Boston College, Trinity College Dublin celebrate partnership
Boston College and Trinity College Dublin celebrated their recently established partnership with four days of events in Dublin that included lectures and discussions with representatives from both institutions and a diversity of disciplines ranging from theology to law to political science to nursing.
While there have long been small-scale collaborations between the two institutions, 51茶馆 and Trinity pursued a formal, more expansive relationship over the past few years and last summer signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will provide 鈥渁 basic platform for multiple engagements,鈥� said Vice Provost for Global Engagement James Keenan, S.J.
Vice Provost for Global Engagement James Keenan, S.J.
Fr. Keenan was among a number of 51茶馆 administrators, faculty members, and students taking part in the celebration, held at Boston College Ireland鈥�51茶馆鈥檚 Dublin property鈥攁s well as Trinity venues.
Also present was School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Andrew Davis; Sullivan Professor of Irish Studies Guy Beiner, director of the 51茶馆 Center for Irish Programs; Associate Professor of English Marjorie Howes; Political Science Professor Jonathan Laurence, director of the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy; McIntyre Endowed Professor of Mathematics Solomon Friedberg; Mathematics Professor Martin Bridgeman; Ferris Professor of Physics Michael Naughton; Libby Professor of Law and Theology Cathleen Kaveny; 51茶馆 Law Professor and Provost鈥檚 Distinguished Fellow Aziz Rana, the incoming Monan University Professor of Law and Government; Boston College Ireland Academic Director Michael Cronin; and Professor of the Practice in English Joseph Nugent, along with Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences juniors Cyrus Rosen and Samuel Peterson.
Presentations included 鈥淎ddressing 鈥楧emocracy, Governance, and Education鈥� Today,鈥� 鈥淵eats, the Nobel Prize, and the Labour of Writing,鈥� 鈥淧athways to Holiness: Ethics and Early Christianity,鈥� 鈥淪ensing Emigration: A Creative Colloquium,鈥� 鈥淎 Transatlantic Dialogue on Constitutional Law鈥濃�攎oderated via Zoom by 51茶馆 Law School Associate Dean for Faculty and Global Programs Katharine Young鈥攁s well as a joint 51茶馆-Trinity Maths Colloquium Series and a 鈥渞esearch blitz鈥� hosted by Connell School of Nursing Barry Family/Goldman Sachs Endowed Chair Christopher Lee that featured talks by Connell School and Trinity nursing and midwifery doctoral students.
“This celebration was about our cultures, not just our universities. The events that took place, and the general feeling of camaraderie present, showed the strength of a relationship that has formed over the years.”
Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, Trinity is Ireland鈥檚 oldest university, divided into three faculties comprising 23 schools, offering degree and diploma courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Among its distinguished alumni are Nobel Laureates Samuel Beckett and Mairead Maguire; former presidents of Ireland 脡amon de Valera and Mary McAleese; literary figures Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, and Bram Stoker; philosopher Edmund Burke; and renowned politicians Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone. The Trinity campus has been featured in such popular films as 鈥淢ichael Collins,鈥� 鈥淐ircle of Friends鈥� (starring Chris O鈥橠onnell 鈥�92), and 鈥淓ducating Rita.鈥� 聽
Fr. Keenan noted that many of the 51茶馆 faculty in attendance鈥攕uch as Bridgeman, Naughton, and Beiner鈥攈ave long-established ties with their peers in Trinity, underscoring the institutions鈥� common ground.
鈥淭his celebration was about our cultures, not just our universities,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he events that took place, and the general feeling of camaraderie present, showed the strength of a relationship that has formed over the years.鈥�
Fr. Keenan pointed out a larger context to the 51茶馆-Trinity partnership, which he said enables the University to 鈥渆xpand its footprint鈥� in Dublin while strengthening its presence in that region of the world, which includes existing links with prominent institutions like University College Dublin and Queens College Belfast.
Meanwhile, through its membership in the Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities, 51茶馆 has built partnerships with almost a dozen Jesuit and Catholic universities in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe, leading to the formation of working groups of faculty doing research in areas such as climate change, health care, and migration.
鈥淥ne of 51茶馆鈥檚 longstanding goals is to be a flagship in international education, and especially in Jesuit education,鈥� said Fr. Keenan. 鈥淭hat means recognizing and developing opportunities for collaboration in a multitude of disciplines and fields. A partnership with Trinity College Dublin is right in line with this objective.鈥澛犅