Boston College Chronicle

PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

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Around Campus

Veterans Remembrance

“Watery Romanticism”

A discussion on UN plastics treaty; AJCU council comes to BC; Red Bandanna 5K (photo)

U.S. Army Brigadier General Guillaume N. Beaurpere ’94 to speak at event.

Burns Scholar Claire Connolly discusses her unique literary/ historical research interests.

PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Gathering for Peace

photo by lee pellegrini

OCTOBER 26, 2023 VOL. 31 NO. 5

Student Experience Survey

Undergraduates Cite Strengths and Areas for Improvement

On October 18, the Boston College community participated in a Multi-Faith Prayer Service for Peace, Reconciliation, and Healing in Israel and Gaza, hosted by Campus Ministry. The event included remarks from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim community members, as well as Associate Vice President and Campus Ministry Director Fr. Anthony Penna.

Ninety percent of Boston College undergraduate students said they were generally satisfied with the quality of teaching at the University, and 84 percent said they would recommend BC to others, according to data from the Student Experience Survey, released today by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning.

The survey, administered online from October through December of 2022, revealed, however, that more needs to be done to make students of color, low-income students, and LGBTQ+ students feel more welcome within the BC community.

Sponsored by Student Affairs and University Mission and Ministry and designed by a University-wide team of students, faculty, and administrators, the survey was originally created in 2018 to gain a

better understanding of the BC student experience both inside and outside of the classroom, by examining students’ views on University community and culture, academics, mission, and student services. The 2022 survey yielded a 17 percent overall response rate, based on the participation of 1,684 students.

Among key findings regarding the BC community experience, 91 percent of students said they are treated fairly by others at BC; 87 percent said their cultural values and beliefs are accepted; and 81 percent agreed that they felt a sense of belonging to the BC campus community. Students with high financial need, however, generally rated these survey items less favorably than other students.

Continued on page 5

Top-10 Ranking Is No Surprise to CSON Community

BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

The Connell School of Nursing’s top 10 ranking in the recent US News & World Report survey of the nation’s best undergraduate nursing schools is an external acknowledgment of the school’s strength and clear momentum, CSON faculty, staff, and students say.

Based on the peer assessment of nursing deans nationwide, the Connell School placed 10th out of 654 programs—a 12-point improvement from last year and CSON’s highest ranking to date.

Connell School Dean Katherine Gregory, who has led the school since 2021, said CSON’s strong reputation is the result of multiple factors, including excellent faculty and students, a rigorous undergraduate education strengthened by BC’s core curriculum, and connections to Boston’s world-class hospitals and research labs.

“Boston College and the city of Boston—one of the world’s most vibrant and sought-after health care ecosystems, with cuttingedge research and innovation in clinical care—provide the ideal environment for excellence.”

—CSON Dean Katherine Gregory

photo by lee pellegrini

“Excellence in undergraduate nursing education requires scientific rigor embedded in the liberal arts,” said Gregory. “It also requires depth and breadth of clinical education and experiences. Boston College and the city of Boston—one of the world’s most vibrant and sought-after health care

ecosystems, with cutting-edge research and innovation in clinical care—provide the ideal environment for excellence.”

CSON community members say the ranking validates what they have long known—that the school, despite its small size, has the teaching and research prowess to warrant its standing among the nation’s best nursing programs. But it is the student experience above all, they say, that makes the school distinctive.

“Embedding our nursing ‘training’ in a liberal arts education and being very intentional about the formation of our students is critically important to our success,” said CSON Professor of the Practice Colleen Simonelli, associate dean of student services.

“There is an art and a science to nursing, so even the way we lay out the curriculum with both the foundation of science and math and the humanities core in the first year sets the stage for that duality.

Continued on page 5

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Chronicle

October 26, 2023

Around Campus

Can the World Solve Its Plastic Pollution Problem? Panelists Discuss.

A United Nations-driven effort to end plastic pollution was the topic of an October 16 panel discussion held at the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society.

Sponsored by the institute and Boston College’s Global Observatory on Planetary Health, the event featured public policy, health, and marine experts, who discussed the recent UN resolution that would forge an international legally binding agreement by the end of 2024.

The panel was part of BC’s United Nations Conference of Parties (BC@UNCOP) program, which is managed and funded through the Schiller Institute. BC is an official Observer Organization for the UN’s Climate Change Conference (COP); students and faculty attended COP26 and COP27.

The UN resolution, unanimously endorsed by all 173 members of the United Nations Environment Assembly in March

2022, will address the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal. It also established an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) tasked with drafting and ratifying the treaty.

The discussion, moderated by BC Law Professor and Dean’s Distinguished Scholar David A. Wirth, an international environmental law expert, featured panelists Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., director of BC’s Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good and the Global Observatory on Planetary Health; Northeastern University Professor of Public Policy Maria Ivanova, director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs; Joshua Lincoln, senior fellow at the Centre for International Law and Governance at Tufts University; and Hauke L. Kite-Powell, a research specialist at the Marine Policy Center of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Snapshot

Welles Crowther Red Bandanna 5k

photo by frank curran

“Plastic is the signature material of our age. It has contributed to improvements in human health, extensions in longevity, and growth of the global economy,” said Landrigan. “It is now clear, though, that plastic has a dark side. The benefits provided by plastics have come at a great cost to human health, the environment, and the economy.”

Landrigan and Wirth were members of a commission that published a report in March offering science-based recommendations designed to support the development of the treaty. Also involved were Vice Provost for Research and Academic Planning Thomas C. Chiles, the DeLuca Chair in Biology; Walsh Professor of Bioethics and Theology Chair Andrea Vicini, S.J.; Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jia Niu; and six Boston College undergraduates.

“Plastic pollution is a global threat,” said Landrigan, who chaired the commission.

“It has grown insidiously while the focus has been on climate, and because plastic is persistent, and less than 10 percent is recycled, nearly six billion tons now pollute the planet. This waste contains more than 10,500 chemicals incorporated into plastic, including carcinogens, neurotoxicants, endocrine disruptors, and many others of unknown toxicity.”

