of contributions to the health care profession. “My
community of Waltham has a love affair with this good doctor,” he said.
“You have had him here at Boston College for 36 years, but we had him for
45 in Waltham. A grateful community says ‘Thank you’ for your service.”
Boston College Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo presented Dr. McManama with an autographed football and basketball and hockey team
jerseys with his name inscribed on the back. “You are not just a doctor
here,” DeFilippo told him. “You are a legend.”
—RO
Photographers
Gary Gilbert
Lee Pellegrini
The Boston College Chronicle
(USPS 009491), the internal newspaper for faculty and staff, is published
biweekly from September to May by
Boston College, with editorial offices
at the Office of 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
september 8, 2006
Good News All Around
Two major media
surveys give high
marks to University
By Office of
Public Affairs staff
Boston College recently received two strong endorsements
of its academic quality, reputation
and position among the nation’s
premier higher education institutions, placing among the top 35
national universities in the US
News & World Report annual survey and being named as one of
the elite “New Ivies” by Newsweek
magazine.
US News ranked BC 34th in
its listing of the best national universities for 2007, a widely used
reference in assessments of higher
education. This year’s US News
college report also placed BC’s
Carroll School of Management
at 29th among undergraduate
business schools and included the
University in its “Great Schools,
Great Prices” section. In addition,
BC’s First Year Experience was
cited in the US News compilation
of “Special Programs.”
The Newsweek ranking, which
also appears in the Kaplan/Newsweek college guide — published
almost the same time as the US
News rankings — introduced for
the first time the “New Ivies,”
which it identified as colleges
“whose first-rate academic programs, combined with a population boom in top students, have
fueled their rise in stature and
favor among the nation’s top students, administrators and faculty
— edging them to a competitive
status rivaling the Ivy League.”
Boston College was one of 25
schools selected as a “New Ivy,”
based on admissions statistics as
well as interviews with administrators, students, faculty and
alumni.
University administrators said
the US News and Newsweek results
affirm BC’s efforts to cultivate a
reputation as a leading Catholic,
Jesuit university — and provide
yet more incentive to build on its
progress.
“Popularity in the world of
higher education means more
work,” said Dean for Enrollment
Management Robert Lay. “Invariably, these kinds of extensively
read surveys and assessments create increased interest from prospective students, which translates
into more applications for our
Admission staff to evaluate.
“This means that BC can continue to offer admission to the
very best students in the country,
and thus increase our selectivity.
This is how a reputation is built
— and that in turn means you
attract great faculty, who want to
teach at a great school.
“So, the US News and Newsweek results do not represent an
endpoint for BC, but rather demonstrate to the US how we are
becoming more distinctive, and
less of a ‘surprise,’ to the nation’s
college-age population.”
Director of Undergraduate Ad-
“To me, the US News
ranking is a tribute to our
faculty and their dual commitment to research and
undergraduate teaching.
That’s what prospective students are seeing in Boston
College, and that’s why top
students are applying.”
—John Mahoney Jr.
mission John Mahoney Jr. said,
“When our staff has met with
Fr. Leahy, he’s emphasized the
importance of Boston College ‘becoming the best Boston College
it can be.’ I think this year’s US
News ranking shows that BC has
enhanced its academic reputation
while remaining true to its mission
as a Catholic, Jesuit university.
“To me, the US News ranking
is a tribute to our faculty and their
dual commitment to research and
undergraduate teaching. That’s
what prospective students are seeing in Boston College, and that’s
why top students are applying.”
Lay pointed to BC’s positive
performance in specific indicators used in the US News rankings, noting the University had
made gains in the categories of:
peer reputation; graduation rate
performance; percentage of classes above 50 (meaning BC offers
more smaller-sized classes than
in previous years); percentage of
full-time faculty; selectivity rank;
SATs; freshmen in top 10 percent
of high school class; acceptance
rank and financial resources rank.
Areas where BC needs improvement, according to the US News
figures, include faculty resources,
percentage of classes under 20 and
alumni giving.
First Year Experience Director Fr. Joseph Marchese said the
program’s inclusion in the US
News survey represents a further
endorsement of its effectiveness.
“The response we’ve received
over the years from students and
families has assured us we are on
the right track,” said Fr. Marchese. “We’ve always seen our
primary focus as introducing students to the academic excellence
and Jesuit, Catholic vision which
are hallmarks of BC.
“BC has been very committed
to the First Year Experience concept from the beginning, and contributed the necessary personnel
and monetary resources to ensure
Garza Is BC’s First Provost
Boston College has announced
that Bert Garza, MD, who last
year arrived at the University as
academic vice president and dean
of faculties, will assume the title
of provost and dean of faculties.
Garza’s appointment as provost — the first in BC history
— is intended to improve the
overall working relationship
among BC’s academic offices
and resources, according to senior administrators. As provost
and dean of faculties, Garza will
continue to serve as the University’s top academic officer.
“The move to the title of provost represents a strengthening
of Boston College’s commitment to its academic programs,” said
Garza. “It is an affirmation of the faculty’s excellence, commitment to the University, and aspirations to yet stronger teaching,
research, and service programs. It is a move that I welcome and
am personally very excited in carrying out.”
A vice-provost at Cornell University prior to coming to BC,
Garza is a noted scientist who is regarded as a leading expert in
the field of human nutrition. Since 1998, he has served as director of the Food and Nutrition Program of the United Nations
University, a think-tank and community of scholars that serves
as a bridge between the UN and the international academic
community.
the program is state-of-the-art in
terms of the national higher education community. We’re looking
to make First Year Experience
even more comprehensive, so it
continues to meet our students’
needs.”
Administrators said the “New
Ivies” listings reflect a growing
trend among prospective students
and their families to base the college search less on institutional
prestige than on whether a school
is “the right fit.”
“The viewpoint this publication expresses is, ‘Don’t get too
bogged down in the numbers
and the longstanding reputations
— look at the schools that have
reached this new level of achievement and success,’” said Lay.
“Rankings have their uses,
of course, but beyond a certain
point people, especially nowadays,
are going to look at the qualitative, not the quantitative. The
‘New Ivies’ broadens the idea that
American higher education has
improved markedly and can fulfill the intellectual and personal
development needs of most any
student.”
Mahoney said, “I think the
Newsweek guide is right on the
mark in emphasizing the importance of fit over prestige when
selecting a college. I always tell
young people that the critical first
step in any college search is to
know yourself, so you can find a
college that will offer you the environment and the resources you
need to be successful.
“If you go to a college simply
based on where it is ranked or
how few applicants are admitted,
you could be setting yourself up
for a huge disappointment.”
University Sets Record for Research and Sponsored Programs
Research on aging and retirement issues and work on fine-tuning a global satellite-based navigation system helped Boston College
bring in a record $44.4 million in
research and sponsored projects in
fiscal 2006. The total was about
16 percent above the previous fiscal year and 5 percent above the
previous record of $42.2 million
set in fiscal 2004.
“Congratulations are in order
for the Boston College faculty,
who set a new university record in
research and sponsored programs
activity,” said John Carfora, director of the Office for Sponsored
Programs. “This is good news and
a solid testimony to the level of
scholarly activity among Boston
College faculty.”
University faculty also set a
record in the total number of new
proposals put forward in fiscal
2006, with 349. The previous
high came in fiscal 2003, when
BC professors submitted 335 proposals.
Provost and Dean of Faculties
Bert Garza said the new record
in sponsored projects was all the
more impressive given increased
competition for such funds nationwide.
“It is a testament to the fact the
faculty continue to excel in this
arena, and suggests such a trajectory will likely continue,” he said.
Garza also tried to allay concerns expressed by some University community members that as
BC grows its research endeavors,
teaching and other activities may
suffer.
“Quite the contrary: It enhances the teaching program in
very direct ways,” he said. “The
opportunity for students to be
involved in research increases, as
does the excitement of having
more professors actively engaged
in the knowledge of discovery in
the classroom.”
In fiscal 2006, education research accounted for more than
a quarter of the dollars in outside
funding received. Some $8.3 million went to the Lynch School
of Education, while its affiliated
International Study Center took
in another $3.5 million.
Another top recipient was the
Institute for Scientific Research,
which studies the effects of the
ionosphere on navigation and
communications systems.
Patricia Doherty, co-director
of the institute, said slightly more
than half of ISR’s funds come
from the US Air Force. It also
receives money from NASA, the
Federal Aviation Administration
and the National Science Foundation.
“This is good news and
a solid testimony to the
level of scholarly activity
among Boston College
faculty.”
—John Carfora
Among the institute’s more interesting work is a NSF-sponsored
program that entails installing a
series of ionospheric sensors in
South America to give researchers
their first peek at ionospheric characteristics in that region, Doherty
said. Institute researchers are also
helping fine-tune a global navigation system that aims to land
airplanes using satellite signals.
More than $5 million of outside research money went to the
Chemistry Department, while the
Carroll School of Management
and its various centers took in
more than $4 million. Of the
CSOM funds, the bulk went to
the Center for Retirement Research.
The Graduate School of Social
Work received $3.1 million, led
by Prof. Kevin Mahoney’s $2.3
million.
—Greg Frost
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
september 8, 2006
Fond Farewell for Lehane
By Jack Dunn
Director of Public Affairs
Nine years after arriving from
Boston’s corporate world to serve
as executive assistant to the University’s then new President William P. Leahy, SJ, James J. Lehane
‘69 left the Heights this summer
to take on a new challenge as
director of the Sandwich Community School in his hometown
of Sandwich, Mass.
Lehane, whose gentle demeanor, relentless positive energy, organizational skills, political savvy
and unwavering professionalism
endeared him to students, faculty
and fellow administrators, was
joined by members of his family
for a farewell reception given by
colleagues and friends on June 26
in the Yawkey Center.
The Lynch School of Education graduate returns to his educational roots in a job that will
encompass all of his career experiences.
“I have always enjoyed being
a student and a teacher,” said
Lehane, who will oversee Cape
Cod’s largest community-based
learning center with programs
ranging from early childhood to
adult education. “In all of my
jobs I was always teaching, and
now I am going to a place that
will allow me to use my love of
teaching and my organizational,
administrative and supervisory
skills and experiences in a manner
that will have a positive effect on
so many people throughout Cape
Cod and the Islands. It is a wonderful opportunity.”
While at Boston College, Lehane served as Fr. Leahy’s chief
of staff, managing the Office of
the President, working with senior
University administrators in executing the president’s initiatives,
overseeing the offices of community relations, public affairs, marketing communications and legal
counsel, and serving as chief liaison to the Board of Trustees.
It was a job he handled with
dignity, patience and grace, colleagues say.
