Retired Faculty
News & Notes
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.
2024-2025 Retired Faculty Programs, Seminars and Book Club Meetings
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
2024 Retired Faculty Banquet
Each semester BCARF schedules a docent-led tour of the current exhibition at BC's McMullen Museum of Art. Contact Alec Peck for more information.
The McMullen Museum of Art is located at 2101 Commonwealth Avenue on the Brighton Campus of Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts.
A limited amount of funds has been made available by the Provost’s Office for the purpose of providing grants for projects undertaken by members of the Boston College Association of Retired Faculty.
Grants will support travel and expenses for research, lectures, conferences, education, publishing, volunteer work, or other significant activities carried out directly by the applicant.
For the 2024-25 fiscal year, we will have two rounds of retired faculty research grant awards. The proposal 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. The total grant budget for this first round is up to $1,500. The first round is intended for retired faculty who anticipate research expenses to be incurred during the summer of 2024, and any awarded funds will be available around July 1, 2024. It is not required, however, that first-round grant funds be fully used by the end of the summer.
Proposals should be submitted electronically to me at robert.taggart@bc.edu.
Funds remaining in our research grant budget after the first round, will be available for a second round of awards. Again, research grant budgets between $100 and $1,000 will be considered and the second round proposal submission deadline is October 1.
Applications should include the following:
· Cover sheet
· Description of proposed project (two pages maximum)
· Objectives for the proposed work and its significance
· Relationship of proposed project objectives to your longer term goals
· Relationship to other work by you or others
· Proposed budget (one page maximum)
· Summary CV
Criteria of selection:
The merit of the proposal as judged by the reviewers will be the primary criterion. In addition, priority will be given to proposals that will:
· Assist retired faculty members to sustain or redirect their careers in the areas of research, education or service or to make significant progress on important projects
· Likely produce significant results
· Assist in bringing existing projects to a successful conclusion
· Reflect favorably on the University and its community of retirees.
Timing of proposal and award:
Proposals seeking funds for use during the 2024-25 academic year should be submitted by June 15, 2024.
Address proposals to: Bob Taggart.
Expense report receipts should be retained and submitted, up to the amount of the grant, to: Center for Centers, Fiscal and Events Specialist, 10 Stone Ave, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467. Receipts should be submitted within 1 month of when the expense occurred, and in any event by April 15th. In submitting expenses, original receipts and a BC expense form must be submitted: see
https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/academics/sites/center-for-centers/Business-Services/Financial-Services#tab-policies_and_procedures
and select the “Non-BC Employee Form.”
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.