Boston College Chronicle

2023 QS Rankings

BC Is 10th Worldwide in Theology

BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Boston College is ranked 10th among universities worldwide in Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies in the prestigious 2023 QS World University Rankings, released this month in London.

The Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies ranking for BC, which reflects the joint contributions of the School of Theology and Ministry (STM) and the Theology Department in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, is based on academic and employer reputation, faculty citations, and global research impact, among other factors. Boston College, the University of Notre Dame, and KU Leuven were the only Catholic institutions ranked in the top 10 in the international survey. Boston College was the highest ranked Jesuit university in the world.

The top 10 schools in the 2023 rankings are, in order: University of Notre Dame, University of Oxford, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, KU

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Sacred Tradition

Diversity, Academic Strength Define the Class of ’27

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

Boston College has accepted its most academically accomplished and diverse freshman class in University history, with 94 percent of admitted students ranking in the top 10 percent of their graduating high school class and average SAT and ACT scores of 1511 and 34, respectively.

According to the Office of Undergraduate Admission, 44 percent of admitted students in the Class of ’27 identify as AHANA, and all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are represented in the class,

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University’s Strategic Investments Are Benefitting Doctoral Education

BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Boston College has invested more than $3.5 million in academic strategic funds during the past five years to elevate doctoral student stipends, reflecting a commitment to graduate education and student formation outlined in the University’s 10year Strategic Plan, “Ever to Excel.”

As a result, all funded doctoral students will receive an academic-year stipend of at least $30,000 in 2023-2024—an important milestone in the University’s investment in graduate education.

In addition, the BC student health plan now provides benefits to more than 1,750 graduate students, and the 2022 transition to a new health insurance carrier resulted in added benefits, including a lower outof-pocket maximum and improved pediatric dental coverage. According to a recent assessment, there have been no coverage reductions or deductible increases since the

health plan’s inception, and the platinum plan annual premium is significantly below that of Ivy League plus peers and the Massachusetts Health Connector prices for comparable coverage. Overall, the University contributed more than $2.4 million toward health insurance coverage for doctoral students during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley said these investments have paid dividends in helping the University to attract outstanding doctoral students, whose contributions are welcomed and appreciated in all of BC’s schools and colleges.

“The University is greatly enriched by

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Once data have been collected showing that a material like plastic is causing great harm to human health and the Earth’s environment, it is harder for people to say there is no problem.

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2 Around Campus Harrington Lecture is April 13; Corcoran Case Competition begins.

6 Q&A Lynch School’s Brian Smith talks about chatbots and AI.

8 Grand Finale University Chorale Director John Finney prepares to ring down curtain.

Provost David Quigley: “We are working to help our graduate students to thrive in their time at Boston College.”

Boston College observed Laetare Sunday on March 19 with a Mass in Conte Forum, followed by a brunch that featured a talk by School of Theology and Ministry Dean Michael McCarthy, S.J. Laetare Sunday marks the midpoint of Lent.

photo by gretchen ertl

photo by lee pellegrini

Around Campus

STM to Honor Distinguished Alumna

Catholic theologian and ethnographer Susan Bigelow Reynolds will deliver the School of Theology and Ministry’s annual Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., Lecture on April 13 in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons, where she will be presented with the STM Alumni Distinguished Service Award.

Reynolds is an assistant professor of Catholic studies at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and author of the new book People Get Ready: Ritual, Solidarity, and Lived Ecclesiology in Catholic Roxbury.

Reynolds’ lecture, titled “Basements, Potlucks, and the Orange Line: Listening for God in an Urban Parish,” will draw on stories derived from years of ministry and ethnographic research for her book, which takes an in-depth look at St. Mary of the Angels, a tiny underground Catholic parish in the heart of Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood.

More than a century of local, national, and international migrations has shaped and reshaped the parish’s neighborhood. Today, the church sustains a community of Black, Caribbean, Latin American, and Euro-American parishioners from Roxbury and beyond.

In People Get Ready, Reynolds weaves together archived letters, oral histories, stories, photographs, newspaper articles, and archdiocesan documents to trace how

A Competition with Real-World Implications

Last Friday saw the beginning of the fifth annual Corcoran Case Competition, which offers students from Boston College and other institutions the opportunity to tackle a real-world case facing real estate developers and city officials—and to come up with a solution that delivers both economic and social value.

“The goal is to educate and expose talented students to the field of affordable housing and the diverse array of opportunities within that field,” says Corcoran Center Associate Director Taylor Perkins.

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Jack Dunn

SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Patricia Delaney

EDITOR

Sean Smith

the people of St. Mary’s constructed rituals of solidarity as a practical foundation for building bridges across difference. Reynolds argues for a retrieval of Vatican II’s concept of ecclesial solidarity as a basis for the mission of the local church in an age of migration, displacement, and change.

In her talk, Reynolds will reflect on what it means to do theology in community. Lifting up the theological agency of communities on the margins of church and society, she will offer a reconsideration of how—and where—the work of theology unfolds.

Reynolds earned a master’s degree from STM in 2013. She also holds a doctorate from the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. She is a contributing writer for Commonweal magazine and is a frequent contributor to national conversations on Catholicism and public life in the media, with appearances on National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour, NBC, and CNN.

Previous winners of the STM’s Alumni Distinguished Service Award include bestselling author James Martin, S.J., and Gregory Boyle, S.J., founder of Homeboy Industries.

Reynolds’ lecture is free and open to the public and will begin at 5:30 p.m. It will be presented in person and will also be available in virtual format. Registration is at https://bit.ly/2023-Harrington-Lecture.

—Kathleen Sullivan

The competition, hosted by the Joseph E. Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action in the Carroll School of Management, began with the first of two online workshops where participants learn about topics related to affordable housing and urban development. This year, a total of 53 teams from 22 schools are taking part in the virtual competition, among them Harvard, Georgetown, and Duke. The Corcoran Center placed a special emphasis on recruiting participants from diverse backgrounds: For example, a team from Hampton University, a historically black institution, is joining the competition. Heavily represented among competitors, BC will have 22 student teams in the running.