“Jim Lehane has been a steady
and trusted presence in so many
areas both on and off-campus,”
said Fr. Leahy. “I am one of many
people who relied on his judgment, wisdom and knowledge of
BC and Greater Boston. He accomplished much and gave much
to BC over these past nine years
and I wish him and his family the
very best in the years to come.”
In addition, Lehane drew plaudits for galvanizing forces on and
off campus to deal more effectively with student behavior issues
surrounding athletic events, and
for his efforts to improve relations
with the Boston Police and the
City of Boston.
“Jim is the consummate professional. He is always positive,
knows how to get people to work
together and has been an extremely effective problem solver for the
president and the University,”
said Executive Vice President Patrick Keating. “He has always done
his job in a very quiet, respectful
way. He will be greatly missed by
us all.”
Added Executive Director of
Marketing Communications Ben
Birnbaum, “We take intelligence
for granted at places like Boston
College, because it is a common
commodity here. But in Jim Lehane it is linked to patience, experience and generosity of spirit, and
that is rare anyplace. He brought a
worldly and gentle wisdom to the
University and to his engagements
with people here, and I’ll miss
feeling that and witnessing it.”
University President William P. Leahy, SJ, was on hand to say goodbye this sumer
to his executive assistant James Lehane. (Photo by Gary Gilbert)
Looking back, Lehane said he
was most grateful for the opportunity to have served Fr. Leahy and
his alma mater in an important
administrative role.
“I have really enjoyed the incredible people at Boston College.
I have had a lot of good jobs in
my career, but never have I been
in a place where people so readily
pull together. There is a real sense
of family here, from the people
who cut the grass to the folks who
clean the offices to the professors
and administrators. It is infectious.”
Having enjoyed working in the
closest proximity to Fr. Leahy,
Lehane saves his fondest praise
for a president he says is incredibly modest and who lives out the
Gospel messages in his everyday
life.
“Fr. Leahy is a person of great
patience and equanimity who remains calm in a way that affects
everyone around him. He is also
a true strategist who sees the big
picture better than anyone I have
ever known,” says Lehane. “I will
really miss working with him.”
Feudo Takes Reins As Associate VP for Alumni Relations
By Reid Oslin
Staff Writer
John Feudo ’82, an alumni
relations professional for the past
18 years, was named associate vice
president for alumni relations at
Boston College this summer.
Feudo, who has been executive director of the University of
Connecticut Alumni Association
since 1999, assumed his duties as
head of Boston College’s 140,000member alumni organization on
Aug. 7.
“We are very pleased to welcome John back to Boston College,” said Vice President for University Advancement Jim Husson.
“As a leader in the alumni relations profession and a member of
the BC family, John brings unique
experience and perspective to this
important role.”
Feudo said, “Boston College is
a great institution with passionate
alumni and friends and supporters. I see the job of the alumni
program to keep all of these people connected to Boston College,
to reengage those who somehow
haven’t been as involved and to
communicate with all of them the
great things that are happening at
the University.”
Feudo, who grew up in the
Boston suburb of Everett, knew
at an early age that he wanted to
attend Boston College. “I started coming to BC when I was
about 10 years old,” he says. “My
brother Peter was a student and a
member of the BC Band. [Former
Band director] Peter Siragusa used
John Feudo. (Photo by Gary Gilbert)
to let me sit in the stands with the
band at Alumni Stadium and play
along. It was at that point that
I said to myself, ‘This is where I
am going to be eight years from
now.’”
Enrolling at Boston College,
Feudo studied political science
and played in the Boston College
Marching and Pep Bands.
“One of the fondest memories
I have was being in [University
Historian] Tom O’Connor’s class
and using firecrackers to ‘blow
up’ a model of the battleship USS
Maine,” he recalls. “I sent him
an e-mail about it a couple of
years ago and he remembered it
as well.”
A talented trumpet player, Feodo was named head of the BC Pep
Band as an undergraduate.
“I remember when the BC
basketball team was going
down to Virginia to play
an NIT game in 1980.
[Associate Athletic Director] Ed Carroll gave me
an envelope with $1,500
cash in it and the keys to a
van and said ‘Fill it with as
many band members and
cheerleaders as you can and
get down there to support
the team.’
“We did,” Feudo
laughs.
After graduation, Feudo became manager of
membership and public
relations for Toastmasters
International, a non-profit
educational organization
based in Santa Ana, Calif.
He eventually sought to return
to both the East Coast and the
higher education environment
and was named director of alumni
field services at Tufts University
in 1988.
“The experiences I had as a
student at BC made me realize
what a great culture and great
environment it was to be a part
of a college campus,” he recalls.
”When I moved back east, I knew
I wanted to be in the advancement profession.”
After five years at Tufts, and
having earned a master’s degree
in communication at Lesley University, Feudo was named associate vice chancellor for university
advancement at the University of
Massachusetts in Amherst, over-
seeing alumni activities for the
state’s flagship higher education institution. In 1999, he was
named executive director of UConn’s 175,000­-member alumni association.
While at UConn, he reengineered the school’s volunteer, reunion and affinity programs, developed and led a $4.5 million
campaign for alumni initiatives
and coordinated the design and
construction of a $3.7 million
alumni center project.
In addition to his on-campus
work, Feudo was elected president
of the national Council of Alumni
Association Executives. He has
also authored and edited several
books on the alumni relations
profession.
Feudo and his wife Jenn are the
parents of three children and live
in Belchertown, Mass.
Smyer to Leave GSAS
Post After This Year
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael Smyer
announced last week that he will step down from that position by
Sept. 1 of next year to devote more time to his research interests.
In a letter to administrators and faculty, Smyer cited his activities with the Boston College Center on Work & Aging — which
last year he co-founded, and now co-directs, with Assoc. Prof.
Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes (GSSW) — as a major factor in his decision to relinquish his duties as GSAS dean.
“With more than a dozen research projects already in progress
and with almost two dozen faculty colleagues here and elsewhere
involved, the Center is well under way,” said Smyer. “Our research
is already reaching important academic, business, and policy audiences, and we anticipate more activity in the coming months.
I look forward to devoting more of my time and energy to the
Center.”
Smyer, an expert on geriatric mental health, came to the University in 1994 as GSAS dean and associate vice president for
research. He held the latter post until July of last year, when the
Center for Work & Aging was formally established.
“Among my proudest and most satisfying professional experiences has been the opportunity to work with students, faculty,
staff, and administrators to enhance the visibility and effectiveness
of Boston College’s research and graduate efforts,” said Smyer.
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
september 8, 2006
CUNY Psychologist To Be Next Holder of David S. Nelson Chair
By Greg Frost
Staff Writer
Dr. Anderson J. Franklin, a
scholar whose research interests focus on the psychological well-being
of African-Americans and especially African-American men, has been
appointed the second holder of the
Honorable David S. Nelson Professorial Chair at Boston College.
Lynch School of Education
Dean Joseph O’Keefe, SJ, announced that Dr. Franklin, currently a professor in the Clinical
and Social Psychology Doctoral
Programs in the Department of
Psychology at the Graduate School
and City College of the City University of New York, will join the
Lynch School faculty in January
2007 in the Department of Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.
“We are very enthused about
his arrival,” Fr. O’Keefe said. “He
is a very important scholar in the
psychology community and someone who has been a leader for years
in the area of diversity issues and
psychology.”
Fr. O’Keefe added that Dr.
Franklin will provide an important
connection to the African-American community in Boston and has
voiced an interest in working with
some of the area’s African-American churches.
“While the Nelson Chair is
housed at the Lynch School, it
is a chair for the entire University community,” Fr. O’Keefe said.
“Some chairs are focused narrowly
Dr. Anderson J. Franklin
in a particular specialty and while
Professor Franklin brings that expertise, the nature of the Nelson
Chair is someone who can help
us as a community think about
issues related to diversity and racial
justice.”
The Nelson Chair was established in 1995 in honor of David
S. Nelson, ‘57, JD ‘60, the former
University trustee chairman and
US District Court judge who died
in 1998. It is offered to a distinguished professor who reflects the
educational aspirations and human
qualities Nelson exhibited during
his career.
Dr. Franklin called the late
judge and former trustee “a man
of great distinction, reputation and
dedication to Boston College and
most importantly to the AfricanAmerican community and ethnic
minority students.” He said he was
honored not only to join Boston
College but also to continue in the
tradition of Judge Nelson’s aspirations for students.
“Certainly my work with undergraduate and graduate minority
students and particularly advocating for and supporting the admission, retention and graduation of
these students is consistent with
Judge Nelson’s work and his vision,” Dr. Franklin said. “It’s quite
a distinction and honor to be able
to have a chair not only named after such a distinguished person but
also to share his vision.”
Dr. Franklin teaches courses on
ethnicity and mental health, resilience and psychological well-being,
and qualitative research interviewing.
His clinical work, along with
understanding resilience among
people of African descent, has led
him to develop a theory called
the invisibility syndrome, which he
says helps explain the psychological
consequences for African Americans of repeated experiences of
perceived racism. He is concerned
about what happens to the person
when confronted by racial slights
based on stereotypes held about
blacks by the general public.
For example, when a student’s
genuine talents, abilities, and
personality are overshadowed by
teachers’ beliefs about black males,
that student’s potential becomes
invisible until proven of value. Expectations for this student, according to Dr. Franklin, are determined
by association to stereotypes about
abilities of African Americans. Students can become disillusioned
about aspirations by this form of
racial stress.
Building on themes from Ralph
Ellison’s classic novel Invisible
Man, Dr. Franklin has worked
to understand the impact of racial slights and misrepresentations
experienced by people of African
descent. An impetus for his scholarly work is the mounting research
evidence that perceived racism, and
the manner in which one confronts
such incidents, is related to education, health and mental health outcomes for African Americans.
In addition to his clinical research, Dr. Franklin has collected
research data from individuals and
groups across the country and internationally about their experiences with perceived racism and resilient behavior. He looks forward
to involving interested students
at Boston College in his ongoing
scholarly work in understanding
the burden of gender and racial
stigma.
Dr. Franklin earned a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Union
University, a master’s degree in
experimental psychology from
Howard University and a PhD in
counseling psychology from the
University of Oregon. He is the
author of numerous books and
articles, and co-authored Boys into
Men: Raising our African American
Teenage Sons (2000). His latest
book is From Brotherhood to Manhood: How Black Men Rescue Their
Relationships and Dreams from the
Invisibility Syndrome (2004).
The appointment of Dr. Franklin culminates a search process that
has spanned at least four years, and
Associate Academic Vice President
for Faculties Patricia De Leeuw
acknowledged that the University
has faced challenges in finding a
Nelson Chair holder because it was
seeking a truly special candidate.
