Boston College Chronicle

The Boston College

Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs october 3, 2013 VOL. 22 no. 3

•Homecoming reminder, page 2 •Alumni Association deans talks continue, page 2 •Psychology’s Veenema wins CAREER Award, page 3 •BC senior on surviving, fighting cancer, page 4

—Claudio Quintana ’16 Caitlin Cunningham

INSIDE

“I saw BC was growing as an entrepreneurial center, and I felt that being involved in its growth as an entrepreneurial and innovation hub was appealing.”

By Jack Dunn Director of News & Public Affairs

Budding BC Entrepreneur Is Named to .406 Ventures Program •A memorable Pops on the Heights, page 4 •LSOE’s Blustein on the psychology of work, page 5

•BC Law rolls out public interest program, page 5 •Fr. Neenan writes annual “Dean’s List,” page 7 •Stokes Hall wins architectural honor, page 7 •Coley studies housing impact on children, page 8 •Red Bandanna 5K set for Oct. 19, page 8 •Q&A with Gillihan on Dead Sea Scrolls, page 9 •A new look for the RecPlex, page 10

•Robsham Theater fall schedule, page 12

History’s Fleming Earns MacArthur ‘Genius Award’

By Jack Dunn Director of News & Public Affairs

Boston College sophomore and Presidential Scholar Claudio Quintana has been named to the .406 Ventures Student Fellows Program, a highly selective fellowship for successful student entrepreneurs from the nation’s top universities.

Quintana, an information systems and management and leadership major from Oregon, was selected for the fellowship based on his proven success as a student entrepreneur. In 2011 he founded A

New Origin, LLC, a start-up featuring sustainable lifestyle clothing and accessories. This summer, he founded Quabblejack.com, an online contemporary art gallery and limited edition print shop.

Through the fellowship, Quintana will now partake in a twoyear program that combines the academic entrepreneurial experiences offered through Boston College with the business-world skills and peer networks needed to build a successful company.

Created in 2009, the .406 Ventures Student Fellows Program provides an opportunity for entreContinued on page 7

Panel Focuses on Role of the Laity

By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

The Catholic Church must not only speak directly to past, present and future Catholics, but also listen to them, according to panelists who spoke at last Thursday’s Sesquicentennial event “Coworkers in the Vineyard: The Role of the Catholic Laity in the Life of Public Service and Scholarship.”

The panel discussion was part of a symposium, “The Legacy of Vatican II,” sponsored by the School of Theology and Ministry to mark the University’s 150th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of Vatican II. Other events

Continued on page 3

Professor and Chair of History Robin Fleming. (Photo provided)

throughout the day brought together distinguished scholars from around the world who have studied the landmark ecumenical council from theological, historical and cultural standpoints.

In the evening, a journalist, a change-agent nun, a former university president and a non-profit CEO joined School of Theology and Ministry Dean Mark Massa, SJ, and Professor of Theology and Religious Education Thomas Groome on the Robsham Theater stage for a wide-ranging discussion about the role faith has played in their work on behalf of social justice and where the Church and Continued on page 6

QUOTE:

Professor Robin Fleming, chair of the History Department and a faculty member at Boston College since 1989, has been named a 2013 MacArthur Fellow, the University’s first recipient.

Fleming, whose teaching and research areas of interest include early medieval Britain and material culture, was among 24 Americans honored with the so-called “Genius Awards” issued annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The MacArthur Fellowships are awarded to talented individuals in a variety of fields who have shown exceptional originality in and dedication to their creative pursuits. Fellows, who are nom-

inated anonymously by leaders within their respective disciplines, receive $625,000 stipends over five years.

“Obviously, although still stunned by the news, I am thrilled to receive this award,” said Fleming last week. “I am a member of such a great department at BC, one that is full of really good historians doing exceptionally interesting work. I hope that the MacArthur Fellowship brings attention to my colleagues, as well as our fabulous graduate and undergraduate students. I also hope that it puts the spotlight on the more interdisciplinary work in which many of us across the University are now engaged through the McMullen Museum of Art and the Institute for the Liberal Arts, among other places.

Economics No. 1 for Undergrads Finance, communication round out top three majors

By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

Economics, finance and communication are the three most popular majors and concentrations at Boston College, according to a recent report by the Office of Student Services on undergraduate enrollment trends.

In addition, the number of students enrolled in economics — through the College of Arts and Sciences or the Carroll School of Management — is the highest

ever recorded for a major or concentration at BC: 1,018. Finance’s total of 862 students represents the largest concentration in Carroll School history.

BC’s overall undergraduate enrollment stands at 9,049, according to the report, with 4,476 graduate and law students.

Communication (844 students this year) — the most popular major for most of the past decade until supplanted last year by economics — along with economics, Continued on page 9

“I was incredibly blessed to be able to return to campus for Senior Week and Commencement. It felt like the perfect end to treatment, being able to come back to BC to see my friends graduate and celebrate with them.”

—Christen Heye ’14, after non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment, page 4

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle october 3, 2013

2

A ROUND

C AMPUS

IT’S HOMECOMING TIME Boston College’s Homecoming Weekend celebration concludes Saturday, bringing to a close “Spirit Week” — a series of events and activities for the University community to display its school spirit.

Tonight will feature a game show-style tournament in Robsham Theater between teams of students competing for the Spirit Week Cup. Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. will be a pep rally featuring the football team, the Screaming Eagles Marching Band and cheerleaders on Shea Field, followed by a fireworks display. Saturday’s activities will include the Homecoming Ball for students at the Boston Sheraton Hotel.

The BC Social website [www. bc.edu/social] invites members and friends of the University community to post photos to social media and tag #BCHC. BC gear and prizes will

be awarded to the top posts.

At press time, discussions were continuing on whether the BC-Army game scheduled for Saturday will be played if the government shutdown is still in effect. Yesterday, Boston College Director of Athletics Brad Bates said, “We have been considering and engaging all possibilities in order to play Saturday’s football game, including offering financial assistance to Army for travel. We have been told by officials at the US Military Academy, however, that this is not solely a financial decision. I remain in close communication with Army AD Boo Corrigan and we expect a decision will be made by noon tomorrow.

We will provide an update as soon as we have more information..”

—Office of News & Public Affairs

AND THE NOMINEES ARE...?

The 16th annual Boston vide excellent role models for College Arts Festival is several our aspiring student artists, and months away, their artistic but the BC Arts accomplishCouncil invites ments deserve faculty, staff recognition,” and alumni to according to acknowledge Arts Council the achieveChair and Asments of peers sociate Profesand colleagues sor of Theatre by nominating Crystal Tiala. them for the Candidates Arts Council working in Art Awards. the performFor more ing, visual, than a decade, music, film the Arts Counand literary cil has recogarts will be nized the conconsidered. tribution to the The deadline arts of both an for nominaalumnus and a Alumni Arts Award 2013 winner Robert tions is Frifaculty mem- Polito ’73. (Photo by Caitlin Cunningham) day, Oct. 18. ber. Last year’s winners were Further information, including poet, essayist and biographer criteria and nomination forms, Robert Polito ’73 and Associate is available at www.bc.edu/artProfessor of Fine Arts Sheila Gal- sawards. lagher.

The 2014 awards will be pre“These distinguished mem- sented at a ceremony on April 25 bers of our community pro- during the Arts Festival.

—Office of News & Public Affairs Director of NEWS & Public Affairs Jack Dunn Deputy Director of NEWS & Public AFFAIRS Patricia Delaney Editor Sean Smith

Contributing Staff Melissa Beecher Ed Hayward Sean Hennessey Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan Michael Maloney Photographers Gary Gilbert Lee Pellegrini

The new-look Gasson Quad was a busy place on this picturesque early autumn day. (Photo by Caitlin Cunningham)

DEANS SPEAK OUT This month and next, Boston College faculty and staff can join BC alumni and friends in hearing two University deans speak on contemporary issues, thanks to the Alumni Association.

On Oct. 9, Lynch School of Education Dean Maureen Kenny will present “Youth in the 21st Century: How Will They Meet the Challenges?” Kenny’s research interests include relational factors as contributors to school engagement and career development among urban high school youth, and preventive interventions for promoting healthy academic, so-

cial and physical development among urban elementary school children. Parents and professionals who work with young people, organizers say, can learn about the interconnectedness of academic, social and emotional development and about strengths-based approaches that help young people successfully navigate an ever-changing world.

School of Theology and Ministry Dean Mark Massa, SJ, will discuss “Five Problems the Catholic Church Has to Face Today” on Nov. 6.

According to Fr. Massa, the sex abuse crisis in the Church — while illuminating problems that needed immediate attention — has taken attention away from other issues that need to be addressed to ensure the health and viability of the Church: how to pass on the faith to young people; the role of women in the Catholic community; and reconciling those alienated from the Church.