Kite-Powell said that while estimates of plastics in the world’s oceans have been revised downward recently, the impact of microplastics on marine mammals, fish,

and birds—all of which rely on the ocean and other aquatic ecosystems for their existence—remains a major concern.

Ivanova, who called attention to the macro problem of plastic pollution, noted that Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order this fall making Massachusetts the first state to ban the purchase of single-use plastic bottles by state agencies.

“If there is existing, local, state, or national legislation and regulation, a country is more likely to join an international treaty,” she said.

Lincoln said that while progress has been heartening, the treaty “doesn’t amount to a hill of beans unless you can finance it.” He added that he and his colleagues had developed a proposal for direct taxation of the companies that produce primary polymers. “It probably won’t make it through, but it’s an interesting notion.”

Panelists agreed that all eyes will be on the next INC meeting—its third—in Nairobi November 13-19.

“The treaty’s overarching goals should be to protect health, safeguard human rights, and preserve the earth, our common home,” said Landrigan. “A global, mandatory cap on plastic production will be essential to achieving these objectives; it should be a core provision of the treaty.

The great power of a production cap is that it is primary prevention; it reduces pollution at its source.”

—Phil Gloudemans

BC Hosts AJCU Chief Academic Officers

The 19th annual Welles Remy Crowther Red Bandanna 5k took place on Saturday, as Boston College students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends gathered to celebrate the memory of 9/11 hero Welles Crowther ’99. Above, Crowther’s mother Alison greeted a group of runners on Linden Lane. For more about Welles Crowther, see www.crowthertrust.org.

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Jack Dunn

SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Patricia Delaney EDITOR

Sean Smith

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Earlier this month, Boston College hosted a meeting of senior administrators from the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), one of the world’s leading conferences of Jesuit higher education institutions.

BC was the setting for the AJCU Chief Academic Officers (CAO) Council, which took place October 12-14. Comprised of chief academic officers and provosts at the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States and Belize, the CAO Council meets twice a year at an AJCU member institution to discuss leadership, management, and organizational issues in academic affairs.

Among the topics of discussion at the meeting were the recent violence in the Middle East, the Supreme Court’s rulings about race and college admissions, genera-

Phil Gloudemans Ed Hayward Audrey Loyack Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan

Chronicle

PHOTOGRAPHERS

www.bc.edu/bcnews chronicle@bc.edu

Caitlin Cunningham Lee Pellegrini

tive artificial intelligence, Laudato Si’, and prison education programs.

“Having attended our annual gathering over the past decade, it was an honor to welcome 22 colleagues from around the AJCU to Boston College,” said Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley.

“Our time together focused on the many challenges facing higher education, and reminded each of us of the great resources we have across our network.”

The council is one of more than 40 networks sponsored by AJCU that provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, information, and best practices; support the professional development of their members; and foster cross-institutional collaboration.

Others include the Mission and Identity Council, Arts and Sciences Deans, and Chief Student Affairs Officers.

—University Communications

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Chronicle

October 26, 2023

Irie to Develop Tool for Assessing Public Health Programs

BY JASON KORNWITZ SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

Boston College School of Social Work Assistant Professor Whitney Irie has received a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop a research tool to assess the equitability of public health programs.

The Health Equitability Assessment and Readiness Tool (HEART)—a questionnaire that will prioritize user experience—will help public health professionals pinpoint ways to improve programs that aim to increase opportunities for everyone to live healthy lives, according to Irie, who joined the BCSSW faculty in 2022. Her research situates health disparities as a consequence of social and structural practices driven by systems of oppression rather than individual behavior.

“My hope is that organizations use this tool to prove to funders that they should receive support for their programming,” said Irie. “I really believe the tool could help kickstart some structural change.”

Irie came up with the idea for HEART in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which spurred funding organizations to invest more money in programs that aimed to promote health equity. As public health professionals started to create new programs with their new funding, she realized that there was no mechanism in place to measure their success.

“We assume that organizations have what it takes to deliver on their promise of creating equitable outcomes for the communities they serve, but there’s nothing in place right now to ensure that’s the case,” said Irie, whose primary research goal is to improve, promote, and protect the sexual and reproductive health of Black women in the United States. “The HEART will empower these organizations to assess what it

Boston College School of Social Work Assistant Professor Whitney Irie: “We assume that organizations have what it takes to deliver on their promise of creating equitable outcomes for the communities they serve, but there’s nothing in place right now to ensure that’s the case.” photo by taylor morales

would take for them to improve the health and well-being of historically marginalized groups.”

Irie will develop the questionnaire using insights from doctors, patients, public health professionals, and other stakeholders, all of whom will respond to the same prompt: “What does it take to create a program that produces equity?”

“We’re hoping to sample a diverse range of public health service providers and beneficiaries in order to get conceptual insight into what they think it takes for a program to have an impact on health equity,” she said. “I would like for it to over-represent people who are not likely to be invited into these spaces because they are more than likely the ones who could benefit from the outcomes of a tool like this the most.”

Irie, who compares this part of the project to a “big group interview,” will catego-

rize responses into different domains and create questions related to each area. One set of questions could focus on how closely employees reflect the demographics of the people they serve; another set might explore programs’ communication strategies, with an emphasis on the language they use to promote their services.

Public health organizations that complete the questionnaire will receive a score in each domain, helping them identify what they need to improve to make their programs more equitable.

Irie’s project is funded by a Director’s Pioneer Award from the National Institutes of Health, a highly selective honor that supports exceptionally creative scientists who are pursuing novel ideas outside their current research program. The award, established in 2004, supports outside-thebox thinkers pioneering new approaches to

major challenges in biomedical, social science, and behavioral research.

She plans to design the HEART with consultation from Larry Ludlow, former chair of the Department of Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. While the look and feel of the questionnaire is to be determined, Irie said she wants to make it easy to use, and even fun—perhaps mobile-friendly, drawing in participants with interesting vignettes and a colorful interface.

“A lot of innovations sit on the shelf because the people who created them don’t think about the user experience. But the work means nothing if the people who could benefit from it don’t enjoy engaging in it.”

