Boston College Chronicle April 27, 2023

PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

BC’s Acclaimed C21 Center Marks 20 Years

BY ALIX HACKETT SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

On January 6, 2002, Professor of Theology Thomas Groome was among the millions of Catholics around the world to read the shocking results of a Boston Globe investigation that exposed a decades-long pattern of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, and efforts by the Archdiocese of Boston to cover it up. Not long after, Groome was one of about 25 people called into an emergency meeting by University President William P. Leahy, S.J., to discuss BC’s response to the unfolding crisis.

Everyone in attendance was in agreement: Boston College could not stay silent.

Instead, recalled Groome—now a professor in the School of Theology and Ministry— “we decided to face it head-on.”

The result was the Church in the 21st Century Center (C21), which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Initially launched as a two-year program, C21 was created to serve as a catalyst for the renewal of the Catholic Church by publishing papers and hosting lectures and conferences exploring three main areas: roles and relationships within the Church, sexuality in the Catholic tradition, and handing on the faith to the next generation. The Catholic intellectual tradition was later added as a fourth area of focus.

No topic was off-limits. In the center’s first year, speakers at C21-sponsored events discussed Catholic attitudes toward homosexuality and debated the role of women in the Church. The center even invited the Globe reporters who uncovered the abuse Continued on page 5

Shared Experiences A Boston College student and her alumna mother have taken a similar route to recovery from health issues

BY MEGHAN KEEFE SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

Woods College of Advancing Studies graduate student Ruth Anne McManus ’23 may be a self-proclaimed “back-of-thepack” kind of runner, but there’s nothing lagging in her passion for advocacy or knack for fundraising.

McManus launched her first charitablegiving campaign last year when she raised

INSIDE 2 A Very Good Year

Accolades for BC Dining Services.

3 Recognition for Rougeau

BC Law to honor former dean.

8 New Works

Two BC authors add to their portfolios.

Arts Festival Begins Today

The 25th annual Boston College Arts Festival runs through Saturday. Details at bc.edu/artsfestival.

$8,000 for Boston non-profit Victory Programs Inc. and its ReVision Urban Farm, which creates access to farm-fresh food for communities struggling to obtain quality produce. She first started volunteering for the program in 2019 and was drawn to its mission. As a testament to all the hard work she had devoted to its cause over the years, Victory Programs asked McManus to spearhead their Friends Feeding Friends campaign in 2021. In order to bring in such a large sum for the program, she decided to run the 2022 Providence Half Marathon in Victory’s name.

This year, McManus has taken her ambitions up a notch: She’s set a goal of running three half-marathons by the end of this year, including the Providence Half Marathon next month, and raising $10,000 for Victory Programs.

McManus is following in—or rather, literally accompanying—the footsteps of her mother, Mary, a 1984 graduate of the Boston College School of Social Work: Like Mary, Ruth Anne has faced significant health struggles and has found selfrevitalization through running and doing for others. She also notes that the ReVision Urban Farm program’s values align with Continued on page 4

APRIL 27, 2023 VOL. 30 NO. 15

Gotta Hand It to ’Em

photo by frank curran

Boston College students were out in force at the “Mile 21” cheering section on Marathon Monday to lend encouragement to runners in the Boston Marathon. Other campus activities that day included a “Fastest Eagle” 50-yard dash, a HIIT (high intensity interval training) class, and a concert featuring Flo Rida.

Gladwell to Appear at CSOM Finance Conference

BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER

Best-selling author and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell will deliver the keynote remarks at the Carroll School of Management’s 16th annual Finance Conference on May 12.

Gladwell, author of five New York Times bestsellers and the host of the Revisionist History podcast, will present the Dorothy Margaret Rose Knight Economic Keynote Discussion at 8:30 a.m. in the Yawkey Center’s Murray Room. He will speak to the topic of the “problem with meritocracy.”

Every year, the Carroll School invites respected global experts to assess what’s ahead for markets, the economy, and geopolitics at the conference, led by co-chairs including the Carroll School John and Linda Powers Family Dean Andy Boynton ’78.

A New Yorker magazine staff writer since 1986, Gladwell has authored The Tipping Point; Blink; Outliers; What the Dog Saw; David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants; and The Bomber Mafia. He has been named one of the 100 most influential people

Malcolm Gladwell photo by celeste sloman

by TIME magazine and one of Foreign Policy’s Top Global Thinkers.

His talk at the conference will be followed by Harvard University Kennedy School faculty member Meghan O’Sullivan, who will speak on “The State of the Globe: A New Geopolitical Landscape.” O’Sullivan, a former deputy national security advisor on Iraq and Afghanistan, is the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the

Continued on page 3

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Chronicle

April 27, 2023

Around Campus

BC Dining Services Relishing a Year of Accomplishments and Accolades After having dealt with numerous pandemic-related challenges that affected colleges and universities nationwide, Boston College Dining Services (BCDS) has been buoyed this academic year by recognition from its peers, accolades from students, and strengthened engagement with the University community.

Over the past several months, BCDS has won the National Association of College and University Food Services Gold Award for sustainability, Food Management magazine’s Best Sandwich Award for the katsu sando, and was chosen as the FoodService Director Magazine Foodservice Operation of the Month for the innovative ordering system used in the Tully Café at 245 Beacon Street.

Honors such as these are a source of pride as well as a validation of BCDS’s efforts to ensure satisfaction on the part of its customers but also its staff, according to administrators—a task all the more critical given the pandemic’s impact on dining operations, said Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services Pat Bando.

“I’d ask myself every day, ‘How can we increase the flexibility of our staff?’ and ‘How can we keep students and employees happy—or make them happier?’” she said.

Many of the answers to such questions come from direct feedback, which the department willingly accepts in all forms.

