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Chronicle
February 16, 2023
Around Campus
Portal Will Help Spark a World of Conversation for McMullen Visitors Visitors to the McMullen Museum of Art “Landscape of Memory: Seven Installations from the Barjeel Art Foundation (Sharjah, UAE)” exhibition can enhance their experience with a real-time global conversation—and without leaving the building. The museum is home this semester to the “McMullen Portal,” a videoconferencing chamber located in the third-floor Monan Gallery. These portals are interconnected, immersive audiovisual environments that allow visitors to converse with those in a distant portal—in Mexico, Ethiopia, and India, among other locations—as if they were in the same room. Beginning February 19, the museum will offer free docent tours of the exhibition every Sunday from 2-2:30 p.m., followed by an approximately 50-minute session in the McMullen Portal. According to organizers, the portal dialogues will explore the “Landscape of Memory” exhibition’s themes of identity, exile, and memory. This Sunday will feature Mexico City resident Maya Burns, a feminist Mexican folk singer who challenges the Ranchero style of music by injecting a feminist edge to this traditionally “machismo” musical genre. The February 26 event will explore
how the Walkers Institute for Regenerative Research and Design moves from activism to adaptation, applying design principles to create nature-based solutions to build habitat, increase biodiversity, and sequester carbon while reconnecting the community to nature through both agrotourism and other educational experiences. The museum is inviting BC faculty and student groups to reserve sessions in the portal; a listing and description of portal connections as well as links for registering are available at www.bc.edu/sites/artmuseum/portal. Boston College has been a frequent landing place for the portals, which are designed and hosted by Shared_Studios. During some recent semesters, including last fall, a portal has been located outside O’Neill Library and utilized by University faculty and students to connect with individuals and communities across the world. These sessions have featured conversations with Rwandan environmental activists; Iraqi, Kurdish, and Syrian refugees and displaced persons; and Afghan teenage boys, who enthusiastically discussed video games, music, and movies. —Sean Smith
Snapshot
photo by sean smith
PHOTO BY CAROLINE ALDEN
Liftoff
Student dance troupe Sexual Chocolate performed on the Robsham Theater main stage on February 10. Members of the Synergy dance group also took part in the event.
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Jack Dunn
SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Patricia Delaney EDITOR
Sean Smith
CONTRIBUTING STAFF
Phil Gloudemans Ed Hayward Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan PHOTOGRAPHERS
The McMullen Museum Portal will be the site for immersive videoconferencing experiences with people in other parts of the world.
Caitlin Cunningham Lee Pellegrini
Total Compensation Info for BC Employees Later this month, full-time employees of Boston College will receive the Total Compensation Statement: a personalized document that details the total compensation, salary plus benefits, they receive from the University. The Total Compensation Statement, which represents information for calendar year 2022, will be mailed to employees’ home addresses. The annual statement lists an employee’s base salary plus health and wellness benefits,
retirement plans, and tuition remission. The non-salary section will be detailed further to show an employee’s contribution and BC’s contribution. Also included are descriptions of all the benefits the University offers, from disability coverage to group auto and home insurance to adoption assistance. (Note: New employees who started on or after July 2, 2022 should not expect a statement this year.) —University Communications
Members of the Boston College community are invited to submit nominations for the annual Ever to Excel awards, which recognize students, student groups, faculty, and staff for excellence in leadership and service to the University. All nominations are due March 1. The 17 awards include the St. Ignatius Award for Faith in Action, honoring a student who has exemplified the imperative to “Seek God in All Things,” and demonstrated love for God by serving their neighbor and inspiring others; the Welles
R. Crowther Service Award, given to an undergraduate who shows a commitment to service and inspires others by their example; and the Mary Kaye Waldron Staff Award, for a staff member who exhibits a continual commitment to the ideals of BC with a self-evident belief in the need to enhance student life in a positive manner. For more information, and to submit nominations, go to bc.edu/awards or contact Matt Razek at razek@bc.edu. —University Communications
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