New-look Eagle’s Nest; Veterans Day Mass and Remembrance Ceremony; Chestnut Hill Reservoir undergoing drawdown
New BC Prison Education Program for women in MCI-Framingham.
RUNNING UNITED—Two participants in the October 25 Welles Crowther Red Bandanna 5K linked up as they neared the finish line on Linden Lane. The 21-year-old event raises funds for the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust [wellescrowthertrust.org], in honor of the heroic Boston College alumnus who died in the 9/11 attacks.
Clough School Part of New Global Initiative
Partnership’s goal is to strengthen theological education and fostering intercultural dialogue
BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER
The Clough School of Theology and Ministry is an inaugural member of the Collaborative Theology Initiative (CTI), a groundbreaking partnership announced earlier this year by Jesuit Superior General Arturo Sosa, S.J., that brings together Jesuit theology centers around the world to foster global Jesuit theological education, formation, and research.
With a mission that builds on Pope Francis’s call to cultivate a theology that bridges divides and addresses global challenges, the CTI will prepare students for ministry in a rapidly changing world by strengthening theological education and fostering intercultural dialogue.
“The CTI is a timely and innovative hub of intellectual encounter and partner-
ship that has the potential to transform our ways of approaching theological education in our Jesuit schools of theology,” said CSTM Dean Michael McCarthy, S.J. He and CSTM colleagues Gandaf Wallé, S.J., special assistant to the dean, and Jennifer Bader, associate dean of academic affairs, are the school’s representatives on the CTI’s coordinating committee.
Other institutions that are part of the CTI are the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University; Regis St. Michael’s, Toronto School of Theology in the University of Toronto; Hekima University College (Kenya); Loyola School of Theology at Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines); Vidyajyoti College of Theology (India); and Jnana-Deepa Pontifical Atheneum of Philosophy and Religion (India). In its
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Woods Expands Degree Completion Agreements
BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
The Woods College of Advancing Studies has expanded its outreach into professional sports by signing agreements with the National Hockey League (NHL), NHL Alumni Association, Pro Hockey Players’ Association, and the Canadian Football League Players’ Association (CFLPA) that will enable individuals from their respective organizations to earn their college degrees at Boston College.
The agreements follow a successful arrangement established earlier this year with the NHL Players’ Association and the Major League Baseball Alumni Association,
which enables current and former association members to start or complete their education at BC. The agreements were facilitated by Mike Heaney, the director of corporate engagement at the Woods College, on behalf of Dean David Goodman.
Goodman said that Woods’ wide array of degree options, including in-person, online, and hybrid courses, and its years of experience in helping former professional athletes complete their degrees, makes the Woods College uniquely prepared to partner with these leagues and associations in offering this resource to its members.
“The Woods College is an international leader in college degree completion,” said Goodman. “We have a proven track record
Recipe for Fellowship
New program brings faculty and students together to make meals—and connections
BY ELLEN SEAWARD SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
A new Boston College Student Affairs program is dishing up more than delicious dinners—conversation and connection are on the menu, too.
“Cooking in Conversation” brings faculty and students together to cook, con-
nect, and share a meal in the Vanderslice Cabaret Room, recently transformed into an all-purpose teaching kitchen.
In any given session, faculty and students can cook a recipe of their choosing or choose from Cooking in Conversation’s pre-selected menu options, like meatballs and pasta with garlic bread or roasted
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Burns Scholar
Eve Watson views Irish Studies through many lenses
PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Connell School of Nursing faculty member Alison Marshall and her students shared a meal this fall through the Cooking in Conversation program.
photo by caroline alden
PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Around Campus
A Brand New Look for the Eagle’s Nest Draws Raves from BC Campus
Just in time for the academic year, the Eagle’s Nest—a popular student hub for meals, snacks, and socializing—underwent a major makeover over the summer. Boston College Dining Services formally celebrated the new-look McElroy Commons eatery on October 9.
New features to the Eagle’s Nest include cosmetic upgrades, such as new flooring, ceilings, lighting, furniture, and design layouts to improve accessibility and traffic flow. Above all else, according to some BC students, the greatest change to the popular dining destination is the aesthetic improvements, which invite a bright and welcoming atmosphere. The Eagle’s Nest facelift was part of a capital project that also included a two-phase renovation of McElroy kitchen.
“The Eagle’s Nest renovation brings a brighter and fresher look to one of BC’s most beloved dining halls,” said Sydney Eckhardt ’26, a double major in history and economics. “I was hesitant to see one of my favorite places on campus change, but now I spend more time eating lunch and doing work there than ever before.”
quickly as possible,” Emery said. “So, we’re thinking about the staffing, speed of service, and the layout. We don’t want all the popular stations on one side. We like to call it ‘menu-engineering,’ and it can be challenging to find the right balance.”
In addition to the renovation and redesign, the Eagle’s Nest is standing tall on its sustainability values and zero-waste goals through reusable dishware that can be dropped off after a meal at the new recycling, compost, and dish station added during the renovation. Emery credits McElroy Commons General Manager Jacob Citron for the idea of enhancing the Green2Go reusable container program, which rolled out in 2021.
“So far, we’ve seen that Jacob’s idea has really reduced the amount of disposable things we were selling there. We are striving for zero waste and it makes so much sense to do this because most students sit and eat there. They don’t take their meals to go that often.”
Lucas Geromini, a double major in Global Public Health and the Common Good and Islamic Civilizations and Societies, agreed. “The new updates make the Nest feel brighter and more welcoming. It’s become one of my favorite spots to grab a meal or study with friends. The new atmosphere and the updated menu options have made a huge difference.”
Geromini pointed to the new “Revolve” station, located in the center of the new space, which features a rotating weekly
Annual BC Veterans Day Event
Boston College will hold its 25th annual Veterans Mass and Remembrance Ceremony on November 11, beginning with a 9:30 a.m. Mass in St. Mary’s Chapel.
The remembrance ceremony, which includes a reading of the names of Boston College alumni veterans killed during the nation’s wars dating back to World War I, takes place just steps from the Boston College Veterans Memorial, where those names are inscribed.
