T he B oston C ollege
Chronicle summer 2013
Catholic Press Association Honor for Fr. Hollenbach
An article co-authored by Theology Professor David Hollenbach, SJ, holder of the University Chair in Human Rights and International Justice, is part of a special issue of America magazine that has received the 2013 first place award from the Catholic Press Association for best coverage of religious liberty issues. In the March 2012 piece, Fr. Hollenbach and Thomas A. Shannon, professor emeritus of religion and social ethics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, analyzed issues related to religious freedom that were roiling the presidential election: “The Catholic underGary Wayne Gilbert standing of religious freedom stands in sharp contrast to secularizing approaches to public life and privatistic interpretations of the place of religion. The contrast is particularly evident in the way the US bishops have linked their opposition to same-sex relationships and gay marriage to their exercise of religious freedom. They state that the human rights of all persons must be protected, but that this ‘should be done without sacrificing the bedrock of society that is marriage and the family and without violating the religious liberty of persons and institutions.’ “This linkage echoes controversies about whether Catholic institutions can be legally required to provide family health care benefits for the partners of employees in same-sex relationships, provide adoption services to gay couples or fund insurance plans that cover contraception.” The article, “A Balancing Act,” is available at americamagazine.org/issue/5131/article/balancing-act —Office of News & Public Affairs obituary
Maria Koufos, 58; Won Community Service Award
A funeral service was held June 21 in St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church of Arlington for Maria (Metaxas) Koufos ’03, a former employee in the University’s Information Technology division and an avid volunteer for many causes, who died June 18. She was 58. Mrs. Koufos, a Cambridge native and Newton resident, joined Boston College in 1990 and went on to serve as coordinator for IT’s Office and Training Center and later director of the Student Learning and Support Services Center, among other positions, before leaving the University in 2005. A passion for altruism guided Mrs. Koufos, who won the BC Community Service Award in 1995. “If I see a need, I don’t think about it, I just jump in and help out,” she said in an interview with Boston College Chronicle after being named the winner. She organized a hat-and-mitten drive for children in BC’s Campus School, the Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and other organizations. Mrs. Koufos helped build the Campus School playground, volunteered at the Special Olympics when the event took place at BC and served as a United Way representative. She also coordinated various trips for University employees as vice chair and secretary of the Staff Advisory Senate, and provided notary public services free to anyone in the BC community. Mrs. Koufos was active in St.
Athanasius, running festivals for children, and put her fluency in Greek to work by interpreting for Greek-speaking patients in area hospitals. “Maria was a total people person, family-oriented, very funny and loving,” said Academic Advising Center Assistant Director Stella Primpas, a childhood friend of Mrs. Koufos. “She was so good to so many people, and I will miss her very much.” Mrs. Koufos earned a bachelor’s degree in 2003 from the Woods College of Advancing Studies. Her daughter Stephanie Quill was a 1999 graduate of the Lynch School of Education. The daughter of Presbytera Georgia Metaxas and the late Rev. Dr. Arthur J. Metaxas, Mrs. Koufos is survived by her husband George; another daughter, Gena Robinson; brothers John and Nicholas Metaxas and sister Kathy Ypsilantis; grandchildren Katerina and Sophia Quill; and many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to St. Athanasius The Great Greek Orthodox Church, 4 Appleton St., Arlington, MA 02476; or to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at NINDS/ NIH Memorial Donation, Financial Management Branch, Bldg. 31, Room 8A34, 31 Center Drive, MSC 2540, Bethesda, MD 208922546. —Sean Smith
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Newsmakers In an interview with the Boston Herald, Prof. James Bretzke, SJ (STM), discussed the role of Pope Francis in the elevation of Pope John Paul II to sainthood. The recent disclosures of National Security Agency surveillance of the Internet, wrote Prof. Patrick Maney (History) in the WBUR “Cognoscenti” blog, call to mind the first time the federal government monitored private communications — which should raise flags today. Assoc. Prof. Zine Magubane (Sociology), who taught in South Africa during the presidency of Nelson Mandela, spoke with the Christian Science Monitor on the intersection of grief and politics as the country’s former leader nears death. Daily Valley ran a feature on “Freya!,” the documentary by Assoc. Prof. Rachel Freudenburg (German Studies) about Freya von Moltke, who with her husband formed an opposition group to Hitler’s regime. Appearing on the New England Cable News show “Broadside,” Assoc. Prof. Joseph Tecce (Psychology) discussed interpretations of the demeanor of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez, now charged with murder.