Both events start at 6:30 p.m. and take place in Cadigan Alumni Center on the Brighton Campus. Pre-registration is required at www.bc.edu/alumnied and the fee is $10. For more information, contact the Alumni Association at ext.2-4700 or alumnied@ bc.edu.

—Kathleen Sullivan

A CHANCE TO JOIN THE (BC) CLUB The Boston College Club is extending a special membership offer to Boston College faculty and staff until Dec. 31.

For a limited time, BC full-time faculty and staff can join the BC Club for a $200 initiation fee — the normal base fee for faculty and staff is $275 — and receive a $25 dining certificate to start the membership.

The BC Club is a business and social club, located in the heart of

The Boston College

Chronicle www.bc.edu/chronicle chronicle@bc.edu

Boston’s financial district on the 36th floor of 100 Federal Street, providing professional and personal growth opportunities in an elegant, comfortable environment with high-quality food, service and amenities. Members enjoy a variety of monthly programming that consistently balances business-oriented, social and educational events.

A BC Club membership also includes access to unprecedented

traveling benefits at over 230 private country clubs, business clubs and resorts worldwide. The BC Club does not have annual fees or minimums, but there are various levels of monthly dues, starting at $61 for Boston College faculty and staff.

For more information, contact Ann Wheelwright [ann.wheelwright@ourclub.com] or Michelle Trojano [michelle.trojano@ourclub.com] at 617-946-2828.

—Boston College Club

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 News & Public Affairs, 14 Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 (617)552-3350. Distributed free to faculty and staff offices and other locations on campus.

Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to The Boston College Chronicle, Office of News & Public Affairs, 14 Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.

A flipbook edition of Chronicle is available via e-mail. Send requests to chronicle@bc.edu.

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Chronicle october 3, 2013

Fleming Sees ‘Genius Award’ Supporting Collaborations

Lee Pellegrini

CAREER Award for Veenema

3

Continued from page 1 “I look forward to continuing cross-disciplinary collaboration with colleagues at BC and abroad, and am thrilled by the more interdisciplinary curriculum we are now developing for our undergraduates. Every morning when I wake up, I can’t wait to get out of bed and investigate the questions that animate my research, and I’m eager to instill that excitement in our stu-

By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor

Assistant Professor of Psychology Alexa Veenema, a researcher on the neural basis of social behavior, has earned a prestigious five-year National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award.

NSF’s top honor for junior faculty, the CAREER Award recognizes “innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology,” according to the foundation, and supports the early career-development activities of teacher-scholars “who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization.”

“I am very happy to receive this acknowledgement for my past work, and support for my future projects,” said Veenema, now in her fourth year on the BC faculty. “Peer recognition is so important to anyone at this stage of his or her career, and an award like this will definitely help me to develop as a researcher.”

Veenema studies normal and abnormal social behavior – especially during early development – and its possible implications for autism, borderline or antisocial personality disorders and schizophrenia. She is particularly interested in how trauma, deprivation or other factors affect chemicals that help the brain to regulate social behavior.

Her lab’s current work focuses on the role of the neuropeptide arginine-vasopressin (AVP) in the regulation process, specifically in social play and social novelty-preference, among juvenile rats — and to what extent gender and social context play a part.

“We know that AVP and its main receptor, the V1A receptor (V1aR), are critical to regulating diverse behaviors in adulthood, but we don’t know how this system functions in regulating juvenile social behavior,” she said.

“Social play is vital for every animal — as it is for humans — in developing social, emotional and cognitive skills, so that seemed to us a key facet to explore.

“AVP also is integral to regulating what is called social novelty-preference: A rat, given a situation where it encounters both a ‘new’ or novel rat and a familiar rat in its environment, will show preference for interacting with the former. This is an important adaptive social behavior in group-living individuals.”

“BC is committed to giving undergraduates opportunities to experience research in an engaged, hands-on way. With the CAREER Award, I hope to broaden the outreach by offering summer research internships for underrepresented minorities and for students from non-research colleges as well as area high schools.”

—Alexa Veenema

Veenema and her team found that blocking the V1aR of juvenile rats enhanced social play among males but reduced it among females, whereas socialnovelty preference for both sexes declined.

“So the question now becomes: What is the nature of the circuitry in the brain where this regulation occurs,” she said, “and why is it apparently different for males and females in social play, but not in social-novelty preference?”

Veenema said that this research, while basic, will help in understanding how neural circuits in the brain uniquely regulate social behavior depending on gender and social context — which may shed light on the regulation of human social behavior and could eventually lead to applications in education or other fields.

“Rats’ brain structures have certain, very significant functional similarities with those of humans,” she said. “Therefore, I believe this work will have a broad impact in improving our understanding of neuroscience, particularly in that of children.”

Veenema noted her project includes an education plan designed to expose students, at Boston College and elsewhere, and the public to behavioral neurosci-

ence research.

“BC is committed to giving undergraduates opportunities to experience research in an engaged, hands-on way,” said Veenema, who had seven students working with her over the summer supported in part through the University’s Undergraduate Research Fellows Program. “With the CAREER Award, I hope to broaden the outreach by offering summer research internships for underrepresented minorities and for students from non-research colleges as well as area high schools.”

Her project also involves developing a research-based course, promoting parent participation in their children’s research with a “bring-your-parent-to-thelab day,” and sharing research findings through public lectures and via the lab website [www2. bc.edu/alexa-veenema].

Besides Veenema, who in 2011 earned a Young Investigator Award from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, CAREER Award winners from BC have included Assistant Professor of Psychology Sara Cordes, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Elisenda Grigsby and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Chemistry Kian Tan. Contact Sean Smith at sean.smith@bc.edu

Fellowship is “to support creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world.” In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the foundation works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, and improve understanding of how technology is affecting children and society.

At Boston College, Fleming

“I hope that the MacArthur Fellowship brings attention to my colleagues, as well as our fabulous graduate and undergraduate students. I also hope that it puts the spotlight on the more interdisciplinary work in which many of us across the University are now engaged.”

Photo courtesy John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

dents.”

College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dean David Quigley praised the selection of Fleming as a fitting choice for this most distinguished award.

“Robin Fleming is a colleague whose work I have admired since I joined the History Department as her junior colleague 15 years ago,” said Quigley. “Many of us across campus continue to marvel at the ways in which she manages to balance her remarkable scholarship, her extraordinary teaching and her passionate commitment to training the next generation of medievalists. Her most recent book, Britain after Rome, is a beautiful work of historical imagination, one that forces the reader to grapple with the hard realities of our distant past.”

Added Interim Provost and Dean of Faculties Joseph Quinn, “This is great news for Robin, for our terrific History Department, and for Boston College. Robin is a superb scholar, writing about eras in which hard evidence is tough to find. Her article titled ‘Bones for Historians: Putting the Body Back in Biography,’ about all that can be learned about individuals and societies from thousand-year-old bones, is one of the neatest papers I have ever read. It is amazing to see how much trained experts like Robin can glean from so little.

I am thrilled to see her years of work so prominently and appropriately recognized.”

In its announcement, the MacArthur Foundation states that the goal of the MacArthur

—Robin Fleming

teaches courses on late-Roman and early medieval history; the Vikings; ancient and medieval historical writing; and material culture. She has written on the history of Viking, Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman England; early medieval material culture and osteoarchaeology; historical writing in the early Middle Ages; English law before the Common Law; and 19th-century medievalism.

Her 2011 book, Britain after Rome: The Fall and Rise, 4001070, investigates Britain in the century before and after Rome’s fall, in an attempt to determine how Roman ways of life, identity, burial and status-making changed once the Roman economy collapsed and connections to the wider Roman world began to unravel.

Fleming has received grants or fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Harvard Society of Fellows, Bunting Institute, Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies at Harvard University, and Guggenheim Foundation. She is a Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society, The Royal Historical Society, and the London Society of Antiquaries.

Fleming is a graduate of the University of California-Santa Barbara, where she received her bachelor’s degree and doctorate in history.

Contact Jack Dunn at jack.dunn@bc.edu

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Walking With Strength Boston College Trustee John Fish, co-chair of the Pops on the Heights event, looks on as Monica Macheca ’16 introduces a video about the Pops Scholarships. (Photo by Rose Lincoln)

‘Pops on the Heights’ Makes for a BC Night to Remember

By Morgan Healey Special to the Chronicle

There is no denying the effect great performances can have on an audience, and Friday night’s “Pops on the Heights” performances were nothing short of riveting for the 8,000 parents, students and alumni who returned to campus on Parents’ Weekend to partake in the Barbara and Jim Cleary Scholarship Gala.

Since 1993, the music of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra has rung loudly throughout Conte Forum in support of scholarships for BC students.

The event is, most notably, a celebration on behalf of BC’s Pops Scholars. As a result of funds raised each year, approximately 120 scholarships are awarded to students with financial need.