The event’s featured speaker will be 2005 alumnus David Dauphinais, who served for 10 years as a United States Navy SEAL, conducting five combat deployments overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and other areas of conflict. Following his service, Dauphinais earned graduate degrees from the Harvard Kennedy School and Dartmouth College
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Jack Dunn
SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Patricia Delaney
EDITOR
Sean Smith
Tuck School of Business, pursuing an interest in the public and private intersection of energy. He is an associate partner at the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
Dauphinais has often visited BC to speak on topics of leadership, team building, and public service. He is active within the Navy SEAL Foundation and previously served on the advisory board of the Pat Tillman Foundation.
A luncheon reception in Gasson Hall will follow the ceremony.
Sponsors of the event include the BC Alumni Association, Veterans Alumni Network, Army and Navy ROTC at Boston College, the Office of the Executive Vice President, and Campus Ministry.
For more information, email bcvets@ bc.edu.
CONTRIBUTING STAFF
Phil Gloudemans
Ed Hayward
Audrey Loyack
Rosanne Pellegrini
Kathleen Sullivan
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Caitlin Cunningham
concept menu where food is prepared onsite. This allows Eagle’s Nest dining staff to maintain the balance of their dining traditions while also serving as a hub for culinary innovation. So far this semester, the new station has featured create-your-own items like poke bowls and burrito bowls.
Director of Dining Services Elizabeth Emery said that the redesign may inspire students to try stations they didn’t line up for before the renovation.
“The ideal approach is that you want the lines to be fairly evenly distributed at lunchtime so that you can get people through as
Emery said she had been gratified by the whispers she heard among Dining Services frontline workers and resident assistants upon their return to campus in August— before the Eagle’s Nest doors were even open for business.
“I could hear the rumblings like, ‘Did you see this?’ ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah!’” she said. “That was just so exciting. I was there early this morning chatting with our employees who have been working at the Nest for a while, and they love it. To hear the student reaction and then our frontline team get so excited about it was really rewarding.”
—Audrey Loyack
Chestnut Hill Reservoir Level to
The Chestnut Hill Reservoir—a popular jogging and walking site for the Boston College community—is undergoing a drawdown that will result in an exposed shoreline in the coming months, the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) has announced.
The MWRA said the drawdown, which began last Saturday, is necessary to control the growth of aquatic invasive plants. It also will enable the installation of a new gauge to replace the prior device, which was damaged by ice last year; this gauge is critical for elevation monitoring.
The drawdown, expected to last until December 1, will lower the water to 10 feet
Drop
below normal elevation.
MWRA staff “will monitor the response of the exposed areas to drawdown and, once it has been determined that a successful depth freeze has occurred, the water level will be restored.”
While the timing of water level restoration depends on temperatures and snowfall, this is likely to occur in February, according to the announcement. The MWRA drawdown plan follows Massachusetts Wildlife Department guidance to be protective of fish, wildlife, and their habitats.
News and updates are available at www. mwra.com/about-mwra/news.
—University Communications
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 University Communications, 3 Lake Street, Brighton, MA 02135 (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 University Communications, 3 Lake Street, Brighton, MA 02135.
A flipbook edition of Chronicle is available via e-mail.
Send requests to chronicle@bc.edu.
David Dauphinais ’05
McElroy Commons General Manager Jacob Citron does the honors for the official opening of the renovated Eagle’s Nest, which took place October 9.
photo by caitlin cunningham
Prison Ed Program Will Serve Women in MCI-Framingham
ALIX HACKETT
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The Boston College Prison Education Program, already the largest higher education prison program in the state, is expanding to serve women incarcerated at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Framingham.
This fall, BCPEP launched a one-year pilot program at the medium-security prison, funded by a $100,000 Accelerator Grant from The New England Prison Education Collaborative. The program, inspired by BCPEP’s work at MCI-Shirley, a men’s prison, will provide women incarcerated in Massachusetts with the same opportunity as their male counterparts—to further their education while earning credits toward a college degree.
“We have seen firsthand how access to rigorous, supportive college learning can be transformative for individuals and for communities,” said Ignacio Chair and BCPEP Program Director Patrick Conway. “This new partnership reflects our deep commitment to ensuring that the liberating power of the liberal arts is not limited by prison walls.”
In September, program staff began holding information sessions for the roughly 200 women incarcerated at MCI-Framingham, the Commonwealth’s only women’s prison. The admission process, which
includes an essay and interview, will run through November, with classes held in the spring and summer semesters. Students in the first cohort will be introduced to the liberal arts through courses in creative nonfiction, ethics, theology, and design thinking, all taught by BC professors who have experience teaching behind bars.
Like at MCI-Shirley, students at MCIFramingham will earn credits for the courses they complete, which they can put toward a bachelor’s degree in the Applied Liberal Arts from the University’s Woods College of Advancing Studies. Students who are released are encouraged to continue their education at the Woods College, where 15 formerly incarcerated students from MCI-Shirley are currently studying.
“By expanding our partnerships and educational opportunities, we increase the success of individuals as they reenter communities,” said Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. “We applaud Boston College for expanding their program to MCIFramingham and for their continued commitment to supporting successful reentry.”
Since its launch in 2019, BCPEP has built a strong academic community inside MCI-Shirley, admitting six cohorts and offering 28 courses annually. This fall, the program held its second graduation inside the prison yard, awarding diplomas to four graduates before a crowd of current and former students, faculty, and guests includ-
More Degree Completion Agreements
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of building successful relationships with professional athletes over the years that has enabled us to sign new agreements with these professional sports organizations.”
Heaney said he was pleased that the CFLPA signed on with the Woods College—joining the three hockey associations, Major League Baseball Players Association, and the NHLPA—given the connection that Boston College shares with the Canadian Football League through Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie ’85, widely considered to have been the league’s greatest player.
“We are excited to have these respected entities join the Woods College family in helping their members to earn college degrees,” said Heaney. “It is a win-win for all involved and an invaluable asset for former players and current staff to expand their career opportunities.”
CFLPA Executive Director David Mackie praised the agreement as a way of helping players to prepare for their postprofessional careers.
“Education is a priority for preparing players for life beyond football,” said Mackie. “The Woods College offers flexible, high-quality programs that align with our members’ needs and goals. This partnership showcases our ongoing commitment to supporting CFLPA members both on and off the field.”