This year’s case involves the redevelopment of a large sports arena in a major American city, a real-world project in the very beginning stages of development. The specific details of the case, including its location, will be released to students on March 31; the Corcoran Center will post more information on its site [bc.edu/bc-web/ schools/carroll-school/ sites/corcoran-center] after that date.

The competition culminates with finalists making their presentations before a panel of judges on April 25. Four teams will walk away with between $500 and $5,000 in prize money for their efforts.

“We’re trying to bring students actively into a conversation with real-world, ongoing planning processes,” said Taylor Perkins, associate director of the Corcoran Center. “The goal is to educate and expose talented students to the field of affordable housing and the diverse array of opportunities within that field.”

Laura Davis is the content development specialist at the Carroll School of Management

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Phil Gloudemans

Ed Hayward

Rosanne Pellegrini

Kayla Roy

Kathleen Sullivan

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Caitlin Cunningham

Lee Pellegrini

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Boston College Dance Ensemble presented “Encore” March 17 and 18 in Robsham Theater. Proceeds from the event went to benefit the Boston College Campus School.

Snapshot Aloft

PHOTO BY CAROLINE ALDEN

Susan Bigelow Reynolds, M.T.S. ’13, Ph.D. ’18 will present “Basements, Potlucks, and the Orange Line: Listening for God in an Urban Parish” at the annual Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., Lecture.

photo by bonnie j heath

Q&A: Philip Landrigan

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Trends in Academic Strength and Diversity Continue with Class of ’27 Plastics Study Results Are Concerning

Professor of Biology Philip Landrigan, M.D., ’63 (right) director of the Program on Global Public Health and the Common Good and the Boston College Global Observatory on Planetary Health, is the lead author of a groundbreaking new report about the far-reaching health hazards of plastics manufacturing and pollution across the entire product life cycle.

Published in the journal Annals of Global Public Health, the study was undertaken by an international group of scientists led by the Observatory and partners at Australia’s Minderoo Foundation and the Centre Scientifique de Monaco.

Landrigan spoke with Chronicle staff writer Ed Hayward about the unprecedented scope of the study, the first to examine the economic, health, environmental, and social costs associated with plastics from the first stages of fabrication to the many end states of the material that is seemingly everywhere—in homes and businesses, buried in landfills, scattered along roadsides, amassing in oceans and waterways, and infiltrating the bodies of humans and animals.

Countless studies have examined plastic pollution and health risks. What is different about this analysis?

Landrigan: This is the first analysis to look at hazards to human health caused by plastics across their entire life cycle—cradle to grave—beginning with extraction of the coal, oil, and gas from which nearly all plastics are made, through production and use, and on to the point where plastic wastes are thrown into landfills, dumped into the ocean, or shipped overseas.

Previous studies have looked at pieces of the plastic life cycle. They have looked at the problem from many different perspectives based on expertise in air pollution, or the oceans, or fracking, or medicine. But until now, nobody has looked at the entire problem all at once. That is what is different about our approach…that and the fact that we focused very specifically on plastics’ impacts on human health.

Why did you do this study at this time?

Landrigan: We are very concerned about the impacts for human and planetary health of massive, almost exponential recent increases in plastic production and plastic waste. Eight billion tons of plastic have been produced since 1950, more than half of it in the last 20 years, and production is on track to treble by 2050. This plastic contains thousands of toxic and cancer-causing chemicals that can leach out of the plastic at every stage. And because plastic does not break down in the environment and less than 10 percent is recycled, an estimated six billion tons of chemical-laden plastic waste now contaminate the Earth’s environment. This is not sustainable.

What will it take to, as the report recommends, end plastics pollution by 2040?

Landrigan: A group of global leaders, the High Ambition Coalition, established that target. We thought it was a reasonable goal and we incorporated it into our report. Clearly, we

are not going to live without plastic products. Many are essential. But we have to ensure that the plastic we do use is safely produced and properly disposed. Currently, plastic recycling is a failure. Only 10 percent of all plastic is recycled, compared to 75 percent of paper. Not because people don’t want to recycle—but once plastic gets to a sorting facility, most items contain too many toxic chemicals to be safely recycled. As a result, chemical-laden plastic waste is shipped around the world to end up in some of the world’s poorest countries. It ends up in landfills or it is burned, often harming communities that host those facilities.

We try to make a very clear distinction in this report between essential uses of plastic and non-essential uses. A lot of plastic is not essential, particularly single-use plastic like product wrapping. That’s not accidental. The fossil fuel industry sees its markets for gasoline and other fuels declining as the world goes green and they are therefore diverting increasing amounts of coal, oil, and gas into plastic manufacture and creating new markets for plastic. The goal of the Global Plastics Treaty is to put a brake on this runaway production while at the same time preserving essential uses of plastic.

This report intends to drive change at a global scale. What makes you confident that can be done?

Landrigan: I am an optimist. I have learned from long experience that the first step in bringing about change is to assemble the facts. That is what we have done in this report. Once data have been collected showing that a material like plastic is causing great harm to human health and the Earth’s environment, it is harder for people to say there is no problem. That won’t bring about change overnight, but facts are stubborn things and they don’t go away. Given time, I suspect that the Global Plastic Treaty will be established, checks and balances will be placed on plastic production, and that the currently unrestrained accumulation of plastic waste will slow. We now have an Ocean Treaty, and we have the Paris Climate Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so things are moving in the right direction. As a proud Boston College graduate and member of the Boston College faculty, I feel it’s my responsibility to do my bit to live the Jesuit mission to protect our Common Home, to push for change, and to try to advance the Common Good.

To read the full Q&A, which includes links to the study on plastics and other information, go to bit.ly/landrigan-plastics-report

as well as 79 countries. Nine percent of the admitted class are international students and 12 percent are the first in their family to attend college.

In total, after receiving 36,525 applications, the University extended 5,511 offers of admission—a rate of 15 percent, the lowest in BC history and part of a trend that has emerged the past several years.