The Boston Pops, under the direction of Keith Lockhart, delighted the crowd with selections ranging from Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo” to Abba’s “Dancing Queen.” Singer Katharine McPhee gave a stellar performance, charming the crowd with pop hits including Rihanna’s “Stay” and King of Leon’s “Use Somebody,” and singing with a voice that was perfectly complementary to the orchestra. This year’s Pops also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the University Chorale, which sang a number of well-received selections under the direction of both Keith Lockhart and BC’s own John Finney.

Boston College Trustee and event co-chairman John Fish offered a heartfelt speech in which he shared his personal experiences and affiliation with BC. “There really is something special going on here,” said Fish.

“Boston College is a wonderful place with a lot of heart, and that has never been clearer than on nights like tonight. This is why we do what we do…to see our students excel, and to give them a chance to be a part of one of

the greatest universities in the country, BC.” After his introduction, the crowd enjoyed a video that showcased recent scholarship recipients and the effect the scholarships have had on their BC experience.

“I am just so thankful to be a recipient of a Pops Scholarship,” said Anxhela Mile, a member of the Class of 2017. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to attend a school like BC, and look forward to a bright future ahead.”

The evening closed with BC’s beloved fight song “For Boston” and John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” amid a shower of maroon and gold balloons and to the delight of the audience.

Prior to the event, Senior Vice President of University Advancement Jim Husson spoke of the importance Pops on the Heights plays in assisting students at Boston College. “It is a gratifying event each year, and really brings benefactors together to do what they always love to do, which is to support students, and carry on our mission.”

“The event is terrific—always terrific,” said Vin Quealy ’75, president of the Boston College Alumni Association, who noted that the event is the result of continued support from faithful alumni and parents. “This night, right here, is really what it is all about. This is why we do what we do, to see the efforts in action, and really realize the benefit our work is having on the students we serve.”

“There is something that fundamentally unites us,” said Fish.

“We are proud of our mission, and with every event, and every effort we make, we always stay true to the tried and true, few but powerful words: ‘Ever to Excel.’”

—Morgan Healey is a member of the Class of 2013 More Pops on the Heights photos on page 12

Christen Heye was about to begin her last semester at BC when she was diagnosed with cancer. Now, she’s ready to graduate and determined to be an oncology nurse. ‘It has to be good for something,’ she says of her experience.

‘That’s how I’m looking at it.’

Photos by Lee Pellegrini

By Kathleen Sullivan Staff Writer

When Connell School of Nursing senior Christen Heye takes to the Boston Common next Thursday, Oct. 10, for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk, she will be doing more than helping raise money for the fight against blood cancers.

She’ll be taking a victory lap in her personal fight against nonHodgkin lymphoma.

Heye was diagnosed in January while home in Kenmore, Wash., over semester break. In a whirlwind of just five days she went from being in the emergency room with chest pain to starting chemotherapy.

The chemo regimen was grueling, comprising six 96-hour infusions of five different drugs. Throughout the treatment, Heye kept focused on her goal: returning to campus for Senior Week.

“It’s funny that my mind went there instead of ‘Am I going to live?’” said Heye. “But that was my goal.”

Heye had her last chemo treatment at the end of April and returned to campus in time for Senior Week.

“I was incredibly blessed to be able to return to campus for Senior Week and Commencement. It felt like the perfect end to treatment, being able to come back to BC to see my friends graduate and celebrate with them,” said Heye. “One of my best friends in CSON acknowledged my return at our Pinning Ceremony, and I stood up and waved to all of the nursing students I’d spent the last four years studying with. It was incredible.”

In June, Heye got the good news that her cancer was in remission.

This fall, she is finishing requirements for her undergraduate degree and beginning her graduate studies. Her care has been transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital so she can be monitored while she pursues her master’s degree. She has also returned to her resident assistant duties in Rubenstein Hall.

There have been some careerrelated takeaways from the experience for Heye, a future health care provider. “Listening to what patients want is key to empowering them when something seems so out of control. Knowing that I was listened to and that my doctor was going to do everything she could to make [attending Senior Week] happen was huge,” said Heye.

“Christen is a very mature person who is always focused on the positive,” said Catherine Read, Connell School associate dean for undergraduate programs. “What most impresses me about Christen and what will make her a great nurse practitioner is her out-of-the-box thinking.”

According to Read, Heye is one of driving forces behind the formal establishment of the psychology minor for CSON students. With Read’s logistical assistance, Heye was able to take a three-credit clinical course through the University of Washington immediately following her cancer treatment. Her clinical placement was at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance at South Lake Union, a partner clinic of where she had received treatment.

The Light the Night Walk in which Heye will participate next week is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s signature fundraiser and awareness event, held in some 200 communities across North America throughout the fall. On Heye’s team are classmates and friends from BC. “It isn’t about me,” insists Heye.

“I know three other people in the Class of 2013 who have or have had cancer. I’m not the only person who has gone through this. I’m not the only BC student to go through this.

This is a great opportunity to raise awareness.”

Joining Heye on the walk will be her mother, Diane, who is traveling to Boston from Washington.

An oncology nurse in Seattle, Diane was by her daughter’s side throughout Christen’s illness and treatment.

“She was phenomenal —asking the right questions and knowing what was a normal side effect,” recalled Christen. “Because I was tolerating the treatment well and because of her expertise, I was able to receive some of treatments at home.”

Heye plans to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become an oncology nurse.

“I’ve always wanted to do oncology, since I can remember. My whole experience this spring has not deterred me from doing that,” said Heye. “It has to be good for something. That’s how I’m looking at it. If I can help one other person, through my own experience, [and] ease whatever fears they might have or answer any questions, that’s what I’m going to do.”

For more on the Light the Night Walk, see Christen Heye’s webpage at http://pages.lightthenight.org/ma/BostonL13/CHeye Contact Kathleen Sullivan at kathleen.sullivan@bc.edu

Christen Heye and her friends, BC Law student Nick Lessin and nursing graduate student Maddie McEvoy ’15, talk about fundraising for the Oct. 10 Light the Night Walk in which Heye is participating.

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What’s All in a Day’s Work? More Than We Think

Photos by Lee Pellegrini

Lynch School of Education Professor of Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology David L. Blustein teaches and writes extensively about the psychology of working. He also maintains a small, one-day per week practice assisting individuals who are struggling at work, or with under- or unemployment. He is the author of the 2006 book The Psychology of Working: A New Perspective for Counseling, Career Development and Public Policy. Now in his 15th year at BC, Blustein was honored recently with a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society for Vocational Psychology of the American Psychological Association. He spoke recently with Chronicle’s Ed Hayward about editing the new book The Oxford Handbook of the Psychology of Working.

Describe The Oxford Handbook of the Psychology of Working.

My goal was to put together some of the best minds on issues of work and career, from a psychological perspective. These issues are critically important because of unemployment and underemployment and the widely held viewpoint that beneath the recession there has been a huge transformation in the world of work. These radical changes actually started 20-25 years ago – the loss of stability in a long-term career – and have been propelled by the recession. As the recession lifts, we’re going to see a huge transformation in work. What does it mean to not have stability in work? What does it mean for mental health, for the health of communities or for the health of a nation? Those are some of the broad issues we’ve tried to look at.

What led you to take on this project?

I was looking for a way to follow up my first book, The Psychology of Working. So I put together this group of high-powered academic experts and policy experts in order to get a whole host of people looking at these issues very much from psychological, social, political and policy perspectives.

How long did the project take and what was the primary challenge you faced?

This was a three-year project.

I was fortunate to work with so many distinguished colleagues, in some cases people who served as my mentors. The main thing was to create a coherent theme for the book and to work with the authors as they wrote to that theme.

“People no longer have a long-term contract with their employer and the employer doesn’t have a long-term contract with their employees. In a nutshell, we’re on our own — we’re untethered. The nature of work has become another aspect of life that is not easily predictable. More and more people are anxious about their jobs, anxious about holding onto their jobs.”

—David Blustein

How did your past research, teaching and clinical experiences shape the editorial direction of the book?

What I was trying to do was give voice to people who are struggling in their work lives and to convey that work problems are more than unemployment statistics. These are real problems that affect people in our families and our communities. In some ways, this book tries to address the idea, which I support, that people have a fundamental right to work. It’s a crucial part of being alive in the world.

From a psychological standpoint, why is work important?

Work provides us with a means of survival. It provides us with a means of social connection and relatedness. When I work with people who are unemployed, one thing they discuss is a lack of social connection, of isolation. Work provides us with a means of self-determination.

Work is crucial to our psychological wellbeing, to our financial wellbeing and to the wellbeing of our communities.

How is the “nature of work” changing?

People no longer have a longterm contract with their employer and the employer doesn’t have a long-term contract with their employees. In a nutshell, we’re on our own — we’re untethered.

The nature of work has become another aspect of life that is not easily predictable. More and more people are anxious about their jobs, anxious about holding onto their jobs.

You describe wars, famines, poverty, violence and other major crises as related to working. How so?