The National Hockey League, one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, is con-
“This new partnership reflects our deep commitment to ensuring that the liberating power of the liberal arts is not limited by prison walls.”
—Prison Education Program Director Patrick Conway
ing Bard Prison Initiative founder Max Kenner and Nurudeen Alabi ’25, a member of the first BCPEP cohort who went on to graduate from the Woods College following his release in 2022.
sidered the premier professional ice hockey league in the world. It consists of 32 teams—25 in the United States and seven in Canada—and 736 players.
The NHL Alumni Association represents all retired NHL players who are five-plus years post-retirement, and their families. The association focuses primarily on wellness and transition programs and benefits for the NHL alumni family.
The Pro Hockey Players Association represents the interests of ice hockey players in the American Hockey League and ECHL, the two largest minor leagues in North American professional ice hockey. The association consists of 1,800 members across 60 North American teams.
The Canadian Football League Players’ Association represents the professional football players in the CFL and its alumni with the objective of providing fair working conditions and benefits for its members.
The Woods College of Advancing Studies at Boston College provides flexible, academically rigorous, ethics-focused undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs for non-traditional students. In keeping with the Jesuit educational tradition of Boston College, the Woods College seeks to prepare students for citizenship, service, and leadership in a global society. The school offers 96 online courses in support of eight undergraduate majors and has an active alumni network of 8,000 graduates.
Conway and his team hope to build a similar culture at MCI-Framingham, providing tutoring for students who need academic support and holding extracurricular events like concerts and debates. MCIFramingham houses a significantly smaller population than MCI-Shirley, but a larger percentage of the women are considered college-ready, said Conway, and many are
also familiar with BC through Prison Arts Outreach, a group of student volunteers who offer art and wellness workshops at the prison twice a month.
“We recognize that we don’t know what we don’t know,” Conway said. “We’re going to learn from students what their needs are, and how they might differ from the students at Shirley. We’re using this year as a learning process with the goal of providing that opportunity long term.”
Alix Hackett is a senior digital content writer in the Office of University Communications
Alvarez Wins an American Book Award
Amy M. Alvarez, an associate professor of the practice at Messina College, was named the winner of a 2025 American Book Award for her debut collection of poems, Makeshift Altar, an exploration of race, family, and justice.
Presented by the Before Columbus Foundation—a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of contemporary American multicultural literature—the honor annually recognizes books and authors for outstanding literary achievement.
“It is an honor to be a recipient,” said Alvarez, who also won the CARICON Prize for Poetry, bestowed by the CARICON Foundation, for the same work. “Seeing my name alongside the fellow winners whose work I’ve read, loved, and taught—like Kaveh Akbar, Percival Everett, and Danzy Senna—is extraordinary. It’s even more incredible to look down the long list of authors who have received this award and whose work has inspired me: Our new poet laureate Arthur Sze, former poet laureate Joy Harjo, bell hooks, and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison. It’s just amazing and feels surreal.
“In a time when there are many who
would want to silence those of us who represent the complexity and multiplicity of American identities, the American Book Awards are a reminder that our voices are as loud and clear as ever and that the work of writing matters.”
Alvarez and the other 17 winners of the 46th annual awards were recognized at University of California-Berkeley on October 26.
—Phil Gloudemans
photo by caitlin cunningham
photo by caitlin cunningham
Amy M. Alvarez
Cooking in Conversation a Nourishing Experience
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Statler chicken breast with herbed potatoes and seasoned vegetables.
But no matter what the class is making, once the stove turns on and the cutting boards come out, the dynamic between faculty and staff changes fast, according to Associate Vice President for Career Services and Integrated Learning Joseph Du Pont: “Conversations flow easily, and students begin to see their professors in a different light—one that invites a deeper sense of connection and reflection about their experiences and aspirations.”
The program originated through an ongoing dialogue within the divisions of Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, and Mission and Ministry about how academic learning could be more intentionally connected with life outside the classroom. Developed in collaboration with faculty partners, the Office of Residential Life, the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs, and Facilities Management, Cooking in Conversation reflects the University’s Jesuit, Catholic mission: that education is about formation as well as knowledge.
Why cooking? As one of the oldest and most universal ways people build relationships, cooking and eating together can lower barriers, spark conversation, and create space for reflection, said Associate Vice President for Student Engagement and Formation Colleen Dallavalle.
“By blending the intellectual and the communal, Cooking in Conversation brings our formative mission to life, inviting students and faculty to encounter one another not only as teacher and learner, but as whole persons.”
That’s especially important, according to Dallavalle, because in today’s fast-paced world, students have limited time for meaningful, unstructured dialogue with faculty and peers. Cooking in Conversation lowers that fast pace to a simmer, offering time for students to know their professors more personally and to engage in learning that extends beyond grades or lectures.
“These gatherings enable the kind of
meaningful encounters that have always been central to a Boston College education: encounters that foster curiosity, empathy, and a sense of belonging,” said Dallavalle.
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs Akua Sarr experienced that same kind of encounter when she brought her First Year Seminar, Courage to Know, to Cooking in Conversation. They had chosen to make spaghetti and meatballs, and Sarr—who doesn’t consider cooking among her strengths—was a little daunted to have 20 students cook an entire meal from scratch, sit down, and eat it in two hours.
But it worked, said Sarr, describing her seminar’s process of breaking into small groups to tackle different tasks, like setting the table and making the meatballs. Two Student Affairs student assistants were on hand as partners to help clean up.
“Each aspect of the night was a lot of fun,” said Sarr. “But everyone sitting down together, eating, and being in community—that was the best part.
“The kinds of conversations that students had while rolling meatballs, chopping garlic, and spreading butter on loaves of Italian bread were different from what comes up in the classroom. Something opened up in all of us, and the experience brought us closer together.”
Ashby McGill ’29, a student in Sarr’s seminar, said she had looked forward to getting to know her classmates better, since initiating personal conversations in the time before class starts and after it ends is difficult.
“My classmates and I discussed more personal aspects about ourselves, like where we’re from, how school is going, and what activities we did in high school,” said McGill. “I got to know more people in my class, and I feel more confident talking to them about events happening and how life is going outside of the class environment.”
Nolan Flanagan ’29, another student in Sarr’s seminar, wasn’t sure what to expect
other than getting acquainted with classmates and enjoying a good dinner. But between the small talk and learning how to make meatballs, he says that the seminar’s level of communication changed for the better.
