The Boston College
Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of News & Public Affairs march 15, 2012 VOL. 20 no. 13
Trustees Set Tuition, Budget for 2012-2013 Academic Year
INSIDE •Pemberton returns to tell his story, page 2
By Jack DuNn Director of News & Public Affairs
•A glimpse of Ireland at BC, page 2
The Boston College Board of Trustees has approved the budget for the 2012-2013 academic year, which calls for a 3.6 percent increase in tuition, fees, room and board, and provides an additional $7 million for academic and infrastructure initiatives to support the University’s strategic goals. Tuition was set at $43,140. The board also maintained
•Osnato, Taziva to lead UGBC, page 3
•GSSW ranks 10th in US News, page 3 •No developments in Garcia case, page 3 •Sadka scrutinizes hedge funds, page 4
Fourteen Appalachia Volunteers from Boston College helped with construction of two Habitat for Humanity houses in Huntington, WV, as part of the Habitat for Humanity Alternative Spring Break program.
Scenes from Spring Break BC students traveled far and wide — even outside of the US — to help others during last week’s spring break Go to www.bc.edu/chronicle to read the full version of this story
•BC Law’s Diane Ring talks taxes, page 5 •Burns Scholar Keogh to lecture, page 6 •BC plays host for NCAA regional, page 6
•1989 Jesuit slayings reexamined, page 7 •BC creates literary Boston exhibit, page 8
For the sixth year, Connell School of Nursing undergraduate and graduate students journeyed to Managua, Nicaragua, to work and learn about the Nicaraguan culture. The volunteers worked in a clinic in the barrio of Nueva Vida, part of la Ciudad Sandino, the poorest area of Nicaragua, and attended meetings and lectures about Nicaraguan history and the country’s health system. Will Sutton ’12: Health care and economics aside, I would say that we all learned more about ourselves from the individuals we met. We had the opportunity, individually, to visit members of the Nueva Vida community in their homes. By American standards, we would have been in “shacks.” Many of us were shocked by the conditions. However, we have never met more loving people. They welcomed us, gave us their best mangos, spoke with us about their lives and in doing so helped change our own. On Friday, our last day at the clinic, the housekeeper asked me what I thought about Nicaragua. I replied, “I am in love with the people of Nicaragua.” She replied in Spanish: “Nicaragua es pobre pero tenemos corazon y queremos
— Nicaragua is poor but we have heart and we love.” * * * The BC Acoustics, a student a cappella group, toured Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and New York City during spring break, appearing solo or with other collegiate singing groups at a variety of hospitals and charity organizations, and entertaining audiences at several historic sites. Taylor McLeod ’15: We went to The Morgan Center on Long Island, which is a preschool for kids who have cancer. We sang to them, got a tour of the facility, and then talked to them, as well as the parents. It was probably the best part of the tour for me. These parents were so happy, as were the kids. The founders of the facility told me that they hardly see the kids smile, and that this was such an amazing change in them. One of the mothers came up to us afterwards, saying that her daughter told her that she wanted to be a singer when she grows up. She then told us that that day was the one-year anniversary of her daughter being diagnosed with leukemia and that we changed a very sad day into one of hope. Continued on page 5
OF NOTE:
Boston College’s commitment to provide access to students from all socio-economic backgrounds by increasing need-based undergraduate financial aid by 6.4 percent to $90 million, and total student aid to $143 million. Boston College remains one of only 21 private universities in the United States that is need-blind in admissions and meets the full demonstrated need of all accepted undergraduate students. Seventy percent of Boston College students Continued on page 5
21 Faculty Are Promoted University President William P. Leahy, SJ, has announced the promotions of 21 Boston College faculty members. Promoted to full professor were Kevin Ohi (English), Prassannan Parthasarathi (History), Cyril Opeil, SJ (Physics), Benjamin Howard (Mathematics), Franco Mormando (Romance Languages and Literatures), Ourida Mostefai (Romance Languages and Literatures), Catherine Cornille (Theology), Rabbi Ruth Langer (Theology) and Kathleen Seiders (Marketing, Carroll School of Management). Faculty members promoted to as-
sociate professor with tenure were: Dunwei Wang (Chemistry), Owen Stanwood (History), Gerald Kane (Information Systems, CSOM), Gergana Nenkov (Marketing, CSOM), Linda Salisbury (Marketing, CSOM), Katherine Gregory (Connell School of Nursing), Brian Galle (Law), Katherine McNeill (Lynch School of Education), Patrick Proctor (LSOE), Stephanie Berzin (Graduate School of Social Work) and Nancy Pineda-Madrid (School of Theology and Ministry). In addition, Associate Professor of History Julian Bourg was granted tenure. —Office of News & Public Affairs
BC Education Researchers Help Draft Benchmarks for Catholic Schools By Ed Hayward Staff Writer
Working with partners in higher education and in Catholic schools, researchers from the Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education helped draft the first set of national standards and benchmarks for effective Catholic schools, which were released Monday. The creation of the standards and benchmarks serves as a crucial step in efforts to preserve and bolster the nation’s Catholic schools, said Roche Center Executive Director Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill, who was part of the three-year effort to draft Continued on page 4
Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill, executive director of the Roche Center for Catholic Education, aided in the effort to draft standards and benchmarks for effective Catholic schools.
The Boston College women’s ice hockey team’s second consecutive visit to NCAA’s “Frozen Four” national championship begins at 6 p.m. tomorrow when the Eagles meet the University of Wisconsin in the national semifinals in Duluth, Minnesota. For more coverage, see www.bceagles.com.
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Chronicle march 15, 2012
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For Steve Pemberton ’89, his appearance at Boston College this evening is more than just another speaking engagement. It will be a return to a place that nurtured him and prepared him for personal and professional achievements that once seemed unlikely. At 6:30 p.m. in Devlin 101, Pemberton will host a reading and signing of his new memoir, A Chance in the World: An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home, which chronicles the story of how a mixed-race, mistreated orphan living in foster care sought and found identity, family and success. Pemberton, the divisional vice president and chief diversity officer for Walgreens, is one of the country’s leading authorities on diversity in the workplace. Fortune magazine named him one of the Top 20 Chief Diversity Officers in corporate America. In 2008, Savoy listed him as one of The Top 100 most influential African-Americans in corporate America. Event organizers describe A Chance in the World as an inspiring story about Pemberton, who grew up with no knowledge of his biological family, and his quest to find his history. His journey — one that included disappointing realities — touches on themes of loss, pain, hope and, ultimately, resilience and
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Back to the Heights
Human Resources Assisant KimDuyen Ngo assisted HR Customer Service Representative Emmanuel Johnson in filling out the online health questionnaire (HQ) at the March 7 screening held in the Flynn Recreation Complex as part of the University’s “HEALTHY YOU” wellness initiative for employees. The next free “Know Your Numbers” screening — which measure important health-related data like weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, that can be entered on the HQ — will be March 19 from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons. For more information on “HEALTHY YOU,” see www.bc.edu/healthy-you.
