PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
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Cooney Professor
Truman Scholar
BC Global
Allison Curseen (English, AADS) is appointed as Cooney Family Assistant Professor.
BC junior Emma Story chosen to receive coveted scholarship.
University will take part in major study of hazards from plastics; Ricci Center prepares to open.
PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
APRIL 28, 2022 VOL. 29 NO. 15
COMMENCEMENT 2022
Greek Prime Minister Will Address Graduates Lyle, Fr. Sannella, Stokes, Rozier-Byrd also to receive honorary degrees BY THE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis will address the Boston College Class of 2022 at the University’s 146th Commencement Exercises on May 23. University President William P. Leahy, S.J., will present Mitsotakis with an honorary degree at the ceremony, which will take place at 10 a.m. in Alumni Stadium, rain or shine. In addition, the University will present honorary degrees to: Yolanda Lyle ’94, J.D. ’01, vice president of executive operations and chief of staff to the chairman and chief executive officer at Pfizer Inc.; Fr. Nicholas Sannella ’67, a former vascular surgeon and now a parish priest in Lowell; Patrick T. Stokes ’64, former president and CEO of Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. and a major benefactor of undergraduate education at BC; and Arivee Vargas Rozier-Byrd ’05, J.D. ’08, senior director of employee relations at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. More on the 2022 honorary degree recipients: Kyriakos Mitsotakis Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his New De-
mocracy party won a solid majority in the 2019 Greek national elections, elevating him to the post of prime minister. Mitsotakis campaigned on a platform of jobs, strong growth, and lower taxes to revive Greece, which had endured the loss of one-fourth of its GDP and the near collapse of its banks following the 2008 global recession. As part of his response, he prioritized foreign direct investment and enhanced the country’s credibility among ratings agencies. Despite the additional burden of COVID-19, Greece’s central bank reported economic growth of seven percent in 2021 and a projected five percent for this year. Elected to the Greek parliament in 2004, Mitsotakis gained valuable experience serving on committees such as trade and national defense. As chairman of the Environment Committee and later the shadow minister for the environment, he fought to highlight the issue of climate change and advocated for environmentally sustainable growth. Later, as minister of Administrative Reform and e-Government, he led comprehensive national reforms by implementing a functional reorganization of institutions, structures, and processes. For Mitsotakis, the 2019 electoral victory represented another chapter in his family’s political legacy, which includes his father Konstantinos—the Greek prime
from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He and his wife, Mareva Grabowski ’89, have three children, Sofia, Dafni, and Constantinos, a 2020 BC alumnus. Yolanda Lyle With an impressive record of commitment to care and service, Yolanda Lyle
Budd to Speak at BC Law Commencement page 4
Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis photo by dimitris papamitsos
minister from 1990-1993—and his great uncle Eleuthérios Venizélos, one of Greece’s most prominent early-20th-century politicians and statesmen. Before entering politics, he worked for 10 years in the private sector, including as CEO of NBG Venture Capital at the National Bank of Greece. Mitsotakis holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, a master’s degree
is vice president of executive operations, chief of staff to the chairman and chief executive officer, and NYHQ Site Lead at Pfizer Inc., whose pioneering work during the COVID-19 pandemic led to the codevelopment and manufacture of a vaccine in record time. A native of Brookline, Mass., Lyle graduated from BC with a bachelor’s degree in sociology before earning a juris doctorate from Boston College Law School. She has nearly two decades of experience providing pharmaceutical company counsel. Prior to her current role at Pfizer, which she has held since 2020, she served as its vice president and assistant
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Former Fordham VP Is New STM Dean BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Michael C. McCarthy, S.J.
Michael C. McCarthy, S.J., former vice president for mission integration and planning and associate professor of theology at Fordham University, has been named dean of the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, effective July 1. He will succeed Thomas Stegman, S.J., who announced in January that he would step down at the end of the semester to focus
on his ongoing battle with glioblastoma. A distinguished theologian and teaching scholar and experienced university administrator, Fr. McCarthy brings more than 30 years of academic, administrative, and ministerial experience to his new position. Most recently, he advanced university-wide mission integration and strategic planning in his role as vice president at Fordham. In this capacity, he collaborated with all university divisions to strategically promote and cultivate Fordham’s Jesuit, Catholic mission, and provided oversight for mul-
tiple programs and departments including Campus Ministry, the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture, the Global Outreach Program, and the Fordham Center for Community Engaged Learning, which he founded in 2018. He also taught courses in Religion in the Modern World, and Sacred Texts and Traditions within the Department of Theology. In announcing the appointment, Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley lauded Fr. McCarthy as a leader with the
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April 28, 2022
Around Campus
The New UGBC Leadership Team Is Preparing to Take Office Juniors Lubens Benjamin of the Carroll School of Management and Julia Spagnola of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences will be inaugurated as president and vice president, respectively, of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) this Monday after winning the April 5 campus election. The two are eager to begin working toward goals such as fostering the value of servant leadership within UGBC, advocating for student wellness and mental health, and building a more inclusive culture on campus. “In our roles as president and vice president, it is so important that we are the voice for students before anything else that we do,” said Benjamin, a double major in philosophy and marketing from Cambridge. “Our biggest role is to advocate for students with administrators at the highest level and really represent students, especially those students who are on the margins and sometimes get forgotten here at BC. It’s our job to go out and seek those opinions and those voices and really bring them to the forefront of conversations.” Benjamin has been involved with UGBC since his freshman year, when he was a part of the Undergraduate Leadership Academy Program and the AHANA+
Undergraduate Government of Boston College President-elect Lubens Benjamin ’23 and Vice President-elect Julia Spagnola ’23. photo by caitlin cunningham
Leadership Council, for which he served as chair this past year. Spagnola, a political science major from Rochester, NY, was elected as a Class of 2023 representative last fall and served on the Academic Affairs Committee. She chaired the committee this past year and was also secretary of the General Assembly. Spagnola credits an assignment to work as co-leader with Benjamin during a spring break service trip with the Appalachia
Volunteers (Appa) as a time of growth for their friendship and leadership. In March, the two led a trip to Joy Ranch, a home for children in need in southwest Virginia. “It was the perfect experience for the week before we kicked off our campaign,” said Spagnola. “It really brought what was important to the forefront of our minds.” In addition to Appa, the two have participated in a variety of campus activities. Benjamin is involved with the BC Bigs
program, Kairos, the Student Admission Program, and the Black History Month Committee. Spagnola serves as a Bowman Advocate for Inclusive Culture and a Campus School Volunteer. The pair are conscious of the fact that their new roles will affect their fellow students now as well as future Eagles who attend BC after they have graduated. “I think this is such an opportunity to set the tone of BC because we are at a crossroads on our campus,” said Spagnola. “We’re pointed towards a really hopeful future and there’s a lot of change happening on our campus. Although Lubens and I won’t be here to see a lot of the things we want to see get done in just one year, we want to lay those foundations for future BC students, too.” —Christine Balquist
Volunteers Are Needed to Assist at Commencement Weekend Events
Vice President for Student Affairs Shawna Cooper-Gibson and Associate Vice President for Student Engagement and Formation Tom Mogan recently had dinner with a group of Boston College undergraduates living off campus to talk about student life at the University.
