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See your colleagues in person at the BCARF meetings.

The Boston College Association of Retired Faculty Programs, Topical Seminars, and Book Club meetings (see schedule below) will be held at 300 Hammond Pond Parkway in Newton.  This is also the location of the BCARF office.  The office is the first office on your left as you enter the building.  Faculty are welcome to use the resources there.  

A light buffet lunch will be served before both the the Program Meetings and the Topical Seminar Meetings. Lunch begins at 11:30 AM, followed by the meeting at noon.  

CATCH UP WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES.  The latest BCARF Newsletter covering events, meetings, and what your colleagues have been up to in 2024 is now available.  You can read it by clicking on the image to the right.  Many thanks to Alec Peck for an outstanding job putting together a great issue.  You are sure to enjoy it. 

Newsletter

The 2024 Retired Faculty Newsletter

2024-2025 Retired Faculty Programs, Seminars and Book Club Meetings

Jean Mooney Retired Faculty Bookclub

Jean Mooney Retired Faculty Bookclub

January 09

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Virtual

“The Women” by Kristen Hannah

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

VIA ZOOM ONLY (contact Laurel Eisenhauer at laurel.eisenhauser@bc.edu for details).

Retired Faculty Topical Seminar

Retired Faculty Topical Seminar

January 16

12:00 PM

Virtual

Kevin R. Powers

Director & Lecturer in Law at the Boston College Law School

“Cybersecurity: Artificial Intelligence (AI), ChatGPT, and a Path Forward”

In the digital age, especially now, governance has become a paramount concern for all industries, especially for higher education. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), new opportunities and challenges have emerged. This session will delve into the intersection of governance, cybersecurity, data privacy, and artificial intelligence (AI), with a focus on ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs), and provide a pathway forward as AI becomes integrated in all aspects of business (and education).

Jean Mooney Retired Faculty Bookclub

Jean Mooney Retired Faculty Bookclub

February 06

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

In Person

“The Grey Wolf” by Louise Penny

 

Relentless phone calls interrupt the peace of a warm August morning in Three Pines. Though the tiny Québec village is impossible to find on any map, someone has managed to track down Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Sûreté, as he sits with his wife in their back garden. Reine-Marie watches with increasing unease as her husband refuses to pick up, though he clearly knows who is on the other end. When he finally answers, his rage shatters the calm of their quiet Sunday morning.

VIA ZOOM ONLY (contact Laurel Eisenhauer at laurel.eisenhauser@bc.edu for details).

Retired Faculty Topical Seminar

Retired Faculty Topical Seminar

February 06

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Virtual

Gerald Smith

CSOM Marketing (retired)

"Getting Price Right: The Behavioral Economics of Profitable Pricing"

Events are available in person at the Association of Retired Faculty office (300 Hammond Pond Parkway, Newton). Seminar at noon.

Retired Faculty Topical Seminar

Retired Faculty Topical Seminar

February 13

12:00 PM

Virtual

Robert G. Murphy

Professor and Chair, Department of Economics, Boston College

“The Evolving Landscape of College Sports.”

“College sports have witnessed enormous change over the past several years.  Student-athletes are now able financially benefit from their name, image, and likeness as well as receive additional academically-linked benefits from their schools.  Restrictions on the ability to transfer among schools have have been eliminated, leading to a new world of “free-agency” among college athletes.  The proposed antitrust settlement between former college players and the NCAA and Power 5 institutions will lead to more change, with revenue sharing for student-athletes and removal of scholarship limits.  And an important remaining issue is the employment status of college athletes.  My presentation will consider how we arrived at this juncture, the challenges schools will face in navigating the new environment, and potential implications for the future structure of college sports.”  

Jean Mooney Retired Faculty Bookclub

Jean Mooney Retired Faculty Bookclub

March 06

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

In Person

“The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton”

The Age of Innocence, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edith Wharton, is a classic love story set in late 19th century New York City. It tells the story of Newland Archer, a young lawyer, and his struggle between his arranged marriage to a beautiful but conventional woman and his passionate love for her cousin, the scandalous Countess Ellen Olenska. 

Book Club events are available both in person at the Association of Retired Faculty office (300 Hammond Pond Parkway, Newton), and via Zoom (contact Laurel Eisenhauer at laurel.eisenhauser@bc.edu for details).

Retired Faculty Topical Seminar

Retired Faculty Topical Seminar

March 06

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

In Person

Paul Lewis

English (retired)

"The Raven" & "The Turkey": Edgar Allan Poe & the Boston Literati in 1845

Events are available in person at the Association of Retired Faculty office (300 Hammond Pond Parkway, Newton). Seminar at noon.  Lunch at 11:30.

Jean Mooney Retired Faculty Bookclub

Jean Mooney Retired Faculty Bookclub

April 03

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

In Person

“The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties that Helped Create Modern China” by Jonathan Kaufman

The Sassoons and the Kadoories stood astride Chinese business and politics for more than one hundred seventy-five years, profiting from the Opium Wars; surviving Japanese occupation; courting Chiang Kai-shek; and nearly losing everything as the Communists swept into power. Jonathan Kaufman tells the remarkable history of how these families ignited an economic boom and opened China to the world, but remained blind to the country's deep inequality and to the political turmoil on their doorsteps. In a story stretching from Baghdad to Hong Kong to Shanghai to London, Kaufman enters the lives and minds of these ambitious men and women to forge a tale of opium smuggling, family rivalry, political intrigue, and survival.

Book Club events are available both in person at the Association of Retired Faculty office (300 Hammond Pond Parkway, Newton), and via Zoom (contact Laurel Eisenhauer at laurel.eisenhauser@bc.edu for details).

Retired Faculty Topical Seminar

Retired Faculty Topical Seminar

April 03

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

In Person

Ann Marie Barry

Communication (retired)

"The Mind of Art: An Exposition of How Visual Perception Interfaces with Cognition and Aesthetic Appreciation"

Events are available in person at the Association of Retired Faculty office (300 Hammond Pond Parkway, Newton). Seminar at noon.  Lunch at 11:30.

Program and Seminar Photo Galleries

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

The following pictures were taken by Marjorie Sardella. Marjorie also took hundreds of photos at BCARF events throughout the year. 

Research Grants Deadline:

For the 2024-25 fiscal year, we will have two rounds of retired faculty research grant awards. The submission deadlines are  June 15 and October 15. The BCARF Grants Committee will award up to two grants, each with a proposed budget between $100 and $1,000. 

Research proposals should follow the guidelines on the BCARF website (scroll down to "Faculty Grants"). Proposals should be submitted electronically to me at robert.taggart@bc.edu.

Faculty Activities:

We have added a new section where we can highlight retired faculty activities.  These might include books, research papers, community service, volunteer work, or any other items that you think might be of interest to your retired faculty colleagues.  If you wish to have an item posted, send the information to Bob Taggart at robert.taggart@bc.edu

You can access this new section by selecting the menu called "Activities" at the top of this page.