Author and former admissions administrator Steve Pemberton ’89 returns to BC this evening.
forgiveness. Boston College was the site of some of Pemberton’s most important formative experiences, as an undergraduate and later, as senior assistant director of admissions. “So much of my personal and professional life is anchored in my Boston College experiences,” said Pemberton, who went on to become chief diversity officer and vice president of diversity and inclusion at Monster.com. “I am looking forward to returning to this wonderful community to share this story and the lessons I learned during my time there.”
The book event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by Boston College Magazine, with co-sponsorship by BC’s Office of AHANA Student Programs, Office for Institutional Diversity, and Office of Undergraduate Admission. More information on Pemberton and his book can be found at http://www.chanceintheworld. com. A promotional video about A Chance in the World is at http://bit. ly/zR4pKn. —Kathleen Sullivan
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Chronicle ON Be sure to check out the Boston College Chronicle YouTube channel [www.youtube.com/bcchronicle] for video features on Boston College people, programs and events. New and upcoming videos include: •Dissertation Boot Camp—The Office of Graduate Student Life recently held its inaugural “Dissertation Boot Camp” to help doctoral students progress through the difficult writing stages of the dissertation. •Appalachia Volunteers Liturgy—Students taking part in BC’s annual Appalachia Volunteers spring break service program gather the evening before their departure for a special liturgy. The Boston College
Chronicle
The Essence of Ireland The mind and heart, history and oil and canvas,” according to curator culture of Ireland and its people Andrew Kuhn, a doctoral candidate are showcased through a variety of in English at BC. “The book also exhibits and events organized by has been a site where Irish painters Burns Library, which are on view have honed their craft as illustrators, designers and writers.” now through April. “Tom Williams – Irish Repub“The Irish Interior: Soul, Mind lican” focuses on the 1942 killing in and Heart at the Beginning of a Belfast of a Royal Ulster ConstabuNew Century” is based on a 1911 lary Officer, for which an 18-year-old article that offered advice for an Irish commander of an Irish Republican family library, suggesting inclusions Army unit, Tom Williams, and his that would foster formation of the five soldiers, were held responsible soul, mind, and heart, particularly for and sentenced to death. Based around the country’s Catholic population. a petition that begs for the reprieve Though the items displayed are more elaborate and of much higher quality than the same books or objects found in the homes of the rural or urban working class Irish in 1911, “they reveal the importance of the Church and devotional practices — and of the study of Irish history, literature, language, music and other arts — as the Irish sought to reclaim all aspects of their country’s knowledge and culture and to begin to build a nation,” says exhibit curator and Irish Studies Librarian Kathleen Williams. The richness of Irish art in fine print can be experienced through “Painter, Illustrator, Author: Irish Art in the Twentieth Century,” an exhibit of volumes from the University’s Irish and Fine Print collections that highlights the intersection of Irish literature and book arts. This exhibit illustrates that “the passion for Paul Henry’s painting “Old Woman Irish visual art cannot be contained in of Connaught,” part of the “Irish Interior” exhibit.
of the six men, the exhibit tells the story of the conditions leading to the judicial decision and its aftermath, says curator and Burns Library Senior Special Collections Cataloging Assistant Meaghan Madden. “It demonstrates that one primary document can be a valuable resource for a variety of different research topics,” said Madden. “Several areas of potential research are highlighted for students, so they can see how one might go about connecting a source to the topic.” This exhibit also represents the first integration of virtual content from the Burns Library’s ongoing blog [see http://johnjburnslibrary.wordpress. com] into a physical event, Madden said. “Precious Poems in Precious Packaging: Irish Poems Printed and Bound by the Traffic Street Press” spotlights The Traffic Street Press Irish Poetry series. The books on display, made by Paulette Myers-Rich at the Press, are presented not only for their physical beauty, but for the inspiring nature of the imaginative, humorous, and touching poems they contain, said Burns Library Conservator Barbara Adams Hebard, co-curator of the exhibit with Williams. It is on view in the O’Neill Library Reading Room, Level Three, and also includes items of related historic interest from the Burns Library special collections. In addition, on March 28, Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies Der-
Director of NEWS & Public Affairs
Jack Dunn Deputy Director of NEWS & Public AFFAIRS
Patricia Delaney Editor
Sean Smith Contributing Staff
Melissa Beecher Ed Hayward Reid Oslin Rosanne Pellegrini Kathleen Sullivan Michael Maloney Photographers
Bookplate from the “Painter, Illustrator, Author” exhibit.
mot Keogh will present a lecture on “Contrasting Studies of Irish Catholic Intellectuals in a Revolutionary Age, 1908-1919” from 4-5:30 in the Burns Library Thompson Room. [See story on page 6] The following day, March 29, the Gaelic Roots series will feature an “Irish Dance and Ceili” at 6:30 p.m. in Gasson 100, known as “The Irish Room.” Live music will be led by Sullivan Artist-in-Residence Seamus Connolly, with dances taught by internationally recognized dance teacher Kieran Jordan. The event is sponsored by the Center for Irish Programs, with refreshments and other support provided by the Boston College Libraries. Viewing hours for all library locations can be found at http://www. bc.edu/libraries/about/hours.html. —Patricia Delaney
Gary Gilbert 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 News & Public Affairs, 14 Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 (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 News & Public Affairs, 14 Mayflower Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467. Contact Chronicle via e-mail: chronicle@bc.edu.Electronic editions of the Boston College Chronicle are available via the World Wide Web at http://www. bc.edu/chronicle.
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Chronicle march 15, 2012
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By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor
The first thing you should know about the new Undergraduate Government of Boston College leadership team, says UGBC Presidentelect Christopher Osnato, is that they’re passionate about Boston College. “We really care a lot about BC, and the people in it,” said Osnato, who along with his vice-president, fellow junior Kudzai Taziva, narrowly won the UGBC election last month over the tandem of juniors Vanessa Gomez and Jennifer Wanandi. “Going here has been a tremendously rewarding experience for us, and we’ve wanted to give something back to the University community. We’re excited to have that opportunity.” Osnato and Taziva will now seek to realize their vision for a Boston College where undergraduates feel more of a connection to one another, as well as to their student government. They also hope to foster improvements in services and resources for academic advising and off-campus life, among other areas. “Our overall desire is to create a more powerful sense of community,” says Osnato. “BC is a strong academic place, and students are focused on their involvement in academics as well as sports, or music, or other extracurricular activities. That’s a great thing, but our feeling is, let’s not get too immersed in our own worlds — let’s broaden our horizons and make connections with one another.” The time to start developing
Lee Pellegrini
Osnato, Taziva Take UGBC Election GSSW Moves Up to 10th
The next UGBC president, Christopher Osnato (left), and vice-president, Kudzai Taziva.