BCDS Director Beth Emery noted that their team was awarded the Eagle Partnership Award by the Undergraduate Govern-

Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services Pat Bando, left, with Dining Services Director Beth Emery. “It was a pleasure to open our dining units to full capacity,” says Bando. photo by caitlin cunningham

ment of BC, honoring a department that listens and actively responds to students’ assessments.

“We pride ourselves on that,” Emery said. “We’re looking for student input.

We’re not afraid of constructive feedback.”

BCDS serves upwards of 20,000-23,000 meals a day during the academic year, said Emery, but “when it comes to food it’s really personal: You really want to try and take care of that one student, employee, or

community member.” Student encounters with Dining Services staff can be as important as those with faculty members, she added: “You might be having a tough day, but that person in the dining hall could bring a smile to your face.”

One important avenue for BCDS to gain insights into its successes and shortcomings is working with student-run or student-oriented groups through Dining Advisory Board meetings. Representa-

tives from more than 30 organizations are invited to these gatherings, including the Center for Student Wellness, Undergraduate Government of BC, Muslim Student Association, BC Hillel, the Sustainability Action Committee, and other cultural and sustainability groups.

Employment opportunities are yet another key means of contact with BCDS. As of mid-March, BCDS employed more than 800 students, including some 20 interns who manage the department’s social media accounts or handle promotions for the Green2Go campaigns.

The easing of pandemic-related restrictions also enabled BCDS to resume organizing special events, among them monthly culinary showcases, “Pi Day” cooking classes, and burger battles.

“Dining Services really cares about the students, and it was a pleasure being able to open our dining units to full capacity,” said Bando.

As 2022-2023 draws to a close, Bando and Emery are already planning for next year. Emery, for example, is exploring more ways to integrate students’ favorite foods into the current BCDS menus.

“The team will be summarizing the impact—financial, physical, even emotional—of all the programs that we’ve done,” said Bando, “and we will use that as a guide to which ones we will grow and create anew.”

—Meghan Keefe is a junior in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences

New UGBC Team for 2023-2024

Jonah Kotzen and Meghan Heckelman

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Jack Dunn

SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Patricia Delaney EDITOR

Sean Smith

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

photo by lee pellegrini

Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences junior Jonah Kotzen and Meghan Heckelman, a sophomore in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, will be the president and vice president, respectively, of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College for the 20232024 academic year.

The pair won the April 3 UGBC election, narrowly defeating the team of Morrissey College juniors Jordan Nakash and Yosan Tewelde.

Kotzen is a member of the BC Residence Hall Association executive board and serves as the Council for Students with Disabilities policy coordinator and the Student Assembly Intersectionality Committee chairperson. Last month, he was named as a Dean’s Scholar in the Biology Department.

Heckelman is the director of student initiatives in UGBC and a member of the Jenks Leadership Program; she served as the UGBC liaison to the planning team for the 2023 Boston College Women’s Summit. She is an undergraduate fellow in the John Marshall Project of the Political Science Department, which promotes the study of citizenship and statesmanship in a democratic and constitutional republic.

—University Communications

Phil Gloudemans Ed Hayward Rosanne Pellegrini Kayla Roy Kathleen Sullivan

Chronicle

PHOTOGRAPHERS

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

Caitlin Cunningham Lee Pellegrini

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Chronicle

April 27, 2023

Communication Dept. Will Launch New Lab in Fall

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

The Communication Department is preparing to unveil its Creative Communications Lab (CCL) in the 2023-2024 academic year, providing Boston College students interested in audio and video production with a new, state-of-the-art facility to help them develop skills and showcase their creativity.

The CCL will be located on the second floor of Lyons Hall, adjacent to the department’s Media Lab. Communication faculty say the new lab will be geared to the instructional and professional-development needs of students interested in broadcast, film, and other media-related fields.

“The goal of the CCL is to enable students to work in a realistic setting, with equipment that is much like what is used in professional situations,” said Associate Professor Matthew Sienkiewicz, the department chair. “The lab will help familiarize them with techniques and procedures in audio and video production, and develop the skills and knowledge to create content with laptop or smartphone.”

Christopher Citorik, who as assistant director will oversee the lab on a day-to-day basis, said that while the Media Lab will be incorporated into the CCL, the latter will serve a different purpose.

“The existing Media Lab is more for in-

Communication Chair Matthew Sienkiewicz, left, and Christopher Citorik, assistant director of the Creative Communications Lab—set to open this fall—say the new facility will add an important dimension to the department’s undergraduate curriculum. photos by lee pellegrini

dividual use, with individual workspaces,” explained Citorik, whose professional experience includes working in a variety of roles at WBUR and WBZ. “The new lab is geared toward teaching and group projects, so there will be many opportunities for collaboration.”

The CCL’s features will include 20 moveable workstations for student use, a green screen (used for combining two still

images or video frames, such as in weather forecast broadcasts), and studio lighting.

The lab will include four wall-mounted monitors arranged in separate areas for group breakouts, and a fifth monitor that will serve as an instructional screen and connect with the other four monitors.

“The emphasis is on being modern, flexible, and modular,” said Sienkiewicz.

“We don’t want to get locked into a piece

of technology that might be obsolete in several years, but what we’ll have will be very useful for students to get a basic grasp of audio and video production— enough to help them get internships, for example.”

Sienkiewicz and Citorik said the addition of the CCL represents an enhancement to, not a change in, the study of communication at BC. “As a department, we are focused largely on teaching theory and history in communication; the addition of this lab will not change that, but rather will incorporate some basic elements of audio and video production into our curriculum—which, in the BC tradition, emphasizes critical thinking,” said Sienkiewicz, noting that Citorik will utilize the CCL in teaching the new Fundamentals of Creative Communication course. “So now, when students learn about basic film theory techniques—a close-up versus a wide shot, for instance—they can try these for themselves and get a fuller understanding of what’s involved.”

Sienkiewicz used a historical metaphor in describing the CCL’s role: “When writing implements were introduced in schools, students learned how to create letters and numbers, not just read them,” he said. “By using the CCL in concert with our media classes, we’re teaching penmanship.”

