Boston College

More than 300 students squeezed into McGuinn 121 on the evening of October 23 to attend “The Financial Crisis Forum,” an event sponsored by the Undergraduate Government of Boston College in collaboration with the deans’ offices of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Carroll School of Management. Peter Ireland and Robert Murphy of the economics department, Kay Schlozman of the political science department, and finance professor Philip Strahan offered views on the causes of the recent financial meltdown, government responses, implications for the upcoming election, and future economic prospects. “Students asked whether the crisis will change prevailing views of how our market economy works,” said Murphy. “They seemed to be asking ‘Is capitalism dead?’” They also expressed concern that the government’s response addressed needs of large financial institutions but not those of homeowners, and some wanted to know how the crisis would affect their job prospects. “It was exhilarating to see McGuinn 121 packed to the rafters,” said David Quigley, interim dean of A&S and moderator of the panel. “Clearly, students are hungry to take on some of the public policy questions before the American public and to think them through with faculty.”

Georges Rouault (1871-1958) created stained glass windows, oil paintings, watercolors, lithographs, tapestries, and wood engravings using subjects ranging from prostitutes and clowns to suffering Jesus. The breadth of his artistry, from his days as a glazier’s apprentice to the years following World War II, when he burned 350 of his works and left many paintings unfinished, is reflected in the McMullen Museum’s exhibition, “Mystic Masque: Semblance and Reality in George Rouault,” on view until December 7. Called “impressive and thorough” by Boston Globe art critic Sebastian Smee, the show marks the 50th anniversary of Rouault’s death, and presents some 180 of his creations—many never before displayed in North America.

@BC presents a slideshow accompanied by an audio track of Roberto Goizueta, professor of theology, offering a personal reflection on images from the Rouault exhibition. Goizueta focuses on how Rouault’s work exampled and expressed fundamental Christian understandings of the world and of God’s place in creation and in the lives of men and women.

Since joining the staff of U.S. News and World Report a year after graduating, Rick Newman ’88 has written about “war, politics, recession, extravagance, hurricanes, offshoring, corporate scandals, China, and many other topics on the national agenda.” As the current deputy business editor, he is now covering the greatest economic upheaval since the Great Depression. At the beginning of October, when stock market gyrations dominated the headlines, he concentrated on the fundamentals. “Forget the Stock Market, Worry About Jobs” was the title of his October 9 piece, in which he cited unemployment projections of 7 to 8 percent in the coming year. “Those are steep numbers that ought to be getting more attention,” he wrote, “and probably would, if the free-falling stock market weren’t scaring retirees into applying for jobs at McDonald’s.”

Winner of numerous journalism awards, including a National Press Club Consumer Journalism Award, Newman has coauthored two books on recent history. Bury Us Upside Down: The Misty Pilots and the Secret Battle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail (Presidio, 2006), written with Don Shepperd, received high praise from The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews. Last summer, Presidio published Firefight: Inside the Battle to Save the Pentagon on 9-11, written with firefighter Patrick Creed. “Creed and Newman rescued a piece of history from the ashes,” wrote Washington Post reviewer John Maclean.

“I love the thrill of finding big stories that simply need to be told,” Newman writes. “I try to make the connections between the things consumers care most about and the abstruse workings of the global economy. Oh, and point out the many myths and follies of our hyperbolic media. Busy times for that.”

More than 350 national healthcare leaders, alumni, faculty, and students attended a daylong celebration on October 21 to welcome Susan Gennaro, new dean of the William F. Connell School of Nursing. Beverly Malone, CEO of the National League for Nursing, addressed the group at lunch. Later there was a round table discussion on the day’s theme, “Leadership for Advancing Nursing Science and Transforming Care,” featuring panelists Claire Fagin, dean emeritus of the University of Pennsylvania; Joyce C. Clifford, president of the Institute for Nursing Healthcare Leadership; Steven Freedman, associate dean of Harvard Medical School; Margaret Grey, dean of the Yale School of Nursing; and Gennaro. “It was truly heartening for me to interact with the alumni and medical communities that care so passionately about Boston College,” said Gennaro. “We are going to tap into that passion.” Above, in Conte Forum’s Shea Room are (l-r) Debra Manning Lundquist ’85, Dean Susan Gennaro, Angela Lee ’76, and Sara Dolan Looby PhD ’08.

At a dinner for some 400 Boston College benefactors on October 11, President William P. Leahy, SJ, unveiled the University’s seven-year, $1.5 billion capital campaign. Light the World: The 150th Anniversary Campaign for Boston College will fund academic programs, undergraduate financial aid, student formation programs, and campus construction. He announced that more than $500 million has already been raised in leadership commitments from Boston College alumni, parents, and friends, including a $50 million gift—the largest in University history—from an anonymous donor. “Throughout its history, Boston College has always set high standards and has never steered away from challenges,” said Leahy. “Light the World expresses Boston College’s mission and its recognition of the world’s need for a great university that joins faith and reason, that pursues knowledge and justice, and that strives to serve society.”

Seared tofu, black bean stew over whole grain rice, and organic chicken pesto pizza are among the menu offerings at the Loft @ Addie’s, a café on the second floor of Corcoran Commons, which calls itself the “new, green dining option on campus.” University Dining Services developed the concept in collaboration with Real Food BC, a student group whose missions is to promote “the purchasing of food from local, green, humane sources in order to support localized food production and reduce carbon emissions.” The café is named for the beloved Addie Lalli, who has been working at Boston College since 1976, according to Megan O’Neill of Dining Services, and is famous for her fresh ravioli and get-it-right-the-first-time approach. Above, business is brisk for Michelle Carty ’09 (left) on September 24 as she staffs Addie’s flatbread pizza counter.

Eighty research scientists from area universities, research centers, and technology companies attended a University-hosted, daylong symposium on September 29 entitled “The Changing World of Electron Microscopy,” sponsored by JEOL USA, Inc. and Oxford Instruments, manufacturers of scientific devices. A new “focused ion beam instrument” that measured the electrical properties of individual nanostructures in solar cells was demonstrated. “Up until now, we could only measure aggregate performance,” said Michael Naughton, chair of the Department of Physics. “With the ability to measure the electrical properties of a single nanostructure, we can optimize performance and develop high-efficiency solar cells in which billions of nanostructures are working together.” Above, following a tour of the clean room in the Kenny-Cottle Library on the Law School campus, scientists gathered outside the facility. From left, Stephen Shepard, manager of the University’s nanofabrication laboratory; Louie Kerr of the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory; Jian Wei of Entegris, Inc.; Paul Valliere of Saint-Gobain Corp., and Steve Hamilton of JEOL USA, Inc.