The chair’s inaugural holder
was Lucius T. Outlaw, a scholar
in African-American, social and
political philosophy, and holder of
a 1972 Boston College doctorate.
The chair was initially created as a
rotating chair and was not founded
in a particular discipline, but after
Outlaw’s two-year term ended the
decision was made to move the
chair to the Lynch School and to
make it a permanent position.
“It is fitting that we have a
chair named in Judge Nelson’s
honor and that the chair holder be
someone who can make a difference in the lives of Boston College
students, faculty and staff,” De
Leeuw said.
“Many chair holders are appointed because they are extraordinary scholars and their scholarship,
of course, makes a difference in
the world and to them and to
their discipline. But chair holders
aren’t usually expected to be a real
presence on campus in the way
we hope the Judge Nelson chair
holder will be.
“With A.J. Franklin I think
we have that person. We are very
pleased that he will be joining us.”
CSOM’s Ringuest, Economics’ Ireland Taking on New Roles
By Reid Oslin
Staff Writer
Associate Dean Jeffrey L.
Ringuest, who assumed leadership
of the Carroll Graduate School of
Management on June 1, is adding
a value-based dimension to graduate management studies at Boston
College – a strategy designed to
produce even more effective and
well-rounded management professionals for the future.
Serving for the past eight years
as CGSOM’s director of graduate
curriculum and research, Ringuest
had worked with former CSOM
Dean Robert Taggart to upgrade
the school’s academic curriculum,
implementing a new MBA studies
program that offered students an
opportunity to specialize in specific
subject areas, such as finance or
industry, in place of the traditional
broad-based MBA curriculum.
When Taggart stepped down
last year to return to the classroom
and devote more time to his duties
as the University Representative to
Athletics, Ringuest, a 20-year faculty member, was named graduate
dean and decided to take the curriculum to an even higher plane.
“We are trying to make sure
that we are graduating students
who have respect for and take pride
in management as a profession,”
he says.
Ringuest: CSOM graduate dean.
Ringuest says MBA students
themselves are anxious to incorporate the aspects of proper professional bearing and ethics into their
academic program. “Our students
came to us and said, ‘We really
need to represent ourselves professionally, act professionally and
ensure that everything we do is of
the highest quality.’ We took that
initiative from the students and
have really run with it.
“We have created a set of core
values for the program and a code
of professional standards that we
are implementing along with the
new curriculum,” he says. “One
piece of that new curriculum is
what we are calling ‘professional
perspectives,’ where we work on
those things that students need to
be management professionals, but
don’t neatly fall into a course in
finance or marketing: communications skills, ethics, behavior, thinking about how their career balances
with the rest of their life.
“It’s a kind of holistic approach
to producing the management professionals of the future,” Ringuest
says. “I think it is really consistent
with Boston College and its Jesuit
values of the whole person.”
Ringuest notes that a service
requirement for all MBA students
was put into place last year. Graduating students spent service time
working for Habitat for Humanity, Greater Boston Food Bank or
local soup kitchens.
Students’ enthusiasm for service
has carried over to the Carroll
School’s faculty and staff, who plan
to become more involved in such
activities, he adds. Ringuest inherits the leadership of a graduate program that has consistently ranked
among the nation’s top 50 MBA
schools. “We have been in the 3040 range, but we think we have the
potential to be better than that,”
he says. “We want to be one of the
most respected graduate management programs in the world and
have one of the top-ranked programs in the United States.”
Photos by Lee Pellegrini
By Stephen Gawlik
Staff Writer
Economics Department faculty
member Peter N. Ireland, a former
Federal Reserve economist and researcher whose work is hailed in
academic, government and business quarters, is the University’s
inaugural Murray Monti Professor of Economics.
“I am very flattered and grateful for being recognized with such
a distinction,” said Ireland, who
joined the BC faculty in 1998.
“I am especially thankful to the
donor for this opportunity and
pleased to be selected for this
honor.”
Ireland previously taught at
Rutgers University and served for
six years as an economist and
research officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. A native
of Lexington, Mass., he earned
his undergraduate, graduate and
doctoral degrees at the University
of Chicago.
In addition to his teaching and
research duties at Boston College, Ireland serves as a research
associate for the National Bureau
of Economic Research, the highly
esteemed research organization
dedicated to promoting a greater
understanding of how the economy works by undertaking and
disseminating unbiased economic
Ireland: Murray Monti Professor.
research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the
academic community.
Ireland also serves as editor of
the Journal of Economic Dynamics
and Control and the B.E. Journals
in Macroeconomics.
“Peter Ireland is one of the
most prominent macro-economists in the world,” said College
of Arts and Sciences Dean Joseph
Quinn, a fellow economist. “He
publishes a steady stream of high
quality work in the very top journals in the field, and is an excellent
teacher, mentor and advisor.
“I am delighted that we are
catching up to the rest of the
world, and giving Peter the recognition he so richly deserves. We
Continued on page 11
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
september 8, 2006
How DoWe Remember Tragedy?
“Mad Money” host Jim Cramer.
‘Mad Money’ Comes to
Campus on Sept. 20
By Reid Oslin
Staff Writer
Jim Cramer, the zany investment analyst and markets commentator whose nightly show on
CNBC has become a cable television icon, will videotape his “Mad
Money” show at Boston College
on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
The taping will be in Conte
Forum at 4 p.m. The show is
broadcast three times each night
on CNBC at 6 and 9 p.m. and
midnight.
Admission to the videotaping
of the show is free, but tickets must be obtained in advance.
Tickets are available by e-mailing
madmoneyoncampus@cnbc.com.
Cramer believes that there is
always a bull market somewhere
and wants to help his viewers
find it. In addition to his own
predictions of money-making investments – each prognostication
delivered in his fiery and opinionated style – Cramer also includes
audience participation and guest
interviews in the show’s format.
Last year, Cramer started
bringing his “Mad Money” show
to selected college campuses. “I
am very excited to be coming back
to Boston to kick off the second
season of the ‘Back to School’ tour
at Boston College,” said Cramer, a
graduate of Harvard College and
Harvard Law School and a former
Wall Street investment manager.
“One of my key objectives is
to teach viewers how to properly
invest in the stock market and by
traveling to colleges – like Boston
College – I can reach interested
students and get them excited at
an early age about the world of
investing,” he says.
Last year, “Mad Money” shows
were taped at Harvard Business
School, the University of Michigan and Columbia University.
The visit to Boston College is the
show’s first campus appearance
this academic year.
In addition to his “Mad Money” television show and frequent
appearances on NBC’s “Today
Show”, Cramer is markets commentator for TheStreet.com, a
multimedia provider of financial
commentary, analysis and news;
the host of a nationally-syndicated
radio program on the CBS Radio
Network; and writes the popular
“Bottom Line” column for New
York magazine.
Cramer is the author of three
best-selling books on investing:
Confessions of a Street Addict, You
Got Screwed, and Jim Cramer’s
Real Money.
Annual Mass of the Holy
Spirit Set for Sept. 17
Boston College will celebrate the annual Mass of the Holy Spirit,
a Catholic university tradition of opening the school year that dates
to the Middle Ages, on Sunday, Sept. 17, at 4 p.m. in the St. Mary’s
Hall rose garden.
University President William P. Leahy, SJ, and Vice President for
University Ministry and Mission Joseph Appleyard, SJ, will preside
over the event. Concelebrating will be members of the Jesuit Community and other priests affiliated with Boston College.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to bring their families to the
Mass, which will be followed by a cookout. The Mass will be offered
in Conte Forum in the event of rain.
The end of summer this year is
a time to remember tragedy: Last
week, Americans paused to recall the
destruction and devastation wrought
by Hurricane Katrina a year ago;
this Monday will mark five years
since the 9/11 attacks that ushered
in a grim, and controversial, war
against terrorism.
Observing such tragic milestones
— like the 20th anniversary of the
Challenger disaster earlier this year
— has become a familiar rite for the
media and public: TV, radio and
newspapers offer elegies and commentaries, analyze how the events
affected the nation, and most of all,
broadcast images and sounds to help
summon up memories.
Assoc. Prof. Ann Marie Barry
(Communication), below, who has
a background and advanced degrees
in such fields as marketing communication, American literature and
film, and perceptual psychology, reflected on “disaster anniversaries”
and their importance.
Boston College student at campus remembrance ceremony for 9/11 victims,
September, 2002. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
There are, of course, a number of reasons we revisit disasters.
Apart from the primary reasons
for some groups who want to
make sure that we as a public
never forget the issues they reveal — like the Holocaust, for
example, or the political motivations for seeking support for the
war through reviving 9/11 fears
— the nature of disasters seem
to always catch us by surprise,
to emotionally overwhelm us in
such a way that we have to keep
reminding ourselves that they are
real. That this is really happening,
now, to us.
Because of the emotional
trauma surrounding catastrophic
events, it takes a great deal of
time to emotionally heal — to
overcome the great fear they inflict — as well as to understand
them intellectually. I believe that
much of the motivation to revisit disasters is to place them in
a larger historical context through
which we can make sense of them,
and then, through understanding,
place their significance within an
appropriate perspective. We need
to come to grips with the “Why
me?” part of the disaster, to feel
safe and well again.
Replaying the original experience visually through media taps
the deepest emotional responses.
For those who have not healed
and still experience post-traumatic
stress, the media replay is very upsetting, bringing back anew all the
devastating emotions of the original event itself. But for those who
have achieved some intellectual
distance, it can be emotionally reassuring that we have survived the
disaster, and can be a matter of
renewing one’s faith in a benevolent God or universe, which can
be highly positive.
I believe that our ways of observing disaster have changed over
time, primarily because of media.
Media creates collective response.
It sends the same message over
and over again to all people tuned
to it, and this gives both a sense of
sharing, and interestingly, a sense
of isolation or alienation, too, if
our feelings are deeper, more complex, or different from the general
media response.
Media coverage brings people
together in a particular mindset
or emotional set, but it often ends
up actually “celebrating” disasters
by exploiting them, creating oversimplified heroes and villains, and
leaving people emotionally numb
through over-stimulation.
As people either begin to feel
isolated within a proscriptive mass
emotion, or as they yearn to be a
part of the celebrity produced by
the media event, we see numbers
of people sporting tee shirts with
“NYFD” on them after 9-11, as
well as people using their automobiles to announce the death of a
loved one in the war with “In memoriam” signs on their car windows. We all want to be noticed,
to have sacrifices acknowledged,
and to feel a part of something
more important than ourselves.
Media disaster coverage brings
these out in both positive and
negative ways.