BC Law to Present Honor to Former Dean Rougeau Vincent D. Rougeau, president of the College of Holy Cross and the former dean of the Boston College Law School, will be honored by the school for his distinguished service to law and humanity when he is presented with the St. Thomas More Award at the annual Law Day on May 4.

The recognition is annually bestowed by the BC Law Alumni Association to a member of the legal community who represents the ideals of St. Thomas More, characterized by integrity, leadership, and faithfulness to gospel values.

This year’s other Law Day honorees are: Vera Sung J.D. ’90 and Chanterelle Sung J.D. ’04 (William J. Kenealy, S.J., Alumnae of the Year Award); Andres Torre, J.D. ’08 (Hon. David S. Nelson Public Interest Law Award); Jay Blitzma J.D. ’74 (Daniel G. Holland Lifetime Achievement Award); and Lauren Jacobs J.D. ’19 (Recent Graduate Award).

Rougeau, who became the 33rd president of Holy Cross in July 2021 after serving as BC Law dean for 10 years, is the first lay and Black president in the college’s history. He has written extensively on law and religions with a particular focus on Catholic social teaching and the law, including his 2008 book, Christians in the American Empire: Faith and Citizenship in the New World Order. His current research and writing focuses on the relationships among religious identity, citizenship, and membership in highly mobile and increasingly multicultural democratic societies.

As dean of BC Law, Rougeau led a reorganization in leadership structure that supported a more holistic approach to student services, expanded the school’s recruitment of a diverse student body, and enhanced the school’s commitment to experiential learning and global engagement. Through his efforts, BC Law’s Center for Experiential Learning brought together the school’s hands-on training programs, while the Global Practice Program launched new opportunities for BC Law students in Dublin, Germany, Chile, France, and other locations around the globe.

While at BC Law, Rougeau served as the inaugural director of the University’s Forum on Racial Justice in America.

A vocal advocate for change in legal education, Rougeau is a former president of the Association of American Law Schools and was a member of AALS’s executive com-

Vincent Rougeau was dean of the Boston College Law School from 2011-2021. photo by webb chappell

mittee, and chair of the AALS Deans Steering Committee. He has also served on the Council of the Boston Bar Association.

Prior to BC Law, Rougeau was a professor of law at Notre Dame Law School and served as their associate dean for Academic Affairs. He began his academic career at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law. Previous St. Thomas More Award recipients include the late Margaret Heckler J.D. ’56, a Massachusetts congresswoman, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and ambassador to Ireland; the late Robert F. Drinan S.J. ’42, a BC Law dean later elected to Congress; and Kerry Kennedy J.D. ’87, author and human rights activist, and president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, a non-profit advocacy organization.

For more on Law Day, see bit.ly/BCLaw-Day-2023 —Phil Gloudemans

Carroll School Finance Conference Is May 12 Continued from page 1

Practice of International Affairs and director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at the Kennedy School.

Lawrence Makovich ’77, an energy and environmental expert, author, and instructor, will give a talk on the subject of “Climate Change: Confronting the Costs and Benefits of Harnessing Energy.”

Former Federal Reserve Bank Vice Chair Richard Clarida, managing director and

global economic advisor at PIMCO, and C. Lowell Harriss Professor of Economics at Columbia University, will offer a global economic overview in a discussion with Marc Seidner ’88, P’24, chief investment officer of non-traditional strategies at PIMCO. Seidner, a co-chair of the conference, will hold another discussion on strategic investing with Richard Bernstein, chief executive and chief investment officer of Richard Ber-

nstein Advisors LLC. Other co-chairs of this year’s conference include Associate Professor of Finance Jonathan Reuter and Daniel E. Holland III ’79, P’07, ’08, chief operating officer at Shield Capital.

For more information, go to bit.ly/ csom-finance-conference-2023.

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Chronicle

April 27, 2023

Mother’s Road Back Led McManus to Recovery

Continued from page 1

both her own moral pillars and those of Boston College.

“The Jesuit values of community, serving others, and treating the whole person” drive the work that Ruth Anne does each day. “It’s been wonderful,” she said of her experiences. “Hard work, but wonderful.”

Mother and daughter’s intertwined story began 17 years ago, when Mary was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. Looking for ways to lessen her muscular pain, she fell in love with running—and in doing so, inspired Ruth Anne to take it up, too. The pair ran the Boston Marathon in 2009 in support of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, where Mary had received treatment, raising more than $10,000.

After Ruth Anne graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 2014, she felt increasingly ill and exhibited irrational behavior—including fits of rage and fear, and acts of self-harm—that greatly troubled her family. Her unique blend of psychological symptoms stumped doctors for seven years, and Ruth Anne was continually in and out of hospitals.

Then Mary, after realizing that Ruth

Anne’s experience mirrored that of a friend’s daughter, suggested the doctors check Ruth Anne’s urine. They found a large amount of white blood cells in her system, an indication she was fighting a large infection.

“They were trying to treat the psychological symptoms without targeting the infection,” Ruth Anne explained.

She was ultimately diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, or PANS. McManus was quickly put on antibiotics for the infection and further psychiatric medications to alleviate her other symptoms which could now be more easily explained and pinpointed. She also spent time in occupational therapy, an experience to which she attributes much of her growth and progress.

McManus cites the support of her family as a major reason she was able to endure the seven years of unanswered questions.

Her mother’s time at BC proved to be a key asset in Ruth Anne’s battle against PANS: Mary “had a stellar education and knew the ins and outs of the system. She was a huge advocate,” said Ruth Anne.

Heyer Set to Assume CTSA Presidency Professor of Theology Kristin E. Heyer (at right) will become the president this summer of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), the principal association of Catholic theologians in North America and the largest professional society of theologians in the world.

Heyer, who has been a member of the Theology Department since 2015, currently serves as president-elect of CTSA. She will assume the presidency at the conclusion of the society’s annual convention being held in Milwaukee June 8-11.