Irie hopes to pilot test the HEART with five public health organizations. Each organization would receive a $20,000 microgrant to support a program that aims to help end the HIV epidemic, with the stipulation that the organization use the tool at various stages of the program.

“We want to learn how the organizations used the tool, whether or not it made sense for them, and what their user experience was like,” said Irie.

After analyzing the questionnaire’s usability and feasibility, Irie plans to apply for more funding to expand the scope of the study. In addition to creating a toolkit with strategy packages to help public health organizations improve the equitability of their programs, she seeks to scrutinize the efficacy of the strategy packs to see which ones had the most positive impact.

“I want to push my research program forward. I want to encourage and agitate systems a little bit in a meaningful way to improve engagement, increase education, and ultimately empower these organizations.”

Jason Kornwitz is a senior writer/editor in the BC School of Social Work

Global Public Health Expert to Give Fall Pinnacle Lecture Vanessa Kerry, M.D., a leading global public health expert, physician, and CEO of Seed Global Health, will deliver the Connell School of Nursing’s fall Pinnacle Lecture on November 1 at 5 p.m. in the Yawkey Center Murray Room.

As the Dr. Maureen P. McCausland Pinnacle Keynote Speaker, Dr. Kerry will present “From Pandemic Preparedness to Climate Change Resiliency, the Solutions Lie with Our Health Care Professionals.”

Each semester, the Connell School brings a recognized leader to campus to speak on an issue at the forefront of health care. Dr. Kerry’s lecture is free and open to all Boston College students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as preceptors and practitioners.

This semester’s Pinnacle event will also celebrate the launch of the new Global Public Health and the Common Good undergraduate major, administered by the

Seed Global Health CEO Vanessa Kerry, M.D., will be the featured speaker at the November 1 Pinnacle Lecture. photo by aram boghosian

Connell School in partnership with the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society. CSON Dean Katherine Gregory and Professor of Biology Philip Landrigan, M.D., the Global Public Health program’s founding director, will offer remarks.

A critical care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Kerry serves as the associate director of partnerships and global initiatives at the MGH Center for Global Health. She directs the Global Public Policy and Social Change program at Harvard Medical School where she has focused on links between security and health.

She is co-founder and CEO of Seed Global Health, a nonprofit organization focused on health systems strengthening and transformation through long-term investments and training of the health workforce. Under her leadership, Seed has helped educate more than 34,000 doctors, nurses, and midwives in seven countries, helping to

improve health care for more than 73 million people.

Earlier this year, the World Health Organization appointed Dr. Kerry as the first-ever Director-General Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health. In that role, she plays a pivotal part in amplifying WHO’s climate and health messaging and undertakes high-level advocacy. A graduate of Harvard Medical School and the London School of Economics and Political Science, she is known for her writings and talks about the effects of climate change on human health and health systems and the need to integrate a health-centered response into climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

Dr. Kerry’s Pinnacle Lecture will be followed by an audience Q&A. To register for the event, or learn more about the Pinnacle Lecture Series, visit www.bc.edu/pinnacle.

—University Communications

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Chronicle

October 26, 2023

Economist Will Study State of U.S. Port Infrastructure

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

Felter Family Associate Professor of Economics Theodore Papageorgiou and colleagues have been awarded a three-year, $700,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study the infrastructure of the nation’s ports, their impact on supply chains, and how best to plan for an investment in facilities that receive the United States’ share of shipping traffic—which transports approximately 80 percent of all global trade.

“We are very excited to receive this funding,” Papageorgiou said. “It allows us to push forward with this project and work harder and obtain some exciting data. We are also gratified to see our work recognized by the National Science Foundation.

It is a very competitive process, so we are thrilled to be selected for NSF funding.”

Papageorgiou will work with two other economists, Harvard University’s Myrto Kalouptsidi and New York University’s Giulia Brancaccio. The trio’s prior research into the international shipping industry earned them last year’s Frisch Medal of the Econometric Society, regarded as one of the premier prizes in economics scholarship.

“This research is a continuation of the work that we have done on international shipping and how it shapes global trade,” Papageorgiou said. “This has to do with the role of ports in the U.S., so it is closely

relatable.”

Earlier, the economists studied the role of the transportation sector in shaping international trade, and constructed a model that showcases previously overlooked costs.

In part, they want to look at the pandemic-era supply chain shocks that left retailers and consumers short on goods.

Delays were often illustrated by images of cargo ships moored while awaiting facilities and personnel to unload their contents.

“We are trying to answer three primary questions,” Papageorgiou said. “In an uncertain economic environment, what are the returns to investing in transportation infrastructure? How should funding be coordinated and spent? What are the drivers of port performance and why are ports so prone to disruption?”

The team will collect a range of data sets on trade, shipping, and ports and analyze that information using a state-of-the-art modeling framework for port technology and demand for port services, he said.

The broad data profile ranges from geography and infrastructure—such as berths and cranes—to demand for port services and time delays bringing vessels to port to discharge cargo. Global shipping annually transports approximately 80 percent of global goods and materials adding up to 11 million tons valued at $20 trillion, and the team will focus on vessels known as “bulkers” that account for nearly half of global ship transport as they ferry raw materials like grain, steel, fertilizer, and oil, Papageor-

Felter Family Associate Professor of Economics Theodore Papageorgiou’s research will be supported by a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation. photo by caitlin cunningham

giou said. The team plans to draw insights from queuing theory to better detail the costs associated with delays, or “time at port.” Ultimately, the research should highlight where to target infrastructure improvements.

The team envisions their findings being used by policymakers to determine how best to upgrade the nation’s top 50 ports to

improve performance and lessen the impact of economic and supply shocks, he said.

“Port infrastructure acts as insurance against these severe economic shocks,” Papageorgiou said. “When you have a very high demand for port services, you need to have the infrastructure to meet that demand. That capacity can serve as insurance against demand shocks. How we prioritize infrastructure improvements depends on the frequency of these shocks and how much we want to ensure against a repeat of what happened two years ago.”