The University Commencement Committee has invited Boston College employees to serve as University hosts at the Baccalaureate Mass on May 22 and Commencement Exercises on May 23. University hosts greet and welcome guests, answer questions, distribute programs, provide directions, and “extend a friendly BC smile to all,” according to the committee: “Commencement Weekend is a wonderful opportunity to participate in University-wide celebrations, meet colleagues from around campus, and engage with families who have looked forward to this special occasion for their graduate.” Hosts arrive for the Baccalaureate Mass at 10:30 a.m. and leave at 1 p.m. On Commencement day, hosts must check in by 7:30 a.m. Depending on loca-
tion and assignment, a host’s time commitment will fall within the 7:30 a.m.3:00 p.m. time range. Each host will be offered a complimentary lunch and breaks throughout the shift. Those interested must complete a Google form at bit.ly/Commencement2022-Host-Signup by May 6. Employees must have approval from their supervisor to participate, and attend an orientation and briefing session for additional details about roles and responsibilities. For further information, contact: Judy Ferres (judy.ferres@bc.edu); Carolyn Donoghue (carolyn.donoghue@bc.edu); Lynn Berkley (lynn.berkley@bc.edu); or John McLaughlin (john.mclaughlin@ bc.edu).
photo by justin knight
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Jack Dunn
SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Patricia Delaney EDITOR
Sean Smith
CONTRIBUTING STAFF
Christine Balquist Phil Gloudemans Ed Hayward Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan
Chronicle
PHOTOGRAPHERS
www.bc.edu/bcnews chronicle@bc.edu
Caitlin Cunningham Lee Pellegrini
The Boston College Chronicle (USPS 009491), the internal newspaper for faculty and staff, is published biweekly from September to May by Boston College, with editorial offices at the Office of University Communications, 3 Lake Street, Brighton, MA 02135 (617)552-3350. Distributed free to faculty and staff offices and other locations on campus. Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to The Boston College Chronicle, Office of University Communications, 3 Lake Street, Brighton, MA 02135. A flipbook edition of Chronicle is available via e-mail. Send requests to chronicle@bc.edu.
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April 28, 2022
Curseen Named Cooney Assistant Professor BY ROSANNE PELLEGRINI STAFF WRITER
Allison Curseen, a faculty member in the English Department and African and African Diaspora Studies Program (AADS) specializing in African American and 19thcentury American literature and culture, has been appointed Cooney Family Assistant Professor. In her teaching, Curseen—whose interests include performance and performance studies, child studies, and theories of fugitivity and unruliness—brings a commitment to interdisciplinary work in performance studies, theater, media, and African American artistic traditions. She also is recognized for making time and space for students who seek her out from different departments and schools. Her courses have included Blackness and the Senses; Blackness, Performance, Freedom; Atlanta and The Black Atlantic; The Delinquent Minor: Race and Childishness in America; Just Play’n: Artifice & African American Performance; and School’s Not Everything: School & Education in Black Literature.
Allison Curseen: “I look forward to the ways in which the appointment can support additional classroom and research collaborations with my fellow junior colleagues in AADS and English who, with their energy, innovation, and commitment, are doing incredible work.”
“Allison Curseen’s record of demonstrated excellence since her arrival at Boston College in 2017 provides a strong foundation for her appointment as the Cooney Family Assistant Professor,” said Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean Gregory Kalscheur, S.J. “She is a promising young scholar whose research, teaching, and service to the University have been outstanding.” “I’m still in the process of realizing the significance and what it means to me,” Curseen said of the appointment. “Endowed chairs for junior faculty are generally rare, so the appointment is really an honor. I feel so humbled by it, and I look forward to the ways in which the appointment can support additional classroom and research collaborations with my fellow junior colleagues in AADS and English who, with their energy, innovation, and commitment, are doing incredible work.” Curseen’s current book project, Minor Moves: Unruly Readings & (Im)Possible Black Girl Performance in Antebellum Narratives, which examines depictions of Black girls’ physical movements in the context of antebellum anxieties about Black-
ness, bondage, and freedom, draws on the insights of Black studies, performance studies, child studies, and critical Black geography. “I focus on depictions of Black girl movements by antebellum authors writing in the wake of the Fugitive Slave Act and the Anti-Truancy laws of the 1850s, with particular attention to how Black female writers’ depictions of unruly Black girl movement highlight and challenge the racial and gender presuppositions undergirding United States narratives of mobility and independent personhood,” she explains. At BC, Curseen has served on the Graduate Award Committee, Honors & Award Committee, and AADS 50th Anniversary Planning Committee. The Cooney endowed assistant professorship—part of an ongoing initiative to support junior faculty research and earlycareer development—was made possible through a gift by University Trustee Robert J. Cooney ’74, partner in the Chicago law firm Cooney & Conway, and family. The inaugural holder, appointed in 2014, was Penelope Ismay, now an associate professor in the History Department.