“I am honored to have the privilege of serving in this leadership role for a guild that has been vital to my own development as a theologian, following in the footsteps of colleagues I deeply admire,” said Heyer, who earned a doctorate in theological ethics from Boston College.

Heyer organized this year’s CTSA annual meeting—BC is among its sponsors—which is centered on the theme of freedom. Plenary speakers from across the United States as well as from Hong Kong, Nigeria, and El Salvador will offer theological reflections on the topic, and the event also features applications of the theme in a wide range of disciplinary directions, with several sessions taking up the Synod. A number of BC faculty, doctoral students, and alumni will present their work.

As CTSA president, Heyer hopes to help steer the society in the face of shifts in academic theology and the synodal movement

photo by lee pellegrini

underway in the Church. She plans to continue work begun this year convening the leadership of other Catholic societies across North America and collaborating with the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities around shared concerns.

An expert in theological ethics, Heyer focuses her scholarship and teaching on topics such as moral agency, migration, social inequality, and modern Catholic social teaching. From 2019-2022, she served as director of graduate studies in the Theology Department. She is the cochair of Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church, an international network of practitioners and scholars in the field of theological ethics.

Heyer is author of the books Kinship Across Borders: A Christian Ethic of Migration and Prophetic and Public: The Social Witness of U.S. Catholicism. She has also co-edited six other volumes and authored dozens of articles and book chapters. Her current book project is Moral Agency and the Promise Freedom, forthcoming from Georgetown University Press.

—Kathleen Sullivan

After battling health issues, both Ruth Anne McManus, left, and her mother Mary found selfrevitalization in running and doing for others. photo by lee pellegrini

There was yet another factor, she added: “When doctors didn’t know what was going on, running and exercise were just my saving grace. I really relied on running to help.”

When Victory Programs reached out to McManus about the devoted volunteer leading a campaign, she realized she could use her love for running to come to the aid of others just as her mother had shown her. Volunteering at ReVision Urban Farms further opened McManus’s eyes to the world of food insecurity and she felt called to involve herself more in their work, her mother’s example guiding her every mile.

McManus describes the early days of raising money for Victory as “a labor of love.” Having grown up near Boston College and attended St. Ignatius Parish (she will proudly tell you that she was Baby Jesus in the Christmas Pageant), she worked hard to integrate this community into her campaign. She coordinated giveaways from local stores like Heartbreak Hill Running Company, held a Playa Bowls fundraising night for BC students, and posted videos to platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube every week for what she has dubbed “Fundraising Fridays.”

“I messaged everyone from my plumber to my next-door neighbor,” she said.

McManus’s dedication paid off. “My original goal was $3,000,” she noted, “but the numbers just kept climbing and climbing.” Since that original success, fundraising “has been a real sustaining factor in my life. It’s held me accountable and also has just been the one constant in my life.”

This sort of large-scale fundraising requires a certain amount of optimism and Ruth Anne exhibits this in spades. She looks back on her time in occupational therapy as “the biggest blessing” as it was then when she realized she wanted to return to school and earn a master’s degree.

McManus received a Dean’s Scholarship from Woods College, where she now studies corporate communications and marketing. She is set to receive her master’s certificate in December.

When it comes to marketing, especially for a good cause, according to McManus, Woods has taught her the importance of “putting yourself out there and being brave.”

For more about Ruth Anne McManus’s fundraising activities, go to vpi.charityproud. org/Fundraising/P2P/5596 Mary McManus has a website describing her experiences at marymcmanus.com —Meghan Keefe is a junior in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences

Susan Bigelow Reynolds M.T.S. ’13, Ph.D. ’18 gave the annual Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., Lecture on April 13 and was presented with the School of Theology and Ministry Alumni Distinguished Service Award.

photo by lee pellegrini

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Chronicle

April 27, 2023

An Eventful Two Decades for C21 Continued from page 1

scandal to appear on a panel.

“I remember being so proud because we were the first Catholic university to step into the crisis and start doing the work, convening people, and having lots of hard conversations,” said Karen Kiefer ’82, who joined the C21 staff in 2008 and now serves as the organization’s director.

Early on, C21 [bc.edu/c21] made efforts to engage young people in the center’s programming. In 2005, Director Tim Muldoon ’92 launched Agape Latte, a monthly storytelling series in which speakers from the BC community shared their faith journeys with students over coffee. Now entirely student-led, Agape Latte remains one of the center’s most popular offerings and has inspired similar programs at more than 150 schools and parishes around the world.

In 2012, C21 expanded the concept into a weeklong celebration of faith on campus co-sponsored with Campus Ministry, Espresso Your Faith Week, featuring outdoor activities like “Cornhole with the Jesuits” as well as panel discussions and a candlelight Mass. Kiefer described the celebration as encouraging students “to realize the gift of God working in their minds and hearts with the hope that they will be intentional about how they spend their time here and be inspired to see God in all things.”

Earlier this year, Espresso Your Faith received the Spirituality and Religion in Higher Education Knowledge Community Outstanding Spiritual Initiative Award from NASPA (Student Affairs Administra-

In addition to sponsoring numerous campus events, the Church in the 21st Century Center has broadened its audience beyond Boston College, such as through its twice-yearly magazine C21 Resources.

tors in Higher Education), which recognizes a program or initiative that promotes spiritual and religious growth on a college campus and demonstrates a significant impact on a college campus by promoting spiritual and religious engagement among the student body.

C21’s audience has always extended beyond the BC campus (its twice-yearly magazine C21 Resources has a mailing list

Bers Elected to Nat’l Academy of Education The National Academy of Education (NAEd) recently announced that Augustus Long Professor of Education Marina Bers (at right) was one of 18 exceptional education leaders and scholars elected for membership this year.