The award is part of $7.5 million in NSF-funded projects exploring local and national infrastructure through the Strengthening American Infrastructure (SAI) program, which incorporates scientific insights about human behavior and social dynamics to better design, develop, rehabilitate, and maintain strong and effective American infrastructure, according to the NSF. “The SAI program stimulates humancentered research that not only improves people’s lives but also provides a strong foundation for socioeconomic vitality and broad quality of life improvement,” said SAI Program Manager Steven Breckler in a news release. “SAI focuses on how knowledge of human reasoning and decision-making, governance, and social and cultural processes enable the building and maintenance of effective infrastructure that improves lives and society and builds on advances in technology and engineering.”

1994 Alumnus Beaurpere to Speak at Veterans Remembrance

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

United States Army Brigadier General Guillaume N. Beaurpere ’94, the commanding general of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, will deliver the keynote remarks at the University’s 23rd annual Veterans Remembrance Ceremony on November 10, at 11 a.m. on the Burns Library Lawn.

The remembrance ceremony—preceded by a 9:30 a.m. Veterans Mass in St. Mary’s Chapel—includes a reading of the names of the 211 Boston College alumni veterans killed during the nation’s wars dating back to World War I, and takes place just steps from the Boston College Veterans Memorial, where those names are inscribed.

Based at Fort Liberty, NC, Beaurpere leads a center that selects and trains all Army Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and Psychological Operations soldiers and daily enrolls approximately 3,100 students in a range of courses and programs, from those for early-career service members to long-time officers and non-commissioned officers.

Beaurpere was previously the commanding general for operations of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. His other leadership positions included deputy commanding general for support of the 4th Infantry Division, and commanding

Brigadier General Guillaume N. Beaurpere ’94

general of the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, the international military intervention against the Islamic State.

“Looking upon the Boston College Veterans Memorial, we are reminded of the meaning and profound importance of Veterans Day for our community,” said Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations and University Commencement Director Leah M. Spencer. “We are honored to have Brigadier General Beaurpere with us as our keynote speaker during one of our Alumni Association’s most beloved and cherished

BC traditions.

“Brigadier General Beaurpere’s extraordinary career and service to our country both epitomize and exemplify the Jesuit value of being a man and woman for others,” she added.

The ceremony is significant for the approximately 150 student veterans currently enrolled at BC and more than 80 employees who served in the armed forces, said Assistant Director for Veteran Programs and Services Mike Lorenz.

“This tradition at Boston College is essential to honor the sacrifice that so many members of our community have made for this country,” said Lorenz, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. “Joining the military is an act of service for the greater good, something that can resonate at a Jesuit institution. It’s always moving to see so many people at this event each year, and it reminds the veterans in attendance that there is support and acknowledgement of their service.”

This year, Lorenz has been working on helping veterans and non-veterans connect, particularly through improved communication. In May, he hosted the first workshop for a new initiative called “BC Battle Buddies,” a reference to the military term for someone who is there to help a soldier both on and off the battlefield.

Lorenz wants the program to give participants “a baseline understanding about

how to engage with the military-connected community, and maximize the capacity of Boston College to cultivate a militaryinclusive community.”

The program covers military culture, examines stereotypes and challenges faced by veterans, reviews current data and trends, and offers practical steps and actions individuals can take to create a more militaryinclusive environment on campus.

Earlier this month, Lorenz brought Maine-based writer and former U.S. Army Green Beret Ryan Stovall to campus to read from his first book, Black Snowflakes Smothering a Torch: How to Talk to Your Veteran—A Primer, a collection of poetry that explores his service and his return to civilian life. Stovall discussed how soldiers, veterans, and those without military experience can better communicate with each other.

In particular, Lorenz said Stovall tries to help bridge the “conversation gap” between veterans and non-veterans around PTSD. “It was a very moving event, talking about the lesser-discussed aspects of wartime veterans after they return from service,” Lorenz said. “Ryan touched on survivors’ guilt, the ‘what-ifs’ of battle, and shared emotional stories of battle, recovery, and moving forward.”

For more information on Boston College veteran services and programs, see bc.edu/ veterans

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Chronicle

October 26, 2023

Undergraduate Survey Continued from page 1

In response to questions regarding their academic experience, 90 percent of students reported that they were often or very often intellectually challenged in their courses, and 71 percent often or very often felt that their contributions were valued in class. While students rated their overall academic experience positively and responded that they were intellectually engaged, 91 percent of students agreed that BC is a competitive environment with many students experiencing some degree of academic and social pressures.

In addition, 73 percent of students surveyed agreed that they developed a stronger sense of purpose as a BC student and 91 percent said they had taken time during the week for reflection. More than half reported that they had participated in mission- or faith-based activities while at Boston College, and 80 percent said they had participated in volunteer work or community service.

Regarding student services, the majority of students reported being satisfied or very satisfied with services and programs in advising, extracurricular and career opportunities, health, counseling, and financial aid services. Students’ suggested areas for improvement included dining—with a particular desire to see lower meal costs and meal plan balance transfers from semester to semester—and housing, with requests for an improved housing lottery system and four years of guaranteed on-campus

housing for all undergraduate students.

According to the survey, 95 percent of students agree or strongly agree that diversity is important to them, with 78 percent agreeing that their courses included diverse perspectives, and 61 percent agreeing that the BC community welcomes open discussions about issues of difference. Moreover, 64 percent of students were satisfied with the availability of programming and activities around diversity and inclusion on campus.

While BC students overall had a positive view of the BC campus environment, ratings were lower among students who identified as Black or African American and among students with high financial need.

Overall, student responses in the 2022 Student Experience Survey showed improvements from 2018 in diverse perspectives in courses and satisfaction with the availability of programming and activities around diversity and inclusion on campus, but lower rates of satisfaction with health services and food options in campus dining facilities.

“We have seen remarkable consistency in the results from the 2018 to the 2022 administration of the Student Experience Survey, and we are grateful to our students who participated because these data help us understand the student experience and act on areas of improvement,” said Vice President for Institutional Research and Planning Mara Hermano.