Only six years ago, the admit rate for the Class of 2021 (with 28,454 applications) was 32 percent; four years ago, the rate was 27 percent for the Class of 2023 (35,500 applications). Last year saw the University receive a record 40,477 applications for the Class of 2026, for which it admitted 17 percent. This year’s admit rate of 15 percent for the Class of 2027 places Boston College among the nation’s most selective universities.

“The Admission staff is honored to have selected this incoming class from an impressive group of more than 36,000 candidates,” said Director of Undergraduate Admission Grant Gosselin. “These students’ intellectual

inquiry, the time and care they’ve committed to their communities, and the personal stories they have shared with us are both impressive and inspiring. We look forward to the impact they will have on the Heights and in the world at large.”

Admission hosted two welcome events for Early Decision students in February and earlier this month, said Gosselin, and will hold two Admitted Eagle Day programs next month. The office also will organize a number of in-person programs on campus and throughout the country, as well as virtual programming, in April.

“In the weeks ahead, we look forward to engaging with our admitted students as they finalize their college decisions,” said Gosselin. “While a little more than half the class has already enrolled via Early Decision, those admitted via Regular Decision will benefit from a robust array of admitted student programming to introduce them to this dynamic community and the many opportunities it provides.”

Registration Begins Monday for May 24 Diversity & Inclusion Summit

The annual Boston College Diversity and Inclusion Summit—which brings together administrators, faculty, and staff to learn about promoting and sustaining an inclusive environment as well as personal and organizational actionable strategies for change—will be held on May 24.

Registration begins Monday, April 3, for the summit, which this year is organized around the theme of “Power of Community: Growing Our Capacity for Compassionate Belonging.” To register, go to the Office for Institutional Diversity website [bc.edu/diversity], which provides details on the summit’s events and activities.

A highlight of the summit will be the return of Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington as keynote speaker. Rev. Dr. Washington is

president and founder of the Washington Consulting Group, named by The Economist as one of the Top 10 Global Diversity Consultants in the world. He currently serves as the pastor of Unity Fellowship Church of Baltimore and is an elder in the Unity Fellowship Church Movement. For more than 36 years, he has worked as an educator, administrator, and consultant in higher education, working with an extensive list of corporate, nonprofit, government, and faith organization clients.

Posters and exhibits that showcase learning in action and cultivating a culture of inclusion are currently being accepted; for information on submissions, contact diversity@bc.edu.

—University Communications

photo by caitlin cunningham

Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences senior Devianna Smith gave a keynote address at last week’s Boston College Forum on Racial Justice in America conference, “Critical Conversations and Student Voices Addressing Racial Justice in America.” The two-day student-led event facilitated discussion and reflection on the national effects of racial injustice.

photo by frank curran

BC Researcher Examines Impact of GSA Clubs

BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER

Advocacy by student-led GenderSexuality Alliance (GSA) clubs could help reduce middle- and high schoolwide disparities in depressive symptoms between LGBTQ+ and heterosexual students, according to a new study whose lead author is Lynch School of Education and Human Development Professor V. Paul Poteat.

The findings, recently published in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, suggest that middle schools and high schools with GSAs—also known as Gay-Straight Alliances—that engage in additional advocacy to highlight issues affecting LGBTQ+ students can promote well-being among LGBTQ+ youth across the wider school population.

“Discrimination is a major contributor to depression among LGBTQ+ youth,” said Poteat, a professor in the Counseling, Development & Educational Psychology department.

“GSAs provide an affirming space in schools for LGBTQ+ youth to access support and work collectively against dis-

crimination that they face. Our results indicate that GSA-led advocacy efforts to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ students’ experiences and to address discrimination have the potential to lessen disparities in depression between LGBTQ+ students and heterosexual students in the general school population.”

GSAs are student-led school clubs that aim to provide a space to socialize and access social-emotional support from peers, and advocate for students

Gender-Sexuality Alliance-led advocacy efforts to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ middle and high school students’ experiences and to address discrimination “have the potential to lessen disparities in depression between LGBTQ+ students and heterosexual students“ in the general middle school and high school population, says Lynch School of Education and Human Development Professor Paul Poteat, lead author of the study.

who attended schools with GSAs, but who were not GSA members—89 percent of whom identified as heterosexual and 11 percent as LGBTQ+. Participants reported their depressive symptoms at the beginning and the end of the school year, and separately, GSA members tracked their group’s advocacy efforts over the school year. The researchers found that LGBTQ+ youth reported higher depressive symptoms than heterosexual students at the start of the school year; however, depression disparities between LGBTQ+ students and heterosexual students were smaller at the end of the school year for students in schools whose GSAs had engaged in more advocacy over the year.

These effects tied to GSA advocacy were still present even after accounting for students’ initial depressive symptoms and several other known contributors to youth mental health, according to the researchers.

who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and with other sexual orientation and gender identities. These organizations now exist in an estimated 44 percent of United States middle schools and high schools, Poteat said. GSA advocacy activities frequently seek to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ issues and counteract bullying and discrimination within the school.

The study included more than 1,000 students from 23 Massachusetts schools

Hirokazu Yoshikawa (New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development) and Jerel P. Calzo (San Diego State University) served as co-investigators for the study. Additional contributors from NYU included Sarah B. Rosenbach, S. Henry Sherwood, and Emily K. Finch.

The research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health.

QS Rankings Place BC Theology 10th in the World

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Leuven, Durham University, Yale University, Eberhard Karls Universitat Tubingen, Duke University, and BC.

[Boston College also placed 30th in the QS rankings for philosophy. See separate story on this page.]

School of Theology and Ministry (STM) Dean Michael C. McCarthy, S.J., said BC’s strong showing in the QS rankings is a testament to the school’s faculty, staff, and students.

“Between the School of Theology and Ministry and the Theology Department in the Morrissey College, the sheer range and depth of expertise among theologians at Boston College give us a very distinctive profile,” said Fr. McCarthy. “We value both academic rigor and the practical, pastoral application of theology in the world, and we do our very best to create a community that is intellectually stimulating and personally supportive to students. That is a hallmark of Jesuit education, so we are gratified to be recognized as among the best places in the world to do theology.”

Andrea Vicini, S.J., the Rev. Michael P. Walsh, S.J., Chair in Bioethics and chair of the Theology Department, said that while the rankings do not tell the whole story of the competence, dedication, and commitment of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and staff in both the

department and the STM, they affirm the distinctive excellence of theological studies at Boston College.

“We are very grateful for this external indicator of our global academic reputation,” said Fr. Vicini. “We receive this ranking as a further incentive to strive for theological excellence and as an opportunity to continue attracting outstanding faculty and remarkable students.”

Founded in 2008, the STM prepares lay and religious graduate students from

throughout the world for careers and vocations within the Catholic Church. Its graduates pursue leadership positions in which their theological foundation and professional preparation support missionbased careers.

The Theology Department provides undergraduate and graduate students with the knowledge and skills necessary for reasoned reflection on their values, faith, and tradition, as well as on the religious forces that shape society and the world.

The department’s five primary areas of research include biblical studies, historical theology/history of Christianity, comparative theology, systematic theology, and theological ethics.

The QS Rankings are prepared by the British firm Quacquarelli Symonds, which is considered among the most influential providers of international university rankings. The Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies ranking was launched in 2017.

...While Philosophy Department Rises to 30th

The Philosophy Department rose to 30th place in the recently released 2023 QS World University Rankings, considered to be among the most influential and prestigious surveys of higher education institutions worldwide. The department had been 41st in last year’s rankings.

Prepared by the London-based Quacquarelli Symonds, the report examines the academic reputation, employer reputation, and research impact of more than 13,000 individual university programs to configure this year’s rankings of 48 academic disciplines.

Among American universities, BC Philosophy placed 12th—a one-level improvement over last year’s ranking—and

was one of just two American Catholic institutions in the top 30 overall, along with University of Notre Dame. BC was rated ahead of Boston, Brown, Columbia, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and Northwestern universities, and is the only philosophy department within an American Jesuit university ranked among the top 50 worldwide.

“The QS recognition is significant and primarily the result of the hard work and great dedication of our faculty, students, and staff,” said Joseph Professor of Catholic Philosophy Dermot Moran, the department chair. “But it is also due, I believe, to the distinctiveness of BC’s approach to philosophy, in which we are

very focused on understanding its central role in the intellectual and moral formation of our students. We also appreciate how philosophy factors into the framing and reframing of the larger and enduring questions of our times.”

The department specializes in the history of philosophy, continental philosophy, and practical philosophy, and each area is explored in a broad humanistic and interdisciplinary way to offer resources for deep reflection on contemporary questions and concerns. It consists of more than 30 full-time faculty members, with visiting scholars from the United States and abroad.

—Phil Gloudemans

photo by caitlin cunningham

Study finds that organizations are asset to LGBTQ+ middle and high school students

Two Recent Newcomers Strengthen STM Faculty

BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER

The School of Theology and Ministry welcomed two new faculty members this academic year: interdisciplinary scholar Heather DuBois and Scripture expert Jaime Waters.

Jaime Waters

Associate Professor of Old Testament Jaime Waters teaches a seminar on the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, who is also the subject of her forthcoming book. Jeremiah lived from late-seventh century BCE to mid-sixth century BCE and wrote about events of his time, which includes the fall of Judah to the Babylonians.

“He lived during a time of turmoil and a lot of suffering,” said Waters. During Jeremiah’s 40-year prophetic career, he was critical of how people are living and worshipping, she added.

“[The Book of Jeremiah] flips back and forth between narratives about Jeremiah’s life and his prophetic statements. It reads a little bit messy, but I think it beautifully expresses the chaos of its time.”

Waters’ book on Jeremiah will be published by Liturgical Press as part of its Wisdom Commentary series, which offers a feminist interpretation of every book of the Bible.

Waters cites her undergraduate experience at Boston College as setting her on the path to becoming a Biblical scholar, particularly the Perspectives on Western Culture course with Kerry Cronin, a professor of the practice in the Philosophy Department and director of the Perspectives Program. Prior to that class, Waters had not read much of the Bible, but soon discovered that it appealed to her theological devotion and her intellectual curiosity.

Waters took additional courses with Theology faculty members David Vander-

hooft, John Darr, and Pheme Perkins that examined the historical and cultural realities surrounding when the Bible was written. That’s when she thought, “I’d like to actually do this as a career. I feel called to be a professor,” she recalled.

Waters said she was particularly drawn to teach in the STM because she liked the idea of helping people who are preparing for ministry.

She graduated from BC with a double major in theology and philosophy. She earned a master’s degree in religion with a concentration in Bible from Yale University, and holds a master’s degree and doctorate in Near Eastern Studies with a focus on Hebrew Bible/Old Testament from Johns Hopkins University.

In addition to the seminar of Jeremiah, Waters’ courses this academic year have included Core Narrative of the Old Testa-

ment: Genesis to Kings; Introduction to Old Testament; and Women in Scripture.

Heather DuBois

Assistant Professor of Peace Studies, Trauma, and Spirituality Heather DuBois said her interest in constructive responses to conflict, trauma, and violence is driven by her desire to prevent suffering: “I went into justice work because I had a heart attuned to suffering. If you’re interested in suffering, you’re going to learn something about trauma.”

It is critical for people doing ministry work to understand trauma because they are dealing with other people at their most vulnerable, she explained. “If you’re a minister, how does the way that you approach the pulpit, the counseling session, the study group, shift a little bit when you’re mindful of how trauma works?”

DuBois’ expertise in trauma-informed

theology and peace studies has roots in her early professional experiences. After graduating from Tulane University, she worked for the Louisiana Violence Prevention Alliance, which gave her insights into the work of social workers, teachers, mental health professionals, and first responders who dealt with violence directly or indirectly.