Bers, who joined the Lynch School of Education and Human Development last August, is widely recognized for her work at Tufts University on robotics and technological tools for children to learn. She is director of the interdisciplinary Developmental Technologies (DevTech) research group, which she launched at Tufts in 2001 and transferred to the Lynch School. Bers has a secondary appointment in the Computer Science Department.

“We are thrilled that Marina Bers has been elected to the National Academy of Education,” said Stanton E.F. Wortham, the Charles F. Donovan, S.J., Dean of the Lynch School, who was elected to the NAEd in 2019. “It is a well-deserved honor, given the importance of her work teaching young children to code, and her tools being used in over 196 countries. She is a wonderful fit for BC since she reimagines

of 180,000), but the coronavirus pandemic unexpectedly broadened its reach. In 2020, with the world under quarantine, Kiefer’s team created downloadable guides that allowed people to mimic the center’s popular Faith Feeds program—which brings local parishioners together for a meal and conversation—from the safety of home.

“It just took off and suddenly people were downloading hundreds of thousands of these guides,” Kiefer recalled. “It taught us that there’s a real case for intimate conversation over Zoom.”

Since then, C21 has launched Pray It Forward, a 15-minute prayer session that attracts more than 600 people via Zoom every Wednesday, and Breakfast with God, a weekly online faith program for children co-sponsored with the BC Roche Center for Catholic Education. It also continues

Snapshot

its work to address the Church’s ongoing struggle to attract young people: Last year, C21’s Student Voices Project surveyed thousands of college students nationwide about their hopes for the Catholic Church, and shared the results with Pope Francis.

The project, which included input from more than 550 BC students, was the perfect example of C21’s modern-day approach to its 20-year-old mission, Kiefer said: “We try to look at the biggest challenges the Church is facing and meet them not just with conversations, programs, and publications but also with new ideas and innovations. Then we give it all back to the Church.”

This academic year, C21 launched Mass & Mingle, a once-a-month opportunity for 20- and 30-something Catholics in the Boston area to meet new friends while also engaging with faith and spirituality. Offered in partnership with the BC Alumni Association and the Jesuit Parish of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Mass & Mingle invites young adults to attend the 5 p.m. Sunday Mass at St. Ignatius Church, followed by a one-hour social. Each Mass & Mingle event has food, refreshments, trivia prizes, and “a big question” to spark conversation about how participants can “find God in all things.”

As it enters its third decade, C21 plans to keep asking the big and challenging questions related to the Church, and to launch even more new initiatives that encourage young adults to connect with their local parishes.

“As long as questions prevail, there’s a need for the Church in the 21st Century,” said Groome. “Our work is far from finished.”

Alix Hackett is a senior digital content writer in the Office of University Communications. This article was adapted from a story appearing in the winter 2023 edition of Boston College Magazine.

photo by caroline alden

Closing Theme

photo by caitlin cunningham

coding as a humanistic, formative process.”

“This diverse group of leaders and scholars is at the forefront of those who are improving the lives of students in the United States and abroad,” said Carol Lee, president of the National Academy of Education. “At a time of great tension and political debate surrounding education, these leaders are building a strong foundation of knowledge and evidence for ways to improve education policy and practice.”

Founded in 1965, the Washington, D.C.-based honorific society consists of U.S. members and international associates who are elected on the basis of outstanding scholarship related to education.

—Phil Gloudemans

John Finney conducted the Boston College Symphony Orchestra and University Chorale as part of a series of farewell concerts held April 14-16 at Trinity Chapel on Newton Campus.

Finney is retiring at the end of the academic year.

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Chronicle

April 27, 2023

Goal Oriented

At Woods College, a wealth of online courses and a culture of support is encouraging pro athletes to complete their degrees—on their own schedules

BY ALIX HACKETT SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

Brooks Orpik has two Stanley Cup titles and an Olympic silver medal to his name, but when he announced his retirement from the National Hockey League in 2019, there was one accomplishment still missing—a college diploma.

Like many of his teammates, Orpik cut his college career short to go pro, leaving Boston College after three seasons to join the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2002. He’s never regretted the decision, but he also doesn’t like unfinished business, whether it’s on the ice or in the classroom.

“I always felt like it was hanging over my head,” he said recently. “When I don’t finish something it just kind of eats at me.”

So in the fall of 2020, Orpik became a student again, enrolling in BC’s Woods College of Advancing Studies as a member of the Class of 2022. He wasn’t the only professional athlete to do so: Thanks to a rapidly expanding selection of online courses, and a support staff dedicated to helping athletes achieve their academic goals, Woods has become a go-to resource for pros at various stages in their athletic careers.

“Helping those whose academic careers have been interrupted—whether by opportunity or other circumstances—to complete their degree is one of the hallmarks of what we do, so of course we’re especially eager to welcome former Boston College students-athletes,” said Woods College Dean Karen Muncaster, a nationally recognized leader in online education who joined BC in 2019. “Our team provides the flexibility and support that a working professional, or anyone with multiple responsibilities, needs when adding continuing education to the mix. We’re here to help them achieve their goals.”

Team effort In September, NHL goalie Spencer Knight signed a three-year contract extension with the Florida Panthers worth $4.5 million per season. At 21, Knight is just two years into his professional career, which he began in 2020 after two standout seasons with the Eagles. But even though his future in hockey looks rosy, Knight is committed to continuing his studies at the Woods College, where he’s majoring in business systems.

“I started at BC and I want to finish at BC,” he said. “Turning pro at a young age is a cool thing but nothing is guaranteed. I want to play until I’m 40 but if something happens? I’ll have this in my back pocket and I can use it and do good with it.”

Knight works closely with BC’s Learning Specialist and Academic Counselor Patrice Bouzan and Woods’ Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs Sam Hay to select classes that work with his

schedule. He typically takes only one class per semester while playing, in order to give it his full focus, and then doubles up in the summer, when his only team responsibility is to stay in shape.