Media exploits disasters because disaster coverage guarantees
audiences. Disaster events have all
of the earmarks necessary to grab
viewers’ attention and to keep
them emotionally involved and
tuned in. So every disaster becomes a media event to be used to
the max, both now and later. But
to the public, mediated anniversaries usually seem to result either
in a confirmation of political or
religious beliefs, or in an alienated
and empty sadness.
They also are political fodder
for all sorts of motivations. Politicians exploit the media images
that originally exploited our emotions, and at the end of the line we
are often worn out emotionally by
the experience. Emotional fatigue
results in a desensitivity to others,
which injures us in all our interactions with others; media overexposure in general breeds a kind of
numbness and oversimplified view
of things that is ultimately destructive to the person and to the
society, particularly if we can do
nothing to change the situation.
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
september 8, 2006
“If we are to move
beyond crisis to
renewal, then it
is essential that
we train managers
who are competent
Collaboration Offers Summer
Program in Urban Ecology to
Boston Area Schoolchildren
in both the theology and mission of
the Church and in
the best practices of
management.”
Local public school students
and teachers enjoyed the “handson” study of bird bioacoustics and
urban forestry this summer as part
of an annual institute on urban
ecology and information technology offered by Boston College.
Created through a collaboration of the University’s Urban
Ecology Institute, Lynch School
of Education and Environmental Studies Program, the summer
institute aimed to foster student
interest in science and technology
and to encourage career exploration in these areas. It included
daily classroom lectures and visits
to local field sites in Boston, for
study of urban ecology using the
technological tools of practicing
scientists.
Institute participants had opportunities to conduct a fieldbased research study, learn science
-Thomas Groome
Thomas Groome (left) and Andrew Boynton. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
BC Establishes Church Management Program
Continued from page 1
roles in church management, this
option will also be offered on a parttime basis.
Prof. Thomas Groome (Theology), who directs the Institute for
Religious Education and Pastoral
Ministry, first conceived of the idea
while attending a conference of
both business and Catholic Church
leaders last year.
“It was apparent that the business leaders did not fully understand the language of the Church,
and the Church leaders, including
the bishops present, did not fully
understand the language of business,” said Groome. “If we are to
move beyond crisis to renewal, then
it is essential that we train managers who are competent in both the
theology and mission of the Church
and in the best practices of management.
“Boston College, with its strength
in both theological education for
ministry at the Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry and in management through
the Carroll School of Management,
is ideally suited to help meet this
most urgent need in the Church.”
Carroll School Dean Andrew
Boynton praised the new initiative
as a way for Boston College to be of
service to the Catholic Church and
the wider community.
“In addition to developing highly skilled, values-driven leaders, an
important aspect of our mission as
part of a Jesuit, Catholic university is to be of service to the many
communities — ­local, national and
global — which sustain us,” said
Boynton. “To tailor a program of
business and financial management
education to suit the needs of religious institutions is a natural expres-
sion of that mission.”
Students in both programs will
be required to participate in an integrative colloquium aimed at helping
people to integrate the worlds of
religious institutions and business.
They will also interact with faculty
and students in BC’s theology department, Boisi Center for Religion
and American Public Life, Winston
Center for Leadership and Ethics
and Church in the 21st Century
Center.
“Given that so many of the current challenges and problems of the
Catholic Church can be traced, in
part, to poor management of resources and personnel, the need for
this type of formal training in ministry and management has never
been greater,” said Groome. “We
look forward to helping the Church
to address this crucial need.”
By Rosanne Pellegrini
Staff Writer
in caring for their local environment. Urban students, in particular, have a great deal to offer
in regard to caring for their urban
environment and one of the major goals is to empower students
to take action in caring for their
urban environment.”
Barnett’s co-leaders were Eric
Strauss, director of the BC’s Environmental Studies Program, and
Charlie Lord, executive director of
the Urban Ecology Institute.
One of the field projects this
year, led by Lynch School of Education graduate student Meredith
Houle, addressed animal communication through the investigation
of local bird songs and calls. The
other project engaged students
and teachers in exploring relevant
issues related to the health and
economic impact of urban trees,
with the support of Lynch School
graduate students Anne Gatling
and Janice Anderson.
Organizers said the institute
Photos by Fay Photography
Madison Park High School teacher Jeff Goodman ‘93 assists Boston area school
students Oliver Burns (left) and Jared Wilcox as they do field work during the Urban
Ecology Institute summer program. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
An Aug. 24 dedication ceremony formally marked the donation of a Victorian
clock to Boston College by the McAuliffe family in memory of the late Eugene F.
McAuliffe, MD ’39, of Milton, the previous owner of the century-old cast-iron
timepiece. Above, University President William P. Leahy, SJ, watches as John
Hutchins inspects the inner workings of the clock, which was installed last fall
on the plaza adjacent to 21 Campanella Way. Built by Boston’s E. Howard Co.
in 1903, the clock was originally located in Roxbury’s Dudley Square where Dr.
McAuliffe’s father owned a block of stores and later moved to his office in East
Milton. Four of Dr. McAuliffe’s children attended BC, and his grandson Richard
Dobrowski is a junior.
concepts, interact with scientists
and educators, work in science
labs on a university campus —
and, in so doing, learn career and
technology skills that may be useful later on.
Sixty-five students, primarily eighth and ninth graders from
Brighton High School, Urban Science Academy, Nativity Prep, St.
Columbkille School and Odyssey
High School, attended this year’s
institute, which ran from July
24-Aug. 3. Prior to their arrival,
46 local middle- and high-school
teachers came to campus for a
two-week workshop to develop
curriculum projects and other material for the institute.
“The program engages students in learning scientific content
about career trajectories in science
and information technology,” said
institute co-leader Asst. Prof. Michael Barnett (LSOE). “Through
their work students also learn how
individuals can make a difference
fostered an understanding of how
urban ecosystems function and
respond to change, established scientific observation and sampling
techniques for teachers to implement with their students and provided a forum to discuss strategies
that promote student learning and
enhance community stewardship.
The use of curriculum materials and scientific experiences,
organizers added, can help inner-city students connect their
academic work and future career
options, and enhance their motivation to succeed in school.
BC organizers also note that,
through the program, they have
developed an information technology component for the new
field-based urban ecology modules in 7th-12th grade classrooms
of Boston-area public schools.
The materials have been piloted
and will be implemented in multiple schools this fall, with plans to
expand the initiative.
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
september 8, 2006
Fr. Murphy, Historian
and Mentor, Dead at 71
Assoc. Prof. Emeritus Rev. Francis J. Murphy, a priest of the Boston
Archdiocese who served as a faculty
member in the Boston College History Department and as friend and
mentor to a generation of students,
died Aug. 28 in Wellesley Hills. He
was 71.
A funeral Mass was celebrated
for Fr. Murphy in Mt. St. Vincent
Chapel on Aug. 31.
“We lost a stellar teacher, mentor, friend and scholar with the
passing of Fr. Frank Murphy, who
dedicated the last 34 years of his
professional life to the students of
Boston College,” said College of
Arts and Sciences Dean Joseph
Quinn.
“He was the epitome of a man
for others,” said Daniel Flynn ‘85,
who met Fr. Murphy during his
first year at Boston College and remained friends with the priest ever
since. “He was a great man.”
A Boston native, Fr. Murphy
was a 1957 graduate of the College
of the Holy Cross and St. John’s
Seminary. He was ordained to the
priesthood in February of 1962.
Fr. Murphy was assigned to the
parishes of the Star of the Sea, East
Boston, St. Margaret Mary’s, Westwood, Blessed Sacrament, Cambridge, and Sacred Heart, Newton. He was also chaplain to the
Nazareth Home in Jamaica Plain.
For the past 20 years he served as
chaplain of the Sisters of Charity,
Mt. St. Vincent Community, in
Wellesley Hills.
In 1971 he earned a doctoral
degree in European history from
Catholic University and later joined
the BC faculty.
“He taught a single history course
in the summer school and was so
impressive to students and fellow
faculty members that he stayed on
and became an irreplaceable member of the History Department,”
said University Historian Thomas
H. O’Connor, who recalled Fr.
Murphy as a soft-spoken gentleman
who made himself available to anyone who sought his counsel.
“During office hours the corridors of Carney Hall would be lined
with students sitting on the floor,
reading their books and waiting
patiently to have their personal time
with Fr. Murphy,” said O’Connor.
“He came to know each one of
them individually...and years later
would often celebrate their marriages and baptize their children.”
Following his retirement from
BC last year, Fr. Murphy’s contributions to Boston College were
recognized with a rare distinction
when he was named as “associate professor emeritus” by University President William P. Leahy, SJ.
Emeritus status is usually reserved
for retired faculty members who
have achieved the rank of full professor.
Donations may be made in
Fr. Murphy’s memory to Sisters
of Charity, Mt. St. Vincent Community, 125 Oakland St. Wellesley
Hills, MA 02481 or to the New
England Food Foundation, PO Box
960788, Boston, MA. 02196.
—Stephen Gawlik
Eugene Bushala, 78, Longtime
Teacher of Latin and Greek
Assoc. Prof. Emeritus Eugene
W. Bushala, who taught Latin and
Greek at Boston College for 35
years before retiring from the Classical Studies faculty in 1997, died
at his home in Framingham on
Aug. 23. He was 78.
Prof. Bushala was a graduate
of Wayne State University and
received his master’s and doctoral
degrees in classical studies from the
Ohio State University.
After serving in the US Army,
he taught at the University of Wisconsin, Hanover College and Wesleyan University before joining the
Boston College faculty in 1963.
“He was a wonderfully good
teacher, both in a classroom and in
conversation, where he had a knack
for asking questions that seemed
easy to answer but proved trickier
than they seemed,” recalled Assoc.
Prof. Charles F. Ahern (Classical
Studies), the department chair. “It
was always illuminating.
“He was an acute reader of literary texts, with a special attachment
to Horace, but also a lover of words
in themselves - he taught a generation of future doctors how to
disentangle the structure of medical terminology as it derives from
Greek and Latin words,” Prof.
Ahern said.
“He was a warm and friendly presence at BC for some 40
years.”
Funeral services were private. A
memorial service was held at Prof.
Bushala’s home on Aug. 26.
Expressions of sympathy may
be sent to his widow, Ms. Cindy
Bushala, in care of the Classical
Studies Department, 122 Carney
Hall.
—Reid Oslin
John McCain to Speak at BC
Continued from page 1
intended to set a tone for the new
students’ life at BC by invoking St.
Ignatius’ famous maxim, “Go set
the world aflame.”
“Robert Coles and Senator McCain are busy men who have never
shied from acting upon what they
have seen ‘needed doing’ for the
betterment of others,” Fr. Marchese
said. “They both see the possibil-
ity of leadership among the masses.
