Welcome to The Bridge , the newsletter of the Office of Global Engagement.

The motto of our office is Faciamus cum sociis pontes , "Let us build bridges with our partners." We hope you will begin to partner with us by subscribing.

The Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities

Webinar Recordings

SACRU has a number of webinars planned based upon the efforts of new working groups considering topics that include sustainability, family challenges, and artificial intelligence.

Watch a webinar:

International Welcome Picnic!

The Office of Global Engagement plans to host a picnic to celebrate our international community on September 14, 2021.

Stay tuned for more details!

Visiting Fellowships

We look forward to welcoming Global Engagement Doctoral Research Fellows in the Summer of 2022. In collaboration with the Jesuit Institute, t here will also be a SACRU faculty fellow visiting in the Spring of 2023. If you or someone you know may have interest in either of these opportunities, please click the buttons above for more details.

Recognizing Biodiversity as a Public Good

Dr. Philip Landrigan, Director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society recently discussed how to preserve biodiversity to protect human health as part of the #ASKPROFAGNES Equity Webinar Series at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda. The recording is available here.

Design Thinking Going Global With Youth in Sierra Leone

A Virtual Design Swarm Model to Empower Youth in Sierra Leone to Co-Create Solutions to Prevent Gender-Based Violence

In late May, a team from Boston College held a virtual workshop in collaboration with Rising Academy Network, an organization focused on improving quality education in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ghana. Sunand Bhattacharya, Associate Vice Provost for Design and Innovation Strategies and Alethea Desrosiers, Research Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work have been the driving members of this project and have been developing a relationship with Rising Academies over the past year and a half. The design thinking workshops are one example of the projects they have worked together.

The virtual design-driven workshop's intent was to inspire participating youth to learn and apply an innovative, inclusive, collaborative design process to Rising Academies’ framework of creating safe spaces and to effectively address gender violence related safety concerns.

Hopefully, the participating youth will carry this human-centered process with them and apply it to other problem-solving situations. There are testimonies from the students. BC would like to help promote global collaborative opportunities where different cultures from around the world can cooperatively work together, applying human-centered design thinking processes and solving relevant problems.

- Alethea Desrosiers, Research Assistant Professor, S chool of Social Work at BC

Publication & Research Highlights

Ferris Professor of Physics Michael J. Naughton has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to conduct research at Trinity College, AMBER (Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research) Centre, Ireland. Beginning this fall, Naughton will conduct research in support of projects on bioelectronics and nanostructured photovoltaics using a perovskite mineral compound.

The Tsarina’s Lost Treasure , a new book by Boston College scholar Gerald Easter and travel writer Mara Vorhees, combines art, history, and maritime mystery into a gripping tale of the loss and recovery of  Vrouw Maria . The book was highlighted by  Smithsonian magazine and an excerpt was published by the Daily Beast.

Fulbright Scholars of BC

Ten members of the Class of 2021 and two recent BC alumni have been awarded  Fulbright Scholarships , which support a year’s post-baccalaureate study abroad!

New Carroll School of Management Fellow

The Carroll School of Management has named James E. Joseph, dean of the Madden School of Business and doctoral candidate at Le Moyne College, as its inaugural Ignatian Global Carroll School Fellow.

The one-year fellowship was established to help further connect the Carroll School to the global network of Jesuit business teachers/scholars and institutions. Read more at the link above.

Andrés Castro Samayoa

Mellon Emerging Faculty Leader

University Communications has announced that Andrés Castro Samayoa, an assistant professor in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, was named one of 11 Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders for 2021. He is the first Boston College faculty member to receive the honor.

Castro Samayoa was recognized for his work drawing from sociological and historical methodologies focused on Minority Serving Institutions, a subset of more than 600 federally designated colleges and universities in the United States. His project examines how administrative data and the construction of racial and ethnic markers are used to develop policies to advance equity in education.

Opportunities  with Partner Universities

Generation H.O.P.E. – Help Others Pursue Education:

The Arab Student Association hosted a panel discussion with students from University of St. Joseph in Beirut where they spoke about their experiences during the Lebanese economic crisis, the Beirut explosion, and the protest movements. They also introduced a new program called Generation H.O.P.E., a student-led initiative to build financial support for their fellow students to continue their education. See their video below.

Sophia University (Tokyo), Mindfulness event, June 24, 2021

"Given the circumstance in which traveling is still difficult, our office is planning a series of online events which both international and Sophia students can join and interact with each other. It would be great if you could disseminate the attached flyer and encourage those students who are interested in studying in Japan or have joined exchange to Sophia. It is simply a casual, friendly and free event to enjoy. The first event is about mindfulness."

Environment Week at PUC-Rio

As part of Enviornment Week at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Prof. Dr. Pier Cocconcelli of SACRU spoke in a lecture on socio-environmental principles in the context of the pandemic. The week's theme was "Socio-environmental ethics in universities in times of pandemics".

Consider following our twitter for future opportunities to engage with our partner schools and their events!

Happy Pride Month!

The Global Gateway

The Global Engagement Gateway is a compilation of resources meant to assist Boston College's faculty and staff in the process of engaging internationally—both on campus and abroad. This portal attempts to make these components more visible and convenient to ease that process.  Learn more at the link below: