Boston College

The 2,200 members of the Class of 2012 celebrated Freshman Convocation on September 18 in Conte Forum where they heard an address by J.R. Moehringer, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Tender Bar, a memoir, which was assigned as summer reading to the incoming class. “College is a dream I cannot stop remembering,” Moehringer told the group. Some of his advice, as reported in The Heights, included tips for getting the most out of college: “Start fast. Don’t wait—shyness hardens quicker than cement. Push yourself out of your comfort zone.” Ceremonial activities on the day of the Convocation began with a torch lighting ceremony on Linden Lane at which senior Christopher Miller (at right) passed a flame to Jeffrey White ’12, followed by a class procession to Conte Forum. The ritual lends an element of symmetry to students’ University experience: On graduation day they will travel the same route to Alumni Stadium and receive their diplomas.

An engineer thinks there is a design defect in the airplane her company builds. Should she inform the FAA? A teacher in a poorly funded urban school has only one copy of software he wants to use in class. Is it morally justifiable to make unauthorized copies? These cases are part of the Carroll School of Management’s pilot curriculum called the Portico Program. As the name suggests, its purpose is to introduce freshmen on the threshold of a business education—and, perhaps, a business career—to fundamental concepts of product and service development, marketing, ethics, and leadership. Two sections are being offered this year in the hope that all entering management school students will participate in the future. On September 10 in Fulton 425, CSOM Dean Andrew Boynton (above), one of several Portico Program instructors, introduced students to methods of analyzing how value is created when an item is manufactured.

@BC presents a selection of campus photos taken on September 2 and 3 (the first two days of the fall semester), along with students’ reflections on their encounters with a new academic year.

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Who was the most remarkable woman in the history of Boston College? Which University president has been underrated? What will future scholars say were significant events on the Heights at the beginning of the 21st century? These were some of the questions put to Thomas O’Connor ’49, MA’50, University Historian and professor emeritus, in an interview with @BC on July 18. He is author of Ascending the Heights: A Brief History of Boston College From Its Founding to 2008 (Linden Lane Press, 2008), a succinct account of the University from when it was a gleam in the eye of Boston Bishop John Fitzpatrick to the 14,000-student, cosmopolitan institution it is today, comprising some 135 buildings on 384 acres.

O’Connor began teaching history at Boston College in 1950 and served as department chair from 1962 to 1970. In addition to several textbooks and general works on 19th-century America, he has written 14 works on the city of Boston, including Bibles, Brahmins and Bosses: A Short History of Boston (Boston Public Library, 1976); Civil War Boston: Homefront and Battlefield (Northeastern, 1997); the bestselling The Boston Irish: A Political History (Northwestern University, 1995); and The Athens of America: Boston, 1825-1845 (University of Massachusetts, 2006). He won an Emmy Award in 1996 for his role as historical consultant and narrator for the WGBH documentary Boston: The Way It Was. Since 1999 he has served as University Historian, a role he describes as being “part of the collective memory of Boston College.”

On August 12, the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders announced the hiring of Scott Gordon ’86 as the team’s head coach. He played hockey for three years at Boston College and was goalie on the 1985 team that made the NCAA Frozen Four. After graduation, he had an eight-year career as a player, which included two seasons on the NHL’s Quebec Nordiques and a spot on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team in Albertville, France.

He began his coaching career in 1994 as an assistant with the Atlanta Knights of the International Hockey League, and in 2000 moved to the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League—professional hockey’s top minor league, whose 16 teams have produced more than 80 percent of players in the NHL. He became Bruins head coach in 2003, bringing the team from fourth place in its division that year to first place in the 2007-08 season. Last year the AHL’s coaches and the sports media voted him to be the recipient of the A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding coach of the year.

“Scott stood out among the other candidates as being a great communicator and providing structure to his team, accountability in the locker room, and disciplined play,” said Islanders general manager Garth Snow in announcing Gordon’s new post. “He fits into our plan of developing our younger players, and will connect with our veterans as well.”

Gordon comes to a struggling team: The Islanders were at the bottom of the Atlantic Division last season, and he will be the team’s fifth coach in six years. Nevertheless, he was upbeat following the announcement of his new job, calling it an “unbelievable opportunity,” adding, “I’ve seen firsthand the talented young players in this organization. I look at the direction and vision for this team and see a bright future.”

• New York Islanders website announcement of Gordon’s appointment, including video of an interview with Gordon
• August 12, 2008 Newsday article about Gordon’s appointment as the Islanders coach
• Yahoo sports blog on “the potential and perils of Scott Gordon”
• Toronto Gobe and Mail sports writer James Mirtle’s blog on Gordon’s appointment
• Item in the April 9, 2008 Sportnetwork.com on Gordon’s selection as AHL Coach of the Year
• Article in the Spring 2006 edition of Boston College Magazine about goalie Cory Schneider ’08 breaking Scott Gordon’s University record for saves in a season.