This moral leadership, as Coles
would describe it, comes ‘sacrifice
for a cause greater than self-interest.’”
Previous convocation keynote
speakers were physician Robert
Farmer and US Senator Barack
Obama (D-Ill.).
—Sean Smith
Prof. David Karp (Sociology) relates his own struggles with depression
and medication in his latest book. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
Antidepressants and the Self
Sociologist speaks from
experience on impact
of psychiatric drugs
By Sean Smith
Chronicle Editor
He had had enough.
Life offered many fulfilling
roles for David Karp — husband,
father, professor of sociology at
Boston College — but another
seemed to occupy more and more
of his attention: victim of clinical
depression.
For more than 25 years, Karp
had taken medication to battle his
illness, generally accepting that it
was in his best interest to do so.
But now he was having serious
doubts — fueled in part by his
visit to a symposium on health
and identity — as to whether that
was still true.
So, as the summer of 2001 approached, Karp made a decision:
He would begin to reduce his
intake of psychotropic drugs, and
eventually stop altogether.
That choice, and the consequences of it, helped form the basis for Karp’s new book, Is It Me or
My Meds? Living with Antidepressants. In addition to documenting
his own struggle with depression
and medication, Karp interviewed
50 people, each diagnosed with
a mental illness, on their experiences with psychiatric drugs.
The book, Karp says, represents an all-too-rare view on mental health in the United States,
provided by people who deal with
such issues day in and week out
but are seldom if ever heard.
Karp will discuss and read from
Is It Me or My Meds? on Wednesday, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in
Devlin 101 as part of “Writers
Among Us,” a series on faculty
authors that is sponsored by Boston College Magazine, the Office
of the Provost and the BC Book-
store.
Americans spend billions and
billions dollars yearly on antidepressant medications, and millions
in the US routinely use these pills,
Karp says. But are these miracle
drugs that quickly cure depression, he asks, or is their popularity
a sign that Americans inappropriately regard normal life problems
as diseases?
“I’m not out to debunk psychiatry or to resolve whether current biological theories of mental illness are correct,” says Karp.
“But there are serious questions
that need to be asked: How do
antidepressants affect self-image?
Am I exactly the same person I
was before I started taking drugs,
or have I become someone else
— and how much of that change
is because of the medication?
“Emotionally ill people and
their families rarely get to speak
their minds in public discourse
about their illness. Rather, most of
our information on these matters
comes from professional experts.
Doctors, nurses, social workers,
psychologists, sociologists and
therapists bring useful academic
and clinical perspectives to issues
surrounding mental health, but
“There are serious
questions that need
to be asked: How do
antidepressants affect
self-image? Am I exactly
the same person I was
before I started taking
drugs, or have I become
someone else — and how
much of that change is because of the medication?”
their efforts typically bypass the
stories of ill people themselves.”
Interviewees include a distraught teenager who shuns antidepressants while regularly using
street drugs and a woman who
still yearns for a spiritual solution
to depression even after telling
intimates “I’m on Prozac and it’s
saving me.”
As Karp reveals, his attempt at
reducing his medication ultimately failed: He had severe problems
sleeping (“Always the barometer
of my emotional well-being,” he
notes) and the combination of
fatigue and anxiety came to a
head during an emotional family
send-off for his daughter and sonin-law. The return to psychiatric
drugs was no smooth ride, either,
as Karp tried to find the elusive
right balance of medication that
would enable him to cope with
his depression and lead a satisfying life.
“I have no regrets at all about
it,” says Karp of the episode.
“While I had thought about medications quite a bit over the years,
the experiences more completely
sensitized me to the interpretive
complexities surrounding psychiatric drug use. I think these
experiences were really the chief
stimuli to writing the book.
“Even now, I wonder how I
would do and who I might be
free of drugs. I may even make
another effort in the future to get
off. However, for the moment
I am reconciled to being on the
drugs even though I am never certain that they are doing much of
anything for me and may even be
the cause of some problems.
“Right now, though, I am not
willing to pay the price required to
do another major experiment.”
For more information on “Writers Among Us,” call ext.2-4820.
A Q&A with David Karp is
available online at www.bc.edu/
bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v15/s8/
karpsidebar.html
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
september 8, 2006
Fr. Leahy Discusses Master Plan
Continued from page 1
and student formation missions.
Both undertakings, he noted,
have involved considerable discussion and consultation with
members of the University community.
Provost and Dean of Faculties Bert Garza, who became the
University’s top academic officer
last year, also gave his first-ever
Convocation address.
Garza said his first several
months on the job had more than
validated his decision to come to
BC. He spoke of the “idealism,
creativity and intelligence” he has
encountered at the University and
a “genuine commitment to service” among its faculty, staff and
students.
“There is an earnestness about
Boston College,” said Garza, “in
its striving for academic excellence, building a community of
scholarship and a dedication to
the development of the whole
person, intellectually, socially and
spiritually.
“I understand these are not
new behaviors to BC, but are engrained in the Catholic tradition
that led to the world’s first great
universities, and the unique Jesuit
ideals that identified education as
the lever with the power to transform the world.”
Garza touched on some of the
hallmark achievements of Boston
College during the past 10 years,
such as: the increase in undergraduate applications from 16,501 to
26,584 and financial aid from
$35.1 million to $71.7 million;
the rise in full-time faculty (586
to 662) and the growth of the
endowment from $590 million to
$1.4 billion.
“These numbers,” he quipped,
“are why some of us are able to
sleep pretty well at night.”
Garza said that while finances
are hardly irrelevant to the University’s future, the presence of
outstanding faculty and academic
staff will be a major factor. Fortunately, BC continues to attract
ever more distinguished scholars, researchers and teachers, he
added, and identified several new
faces on the faculty: Mary Ann
Glynn (CSOM), James Morken
(Chemistry), James Morris (Theology), Dr. Anderson Franklin
[see page 5], Sing-Chen Lydia
Chiang (Slavic and Eastern Languages), Willie Padilla (Physics)
and Stephanie Berzin (GSSW).
He also cited returning BC
faculty members who earned outstanding honors in the past year,
including Moakley Professor Kay
Schlozman [see “Nota Bene,”
page 11] and Guggenheim Fellowship winner Prof. Carlo Rotella (English).
“BC has a remarkable history,
and is experiencing an exciting
present,” said Garza. “I am glad
to be working with you to make a
bold future for BC.”
Fr. Leahy described the seven
strategic directions that have been
identified in planning sessions
as reflecting areas of potential
strength for BC: establish BC as
a leader in liberal arts education
among US universities; develop
a model student formation program; address urgent social issues;
emphasize teaching and research
in the natural sciences; build on
the BC professional schools’ reputations and performances; serve as
an intellectual and cultural crossroads; and strive to be the leading
Catholic university and theological center.
Already, said Fr. Leahy, steps
have been taken to realize these
goals. He noted such examples as
the Academic Advising Center,
the Institute on Aging in the 21st
Century, the Center for Catholic
Education, the Intersections Program, the addition of five new
faculty in integrated sciences, the
proposed reaffiliation with the
Weston Jesuit School of Theology
and the new joint degree program
in church management [see page
1].
One major component in these
and other aspects of BC’s future
will be the development and improvement of facilities and other
campus resources, Fr. Leahy said.
He outlined some potential projects — all proposed in the yet-tobe-approved Master Plan — that,
if and when completed, would
bring about a significantly different campus.
Among the proposals he noted
were: a new humanities building
and dining facility in the vicinity of the Campus Green; a new
student center on Lower Campus;
a connecting bridge between the
Lower and Brighton campuses;
and graduate housing on Brighton
Campus.
However, Fr. Leahy warned,
whatever the final draft of such
plans might look like, there can
be no significant change to BC
Conference Tackles Catholic School Issues
By Kathleen Sullivan
Staff Writer
A national summit held at Boston College this summer brought
together Catholic school educators
and administrators to share views
on how to stem the tide of closing Catholic schools in the United
States.
“Endangered Species: Urban
and Rural Catholic Schools,” held
June 23 and 24, was held as part
of SPICE (Selected Programs for
Improving Catholic Education), an
ongoing joint venture between the
BC Lynch School of Education and
National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) to honor successful K-12 Catholic school programs
and promote them as national models for other educators.
The conference recognized programs that will educate superintendents, principals, teachers and other
participants on the scope of the
challenge of sustaining struggling
urban schools and begin to chart a
course to bring new stability and viability to Catholic schools that serve
the poor. Among the topics discussed were: reorganization, including combining schools or having
one governance body oversee several
schools in a region; advocacy initiatives, such as voucher programs and
tax-credits, and sustained fundraising and philanthropy.
Highlighting the summit was
an address by Atlanta Archbishop
Wilton Gregory, former president
of the US Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB), which co-sponsored the event along with BC and
the NCEA.
Archbishop Gregory, who was
brought up as a non-Catholic but
inspired to enter the Church as a result of his Catholic education, called
upon the summit attendees not to
neglect their mission of educating
the poor. Discussing possible responses to Catholic school closings,
he noted that the Chicago Archdiocese developed a plan to build new
schools in strategic locations and
market them as viable, accessible
and affordable.
“As one who was once an inner-city kid in a Catholic school,
I hope you continue to invite my
colleagues who sit in those desks
today to believe in Christ, to believe in the future and to believe in
themselves.”
“Endangered Species” also featured an address by Worcester
Bishop Robert McManus, chair of
the USCCB’s Committee on Education as well as panel discussions
on “Research on Urban and Rural
Schools” and “The Role of Private
Philanthropy in Saving Catholic
Schools.”
Lynch School of Education Dean
Rev. Joseph O’Keefe, SJ, “By bringing together the leaders of Catholic
education in the United States, Boston College continues its commitment to the renewal of Catholic
elementary and secondary schools,
especially those that provide educational opportunities for children
from underserved populations.”
Daniel Curtin, executive director of NCEA’s Chief Administrators of Catholic Education, added,
“The 2006 SPICE program is...a
collaborative effort [in] response to
the recent bishops letter, Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic
Elementary & Secondary Schools in
the Third Millennium, which calls
on all of us to ensure that Catholic schools will continue, grow and
prosper as a vital ministry of the
Catholic Church.”
without a major investment in
resources. Hailing the University’s
progress in fundraising during the
past 10-20 years, he sounded the
call for more outreach and development efforts.
Fr. Leahy added that faculty
— who he said are so central to
BC’s success — must play a role
in such initiatives, urging them to
“share your vision, work and commitment with alumni and with
potential donors. They respond to
people who are dedicated to their
field and have clear ideas.”