Michael McCarthy, S.J., to Lead School of Theology and Ministry Continued from page 1
experience and commitment to direct the school in the years to come. “Fr. Mick McCarthy’s career, spanning faculty and administrative appointments at peer Jesuit universities, has prepared him well for the opportunity to lead the School of Theology and Ministry,” said Quigley. “I am excited to welcome him to campus this summer and to build on Dean Stegman’s remarkable legacy. Mick is committed to extending STM’s reach in service of the local, national, and global Catholic Church.”
Fr. McCarthy’s passion, said STM Professor Andrew Davis, “will inspire the faculty, staff, and students of the STM to live ever more fully into its mission of preparing the next generation of leaders for the Church and the world.”
Added STM Professor Andrew Davis, who served on the dean’s search committee, “Fr. McCarthy is the perfect leader to guide the STM into its next chapter. In addition to his extensive experience in Jesuit higher education, Fr. McCarthy brings to the school a passion for academic excellence and ministerial formation. His passion will inspire the faculty, staff, and students of the STM to live ever more fully into its mission of preparing the next generation of leaders for the Church and the
world.” Fr. McCarthy said that he welcomed the opportunity to serve as dean of the School of Theology and Ministry. “I am thrilled to be joining colleagues who are as committed to theological education and ministerial formation as the faculty, staff, and students at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry,” said Fr. McCarthy. “I am especially grateful to Tom Stegman, for whom I have immense personal respect. He leaves office with the STM in a terrific place, and I look forward to building on the school’s remarkable success under his leadership. Being asked to succeed Tom in this important work gives me joy.” Prior to his work at Fordham, Fr. McCarthy served as executive director of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, assistant to the president for mission and identity, and the Edmund Campion Professor at Santa Clara University, where he held joint appointments in the religious studies and classics departments. He has also held teaching positions at Loyola University Chicago and the University of San Francisco, and his writing and research have appeared in multiple publications including the Harvard Theological Review, the Journal of Early Christian Studies, Theological Studies, and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. A native of San Francisco, Fr. McCarthy entered the Society of Jesus in 1983, after a year as an undergraduate at Stanford University. He received a B.A. in classical languages from Santa Clara University, a B.A./M.A. degree from Oxford University in philosophy and classical literature, a M.Div. degree from the Jesuit School of
Theology in Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Notre Dame. His main areas of academic interest are Jesuit higher education in the United States, historical theology focusing on early Christianity, religious belief, and Augustine. “As a Jesuit, there are few things I can imagine more important for the Church or the work of the Society of Jesus than developing the next generation of leaders,” said Fr. McCarthy. “So I approach my service as dean with my whole heart and with trust in God. My first order of business will be
to listen and to learn.” Founded in 2008 when the Weston Jesuit School of Theology reaffiliated with Boston College and merged with the Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry, the School of Theology and Ministry is an international academic theological center dedicated to forming scholars, ministers, and leaders for the Church. Ranked among the best theological schools in the world, it attracts some 400 students annually from throughout the United States and more than 30 countries.
Boston College held a celebration on April 19 in honor of outgoing School of Theology and Ministry Dean Thomas Stegman, S.J. University President William P. Leahy, S.J., along with Jesuit scholars and former students, praised his productive tenure as dean of STM and accomplished career as a biblical scholar, teacher, and mentor. photo by caitlin cunningham
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COMMENCEMENT 2022
in Commerce, and in 2010 he received the James F. Cleary Masters Award as a volunteer whose ideas, energy, and leadership have elevated University fundraising to “new levels of excellence.” Patrick and Anna-Kristina’s three children are BC alumni, and a grandchild graduated in 2020.
