Senior Andrew Keegan ate 12 pounds of potatoes over the course of a day after learning in a history course that Irish laborers in pre-famine Ireland were known to consume 14 pounds in that period of time. Supporters—if they could be called that—urged him on with pledges of more than $1,000 to a food pantry. Boston College produced 16 Fulbright fellows in 2008—the 17th best effort in the nation. The Board of Trustees named vice president Mary Lou DeLong, NC’71, to the post of University secretary, making her the first non-Jesuit to hold that responsibility. With the completion of the tower replacement in October, the crane that had shadowed Gasson Hall from the south for more than a year (and provided Boston College with its most visible landmark) came down. Rattigan Professor Emeritus John Mahoney released his fourth spoken word CD, a selection of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Communication took back most-popular-major honors from finance, which had held the trophy for a year. The score was 843 to 830. The Connell School of Nursing announced that it will launch a master’s program in forensic nursing in January. John McCain’s daughter Meghan spent several hours in and around Gasson Hall in aid of her father’s campaign. The Graduation Success Rate for Eagle athletes was measured by the NCAA at 96 percent, ninth-best among universities that sponsor Division I football. Chicago’s Follett Higher Education Group was named to manage the Boston College Bookstore, which will keep its birth name. The National Science Foundation awarded faculty in physics and the Lynch School of Education $800,000 to fund scholarships for science majors who enroll in a master’s in education program that will prepare them to teach in urban schools. David Quigley, an associate professor of history, was named interim dean of A&S replacing Patrick Maney, who returned to teaching and writing as a member of the history faculty. The University provided temporary shelter to 14 students rendered homeless (but uninjured) by a Strathmore Road house fire traced to a rooftop grill. The Heights op-ed page called for more band renditions of “Build Me Up, Buttercup” at home football games. A life-size statue of Doug Flutie ’85, in full Hail Mary mode, was dedicated, with ceremony, beside Alumni Stadium’s Gate D on November 7. The marching band performed the national anthem at Fenway Park on September 23, inciting the victory over Cleveland that clinched a playoff berth for the Sox and 50 members of the informal “Band Alumni Association,” who sang along from the bleachers. The entrepreneurs who run Boston College Student Agencies have added Carroll Apparel to their diversified portfolio of gift baskets, sheetcakes, balloons, and summer storage. Sweatshirts, T-shirts, and caps designed to create “brand awareness” for the management school are available. After 43 years of offering bargain-rate, if somewhat sticky-floored, entertainment within walking distance of campus, Circle Cinema closed. Cash & Counseling, a health care delivery program for the elderly and disabled that is directed by GSSW’s Kevin Mahoney, received a $4.75 million research grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The seemingly inexhaustible supply of rankings produced a 34th-place finish for Boston College among national universities from U.S. News, a 34th-place for the Carroll School in the same magazine’s “Best Business Schools” ranking, a sixth-place finish in PC Magazine’s list of “Top 20 Wired Colleges,” and a “B–” in “sustainability” (up from a “C–” last year) from the Sustainability Endowments Institute. The University placed 14th in Global Language Monitor LLC’s ranking of schools by number of appearances in print, electronic, and web media. Robsham Theater Director Howard Enoch buried his military pilot father, Howard (Cliff) Enoch, Jr., at Arlington Cemetery 63 years after the elder Enoch’s plane went down over Germany. The remains of the missing airman, recently discovered, were identified in April 2008 through DNA testing. “I finally had a father,” Enoch—himself the father of two—told Boston College Chronicle. “I knew where he was, and I knew how he died.” The Division of Student Affairs instituted steeper fines and harsher sanctions for illegal drug use and alcohol abuse. Students made mild protest. Campus Ministry held a multi-faith ceremony titled “Inviting the Spirit of Wisdom” following the annual celebration of the Mass of the Holy Spirit, on September 9th. IT announced the forthcoming elimination of “the modem pool” for dial-up web surfers. An estimated 80 of 17,000 customers will need to make note of this on their punchcards. Boston College will offer employees who adopt children $5,000 in expense reimbursement and up to eight weeks of paid leave, equivalent to leave offered under its maternity policy. T. Frank Kennedy, SJ, ’71, director of the Jesuit Institute, was named rector of the 95-member Jesuit Community. Lt. Frederick Winslow of Campus Police rescued a juvenile hawk from the Commonwealth Avenue garage and “released [it] without incident,” according to a police report. It was the third hawk rescue of Winslow’s career.

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