Fr. Leahy reflected on what
he said were four key tenets of
BC’s character as it continues its
emergence as a major national,
and international, university. Institutional excellence “must be our
goal in all we do,” he said, and a
willingness to build partnerships
— with individuals or with organizations — that help BC to
pursue its academic and spiritual
objectives.
He also cited attention to
Catholic and Jesuit mission and
heritage as another critical area
— representing “a commitment
to a truly liberating education”
— as well as the importance of
maintaining a campus culture in
which ambition and care for another can co-exist.
“These past 10 years have been
a privilege for me,” concluded Fr.
Leahy. “And as we embark upon
our new academic year, I ask that
you commit your talents, your
creativity and your energy to the
task of building an even greater
university, one faithful to its roots
and confident about its future.”
Postings
Weston Observatory series
opens with talk on Katrina
The Weston Observatory at Boston
College will kick off its 2006-7 Colloquium Series on Sept. 13 with “Hurricane Katrina – What Happened, What
Went Wrong and Where Do We Go
From Here?,” featuring John Christian,
a geotechnical engineer with the National Academy of Engineering.
Christian’s talk will take place from
7-9 p.m. at the observatory, located at
381 Concord Road in Weston, and will
be repeated on Sept. 27 (all events in
the series will be offered twice).
Reservations are required for the
event, which is free. Call ext.2-8300 or
send e-mail to weston.observatory@
bc.edu. For a list of speakers, dates
and times, see www.bc.edu/research/
westonobservatory/educationlist/lectures/.
BC alumnus filmmaker Sloan to
screen 9/11 work
Independent filmmaker and author
Brian Sloan ‘88 will be on campus
for a screening of his “WTC View:
A Story of New York After 9/11” at
5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 14 in McGuinn 121.
Originally produced by Sloan as a
play, “WTC View” is based on his experiences after he placed an ad — on
the night before 9/11 — for a roommate for his SoHo apartment.
Following the screening of “WTC
View,” Sloan will lead a Master Class
moderated by Fine Arts chairman and
Film Studies Program Co-director Prof.
John Michalczyk. Copies of the DVD
and his books will be available for
purchase and signing.
The event is sponsored by Boston
College Magazine, the BC Arts Council, Fine Arts Department, Film Studies
Program and English Department. For
information, call ext.2-4576 or e-mail
courteje@bc.edu.
Vatican Education
Head to Speak at BC
The Vatican’s Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic
Education, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, will deliver
an address on “Catholic Higher Education in the United
States” on Sept. 11 at 4:30 p.m. in Gasson 100.
His appearance is sponsored by BC’s Church in the 21st
Century Center, which serves as a resource for the renewal
of the Catholic Church in the United States, engaging in
critical issues facing the Catholic community and advancing contemporary reflection on the Catholic intellectual
tradition.
J. Michael Miller, the Titular Archbishop of Vertara,
is the former president of the University of St. Thomas in
Houston and former dean of its School of Theology. He
has spoken and written on topics such as public funding
for religiously sponsored schools and interreligious dialogue
and Catholic identity at Catholic universities. He has been
a member of the Basilian Fathers since 1965.
“We are very pleased to welcome Archbishop Miller to
Boston College. As a former US Catholic university president, he understands the particular challenges that Catholic
universities in the United States face in trying to bring into
conversation the Church and the academy,” said Church in
the 21st Century Center Director Timothy P. Muldoon.
“We welcome the opportunity to hear him reflect on the
Vatican’s view of the role that the Catholic university can
play in the contemporary Church.”
For more information on the Church in the 21st Century Center and its activities, see www.bc.edu/c21.
—Kathleen Sullivan
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
september 8, 2006
10
Postings
Deadline today for Read Aloud
Program volunteers
Boston College employees interested in participating in the Read Aloud
Program, which sends volunteers to
read to local schoolchildren, must register by the end of today.
Participants in Read Aloud are
divided into teams and assigned to
a particular class at the Mary Lyon,
James Garfield Elementary School,
or St. Columbkille School in Brighton.
The time commitment is one hour a
month, approximately noon-1 p.m. Volunteers also must attend a one-hour
training session on Sept. 14.
For more information on Read
Aloud, contact the Office of Governmental and Community Affairs at
ext.2-4787 or e-mail laura.bitran@
bc.edu.
Exhibit on international
education opens Monday
O’Neill Library will present the exhibition, “Bridging the Chasm,” a look at
international higher education, collaborative research and global development, beginning Monday, Sept. 11.
The exhibition, which runs through
Oct. 15, is co-sponsored and organized by the Boston College Center
for International Higher Education,
which in addition to helping promote
international higher education at
Boston College provides links among
the more than 200 Jesuit universities
and colleges worldwide, and building
research capacity in the field of international higher education.
An on-line supplement to “Bridging the Chasm” is available at
bc.edu/libraries/meta-elements/html/
2006summer/index.html.
Volunteer Fair is Sept. 12
Members of the University community interested in service programs
and opportunities are invited to attend
the Volunteer Fair on Tuesday, Sept.
12, from 7:30-8:30 p.m. in the Lyons
Hall Dining Room.
The event is sponsored by the BC
Volunteer and Service Learning Center, at ext.2-1317. For more on the
center and its activities, see www.
bc.edu/vslc.
Sociology lecture series to
kick off with Piven
The Sociology Department’s Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series
will begin Sept. 13 with a lecture by
author Frances Fox Piven, “Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People
Change America.” Her talk will be
held at 5 p.m. in Devlin 101.
Piven, a distinguished professor of
sociology and political science at City
University of New York, has published
numerous books concerning the development of the welfare state, political movements, urban and electoral
politics. The title of her talk is taken
from her most recent book, and her
other works include Why Americans
Still Don’t Vote (2000) and The War at
Home (2004).
She also will hold a seminar, “Theoretical Perspectives on Power from
Below,” on Sept. 14. Those interested
in attending should e-mail sociology@
bc.edu for a reservation.
For more on the event and the
Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series,
see www.bc.edu/schools/cas/sociology/vss/.
Teaching for SUCCESS
BC program helps
new teachers go to
the head of the class
By Sean Smith
Chronicle Editor
The first five years of a teacher’s
career are often the most critical
— not just for the teacher, but for
the profession.
So say administrators of a Boston College mentoring and discussion program that builds the
professional and leadership skills
of new teachers, especially in urban schools, while encouraging
them to integrate social justice
into their teaching.
The program, Project SUCCESS (School University Collaboration Committed to the Educational Success of All Students),
was created via BC’s participation
in the Carnegie Corp. Teachers
for a New Era (TNE) national
initiative. A $5 million Carnegie
grant funded the TNE collaboration between the University’s
Lynch School of Education and
College of Arts and Sciences.
SUCCESS brings novice educators together for seminars,
workshops, regular meetings and
other events, in both formal and
informal settings, and with veteran teachers. In late June, for example, the program co-sponsored
an institute focusing on teachers
who work with English language
learners (ELL).
The program is built around
the idea that teachers new to the
profession, while versed in educational techniques, practice and
philosophy, can use advice on
the day-in, week-out details of
the job.
“There are some aspects of
teaching — setting up and managing a classroom, putting together a
lesson plan — that everyone takes
for granted, until you have to do
it,” said Carol Pelletier, director of
professional practice and induction at the Lynch School and coordinator for Project SUCCESS.
“We think it’s very important
in the induction of new teachers
that they have the opportunity to
share ideas and experiences as well
as listen to perspectives from mentors. These first few years set the
tone for how well they do in their
careers, or whether they will even
stay in the profession.”
Boston College, as a Catholic,
Jesuit university, brings a distinctive element to this professional
development and mentoring effort, adds Pelletier: an emphasis
on social justice.
“Dealing with the dilemmas of
practice should not override the
quest for social justice in education. Project SUCCESS seeks to
keep our graduates aware of this:
how as a teacher you can navigate
the school culture with respect
and dignity for your colleagues,
students and families.
“So, through the program,
Waltham High School English teacher Liz Kenney and Rob Rametti, who teaches English at Brighton High School, chat during
a reception for participants in the Project SUCCESS Teacher Leadership Academy held in June. (Photo by Kerry Burke)
these new teachers can find ways
not only to improve, but thrive
— and become teachers who, we
hope, will become leaders and
groundbreakers.”
Louise Kuhlman, supervisor of
student teachers at the Garfield
Elementary School in Brighton
and a veteran of three decades in
education who serves a mentor for
SUCCESS, says the importance of
a program like Project SUCCESS
should not be underestimated.
“Often, beginning teachers
don’t want to say what they don’t
know,” she said. “SUCCESS gives
them a safe environment in which
they can comfortably express their
concerns or anxieties and, in so
doing, be able to start resolving
these issues.
“As a mentor, my task is to
achieve a critical balance: not just
to give advice, which I do, but to
build their capacity for decisionmaking.”
Pelletier says SUCCESS participants cite increased confidence
in many aspects of their job, and
positive results that go beyond
their own performance: One
teacher, for example, reported
“learning strategies from my colleagues that helped me increase
the reading scores of one of my
students.”
Marc Banks ‘04, M.Ed.’05,
heard about SUCCESS first-hand
from Pelletier while visiting her
office last year and was encouraged
to sign up for the summer session
for first and second-year teachers.
He has since attended a monthly
mentoring group through SUCCESS.
“Besides offering the chance
to discuss ways of making our,
and our students’ classroom experiences better in general, the
group is a great outlet for with
new ideas that I never would have
thought of on my own had I not
been meeting with other teachers,” said Banks, who teaches 10th
grade English and language arts at
Framingham High School. “One
of the key aspects of this meeting
is being paired with a mentor who
has 10 years teaching experience.
She gives us little anecdotes about
what we have yet to face. She also
gives us tips about how to make
our pedagogy even better.”
Cate Stabile, a biology and marine biology teacher at Cambridge
Rindge and Latin who completed
her master’s of education degree
at BC in 1995, took part in the
SUCCESS seminar series last year.
She cites the program’s monthly
mentoring groups as a boon to
her progress.
“We get along very well and
it provides a relaxed atmosphere
where I can talk about the issues
and triumphs in my classroom. It
often helps to hear the thoughts
and opinions of people who
are not co-workers. They’re removed from the situation and
provide a different perspective.
The group has been great at providing suggestions for how to
handle grading schemes, behavior
problems, workplace politics, and
so on. I come away from each
meeting with more ideas and motivation to succeed at my job.” Colleagues Mourn Death of
Historian Secretary Rose DeMaio
Funeral services were held
Aug. 14 at St. Joseph’s Church
in Needham for Rose DeMaio,
former secretary to the University Historian. Mrs. DeMaio,
who worked at Boston College
for 33 years, died Aug. 9. She
was 82.