After earning a master’s degree in conflict resolution from the University of Bradford (U.K.), she worked at the global organization Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, which brought her in contact with peacebuilders from various religious traditions— Muslim, Jewish, Buddhism, and Christianity.

“Their work inspired me to go back to school to study theology,” said DuBois, who earned a master’s degree in theology and ethics from Fordham University and a doctorate in peace studies and theology from the University of Notre Dame.

At STM, DuBois teaches Impasse and Spiritual Transformation; Conflict Resolution and Transformation; Sociospiritual Care; and Trauma Healing and Prevention. She is writing a book, Moving Through Impasse, in which she uses the spirituality of Saint John of the Cross, a 16th-century monk, and the contemporary critical theory of Judith Butler, a well-known American philosopher and gender theorist, to put forth a vision of navigating an impasse.

As a bridge builder herself, DuBois sees Boston College as a place that puts value on building bridges across communities. “If you’re going to deal effectively with suffering, you need to be willing to think about it and approach it from different angles. No one discipline’s going to solve suffering for us. We’ve got to work together.”

BC Continues Its Support for Graduate Education

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the presence and contributions of our doctoral and graduate students,” said Quigley.  “Our faculty and deans are committed to making their experience at Boston College as rewarding and productive as possible.”

To bolster support for funded doctoral students, the Institute for the Liberal Arts (ILA) and the Office of the Provost established a grant in 2019 for Innovation in Graduate Education, which enables faculty to apply for grants (up to $10,000 a year for a maximum of three years) for programming that improves graduate education at Boston College—particularly in the areas of innovation in pedagogy, improving personal and professional formation of graduate students, using technology to improve graduate education, and increasing diversity and inclusion. The grants have been awarded each spring since the program’s inception.

In 2021, the ILA also established an internship program for Ph.D. students in the humanities and qualitative social sciences to provide opportunities to explore

careers beyond tenured faculty positions. Through the program, graduate students have been placed in internships in BC Libraries, the McMullen Museum, and in Student Affairs, with additional opportunities forthcoming in the Academic Advising Center. Students receive a stipend to work in their placements for 35 hours per week in June and July, which includes attending weekly meetings for reflection and workshops on alternative careers.  [Read more about the program at https://bit.ly/BC-innovation-in-gradeducation]

The ILA also awards major grants (up to $25,000) and minor grants (up to $2,500) each year for projects that involve graduate students working as participants in seminars, colloquia, and workshops, or helping to arrange speakers to address groups of students.

In addition, the Center for Teaching Excellence provides robust programming for graduate students, including the Apprenticeship in College Teaching Program,

which prepares graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for teaching careers in higher education.

Since the release of the Strategic Plan in 2018, graduate student enrollment across all eight of BC’s schools and colleges has increased by 13 percent, with the University attracting promising doctoral and graduate students from throughout the United States and the world.

During that time, the University has also expanded graduate programing through the combined efforts of the Office of the Provost, Student Affairs, and the Division of University Mission and Ministry.  Popular grad outreach programs include the Graduate Leadership Program, an in-depth, six-session development workshop series designed to help grad students gain deeper self-awareness as leaders; the Grad Student Voices Conference, which invites graduate students of all levels to share their historical research projects in an effort to highlight innovative research; and the Doctoral Writing

Group, which convenes doctoral students in focused group writing sessions facilitated by the Office of Graduate Student Life to assist them with their research and writing goals. The GSL also hosts an annual overnight retreat for first year graduate students that promotes reflection and conversation.

Graduate student programs sponsored by BC Campus Ministry include the Manresa Silent Retreat at the Connors Retreat Center in Dover, Pause and Pray sessions on the Newton Campus, and the Study by the Sea Retreat, offered during spring break at Bellarmine House in Cohasset.

“Through these and other programs, we are working to help our graduate students to thrive in their time at Boston College,” said Quigley. “We continue to look for ways to enhance their experience as students, and we look forward to future investments in support of world-class doctoral training across our schools and colleges.”

School of Theology and Ministry faculty members Jaime Waters, left, and Heather DuBois.

photos by lee pellegrini

Should We Be Worried About Chatbots? Not So Much.

The promise and peril of artificial intelligence (AI)—chatbot technology in particular—has been a hot topic since last fall with OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), a chatbot that impressed many with its ability to generate detailed and human-like text, although critics noted its uneven factual accuracy. Journalists, artists, ethicists, academics, and public advocates raised concerns about how ChatGPT could negatively affect education, disrupt entire industries, and be used to sow political and social chaos.

By January, ChatGPT reached more than 100 million monthly users, a faster adoption rate than that of Instagram and TikTok. On March 14, OpenAI released GPT-4, an upgrade of the version used in ChatGPT. Microsoft and Google also have introduced their own chatbots.

To examine AI/ChatGPT’s potential— for better or worse—Chronicle spoke with Brian K. Smith, the Honorable David S. Nelson Chair and associate dean for research at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, whose research interests include computer-based learning environments, human-computer interaction, and computer science education. He also worked in artificial intelligence throughout his career.

OpenAI Ceo Sam Altman met with Washington, D.C., lawmakers earlier this year to clarify misconceptions about ChatGPT by explaining its uses and limitations, but some legislators believe that the new technology warrants a dedicated regulation agency. Is that wise?

Smith: Whether it’s government, industry, academia, or some combination, people need to think about the societal implications of any technology. As many suggest, those implications could be bad, but they could also be positive. For example, much progress has been made using machine learning in breast cancer analysis. It’d be great to incentivize and celebrate these positive applications while continuing to look for and minimize possible biases and adverse effects. In the short term, that might be a regulatory body. In the long term, we should educate future technologists to think as deeply about technical knowledge and the societal impacts of their innovations.

Researchers warn that large language models like the type used by ChatGPT could be used by disinformation campaigns to more easily spread propaganda—and, as models become more accessible, easier to scale, and compose in more credible and persuasive text, they will be very effective for future influence operations. Is the danger legitimate? What could be done to mitigate the threat of the tool’s weaponization if in the wrong hands?