“I’m getting it done at a good pace but at the same time, it’s not adding stress to my life,” he explained. “I’m in the stage of just exploring and learning about different things and hopefully after my hockey

Olympians like women’s hockey star Cayla Barnes ’22—and her door is always open to those looking for support or a quiet place to study. Last summer, Mike Hardman, who signed a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021 and is currently enrolled at Woods, was a weekly visitor.

“I will help them in any way I can,” Bouzan said. “To see them graduate is amazing—our office is connected to the

“I learn more having my classmates around where I’m sharing ideas instead of just the teacher talking to me,” says retired professional soccer player and one-time undergrad Reuben Ayarna, shown with Woods College adjunct faculty member Klaus Da Silva Raupp. photo by lee pellegrini

career is over I can pull out my degree and say, ‘Okay, I know what I want to do now.’”

Academic support for athletes entering Boston College has been built into the fabric of the University for over a decade, with freshmen automatically assigned to an academic coordinator who helps them with tutoring, time management, and planning for the future. Bouzan, a 1991 alumna who has worked with BC athletes for the past 12 years, meets individually with first-year athletes on a weekly basis. With players like Knight, who are drafted before even stepping foot on campus, she helps them check off core requirements early, to make continuing their education at Woods as seamless as possible.

“Our meetings might just be 15 minutes but we go over grades and they can ask me questions—if they’re traveling and have to miss a test we figure it out,” she said. “Both our male and female hockey players play world championships during the year, so sometimes we’re rearranging finals, just helping them be proactive and advocate for themselves so they can be successful.”

Bouzan’s office is adorned with newspaper clippings and memorabilia from athletes she’s worked with—including

football stadium and I go out and watch and players are texting me, ‘I see you!’”

Returning in person While the array of online courses at Woods—there are currently 96—has been a game changer for athletes like Knight, the school’s famously close-knit community convinced retired professional soccer player Reuben Ayarna to return to Chestnut Hill 15 years after leaving for a career overseas.

These days, the 37-year-old is enrolled in classes like business ethics, digital marketing, and leadership and innovation, while pursuing a degree in corporate systems.

“It’s weird being back after all these years—people still remember who you are but you have to get used to the new buildings, and the city has changed,” he said.

“The professors have been great. I knew I wanted to be in the classroom because I learn more that way—being able to have discussions with classmates and getting insights from the people around me.”

Before his initial arrival at BC in 2005, Ayarna, who is originally from Ghana, had never set foot in the United States. As an undergraduate, he kept his head down, focusing on soccer with the goal of turning pro. Now that he’s on the other side of a successful career playing with clubs in

Sweden and Finland, his approach to education has shifted, he said.

“My goal is to one day become a general manager or director of a professional club, so now in every class session I have a purpose,” he said. “When I’m in my business ethics class or digital marketing, I’m relating it back to what I want to do. It’s become more practical for me than theory.”

For professional athletes, retirement comes at a younger age than in most industries, which often means an uncertain future. Ayarna has spoken with many Ghanian footballers about the role education can play in building a meaningful life after soccer. For him, education has always been a priority—he has a degree in sports management from the University of Denmark that he earned while playing—but it’s taken on an even greater role post-retirement.

“It’s not always about the classes, it’s about growing as a person by being around people every day, which helps with your mental health too,” he said. “Being in school keeps your mind busy and helps you improve and be the best person you can be.”

Mission accomplished Before logging into Zoom for the first time as a Woods student, Orpik experienced a rare bout of performance anxiety.

It had been 18 years since his last academic class, and he was nervous about his ability to write papers and navigate the online discussion boards.

“I was thinking, ‘Man, I’m going to be the 40-year-old in here with all these 20-year-olds,’ it seemed so overwhelming,” he recalled. “Then you get a couple weeks in and you look back and wonder why you were so worried about it.”

Orpik’s classmates turned out to be students of all ages from a diverse range of backgrounds, and if they recognized the former Stanley Cup winner in their midst, they kept quiet about it until the semester was over. The NHL star spent the next two years taking classes while also stepping in as an assistant coach for the Eagles and working in player development for the Washington Capitals. In the spring of 2022, he donned a cap and gown and prepared to walk across the stage to collect his longawaited diploma, his two daughters watching from the audience.

“The feeling of pride I had was just so different than anything, athletically, I’ve accomplished,” he said afterwards. “I had promised a lot of people, including my parents and [former BC hockey coach] Jerry York that I would finish at some point. I don’t know if we thought it was going to take that long, but I know they’re pretty proud.”

—Alix Hackett is a senior digital content writer in the Office of University Communications

OBITUARY

Paul Gallivan, 72, Athletics Paul Gallivan, a retired maintenance worker for Boston College Athletics—and driver of the BC Zamboni machine— known for the artistry of his line painting on Alumni Stadium, Conte Forum, and other campus playing surfaces, died on April 15. He was 72.

A funeral Mass is being held today, April 27, at 10 a.m. at the St. John the Evangelist Church, 320 Winthrop St., Winthrop.

Mr. Gallivan had already led a rewarding career when he arrived at BC in 1992.

A heralded athlete in football, baseball, and hockey at Boston’s Christopher Columbus High School, Mr. Gallivan went on to play football at Northeastern University and Boston State College, making enough of an impression to earn a tryout as a kicker with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons; he then played a season with the minor league New England Colonials. He also had a long career in amateur baseball, playing in Boston’s Park and Intercity leagues.

But Mr. Gallivan wound up taking another route to making sports his vocation.

Attending the Butera School of Art in Boston, he learned the craft of line painting for athletic surfaces and other purposes: field markings, hockey lines, logos, signs for businesses, and pin striping on trucks.

He worked for Northeastern, UMass-Boston, and Harvard, and for a Texas-based artificial turf company, traveling the country lining playing fields and painting logos. He even was hired to create a football field at the house of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, for the family’s Thanksgiving Day game.