Let’s look at World War II. One of the causes of the rise of fascism was massive unem-

ployment in Germany. In many cases, famine is a result of unequal distribution of resources by government. We know that as you create work for people, you’re more likely to foster democracy and that can combat famine. Similarly, fighting over scarce resources will increase the probability of war and extreme violence. We know from earlier works, like William Julius Wilson’s When Work Disappears, that a lack of work leads to increased violence.

Following the recession, the US economy has struggled to add jobs. Are there factors related to this period of job growth that are fundamentally different from other recoveries, and what kind of long-term implications do they hold?

One thing about this recession is that it has hit the poor and working class more than any other part of society. Unemployment among these groups is much higher. We see that people are not recovering from the recession without 21st-century skills.

It highlights that we all – be it the Lynch School, a community college, or a neighborhood group – need to help people develop 21st-century skills. But there is still skepticism that the unemployment rate will come down far enough. Some people believe an unemployment rate of four, five or six percent is tolerable, but I don’t think so. And, as the book documents, there are real consequences to people not working.

How difficult is it for people to learn new skills, to re-skill?

It’s not easy. The older people get, the more challenges they face. The US doesn’t have an organized system to do the job. The best potential institutions to do this may be community colleges, which are increasingly becoming

more nimble in response to the needs of their communities.

Why do we work?

In the career development world, the view is that we can implement our dreams, our values and our interests in the world of work. Work can be this meaningful experience. If we broaden our horizons and include people who don’t have as much choice in what they do, we see that for some people work is tedious, sometimes denigrating, and sometimes physically pain-

ful. Sometimes work is not going to be fulfilling.

My view is we all have aspirations to do something meaningful, to accomplish something. It’s in our genes. I think we have an inherent desire to create, to produce, to have a sense of accomplishment. So I do think work is a manifestation of a natural desire to do something with our lives.

Contact Ed Hayward at ed.hayward@bc.edu

BC Law Now Offering a New Program in Public Interest

The Law School has launched the Public Interest Designation Program (PIDP) to encourage, guide and recognize students who are committed to a legal career dedicated to public service.

Law School administrators say PIDP — the only program of its kind in Massachusetts — will provide a comprehensive academic and experiential curriculum that will prepare students for a career in public service immediately upon graduation.

The program reflects the efforts of 25 BC Law students from the Class of 2013 who had worked with Associate Director of Public Interest Programs Kate Devlin Joyce to create special recognition for students demonstrating commitment to a public service curriculum. The 25 were honored by BC Law Dean Vincent Rougeau at this year’s graduation as the inaugural PIDP class and given the title of Public Service Fellows.

“The Law School is working toward a more comprehensive

public interest program, and PIDP will be a distinct part of that,” said Joyce. “It’s a way for students to feel supported, and be supported, as they pursue a legal career in public service.”

PIDP requirements involve 15 hours of coursework in classes such as Environmental or Labor Law or others designated as applicable to public service; a clinic, independent study with a pro bono placement or semester-in-practice at a public interest placement; a summer internship with a public sector employment, and completing the school’s 50-hour pro bono program. Fellows must also mentor an incoming first-year student interested in public service.

“What’s unique, and wonderful, about this program is it grew out of an inspiration from our students,” said Joyce.

“That inaugural group, as Public Service Fellows, will be an important resource for PIDP as it grows and develops.”

—Boston College Law School; additional material by Sean Smith

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Chronicle october 3, 2013

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Symposium Includes Discussion on Critical Role of the Catholic Laity

Celebrating THE

Sesquicentennial

Continued from page 1 the laity stand 50 years after the Second Vatican Council sought to bring the Church closer to Catholics and the modern world.

In light of Vatican II’s call for active disciples, Fr. Massa started off the discussion by asking, “What questions are on the minds of practicing Catholics today?”

E.J. Dionne, a Washington Post syndicated columnist and a fellow at the Brookings Institute, said Catholics are very much concerned about the future of the church and their place within it.

“For a lot of Catholics, there’s a basic question: Will my kids (Above) University President William P. Leahy, SJ, welcomed the audience to last week’s Sesquicentennial symposium, “The Legacy of Vatican II.” Speakers stay Catholic?” said Dionne, at the daytime sessions included (L-R, above right) Leslie Woodcock Tentler, Assoc. Prof. Andrea Vicini, SJ (STM) and Christoph Theobald, SJ, and (below) Monan Professor of Theology Lisa Sowle Cahill. (Photos by Justin Knight) author of the recent book Why Americans Hate Politics. “They behalf of the Affordable Care Act margins.”

Groome said it’s crucial for also ask: Will my daughters stay — discussed the “Nuns on the Catholic? What is the Church Bus” tour she launched to oppose Catholicism to more closely assosaying to them now to inspire cuts in social service programs ciate itself with Jesus Christ, not for the needy. During that cross- just with “The Church.” them?”

“What faith are we determined Panelist Tim Shriver, the pres- country trip, Sister Campbell said ident and CEO of Special Olym- she found “we are a nation of to share?” said Groome. “I think that we have a pope who has pics, said the Church needs to “One of the questions we ought St. Francis as his model and find a way to recover Catholics belongs to the Society of Jesus. who have left the church, a to ask is not what Catholics are But the heart and soul of our group so large it would make looking for, but what are former faith as Christians is the historiup the largest religious body in the United States.

Catholics looking for? We have to cal Jesus and his life...Jesus is still the best thing we’ve got.”

“I think one of the quesask ourselves: What went wrong?

The panelists praised Pope tions we ought to ask is not Francis as a church leader who what Catholics are looking for, Why did so many people leave? may come closest to advancing but what are former Catholics What haven’t they found? I think the most expansive interpretalooking for?” said Shriver. “Estion of Vatican II yet. pecially in the era of Vatican what they did not find was food “There is a lot of exciteII, we have to ask ourselves: for their soul.” ment around this pope because What went wrong? Why did so many people leave? What —Tim Shriver of his obvious commitment to the poor and to social justice,” haven’t they found? I think what they did not find was food unseen people who are desperate said Dionne. “It is not an abstract for connection. thing to him. It is a very real comfor their soul.”

“What is required is to de- mitment. You’re seeing for the Too often, he said, Catholics feel like they are preached to and velop a new sense of being a car- first time in a while not someone ing community,” Sister Campbell who would try to create a smaller, never asked what they think.

Islamic studies scholar and said. “It is a huge challenge. To tougher, more orthodox church recently retired Bryn Mawr Col- recover that sense of community, in their own likeness. Rather, he’s lege president Jane McAuliffe said I think requires us to open up opening the door to everyone and young people are most concerned beyond fear. Stepping out of fear welcoming them in. That is on about the environment and cli- is key to finding communal con- the minds of a lot of Catholics – The evening session of the symmate change, growing societal in- nection. That inclusiveness has certainly this one.” posium — “Coworkers in the Contact Ed Hayward at Vineyard: The Role of the Catholic equalities and terrorism — issues to be clear to those living on the ed.hayward@bc.edu Laity in the Life of Public Service Vatican II gave the Church the and Scholarship” — was held power to address. in Robsham Theater (above), and “These are global issues and featured panelists Prof. Thomas the Catholic Church is a global Groome (STM), at right, as well as Simone Campbell, SSS, executive church and Vatican II opened the director, NETWORK; Washington church to the world,” said McAuPost syndicated columnist E.J. liffe. “It allowed us as Catholics Dionne Jr.; Jane McAuliffe, former to talk about relationships with president of Bryn Mawr College; other things and the fundamenand Special Olympics Chairman and CEO Timothy P. Shriver. School of tal reality of religious freedom.

Theology and Ministry Dean Mark Vatican II changed the discourse Massa, SJ, (third from left) served from one of declaration to one of as the moderator. (Photos by Caitlin dialogue.”

Cunningham) Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, executive director of the national social justice lobby NETWORK — which drew a rebuke from Rome last year for its advocacy on

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Chronicle october 3, 2013

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Quintana Awarded Fellowship Continued from page 1 preneurial college students to get an inside look at the venture capital industry, build a peer network and be exposed to successful industry entrepreneurs. The fellows receive $10,000 in subsidies and discounts with leading service providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, and are given access to select venture capitalists, legal advisors and marketing experts who teach them how to assess and engage the capital community.

Since the program’s inception, its student fellows have launched companies such as Attendware, Cognection, Codeacademy and Jebbit — whose co-founder Jeb Thomas ’13 is BC’s previous winner of this prestigious fellowship.

This year’s other fellows were selected from Harvard, Dartmouth and Carnegie Mellon.

“As one of our Presidential Scholars, Claudio is extremely bright, so it was a pleasure to recommend him for the .406 Fellows program,” said Carroll School of Management Associate Professor John Gallaugher. “The track record of students involved in the program is quite strong — .406 has had Harvard MBAs and others from the Ivies involved — so the pipeline of BC students is a testament to the strength of our student body and our growing reputation in collegiate entrepreneurship.”