Smith: There are and will always be bad actors in the world, and they’ll use whatever they can to do bad things. Will some bad people use ChatGPT to spread misinformation, write convincing phishing emails, etc.? Without a doubt. But I think

we know a lot about how bad actors work with existing tools, and that knowledge goes a long way. We focus on the bad getting worse, but the good also gets better with new technologies.

In a survey of 1,000 college students, online magazine Intelligent found nearly 60 percent used the chatbot on more than half of all their assignments, and 30 percent of them used ChatGPT on written assignments. Some universities worry about ChatGPT’s impact on student work and assessments—given that it passed graduate-level exams at the University of Minnesota and Penn’s Wharton School of Business—but are refusing to bar the chatbot, instead advising professors to set their own policies. What should colleges consider when it comes to ChatGPT?

Smith: Writing is a huge part of how students are assessed in education, so it’s not surprising that there’s concern about a program that generates reasonable essays, computer programs, language translations, etc. But ChatGPT is a technology that allows an opportunity to rethink what and how students learn—much like calculators, spell-checkers, Wikipedia, and similar tools. Changing education is challenging, so how do we do it? BC’s Center for Teaching Excellence [bc.edu/cte] created an excellent document on using ChatGPT that provides strategies for utilizing it to teach and minimize cheating. Other universities are investigating similar ways to work with ChatGPT versus trying to ban its use. The key is getting educators to start thinking together as a community to develop pedagogy that situate ChatGPT and other tools as intellectual partners rather than stuff to cheat with (it’s not called “CheatGPT”).

What do you mean when you talk about “tools as intellectual partners?”

Smith: People started talking about intelligence amplification or augmentation in the 1950s. The basic idea is that machines can assist us with cognitive tasks that would otherwise be difficult to perform alone. A calculator is a good example:

It lets us offload things like computing square roots and multiplying big numbers by hand so we can focus on higher-level problem solving. You can imagine something similar with ChatGPT. I can prompt it to create a sample syllabus, party invitation, or a Q and A for the Chronicle and then iterate on the initial text to make it read in my voice and style and correct any errors it made along the way. ChatGPT is like a partner helping me brainstorm and improve ideas in this scenario.

By the way, I didn’t use it for this Q and A.

In a TIME magazine article, proponents of generative AI said it will “reorient the way we work, unlock creativity and scientific discoveries, allow humanity to achieve previously unimaginable feats, and boost the global economy by over $15 trillion by 2030.” But they expressed multiple concerns, not the least of which is the existential risk posed by AI companies creating Artificial

General Intelligence (AGI), a tool that “thinks and learns more efficiently than humans,” potentially without human guidance or intervention. How can we guarantee that AIs are aligned with human values?

Smith: OpenAI did a lot of work creating “guardrails” to keep ChatGPT from spouting lots of crazy things. Unfortunately, that’s become politicized, with some saying ChatGPT is “woke” because it might avoid talking about certain people and ideas. But ChatGPT and similar language systems are trained on billions of documents written by humans. Suppose those programs produce language that goes against human values. That’d be because people have expressed and will continue to express horrible things that oppose human values. We can’t blame a computer for learning our bad habits; humans need to stop war, violence, discrimination, etc. Don’t hate the chatbot, hate the game.

TIME cautioned that the big technology companies that will eventually control AIs would likely become not only the world’s richest corporations by charging whatever they want for commercial use, but potentially morph into “geopolitical actors and to rival nation states.” Are these fears realistic? If so, what measures might be implemented to curb these developments?

Smith: This one’s out of my league; I’m afraid I don’t know anything about how AI might be used to create the Federal Kingdom of Microsoft or Amazon Republic. It’s an interesting scenario, but I’m hoping those companies might help us use AI to solve the significant challenges we face as a society. It won’t do much good for Google to take over a continent when it floods due to climate events. I look to our students— past, present, and future—to help with this. Hopefully, they’ll become the leaders of organizations that use AI for good rather than technological empire building.

—Phil Gloudemans

“I think we know a lot about how bad actors work with existing tools, and that knowledge goes a long way. We focus on the bad getting worse, but the good also gets better with new technologies.”

—Nelson Chair Brian Smith

photo by peter julian

The Theatre Department and Robsham Theater presented Sarah Ruhl’s “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” March 23-26 in the Bonn Studio Theater, under the direction of senior Lily Telegdy.

photo by lee pellegrini

Connell School’s Dwyer Named Macy Faculty Scholar

BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER

Connell School of Nursing Associate Professor Andrew Dwyer, a board-certified family nurse practitioner whose research addresses inequities in genomic health care, has been chosen as a Macy Faculty Scholar by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation.

The Macy Faculty Scholars program identifies and nurtures promising educators in medicine and nursing. Scholars participate in a two-year program where they implement an educational scholarly project of their own design at their institution and participate in career development activities. Scholars become part of the Macy Faculty Scholars network and receive mentoring and career advice from a National Advisory Committee and past Macy Faculty Scholars. Dwyer is one of only two nurses selected in the 2023 cohort, which draws applicants from a nation-wide pool.

“I’m really honored to have been selected as a Macy Faculty Scholar,” said Dwyer. “The Macy Foundation is unique because it is focused on capacity-building through education. It enables educators to turn their teaching into scholarship to really advance the field.

“As a clinician, you impact the lives, families, and communities you directly serve. But as a faculty member, you’re reaching hundreds of students, thousands over the lifespan of your career, who are each going to take care of thousands of people a year. If you spin that out, you are potentially impacting millions of people by shaping the training and educational experience of those who come through the Connell School of Nursing.”

Dwyer’s area of expertise is in genomics, which he says is rightfully credited with fueling precision health care: giving a deeper understanding of health and illness, speeding diagnoses, and developing tailored treatments. But there are a number of challenges and problems in the genomics era, including ethical, legal, and social implications.

“Not all populations have benefitted equally from the discoveries of genomics. My feeling is that nurses can play a key role in bridging disparities in genomic health care.”