Mitsotakis to Speak Continued from page 1
general counsel, and chief compliance counsel for research and development, medical, global supply, and environmental health and safety. A member of the Executive Leadership Council, a network of the nation’s most influential Black executives, Lyle also serves on the scholar advisory committee for the Northeast Region of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which advances equity and opportunity in higher education and the workplace. In 2017, she received a Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Luminary Award in recognition of her contributions to the healthcare industry and dedication to advancing the careers of other women. Besides contributing to the business community and wider society, Lyle is known for her involvement with the Boston College Wall Street Council, and serves on its executive committee. Fr. Nicholas A. Sannella Fr. Nicholas A. Sannella was one of the Boston area’s most accomplished vascular surgeons and medical legal experts when he decided to become a parish priest. In 1999, he entered Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston and was ordained in 2003. Today, he is pastor of the Immaculate Conception Church, Saint Anthony’s Church, and Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity, which make up the Lowell Collaborative of the Archdiocese of Boston. Before entering the seminary, Fr. Sannella practiced medicine for more than 20 years after earning his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. He was a fellow of vascular surgery at Stanford Medical Center, chief of surgery at Lawrence General Hospital, president of the medical staff at Saints Medical Center in Lowell, and vice president of the New England Society for Vascular Surgery. He was also a clinical instructor in surgery at Tufts School of Medicine. In 1984, Fr. Sannella earned a law degree from Suffolk University. Fr. Sannella has long served his alma mater. He was named to the Boston College Board of Trustees in 1993 and is currently a trustee associate. He chaired his 25th reunion committee, was honorary chair for his 30th and 35th reunions and was a member of the University’s national campaign and Shaw Society steering committees. In 2004, he received an Alumni Achievement Award for his significant personal and professional contributions to society and in 2010 was presented with the Ignatian Award, which recognizes an individual who lives the University mission of “men and women for others.” Patrick T. Stokes Patrick T. Stokes has made a long-term, transformational impact on Boston College’s students and its campus as alumnus, parent, trustee, and major benefactor. Stokes and his wife, Anna-Kristina, provided the lead gift for Stokes Hall, which
April 28, 2022
Clockwise from top left: Yolanda Lyle ’94, J.D. ’01; Fr. Nicholas A. Sannella ’67; Arivee Vargas Rozier-Byrd ’05, J.D. ’08; and Patrick T. Stokes ’64. photos by lee pellegrini (fr. sannella), shawon davis (vargas rozier-byrd)
is devoted to the humanities, an essential element of the liberal arts and the foundation of a Jesuit education. The couple also donated $25 million to support undergraduates through the Stokes Family Endowed Scholarship, providing life-changing financial aid to “Stokes Scholars.” A former president, CEO, and chair of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., Stokes has served as a BC trustee or trustee associate for 24 years. During his tenure as trustee board chair, BC acquired the 70-acre Brighton campus, a strategically crucial acquisition that allowed BC to expand at a critical junc-
ture in its history. Stokes’ path to BC was indirect. Motivated by President John F. Kennedy’s pledge to land a man on the moon, he began an engineering program at the University of Detroit following graduation from New York City’s Xavier High School. Preferring the humanities, he transferred to BC following his freshman year, and graduated magna cum laude with a double major in English and mathematics. He earned an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School in 1966. In 1991, the BC Alumni Association presented Stokes with the Award of Excellence
Arivee Vargas Rozier-Byrd Arivee Vargas Rozier-Byrd is a senior director of employee relations at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a global biotechnology company based in Boston. She is also a certified life and high-performance coach for women professionals and host of the podcast “Humble Rising,” on which she interviews women of color who share their stories and strategies on how to have fulfilling careers and lives. After earning a juris doctorate from BC Law School, the 2005 alumna—whose degree was in sociology with a minor in Latin American Studies—spent several years as an associate in litigation practice. She also clerked for Judge Denise Casper, the first Black female federal judge in Massachusetts. Vargas Rozier-Byrd later clerked for Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson, the first Black female judge on the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The daughter of immigrants, Vargas Rozier-Byrd is a self-described lifelong learner who changed the focus of her career from the law to human resources and professional and personal development. She taps into the experience of navigating her own personal and career crossroads to help other women, in her words, “get the clarity and confidence to move towards the life and career they really want and deserve.” In 2020, Vargas Rozier-Byrd was named to the Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list of the city’s best and brightest young professionals. She is a recipient of BC’s John A. Dinneen, S.J., Hispanic Alumni Community Service Award. She serves on the University’s Board of Regents, AHANA Alumni Advisory Council, Council for Women of Boston College, and the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors.
SJC Chief Justice to Address Law Commencement Kimberly S. Budd (right), chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), will be the keynote speaker for Boston College Law School’s 2022 Commencement, which takes place on May 27 in Conte Forum. Nominated by Governor Charlie Baker to fill the seat after the death of former Chief Justice Ralph Gants in 2020, Budd is the first Black woman to serve as chief justice of the SJC. She followed the trailblazing path of her father, Wayne Budd ’63, H ’13, who in 1989 became the first African American appointed to serve as United States Attorney for Massachusetts. Last fall, Budd delivered her first annual address on the state of the judiciary at the Massachusetts Bar Association Bench-Bar Symposium, during which she praised the more than 6,000 judges, clerks, registers, and employees in the Massachusetts court system who had worked through the challenges of COVID-19. She also touched on how the pandemic had changed perceptions of how the judicial system can, and should,
function. “We have learned, for example, that not all court events need to take place at the courthouse. We can save litigants and their lawyers considerable time and expense by holding some hearings virtually when appropriate.” Other revelations, she said, were more painful but could not be ignored. “We also need to do more to fight another kind of vi-
rus that has affected our legal system for far too long—the problem of racial and ethnic inequities. Even as we were battling COVID over the last year-and-a-half, the repeated, tragic, and unjustified deaths of Black men and women in police encounters across the country sparked a national reexamination of the role of race in our legal system.” Budd served as law clerk to Chief Justice Joseph P. Warner of the Massachusetts Appeals Court and worked in private practice at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo before becoming assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts. She was a university attorney in the General Counsel’s Office at Harvard University and director of the Community Values program at Harvard Business School before becoming associate justice for the Massachusetts Superior Court. She was named to the SJC in 2016. A 1988 graduate of Georgetown University, Budd earned a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1991. —University Communications
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April 28, 2022
A Truman Scholar—from Truman’s Home State BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR
Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences junior Emma Story, whose interest in politics and government has taken her beyond the classroom since her high school days, is the latest Boston College undergraduate to earn a coveted Truman Scholarship. The scholarship, awarded by the Harry S. Truman Foundation, supports the graduate education and personal development of accomplished undergraduates committed to public service leadership. A native of the St. Louis area majoring in political science with minors in International Studies and Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good, Story plans to pursue a juris doctorate with concentrations in constitutional and government law. BC, with 22 Truman Scholars since 1981, is among a select group of colleges and universities designated as Truman Honor Institutions for their encouragement of outstanding young people to pursue careers in public services, effective promotion of the Truman program on their campuses, and sustained success in helping their students win Truman Scholarships. While a BC student, Story has worked on various campaigns in her home state as well as in Massachusetts. She recently served as a regional field director managing a political action committee’s grassroots operations in multiple counties. As a United States Senate intern last summer, Story conducted in-depth research on slave labor, and her findings and recommendations were incorporated into several pieces of government legislation. She is president-elect of the BC chapter of the Network of Enlightened Women, and a research assistant for Professor of Political Science Peter Krause on issues such as global political violence and political polarization in the U.S.