“While overall positive ratings for BC

Overall, student responses showed improvements from 2018 in diverse perspectives in courses and satisfaction with the availability of programming and activities around diversity and inclusion on campus, but lower rates of satisfaction with health services and food options in campus dining facilities. photo by caitlin cunningham

being welcoming, safe, and having a strong sense of community increased since 2018, students who identified as AHANA or having high financial need reported having less favorable experiences in these aspects of the BC environment, which means we have more work to do.”

Vice President for Student Affairs Shawna Cooper Whitehead said the survey will provide a better understanding of the experience and the challenges students face on campus and will enable her staff to focus their efforts in the most productive manner possible.

“Student Affairs is pleased with the over-

Reason for CSON Success?

It’s ‘the BC Difference’ Continued from page 1

In addition to the rigorous education, our tradition of making sure that CSON students are deeply a part of the broader BC community and involved in student organizations, international study, intramural athletics, and other extracurricular activities all contribute to their growth and success as students.”

Barry Family/Goldman Sachs Endowed Professor Christopher S. Lee said the faculty’s commitment to students in and out of the classroom is a central component of the school’s success.

“Being a master teacher in the classroom or clinical setting is half the job in higher education,” said Lee. “Equally important to us at the Connell School of Nursing are the personalized mentoring, coaching, and sponsorship of students that can make a real and enduring difference in both student formation and professional success.”

BC senior Brian Harrington, who leads a first-year student seminar, said he and his fellow nursing students have been the beneficiaries of the faculty’s commitment to its students across all four years, and the mentorship that takes place among fellow students.

“From the first day, I have felt completely supported by faculty and staff, who take a genuine interest in students and provide them with the guidance and assistance

they need to succeed,” said Harrington.

“CSON is a very caring and intimate program. Having unwavering faculty support, the mentorship of older students, and career-focused faculty advising is rewarding and reflective of the personal touch that distinguishes the school.”

Harrington’s sentiment is shared by fellow students.

“As a first-generation college student and a McNair Scholar, the support I have received from CSON faculty since the first day I stepped on campus is something that I know I would not have found at other schools,” said senior Lesley Carranza Bonilla. “Through teaching, mentoring, and special programs such as international clinical opportunities, the Connell School creates nurses who are excited to join the field, but who also have a realistic and holistic understanding of the health disparities that exist in the world and a desire to address them.”

Added senior Emma Goggins, “It is so rewarding to be taught by faculty who are great at what they do and who care so much about their students. I am grateful every day that I chose to study nursing in the Connell School. It is the best decision I have ever made.”

Overall, Duke University was the topranked nursing school in the US News survey, followed by the University of Penn-

all positive experiences of students at BC; however, we plan to use this information to be sure that all students are seen, heard, and well served, including those who have been historically marginalized,” said Cooper Whitehead. “As we launch our strategic plan in Student Affairs, we will continue to collaborate with Academic Affairs and University Mission and Ministry to support the holistic, formational education for which BC remains a national leader, including efforts to enhance a sense of belonging and priorities around the health and wellness of all of our students.”

—University Communications

Barry Family/Goldman Sachs Endowed Professor Christopher S. Lee says the “personalized mentoring, coaching, and sponsorship of students can make a real and enduring difference in both student formation and professional success.”

photo by lee pellegrini

sylvania, Emory University, Ohio State University, University of Iowa, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Michigan, and the University of Washington. Boston College was tied for 10th with several schools, including Case Western Reserve and New York University, and retained its place as the top-ranked nursing school in New England and among Jesuit and Catholic schools nationwide.

“The U.S. health care system is deeply flawed, and at Boston College we seek to empower our students to be the change agents we need,” said Simonelli.

“BC’s commitment to educating a diverse student body with a deep sense of community and belonging is key to our success. Most importantly, engaging in

reflective practice, and teaching the Jesuit ideals of being attentive, reflective, and loving prepares our students to truly meet their patients where they are and to advocate for them with keen powers of observation and a focus on optimizing health.”

“Our undergraduate students are well positioned for success not only during their time on campus and as newly licensed nurses, but over the trajectory of their careers, as a result of the clinical, research, and service-learning opportunities they have as BC nurses,” said Gregory.

“Furthermore, they are successful in launching and sustaining themselves within the nursing profession and the demands of the health care environment as a result of their liberal arts education.

That is the BC difference.”

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Chronicle

October 26, 2023

Q&A: Harvey Egan, S.J.

Reading, Writing, Faith, and Being an Older ‘S.J.’ At age 86, Harvey D. Egan, S.J., may be retired from classroom teaching, but he remains ever the educator. A professor emeritus, Fr. Egan taught in the Boston College Theology Department for 35 years, specializing in Christian mysticism, Catholic theology, and the works of renowned theologian Karl Rahner, S.J. One of the world’s leading experts on Christian mysticism, Fr. Egan is the author or co-author of numerous books, notably Christian Mysticism: The Future of a Tradition; Karl Rahner: Mystic of Everyday Life; An Anthology of Christian Mysticism; Soundings in the Christian Mystical Tradition; Homilies in a New Key; Ignatius Loyola the Mystic; Paul: Christianity’s Premier Apostolic Mystic, and Karl Rahner’s Mystical Theology and Christology. He has published many scholarly articles and book chapters and translated the writings of Fr. Rahner. He also has produced several multimedia programs based on his homilies and teachings on mysticism, St. Ignatius, Fr. Rahner, Catholic theology, and eschatology. On the occasion of the publication of his newest book, Rethinking Catholic Theology: From the Mystery of Existence to the New Creation, Fr. Egan answered some questions from Kathleen Sullivan of the Chronicle. (Note: The following has been lightly edited.)

Your new book, Rethinking Catholic Theology, seeks to provide readers with an informed understanding of the central truths of the Catholic/Christian tradition. What specifically do you want

How has the Catholic faith changed since Vatican II? How has it remained the same?

Vatican II especially changed the horizon of understanding of Catholic faithrealities. An analogy: getting new eyeglasses makes the same look different. I would also maintain that Vatican II moved from a somewhat individualistic and legalistic understanding of the truths of the faith to a more personalistic and intrinsic view.