Dwyer’s project is to develop, implement, and evaluate novel approaches to teaching genomic competencies to advanced practices nurses. The project will use simulations—structured patient encounters—where students undergo pre-learning, then interact with the patient, and finally undergo a debriefing to help them consolidate their learning and develop skills.

“This is intended to improve confidence, knowledge, and comfort for the providers, improve the quality of care they deliver, and decrease errors,” said Dwyer, who added that to his knowledge, there are no genomic simulations currently being used in the United States.

“The aim is to develop and validate these simulations and then disseminate

BC in the Media

Liberty Mutual Insurance Professor of Law  Patricia McCoy  offered her expertise to numerous media outlets on the topic of bank failures and industry challenges, including The New York Times, The Hill, Marketplace Radio, ABC News, WBUR News, Reuters, CNN Business, and Bloomberg Law.

Millions of workers open retirement accounts, then ignore or forget about them, according to Center for Retirement Research Senior Research Economist Laura Quinby  in an interview with The New York Times. The center’s research on retirement preparedness among baby boomers was cited by The Washington Post.

Assoc. Prof. Peter Krause (Political Science) provided comments to The Hill on Saudi Arabia’s embrace of Chinese diplomacy with Iran.

Prof. Rebekah Levine Coley (LSOEHD), director of the Boston College Institute of Early Childhood Policy, discussed the economic benefits of free or heavily subsidized high-quality child care with The Boston Globe.

Iran’s rulers now face a currency crisis, Asst. Prof. Mohammad Ali Kadivar (Sociology), who studies Iranian protest movements, told The New York Times.

Can Dominion’s lawsuit overcome the traditional free-speech defense for news media? Adjunct faculty member  Jeffrey Pyle  (Law) was among the legal observers who weighed in for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

Prof. Carlo Rotella (English) wrote a piece for The New York Times Magazine on Nashville’s Shane McAnally, the songwriter behind many of country music’s No. 1 hits.

it broadly as an exemplar,” said Dwyer, who has professional connections with the Global Genomic Nursing Alliance, International Society of Nurses in Genetics, and the National Institutes of Health. “We want to change and shape clinical practice.

“That’s why it is really exciting to part of the Macy Faculty Scholars community. You’re able to draw on the knowledge and wisdom of these experts who can offer support, give critical feedback, and help you disseminate findings to increase the impact of your project.”

“With this faculty scholar support of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, Dr. Dwyer will fundamentally reshape the future of nursing education to bridge disparities in genomic health care,” said CSON Barry Family/Goldman Sachs Endowed Chair in Nursing Christopher Sean Lee, who will serve as Dwyer’s institutional mentor. “This highly competitive and interdisciplinary funding will serve as a significant catalyst to further advance Dr. Dwyer’s impact in this area, and at the same time help raise to new heights the important research being done at the Connell School of Nursing.”

Other mentors and advisors for Dwyer’s project are BC Professor of Communication Ashley Duggan; Cassie Buck (Brandeis University); Mike Talkowski (Mass General Hospital/Broad Institute); Shoumita Dasgupta (Boston University School of Medicine); Marshall Summar (Children’s National Hospital); Kathy Calzone (National Cancer Institute); and Maria Katapodi (University of Basel, Switzerland).

“The 2023 class of Macy Faculty Scholars are exemplary educators with potential to positively influence the next generation of learners in the health professions,” said Holly J. Humphrey, M.D., president of the Macy Foundation, the only national institution dedicated solely to improving the education of health professionals. “We are excited to see how this remarkable group, both as individuals and as a cohort, will shape the future of health professions education through their innovative work and promise as leaders.”

Lynch School of Education and Human Development Associate Dean Julia DeVoy—part of a research project that is assessing environmental impacts of textile waste, supported by a grant from the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society—was interviewed by NBC LX News.

Part-time faculty member Brian Bethune  (Economics) gave a number of interviews regarding the Federal Reserve’s efforts to fight inflation, including with Reuters, The Boston Globe, The Hill, and MarketWatch.

Jobs

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

Staff Psychologist or Staff Clinician

Associate Director, Athletics Communications

Fiscal & Operations Specialist

Senior Events Specialist

Patrol Officer

Staff Nurse

Development Assistant

Associate Director, First Year Experience

Laundry Attendant

Head Librarian, Social Work Library

Associate Director, Graduate Admissions

Administrative Assistant, English

Associate Director, Student Affairs Title IX

Resident Director, Residential Life

Transitions & Summer Operations Assistant

Principal Data Architect

Social economist Prof.  Juliet Schor  (Sociology) discussed findings from her global research of the four-day work week in an interview with Boston 25 News.

“For My Daughters, on Yom Kippur,” a poem by Prof.  Maxim D. Shrayer (Russian/English/Jewish Studies), was featured—both the text and his reading of it—in the magazine  Vita Poetica. He also published an essay on living a translingual life, adapted from his forthcoming memoir, in Jewish Journal  (which was picked up by  Mosaic magazine), and a translation for Purim of “In the Basement” by Isaac Babel appears in  Tablet magazine.

Manager, Financial Reporting

Quality Assurance Lead

Public Safety Dispatcher

Senior Applications Architect/Engineer

Software Release Analyst

Alumni Relations Assistant

Administrative & Programs Assistant, Philosophy

Dining Management Intern

Senior Research Associate, Connell School of Nursing

Post-doctoral Research Fellow (multiple positions)

CSON Assoc. Prof. Andrew Dwyer

photo by caitlin cunningham

BC Arts

A Coda for the Conductor

After three decades, John Finney prepares for his last performances on the Heights

It will be the end of a musical era when Boston College maestro John Finney, one of the most important and highly regarded Boston-area musicians, wields his baton for the final time at the University Commencement Exercises in May.

As director of the University Chorale of Boston College for the past three decades—and Boston College Symphony Orchestra conductor since 1999, when he also became Distinguished Artist-In-Residence—Finney estimates that he has given more than 500 concerts, both on and off campus. The Chorale has performed under his direction throughout Greater Boston and in many of the world’s major cities including New York City, Dublin (most recently during spring break), Madrid, Prague, Vienna, and Rome.