Added James F. Keenan, SJ, the Founders Professor in Theology and director of the Presidential Scholars Program, “Since the day he arrived at BC, Claudio Quintana has had a ‘can-do’ approach to the right realization of his own projects. He is great to work with, from vision and design to execution. He has a strong imagination and likes to learn through experience. He tries start-ups and new platforms with a great disposition:

“I became an entrepreneur to fulfill my own curiosity. I see it as a vehicle to create ideas and make them come alive, but it is important to me to have a social element.”

Caitlin Cunningham

hope, intelligence, a sense of adventure, and an interest in improving the way we live.”

Quintana said he was honored to win the fellowship and appreciates the opportunity it affords him to interact with like-minded social entrepreneurs. “Through this fellowship I am able to connect with people who are doing incredible things. One of the individuals in my fellows’ class is a Thiel Fellow and others have started amazing companies. Having exposure to great minds from other networks and experiences and learning from them — while also teaching them about all that we are doing at BC — is a wonderful opportunity. I hope my experience will also help down the road to make BC an even greater hub for social innovation.”

Quintana offers praise for BC, the Presidential Scholars Program and his faculty mentors for the support they have provided him since he arrived freshman year.

“I chose Boston College because when I visited it I felt a passion here among professors such as John Gallaugher and Jim Keenan,” he said. “I saw BC was growing as an entrepreneurial center, and I felt that being involved in its growth as an entrepreneurial and innovation hub was appealing.

“When you mix this growth with BC’s Jesuit ideals, I think we

—Claudio Quintana

have the potential to be the nation’s leader in social entrepreneurship and innovation.”

In addition to his studies in the Carroll School and his entrepreneurial interests, Quintana also has served as a food source intern at Project Bread, providing clients with access to food resources throughout the Greater Boston area, and as an intern at Haley House, where he helps to create marketing and other outreach materials. Most recently, he has worked with the BC social entrepreneurship club Enactus to connect non-profits with local businesses. He was also the recipient of the Compass Fellowship for social entrepreneurs in 2012-2013.

“I became an entrepreneur to fulfill my own curiosity. I see it as a vehicle to create ideas and make them come alive, but it is important to me to have a social element.

That notion has been fostered by Boston College, where we have been encouraged to ask, ‘How can what I am doing be helpful to others? How can the process of bringing a product to the world be beneficial to humanity?’

“That is why I love it here at BC, and why I feel that I am in my element.”

Contact Jack Dunn at jack.dunn@bc.edu

Architecture Institute Lauds Stokes Hall Stokes Hall, Boston College’s newest academic building, has received a Bulfinch Award from the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art New England chapter.

The 183,000 squarefoot humanities building, which opened in January, won in the Large Commercial/Civic/Institutional/Ecclesiastic category, one of eight for which the honor is given. The award, named for Charles Bulfinch — America’s first nativeborn architect and designer of the Massachusetts State House — recognizes the best work of

individuals who contribute to the creation of classical and traditional architecture.

Designed by Tsoi/Kobus & Associates to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among BC’s humanities departments and enhanced student-faculty inter-

action, Stokes provides 36 new state-of-the-art classrooms and 200 faculty offices for the Classical Studies, English, History, Philosophy and Theology departments.

The building also includes space for the Academic Advising Center, College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program and Office of First Year Experience, as well as common areas, conference rooms, a coffee shop and an outdoor garden and plaza that provide multiple meeting spaces to connect students and faculty.

—Sean Smith

THE DEAN’S LIST

By William B. Neenan, SJ

As Boston College concludes its Sesquicentennial celebration, along comes this year’s Dean’s List with three thought-provoking, readable novels and one must-read biography.

Jane Gardam is a treasure I have only too late discovered. To make up for my tardiness I urge you read Last Friends, the most recent of a trilogy of novels by Gardam. But before that you must read the two earlier novels of this trilogy: The first is Old Filth, acronym for “Failed in London Try Hong Kong,” which features Sir Edward Feathers, an Edwardian barrister in Malaya and Hong Kong. Following Sir Edward’s tale, it is his wife Betty’s turn in The Man in the Wooden Hat. And thirdly we come to Last Friends, this year’s addition to the Dean’s List. Here we meet again Sir Edward, now a widower, and Terence Veneering, Edward’s life-long nemesis and the erstwhile lover of Betty. Do Lee Pellegrini not tarry. These Jane Gardam novels are a sure-fire triple play. Crafted with deftness, sudden surprises and sentences that are a simple delight to read. Believe me.

The Porter family has occupied a sandy stretch of the Massachusetts coast for generations. In Professor of English Elizabeth Graver’s The End of the Point, a Yankee matriarch of yesteryear, a Scots nanny, the 1960 feminist torn between her academic aspirations and competing maternal anxieties, and her son — an addicted college drop-out with a Thoreau fixation — are only a few of the members of the Porter family whose lives we follow with rapt attention in this novel.

Although I must confess my own experience with the Neenan family was not particularly exotic, I did come away from The End of the Point feeling I had been in the midst of a tortured Porter family that was quite real.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce, does not call to mind a visit to Lourdes or a walk along the Camino de Compostela.

Maybe the Canterbury Tales, with its series of stories on the way to Thomas á Becket’s shrine, is an apt comparison. Harold Fry, a married man, receives a note from old acquaintance Queenie Hennessey, who is dying in a hospice hundreds of miles distant across Britain. He judges that Queenie will continue to live as long as he continues walking. So walk he does for hundreds of miles.

Many fascinating experiences occur on this pilgrimage and Harold becomes something of a national celebrity. But why is he really doing this, I wondered, as I read this engrossing novel? The answer to this question does come but I am not going to tell you.

Ron Chernow’s Washington: A Life is a hefty tome. But when you read it I suspect you will come to see why George Washington is indeed the Father of our Country and most likely our greatest president. At least that has been my experience. I also predict you will reevaluate the worth of others in that founding generation, such as John Adams, Jefferson, Monroe, Madison and Alexander Hamilton. Some reputations may be enhanced, others tarnished.

But George Washington emerges “First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” At least in the heart of this countryman.

—William B. Neenan, SJ, vice president and special assistant to the president, has published his annual Dean’s List of Recommended Reading since 1982.

New entries in bold

James Agee, A Death in the Family Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim George Bernanos, Diary of a Country Priest Robert Bolt, A Man For All Seasons Albert Camus, The Fall Ron Chernow, Washington: A Life Clare Dunsford, Spelling Love with an X: a Mother, a Son, and the Gene that Binds Them Joseph Ellis, His Excellency: George Washington Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Jane Gardam, Last Friends Lisa Genova, Still Alice Elizabeth Graver, The End of the Point Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory Patricia Hampl, The Florist’s Daughter Rachel Joyce, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry James Martin, SJ, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything David McCullough, Truman Alice McDermott, After This Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son John O’Malley, SJ, The First Jesuits Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels Wallace Stegner, Collected Stories Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter Robert Penn Warren, All the King’s Men Garry Wills, Saint Augustine Simon Winchester, River at the Center of the World Jay Winik, April 1865, The Month that Saved America

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Chronicle october 3, 2013

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Paying a Steep Price for Substandard Housing Study co-published by Coley shows housing’s impact on children

“What our findings suggest is that housing quality may be more important when we are concerned with the growth and development of children. The data suggest policymakers make housing quality a priority as they work to resolve the housing crisis facing low-income families.”

By Ed Hayward Staff Writer

Sifting through a massive study of low-income children and their families, Lynch School of Education Professor Rebekah Levine Coley and colleagues have gleaned new insights into the harmful effects of substandard housing on families and children.

Coley, whose research into the housing choices of low-income families is supported by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation, says her new report shows the distinct emotional and educational prices children pay when their families live in run-down apartments and homes.

Data culled from the six-year Three City Study of 2,400 children, teens and young adults found emotional and behavioral symptoms such as anxiety, depression, lying and aggressive behavior are closely connected to poor housing quality and the related stress placed on parents, children and families, according to the report in the current edition of the journal Developmental Psychology.

The study, which focused on families living in low-income neighborhoods in Boston, Chicago and San Antonio, may serve to focus policymakers on making the link between quality and affordability in new housing legislation and regulations.

“There’s a tremendous amount of attention paid to affordability and that’s a critical issue for low-income families,” said Coley. “What our findings suggest is that housing quality may be more important when we

—Rebekah Levine Coley

Photo by Lee Pellegrini

are concerned with the growth and development of children.

The data suggest policymakers make housing quality a priority as they work to resolve the housing crisis facing low-income families.”

Children growing up in poorquality housing plagued by leaky roofs, broken windows, peeling paint, debris and vermin experience greater emotional and behavioral problems at young ages and later see their school performance suffer, researchers report in one of the most comprehensive assessments ever conducted into the impact of housing on children in the US.

“Through no fault of their own, children and teens whose families live in substandard housing are paying a steep price in terms of their emotional and behavioral well-being,” said Coley, who teaches in the Lynch School Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology Department. “That carries on into school and creates deficits that are extremely difficult to overcome.”