“I think Cooking in Conversation did make our class feel more connected. My favorite part was sitting down and eating the dinner that we made together, as I got to see other people’s personalities outside of class.”
Since the Cooking in Conversation session, Sarr has also found that conversations in class are more open and honest. She cites a deeper level of trust, developed through the integrated learning in action of cooking and eating a meal together.
For Dallavalle, that’s the whole point.
“It’s about taking time to be present together, to listen, and to let learning unfold in unexpected, meaningful ways. Cooking
in Conversation captures the very best of who we are as a Boston College community: curious, compassionate, and rooted in the belief that every shared experience has the potential to form us more deeply.”
One of her favorite moments from the program was seeing a group of students stay long after the formal cooking portion ended, cleaning up together, laughing, and continuing the conversation.
“It reminded me how small moments can often become the most formative ones,” said Dallavalle.
Any faculty member interested in spending time cooking with students is welcome to participate. To learn more about bringing a class to Cooking in Conversation or to sign up for a spring 2026 session, see bit.ly/bc-cookingin-conversation.
Ellen Seaward is a senior digital content writer in the Office of University Communications
Lynch School Associate Dean a Charter Fellow of Academic Society
Ana M. Martínez-Alemán, the associate dean of faculty and academic affairs at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, has been selected as a member of the inaugural class of 25 fellows by the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), an academic society of over 2,000 members dedicated to the advancement of the study of higher education.
Martínez-Alemán, a professor in the Education Leadership & Higher Education Department, and the Golden Eagle Foundation Faculty Research Fellow, examines topics at the forefront of higher education and campus culture. Her book Online Social Networking on Campus: Understanding What Matters in Student Culture was the first to explore social media’s on-campus impact. She is the editor of the peer-reviewed journal Educational Policy
Her current research examines college students’ political engagement, and online
racialized aggression; her most recent book explores student sexual violence activism and institutional practice.
The ASHE, celebrating its 50th year, noted that the fellows were chosen for their “integrity, advancement of knowledge, mentoring, and service.”
“I am deeply honored to be named among the inaugural class of ASHE Fellows,” said Martínez-Alemán, a past president of ASHE “ASHE’s vibrant scholarly community has enriched my research, broadened my perspectives, and connected me with colleagues whose work continues to inspire my thinking about higher education. I look forward to continuing to contribute to our collective work in advancing higher education research.”
The inaugural fellows will be recognized during an induction ceremony at the ASHE 50th Annual Conference on No-
vember 12-15 in Denver.
“We are thrilled that Dr. MartínezAlemán has been selected as an ASHE fellow,” said Stanton E.F. Wortham, the Charles F. Donovan, S.J., Dean of the Lynch School. “It’s a wonderful recognition of her important contributions to the field over many decades. In addition to her exemplary scholarship on higher education, she has contributed to BC in lasting ways as an administrator, teacher, and mentor.”
Other inaugural ASHE fellows include two Lynch School alumni: Michael N. Bastedo M.A. ’96, an associate dean at the University of Michigan Marsal Family School of Education, and Kristen A. Renn Ph.D. ’98, a professor and associate dean of undergraduate studies for student success research at the Michigan State University College of Education.
—Phil Gloudemans
Seniors Jude Bowry and Esosasehia (Esosa) Owens helped prepare a meal for a recent Cooking in Conversation event with Connell School of Nursing faculty member Alison Marshall.
Ana Martínez-Alemán
photo by caitlin cunningham
CSTM Joins Partnership
Continued from page 1
early stages, the CTI is focused on Englishlanguage formation centers but ultimately will expand to include all interested Jesuit theology formation centers.
The CTI comprises four working groups: Curriculum; Pedagogy; Faculty Development; and Resource and Capacity Development. These committees will design collaborative projects such as cotaught courses, global symposia, and a digital resource hub. The initiative also includes plans for student and faculty exchanges, intercultural training workshops, and collaborative grants to enhance technological infrastructure at member schools.
Boston College hosted a meeting July 29-31 at which 13 CTI leaders—and two others online—gathered to report on progress since the CTI was formed in Nairobi in 2024. The participants identified action plans for the next three years for each working group. The committees will hold ongoing meetings and work on implementing the action plans and determining what resources are needed. The coordinating committee, which has tentative plans to reconvene next summer in the Philippines, will approve plans and distribute resources.
Fr. McCarthy, Fr. Wallé, and Bader also serve on the Faculty Development work-
Ex-Trustee Is Ambassador to Netherlands
Joseph V. Popolo Jr. ’89, a former member of the Boston College Board of Trustees and Board of Regents, was approved as the new ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands by the United States Senate on October 8.
Popolo formally assumed the post in The Hague last week after presenting his credentials to King Willem-Alexander. He succeeds Shefali Razdan Duggai, who had served since 2022.
Popolo was nominated by President Donald Trump in early January. During his Senate hearing, he identified trade, security cooperation, and emerging technologies as key priorities. A strategic U.S. ally, the Netherlands plays an important role in global trade, and with his extensive experience in business and global strategy, Popolo is expected to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties between the two nations.
“I admire the Dutch people and their longstanding partnership with the U.S.,” said Popolo during his testimony in front of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. “As an entrepreneur, CEO, and philanthropist, I have focused on bridging differences, building consensus, and delivering results, and I am confident I will do the same in our relationship with the Netherlands if I’m confirmed. I look forward to the opportunity of building on the legacy of this great friendship and important alliance.”
ing group. Associate Dean for Finance and Administration Maura Colleary is on the Resource and Capacity Development committee. Associate Professor Margaret Guider, O.S.F., represents CSTM on the Curriculum committee, and another stillto-be-named CSTM representative will serve on the Pedagogy working group.
The questions for the CTI are what should be the content of the theology being taught and how should it be taught in the 21st century?
Reflecting on the summer meeting, Fr. Wallé said, “There was a lot of emphasis on opportunities for lay students, for women, especially from places in the world where women are left behind in terms of theological formation. We discussed extending solidarity and creating opportunities for lay people to receive good theological formation in order to teach or minister in the Church.
“We are also interested in promoting Ignatian spirituality and doing that with a global perspective by seeing how that spirituality is being approached in different contexts.”