Animated by a zeal for politics and government that emerged well before her college years, Story believes the on-theground, state/local perspective of politics is inseparable from its national and global dimensions, and a willingness—and determination—to look past ideological differences in pursuit of the public good is indispensable. Earning a prestigious scholarship whose namesake was one of America’s most celebrated presidents is quite fulfilling for Story, especially given that his hometown is in the same state as hers. “Harry Truman’s dedication to public service is definitely inspiring to me as a fellow Missourian,” said Story. “He helped create change at both the international and local level, which is admirable.” Story was drawn to BC because of its Jesuit, Catholic character, with an emphasis on faith and service, its strong academic reputation, and the opportunities to pursue research as an undergraduate. She also felt a change of scenery to the East Coast would be a beneficial growth experience. Closing in on the end of her third year at BC, Story feels her decision to come to the Heights has been a sound one. “Majoring in political science has given me the theoretical and practical side of politics and government, which can be applied in the real world,” she said, citing Political Science Department faculty members such as Krause, Kenji Hayao, Michael Hartney, David Hopkins, and Kenneth Kersch for their impact on her intellectual and personal formation. “My International Studies minor has provided a global perspective, through classes on East Asia and Africa as well as political economy and development. And I’ve learned a lot about digital innovation with the Managing for Social Impact minor. While I’m unsure of my exact career path, I feel that I have a solid foundation with which to study constitutional and gov-
Emma Story ’23: “Difficult as it might be to have political conversations, you need to show compassion and tolerance, and listen to different perspectives.” photo by caitlin cunningham
ernment law.” Hayao was so impressed by Story’s performance in his Politics of Korea and Japan class he wound up encouraging her to apply for the Truman Scholarship, which he notes has become more competitive in recent years. “Emma did excellent work across the board, particularly on her research paper, which focused on the decision of South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in to accede to North Korea’s requests to prevent antiNK activists in the South from trying to send information to North Koreans. More than most students, she really dug into the resources available to her to gain an understanding of the issue.” Krause, for whom Story worked as a research assistant on his Political Violence Project, added his praise. “Emma is an incredibly intelligent and hard-working student. She has conducted valuable research
with me on polarization and extremism in the United States, the international relations of the Middle East, and the politics of post-war governments. Her work has contributed to peer-reviewed articles, policy memos, and two book projects. She is a worthy recipient of the Truman Scholarship, which I know will further her already deep commitment to public service.” Story also is grateful to those who helped her cultivate an interest in politics and government early on, especially her father, with whom she enjoyed dinner table talks about news and current events. As a high school student fascinated by her state’s gubernatorial race, she convinced him to drive her to a candidates’ debate taking place in their hometown. Too young to vote in the election, she volunteered for one of the candidates (“I loved it”). During the 2018 midterm elections— which occurred during her senior year of high school—she knocked on more than 10,000 doors and became the youngest field organizer on her campaign team. The summer before college, she embarked on what was essentially an independent study, observing local judges at work and talking with them about the cases they adjudicated. Experiences such as her Senate internship, and the opportunity to further her study of slave labor—an issue she explored in her Managing for Social Impact classes— have deepened Story’s respect for the political process, imperfect and messy though it may be sometimes, especially in this volatile day and age. “I continue to believe that, difficult as it might be to have political conversations,” she said, “you need to show compassion and tolerance, and listen to different perspectives. In the past, we’ve been able to come together as a nation and move forward past our disagreements; that’s what we need to do now, even just on a person-byperson basis.”
BC Scenes
‘Mile 21’ and Marathon Monday
PHOTOS BY FRANK CURRAN
Boston College celebrated Patriot’s Day—and the Boston Marathon—with the debut of “Mile 21,” a program of events and activities for students developed by the Office of the Vice President for Students Affairs with campus partners including the Campus Activities Board, Undergraduate Government of Boston College, BC Athletics, and Campus Ministry. Highlights included a concert by recording artist and TikTok superstar Jason Derulo (top left), Breakfast Bingo, and a Field Day (at left) on Maloney Lawn, with a DJ, contests, games, food trucks, and more. Of course, students also observed the timehonored tradition of cheering the marathon runners along (above).