Extremely telling was the finding that poor housing quality was the most consistent and strongest predictor of emotional and behavioral problems in low-income children and youth who were

studied when compared to factors such as affordability, ownership, residential stability or housing subsidy receipt, according to the researchers, whose analysis was also funded by the W.T. Grant Foundation.

Furthermore, residential instability – the moving from place to place, even if only a few blocks away or the town next door – disrupts the functioning of lowincome children over the long term, according to Coley, who conducted the study with Tufts University Professor Tama Leventhal and was assisted by graduate students Alicia Doyle Lynch and Melissa Kull.

Although single moves may provide a boost to poor children and teens in the short-term, perhaps allowing them to access safer housing or better schools, over time the cumulative effect of residential instability took a toll on children, increasing children’s emotional and behavioral problems.

The effect was not only felt by children: For parents, the strain of living in substandard housing produced symptoms of anxiety and depression, said Coley.

Researchers found a strong link between the stress poor housing quality placed on parents and the problems experienced by children, according to the report.

“A big takeaway is that many

Red Bandanna 5K on Oct. 19 The annual Welles Crowther Red Bandanna 5K will take place Oct. 19, as the Boston College community once again remembers one of its most heroic alumni.

Registration ends on Oct. 16 for the race, which starts at 9 a.m. in front of the Gasson Hall eagle.

Crowther, a 1999 graduate, is credited with saving the lives of over a dozen people during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11. A volunteer firefighter, Crowther wore a red bandanna around his face in the midst of his rescue efforts, and became known as “the Man in the Red Bandanna” — the title of a documentary about his story produced by ESPN. The Red Bandanna 5k is a major fundraiser for the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, a fund established by the family to benefit the good works of young men and women.

For more information on participating and sponsorship in the race, as well as links to the Crowther Charitable Trust and other websites about Welles Crowther, see http://www.bc.edu/offices/service/ welles5k.html.

—Office of News & Public Affairs

of these links function in part through parenting and parental stress,” said Coley, whose research examines the intersection of families, neighborhoods and public policy. “We know that environmental stress can come not just from outside the home, but from the home itself when we consider the impact of living day-to-day with exposed wiring, peeling paint, rodents, poor sanitation and a lack of natural light, or with frequent moves from home to home.”

An estimated two million poor children lived in run-down and unsafe housing in 2005, and double blows dealt to lowincome neighborhoods by the recent housing crisis and the recession have likely only worsened the situation.

Among the many interrelated issues the researchers untangled was the impact of affordability.

While many of the families struggled with housing costs – with most paying more than 30 percent of household income toward housing – whether or not housing was affordable was not predictive of children’s well-being.

Similarly, living in owned homes or government-assisted housing rather than private rental stock did not outweigh the issues of quality and stability.

Contact Ed Hayward at ed.hayward@bc.edu

Boston College welcomed parents and other family members to campus for the annual Parents’ Weekend Sept. 27-29, which included the “Pops on the Heights” concert [see story on page 4, photos on page 12] as well as a series of events and activities — such as a panel discussion with current undergraduates on studyabroad experiences, below — to help broaden their perspective on BC.

Photos by Caitlin Cunningham

T he B oston C ollege

Chronicle october 3, 2013

Economics Tops the List of Majors Continued from page 1 finance, biology (795), political science (656) and English (559) have comprised the University’s top six enrolled majors or concentrations since 2007, albeit in various orders.

“The advent of ‘Big Data’ has raised the value of an economics degree, just like how abundant thread caused the market for weavers to flourish during the Industrial Revolution,” said Professor Donald Cox, chairman of the Economics Department, which has seen its number of majors rise by about 83 percent since 2003.

“Data are like thread, and we’re the weavers, except that our work is not likely to be automated away. A class in econometrics — methods for studying economic data — used to be offered maybe once or twice a year at BC. Now we offer four sections per semester, plus labs. And econometrics is used to study a vast array of topics both within and outside economics. It is helpful for understanding everything from prison sentencing to climate change.

“Big Data has made a big difference to economics and to economics majors.”

Griffith Family Professor Hassan Tehranian, chairman of the Finance Department, said, “It all comes down to the quality of our faculty. To be a popular undergraduate program, you have to have superb teachers who pay attention to their students. Our faculty members are among the best in the nation in both those areas.”

Other popular majors this year are psychology (529), nursing (383), applied psychology and human development (367) and accounting (332).

“Economics is a fascinating social science,” said Interim Provost and Dean of Faculties Joseph Quinn, a long-time member and former chair of the Economics Department. “It’s about people, as all the social sciences are, and is at the mathematical and quantitative end of that spectrum. I can hardly think of a public policy issue that does not have a significant economics component, from speed limits, to pollution to kidney transplants. Trade-offs and opportunity costs are everywhere.

“The number of economics majors may also be boosted by the stagnant economy, attracting students puzzled to know more about this, or thinking that economics is a good major for the job market. Whatever the reasons, we are happy to have them on board.”

FACTS & FIGURES

Q&A

9

A FEW MINUTES WITH...

Yonder Moynihan Gillihan

FROM THE OFFICE OF STUDENT SERVICES The five most popular undergraduate majors for 2013-14: •Economics (1,018) •Finance (862) •Communication (844) •Biology (795) •Political Science (656)

Graduate programs with the highest enrollments: •Education (871) •Arts and sciences (824) •Management (788)

The College of Arts and Sciences awarded 302 bachelor of science degrees from August 2012 to this past May, the highest number recorded.

More BC undergraduates still come from Massachusetts (2,231) than any other state. New York (1,294) and New Jersey (992) are next, followed by Connecticut and California, both with 637.

There are 25 undergraduates from Hawaii this year, and one from Alaska.

The Student Services report also noted that the enrollments for biochemistry, with 251 majors, and chemistry (138) are at 25-year highs.

Undergraduate minor areas of study with the five largest enrollments were theology, philoso-

“Economics is a fascinating social science. I can hardly think of a public policy issue that does not have a significant economics component, from speed limits, to pollution to kidney transplants.”

—Joseph Quinn

phy and Faith, Peace and Justice (184), education (173), international studies (160), leadership and human resource management (142) and Latin American studies and languages (134).

Among other findings, Student Services reported that undergraduate enrollment for 2013-14 includes 390 students on Boston College international exchange programs. There are 71 students enrolled in First Year Writing for English Language

Learners, about twice as many as 2010.

A record 381 students are taking Organic Chemistry, and 123 students are enrolled in Elementary or Intermediate German, the most since 1998 and an increase of 40 percent since 2011.

In its analysis of the 4,202 undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded by BC between August of last year and this past May — 2,377 undergraduate, 1,536 graduate, 272 law and 17 canonical — Student Services reported that A&S presented a record 302 bachelor of science degrees. Twenty-five students earned a doctorate in chemistry, the highest recorded number for that degree.

The five largest majors and concentrations at graduation were economics (304), finance (286), communication (244), English (193) and psychology (193).

In addition, more than a third — 37 percent — of full-time undergraduates completed a minor, while 67 students completed accelerated programs to earn an undergraduate and a graduate degree, and 101 degrees were awarded to 65 students pursuing dual-degree programs at the graduate level.

Contact Sean Smith at sean.smith@bc.edu

Lee Pellegrini

Since their discovery in the 1940s, the Dead Sea Scrolls — the earliest known Biblical texts — have fascinated scholars and the faithful alike. Associate Professor of Theology Yonder Moynihan Gillihan, whose teaching and research focus on the Dead Sea Scrolls, is excited about the educational opportunity that the current exhibition at the Museum of Science “Dead Sea Scrolls: Life in Ancient Times” offers students as well as the general public.

The exhibition showcases original fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some never before displayed in North America. Gillihan and Associate Professor of Theology David Vanderhooft will present a lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls to the campus community on Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. in Higgins 310. Gillihan spoke with the Chronicle’s Kathleen Sullivan about the theological and educational significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Q. The Dead Sea Scrolls have been described as the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century. What are some of the more significant aspects of the Dead Sea Scrolls?

The importance of the scrolls for understanding the Bible, early Judaism, and Christian origins can’t be underestimated. The scrolls were copied and used between the second century BCE and the first century CE, a formative period for Christianity and rabbinic Judaism. The text of some biblical scrolls solved longstanding puzzles about what certain passages mean, and these discoveries have changed not only how scholars interpret the Bible, but the very words of the Bible that modern Jews and Christians now read. When the scrolls were discovered it was a mess of 15,000 fragments from 900 manuscripts found in 11 desert caves. The fact that this mess survived at all is amazing; it is almost equally incredible that scholars have been able to reconstruct a fairly coherent “library” out of it.