At BC, noted a 1999 Boston College Chronicle story, Mr. Gallivan was “the man to call when you need the yard lines marked on a football field, or a giant Eagle logo painted on a basketball court or hockey rink.” He would use a specially made 24-by-19-foot stencil to paint the Eagle logo, a job that could take about six hours on the hockey rink, and up to eight hours on the basketball court, the story noted. Before the yard lines were made a permanent feature of the Alumni Stadium field, he and crewmates painted the surface by hand, using straightedges, stencils, and cross-field cables to guide the line-marking machine.

One of his more unusual projects at BC was painting a medieval prayer labyrinth, first on the lawn of Burns Library (a permanent labyrinth was constructed on the Burns lawn in 2003 in memory of BC 9/11 victims) and then on a lawn near Hovey House.

“I had to walk the thing 10 or 15 times before I painted it,” Mr. Gallivan told Chronicle. “The turns have to be precise and if you measure wrong, you end up in the wrong place. I was trying to make sure I did my math right.”

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BC in the Media Boston College Center for Retirement Research Director Alicia Munnell provided comments to a New York Times story that reported how, despite solid financial track records, many older Americans have a hard time getting approvals for mortgages. She also spoke with 7 News Boston on the debate over how to shore up Social Security and Medicare.

Asst. Prof. Lacee Satcher (Sociology/Environmental Studies), who was a panelist for a discussion of environmental racism at the Boston Public Library, discussed the topic on WGBH Morning Edition.

Social economist Prof. Juliet Schor (Sociology) talked with CBS News about research findings from her global four-day workweek project.

Paul Gallivan in a 1999 photo for the Boston College Chronicle. photo by lee pellegrini

Mr. Gallivan also achieved a modest but noteworthy celebrity status as driver of the Conte Forum Kelley Rink Zamboni machine. In a 2005 interview with The Heights, he recounted how in the midst of a game he removed a wayward slice of pie that had ended up out on the ice: “No biggie. But I mean, the students were pointing to it, and I was heading there anyway so I figured ‘Let’s just get this cleaned up.’ I went down the ice, and fixed it, but the students loved it. They all started cheering so I gave them one of these [waving his hand like the pope in front of a crowd]. I guess you could say that’s when it started.”

In 2010, after BC men’s hockey won its second national championship in three years, Mr. Gallivan drove the Zamboni in the victory parade across campus.

Mr. Gallivan said he found satisfaction in his work. “You look back on what you’ve done and think, ‘That looks pretty nice,”’ he told Chronicle. “And when they win, it’s even better.”

Mr. Gallivan retired in 2020. Two years before, he had been inducted into the Winthrop High School Athletic Hall of Fame for providing “Excellent Service” to the Winthrop fields and rink.

He is survived by his children: Erin, Zachary, and Christa Simmel; five grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family. He was predeceased by his wife, Laura—whom he met during the Blizzard of 1978—his parents, brothers James, Joseph, and John, and sister Jean.

The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to CompassionateCareALS (ccals.org) or Mr. Gallivan’s GoFundMe page [gofund.me/3f6ed87c].

—University Communications

O’Neill Professor of American Politics R. Shep Melnick, author of The Transformation of Title IX, weighed in for The New York Times on the Biden administration’s latest proposal to protect transgender people.

Federal officials have warned about a practice that allows hackers to access data on phones using some public power outlets or public charging stations. Woods College of Advancing Studies M.S. in Cybersecurity Policy and Governance Director Kevin Powers offered his analysis on the situation for 7 News Boston.

In-person attendance at religious services is slightly lower than before the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a new Pew survey.

Prof. Thomas Groome (STM) shared his

insights on the results with the Associated Press.

How do values and beliefs play into polarizing political biases? A New York Times column on the subject cited research by Prof. Liane Young (Psychology/Neuroscience) and her former student Laura Niemi Ph.D. ’15 and included comments from Asst. Prof. Joshua Hartshorne (Psychology/ Neuroscience).

Prof. Marc Landy (Political Science) discussed the impact of former President Donald Trump’s indictment with Bloomberg Baystate Business and CBS Boston, while Assoc. Prof. Michael Serazio (Communication) remarked to The Hill on how the wallto-wall media coverage underscores Trump’s hold on the press.

The Boston Globe interviewed Assoc. Prof. of the Practice Richard McGowan, S.J. (CSOM), on the state’s rejection of DraftKings’ request to take bets on the Boston Marathon, after a letter from the Boston Athletic Association’s opposing the move.

Appearing on WNYC’s “New Yorker Hour” podcast, Libby Professor of Theology and Law Cathleen Kaveny explained how tensions in the Catholic Church were overtaken by an American-style culture war.

As Pope Francis marked his 10th anniversary, Assoc. Prof. Hosffman Ospino (STM) discussed with National Catholic Reporter how the pontiff has benefitted both American Catholic bishops and the rest of the Catholic community.

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 Assistant/Associate Director, Alumni Regional Engagement Fiscal & Operations Specialist Player Development Specialist, Women’s Basketball Patrol Officer Staff Nurse Development Assistant Senior Philanthropic Advisor Laundry Attendant

Principal Data Architect Assistant Director, Admissions Quality Assurance Lead Public Safety Dispatcher

Head Librarian, Social Work Library

Senior Applications Architect/Engineer

Assistant Director, Athletics Annual Giving

Software Release Analyst Enrollment & Financial Aid Analyst

Administrative Assistant, University Advancement

Research Associate, Computer Science

Associate Director, Student Affairs Title IX

Network Engineer

Resident Director, Residential Life Assistant Director, Advancement Talent

Dining Management Intern Post-doctoral Research Fellow (multiple positions)

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BC Arts

Novel Ideas Salvage explores the struggle to move from old ways to the new

BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR

Accomplished Boston College faculty authors Richard Kearney and Elizabeth Graver have recently added to their highly praised portfolios, publishing novels that break new ground while exploring the themes and ideas that have informed much of their works, and drawing on personal and familial experiences.