Fr. Wallé noted that the overwhelming sentiment during the gathering was an openness to other fields and intercultural theology.
The Netherlands has been a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a unitary structure since 1848. With over 18 million people, the Netherlands is a founding member of NATO, the European Union, eurozone, the World Trade Organization, the G10, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Popolo, a Boston native, headed Charles and Potomac Capital, LLC, an investment company he founded that focuses on technology, health care, media, energy, and real estate businesses around the world. He is best known for his leadership at Freeman Company, a global provider of event marketing services, where he served as president from 2001 to 2008 and as CEO from 2008 to 2019. During his tenure, he oversaw the company’s international expansion and led it through substantial revenue growth.
Popolo and his wife, Christine, who served on the executive committee of Soaring Higher, BC’s $3 billion fundraising
“Our primary focus is theology, but it’s not limited to that. It is only in dialogue with other fields that you’ll understand why you’ll do theology in a certain way. The hope of the CTI is to challenge ourselves to go beyond our bubbles and our comfort zone in order to hear those different voices, different ways of approaching reality.”
He added that there were a lot of discussions about current theological trends
campaign, have supported a range of University initiatives, including the establishment of the Popolo Family Executive Directorship at the Edmund H. Shea Jr. Center for Entrepreneurship, as well as the Popolo Family Running Back Football Scholarship, and the endowment of the Edward Connelly Offensive Coordinator position in 2025 in honor of his maternal grandfather. In 2022, Popolo and several alumni founded the Friends of the Heights, BC’s official NIL collective.
In 2018, he was awarded the John P. Curley 1913 Award for his volunteer efforts
that are interconnected, such as peace, justice, reconciliation, and ecology, and how different schools can approach these topics through conferences, seminars, and courses.
“The collaborative and far-reaching spirit of Pope Francis is guiding the CTI,” said Fr. Wallé, who earned a S.T.L. from CSTM in 2024. “He encouraged a culture of encounter, and doing theology in a contextual, but also collaborative, way.”
and support of BC Athletics. Popolo’s family has longstanding connections to the University that extend beyond his trustee role. The Popolos’ three children are Carroll School of Management graduates: Katherine (Kit) ’20, Joseph (Buck) III ’23, and Connor ’25. His maternal grandfather Edward F. Connelly was accepted by BC in 1929 and planned to play football but was unable to attend due to family circumstances. Two of Connelly’s children are alumni: Helen (1967) and Edward Jr. (1972). Popolo’s father received an M.B.A. from BC in 1967.
—Phil Gloudemans
The Collaborative Theology Institute leadership includes Clough School of Theology and Ministry Dean Michael McCarthy, S.J., and Special Assistant to the Dean Gandalf Walle, S.J. (back row, at far right), and Associate Dean Jennifer Bader (far left).
Joseph V. Popolo Jr. ’89
The Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life marked its 25th anniversary on October 28 with a panel discussion on the relationship between politics and religion: (L-R) Center Director Mark Massa, S.J.—who is stepping down at the end of the academic year—Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University; Boston College Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy Director Jonathan Laurence; and National Catholic Reporter columnist Michael Sean Winters. For more about the event, see bc.edu/boisi.
photo by caitlin cunningham
Engaging with a ‘Multiplicity’ of Disciplines
Burns Scholar combines her psychoanalytic background with art, history, culture, and more
BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR
Throughout its more than three decades, Boston College’s Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies program has never been strictly limited to the academic realm. Burns Scholars have included librarians, artists, human rights activists, and notable public figures.
This semester, the Burns Scholar program—a collaboration between the Irish Studies Program and University Libraries— has again broken new ground in hosting Eve Watson, an expert in psychoanalytic practice, training, education, and research who codirects a Dublin clinic and is a practitioner and clinical supervisor.
Watson will present the fall Burns Scholar Lecture on November 12 in the Burns Library Thompson Room at 6 p.m. (preceded by a 5 p.m. reception). The event is free and open to the public.
Burns Scholars typically spend a semester—in some cases, a full academic year—at BC teaching courses, offering public lectures, and working with the resources of the Burns Library in their ongoing research, writing, and creative endeavors related to Irish history, art, and culture.
Although Watson understands that her field might seem an unusual fit for a Burns Scholar, she points out that psychoanalysis readily lends itself to the interdisciplinary approach valued by the program.
“Psychoanalysis since its inception engages with a multiplicity of fields and specialties, including philosophy, theology, critical thinking, and literature, among others,” said Watson, a native of Limerick whose doctorate from University College Dublin was an interdisciplinary mix of psychoanalysis, film and literary analysis, and sexuality studies. “This helps to build a repertoire with which to approach human existence and thought and provides a means with which to query your own discipline. If you look at Sigmund Freud
Savage Awarded a Degree from NUI
Robert Savage, a member of the History and Irish Studies faculty and a distinguished scholar of Irish and British history—on subjects such as the decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland and the annals of Irish and British broadcasting—has been awarded an honorary degree from the National University of Ireland.
Savage will receive the Doctor of Literature Degree from Queen’s University Belfast Professor of Modern Irish History Peter Gray at a ceremony scheduled for today at NUI.
Honorary degrees are conferred by NUI on persons meriting recognition for scholarship and creativity “and who, in turn, bring
“I want to discuss what makes returning to the past and remaking it so important,” says Eve Watson of her November 12 lecture. “Psychoanalysis offers ways to consider exile, exclusion, trauma, and repression and why it is difficult to let these go.”
and Jacques Lacon, arguably the architects of psychoanalysis, their approach was interdisciplinary: They read widely and thought widely. That is a necessity now more than ever, to keep up with a world that is changing faster and faster.”
Her talk, “Giving Voice to Irish Culture and Psyche: Psychoanalytic, Cinematic, and Literary Reflections,” reflects the interdisciplinary lens she wields in her scholarship, drawing upon history, art, culture, as well as psychoanalysis to examine how the Irish in recent years have revisited, and confronted, darker aspects of Ireland’s past.