Q. What is the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls to Christians? To Jews?

The Dead Sea Scrolls tell all of us a lot about where we came from, and the depth of our shared heritage. Specific texts do this well, such as the Isaiah scroll: it’s magnificent to behold and 1,000 years older than any other complete manuscript of Isaiah. Christians are moved by the fact that it was used in the time of Jesus, and imagine the scene in Luke where he reads from an Isaiah scroll that must have been very much like this one. But the Dead Sea Scrolls also remind us that Jesus read from that scroll in the synagogue at Nazareth -- he was doing what faithful Jews did, contributing to a conversation about the interpretation of Scripture in the presence of other faithful Jews.

Q. How are you incorporating the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition into academic life here at BC? This past weekend I took a group of faculty and students on a tour of the exhibit. On Monday, I’ll take students from my graduate seminar [Hebrew Exegesis of the Dead Sea Scrolls] and my Early Christianity in its Jewish Context class to see the exhibition. On Oct. 19, in cooperation with the First Year Experience Office, I’ll lead a student tour group. On Oct. 17, my colleague David Vanderhooft and I will offer a public lecture, “The Dead Sea Scrolls: Discovery, Scandal, Mysteries,” aimed at anyone curious about this great discovery. We’ll cover all the sensational, juicy nuggets people have heard, along with the most important things that responsible scholars have learned, and some of the mysteries that remain unsolved.

For more on the Museum of Science exhibition, see http://www.mos.org/ exhibits/dead-sea-scrolls

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Chronicle october 3, 2013

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RecPlex Gets In Shape for 2013-14 Academic Year

By Melissa Beecher Staff Writer

of Facilities and Operations Eric Zeckman, is the air-conditioned spin room, which has been retrofitted to include the comforts of most high-end fitness centers: top-of-the-line stationary bikes, lighting and sound system. The renovated pool area — with new HVAC, resurfaced pool, lane markers and painted walls — also is one of the most visible improvements members will see this semester. A new ladder and lift allows accessibility for handicapped members.

“Members wouldn’t use the pool because it hadn’t been resurfaced in over 40 years and looked in disrepair. It was an incredible, but underutilized resource,” said Zeckman.

Additional upgrades this year allow BC Recreation to incorporate some of the latest fitness trends, said Taylor, such as 10 new treadmills featuring “cardio

It’s going to be a lot harder for the Boston College community to make excuses for not getting into shape. The Flynn Recreational Complex boasts several recent additions and improvements to its facilities — the result of some $500,000 in renovations and equipment upgrades.

Among the changes are treadmills with Internet and cable TV, a resurfaced pool, an airconditioned spin room and even towel service for members. New classes – everything from Ballet Barre and Women & Weights to Kettlebells 101 and Cardio Combat – offer something for all fitness levels and abilities. SchedFlynn Recreation Complex users are enjoying new and upgraded equipment, as well as an assortment of new uling changes have also enabled classes including Kettlebells 101, below. (Photos by Caitlin Cunningham) Campus Recreation to offer more and body bars. classes to help reduce the number The improvements at BC Rec of members on wait lists. aren’t only in equipment: “This is a continuation of the University’s com“We are an older facility, but are working An athletic trainer has been hired to work specifically mitment to wellness,” hard to promote healthy, active lifestyles on with club sport athletes. said Director of CamMarketing and Compus Recreation Caitriona campus. Our mission is to cultivate life-long munications Manager Taylor. “We are an older health and really focus on the Jesuit commitMegan Burkes has found facility, but are working success utilizing technolhard to promote healthy, ment to the formation of the whole person.” ogy to promote the efforts active lifestyles on cam—Caitriona Taylor of her team. The recently pus. Our mission is to revamped website [http:// cultivate life-long health bc.edu/rec] is highly visual and really focus on the and features many of the new Jesuit commitment to the forma- theaters” with large screens that program offerings.

The BC Rec have over 30 TV channels and tion of the whole person.” student life,” she said. “And with annual membership are eligible YouTube page [https://www.

A staggering 93 percent of un- are Internet-ready, allowing useverything we do, we look to for a $150 reimbursement each youtube.com/user/BCRecredergraduate students participated ers to select running routes from support our core values: integrity, year. ation/videos] provides tutorials in some form of BC Recreation trails around the world — the passion, development, camaradeon equipment and features on “This is a health-conscious programming last year through treadmill changes height and rie and respect.” fitness classes and trips.

An early campus and we’re looking to the fitness center, club and in- pace depending on the difficulty The Plex’s 18-hours-a-day adopter of Instagram [http:// provide as many reasons as postramural sports, classes and trips. of the particular trails. BC Rec schedule — from 6 a.m. to midinstagram.com/bcrecreation], sible for everyone in the comTaylor said her staff is constantly members also can now use TRX night during the week – has Burkes said she always looks for munity to get involved,” said seeking members’ comments and Suspension Trainers — which made it a popular place for BC new ways to engage with stuTaylor, who adds that lobby and suggestions through surveys and use an individual’s own bodyfaculty and staff.

Employees who dents. locker room upgrades will be social media. Staff then uses poll- weight to train various muscle subscribe to the University’s Har“There is no student center the next areas of improvement. groups — Synergy 360 fitness ing data to prioritize upgrades.

An example of this respon- equipment, kettlebells, stability on campus, so in many ways the vard Pilgrim PPO and HMO Contact Melissa Beecher at siveness, says Associate Director balls, resistance bands, yoga mats Flynn Complex is the center of plans and pay for a semester or melissa.beecher@bc.edu

Affiliates Program Seeks Candidates The University Affiliates Program, which helps prepare AHANA employees for potential leadership positions in higher education, is accepting applications for the 2013-14 academic year until Friday, Oct. 11. The program, administered by the Department of Human Resources and Office for Institutional Diversity, is designed to deepen participants’ knowledge of the University and strengthen their viability for promotion. Mentored by a team of senior University administrators, participants learn about the methods used to address strategic issues in higher education.

All applicants must submit a one-page resume, a letter of application (which includes a statement of purpose and an elaboration of career objectives) and one letter of recommendation from his or her vice presidential area. A firm commitment to attend all sessions is required. Applications should be sent to the attention of Richard Jefferson at University Affiliates Program, Office for Institutional Diversity, 129 Lake Street, Room 211.

For more on the program, see http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/ offices/diversity/programs/affiliates.html.

—Office of News & Public Affairs

Above, Kristen DiBlasi ’15 of Eagle EMS demonstrated CPR on the Plaza at O’Neill Library to (l-r): Tommy Sullivan ’16, Alison Jeffirs ’15, Elizabeth Blesson ’15 and Thai An Kim ’14 at the annual Healthapalooza event sponsored by the Office of Health Promotion. Other activities included meditation, safety demonstrations and, right, massage. (Photos by Caitlin Cunningham)

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WELCOME ADDITIONS Assistant Professor of Psychology John Christianson sees his research — on the neural mechanisms that allow mammals to distinguish between dangerous and safe environments, as well as the neural basis of stress resilience and emotion regulation — as having possible application in interventions for psychiatric conditions including post traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. A research associate at the University of Colorado for seven years, he was recently named a 2013 NARSAD (National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia, Anxiety & Depression) Young Investigator by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. Christianson earned master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of New Hampshire, where he taught for three years. He is teaching Molecular Basis of Learning and Memory.

Associate Clinical Professor Mary Holper JD’03 is director of the Boston College Law School Immigration Clinic, a position she held at Roger Williams University School of Law, where she founded and directed the school’s immigration clinic. Holper’s past affiliation with BC Law included supervising students in the immigration clinics, and serving as a fellow for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. at the Immigration and Asylum Project, and a Human Rights Fellow for the BC Center for Human Rights and International Justice. She was among a team of attorneys and advocates who, for their efforts to lend assistance following a 2007 New Bedford immigration raid, was selected for the annual Daniel Levy Award from the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild.

Professor of Moral Theology Mary Jo Iozzio brings to the School of Theology and Ministry faculty her research and teaching interests in fundamental moral theology, bioethics and feminist ethics.

She is the author of Self-Determination and the Moral Act: A Study of the Contributions of Odon Lottin, OSB and editor/ contributor for Considering Religious Traditions in Bioethics: Christian and Jewish Voices and Calling for Justice Throughout the World: Catholic Women Theologians on the HIV/AIDS Pandemic, among others. She also served as co-editor of the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics and editor for the Content and Context in Theological Ethics book series. Iozzio earned degrees from Pennsylvania State University, Providence College and Fordham University.

David Miele, an assistant professor in the Lynch School of Education Department of Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology, focuses on how students regulate their own learning and the ways in which students differ in metacognitive processes, in particular the areas of self-regulation and motivation.

He has also studied individual differences in parent and teacher beliefs about student cognition. Miele earned his PhD in social psychology from Northwestern University and was a post-doctoral researcher at Columbia University.

Prior to joining BC, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland.

Professor David Takeuchi is the inaugural associate dean of research for the Graduate School of Social Work, and its first Dorothy Book Scholar, following his tenure as professor and associate dean of research at the University of Washington School of Social Work. He studies the association of race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status with health, access to care, treatment, quality of care, and outcomes, his work highlighted by the National Latino and Asian American Study — one of the most comprehensive studies of Latinos and Asian Americans ever conducted.