People ask: “Who am I? Where did we come from? Where are we going? What is the meaning of life?” Christianity answers these questions through light given by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Messiah. The “transformed physicality” of the risen body must be emphasized.

Rethinking Catholic Theology is organized in three parts: Christ and the

Gaelic Roots Updates Fall Schedule The Boston College Gaelic Roots series has rescheduled the concert featuring renowned Irish fiddler Frankie Gavin and pianist Catherine McHugh postponed from earlier this semester, and will hold the event on November 2.

Gaelic Roots also recently made an addition to its fall schedule: a workshop and concert by Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde, a highly regarded singer in the sean-nós (“old style”) singing tradition of Ireland, on November 30.

A co-founder of iconic Irish group De Dannan, Gavin is known for the power and artistry of his playing (he holds the Guinness Book of World Records title as “the fastest fiddle player”), but also his respect for and interest in the different routes Irish traditional music has taken down through time, notably in 1920s America. His collaborations span all along the musical spectrum, including with Stéphane Grappelli, Yehudi Menuhin, the Rolling Stones, and Elvis Costello. McHugh, a multiple-time AllIreland music champion, has drawn on some of the foundational Irish pianists like Charlie Lennon and Carl Hession to develop an approach that goes well beyond simply playing rhythm.

Mac Giolla Bhríde, a native of the northwest Gaelic-speaking region in County Donegal, has brought a fresh perspective to sean-nós, which has traditionally featured songs in Gaelic performed a cappella with

Indian and Asian cuisine, however, are my favorites.

readers to understand?

The book intends to convey an understanding of Catholicism’s long Tradition— note the capital “T”—grounded in Scripture, the Church Fathers, the medieval and Reformation period, and the current state of theology. It focuses on significant theological themes, but in the context of the human person as an individual, a social, and a cosmic being. Christianity is not an ideology but the answer to what and who we are as human beings—an answer found in the person of the crucified and risen Jesus Messiah.

Gaelic singer Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde

distinctive ornamentation, usually by a solo singer. He founded a four-part choir of seannós singers, Cór Thaobh an Leithid, which has presented newly composed pieces, as well as a set of songs arranged for choir and string quintet by Mac Giolla Bhríde, in live appearances. Mac Giolla Bhríde’s recordings—one of which comprises poems and rhymes for children written by his mother—have included unusual instrumentation, such as pedal steel guitar, clarinet and harmonium, alongside his own accordion and uilleann pipes.

Also on the fall Gaelic Roots line-up is a November 9 concert with acclaimed Irish fiddler Kevin Burke.

All events take place at 6:30 p.m. in Connolly House (300 Hammond Street). See the calendar at the BC Irish Studies home page, bc.edu/irish.

—Sean Smith

photo by lee pellegrini

Mystery of Existence; Christian Life and Mission; and The Afterlife. Why did you choose this approach?

My first-semester undergraduate courses always began by emphasizing the mystery of existence. Because most people—and not only students—see Christianity as simply another ideology, I emphasized that it is the person of the crucified and risen Jesus Messiah and his mystical Body. Thus, the questions raised in the mystery segment are answered throughout the first part and emphasize how the person of the crucified and risen Christ is an answer that must be lived—thus, part two. Because death and the afterlife are aspects of human existence, I wrote part three mainly to highlight misunderstood realities (purgatory, hell, judgment, heaven, for example) but also to underscore that the new creation, not heaven, is our final destiny because Christ is the seed of the new creation and because the book of Revelation speaks of the new heaven and the new Earth where God will be all and in all.

This book is more than 600 pages.

What drives you to scholarly productivity at this level?

I owe most of my drive to my genes, psychological makeup, temperament—and the inspiration of scholars whose courses I attended and/or their books I have read.

Undergraduate and graduate teaching— and my pastoral work, especially preparing homilies—likewise stimulates me. BC’s Jesuit community also creates a climate that encourages scholarship.

In addition to writing and preaching, how do you like to spend your time?

I enjoy photography, enhancing photos taken over the years, and making collages for the Jesuits who say the Friday evening community Mass. Movies on Amazon and Netflix relax me. I walk every day and work out at a gym in Watertown four times a week. I love to cook, but do much less now. Still, I enjoy the YouTube videos of the Pasta Queen, Vincenzo’s Plate, Pasquale Sciarappea, and Jacques Pépin.

Besides Karl Rahner, S.J., who directed your doctoral dissertation, which other scholars or Church figures have influenced you and your work?

My Jesuit training plunged me into the mysticism and thinking of Ignatius of Loyola. We read Thomas Aquinas in the original Latin and some of the Church Fathers, especially Augustine. What a gift. I had the great theologian Avery Dulles, the world class exegete Joseph Fitzmyer, and the renowned John C. Murray as professors. Henri de Lubac and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin must also be mentioned. Matthias Scheeben introduced me to the world of the Greek and Byzantine Fathers. At the university in Münster, I was exposed to outstanding scholars, such as Johannes Metz, Walter Kasper, and on occasion, Josef Ratzinger [later Pope Benedict XVI].

The great philosopher-theologian Bernard Lonergan lived almost right across from me. I read the works of many of the Christian mystics, buttressed by the tomes of Bernard McGinn, the world’s leading scholar of the western mystical tradition.

A graduate student introduced me to the biblical studies of N. T. Wright who had/ has an enormous impact on my theological and pastoral life, as did the scholarship of Raymond Brown and Gerhard Lohfink.

Also, the scholarly biblical-theological works of Larry Hurtado and Richard Bauckham. Perhaps the most intriguing theological book I read in the past six years was Fleming Rutledge’s on the crucifixion.

Toss in many of lesser known but significant scholars—I have been treated to a veritable philosophical-theological “Babette’s Feast.”

You have been a Jesuit for more than 60 years and a part of the Boston College Jesuit community since 1975. In fact, among the current BC Jesuit population, you have been on campus the longest. Do you ever share advice or your wisdom with newer Jesuits? What have you learned from the younger Jesuits?

