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Mass at Fenway Park
September 15, 2012, 4:00 p.m.
The Sesquicentennial Celebration will officially begin with a Mass at Fenway Park in Boston. The Mass is open to all members of the Boston College community—students, faculty, staff, alumni, and their families—and will be concelebrated by members of the Jesuit community and alumni priests. It will be followed by a reception that will include a walking tour of the ballpark. Rain date: September 16. Registration opens in June.
Public Education and the Future of Democracy
October 5, 2012
Led by Lynch School of Education professors Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Dennis Shirley, this symposium will address issues related to public education and its role in democratic societies.
Drew Gilpin Faust
October 10, 2012
Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust will address the Boston College community as part of the Sesquicentennial Speakers Series. A noted Civil War historian, Faust will be awarded a Sesquicentennial Medal in recognition of her commitment to teaching and scholarship.
Religion and the Liberal Aims of Higher Education
November 8–9, 2012
Led by education professor Henry Braun and assistant professor of theology Erik Owens, this conference will examine the unique contributions that religiously affiliated colleges and universities can offer to the educational enterprise.
Energy: From the Last to the Next 150 Years
February 2013
Led by Michael Naughton, chairman of the physics department, and Willie Padilla, associate professor of physics, this two-day symposium will consider the future state of energy from the vantage points of physics, chemistry, biology, political science, and economics.
Migration: Past, Present, and Future
March 21–22, 2013
Sponsored by the University’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice, this symposium will explore the changing patterns of migration and what needs to be done to address the plight of international refugees.
Student Concert at Symphony Hall
March 23, 2013
Performances by the University Chorale, the Boston College Symphony Orchestra, BC bOp!, and the University Wind Ensemble will be featured.
Founders Day
April 9, 2013
A public convocation in the tradition of the Centennial Celebration of 1963, which featured an address by President John F. Kennedy in Alumni Stadium, this celebration will include the second Sesquicentennial Speakers Series address and the awarding of a Sesquicentennial Medal.
The Legacy of Vatican II
September 26, 2013
Sponsored by the School of Theology and Ministry, this symposium will consider the lasting effects of the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), which spanned Boston College’s Centennial.
Convocation of Presidents of Catholic Colleges and Universities,
October 2013
This gathering of Catholic educational leaders will address issues facing American Catholic higher education.
Religious Diversity and the Common Good, 1863–2013
November 2013
Led by Alan Wolfe, director of Boston College’s Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, this symposium
will sift the challenges to fostering the common good amidst religious diversity.
SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS
150 Years of Student Life at Boston College
May 1–June 30, 2012
O’Neill Lobby
St. Ignatius in Boston
November 1–December 31, 2012
Burns Library Hall
Formation: Integrating Theology and Life
January 3–February 28, 2013
O’Neill Lobby
Excellence in Work and Service
April 1–May 31, 2013
O’Neill Lobby and Reading Room
Prepared to Serve: Boston College Alumni
October 1–December 31, 2013
O’Neill Lobby
See Anyone You Know?
Online, interactive photo resources from the University Archives, via bc.edu/150
Ongoing
PUBLICATIONS
A new history of Boston College, written by James O’Toole, ’72, Ph.D.’87, the University’s Clough Millennium Chair in History (for a sample chapter, see “Class Warfare: When Harvard Declared Its Distrust of the Boston College Degree. . .” in BCM‘s Winter 2012 issue).
A documentary film on the history of Boston College by award-winning filmmaker Sarah Colt will premiere in April 2013.
The Illustrated Boston College: 1863–2013, by Ben Birnbaum, editor of Boston College Magazine.
SINGULAR COMMEMORATIONS
Volunteer Community Service: All students will be asked to perform at least 150 minutes of community service in either Boston or Newton during the three semesters of the Sesquicentennial, September 2012 to December 2013. Alumni will also be asked to perform 150 minutes of service through the National Day of Service on April 13, 2013, or the more than 25 alumni service programs offered through alumni chapters.
The Heights fully digitized: The University Library will make the student newspaper accessible online, with issues going back to its start in 1919.