Mrs. DeMaio began work
at Boston College in 1972 in
the Treasurer’s Office. She
also worked in the Controller’s
Office and Student Accounts
before becoming secretary in
1983 to then-University Historian Charles Donovan, SJ.
She continued working in that
position until her retirement
last year.
“BC was more than just a
job to her and she loved every
minute of it there,” said her son
Rick, ’84.
“She regarded BC as her second family, in every sense of the
word,” said Thomas O’Connor,
who was appointed University
Historian after Fr. Donovan
passed away in 1998.
“She seemed to know everybody, and everybody seemed to
know her. If someone from the
carpentry shop came up to fix
something in the office, as soon
as they came in it was ‘Hi Rose,
how are you?’ And she’d say,
‘Sit down, tell me how you
are, how’s your wife, is she
feeling better?’” O’Connor
said. “She felt at home with
everyone: faculty, administrators, staff and students.”
O’Connor said Mrs. DeMaio preferred using her
typewriter to a computer, and
always insisted that her title
be “secretary” even as terms
like “administrative assistant”
or “executive assistant” became in vogue.
“She felt that being known
as a secretary was something
in which you could really take
pride,” he said.
Mrs. DeMaio was a lifelong resident of Newton. A
passionate Red Sox fan, her
interests also included theater,
cinema and gourmet cuisine.
“When she went out to a
new restaurant, she could give
a spoon-by-spoon description
of the experience,” O’Connor
said. “All these things she did
with a lovely Italian grace.”
Mrs. DeMaio leaves her
son, Rick, his wife, Laura,
’86, and their two children,
Stephen and Angela.
—Public Affairs staff
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
september 8, 2006
11
PEOPLE
Newsmakers
• Vice President and Special Assistant to the President William B.
Neenan, SJ, who “uses his sharp
wit and Midwestern roots to connect with students on campus,” was
featured by the Boston Irish Reporter
in a piece penned by undergadaute
Rebecca Shaw ‘07.
• Comments by Monan Professor of Theology Lisa S. Cahill on
the Church’s position on stem cell
research were cited by the Chronicle
of Higher Education; she was also
quoted by the Washington Post regarding women and the priesthood.
• More than 400 Catholic moral
theologians from 63 countries
gathered in Padua in July for the
first international conference on
Catholic ethics, organized by Prof.
James Keenan, SJ. The conference
was covered by National Catholic
Reporter and Catholic News Service.
Fr. Keenan also was quoted by
the Associated Press for a story on
environmental movements in the
religious mainstream.
• Assoc. Prof. Robert Murphy
(Economics) was quoted by the
Boston Herald about Wall Street’s
reaction to a terror alert. The piece
also ran in Black Enterprise.
• Prof. Michael Cassidy (Law)
was quoted by the Associated Press
regarding potential lawsuits related
to a Big Dig tunnel accident.
• Boisi Center for Religion and
American Public Life Director Prof.
Alan Wolfe (Political Science) was
interviewed by the Christian Science
Monitor regarding the founding
fathers’ religious beliefs and by the
Los Angeles Times about the boom
in products from Christian retail-
ers. Also, his essay on secularist intellectuals analyzing predominantly
Christian America was published
by the Chronicle of Higher Education Review.
• Prof. Maxim D. Shrayer (Slavic
and Eastern Languages) co-director
of BC’s Jewish Studies Program,
was interviewed on the National
Public Radio program “On Point”
regarding the US, Russia and the
G8 Summit in St. Petersburg.
Also, he and his father, author and
scientist David Shrayer-Petrov,
were featured by the Boston Globe
for their latest collaborative book
Autumn in Yalta.
• A review by Adj. Lect. Martha
Bayles of the A&S Honors Program of an exhibit of Paul Klee’s
work was published by the Weekly
Standard.
•Efforts by Prof. Zhifeng Ren
(Physics) to assist China’s Daqiao
Middle School, which serves more
than 2,000 students from the poor
eastern region of Sichuan Province,
were featured by China Daily, the
national English-language newspaper of China.
Honors/Appointments
• The Global Development and
Environment Institute at Tufts
University has awarded Prof. Juliet
Schor (Sociology) the “2006
Leontief Prize for Expanding the
Frontiers of Economic Thought,” a
distinguished prize designed to recognize outstanding contributions
to economic theory that address
contemporary realities and support
just and sustainable societies.
• Prof. Elizabeth Graver (English)
was a judge in a contest by the
Nota Bene
Moakley Professor of Political Science Kay L. Schlozman was
named as a co-winner of the American Political Science Association’s
(APSA) 10th annual Frank J. Goodnow Distinguished Service Award.
The award is given to honor the outstanding contributions of individuals, groups, and public and private organizations to the development of the political science profession and the building of APSA, the
leading professional organization for the study of political science.
Schlozman, who has served as chair of the association’s ethics committee and on the APSA Task Force on Inequality in American Politics,
received her award at the APSA annual meeting last month in Philadelphia.
Four Boston College students were among the 35 Boston and
Worcester-area graduate students named Schweitzer Fellows for 20067: Najiba Akbar of the Graduate School of Social Work, Katie MuseFisher of the Lynch School of Education, Monica O’Reilly, of the
Connell School of Nursing and Joanna Toke of the Law School.
Honoring the legacy of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the Fellows commit
to a year of service with an agency, during which each will devotes
more than 200 hours of service to local communities lacking access to
adequate health services. The wide range of projects Schweitzer Fellows
undertake include tobacco education for after-school students, teaching new immigrants how to shop wisely for nutritious foods, diabetes
counseling with Haitian immigrants, educating children in residential
treatment centers on oral health, and publishing a community health
newspaper.
For more about the BC Schweitzer Fellows, see www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/
pubaf/06/Schweitzer06.pdf
the New York Times Book Review’
titled “In Search of the Best,”
which asked 100 prominent writers, critics and editors to vote on
the best work of American fiction
published in the last 25 years.
Graver voted for Toni Morrison’s
Beloved, which received 15 votes
and was the winning book. In addition, Graver is also the recipient
of a 2006 Massachusetts Cultural
Council Grant in Creative Writing
for her work-in-progress, a novel
titled Plants and Their Children.
Science) published “How Not to
Build a Fence” in Foreign Policy,
“Mother of Invention” in Wilson
Quarterly and “The American Exception: Why Muslims in the U.S.
aren’t as attracted to jihad as those
in Europe” in Time.
• Prof. Lawrence T. Scott
(Chemistry) has been reappointed
to another 3 year term on the editorial advisory board of Polycyclic
Aromatic Compounds, an international journal. Ten other countries
are represented by members on the
board.
• Institute for Scientific Research
Co-Director Patricia Doherty:
$250,000, Federal Aviation
Administration, “Ionospheric Research in Support of the Wide Area
Augmentation System.”
• Urban Ecology Institute Director
Charles Lord has been named a
Barr Foundation Fellow for 2007.
Grants
• Drucker Professor of Management Sciences Alicia Munnell:
$260,000, Atlantic Philanthropies,
“Work Opportunities for Older
Americans.”
• Prof. Thomas Seyfried (Biology): $237,620, National Institutes
of Health, “Glycosphingolipid
Effects on Brain Tumor Angiogenesis.”
• Asst. Prof. C. Shawn McGuffey
(Sociology) has received the Sally
Hacker award given by the Sex &
Gender section of the American
Sociological Association for his
article, “Engendering Trauma:
Race, Class and Gender Reaffirmation after Child Sexual Abuse”.
The article appeared in Gender &
Society in 2005, and is from his
dissertation research.
• Prof. Larry McLaughlin
(Chemistry): $235,328, National
Institutes of Health, “Probing
dNTP/DNA Polymerase Interactions.
• Drucker Professor of Management Sciences Alicia Munnell,
director of BC’s Center for Retirement Research, has been named
among the “100 Most Influential
People in Finance” by Treasury and
Risk Management Magazine.
• Research Prof. Sandra Bertman
(GSSW): $50,000, Anonymous,
“Program of Medical Humanities
and the Arts in Health Care.”
Publications
• Prof. Peter Skerry (Political
• Prof. Zhifeng Ren (Physics):
$90,682, US Army Research
Office, “Nano Photonic and
Photovoltaic Studies Using Novel
Nanostructures.”
• McMullen Museum Director
Prof. Nancy Netzer (Fine Arts):
$45,000, National Endowment for
the Arts, “Cosmophilia: Islamic Art
for the David Collection, Copen-
Ireland Is New Economics Chair
Continued from page 5
are very fortunate to have him
on board.”
Ireland’s research interests
include macroeconomics and
monetary economics, and the
courses he has taught at BC
include Money and Banking,
Mathematics for Economists,
Macroeconomic Theory and
Monetary Economics, among
others.
He is the author of numerous papers, comments,
editorials and book reviews
that have appeared in a wide
range of academic economic
journals. Examples of Ireland’s
recently published papers include “Money’s Role in the
Monetary Business Cycle,”
Journal of Money, Credit, and
Banking; “Technology Shocks
in the New Keynesian Model,”
Review of Economics and Statistics, and “A Method for Taking
Models to the Data,” Journal of
Economic Dynamics and Control.
Ireland also has been an active citizen in the Boston College community. For example,
this semester he will volunteer
his time as a participant in the
new freshman advising program
organized by the Academic Advising Center. He also served as
chairman of the Planning Committee of the Social Sciences
Division of the College of Arts
and Sciences and as a member of
the Academic Vice President’s
Advisory Council.
“Boston College has been
a wonderful place for me, the
students here have so many opportunities to learn both inside
and outside the classroom,” said
Ireland.
A husband and father of two,
Ireland and his family reside in
Newton. hagen.”
• Prof. John Michalczyk (Fine
Arts): $25,000, Foundation for
Moral Courage, “Gulag Documentary.”
• Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project
Director Adj. Assoc. Prof. Francine Sherman (Law): $20,000,
Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation, “Juvenile Rights Advocacy
Project.”
• Assoc. Prof. Alec Peck (LSOE):
$12,925, Council for Exceptional
Children, “TEACHING – Exceptional Children.”
• Carroll Professor of Nursing
Judith Vessey: $3,125, National
Association of Nurse Practitioners,
“Promoting Immunization in Students with Chronic Conditions.”
Time and a Half
• Asst. Prof. Ingela Alger (Economics) presented “Altruism,
Climate, and Evolution” at the
2006 Conference of the Canadian
Economics Association in Montreal, Canada.
• Prof. Tayfun Somez (Economics) presented “Sincere and
Sophisticated Players in the Boston
Mechanism” at the University of
Bonn Conference: “Matching and
Two Sided Markets.”