The Boston College Jesuit Community has blessed me in many ways. As the older “S.J.”s imparted their wisdom to me by their presence, their words, and their actions, I know that I do that for the younger S.J.s. Meals with Jesuits means being immersed in conversations from the sublime to the ridiculous. The BC community attracts Jesuits from India, Africa, China, Malaysia, Korea, Europe, and Australia.

Sharing occurs on many levels. I have done copy editing for many Jesuits whose English was not their first language. The younger Jesuits keep me young, underscore that there are many ways to be a Jesuit, and that the Jesuit Order has a future in these, talented, dedicated, holy young men.

And one of the joys of being a Boston College Jesuit flows from not only teaching students, but also being asked to do their weddings, baptize their children, and do their parents’ funeral Masses.

John Mahoney Wins NACAC Excellence in Education Award Retired Vice Provost for Enrollment Management John Mahoney was presented with the Joyce E. Smith Excellence in Education Award from the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) earlier this fall.

The award honors individuals who have improved the field of education and/or the way students are served. Among other criteria, candidates are judged on their national prominence in the political or education arena; their influence over public opinion in matters related to education; and their championing of initiatives that advocate for students and access to education.

Mahoney, who retired at the end of the last academic year, joined the Office of Undergraduate Admission in 1984 as assistant (later associate) director. He was appointed as director of undergraduate admission in 1990; in 2018, he became dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid and later that year was appointed as vice provost for enrollment management. He was widely hailed as a key architect for Boston College’s unprecedented success in undergraduate admission and enrollment during the past three decades.

A frequent speaker at national conferences, Mahoney—who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from BC—authored several articles on college admission. He received the John B. Muir Award in 2002

John Mahoney

BC in the Media Boston College faculty provided their expertise and insights for media coverage of the ongoing conflict precipitated by Hamas’ attack on Israel earlier this month.

Prof. Maxim D. Shrayer, chair of Eastern, Slavic, and German Studies and an English Department faculty member, published a commentary in Jewish Journal. Assoc.

Prof. Matt Sienkiewicz (Communication) talked about the global implications of the conflict in an interview with CBS Boston, and BC School of Social Work Salem Professor in Global Practice Theresa Betancourt was interviewed by NPR about the effect on children. BCSSW faculty member and Sister of Mercy Maryann Loughry, who worked in Gaza, talked with The Boston Globe about the need for essential services, especially for children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

photo by peter julian

for the best article in the Journal of College Admission and the Harry R. Carroll Award from the New England Association for College Admission Counseling in 2014 for distinguished service to the profession.

NACAC is an organization of more than 26,000 professionals from around the world dedicated to serving students as they make choices about pursuing postsecondary education, according to the association’s website.

—University Communications

Nota Bene Boston College Symphony Orchestra Director Anna Wittstruck has been selected for the American Prize in Conducting in the college/university orchestra division. The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts— the nation’s most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts—recognizes and rewards the best performing artists, directors, ensembles, and composers in the United States at professional, college/university, community, and high school levels, based on submitted recordings.

Wittstruck joined the Music Department faculty this fall as an associate professor of the practice, and succeeded John Finney as BC Symphony director.

She served for six years as assistant professor and director of orchestra in the School of Music at University of Puget Sound, and for two years as acting assistant professor and interim music director of the Stanford University Symphony Orchestra and Stanford Philharmonia. She has also directed the Federal Way Youth Symphonies, served on the faculty of

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October 26, 2023

the Sitka Fine Arts Camp in Alaska, and conducted concerts across the United States and in China, Mexico City, Havana, Prague, Vienna, and Berlin, among other places.

The American Evaluation Association (AEA) recently presented the Marcia Guttentag Promising New Evaluator Award to Emily F. Gates, an assistant professor at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development. The award honors a promising new evaluator during the first five years after advanced degree completion or within five years of entering the evaluation profession, and whose work is consistent with the AEA standards. Gates joined the Lynch School in 2018 and is a member of the Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment Department.

The AEA is a professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of evaluation as a profession. photos by caitlin cunningham and lee pellegrini

The collaborative initiative designed to grow the next generation of American Hispanic Catholic pastoral leaders, which is co-led by Assoc. Prof. Hosffman Ospino (STM), was highlighted by OSV News via Catholic Review. Ospino also contributed a piece to Angelus on the Hispanic presence in the American Catholic Church.

Comments by Prof. R. Michael Cassidy (Law) on cases where politics and police resistance undercut the authority of prosecutors were included in two pieces

by ProPublica.

Assoc. Prof. Scott Seider (LSOEHD), an applied developmental psychologist, discussed the theory of multiple intelligences with Reader’s Digest.

Forbes magazine cited an amicus brief cowritten by Boston College Law School Liberty Mutual Insurance Professor Pa-

tricia McCoy in the Supreme Court case challenging funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, the new book by Prof. Heather Cox Richardson (History) examining the long, intricate path to the fraught political state of affairs in America today, drew attention from numerous media outlets including the Boston Globe “Books” section, Washington Post, New Republic, Foreign Policy, Vanity Fair, WBUR’s “City Space,” NPR’s “On Point,” and The Nation’s “Start Making Sense” podcast. Democracy Awakening also recently made the top 10 in The New York Times “Best Sellers” list for combined print and e-book nonfiction.

In an interview with National Catholic Reporter, Prof. Thomas Groome (STM) discussed a place for the Catholic Church in a postmodern world amidst changing demographic forces.

Assoc. Prof. of the Practice Matt Rutledge (Economics), a fellow at the Center for Retirement Research, discussed average United States retirement savings and the challenges of saving for retirement in a pair of Q&As with Money Geek.

Comments by Lynch School of Education and Human Development student Lorena Muñoz, who aspires to be an elementary school teacher, led a Boston 25 News story on the need to increase the number of Latino educators in the state and nationally. The piece highlighted research by, and included interviews with, Roche Center for Catholic Education Executive Director Melodie Wyttenbach and Assoc.

Prof. Hosffman Ospino (STM).

Jobs The following are among the recent positions posted by the Department of Human Resources. For more information on employment opportunities at Boston College, see www.bc.edu/jobs or scan the QR code at right.