She will touch on the writing of authors Anne Enright and Claire Keegan, whose novella Foster was the basis for the 2022 film “The Quiet Girl,” one of several Irish films of the past decade or more Watson also will discuss—others include “Song of the Sea” (2014), “The Banshees of Inisherin” (2022), and “That They May Face the Rising Sun” (2023). These works contain some familiar elements of Irish culture and psychic life, she says—bucolic rural scenes, for example, or the Irish struggle for independence—but these are depicted in more complex, and less romanticized, fashion.
This artistic trend reflects a national reckoning on the part of Ireland, according to
honor to NUI,” according to university officials. NUI praised Savage for the six books he has published—most recently 2022’s
inquiry and exploration in her course, Philosophical and Psychoanalytic Explorations of Irish Culture and Psyche, which also utilizes films and literature—in this case, she said, to provide an Irish context in considering a radical engagement with the nature of being and subjectivity, and debate paradoxes of freedom, desire, morality, knowledge, sexuality, and culture.
“Recently, we discussed the importance of fairy tales, and I asked each student to bring in their favorite,” she said. “What tends to be overlooked about fairy tales, at least as they were originally told, is that they are an outlet for the inhuman, monstrous side of people— they include some pretty awful stuff, like death, abandonment, and hardship. This can be a great help to children in navigating these difficult themes.
“Also, our family history is often expressed in fictional narratives: We are told stories about how our ancestors lived, the challenges they faced, and that they ‘lived happily ever after,’ and this is not always the case. Films are useful ways of using myths, fairy tales, stories, fictions, and memory to find ways of getting to the truth.”
Watson, in the wake of such momentous events as the collapse of the so-called Celtic Tiger era of economic expansion, revelations of the Magdalene laundries and mother-baby home scandals that revealed systemic mistreatment of women, and the centenary celebration of the 1916 Easter Uprising. Voices from many different sectors have expressed concern over Ireland’s failure to protect the country’s vulnerable and neglected populations, or even acknowledge their perspectives in the country’s history.
“Ireland modernized very quickly, especially in the past 15 or so years, becoming one of the most liberal social democracies, and among the more secular,” said Watson. “But there was a sense of shame about the harm that had been done, how and why it could’ve happened. So, these films—set four or more decades earlier—exemplify how we’re trying to figure this out.
“I want to discuss what makes returning to the past and remaking it so important. Psychoanalysis offers ways to consider exile, exclusion, trauma, and repression and why it is difficult to let these go. Our complicated relationship to language and the ever-changing nature of culture plays a vital role in forms of representation and identity expression.”
Watson is pursuing a similar of line of
Northern Ireland, the BBC and Censorship in Thatcher’s Britain, 1979-1992—which are “notable for their extensive and original use of previously unseen archival material.” Other works by Savage include The BBC’s Irish Troubles: Television, Conflict and Northern Ireland, which was short-listed for the 2018 Ewart Briggs Literary Award; A Loss of Innocence? Television and Irish Society 19601972, winner of the James S. Donnelly, Sr. Prize from the American Conference for Irish Studies; and a biography of Sean Lemass, a major political figure in 20thcentury Ireland.
A BC faculty member for 35 years, Savage has been a valued contributor to the Irish Studies program, for which he has served as director and co-director, noted NUI, adding that Savage also has frequently collaborated with colleagues in NUI
Watson also is browsing through the collected papers of the late William Richardson, S.J., a renowned philosophy scholar who taught at BC for 25 years and authored a groundbreaking study on philosopher Martin Heidegger, whose Being and Time was regarded as a central philosophical work of the 20th century.
“BC was not an unknown to me: I’ve visited before and have a number of friends and colleagues here,” she said. “But I feel very fortunate to be here as Burns Scholar and enjoy this community of scholarship and learning.” Her Irish Studies colleagues have made her feel especially welcome and she finds the program’s slate of events and seminars to be “invigorating and brilliant.”
Watson has published numerous essays on psychoanalysis, sexuality, film, culture, and literature, and lectures on various programs in psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, and health, while overseeing research projects at graduate and undergraduate levels. She has co-edited three books and next year will publish a collection on James Joyce’s writing and her own book on psychoanalysis and film. She is the academic director of the Freud Lacan Institute, and a member of the editorial boards of Lacunae, The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, and the European Journal of Qualitative Research in Psychotherapy.
institutions.
“He has created opportunities for countless students to experience Ireland and Irish Studies and to pursue graduate studies in Ireland. Professor Savage is also a trusted friend to the Department of Foreign Affairs and has regularly hosted formal and informal cross-party meetings of Irish and British local and national politicians at BC— drawing on BC’s location, his own expertise on Northern Ireland and his natural ease of manner.”
“It is an honor to be recognized by the National University of Ireland, but it’s also essential to recognize the commitment the University has made to Irish Studies,” said Savage last week. “This has enabled faculty to thrive as part of a vibrant interdisciplinary community of scholars.”
—Sean Smith
photo by caitlin cunningham
photo by lee pellegrini
Robert Savage
OBITUARIES
Carol Hurd Green, A&S Assoc. Dean
Carol Hurd Green, a long-time Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences faculty member and senior administrator known for her pioneering work in women’s studies, as well as her interest in promoting ethnic diversity, died on October 23. She was 90.
A Cambridge native, Dr. Green began her academic career as an English instructor at the College of Notre Dame in Maryland from 1959-1963, then as an assistant professor at Merrimack College for a year before joining Boston College as an English and history instructor in 1964. She left in 1970 to teach at Newton College of the Sacred Heart—shortly before its merger with BC—and then at Radcliffe College, Tufts University, and Georgetown University, returning to BC in 1981 as associate dean at the College of Arts and Sciences.
Shortly before that transition came the publication of Notable American Women: The Modern Period, for which Dr. Green had been co-editor: the follow-up to a three-volume set of biographical dictionaries concerning the lives and accomplishments of women published by BC Professor of History Janet Wilson James and her husband Edward. The Notable American Women series was widely regarded as a milestone in the development of women’s studies as an academic discipline. James
was the namesake of an award presented annually to a Boston College senior in recognition of their research endeavors, academic achievements, and personal commitment to women’s and gender issues. Dr. Green was a member of the committee that organized the annual Janet Wilson James Lecture on Women and Health at BC.
During her second stint at BC, Dr. Green took part in or helped lead various programs, initiatives, and activities aimed at promoting greater opportunities for— and increasing the visibility of—female and AHANA scholars and students.