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April 28, 2022
Female Genius
Bilder Offers Portrait of Trailblazer Eliza Harriot BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER
Boston College Law School Founders Professor of Law Mary Sarah Bilder’s new book, Female Genius: Eliza Harriot and George Washington at the Dawn of the Constitution, implodes the assumption that America’s framing was exclusively attributable to white men—as history would supposedly have us believe. Instead of the oft-cited Founding Fathers, Bilder presents a heretofore overlooked and underappreciated figure in the birth of America: the enigmatic and pathbreaking educator Eliza Harriot, purportedly the first woman to give public lectures in the United States. Female Genius reconstructs Harriot’s transatlantic life with her Irish Catholic husband, paying particular attention to her pioneering orations, her belief in education as a political right, and to the academies she founded that inspired countless young American women to aspire to a college education, and a role in the political forum. “The more we can learn about this generation—and not just the men inside that room in Philadelphia, but all the people who really participated in the country’s framing moment—the better that we understand the legacy of this period,” said Bilder. “We can see that initial drafts of the Constitution had gendered references, but the final drafting committee removed
Founders Professor of Law Mary Sarah Bilder photo by caitlin cunningham
every one, creating a gender-neutral Constitution, perhaps the result of the example and influence of a virtually unknown woman: Eliza Harriot Barons O’Connor.” Bilder recalled that while researching her previous book, Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention, she repeatedly read George Washington’s diary, and was intrigued by the future president’s mysterious reference to his pre-convention attendance at an extremely rare, female-led lecture by the Lisbon-born and Britishbred Harriot, who clearly “did not fit into the story of the convention.” Harriot’s discourse in the summer of
1787, explained Bilder, was focused on an ambitious vision to alter the existing intellectual tradition that constrained female capacity, a radical idea promoted in England by a near-contemporary, Mary Wollstonecraft, a writer, philosopher, and women’s rights activist. Wollstonecraft argued that women are not naturally inferior to men but had always been subjugated, and she advocated for women to be taught to think and speak in public as a path towards female participation in government. Likewise, Harriot claimed that all women possessed equal capacity—also known as “female genius”—and deserved an equivalent education and political representation. Bilder found the perfect exemplar of female genius in Harriot, whose focus was on establishing and demonstrating that female capacity—women’s inherent aptitude and competence—was at minimum equal to men. More than that, she insisted that the efforts of one individual female should serve as an example to be imitated and improved upon to encourage others to push beyond existing limits. [Harriot called herself “Eliza Harriot,” Bilder explained, since “it’s the only part of her name that she could control herself,” so that reference is used throughout the book.] Harriot’s narrative, Bilder added, reminds us of the struggles faced by women and people of color as subsequent revisions to the Constitution simultaneously
provided the political and legal tools for exclusion based on gender and race, and how gender and race are intertwined. When Harriot moved to South Carolina, for example, the realities of white privilege interceded, as her tuition-based academies achieved their most resounding success— likely due to her ability to flourish in an economy dependent on enslaved labor. Female Genius concludes with a Black woman, Charlotte Rollin, who heeds the call to advance women’s status by improving on Harriot’s example. Born in South Carolina nearly a century after Harriot, Rollin accepted the state legislature’s invitation for a “lady” to argue for female suffrage. Her 1869 speech demanded that women, and in particular Black women, exercise the same right to vote and hold political office as men. She claimed it for “human beings” who were “entitled to human rights.” “The book is a biography, and it’s also a history of how women and gender related to the Constitution,” said Bilder. “Eliza Harriot was born in 1749, and dies in 1811; her lifespan almost perfectly maps onto this space of expanding ideas about political representation, and then the abrupt constriction and exclusion that happens in the 19th century. I argue that she’s a significant player—despite the dearth of knowledge about her—in creating this story in the United States.”
Sr. Confoy Receives STM Alumni Service Award School of Theology and Ministry Dean Thomas Stegman, S.J., presented the STM Alumni Distinguished Service Award to Maryanne Confoy, R.S.C., Ph.D. ’80, an internationally respected scholar and teacher in the areas of spirituality and ministry, during an event held in webinar format on April 7. A Religious Sister of Charity who is professor of pastoral theology at Australian Catholic University, Sr. Confoy was the first person to earn a doctorate in religion and education from the Boston College Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry (IREPM), which later joined with Weston Jesuit School of Theology to form the STM. She also taught in the IREPM and STM Summer Institute for a number of years. Sr. Confoy is the first woman to be presented with STM’s Alumni Distinguished Service Award. Previous honorees were Jesuit priests James Martin and Gregory Boyle. Sr. Confoy is author of the books Morris West: Literary Maverick; Morris West: A Writer & A Spirituality; Vatican II Revisited: Religious Life and Priesthood; and Welcome, Inclusion, Attentive Presence: The Central Role of Pastoral Care in Catholic Health & Aged Care, as well as many book chapters and journal articles. She is co-editor of Freedom and Entrapment: Women Thinking Theology and served as the book review editor for the journal Pacifica from 1996-2008. She was a member of the United Faculty of Theology in Melbourne and served as
president for three years. She was made a fellow of the Melbourne College of Divinity. Sr. Confoy is a former director of the Kilbride Centre for Spirituality and Personal Development in Albert Park, an ecumenical and community-based initiative. She is on the board of The Way Community, a refuge for homeless men, and of St. Vincent’s Health Australia. In 2019, Sr. Confoy was awarded the Ignatian Companions Medal from the Australian Province of the Society of Jesus in recognition of her “incomparable contribution to the teaching, research, and formation ministry” of the province. She also was honored with the BC Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Religion in 1996. Following the award presentation, Sr. Confoy presented the Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., Lecture on “Spirituality for Mission: Connecting in an Era of Disconnectedness.” The lecture’s namesake was a celebrated New Testament scholar and beloved STM professor who died in 2014. Drawing on the writings of theologian Roger Haight, Sr. Confoy proposed a contemporary, personal, communal, and ecclesial Christian spirituality directed toward developing mission in a world characterized by the diverse experiences of disconnectedness endured in the pandemic. She recalled the loss and despair of the disciples after Jesus’s crucifixion and the isolation of Ignatius of Loyola during his convalesence to examine