Assistant Director, Corporate Sponsorships Assistant/Associate Leadership Giving

Director,

Parent

Physician/Assistant Director, Sports Medicine Conservation & Preservation Manager Dining Services Assistant Manager Food Service Worker Director of Faculty Services and Publication Support Medical Assistant, University Health Services Assistant Director, Data Management Life Skills Coordinator

Public Safety Dispatcher Staff Psychologist or Staff Social Worker/Clinician Design & Prototyping Manager Staff Assistant, Lynch School of Education and Human Development Senior Assistant Director, Financial Aid Special Education Teacher Speech & Language Pathology Assistant Assistant or Associate Director, Organizational Effectiveness Senior Construction Manager

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Chronicle

October 26, 2023

For Burns Scholar, Water and Romanticism Mix

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

Technically, Claire Connolly may be a “visiting scholar” at Boston College, but she already knows the place quite well.

The Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies for 2023-2024, Connolly spent 2002-2003 as a visiting associate professor at BC, and has spoken on campus several times over the years. She also collaborated with Associate Professor of English Marjorie Howes, a member of the BC Irish Studies faculty, as editor of the six-volume Irish Literature in Transition, 1700-2020.

“There is just a great community of scholars here, across the disciplines,” said Connolly, professor of modern English at University College Cork (UCC) and author of A Cultural History of the Irish Novel, 1790-1829, which won the American Conference for Irish Studies Donald J. Murphy Prize for Distinguished First Monograph.

“The students, undergraduate or graduate, are wonderful people to speak with, whether in the context of a class or one-onone. And then are the amazing resources of the Burns and O’Neill libraries. So I was very pleased and excited to have the opportunity to come to BC again for an entire academic year.”

A collaboration between the Center for Irish Programs and University Libraries, the Burns Scholar program brings outstanding academics, writers, journalists, librarians, and other notable figures to the University to teach courses, offer public lectures, and work with the resources of the Burns Library in their ongoing research, writing, and creative endeavors related to Irish history, art, and culture.

Connolly—a native of Clonmel in County Tipperary—will share insights from her unique perspective on 18th- and 19th-century Irish culture when she presents “Watery Romanticism: Crossing the Irish Sea with Keats,” the fall Burns Scholar Lecture, on December 6 at 5:30 p.m. in the Burns Library Thompson Room. The event, preceded by a 4:30 p.m. reception, is free and open to the public.

BC Scenes

Gearing Up for Halloween

The McMullen Museum of Art hosted another in its series of “Art After Dark” events on October 20, inviting students to enjoy Halloween-themed activities such as arts and crafts, games, and scary movies.

“Watery Romanticism” represents a confluence of two of Connolly’s scholarly pursuits. She has long researched and written about Romanticism, the artistic and intellectual movement that accentuated emotion and individualism, in large part through veneration of the past and the natural world—a response to the Age

migrant workers, students, and members of Parliament moved between the islands and across the British Empire along with books, letters, wine, food, weapons, and cattle.”

In recent years, Connolly has led the interdisciplinary environmental and public humanities projects “Deep Maps: West Cork Coastal Cultures” and “Ports, Past

Claire Connolly will present the Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies lecture on December 6. photo by caitlin cunningham

of Enlightenment and, in particular, the scientific interpretation of nature. Among its leading figures was the English poet John Keats, tragic author of works such as “Ode on a Grecian Urn” (“Beauty is truth, truth beauty—that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know”), whose travels in his short life included a walking tour of England’s Lake District and Scotland that involved a brief trip to Ireland.

Prior to beginning that odyssey, Keats became one of countless individuals to make the crossing between Scotland and Ireland via the Irish Sea. Such journeys were commonplace, even mundane, but also held great cultural significance for Ireland, notes Connolly.

“Seas and coasts were part of everyday Irish life in the Romantic era,” she explained. “Authors, soldiers, landlords,

and Present,” analyzing the extensive, often complex relationship over hundreds of years between Irish people and the coastal and marine areas they have inhabited, explored, utilized, and exploited. For her lecture, she will use findings from this work as a lens to analyze Keats’s Irish and Scottish letters and consider the limits imposed upon the creative imaginative by the teeming, dismal scenes of pre-famine Ireland.

“Keats had yet to write his most wellknown poems before the trip to Ireland, so it’s interesting to get a sense of what he encountered,” Connolly said. “He hadn’t really envisioned a ‘tour’; he just got on the ferry and was in Ireland. His writing from that time doesn’t have a tourist’s perspective: Among other things, he saw a rapidly developing Belfast, ravaged with disease, and was unimpressed: He remarked that

Belfast was more expensive than Covent Garden.”

Environmental humanities is a highly effective means by which to view Irish history and culture more comprehensively, said Connolly. “The late 18th and 19th century was a very intense period where the relationship between people, land, environment, along with justice, was intertwined in ways not always fully appreciated. As records indicate, there was certainly a legacy of extraction and exploitation—the colonial government seeking to ‘improve’ the land through draining bogs and harvesting seaweed, for instance—but also one of conservation and attention to biodiversity.

“So, how do we assess the impressions of a Romantic like Keats in the context of what scientific findings, official documentation, and other evidence tells us?

What might it say about Romanticism and its place in Irish history and culture, and about criticism of Romanticism, such as during the early years of the Irish Free State?”

Having grown up “at the bottom of a valley with no TV reception,” Connolly said, she was always a keen reader. She came of age in the 1980s, a period marked by the continuing turmoil of the Troubles but also referenda on abortion and divorce that finally led to some important societal changes in Ireland. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UCC, Connolly emigrated to Wales, earning a doctorate at Cardiff University and serving on its faculty. She returned to Ireland in 2012.

Connolly has edited or co-edited 10 books and authored dozens of book chapters and articles, and has been O’Brien Professor at Concordia University in Montreal and Parnell Fellow in Irish Studies at Magdalene College, Cambridge. Her affiliations include membership in the Royal Irish Academy, the board of the Irish Research Council and Council of the Royal Irish Academy, and the Cambridge Studies in Romanticism editorial board; she also is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

photos by frank curran