Engineering the Future
Meet Glenn Gaudette, the chair of 51茶馆鈥檚 new engineering department.
Campus Digest: Winter 2021
Happenings from around Boston College.
Winter 2021
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January marked the start of the 25th year for 51茶馆 EMS, a student-run emergency medical care team that was born from tragedy. In January 1997, Kevin Eidt 鈥�00 died of a cardiac arrest during an intramural basketball game at the William J. Flynn Recreation Complex. Eidt鈥檚 passing inspired classmate Mark Ritchie 鈥�00 to establish 51茶馆 EMS so medical assistance would be more easily accessible on campus. The service鈥檚 enduring legacy has been a comfort for Eidt鈥檚 grieving family. 鈥淵ou never get over the loss of a child,鈥� said his father, Chris Eidt 鈥�66, P鈥�92, 鈥�95, 鈥�00, of Norwalk, Connecticut. 鈥淏ut watching Mark step up and build this organization that is still such a large part of life on campus today has been beautiful.鈥�
Curious about the life of a college student during a pandemic? Tune into Shan Rizwan鈥檚 . The 21-year-old economics major (right) guides his more than 69,000 followers around campus, from one hand-sanitizing station to the next, offering a taste of quarantine life at 51茶馆. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not a lot of people making videos about this moment, especially not with in-person classes,鈥� said Rizwan 鈥�21. 鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 documenting history.鈥澨�
51茶馆 has hired its most diverse cohort of faculty in at least fifteen years. Of the forty-nine full-time faculty members recruited to the University for the 2020鈥�2021 academic year, 57 percent are women and 39 percent are AHANA (people of African, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American descent). 鈥淚t creates momentum for other people of color and women to join the 51茶馆 faculty,鈥� Vice Provost for Faculties Billy Soo said. 鈥淭his, in turn, can help in recruiting AHANA and female students鈥攚hen they see professors who look like themselves, they appreciate the opportunities higher education presents.鈥�
The Institute for Scientific Research at Boston College received a $5.3 million grant from the U.S. Air Force to fund the Space Chemistry, Reactivity, and Modeling (SCRAM) project. The five-year contract will aid 51茶馆 researchers in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who are using physical chemistry to understand the impact of chemical releases, thruster plumes, and natural phenomena of the space environment.
To help amplify Black voices on campus, Campus Ministry has launched a series of talks on YouTube called 鈥淧reaching from Sister Thea鈥檚 Kitchen.鈥� The series, which explores the intersection of scripture and racial justice, is named for Sister Thea Bowman (left), who received an honorary doctorate of religion from the University in 1989. 鈥淥ur hope, as the preaching series continues throughout the year, is to honor the legacy of Sister Thea by centering Black voices of faith from the 51茶馆 community,鈥� said Campus Ministry Associate Director Ryan Heffernan. Bowman, who is the namesake of 51茶馆鈥檚 Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center, was known for integrating Catholic tradition with Black spirituality.
The School of Theology and Ministry, in collaboration with the School of Social Work, has launched a new certificate program designed to educate Latinos interested in serving as leaders in their parishes. Taught entirely in Spanish, it will encompass theology and spirituality, as well as social issues in Hispanic communities.
The Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society hosted a discussion on in December, as part of the 51茶馆 Forum on Racial Justice in America. 鈥淭he Schiller Institute is taking on the battle against environmental racism,鈥� said Laura J. Steinberg, the institute鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淎s one of the links in the chain of structural racism, environmental racism reaches deep into the lifeblood of communities, causing an accumulation of environmental harms that threaten the health of residents, robbing them of open space, and eroding the value and cohesion of neighborhoods.鈥�
听
Boston College's place in the 2021 survey of national universities by听U.S. News and World Report, an increase of two points from last year's rankings.
IN MEMORIAM
James W. Skehan, SJ, a renowned geologist, founder of 51茶馆鈥檚 Geology Department, and longtime director of the Weston Observatory, died in November. He was 97. 鈥淔ather Jim was not just a great scientist and educator, he was a mentor and friend to many people he encountered in the many dimensions of his long and very full life,鈥� said 51茶馆 Associate Professor Alan Kafka, the current director of the Weston Observatory. 鈥淗e loved teaching people of all ages about the wonders of planet Earth, and also loved being engaged in all aspects of the fullness of life.鈥� A 500-million-year- old genus of trilobite鈥攁n extinct marine arthropod vaguely resembling a horseshoe crab鈥攄iscovered in 2002 was named Skehanos to honor Skehan鈥檚 contributions to earth science.
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