ways in which the contemporary believers, seekers, or searchers experience being lost and being found in times of isolation and darkness. “Where do we find God?” she said. “Where is the resurrection, faith, hope, and love taking shape in our own years?” She went on: “It’s in the experience of being found by God in the everyday reality of our own ordinariness. Moments come
through that enable us to realize there is a depth within us that we don’t know how to name or to claim. But there’s no way we can disclaim it because it is a moment, an experience of very deep connectedness—the connectedness of the Spirit. We are found by God in all things, and being found by God in every one of our diverse efforts to live and love in genuine relationships.” —Kathleen Sullivan
Schiller Institute Hosts Energy and Climate Change Series The Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society has organized an Energy and Climate Change symposium series this spring, featuring talks by distinguished scholars from the United States and elsewhere. The series, which is free and open to the public, began April 11 and runs until May 5. Upcoming events include: •Today—“Tackling Climate Change with Integrated Systems-Based Research: Challenges and Opportunities,” with Hanqin Tian (Auburn University) •May 3—“Changing Fast and Slow: Social Tipping Points and Gradual Change in the Human-Climate System,” with Rachel Shwom (Rutgers University)
•May 5—“The Politics of Climate Policy and Energy Transition,” with Jonas Meckling (University of CaliforniaBerkeley) Topics in the earlier symposia included coral reef sustainability, the impact of climate change on agrarian and nomadic migration in imperial China, and using a molecular approach to clean energy and net-zero emission. All lectures are held from noon-1 p.m. in 245 Beacon Street Room 501, with a reception and lunch to follow; they also are available via Zoom. To register, go to https://bit.ly/boisi-center-spring2022series. —University Communications
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Chronicle
April 28, 2022
Jerry York: Using Hockey to Teach Students About Life BY REID OSLIN SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Don’t look for the big hockey championship trophies in Coach Jerry York’s Conte Forum office. He might be the first to tell you that the collection of gleaming hardware is not the most important part of his hockey program. York, who announced his retirement this month after a highly successful 28-season run at Boston College—and 50 years overall as a Division I head coach—always zeroed in on winning his sport’s biggest prizes, but he never treated those championship trophies as the only focus of his program. When his teams won the NCAA Championship on four different occasions, he would bring the coveted prize back to University offices for display. The trophy would be loaned to the Office of Undergraduate Admission, where prospective students could see the accomplishment, or to BC Dining Services, the BC Police Department, Office of Residential Life, Learning Resources for Student-Athletes (now Student-Athlete Academic Services), or other academic departments. “To him, it wasn’t his trophy,” noted John Hagerty, the hockey team’s director of operations. “It wasn’t the players’ trophy, either. It belonged to Boston College. “There were some years when we had to remember where we had put it,” laughed Hagerty, who has served on York’s staff since the 76-year-old Watertown native returned to his alma mater in 1994 to resurrect the school’s slipping hockey program. The Eagles’ four York-era NCAA Championship trophies now reside in the hallway display case outside the hockey suite, still available for all to see. York’s success over the last 28 years has been unmatched: His teams qualified for the NCAA tournament 18 times; advanced to 12 “Frozen Four” championship series; and won national titles in 2001, 2008, 2010,
Jerry York during one of the countless practices he led in Conte Forum. photo by frank curran
and 2012. Along the way, he also led the ice Eagles to multiple Hockey East and Beanpot Tournament championships. York finished his sparkling career with 1,123 victories— the most of anyone who has ever coached this college game. The keys to this success were rooted in York’s personal integrity and people skills as much as his hockey acuity. “He is sincere. He has a passion for the sport of hockey and for playing it the right way,” Hagerty said. “He has a passion for Boston College. “Coach York’s greatest strength may have been his ability to draw people into the program,” Hagerty continued. “He loves his staff—all the assistant coaches, the support people. We are all a part of his family. “Everyone is invested,” Hagerty said. “In my own job, I have never wanted to fail him. I would never let it get to that point.” When a player was recruited for the program, York would go to great lengths to ensure that the young man would be a good fit, as a player and as a person. “He did his homework on every single person we recruited to play for Boston College,” Hagerty said. “He was selling something that he strongly believed in.”
To his players, York was constantly teaching life skills and values along with winning hockey techniques. Each season, he brought guest speakers in to address the team, among them New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, former Red Sox manager Terry Francona, and University Trustee and Apple Fellow Phil Schiller ’82—all of whom pointed out the need for leadership and teamwork to generate success. Also, each year he would invite Conte Forum’s custodial workers into a team meeting. “These are the folks who have to clean up after you, so let’s leave our locker room in good shape for them,” he told the players. Those who demonstrated lax locker room habits would likely find themselves on “Dyson Duty”—assigned to vacuum the locker room carpet each day for a week. Similarly, he brought his team over to meet the Kelley Rink’s Zamboni crew before each season, introducing the players to the people who work the long hours to keep the ice surface and rink facility in pristine shape, and to thank them in advance for their efforts. When the team made a meal stop during road trips to distant rinks, York would
Nota Bene The Fifth International Edgar Allan Poe Conference, held in Boston April 7-10 and co-organized by Professor of English Paul Lewis, celebrated master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe’s deep ties to his city of birth. Sponsored by the Poe Studies Association, of which Lewis is immediate past president, the event drew more than 100 scholars worldwide. Pulitzer-Prizewinning novelist Marilynne Robinson was guest of honor and plenary speaker. BC was among the major supporters of the conference. “Poe may well be the most memorialized author in the city of Boston,” said Lewis, who has worked for nearly 15 years to promote Poe’s Boston connections. He planned a 200th commemorative birthday event on campus, curated a Boston Public Library exhibition on Poe, developed walking tours of Poe’s Boston, and encouraged Mayor Thomas M. Menino to create Edgar Allan Poe Square
