By
David Quigley, who is in his first year as provost and dean of faculties at Boston College, recently discussed the state of academic affairs at the University.
We are in a time when the value of a liberal arts education is undergoing particular scrutiny. Why do you and Boston College believe so passionately in the importance of the liberal arts for today’s students?
Now that I have been at Boston College for going on 17 years, I have come to appreciate more and more how central the liberal arts tradition is to what BC is all about and how it distinguishes us from so many of our peers. There is such a wealth of terrific schools in the area and across the nation, but BC stands out for a steadfast commitment to the importance of the liberal arts for all of our undergraduate students. This comes through most powerfully when I talk to alumni: So many point to the richness of the liberal arts courses they took as helping to clarify for them what they were being called to do in their lives beyond graduation.
As a Jesuit, Catholic university we understand that the liberal arts open up the possibility of transformation for our students. There is an emphasis on reflection and discernment that requires students to think seriously about who they are, what they value and how they might best contribute to the world.
A key reason that Jesuit education has emphasized the liberal arts for the past 500 years is that experience has shown that they are the best preparation for leadership. Our students and alumni have a great commitment to service leadership, which emerges in large measure from extended studies of our traditions and the great works of the past.
BC has made a strong commitment to the natural sciences over the past few decades. Can you talk about the importance of the sciences?
To be a great university in the 21st century, one must achieve a level of excellence in research and teaching in the natural sciences and mathematics. We are fortunate to be located in Boston, the life sciences capital of the world, and we live in a society where scientific and technological expertise is becoming more and more important. Boston College has a responsibility to train students in science and technology, whether they are science majors or not. As an institution, our interests will be best served if we can attract the best 17- and 18-year olds who are looking at colleges. We do a disservice to them and ourselves if we don’t commit to sustaining excellence in targeted areas in the sciences.
I see scientific investment also as a contribution to the Catholic Church. Around the world there are few examples of Catholic universities providing leadership in STEM areas. Boston College has an opportunity to provide this leadership and to put forth a different face on the Catholic intellectual tradition if we manage to develop even greater strengths in the sciences. Finally, there is an underdeveloped ethical awareness in some STEM areas that we are well positioned to address as a Jesuit, Catholic university. Our commitment to service, ethical reflection and scholarship can help strengthen the sciences on campus and make a powerful contribution to the world of science beyond BC.
Overall, how is the core curriculum renewal progressing and how can Boston College best affirm the core’s role in undergraduate education?
One of my favorite experiences in academic administration has been examining our core and imagining how we can strengthen it. Over the past few years, our Core Renewal team has worked to offer a plan on how best to renew the core, and earlier this year Gregory Kalscheur, SJ, led the work that resulted in a vision document that will help us advance the process [see story on page 1]. We are moving forward with pilot courses for the fall of 2015, and working with faculty to envision new interdisciplinary courses. We will host a town meeting on Oct. 15 to provide an update on where we are and to seek additional course proposals from faculty. We are also looking forward to working with John Rakestraw in the Center for Teaching Excellence to strengthen our courses and to work across campus to make the core as powerful and meaningful as possible for all of our students.
Describe the role and the importance of graduate and professional programs at Boston College.
Graduate and professional programs are essential to securing and advancing Boston College’s place as one of the nation’s great research universities. It is important to who we are to maintain our strengths, which allow us to have a positive impact across the world. The School of Theology and Ministry is a great example of a graduate school success, as it has become a leader in global theological education. In the College of Arts and Sciences, I’m proud that the Mathematics Department’s PhD program has graduated its first PhD class, and that it has helped us to recruit a stunning cohort of math faculty who have further strengthened the department and benefitted the undergraduate program.
We clearly face a moment where graduate education, particularly at the master’s level, is going through profound changes nationally and globally. Online grad programs have challenged established ways of organizing programs across all fields, which requires us to think seriously about where master’s education fits within our individual departments and schools and more broadly within our goals and hopes for the University.
How is BC succeeding in recruiting and retaining younger faculty?
One of my responsibilities is to prepare the way for the next generation of BC faculty to thrive and to continue the tradition of excellent faculty – as researchers and teachers – that we have here at Boston College. With the support of the President and the Board of Trustees, we were able to hire some of the best young scholars across schools and fields during the recent economic downturn, faculty who are already making invaluable contributions to the University in teaching and research. In addition, the Sesquicentennial Assistant Professorships have enabled us to recruit and retain some outstanding young faculty, with the goal of creating a total of 10 endowed positions within the next five years. Named professorships can be game changers in recruiting and retaining faculty.
What programs and initiatives are being launched this academic year?
I am pleased to see a growing spirit of interdepartmental and cross-school collaboration at Boston College. Environmental Studies has become a major due to demand among students and interest among faculty, and I am delighted to see a growing number of joint faculty appointments in place now throughout the University. Faculty from the Connell School of Nursing, Graduate School of Social Work, Lynch School of Education and beyond are working on a new program in global public health, while many other interdisciplinary initiatives are developing across campus. It is an exciting time at Boston College.
How do you imagine the provost’s role in the particular context of Boston College?
I am still figuring out how to enable the Provost’s Office to best serve the University. My primary role is to support faculty as teachers and researchers and to support students by aiding the development of innovative and rigorous programs. One of my greatest hopes is to develop a heightened sense of teamwork and collegiality – across schools and across the entire university – so as to enable the Boston College community to achieve our greatest hopes. I look forward to the challenge ahead.