Kearney, the Seelig Professor of Philosophy, released Salvage, a World War II-era coming-of-age tale centered on a small island off Ireland’s south coast; Kantika, the latest

by Graver, a professor of English, is a multi-generational family saga taking place in four different countries.

The pair also held campus events to mark the arrival of their new books: Graver at the Burns Library on April 19, Kearney at Connolly House on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day.

Landscapes, cultures, languages, and music illuminate Kantika Rebecca Cohen, the spirited protagonist of Kantika, comes from an elite Sephardic Jewish family of early 20th-century Istanbul, but the establishment of the Turkish republic and subsequent loss of the Cohens’ fortune compels them to relocate to Spain, drastically changing the life she had expected to lead. Rebecca endures a failed marriage while working as a seamstress, concealing her ethno-religious identity in a country that had expelled Jews four centuries ago and is still hostile to them.

Her odyssey takes her to Cuba for an arranged second marriage, then to New York City, and she undertakes the challenge of raising—and empowering—her disabled stepdaughter.

Kantika is replete with elements of the various landscapes, cultures, and languages Rebecca encounters and processes over the years—from Ladino to Castilian to Hebrew to English, among others—as she contemplates her personal and familial identity, and how much of it will be passed along to future generations. Music in particular is prominent in Kantika, which is Ladino for “song.” Graver also sets Rebecca’s story in a universal context about the tenacity and resilience of women as they undertake a multiplicity of roles while seeking fulfillment.

The book was a complicated one in many respects for Graver. Its inspiration came from interviews with her grandmother, Rebecca née Cohen Baruch Levy, who was the namesake for the Rebecca in Kantika and whose life followed a very similar path, including the four primary geographical settings of the book. But the story Graver began writing wound up in an uncertain territory.

“The question was, ‘Is this fiction or not?’” she explained. “I didn’t have the necessary information or details to make it a work of non-fiction, and yet here I was incorporating these non-fictional aspects of my grandmother’s life into what I was writing. At some point, it wasn’t just my grandmother’s story, or my version of it, that I was telling. I had started inhabiting the consciousness of characters inspired by other ancestors.

“So, Kantika became an improvisation between fact, fiction, research, dreams,

Elizabeth Graver: “I felt a pang about leaving this world—it’s been so moving and interesting—but I’m glad that some of my relatives who played a part in the real-life story could witness the story I spun.” photo by caitlin cunningham

texts, photographs, real names and invented ones, my grandmother and myself.

However it might be classified, I hope it sheds light on the Sephardic experience in America, which hasn’t been explored much, especially in fiction. I’ve had some fascinating conversations with historians of Sephardic life, as well as with musicians with Ladino repertoires. The interdisciplinarity of the project has been a treat.”

Finishing a book is always an emotional experience, said Graver, Kantika particularly so because of the familial connection.

Graver’s grandmother died many years before she began writing the manuscript, and the generation after that of her grandmother is now well into old age. Graver is grateful to her two uncles who provided biographical details she used in incorporating them as characters in the book; she was able to read portions of the book to one of them before he died.

“I felt a pang about leaving this world—it’s been so moving and interesting—but I’m glad that some of my relatives who played a part in the real-life story could witness the story I spun,” she said.

For more on Graver’s work, see her website at elizabethgraver.com.

In Salvage, Kearney examines the neverending tug of war between modernity and traditionalism through the character of 14-year-old Maeve O’Sullivan, whose family is among the last inhabitants of what is now known as Rabbit Island but for centuries carried the name of the Celtic goddess Brigid, a patron saint of Ireland. Unlike her two older brothers, Maeve avidly takes after her father’s embrace of old legends, customs, and traditions—including those in honor of Brigid—practiced on the island down through the ages, especially speaking Gaelic and the use of various plants and herbs for healing.

But her father’s tragic death, her improbable friendship with a girl from the mainland, and the presence of a handsome young medical student all cause Maeve to reevaluate her life as an islander and a healer. What elements of her family heritage should she hold onto? What must she relinquish? Maeve’s personal dilemma about change and its implications occurs in the shadow of World War II, which sparked social upheaval on an immense scale. Kearney animates the narrative with Gaelic phrases and words and vivid descriptions of flora and fauna.

For Kearney, publishing fiction—he has two other novels, Sam’s Fall and Walking at Sea Level—and poetry (including his collection, Angel of Patrick’s Hill) is a means for him to traverse philosophical concepts and questions outside of the academic, and non-fiction, realm.

“I suppose for me fiction is rather like a playground: When your mind is off-duty, your consciousness plays,” he said, with a laugh. “If I’m going to write a book on philosophy, I have to have a proposal, a plan, and a table of contents. But with fiction, the process of writing is more organic and unplanned—playful. I’ve never sat down and said, ‘Here’s a philosophical idea, let’s see what I can do with it in a novel.’ If I had, it would’ve been a bad novel.”

Salvage is more appropriately classified as historical fiction, according to Kearney:

Richard Kearney: “I suppose for me fiction is rather like a playground: When your mind is off-duty, your consciousness plays.” photo by lee pellegrini

Rabbit Island is a real place, visible from his house in Cork, and much of its characteristics and history described in the book are based in fact. Kearney even had the opportunity to speak by phone with the last known inhabitant of the island, who had emigrated many years ago (“She had just missed the Titanic, so she got the next boat to Brooklyn,” he explained); she died before Kearney was able to meet her in person.

The book’s title has a multi-faceted meaning that belatedly occurred to Kearney: “At first, Salvage referred to the fact that the islanders lived off salvage from shipwrecks. But I realized the word could also signify salvaging memory—of a name, a place, a language, or traditions.

“In that sense, Salvage has a personal dimension for me: My mother and sister were both healers like Maeve, and earlier generations of my family followed many of the same customs and traditions, including those related to St. Brigid, that the islanders did.”

For more about Kearney’s writing and research, see richardmkearney.com.