Dr. Green became a member of the BC Women’s Studies Core Committee, which in 1985 received a Ford Foundation grant for faculty development as part of the foundation’s “Project on Women and Gender in the Curriculum in Newly Coeducational Institutions.” The grant was renewed numerous times over the years, and Dr. Green later became a member of the national steering committee for the Ford project.
promote equality.
In 1990, Dr. Green was appointed to the newly created University Council on Intercultural Affairs, which sought to facilitate the coordination of existing programs and foster the development of new initiatives that enhanced the intercultural climate on campus.
Dr. Green later co-administered a Ford Foundation grant aimed at promoting cultural diversity. In a 1991 Boston College Biweekly interview, she explained that the grant would support faculty development, launch a mentoring program, and assess the campus climate regarding cultural diversity.
For one alumna, Dr. Green “embodied many of the Jesuit principles we espouse.”
The goal, she said, was “to alert students right from the beginning to the priority given by the University to the values of cultural diversity and respect for differences on campus.”
ic affairs. “She actively supported women and Women’s Studies at the graduate and undergraduate level, and mentored many more students who stayed in contact with her to the end. She was a scholar, mentor, and great friend to all in need.”
“Carol helped me to choose my courses, and she often pointed me in the direction of taking one course every now and then that was much more for my own development as a whole person rather than simply in pursuit of a degree or to fulfill major or minor requirements,” said Meg Pechilio Mackey ’87, whose mother and younger sister became friends with Dr. Green over the years.
When Mackey got her master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, she recalled, Dr. Green took her and her family to dinner at a Thai restaurant. Over the years, she attended parties at Dr. Green’s house; once, Dr. Green even hosted Mackey’s sister and her friends.
She was one of the first appointees to the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Committee, which each year recognizes a BC junior for academic achievement, extracurricular leadership, community service, and involvement with the African American community and African American issues both on and off campus. At the 1999 MLK Scholarship Banquet, Dr. Green was recognized for her efforts to
Stephanie Ewing, Administrator and Woods College Student
Stephanie Elizabeth (Cummings) Ewing, a medical informatics administrator in the Boston College Murray Center for Student Wellness and a student in the Woods College of Advancing Studies, died on October 19. She was 35.
Ms. Ewing first joined BC in 2022 as a health care assistant. Prior to that, she spent nearly 10 years at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University, supporting the participants of recovery education programs. She also was an assistant teacher in early childhood education at Bright Horizons in Braintree, Mass.
A native of Holbrook, Mass., and most recently a resident of Stoughton, Ms. Ewing was active in the Scouting America Venturing program as a teenager and was president of its Area 1 in New England. Among other scouting-related achievements, she received a Silver Award, was a Brotherhood Member of the Order of the Arrow and on the summer camp staff.
Ms. Ewing is survived by her husband, Andrew; daughter, Sydney; father and stepmother, James and Kelly Cummings; mother, Lisa McGrath Cummings; siblings from her blended family, Andrew Cummings, Sean Keene, Emily Cohen, Aaron Cohen, and Brady Cummings; niece, Peyton Cummings; and grandfather, Robert McGrath.
In a letter to the Woods College community, WCAS Dean David Goodman said that Ms. Ewing—who was in her final semester—was “a beloved member of our community. We grieve this loss along with her family and friends and feel the pain of her departure. Moments such as this are sobering reminders of life’s fragileness. Please join us in sending your thoughts and prayers to her loved ones.”
A celebration of Ms. Cummings’ life is being planned; details will be available at sites.google.com/view/stephewing.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Sydney Ewing Education Fund, c/o Abington Bank, 6 Harrison Ave., Abington, MA 02351. —University Communications
She was also regarded one of the chief architects of the Charles F. Donovan, S.J., Urban Teaching Scholars Program in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, an intensive one-year master’s program she co-founded in which participants teach in urban schools through a curriculum that prioritizes critical inquiry, social justice education, and community building. In 2002, she left her associate dean post to serve as the program’s director, although she continued to teach in the English Department.
Among many other activities, Dr. Green co-directed the Boston College American Law and History Institute, a summer program organized by MCAS and the BC Law School that hosted teachers of American history from overseas institutions for six weeks of lectures, discussions, workshops, site visits and special events. The teachers used the experience to plan curricula in American history or American studies that will suit the needs of their institutions.
Dr. Green had an international experience of her own when she earned a Fulbright grant to spend the 1996-1997 academic year at the University of Palacky in the Czech Republic, where she was a visiting professor for American Studies.
But even as she put her resources and talents to bear on big-picture academic, political, and societal matters, Dr. Green kept her eye on issues closer to home. She and English faculty colleagues organized regular donations of homemade or storebought quiche and brownies—which Dr. Green delivered—to a Boston shelter for low-income and homeless women.
“It’s a nice, simple idea: Feed people lunch,” she told the Boston College Chronicle in December of 1993. “And the response has been very enthusiastic. Everybody wants to do something for others, especially around the holidays, but time is such a problem. This program allows people to contribute in a way that’s manageable.”
“Carol was a stalwart defender of underdogs and supported AHANA students at a time when there were very few of them at BC,” said J. Joseph Burns, a former MCAS associate dean and later associate vice provost for undergraduate academ-
“That is who she was: a lover of a diverse range of people and of good conversation and always generous to a fault,” said Mackey. “She embodied so many of the Jesuit principles that we espouse.”
Dr. Green was co-editor of American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide from Colonial Times to the Present and coauthor of American Women in the 1960s: Changing the Future. She served on the board of the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy, the state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Dr. Green earned a bachelor’s degree from Regis College, a master’s degree from Georgetown, and a doctorate in American Studies from George Washington University.
She is survived by her daughter, Miriam Wisener, and three grandchildren. She was predeceased by her son, Martin M. Green, and her husband, Martin B. Green.
At press time, no details were available on funeral services or other events.
—University Communications
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
Research Associate, Lab-to-Classroom Research Group
Administrative Assistant, Research Program on Children & Adversity
Assistant/Associate Director, Athletics
Leadership Giving
Nov. 18 Event Spotlights BC Book on Nabokov
BY ROSANNE PELLEGRINI STAFF WRITER
The complex themes and rich language in the works of Vladimir Nabokov—a Russian émigré considered one of the most brilliant writers of the 20th century—will be the focus of a campus event featuring a panel of Boston College students and faculty, whose collaborative study and writing on this peerless international literary figure led to the publication of a recently released book.