these bonds is the beginning of freshman year, says Osnato, who recalls cookouts and other social activities held during orientation as models for friendship building. “You have your roommate, of course, but why not get to know your residence hall floor, your dorm, and the part of campus where your dorm is? It makes the University feel a little smaller, more familiar.” Osnato, in addition to UGBC, has served on the Quality of Student Life Committee and the Emerging Leaders Program, and volunteered off-campus at the Boston Food Bank and as an elementary school tutor. Taziva, who joined the UGBC Senate as a freshman, has been involved with the AHANA Leadership Council and Relay for Life. The new UGBC leaders’ relationship dates practically from their arrival at BC: They were in the same freshmen orientation session, and both lived on Newton Campus their first years. As they became active in UGBC, the two found themselves
working together on many initiatives and tasks. So, late last semester, as the 2012 UGBC elections loomed, Osnato and Taziva began thinking, then talking, about running together. “About a week after New Year’s, we just said, ‘Let’s go for it,’” recalls Osnato, a political science and communication major from Clark, NJ, who also was president of his high school student government. Osnato believes he and Taziva, a philosophy and marketing major from Kingston, NY, represent an ideal combination of characteristics and traits. “I think we’re both charismatic and communicate very well with others. Kudzai is a fantastic organizer, and he works about a mile ahead of me. He brings his ideas, I bring my passion, and this blend is something, I feel, that will carry well for us next year.” Osnato acknowledges that, at a time when many Americans voice pessimism and disillusionment over the country’s politics, public service at most any level might seem a dubious undertaking. But that doesn’t make it any less critical, he says. “I talk to people, I hear the issues that concern them, and I just feel someone should represent their interests,” says Osnato, who plans to go to law school and foresees, eventually, involvement in politics. “When it comes to inspiration, my parents are right at the top of the list. My mother is a teacher, my father is a plumber, and they’ve worked so hard to make college possible for me. They’ve invested in me, just as BC has invested in me, and I want to do something to pay it back.”
‘Green Week’ to Emphasize Campus Conservation Boston College will continue its on-going emphasis on energy conservation with a “Green Week” campaign on campus from March 19-23. “Green Week” is sponsored by the Undergraduate Government of Boston College and the Eco Pledge group along with the University’s Sustainability program office. In addition to a campus-wide information effort, “Green Week” will feature an Operations Sustainability Forum on March 20 at 4:30 p.m. at Fulton Hall. This event will include operations representatives from the Facilities Services, Dining Services, Information Technology, Procurement, Transportation and Parking, Residential Life and Athletics departments who will focus on each division’s current and future sustainability efforts and initiatives. The forum is open to all members of the University community. In a recent on-campus energy-
savings competition, residents of Edmonds Hall decreased electricity consumption in their building by 3.4 percent — the most of any dormitory building. Residents will be treated to a pizza party
and t-shirts from the Office of Sustainability for being the top energy savers on campus. See /www.bc.edu/sustainability for more informaton. —Reid Oslin
BC Leads US ‘RecycleMania’ Challenge Boston College often occupies a familiar perch at the top of many national athletic and academic ranking lists – but the University is also the nation’s collegiate leader in per capita recycling, according to recent statistics published by RecycleMania, an association of 605 American and Canadian colleges and universities committed to improving waste reduction activities on their campuses. RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool that measures each participating school’s recycling efforts over an eight-week period each spring. After three weeks of measurement, members of the BC community are credited for recycling 23.42 pounds of waste materials for each of the University’s combined student and employee population of nearly 16,000 people. Boston College is currently ranked third in RecycleMania’s “Gorilla Prize” division, which tracks each school’s gross tonnage of combined recycled paper, cardboard, bottles and cans, regardless of campus population size. —Reid Oslin
in US News Rankings By Ed Hayward Writer
Staff
The Graduate School of Social Work became Boston College’s first graduate school to earn a Top 10 ranking in the US News & World Report ratings of the nation’s best graduate schools. GSSW climbed to 10th on the most recent list of the country’s best graduate schools of social work, which was released this week by US News, fulfilling an objective of school leadership, faculty and staff, according to GSSW Dean Alberto Godenzi. “In 2004, GSSW faculty and staff set an ambitious goal: to become a top 10 social work program,” said Godenzi, who has served as dean since 2001. “Eight years later, colleagues from our sister schools have recognized GSSW’s remarkable trajectory and ranked us No. 10.” The Lynch School of Education retained its ranking among the top 20 schools of education, ranking 18 and maintaining its place as the toprated Catholic school of education. The Carroll School of Management graduate school ranked 37 overall. Among its programs, the part-time MBA program ranked 28 nationally. Boston College Law School maintained its place within the top 30 law schools, ranking 29 nation-
ally. Graduate schools of nursing were not reviewed this year; the Connell School graduate program retains last year’s placement at 21. GSSW’s best-ever ranking for a BC graduate school coincides with the academic year marking the school’s 75th anniversary. “This new milestone reflects the the amazing accomplishments of faculty, staff, students, and alumni, and our strong relationships with local and global partners,” said Godenzi. GSSW marked the start of its dodrancentennial anniversary last September with a keynote speech by Victoria Reggie Kennedy and has launched new initiatives designed to broaden the practice of social work, the skill sets of future graduates and respond to the need for new and innovative solutions to society’s most intractable problems. Godenzi said the US News ranking would bolster the school’s efforts to seek out solutions that improve the lives of people in Boston and in communities around the world. “We see this recognition as a call to deepen our understanding of social problems, to advance our imagination in pursuit of innovative solutions, and to increase our efforts to empower people and communities at the margins,” said Godenzi. “We thank Boston College for investing in social work education.”
No Answers in Garcia Search A massive search conducted by the Boston College Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies has failed to yield any additional answers on the whereabouts of Franco Garcia, a student in the College of Advancing Studies who disappeared on Feb. 22 after spending the evening with friends in a Cleveland Circle nightspot. “BCPD officers have conducted numerous searches throughout the campus and surrounding areas,” said John M. King, the University’s director of public safety and chief of police. “BCPD, local and state police agencies have continued to work collaboratively on this investigation and inter-agency cooperation has been exceptional.” In addition to the police efforts, which included an underwater search of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir by the State Police Dive Team, several campus departments – including the Student Affairs and Campus Ministry – have offered outreach programs to channel student support and concern for Garcia.