• Prof. Charles Hoffman (Biology) presented “A Novel Platform
for Identifying Chemical and
Biological Regulators of cAMP
Phosphodiesterases Using the
Fission Yeast Schizosaccharomyces
pombe” as an invited speaker to
the Gordon Research Conference
on Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases at the University of New
England.
Jobs
• Senior Cataloger, Burns Library • Assistant, Associate Director,
Telemarketing, Alumni & Development
• Director, Annual Giving, Gasson Society, Alumni & Development • Compensation Analyst, Human Resources • Resident Director, Student
Services • Stock/Distribution Worker,
Catering, Dining Services • Clinical Program Manager,
School Of Nursing • Secretary, School Of Nursing • Patrol Officer, BCPD
• Program Administrator for
Alcohol and Drugs, Office of the
Dean for Student Development • Assistant Director, Bands,
Office of the Dean for Student
Development
For more information on
employment at Boston College
see www.bc.edu/bcjobs
T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle
september 8, 2006
12
LOOKING AHEAD
READINGS•LECTURES•
DISCUSSIONS
Sept. 11
• “Whose Blood was on Their
Hands, and Why? Family Narrative and the Records of the Irish
Revolution 1919-1923,” with
Prof. Eunan O’Halpin, Trinity
College, Dublin, 4 p.m., Connolly House, call ext.-3938.
Sept. 13
• “Challenging Authority: How
Ordinary People Change America,” presented by Prof. Frances
Fox Piven, the City University of
New York, 5 p.m., Devlin 101.
Reservations required; call ext.22131 or email: sociology@bc.edu.
Sept. 14
• Master Class: “The Making
of ‘WTC View’: A Career in
Independent Film,” with independent filmmaker Brian Sloan ‘88,
5 p.m., McGuinn 121. Screening
followed by conversation moderated by Prof. John Michalczyk
(Fine Arts), call ext.2-4576.
• “God is Beautiful, and He
Loves Beauty: Remembrance
and Repetition in Islamic Arts,”
presented by Prof. James Morris
(Theology), 7 p.m., Devlin 101,
call ext.2-8100.
Sept. 18
• “Dietrich Bonhoeffer for Our
Times.” 2:30 p.m., Walsh Hall
Function Room, call ext.2-4495
email: cjlearning@bc.edu.
• “Moral Virtues and the Moral
Law” with Prof. Jorge Garcia
(Philosophy), comments by Prof.
Arthur Madigan (Philosophy),
reception to follow, 4:30 p.m.,
Higgins 310, call ext.2-3847,
email: mccoyma@bc.edu.
Sept. 19
• “Reading for Pleasure - Book
‘Cosmophilia’
a Showcase of
Islamic Art
By Rosanne Pellegrini
Staff Writer
“Lampas fragment, 14th-15th century, Andalusia, Spain” — among the
pieces on display at the “Cosmophilia” exhibition. See story at right.
Discussion” 1776 by David
McCullough with discussion
leader: Mary Ellen Kiddle, 12
p.m., O’Neill 413, email: critch@
bc.edu.
MUSIC•ART•PERFORMANCE
Sept. 18
• “Music in the Afternoon” with
Omar Farahat, piano, 4:15 p.m.,
Gasson 100, call ext.2-6004.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Sept. 12
• Volunteer Fair, 7:30 p.m., Lyons
Dining Hall, call ext.2-1317,
email: volunteer@bc.edu
• Student Activities Day, 10 a.m.
Dustbowl (Campus Green). Rain
date: Tuesday, September 19.
ONGOING EXHIBITIONS
• “Francis Xavier: Jesuit Missions in the Far East” in the Burns
Library, through Dec. 3., hours: 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through
Friday, call ext.2-3282.
• “Bridging the Chasm - An
exhibit on international higher
education, collaborative research
and global development”, through
Oct. 15, weekdays, 8 a.m. to 1
a.m., Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 10
p.m., Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.
• “My Monster is in Safe Keeping: The Samuel Beckett Collection at Boston College” Irish
Room and Fine Print Room, Sept.
15, through Jan. 31, 2007, hours:
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through
Friday, call ext.2-3282.
WEEKLY MASSES
• St. Joseph Chapel (Gonzaga
Hall – Upper Campus) 5 p.m.
and 9 p.m.; Trinity Chapel
(Newton Campus) 5 p.m. and 9
p.m., St. Ignatius Church, Lannon Chapel - Lower Church, 9
p.m., Heights Room, 10:15 p.m.,
St. Mary’s Chapel (Spanish Mass)
7:30 p.m.
For more on campus events, see
events.bc.edu or check BCInfo
[www.bc.edu/bcinfo] for updates.
Norma Jean Calderwood Dies, Was
Former Fine Arts Lecturer and Benefactor
Norma Jean Calderwood, a
Boston College benefactor and
former lecturer in the Fine Arts
department to whom the current
McMullen Museum of Art exhibition is dedicated, died on Aug.
31 at the age of 84.
Calderwood and her husband
Stanford, a partner in Trinity
Investment Management in Boston, left a mark on many cultural
institutions in the Boston area,
including an endowed professorship at Boston College.
In 2000 Boston College
named scholars Shelia Blair and
Jonathan Bloom, a husband and
wife team, to a joint appointment
for the chair, the Norma Jean
Calderwood University Professorship in Islamic and Asian Art.
It is believed to be the first academic appointment of its kind.
Blair and Bloom knew Calderwood from their days together
at Harvard University. “She was
an enthusiastic teacher of Islamic
and Asian art and that was her
true interest,” said Bloom, who
recalled Norma Calderwood as
At the McMullen Museum
an energetic and generous friend
who opened her house and hosted
parties for the Harvard graduate
students studying in her field.
The chair was created through
a gift from Stanford Calderwood,
in honor of his wife, a part-time
lecturer in the BC Fine Arts Department from 1983 until her retirement in 1996. Stanford Calderwood died in 2002.
Norma Jean Calderwood’s personal passion, and the focus of her
study and travel, was Islamic art,
a term that encompasses a number of traditions that have flourished since the late seventh century
across a geographic area ranging
from southern Spain and North
Africa to the islands of Southeast
Asia.
“She was the backbone of our
non-Western art program for many
years and brought with her a level
of intelligence and commitment
that helped shape a generation of
students,” recalled Prof. Jeffery
Howe (Fine Arts).
“All of that was borne out of
her passion for foreign cultures
and their art. She was vibrant,
had a terrific sense of humor and
boundless energy.” said Howe.
Last week the McMullen
Museum of Art at BC unveiled
“Cosmophilia: Islamic Art from
the David Collection, Copenhagen.” The exhibition, which
is dedicated to the Calderwoods,
comprises more than 100 of the
finest examples of Islamic art,
most of which have never before
been displayed in the United
States.
In addition to the professorship at Boston College, the
Calderwoods supported the
Norma Jean Calderwood Courtyard Café at the Museum of Fine
Arts, the Norma Jean Calderwood directorship of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum,
multiple curatorial positions at
the Museum of Fine Arts and at
Harvard University, and the directorships of the Cambridge Art
Association and the Huntington
Theatre Company.
—Stephen Gawlik
A recently opened exhibition at the McMullen Museum of Art
explores the roles that decoration plays in the visual arts of Islam
— and provides a rare opportunity for the American audience to
view premier Islamic works.
“Cosmophilia: Islamic Art from the David Collection, Copenhagen,” which runs through Dec. 31, comprises more than 100 of the
finest examples of Islamic art, most of which have never before been
displayed in the United States.
It highlights Islamic art’s lavish use of ornament, one of its most
characteristic and attractive features (“cosmophilia” means, literally, “love of ornament”) yet never previously the focus of a major
exhibition. In addition, it is the first “user-friendly” and accessible
presentation of Islamic art, because it is organized visually by theme
as opposed to chronologically or historically.
Drawn from the David Collection — one of the foremost repositories of the arts of the Islamic world — the works on display range
in media from jewelry to carpets, in date from the 7th to the 19th
century and in geographic origin from Western Europe to East Asia,
and include both secular and religious art.
Members of the University community and the general public
are invited to attend a Sept. 12 opening celebration from 7-9 p.m.
at the museum, free of charge. [Call ext.2-8587 or e-mail artmusm@
bc.edu if interested in attending.]
“Cosmophilia” was curated by Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom,
two of the world’s leading historians of Islamic art, who are married
and jointly hold the Norma Jean Calderwood University Chair in
Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College.
“It is an honor to have two of the world’s foremost scholars of
Islamic art organize a groundbreaking exhibition from one of world’s
finest, albeit lesser known, collections of Islamic art,” said McMullen
Museum Director Prof. Nancy Netzer (Fine Arts). “We are pleased
and proud to dedicate this exhibition to our former colleague and
friend Norma Jean Calderwood, who introduced the study of Islamic art to the Boston College curriculum, and to the memory of
her husband Stanford Calderwood.”
[Norma Jean Calderwood died on Aug. 31 at age 84. See story
at left]
Kjeld von Folsach, director of the David Collection, added, “It
is the first time ever that so many works of Islamic art have left the
David Collection to be shown abroad. And since scholarship within
this field is manifesting itself stronger in the US than anywhere else
for the time being, I am especially pleased that this elegant, enlightening and well-documented exhibition takes place there.”
There have been few comprehensive exhibitions of Islamic art,
and most have focused on particular media, countries, dynasties, rulers or even single works of art. The goal of “Cosmophilia,” say organizers, is “to trace the key themes present in Islamic art, separately or
together” and to show how they were developed differently at different times and place. Blair and Bloom note that, for most Westerners,
exuberant ornament and a love of pattern distinguish the arts of the
Islamic lands from the world’s other great artistic traditions.
The exhibition is organized visually by theme in five sections
— figures, writing, geometry, vegetation-arabesque and hybrids
— which unite the visual arts of the Islamic lands, and reveal how
artisans explored major types of decorations.
Blair and Bloom are the principal authors of the accompanying
300-page illustrated catalogue, which includes essays on ornament,
individual entries, and color reproductions of all 123 objects. Other
contributors are Netzer, von Folsach and Assoc. Prof. Claude Cernuschi (Fine Arts), an expert on modern art.
Public events — including a lecture and film series — will be
offered, and Blair and Bloom will also provide training sessions to
enable teachers to incorporate an Islamic studies component into
their curricula and tour the exhibition with their classes. Museum
docents will offer tours every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. and group tours
on request.
For more information on the exhibition and related events, see
the McMullen Museum Web site at www.bc.edu/artmuseum. Support has been provided by the Calderwood Charitable Foundation,
the National Endowment for the Arts, the Patrons of the McMullen
Museum, and an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts
and the Humanities.