Why do we gather?” asked James Erps, SJ, director of Campus Ministry, opening the September 9 multifaith celebration in St. Joseph’s Chapel, attended by some 150 students and University community members. “We are here to celebrate each other and to ask that our community be blessed as we begin a new academic year,” the congregation responded. Entitled “Inviting the Spirit of Wisdom,” the service contained prayers, readings, and music from Catholic, Islamic, Jewish, and Protestant traditions. It featured three musical groups: the Donnell Patterson Ensemble, composed of church choirs from the Boston area; Dünya (meaning “world”), which performs music “representing the Mosque and Turkish Sufism”; and Shir Tsiyon from Hebrew College, led by Cantor Scott Sokol (above, center), dean of the Jewish Music Institute. After the celebration, participants took part in a dinner to break the daily Ramadan fast being observed by Muslims.

University officials and construction workers held a “topping off” ceremony on August 29 to commemorate the completion of an 18-month project to restore the tower of Gasson Hall—our “signature building,” in the words of project manager Jacob Mycofsky. The tower’s exterior facade was replaced, as well as the cast stone and some of the stained glass windows in the building’s south wall. Joining the celebration were (in foreground, from left) President William P. Leahy, SJ, Mary Nardone, associate vice president of planning and construction, Mycofsky, and John Romeo, director of capital construction. Work to renovate the building’s other walls and improve surrounding landscaping will continue and is scheduled for completion by the summer of 2011.

Some 425 students from 67 countries on six continents enter Boston College this semester—90 as undergraduates, 185 in graduate programs, and 150 in non-degree programs—an increase of nearly 50 percent over last year’s international enrollment, according to Adrienne Nussbaum, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars. Fifty-eight students from the People’s Republic of China constitute the largest contingent. Other well-represented nations include South Korea with 47 new students, France with 33, Australia with 25, India and Italy each with 21, Canada with 17, and the Dominican Republic with 12. All took part in the University’s four-day International Student Orientation Program, held from August 23 to 26. It included greetings from President William P. Leahy, SJ, and faculty, as well as introductions to University systems and facilities, the sights and sounds of Boston, and the culture of American campus life.

In addition to carbon dioxide gas, aerosols—tiny particles suspended in the air—influence climate change and public health, according to chemistry professor Paul Davidovits, who for more than 15 years has worked in partnership with Aerodyne Research, Inc. studying the complex behavior of soot particles in the atmosphere. Some 20 researchers from across the country came to the Davidovits Labs in the Merkert Chemistry Center at Boston College during the month of July to share and test new research technologies aimed at analyzing aerosol particles by mass, shape, chemical composition, and even the sound they make as they become warm. Above, on July 18, graduate student Eben Cross (left) and Aerodyne’s Timothy Onasch work in the lab using a newly developed apparatus that generates uniform soot particles and analyzes their behavior and interactions. “Measuring the many forms of atmospheric aerosols has led researchers to invent their own devices,” said Davidovits. “The challenge now is to fine-tune those instruments in concert with each other in order to set reliable scientific benchmarks for future study.”

On the evening of July 21st, the planning committee of Reconnect, the first-ever AHANA reunion, met at Alumni House on Newton Campus. The group, composed entirely of alumni and chaired by Boston College Trustee Keith Francis ’76, has been meeting monthly since April and is tasked with coordinating the largest gathering of AHANA alumni in Boston College history. The reunion, according to Francis, is designed to reconnect AHANA alumni to the University and encourage them to become active in local Alumni Association chapters. The meeting featured a presentation by Inés Maturana Sendoya, director of AHANA student programs, about her office’s contributions to Reconnect, as well as programming and budget discussions. Pictured above (from left) are Juan Concepcion ’96, JD’03, MBA’03; Stalin Colinet ’96; Dan Bunch ’79, MSW’81, director of the Learning to Learn program; Donald Garnet ’77; and Dawn McNair ’82, M.Ed.’83. Reconnect is scheduled for July 17–19, 2009. The planning committee will be sending out additional information about the event in the fall.

Restoring stained glass windows is like “repairing a painting,” says construction project manager Jacob Mycofsky, who has supervised a five-year effort to repair and restore windows in the Burns and Bapst Libraries. Many of them were removed and taken to a studio where they were disassembled, cleaned, treated, and rebuilt, using the original glass panes. Above, Fernando Carmona, a stained glass restoration artist, works on July 11, resealing the lead of a window left in place in the Burns Library trustee board room. The undertaking is one of this summer’s 54 projects to repair and restore the University’s $1 billion worth of buildings and facilities. Activities include renovating laboratory space in the Merkert Chemistry Center; upgrading classroom space in Carney, Devlin, Fulton, Gasson, Higgins, and Lyons Halls; installing artificial turf at the Newton Campus soccer field; removing an underground gasoline storage tank behind St. Mary’s Hall; and waterproofing the area above the luxury boxes at Alumni Stadium. All work is scheduled to be complete by August 29, the Friday prior to the beginning of classes on September 2.