Franco Garcia
Last Sunday night, students returning from their spring vacation were asked to join Garcia’s family in a symbolic walk from the reservoir to Cleveland Circle and back. Masses said on campus in recent weeks have been offered for the safe return of the 21-yearold West Newton native. Anyone with information that may be helpful to the investigation is asked to contact the Newton Police at 617-796-2100. —Reid Oslin
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CSOM researcher probes behavior of high-profile managers
Lee Pellegrini
The ‘Rock Stars’ of Hedge Funds By Ed Hayward Staff Writer
PATU (Presenting Africa to You) performed as part of the closing ceremonies for Black History Month at Boston College, held March 1 in the Yawkey Center’s Murray Room. (Photo by Caitlin Cunningham)
Catholic School Benchmarks Continued from page 1 the standards. proximately 7,000 Catholic schools Increased competition, demo- educating approximately 2.1 milgraphic changes and financial con- lion students, according to the Nastraints sparked a call for the Na- tional Catholic Education Associational Standards and Benchmarks tion. Throughout New England, for Effective Catholic Elementary more than 100 Catholic schools and Secondary Schools, said Weit- have closed or merged since 2000. zel-O’Neill, the former superintenThese changes and other dedent of Schools for the Archdiocese mographic shifts, combined with of Washington DC. a decline in funding, resulted in To address the issue, the Center calls for a national articulation of for Catholic School Effectiveness the hallmarks of school Catholicity, at Loyola University Chicago col- sound management practices and laborated with the Roche Center academic excellence. The standards —which is housed at the Lynch and benchmarks are meant to give School of Education — the Na- direction to school leaders. tional Catholic Education Associa“This is not meant to create a tion and a stakeholder task force for national Catholic school system,” three years of study and discussion said Weitzel-O’Neill. “Schools will that resulted in the first-ever blue- retain their independence – they print. will honor their unique mission and “We know that identity. These staneffective Catholic dards emphasize the “These standards and schools start with importance of articubenchmarks offer a a crystal clear unlating the mission. It platform school leaders needs to be clearly understanding of their Catholic identity and can use to strengthen all derstood and decisions their Catholic mission Catholic schools, those need to be made based and support that with on mission. Successful that are struggling or operational vitality,” schools are missionsaid Weitzel-O’Neill. simply want to be better.” driven schools, with “This is the first time —Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill clear standards and we have a national benchmarks.” document that proWeitzel-O’Neill vides a clear, comprehensive frame- said the standards will guide the work of universal characteristics for work of archdiocesan officials, suCatholic school effectiveness. These perintendents and principals, and standards and benchmarks offer also frame the work of researchers a platform school leaders can use and the colleges and universities to strengthen all Catholic schools, that prepare teachers and principals those that are struggling or simply to work in Catholic schools. want to be better.” “The hope is that this will supThe standards and benchmarks port the efforts of Catholic school address three primary areas: the leaders to sustain excellent schools defining characteristics of Catholic long into the future,” said Weitzelschools; standards, structures and O’Neill. “It will guide the work of processes essential to operating ef- all of us who work to ensure Cathofective Catholic schools; and the lic schools survive and thrive.” benchmarks necessary to measure The National Standards and performance and increase account- Benchmarks for Effective Catholic ability. Elementary and Secondary Schools At their peak in the 1960s, there are available at http://www.catholicwere more than 13,000 US Catho- schoolstandards.org. lic schools serving more than 5 milContact Ed Hayward at ed.hayward@bc.edu lion students. Today, there are ap-
A number of high profile cases in recent years have turned a spotlight on managers of multi-billion dollar hedge funds, exposing managers who shielded their own holdings from losses or tipped off preferred clients in advance of other investors. Carroll School of Management Professor of Finance Ronnie Sadka, an expert in liquidity in financial markets and stock price modeling, has examined the performance of hedge funds and their “rock star” managers. His latest research explores how hedge fund managers handle their own stake in a fund and the impact basic – but not necessarily public – information about a fund can have on the fund’s performance. Sadka says his latest research uncovered a number of factors that are influencing the behavior of fund managers and raising questions about whether all investors in certain types of funds are being treated equally. Sadka and Gideon Ozik, a researcher at the EDHEC Business School in France, looked at the performance of several hundred hedge funds and found that the outflow of investor dollars from a fund accurately predicts a subsequent drop in fund performance. Then they looked at how hedge fund managers handle their own money in those weeks and months before a fund sees a significant withdrawal of investor dollars. The findings show hedge fund managers may routinely act to protect their own interests, or those of preferred clients, before a key investor exits and the fund begins to decline. “This raises a lot of issues about incentives and information,” says Sadka. “All of a sudden, not all investors are equal in a fund. Even information about a fund itself, whether money is flowing in or out, could be material information because that is a reliable predictor of returns.” Sadka and Ozik looked specifically at share-restricted hedge funds, where investors’ actions are limited in order to protect the common interests of all investors. The restrictions, such as lockup periods or redemption-notice periods, are designed to provide an incentive to retain assets in a fund, allow managers to slowly acquire or sell positions and reduce the impact of tradinginduced price pressures. But these share restrictions produce a lopsided exchange of information between managers and their
Carroll School of Management Professor of Finance Ronnie Sadka.
clients about future fund flows, says Sadka. “We found that flow predicts returns, so the fund manager who receives the three- or six-months notice an investor plans to withdraw their stake possesses an information advantage on which they can act or communicate to other clients,” says Sadka. “The fund manager can pull his or her stake out of the fund, or allow other investors out of the fund. The investor who is not informed is left out in the cold.” The practice pits the interests of managers against those of investors in hedge funds where shareholder actions are limited by contract and there is scant disclosure of fund details. Managers act in advance on the information they possess, and can pass it along to preferred clients to shield them from declining returns. Analyzing rarely-seen data from the privately held funds, Sadka and Ozik identified 56 events where managers reduced their holdings, actions that were subsequently followed by a significant out flow of other investors’ money. Further studying a larger sample of thousands of funds, the researchers conservatively estimated that managers in the hedge fund industry could have effectively sheltered
approximately $2.4 billion dollars from reduced returns that Sadka and Ozik say are directly linked to the withdrawal of investor dollars from a hedge fund. “The evidence suggests that private information about a fund, not only about the fundamental value of its assets, may constitute material information,” Sadka and Ozik write in their report. “Such private information engenders potential conflict of interest between fund managers and investors, with implications for proper fund governance and disclosure policy concerning managerial actions.” To counter these findings, Sadka said hedge-fund managers should disclose their intention to subscribe to or redeem shares from the funds they manage in order to avoid the appearance of acting in advance of their lesser-informed investors. In addition, funds should consider imposing tighter share restrictions on managers and insiders. Finally, in light of these findings, managers and investors should consider that private information about a fund – not just fundamental asset values – may constitute material information. Contact Ed Hayward at ed.hayward@bc.edu
Annual Corcoran Conference Will Convene This Sunday Philosophers, theologians, and literary scholars will gather at Boston College this Sunday and Monday for the annual Corcoran Chair Conference, which this year examines how newly expanded writings of Emmanuel Levinas can enhance appreciation of the Bible and literature in general. Sponsored by the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, “Levinas, Biblical Exegesis, and Literature” will include BC-affiliated speakers Professor of Theology Rabbi Ruth Langer, associate director of the center; Seelig Professor of Philosophy Richard Kearney; Associate Professor of Theology David Vanderhooft; Associate Professor of Philosophy Jeffrey Bloechl; Martin Cohen, an adjunct associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program; and Theodore Perry, who is Visiting Professor in Christian-Jewish Learning at BC. Kraft Family Professor of Philosophy James Bernauer, SJ, who is director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, will offer a welcome at the beginning of the conference. For more information, see the CJL website at www.bc.edu/cjl. —Office of News & Public Affairs
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Chronicle march 15, 2012
Serving Others for Spring Break Continued from page 1 Matt Johnson ’13: Two experiences are at the top of the list for me. First, singing at The Morgan Center, a preschool for children with cancer, was extremely moving and unexpectedly joyous. As we were singing, the children began dancing and jumping around. It was beautiful to see how the seemingly simple act of sharing music made these children smile and forget about their difficulties. Second, singing in individual patient rooms at The Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital was simultaneously emotionally difficult and unforgettable. Two rooms were especially memorable. In one, a young patient who has not responded to anything but music since he had been admitted smiled while we sang to him. In the second, we sang to a three-year-old boy who was mute. Though he seemed shy, at the end of the first song he communicated in sign language to his mother, saying “more music please.” We sang a second song, he clapped, and signed “thank you.” * * * Sophomores Megan Zink and Thomas Steichen went to Memphis, Tenn., to participate in Deloitte’s alternative spring break program, “Maximum Impact.” In partnership with United Way and Teach For America, the program brings together undergraduates from all over the country to work side-byside with Deloitte professionals, who engage them in volunteer activities to motivate underserved youth to follow a path to college and career success. The participants visited two elementary schools, a middle school
A FEW MINUTES WITH... Diane Ring
The opinion of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Boston College Law School Professor Diane Ring is sought out quite a bit this time of year – she is an expert on taxes. With research accomplished in the fields of international taxation and corporate taxation, Ring recently spoke with Chronicle about the many tax-related stories in the news and on the minds of many Americans. See online Chronicle [http://www.bc.edu/chronicle] for the full interview.