Takeuchi has been principal investigator of major grants from the National Institutes of Health and private foundations, and is currently a co-investigator of the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute funded by the NIH and Health Disparities. He holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Hawaii and was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale.

—Ed Hayward, Kathleen Sullivan and Sean Smith Photos by Lee Pellegrini and J.D. Levine “Welcome Additions,” an occasional feature, profiles new faculty members at Boston College.

Newsmakers Several Boston College faculty members offered their views to the media regarding Pope Francis’ recent published remarks that suggested a change in the conversation within the Catholic Church on a number of issues. Among those interviewed or quoted were: Asst. Prof. Jeremy Clarke, SJ (History), on New England Cable News’ “Broadside”; Prof.

James Bretzke, SJ (STM), Boston Globe, WBZ-TV News, Religion News Service and PRI-WNYC’s “The Takeaway”; Prof. Thomas Groome (STM) and Prof. Stephen Pope (Theology), Wall Street Journal; and Assoc. Prof. James Weiss (Theology), the Boston Herald.

Murray and Monti Professor of Economics Peter Ireland discussed with CBSNews.com and WRKO News the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold off on starting to wind down the central bank’s $85-billion-a-month bond purchase program, a sign they think the economy remains too weak to begin withdrawing stimulus.

In general, when confronting claims of US citizenship, the government needs to proceed with far greater caution, wrote Law School Federal Appeals Clinic Director Laura Murray-Tjan in the Huffington Post.

Asst. Prof. Franck Salameh (Slavic and Eastern Languages) wrote on op-ed in the Jerusalem Post on Syria’s history and future in light of the current crisis.

College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dean David Quigley speaks at a panel during Parents’ Weekend. (Photo by Caitlin Cunningham)

The Wall Street Journal highlighted a study co-authored by Cleary Professor of Finance Jeffrey Pontiff that found that the average returns on stock trading strategies eroded by 35 percent after they were published in academic journals.

Publications “FREYA,” a documentary by Assoc.

Prof. Rachel Freudenburg (German Studies), will be licensed by Films for the Humanities beginning in January.

BC BRIEFING Music Department Chair Prof. Michael Noone published the chapter “The Cathedral, the Copyist, the Composer and the Canon: Revisiting Toledo Cathedral’s Victoria Choirbook and the Liber primus (1576)”

NOTA BENE A book co-authored by Connell School of Nursing Professor Dorothy A. Jones has been selected for the 2013 Sigma Theta Tau International “Best of Book Author Award.” Fostering Nurse-Led Care: Professional Practice for the Bedside Leader From Massachusetts General Hospital, which Jones wrote with Jeanette Ives Erickson and Marianne Ditomassi, offers a practical model for nurses to translate theory into a professional nursing practice that advances the patient relationship and the quality of care. In addition to her work at BC, Jones serves as director of the Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Connell School of Nursing senior Samantha Prince was among the recipients of Genzyme Corporation’s latest round of biotechnology scholarships awarded to student achievers who live in the company’s host community of Allston-Brighton. Prince recently studied abroad in Australia, in addition to completing clinical rotations at both Brigham and Women’s Hospital and at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. She also works as a home health aide, caring for an 88-year-old man living alone with limited mobility and short-term memory loss.

in Tomás Luis de Victoria Studies.

Prof. Elizabeth Kowaleski Wallace (English) published the essay “‘Penance and Mortification Forever’: Jane Austen and the Ambient Noise of Catholicism” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature.

Prof. Frances Restuccia (English) published the essay “Sebastian’s Skull: Establishing ‘The Society of the Icon’” in Kristeva’s Fiction.

Time and a Half Prof. Elizabeth Kowaleski Wallace (English) gave the keynote address “Traveling Shoe Roses: the Location of Things in Austen’s Works” at “The Locations of Jane Austen,” a conference sponsored by the University of Hertfordshire. She also presented the paper “What did Italy Mean to Jane Austen?” at the Fourth Anglo-Italian Conference on Eighteenth-century Studies in Viterbo, Italy.

Assoc. Prof. Andrew Sofer (English) taught the Faculty Publication Workshop at Harvard University’s Mellon School for Theater and Performance Research. Participants in the workshop included faculty from the US, UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Turkey and Serbia.

JOBS The following are among the most recent positions posted by the Department of Human Resources. For more information on employment opportunities at Boston College, see www.bc.edu/offices/hr: Provost and Dean of Faculties Research Analyst, Institutional Review Board University Controller Administrative Assistant, Chemistry Department Technology Manager, Residential Life

Asst. Director for Graduate Student Services, Carroll School of Kelly Dumais, a doctoral candidate and researcher in Management

the lab of Assistant Professor of Psychology Alexa Veenema, received a highly competitive Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Mental Health. The two-year award will support Dumais’ research on the neurobiological basis of sex-specific regulation of social behavior, with a specific focus on the role of oxytocin and its underlying neural circuits in facilitating social interest.

—Office of News & Public Affairs

Recovery Program Manager, Residential Life Director, Dining Services Research Analyst, Graduate School of Social Work Staff Psychiatrist, Counseling

University

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LOOKING AHEAD

‘39 Steps’ and Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’ at Robsham This Fall

By Rosanne Pellegrini Staff Writer

The opening show for the Robsham Theater-Theatre Department fall season combines a Hitchcock masterpiece, a juicy spy novel, even a dash of Monty Python — and the result is an enjoyable, fast-paced whodunit, say production organizers.

Patrick Barlow’s raucous, award-winning comedy “The 39 Steps,” which runs Oct. 1720, features more than 150 zany characters, played by a cast of only five performers. Adjunct Associate Professor of Theatre Luke Jorgensen will direct this stage adaptation — written in 2005

by English actor and playwright Patrick Barlow — of the famous 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, itself based on a 1914 novel by John Buchan.

Set in the 1930s, the play’s plot unfolds as Richard Hannay, a man with a boring life, meets Annabella, who claims to be a spy. Following her murder, a mysterious organization — “The 39 Steps” — pursues him in a nationwide manhunt. As the story unfolds, the protagonist meets a wide array of characters.

“I’m so intrigued by this play,” said Jorgensen. “It requires the

BC SCENES

Adj. Assoc. Prof. Luke Jorgensen (Theatre) talks with Costume Shop Supervisor Quinn Burgess, left, and Adjunct Asst. Prof. Jackie Dalley about costumes for the upcoming production of “The 39 Steps,” which kicks off the fall Robsham Theater schedule on Oct. 17. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)

actors to play dozens of different roles, with mere moments to change character. I thought this presented an unbelievable and exciting challenge that I think the audience will just eat up.”

Nov. 21-24 will see a staging of Anton Chekhov’s classic drama “Three Sisters,” which follows the three Prozorov sisters’ search for meaning in the wake of their father’s death in a small,

provincial Russian town. The play poignantly conveys the lives, struggles, loves and secret desires of Masha, Olga and Irina, and their brother Andrei.

Since its debut in 1901 at the Moscow Arts Theatre, “Three Sisters” has had an enduring theater presence, BC producers say, continuing to enthrall audiences as a mainstay of realist drama with rich, multifaceted characters

and powerful themes.

Directing the Robsham show is David R. Gammons, who is the Rev. J. Donald Monan, SJ, professor of Theatre Arts for the fall semester. An innovative director, educator, designer and visual artist known for his experimental productions, Gammons is a graduate of Harvard University’s American Repertory Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre

‘POPS’ A REAL SHOW-STOPPER

Training. His recent Boston-area productions include “Romeo and Juliet” with the Boston Conservatory, the city’s premiere of “Red” at the SpeakEasy Theatre Company, and “The Duchess of Malfi” for Actors’ Shakespeare Project.

He has served for 14 years as director of Concord Academy’s theater program, where he has taught courses in acting, directing and design. Gammons is the recipient of 23 Elliot Norton Awards and 30 Independent Reviewers of New England Awards.

Tickets for “The 39 Steps” and “Three Sisters” are $15; $10 for BC students, faculty and staff (with BC ID) and senior citizens.

All tickets are available online at www.bc.edu/theatre, through the RTAC Box Office (ext.2-4012), or by calling ext.2-4002.

More information on the Theatre Department productions, which will be performed on Robsham’s main stage — including details on cast and crew members as well as on the full 2013-14 season, and profiles of Monan Professors — also is available on the Theatre website.

Contact Rosanne Pellegrini at rosanne.pellegrini@bc.edu

Photos by Gretchen Ertl

A sold-out Conte Forum audience enjoyed this year’s “Pops on the Heights” concert on Sept. 27, one of many events held on Parents’ Weekend. Actress and recording artist Katherine McPhee (in photo at right) was a featured solo performer with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, conducted by Keith Lockhart, and the Boston College University Chorale. The event raised more than $4.2 million for student scholarships. See story on page 4.