Earlier this month, Boston College Police Officer Joseph Lamusta was named winner of the Robert Bunker Award for Outstanding Service by the Northeast Colleges and Universities Security Association. Lamusta, along with other BCPD officers, rendered medical assistance to a Northeastern University student on Shea Field during a major blizzard on Feb. 8. In the photo above, Lamusta (left) is shown with BC Police Lt. Chris Santiago, who accepted the award at the conference on Lamusta’s behalf. (Photo courtesy of Boston College Police Department)
BC BRIEFING Publications “The Effect of Audit Committee Industry Expertise on Monitoring the Financial Reporting Process,” by Prof. Jeffrey Cohen (CSOM), was accepted for publication by The Accounting Review.
Deaths Mary Breen, retired housekeeper in Facilities Services. (June 30)
NOTA BENE School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Nancy Pineda-Madrid has been elected to the position of vice president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS). She will succeed to the post of president-elect of the academy in 2014-15 and president in 2015-16, and be responsible for planning the ACHTUS colloquium for June 2015, which will be held in Milwaukee. ACHTUS is an association of scholars dedicated to promoting research and critical theological reflection within the context of the US Hispanic experience. Graduate School of Social Work Associate Professors Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes and Stephanie Berzin, directors of GSSW’s Center for Social Innovation (CSI), along with former Boston College graduate assistant Luis de Zengotita, compiled a study on Massachusetts’ status as a leader in social innovation. CSI collaborated with the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers on the study, based on interviews with 23 human service agencies leaders who had spearheaded social innovation initiatives. The findings were presented last month at a one-day conference on Brighton Campus attended by some 40 human services practitioners. An essay by biology major Loic Assobmo ‘15, “From Cameroon to Campus Dining,” won first place in a National Association College Auxiliary Services contest. Assobmo described how “the skills, motivation and empowerment” he gained as a student working in accounting for Boston College Dining Services encouraged him to launch a nonprofit organization called the Global Establishment for Medical Advancement, focused on bringing awareness of and solutions to crises crippling Africa’s healthcare system.
Grants Assoc. Prof. Candace Jones (CSOM), co-recipient: $797,529, Danish Council for Independent Research through the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education, for study “The Impact of Material Artifacts and Visual Representations on the Institutionalization of Innovations.”
Honors/Appointments Academic Studies Press has named Prof. Maxim D. Shrayer (Slavic and Eastern Languages) editor of the series “Borderlines: Jews of Russia/Eastern Europe and Their Legacy,” which will explore various intersections of Jewish Studies and Russian/Soviet/East European Studies in literature, history, philosophy, the visual arts, music, cinema, and cultural anthropology.
Time and a Half Asst. Prof. Jeremy Clarke, SJ (History) was invited by the Cultural Heritage Bureau of the Government of Xuhui District of Shanghai and the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries to present a paper at the international conference “The History, Culture and Development of T’ou-se-we.”
JOBS The following are among the most recent positions posted by the Department of Human Resources. For more information on employment opportunities at Boston College, see www.bc.edu/offices/hr: Director, Academy
Lynch
Leadership
Public Safety Dispatcher, Gate Attendants Administrative Assistant, Chemistry Department Student Services Associate, Student Services Financial Aid Associate, Student Services Evening Supervisor, Bapst Library