The BC Acoustics at The Morgan Center, a preschool for children with cancer located in Long Island.
and a high school, performing a variety of tasks — from touching up a school garden to organizing storage closets to painting conference rooms — and also visiting with the schoolchildren. Zink: Overall, this trip really opened my eyes to the problems with our country’s educational system. It makes me so sad to think that a child is not given the opportunity of a meaningful education just because of the situation or place that they are born into. I am in love with Boston College. I have been given so many opportunities here and have grown so much because of the people I’ve met and the education I have received. I hate that all children cannot have this same opportunity and I know that something can be done about it. Steichen: The main thing I
gained from the trip was a new perspective on the challenges of the United States’ public education system. Students struggle to succeed when forced to attend schools with subpar learning environments. Interacting with the students that attend some of the lowest ranked schools in the nation was very moving, as they are the ones caught in these undesirable situations setting them up for failure. Many of the students I met truly wanted to learn and to succeed, but are faced with obstacles I never faced while growing up. I met a 6th grade girl who was embarrassed that she could not read even basic sight words and a high school sophomore who was bullied for trying too hard in school. Both said that they would continue to try their best despite the lack of support they received at home and in the classroom. —Office of News & Public Affairs
Board Approves Tuition and Budget for 2012-13 Continued from page 1 receive some form of financial assistance. The average need-based financial aid package is projected to exceed $34,000 in 2012-2013. “In preparing the FY ’13 budget, the University made every effort to limit the tuition increase, while maintaining our commitment to academic excellence, recruiting and retaining quality faculty, and enhancing our student formation programs and the residential life experience of our students,” said University President William P. Leahy, SJ. “This $862 million budget represents an increase of just 2 percent over last year’s operating budget,” said Executive Vice President Patrick Keating. “The University continues to undertake a comprehensive assessment of academic and administrative departments in an effort to improve efficiencies. Through careful assessment and planning, we have managed to
Q&A
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reduce costs without undermining our strategic goals for academics, student formation, and facilities.” The University continues to monitor tuition costs at the select private universities with which it competes for students. Among tuitions announced this year: •George Washington University, up 3.7 percent to $45,780 •Carnegie Mellon University, up 4 percent to $44,880 •Dartmouth College, up 4.9 percent to $43,780 •Cornell University, up 4.5 percent to $43,185 •University of Notre Dame, up 3.8 percent to $42,971 •Brown University, up 3.6 percent to $42,808 •Georgetown University, up 3.5 percent to $42,360 Nationally, the average tuition increase for private universities for the 2011-2012 year was 4.6 per-
cent, according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. This year, Boston College received more than 34,000 applications for the 2,270 seats in its freshman class, placing it among the top 10 private universities in the United States for freshmen applicants. Boston College was ranked 43rd in the “Great Schools, Great Prices” category among national universities by US News & World Report. It also placed 22nd in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s ranking of the top 50 “best values” among American private universities. Overall, the University is ranked 31st among national universities by US News & World Report, and 26th in Forbes magazine’s “America’s Best Colleges.” Contact Jack Dunn at jack.dunn@bc.edu
What are your thoughts on the “Buffett Rule”? Is it feasible and do you foresee any unintended consequences, if it were to pass? Like all tax policy, the details matter. The broad impetus for the proposed “rule” is the recognition that some taxpayers who have substantial income may be paying much less tax than one might have expected, or might have thought was “fair.” Even taxpayers Lee Pellegrini who favor lower tax rates (and presumably “smaller” government) might be concerned with this picture. The proposed rule, though, has generated some debate over whether this tax burden picture is factually accurate. Commentators have questioned how the taxpayer studies have measured income, which taxes are being included, and how the tax burden is calculated. However, even with these challenges to some of the high profile examples and calculations circulating in the popular press, there remains a general acceptance that enough of the story is true to be troublesome. What should be done? Is the “Buffet Rule” the right response? Again, details matter. At present, the limited information on the proposal makes it unclear exactly how it would operate and whether it would result in very high marginal tax rates for a subset of taxpayers (your marginal tax rate is the tax rate you face on the “next” dollar of income you earn – a very high marginal tax rate is thought to discourage you from seeking to earn that next dollar even if your average tax rate is lower). Much focus has been put on the Taxpayer Protection Pledge in recent and current election cycles. Is such a pledge sustainable over a long period of time? Is it a suitable way to decrease the size of government? The size and the role of government are legitimate subjects of public debate, and there are a wide range of positions on the question that would produce a viable nation. But there are serious questions about the sensibility of an economic pledge that would bind political leaders without regard to specific circumstances. Moreover, the pledge operates on only the revenue side of the equation. There is substantial evidence that a commitment not to increase taxes has not had the anticipated effect of decreasing government spending. If the country is committed to a vision of a “smaller” government, it needs to have that conversation in concrete and direct terms: What does “small” mean? What exactly will the government cease to do? Is the country behind that decision? Corporate tax reform is part of the campaign platform for President Obama’s re-election. Is closing corporate tax loopholes the answer to balance the budget, or is this just a clever sound bite? It’s hard to object to corporate tax reform – there are a substantial number of corporate provisions in the tax law and the system certainly needs reforming. That said, the question highlights a number of important tensions in the public debate over tax policy. It is difficult to have a comprehensive discussion about specific tax reforms in the time and space typically allocated to these questions in the media and in public discourse more generally. A productive discussion should help separate out several distinct dimensions of tax policy including: the specific policy goals being advocated; the reason why those goals are considered desirable; and an assessment of whether the proposed reforms are likely to have the expected and intended effect. —Melissa Beecher
More at www.bc.edu/chronicle
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Getting Ready for the ‘Big Dance’
Gary Wayne Gilbert
Keogh Relishes His Stint as Burns Scholar
BC serving as host for NCAA basketball regional round
By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor
Being a scholar of 20th-century Irish history when personal papers and official state archives were nearly impossible to obtain in Ireland made Dermot Keogh appreciate “the value of good material.” So imagine his delight in being the Burns Visiting Scholar of Irish Studies at Boston College, and having a chance to peruse one of the world’s most acclaimed holdings of Irish history and culture. “It’s second to none,” says Keogh of the University’s John J. Burns Library Irish Collection. “The library is simply exceptional from the point of view of a researcher, and Boston College itself is equally impressive in its energy, ethos and work ethic.” Keogh, who is emeritus professor of history and Emeritus Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration Studies at University College, Cork, will offer a glimpse into his multifaceted scholarship on March 28 when he presents the lecture “Contrasting Studies of Irish Catholic Intellectuals in a Revolutionary Age, 1908-1919,” at 4 p.m. in the Burns Library Thompson Room. Some of Ireland’s most eminent experts in history, literature, bibliography, language and art have served as Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies, and use the Burns Irish Collection for research. In addition to research obligations, the Burns Scholar teaches two courses and presents two lectures each academic year. A Dublin native, Keogh has amassed numerous academic honors and achievements, including two Fulbright awards — one of which brought him to BC in 2002 — as well as fellowships at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC, the Institute for Irish Studies, Queen’s University Belfast and the European University Institute in Italy. He is the author of nine monographs, has edited five books and co-edited 16 others, and written more than 50 book chapters and 40 scholarly articles. But when he started out in the 1970s, says Keogh — who also worked as a broadcast and print journalist — being an Irish historian carried a certain occupational irony: If you wanted in-depth information on anything relating to Irish government and policy, you were better off doing your research somewhere other than in Ireland, because its official archives were largely inaccessible to the public. “You would actually have more luck going to London, or Paris, or
By Reid Oslin Staff Writer
“In the end, whatever research you’re doing, nothing replaces hard work.” —Dermot Keogh
Rome, or Washington, DC, to find documents or papers that pertained to Ireland,” he says. “It could be a real challenge to find what you were looking for, so you appreciated the value of good material.” The opening of Irish government archives in the late 1980s and establishment of the National Archives of Ireland has meant a wealth of new opportunities for scholars like Keogh, whose research has included topics like Jews in 20th-century Ireland, Ireland and European integration, and Ireland’s relationship with the Catholic Church. “With more archival materials available, questions that earlier generations of historians might have wanted to ask can now be examined,” he says. “The historical narrative has expanded radically, to include areas of history — some of them contentious — that appeared to have been neglected previously. It’s possible now to write about the evolution of Irish institutions, especially state-funded institutions run by religious orders, in a more definitive way. “But it’s very important that this generation of historians responds in an active way, and moves beyond any preconceptions and mindsets to produce work that broadens our understanding of Ireland’s social, religious, economic and political development.” While Keogh — who is utilizing the Burns archive to help him expand on his previous book about Irish-Vatican relations, as well as write a manuscript on the Catholic Church and the origins of the Irish State, and aid his research on IrishEuropean integration — may have spent most of his professional life as an historian, he has found that a journalist-like doggedness and perseverance has served him well. “In the end, whatever research you’re doing, nothing replaces hard work. It’s all about dedication and commitment, to find your sources and develop them.” Contact Sean Smith at sean.smith@bc.edu
Staff members from the Boston College Athletics Department have spent nearly two years preparing to present one of college sports’ biggest events – the NCAA Basketball Championship Tournament regional rounds – at Boston’s TD Garden next week. Planning began in the summer of 2010 for the highly popular and universally followed NCAA hoop tourney that will be held in the city next Thursday and Saturday, and the preparations have become a near full-time task for staffers in recent weeks. In that time, the BC host team has worked countless hours to properly organize and oversee every facet of the tournament’s regional round that will advance one of the four participating teams to the “NCAA Final Four” in New Orleans on March 31 and April 2. “It’s a great showcase for college athletics and it’s great exposure for Boston College,” says Associate Athletic Director Chris Cameron, who will head up the media service contingent at the regional round. “That’s why we do it.” “We want to bring the excitement of NCAA basketball to the Northeast and to Boston,” adds Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities Joe Shirley, who will act as tournament manager in Boston. “It’s fun, but it is a lot of work.” Shirley, who is aided by Assistant AD for Operations Matt Conway and Assistant AD for Business Operations Chris Iacoi in his tournament manager duties, says host team members started their work with webinar sessions for host committees in August of 2010, followed by on-site visits to the East Regional tournament held last March in Newark, NJ. Planning seminars were also held in Indianapolis at NCAA headquarters and dozens of meetings were held in Boston with NCAA officials, TD Garden staff and representatives from the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors’ Bureau. The topics addressed everything from hotels and transportation for the visiting teams and their fans to the minute details of preparing the TD Garden for NCAA Tournament play. “For the last two months, it’s been like having two full-time jobs,” notes Shirley. “We do our BC job during the day, go home and have dinner and then we are right back on the computer doing this. “Every corporate sign or logo has to be covered in the interior of the arena,” says Shirley. “Even behind
Being the host school for the upcoming NCAA East Regional means keeping an eye on the ball for Athletic Association Associate DIrector Chris Cameron, left, and Assistant Athletic Director Joe Shirley. (Photo by Lee Pellegrini)
the scenes, the NCAA goes to great detail as to the color of the carpet, the color of table cloths and table skirts and the number of tables and chairs allowed at courtside. They dictate everything.” Every detail is covered in a nearly four-inch thick operations manual that is drawn up by NCAA officials. The NCAA even provides its own standardized wood court for practice and games – one that will display only names or logos of the host city, the host arena, the NCAA and Boston College. “Every minute of every day is scripted – from when the door opens to when the door closes,” says Shirley, noting that the NCAA games will be squeezed in between a Bruins game next Monday night and a Celtics contest at 6 p.m. on March 25. “The NCAA puts a lot of emphasis on having a consistent look in the arenas,” notes Cameron. “Other than the floor markings, it’s hard to tell just where the venue is when you switch from channel to channel.” Cameron expects to issue nearly 700 media passes for the event, including to a CBS-TV national broadcast crew. Most of his planning involved coordinating media work space, a staff work room, a media interview room and courtside press area. “We have recruited 60 volunteers for the media side,”
says Cameron, who also handled the responsibilities when BC hosted NCAA tournament play at the Garden in 1999, 2003 and 2009. “These volunteers are generally people who are in our business – people who work at the BC home games, colleagues who work at other schools, and some students from BC and elsewhere.” Things have changed since BC hosted its first NCAA Tournament event 13 years ago, Cameron notes. “In 1999, the only issue was that there were not enough telephone lines going out of the venue for the media to file their stories. Today, everything is done wirelessly. There’s ‘tweeting’ and live blogging that goes on throughout the games and the dissemination of information is instantaneous.” Cameron says the NCAA has been pleased with Boston College’s administration of tournament games in the Hub. “We have never had an empty seat. They have also been pleased with the administration of the games because we have always taken a great deal of pride in hosting and our organizational effort and the implementation once we are there. Everyone here, everyone in the city and everyone at the Garden put a whole lot of work into it.” Contact Reid Oslin at reid.oslin@bc.edu