Prior to his retirement at the end of the academic year, after which he plans a move to Florida, he will perform “The Power of Music: John Finney’s Farewell Concerts” April 14-16 in Trinity Chapel on Newton Campus. On May 3, he will present his last lecture on the same topic in Gasson 100. These appearances are supported by the Institute for the Liberal Arts and the Music Department.

The main composition on Finney’s final concerts will be the fourth movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the “Choral Symphony”: Beethoven’s setting of Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” for four vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra. Originally planned as the finale of a yearlong concert series in 2020, the performances were cancelled due to the pandemic. Finney said he is delighted to be able to present the work for his final concerts, and to do so in Trinity Chapel, where he has conducted so many over the past three decades.

“John Finney’s musical leadership at Boston College for the past 30 years has been a tremendous gift to our entire community, and most especially to our students,” said Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean Gregory Kalscheur, S.J. “Performing in a choral or orchestral ensemble is a deeply formative experience that helps each of the individual musicians contribute to the creation of a common good of great beauty. John has led thousands of Boston College students into this powerful experience, and the consistent excellence of the Chorale, the Orchestra, and all of the ensembles that John has conducted over his many years of service on the Heights is a wonderful manifestation of the University’s motto, ‘Ever to Excel.’”

Finney spoke with Chronicle staff writer Rosanne Pellegrini about his rich history at Boston College, recalling favorite concerts and singular experiences as an esteemed

member of the University community. He will not look to conduct another chorale or orchestra, he said, because nothing could compare to his involvement with the BC groups. He has loved every minute of his work as a conductor and performer, but now looks forward to enjoying the work of other conductors as an audience member.

What has been most rewarding to you, personally and professionally, in your roles at Boston College?

Finney: Having the opportunity to work with thousands of Boston College students, whose talent, creativity, enthusiasm,

members?

Finney: I have always tried to impart the sense of profound respect for the music itself. As performers, we musicians have a sacred responsibility to perform a composer’s music at the highest level of excellence we can achieve, whether that music is a simple melody or a complex choral or orchestral work. Whenever we perform a composer’s music, we become the conduit through which the music of that composer can directly reach the hearts and souls of our audience members.

In turn, what have you learned from your students?

phony Orchestra and the University Chorale at Boston’s Symphony Hall in 2013, as part of BC’s Sesquicentennial concert. That concert included Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” with [alumnus] Chris O’Donnell as narrator.

Conducting the Boston College Symphony Orchestra and the University Chorale at Boston’s Symphony Hall in 2018, in celebration of my 25th anniversary at Boston College.

In fact, every concert I’ve ever conducted with my Boston College ensembles has been memorable!

The title of your final concerts and last lecture is “The Power of Music.” What does that strong title mean to you, and what do you hope to convey to audiences?

Finney: I am indebted to my friend and colleague Music Professor Jeremiah McGrann for coming up with this title, “The Power of Music,” which I embrace. I am also grateful to him for writing a grant proposal to the Institute for the Liberal Arts; these final concerts and my last lecture are made possible by the generous ILA grant.

“I have always tried to impart the sense of profound respect for the music itself,” says Finney. “As performers, we musicians have a sacred responsibility to perform a composer’s music at the highest level of excellence we can achieve, whether that music is a simple melody or a complex choral or orchestral work.”

and commitment have been the source of boundless inspiration to me for 30 years.

In what ways have you seen the Chorale and Symphony Orchestra, and their members, evolve?

Finney: Many aspects of the University Chorale of Boston College and the Boston College Symphony Orchestra have been consistently sustained and maintained by the members of these ensembles over these years, including the passion for creating beautiful music, and the great joy of being part of a large ensemble comprised of fellow students—as well as Boston College alumni, faculty, and staff members. Over these 30 years, I have seen Boston College students “evolve” by being able to maintain and sustain these great traditions in the face of the ever-changing world, and in the face of life-changing world events.

Given the benefit of your experience and your passion for music, what lessons have you tried to impart to your student

Finney: I have learned how important it is to each individual member to know how valuable their presence is, and also how the shared experience of being a part of a large musical ensemble can lead to friendships that will last a lifetime.

What have been some of your most memorable performances during your BC career?

Finney: There are so many!  Here are just a few: My very first concert with the University Chorale in 1993, at the first “Pops on the Heights” concert; I prepared the Chorale to sing under the baton of the great John Williams.

Conducting the University Chorale in singing for Pope Saint John Paul II at a private audience in Rome in 1997.

Conducting the University Chorale in giving the world premiere of BC faculty member Thomas Oboe Lee’s “Mass for the Holy Year 2000,” in April 2000.

Conducting the Boston College Sym-

Having conducted hundreds upon hundreds of concerts over my career, I have experienced firsthand how music has the power to inspire both performers and listeners. Music can move you to tears; music can get your heart racing with exhilaration; music can soothe and console; music can heal. Music can enhance and magnify a poet’s text in ways that reach directly into hearts and souls of performers and listeners alike. I hope that our performances of Beethoven’s setting of Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” will convey all these things to our listeners, and I hope to touch on all these things in my last lecture. It is particularly fitting for me that my last concerts include the “Ode to Joy” because my entire time at Boston College has been filled with joy!

If you could collaborate with and conduct any musician, living or deceased, in concert, who would it be and why?

Finney: I think I would be too much in awe of any of the world’s greatest musicians to actually “conduct” them!  I would love to be conducted by Johann Sebastian Bach. My “dream concert” as a conductor would be to assemble in one place all the singers and instrumentalists I’ve worked with over the past decades, and to make glorious music together with them.

For information on the times of John Finney’s last three concerts—which are free but require tickets (general admission, limited seating) via the Robsham Theater Arts Center Box Office (bcpa.universitytickets.com)—and last lecture, go to events.bc.edu or contact concerts@bc.edu

photo by lee pellegrini