Think of yourselves as having graduated from Google and Wikipedia. Your teachers at Boston College will have high expectations and you will need powerful tools,” reference librarian Syed Khan told a group of 100 incoming freshmen on June 24, the third and final day of their orientation program. During an informal session with members of the Class of 2012 in the Connors Family Learning Center, he described the library’s resources, which include some 500 databases.

Incoming freshmen and transfer students must attend one of the seven orientation programs the University offers throughout the summer. In addition to meeting students, faculty, and administrators, they tour the campus, live for three days in a residence hall, plan their academic programs with faculty advisors, and register for first-semester courses. A concurrent session is offered for parents and guardians. Orientation is one element of the University’s First Year Experience, which includes a weekend retreat, elective courses designed to help newcomers “reflect on their lives as students,” and the Conversations in the First Year program, in which incoming freshmen are assigned to read a book (this year it is The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer) that provides a theme for study and conversation at the First Year Academic Convocation held during fall semester.

@BC presents a selection of campus photos taken on September 2 and 3 (the first two days of the fall semester), along with students’ reflections on their encounters with a new academic year.

k

Who was the most remarkable woman in the history of Boston College? Which University president has been underrated? What will future scholars say were significant events on the Heights at the beginning of the 21st century? These were some of the questions put to Thomas O’Connor ’49, MA’50, University Historian and professor emeritus, in an interview with @BC on July 18. He is author of Ascending the Heights: A Brief History of Boston College From Its Founding to 2008 (Linden Lane Press, 2008), a succinct account of the University from when it was a gleam in the eye of Boston Bishop John Fitzpatrick to the 14,000-student, cosmopolitan institution it is today, comprising some 135 buildings on 384 acres.

O’Connor began teaching history at Boston College in 1950 and served as department chair from 1962 to 1970. In addition to several textbooks and general works on 19th-century America, he has written 14 works on the city of Boston, including Bibles, Brahmins and Bosses: A Short History of Boston (Boston Public Library, 1976); Civil War Boston: Homefront and Battlefield (Northeastern, 1997); the bestselling The Boston Irish: A Political History (Northwestern University, 1995); and The Athens of America: Boston, 1825-1845 (University of Massachusetts, 2006). He won an Emmy Award in 1996 for his role as historical consultant and narrator for the WGBH documentary Boston: The Way It Was. Since 1999 he has served as University Historian, a role he describes as being “part of the collective memory of Boston College.”

On August 12, the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders announced the hiring of Scott Gordon ’86 as the team’s head coach. He played hockey for three years at Boston College and was goalie on the 1985 team that made the NCAA Frozen Four. After graduation, he had an eight-year career as a player, which included two seasons on the NHL’s Quebec Nordiques and a spot on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team in Albertville, France.

He began his coaching career in 1994 as an assistant with the Atlanta Knights of the International Hockey League, and in 2000 moved to the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League—professional hockey’s top minor league, whose 16 teams have produced more than 80 percent of players in the NHL. He became Bruins head coach in 2003, bringing the team from fourth place in its division that year to first place in the 2007-08 season. Last year the AHL’s coaches and the sports media voted him to be the recipient of the A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding coach of the year.

“Scott stood out among the other candidates as being a great communicator and providing structure to his team, accountability in the locker room, and disciplined play,” said Islanders general manager Garth Snow in announcing Gordon’s new post. “He fits into our plan of developing our younger players, and will connect with our veterans as well.”

Gordon comes to a struggling team: The Islanders were at the bottom of the Atlantic Division last season, and he will be the team’s fifth coach in six years. Nevertheless, he was upbeat following the announcement of his new job, calling it an “unbelievable opportunity,” adding, “I’ve seen firsthand the talented young players in this organization. I look at the direction and vision for this team and see a bright future.”

• New York Islanders website announcement of Gordon’s appointment, including video of an interview with Gordon
• August 12, 2008 Newsday article about Gordon’s appointment as the Islanders coach
• Yahoo sports blog on “the potential and perils of Scott Gordon”
• Toronto Gobe and Mail sports writer James Mirtle’s blog on Gordon’s appointment
• Item in the April 9, 2008 Sportnetwork.com on Gordon’s selection as AHL Coach of the Year
• Article in the Spring 2006 edition of Boston College Magazine about goalie Cory Schneider ’08 breaking Scott Gordon’s University record for saves in a season.