invariably ask the bus driver, “What would you like? We’ll bring a meal out to you.” He never failed to say “thank you” to ushers and security staff members who assisted the team. In the 2006 NCAA Final, York’s team lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to the University of Wisconsin in a game played in Milwaukee. As the crestfallen BC squad skated off the ice, York called them back out to go across the rink to salute a small contingent of maroon-and-gold-clad Boston College alumni and fans who had faithfully cheered the team amid some 17,000 raucous Badger rooters. “That’s what he instilled in his teams,” said Hagerty. “The kids thought he was using life to teach them about hockey, but what he really was doing was using hockey to teach them about life.” More recently, with COVID protocols in effect, Hagerty brought his 11-year-old daughter, Bridget, into the BC hockey office where they had plans to link up to her virtual classroom computer connection. York, a grandfather of two, insisted that the youngster place her computer on a table in his personal office, where it would be quiet for her virtual class. There they sat: College hockey’s winningest coach, formulating his recruiting evaluations, practice schedules, and game plans; Bridget engaging in virtual reading and math exercises with her teachers and sixth-grade classmates at St. Agatha School in Milton. As usual, there were no big trophies in the room to get in the way of such important work. Reid Oslin was sports information director for Boston College Athletics and associate director of the News & Public Affairs Office
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at the intersection of Boylston Street and Charles Street South. As chair of the Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston, Lewis then spearheaded the installation in Poe Square of Stefanie Rocknak’s statue, “Poe Returning to Boston.” He currently is advising Eversource on a plaque to be placed later this year at the likely Poe birth site, 62 Charles Street South. Two works by Professor of Music Ralf Gawlick were recently presented in Germany. On April 5 was the European premiere of “Herzliche Grüße Bruno ~ Briefe aus Stalingrad (Best Regards, Bruno ~ Letters from Stalingrad),” commemorating the 80th anniversary of the siege of Stalingrad. The event was sponsored by the city of Nürnberg and its historical museum, the Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds. Gawlick’s electro-acoustic composition is based on letters written by Gawlick’s 19-year-old uncle before he was
listed as missing in action in December, 1942. On April 7, the Vienna-based Hugo Wolf String Quartet performed Gawlick’s “Imagined Memories” in Heidelberg at an event marking the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma by Romani Rose. The event included an official acknowledgement by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, president of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Georg Bätzing, chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, of the “Zweites Leid (Second Suffering),” the continued persecution of the Sinti and Roma after the “Porajmos,” the Nazi genocide of Europe’s Sinti and Roma population during World War II. Both events were “critical to Germany’s national identity in facing its past and working towards a future based on historical awareness, sensitivity, and responsibility,” according to Gawlick.
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Chronicle
April 28, 2022
BC Global
BC to Partner on Study of Hazards from Plastics “What people don’t realize is the main feed stock for plastics is natural gas and in some cases oil,” notes Global Public Observatory Director Philip Landrigan, M.D. “Almost all plastic is based on carbon and gas and oil are the two most abundant sources of carbon.”
BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER
The Global Observatory on Pollution and Health at Boston College and an international team of researchers are launching a study of the hazards plastic products pose to global human health across the continuum of their production, use, and disposal, according to observatory director Professor of Biology Philip Landrigan, M.D. More than 400 million metric tons of plastic are produced annually—up from just 1.7 million metric tons produced in 1950—with the largest recent growth in single-use plastics. An estimated 10 to 12 million tons of plastic waste enter the oceans each year, said Landrigan. More than 100 million tons of plastic, mostly microscopic particles, coat the ocean floor. “We expect this study will take a year to complete and we will be looking at the impacts of plastic on human health across the life cycle of plastic products,” said Landrigan, who also directs BC’s Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good. The project is a continuation of the observatory’s partnership with the Centre Scientifique de Monaco and Monaco’s Prince Albert II. But its scope extends far beyond the impact on ocean pollution, the focus of a groundbreaking 2020 study led by Landrigan and his Centre Scientifique de
photo by caitlin cunningham
Monaco colleagues: It will take an expansive look at hazards associated with plastic from “cradle to grave”—from the origins of fabrication, to the myriad end states of the ubiquitous material, to the consequences for human health, the environment, and climate change, Landrigan said. “Plastic poses hazards to human health at every stage of its life cycle,” said Landrigan. “What people don’t realize is the main feed
Ricci Institute Getting Ready to Open Its Doors The Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History is preparing for its formal opening at Boston College. The internationally acclaimed research center moved from the University of San Francisco—its location since its 1984 founding—to the Creagh Library on Brighton Campus (2125 Commonwealth Avenue), which underwent extensive renovations during the past several months. On May 4, the Ricci Institute will present its first event, “From Matteo Ricci to Pope Francis: The Jesuits and Christian Dialogue in China,” with University of Edinburgh Lindaman Endowed Chair Anthony E. Clark at 2101 Commonwealth Avenue; his talk will be preceded by a visit to the institute (registration closed on April 27). The institute’s website is bc.edu/ricci.
photos by caitlin cunningham
stock for plastics is natural gas and in some cases oil. Almost all plastic is based on carbon and gas and oil are the two most abundant sources of carbon. The chemical industry is rapidly building plants that take oil and gas and convert them into the building blocks of plastics production. Plastic manufacturing is increasing exponentially.” Landrigan said financial support for the project will come from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and Australia’s Minderoo Foundation, which supports a sizable portfolio of global public health and wellness initiatives. In addition to researchers in Chestnut Hill, Monaco, and Australia, other investigators on the project include experts from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, and Cornell University. Many on the team contributed to the
2020 report that found ocean pollution is widespread and getting worse, and when toxins in the oceans make landfall, they imperil human health and well-being. That study, which drew together data from nearly 600 scientific reports, was the first comprehensive examination of the impacts of ocean pollution on human health. On the subject of plastic, Landrigan said studies have shown a range of health consequences from the world’s growing dependence on the material, used in products as varied as aircraft, automobiles, food containers, medical supplies, and children’s toys. The team will analyze both prior studies and new data, he said. “We will look at all phases of plastic production and the health impacts; fracking to extract natural gas; transportation; gas storage; risks of fire and explosion; hazards of plastic manufacture; turning the raw material into plastic; and the carcinogens present in many of the chemical additives required to make these products. We will examine the hazards to workers in plants and factories and in those communities, and the hazards associated with the daily use of plastics.” The study will also make recommendations for changes in chemical and plastic policy to better protect human and ocean health. A two-day planning workshop was recently held at Centre Scientifique de Monaco during Monaco Ocean Week 2022.