Nabokov on the Heights: New Studies from Boston College presents innovative scholarship on the translingual author. Edited and curated by Professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies Maxim D. Shrayer, the volume of essays—which will be launched as a Dean’s Colloquium on November 18 in Gasson 100 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Gasson 100, with a reception to follow—comprises cutting-edge scholarship and criticism.
Contributors include 10 former undergraduates and graduate students who have participated in Shrayer’s research seminar on Nabokov, as well as three English Department faculty members whose work focuses on the author.
The event will “explore the legacy of the Russian-American genius” as well as his ties to Greater Boston, Shrayer noted.
“Nabokov left a peerless body of Russianand English-language works. He continues to inspire writers, hold scholars in thrall, and mesmerize students of culture in exile. Many of the writer’s American firsts occurred during his formative immigrant years in the Boston area, from 1941 to 1948. Here he became an American poet, critic, novelist, and translator, an American college professor, and an American entomologist. Here, he and his Jewish wife and son, stateless refugees, were naturalized as American citizens.
“We still have much to learn about Nabokov’s time in and around Boston,” Shrayer added, “but Nabokov on the Heights offers many new insights for those interested in his work and biography, and in greater Boston’s cultural history”—including new aspects of Nabokov’s relationship with English writer Graham Greene, based on the Burns Library
BC Scenes
Autumn Marches On
As fall reached its official midway point last Friday, recent campus activities included the Rookie Showcase, where new members of student dance groups—like Fuego Del Corazón (near right)—got a chance to perform, and the Farmers Market on Corcoran Commons Plaza.
archival materials.
The new essay collection covers a wide range of topics, including translingualism, modernist poetics, sexuality, religion and metaphysics, urban and immigration studies, and offers innovative insights into Nabokov’s body of work.
Shrayer will moderate the panel, which includes essay contributors Nina Khaghany ’24, who recently earned a master’s degree in comparative literature at Columbia University; Matthew Lyberg ’98, global head of AI, Asset Management & Product, Manulife Wealth & Asset Management; Katie Pelkey,
M.A. ’23, who is pursuing a master’s in creative writing at Syracuse University; and BC English Professor Eric Weiskott.
“It is a great pleasure to celebrate the publication of this collection bringing together contributions from Boston College faculty colleagues, undergraduates, and graduate students,” said Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean Gregory Kalscheur, S.J., whose office is sponsoring the free, public event. “This sort of collaborative scholarship exemplifies our aspirations for shared and integrative intellectual endeavors that enliven academic life at BC.”
The book’s other BC contributors are doctoral student Nicholas Adler; 2023 M.A. recipients Megumi DeMond ’17, Brendan McCourt, and Ciara Spencer; 2024 M.A. recipients Fiona Steacy and Jared Hackworth; Samuel L. Peterson ’25; and English Professor Kevin Ohi.
According to publisher Academic Studies
Press, the book is a tribute to both Nabokov’s enduring legacy and Shrayer’s skill in fostering new scholarship.
“Of all the research projects in over the 30 years I have been at BC, Nabokov on the Heights is easily my most treasured one,” Shrayer said. “I am a big believer in motivating undergraduate and graduate students to take their own work seriously and to treat their class projects as scholarship-in-progress and/or future publications. The Nabokov Seminar, which I have been teaching regularly since 1997, has served as an incubator of great research by our talented students.”
“It was a great honor for Professor Shray-
Maxim D. Shrayer: “I am a big believer in motivating undergraduate and graduate students to take their own work seriously and to treat their class projects as scholarship-inprogress and/or future publications.”
photo by lee pellegrini
er to ask me to speak at the book launch, in particular because I wrote my chapter as an undergraduate,” said Khaghany, who hopes event attendees “appreciate the future of higher education and research that this project represents. Not only did this help me in my studies at Columbia by allowing me to see the work that goes into crafting a peer-reviewed chapter, but also because it represents the potential that undergraduate students, particularly our own Boston College Eagles, have to produce excellent research.
“As I continue to speak about Nabokov on the Heights and share this project with professors and peers, I feel gratitude to Professor Shrayer, Dean Kalscheur and Boston College, who have supported my academic ambitions. I feel so much pride in this book because I know that its research uniquely advanced literary studies by presenting Nabokov’s identity across the span of his works—a man who changed and learned through each of his projects, yet remained dedicated to the themes and people he wished to represent and give voice to.”
The idea for the collection originated in the Nabokov Seminar during the spring semester of 2023, recalled Shrayer. “It was an absolutely remarkable group of undergraduates, master’s, and doctoral students; the participants not only enjoyed intellectual synergy but wanted to make a contribution to Nabokov studies.”
Peterson described the project as “the sort of thing that perfectly encapsulates Boston College’s commitment to the undergraduate experience.
“It is not every day that an undergraduate student is afforded such a unique and fulfilling opportunity. Our project, born out of classroom discussions, led me to create my first published work and pushed me to write a Scholar of the College Project for my English honors thesis, which served as the culmination of my time in the BC classroom. I could not be more grateful to have been so supported by Professor Shrayer, and the entire team that made Nabokov on the Heights a reality.”
The new volume has garnered accolades by reviewers.
“Nabokov on the Heights is a tribute both to Nabokov’s ability to engage a new generation of readers and to Maxim D. Shrayer’s skill in guiding them as they seek to convert their enthusiasm into meaningful scholarship,” said University of California-Berkeley Professor Eric Naiman, author of Nabokov, Perversely. “A successful class is only the start of a continuing relationship with its teacher and its texts. By retrograde analysis, one can read Nabokov on the Heights to discover what can happen when one teaches Nabokov well.”
“In celebration of the role that the colleges and universities of Massachusetts played in the life and work of Vladimir Nabokov, the scholars of Boston College have located and filled in gaps in Nabokov studies, stimulating further thought and discussion,” noted Hebrew University of Jerusalem Professor Leona Toker, author of Nabokov: The Mystery of Literary Structures.
Watch a YouTube feature on Nabokov on the Heights at youtube.com/ watch?v=zx8i6PdSwEI