Boston College graduate students (L-R) Jessica Coblentz, Megan McCabe, Christopher Conway and Conor Kelly examine a poster presentation at the conference “Visions of Hope: Emerging Theologians Envision the Future of the Church,” held March 9-11 at BC. (Photo by Justin Knight)
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WELCOME ADDITIONS Graduate School of Social Work Assistant Professor Rocio Calvo, who earned her PhD from the school, researches the impact of the welfare state on incorporation of immigrants and their descendants into recipient societies. Her current area of interest is how welfare expenditure and welfare scope shape social capital outcomes among immigrants and their descendants in local communities. Calvo was a Bell Fellow at Harvard University before coming to GSSW last fall. A native of Spain, Calvo earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Salamanca and a European Master’s in International Humanitarian Action from Deusto University. A native of Israel, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Dubi Kelmer was L.E. Dickson Instructor at the University of Chicago for three years prior to joining the Boston College faculty last fall; he spent 2007-08 as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. His main research interests are in number theory with applications to spectral geometry and dynamical systems, and he has authored or co-authored articles for such publications as the American Journal of Mathematics, International Journal of Number Theory and Journal of the European Mathematics Society. He holds a doctorate from Tel Aviv University, where in 2004 he won an Outstanding PhD Student prize, and a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. International trade is the academic focus of Assistant Professor Ben Li, who joined the Boston College economics department faculty this year. Li, a native of China, is a first class honors graduate of Zhejiang University and added a master’s degree in economics from Peking University and a doctorate from the University of Colorado last year. While at Colorado, Li was awarded the Reuben A. Zubrow Fellowship in Economics for excellence in teaching and research and the Chair Jacquemin Award for European trade study. His BC courses include International Trade Theory and International Trade. —Reid Oslin and Sean Smith Photos by Gary Wayne and Lee Pellegrini “Welcome Additions,” an occasional feature, profiles new faculty members at Boston College.
March 22 Forum Looks at 1989 Jesuit Assassinations and Aftermath The pursuit of justice in the 1989 assassinations at the University of Central America — a pivotal event in US-El Salvadoran relations — will be the subject of a March 22 lecture sponsored by the Boston College Center for Human Rights and International Justice. “Amnesty and Accountability in the Case of the El Salvador Jesuit Assassinations: The Moral Meets the Pragmatic,” which takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons, will include a talk by José María Tojeira, SJ, who was at UCA in November, 1989, when Salvadoran government troops killed six of his Jesuit colleagues, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter. Now rector emeritus at UCA, Fr.
Tojeira will discuss the massacre and its aftermath, as well as more recent developments — notably Spain’s decision last May to seek extradition for 20 ex-officers involved in the murders to stand trial for crimes against humanity and state terrorism. Also speaking will be Pamela Merchant, executive director of the Center for Justice and Accountability, which filed the case in Spanish National Court that led to the issuing of indictments for the ex-soldiers. For more information on this event, which is co-sponsored with the Ignacio Martín-Baró Fund for Mental Health and Human Rights, send e-mail to humanrights@bc.edu. —Office of News & Public Affairs
Newsmakers Boston College Police Lt. Frederick Winslow spoke about crime prevention and safety tips for senior citizens on ZUMIX Radio Boston’s “Elder Affairs” show, which was re-broadcast on WJIB-AM in Boston. The problems facing scholarly journals extend well beyond the “publish or perish” syndrome, and grow from it, according to a piece published in Inside Higher Ed by Monan Professor of Higher Education Philip Altbach, director of the Center for International Higher Education, and O’Neill Library Collection Development Librarian Brendan Rapple. Assoc. Prof. Jonathan Laurence (Political Science) discussed how issues of immigration have influenced France’s presidential election in an op-ed for Foreign Policy. Interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor, Laurence warned that restricting or demonizing Islamic practices could push disaffected youth toward those with radical agendas.
Vice President for Information Technology Michael Bourque greets Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities President Gregory Lucey, SJ, at last week’s AJCU conference on information technology that was held at Boston College.
the psychological processes that support it.
Honors/Appointments
Publications
The Foundation Palau i Fabre and Gutenberg Galaxy awarded the Prize Palau i Fabre to Political Evil: What It Is and How to Combat It, by Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life Director Prof. Alan Wolfe (Political Science).
Prof. Maxim D. Shrayer (Slavic and Eastern Languages) contributed
BC BRIEFING
Restoring solvency to Social Security is long overdue, and the longer the wait, the bigger will be the required changes, according to the latest post by Center for Retirement Research Director Alicia Munnell for Smart Money.
Asst. Prof. Liane Young (Psychology) was profiled in the Boston Globe “GForce” Q&A spotlight, and discussed her study of human moral decisionmaking and behavior — both the neural basis of moral judgment and
“Dmitri Nabokov: Unfinished Photographs” to Nabokov Online Journal. Prof. Ourida Mostefai (Romance Languages and Literatures) published “Illumination et Historia Calamitatum: Postures de l’échec chez Rousseau” in Jean-Jacques Rousseau en 2012: “Puisqu’enfin mon nom doit vivre.”
obituary
James Q. Wilson; Clough Ctr. Fellow
Influential scholar and author James Q. Wilson, the inaugural senior visiting fellow at the Boston College Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy, died March 2 in Boston. He was 80. Dr. Wilson, who held professorships at Harvard and UCLA and wrote on subjects ranging from marriage to street crime to contemporary US politics and government, was perhaps best known for his co-authored 1982 Atlantic Monthly article “Broken Windows,” which argued in favor of community policing in urban areas. In addition to publishing numerous articles, Dr. Wilson was author or co-author of 14 books, including The Marriage Problem: How Our Culture Has Weakened Families, Moral Judgment and The Moral Sense. He also was co-author of American Government, widely considered the most popular political science text in the country. Joining the Clough Center in the fall of 2009 — he also became a distinguished scholar in the BC
Political Science Department — Dr. Wilson presented lectures on subjects such as President Obama’s approach to national security, and science and human behavior, and led student seminars while pursuing a variety of writing projects: He worked on a revised text of American Government, edited one book of essays on crime and public policy and another of his own essays, and researched a book about the effect of economic stimulus funding. Dr. Wilson was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, a past president of the American Political Science Association, and the recipient of the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Harvard University and was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in 2003. He is survived by his wife Roberta, son Matthew and daughter Annie Gilbert, and five grandchildren. —Office of News & Public Affairs
Assoc. Prof. Stefan Hoderlein (Economics) was elected a Fellow of the German Econometric Society. Eleanor Williams JD ’06, assistant vice president and counsel for Mass Mutual and a member of the executive board of the Law School’s Black Alumni Network, was among “40 Rising Stars 40 & Under” identified by Black Enterprise magazine. She was recognized at the recent Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit in Orlando, Fla. Prof. Solomon Friedberg (Mathematics) has been appointed to the board of directors of Math for America Boston, a non-profit working to improve mathematics education in greater Boston schools.
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, Office of International Programs Programmer Analyst, Student & Academic App Srvs. Manager, IT Audit Investment Officer, Endowment/Investment Assistant/Associate Capital Giving
Director,
Program Director, Urban Catholic Teachers Corps Assistant Director, Special Gifts Assistant Director, Graduate Student life
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LOOKING AHEAD BC Puts the Spotlight on Literary Boston at BPL By Rosanne Pellegrini Staff Writer
The personalities, milestones and treasures of literary Boston between the Revolution and the Civil War will be showcased in an upcoming Boston Public Library exhibition that was developed at Boston College. “Forgotten Chapters of Boston’s Literary History,” which runs from March 28 to July 30 at the BPL, is curated by Professor of English Paul Lewis and was created by BC faculty, students and staff members. The exhibit, which draws on the collections of the BPL, Massachusetts Historical Society and American Antiquarian Society, comprises more than 100 letters, manuscripts, and early editions of works by Olaudah Equiano, Phillis Wheatley, Judith Sargent Murray, Susanna Haswell Rowson, William Charles White, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Charles Sprague, Lydia Maria Child, Edgar Allan Poe, Margaret Fuller, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, Sarah Josepha Hale, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Gilmore Simms, Charles James Sprague, James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jacob Abbott and Henry David Thoreau. “The city of Boston does too little to celebrate and memorialize the contributions its writers, editors, and publishers made to US literature from the 1790s on,” said
The Boston Public Library exhibit created by Boston College faculty, students and staff focuses on personalities, milestones and treasures of literary Boston between the Revolution and the Civil War.
Lewis, who conceived of the exhibition after curating a 2009-10 BPL exhibition on Edgar Allan Poe’s ties to Boston. “Moving beyond the canonical authors of the American Renaissance, the exhibit highlights authors, works and genres that deserve more attention.” The exhibition follows the rise and fall of reputations, recovers outof-print materials, and walks the streets of Boston in the heyday of its literary achievement. Topics covered at the BPL main exhibition site include the poet buried on Boston Common; the rise of children’s literature in Boston; a problem faced by Boston’s African
American, women, and Irish writers; and a little known prediction Edgar Allan Poe made about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. A satellite exhibition on the first seasons of the Federal Street Theatre will be on display at the Massachusetts Historical Society. An opening night program on March 28 will formally launch “Forgotten Chapters,” beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Cheverus Room on the third floor of the BPL McKim Building. From 7-8:30 p.m. in the Rabb Lecture Hall, Johnson Building, Lower Level, BC students will discuss their discoveries in helping put together the exhibit and
Historical images and contemporary photographs of Bethlehem are presented in “Views of Bethlehem: Then and Now/An Ordinary Life in an Extraordinary Context,” on display at the Bapst Library Gallery through Wednesday. The exhibition comprises some 40 images and “contrasts historical and modern photographs of Bethlehem to show how the Israeli occupation, particularly the separation wall that divides it from Jerusalem, has affected the social, economic and political development of the city,” according to Matthew DeMaio ‘13, president of BC Students for Justice in Palestine, which is one of the sponsors. The goal of the exhibition, he adds, is to foster deeper and wider awareness of the situation facing Greater Bethlehem, to promote mutual beneficial exchanges and extend humanitarian support. “Views of Bethlehem,” DeMaio notes, was put together by the Cambridge/ Bethlehem People-to-People Project, formed in 2007 to address the circumstances facing Palestinians, according to its website, which notes that “Bethlehem was chosen in response to a specific call from its citizens, facing tremendous social and economic isolation, to ‘re-open Bethlehem’ to the global community.” The historical images on display were made available by Harvard University’s Fine Arts Library. The modern images were taken by Palestinian students at the Al-Rowwad Cultural and Theatre Training Center, an independent, non-political and non-governmental association in the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. Other BC exhibition sponsors include the Boston College Art Club, the Arts and Social Responsibility Project, and Boston College Libraries. For information see https://www.facebook.com/artclub —Rosanne Pellegrini
recite poems from early Boston magazines. Other members of the BC community will perform songs based on the works of Longfellow and Poe. In addition, historical novelist Matthew Pearl will present a talk, “The Old Corner: How a Modest Bookstore Defined a Boston Literary Epoch.” Lewis says the participation of students who were enrolled in his seminar — with the same name as the exhibit — in helping to create the exhibit has been invaluable, while providing a first-hand educational experience. Funded by BC undergraduate research fellowships, students examined archival materials,
BC SCENES
THE MARCH TO SPRING Photos by Sean Smith
The Boston College campus basked in spring-like weather for much of the past week, with the above-average temperatures helping inspire some plants and trees to start blooming.
researched works by Boston authors, recovered poems from early Boston magazines and analyzed their literary merit, helped select objects for inclusion and draft exhibit labels, and recorded audio commentaries, discussions, and recitations that will be available on the exhibit web site and in the gallery to smart phone users. Other BC students and faculty worked with Adjunct Associate Professor of Music Jeremiah McGrann to record period music that will be featured in the exhibit, and the songs based on poems by Longfellow and Poe to be performed at the opening. Sophomore Nicholas Peter Cokonis, who works with Media Technology Services, designed graphics, and Audio Engineer Jonathan Sage’s class helped with audio recordings. “After viewing this exhibit, I hope that people will appreciate the depth and range of Boston’s early literary culture, which extended far beyond the few famous authors who are remembered and celebrated,” said junior Erica Navarro. “I hope that this exhibit will propel people to look at Boston as a metropolis bursting at the seams with long-neglected literary treasures.” The exhibit is supported by Boston College, including the College of Arts & Sciences, American Studies Program, Institute for the Liberal Arts, and Newton College Alumnae Chair in Western Culture. The exhibit website [www.bostonliteraryhistory.com], which will be launched on March 28, will have more details on “Forgotten Chapters.” For more information, contact Paul Lewis at lewisp@ bc.edu. Contact Rosanne Pellegrini at rosanne.pellegrini@bc.edu