The annual "Experts On Call Hotline," held in New York City on Aug. 26, invited callers from around the country to speak one-on-one about ADHD-related issues with nurses, pediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, family advocates and other experts. Vessey, who estimates she handled more than 100 calls herself, and her fellow experts provided general information on ADHD and fielded questions on more specific subjects: working with schools to develop education plans for children with ADHD, for example, or dealing with the side effects of medication.
"There were some incredibly sad stories, like the mother without health insurance whose child was having significant problems," said Vessey. "Another caller was obviously at wit's end, and so we got her plugged into the right agency.
"Many callers come from rural America where there are less resources. Some of the experts spoke fluent Spanish, and so we were able to reach a group who might otherwise have difficulty getting information."
Vessey had been set to take part in last year's hotline, but other events intervened that day: It was scheduled for Sept. 11.
The BC Law Library chose the right person for whom to name the room housing its collection of rare books and prints. Recently, the Daniel R. Coquillette Rare Book Room received another donation of materials from none other than Monan Professor of Law Daniel R. Coquillette.
Coquillette, a former Law School dean, contributed a gift of 16th and 17th-century law books, complementing his donation last year of 15th and 16th-century books. What makes these volumes significant is that nearly all would have been found on the shelves of a typical lawyer's library during the periods in question.
"Dan Coquillette has enriched our collection immeasurably by giving us materials that you literally cannot buy anymore at any price; they just don't come on the market," said BC Law Legal Information Librarian Karen Beck, curator of the rare books. "Even more important to me is his enthusiasm for teaching all of us about our shared legal history - and these books help us connect with our past so we can understand our present."
The books will remain on display in the Rare Book Room through mid-December.
LSOE counseling psychologists' collaboration with local schools and community agencies has received national attention, thanks to a recent cover story in one of the flagship publications for the psychology profession.
The American Psychological Association's APA Monitor ran a feature in its September edition on several programs that Lynch School faculty members and students lead in Allston-Brighton schools, including: the Gardner Extended Services School, which offers comprehensive education, health, and mental health services to students and their parents before, during and after school; Tools for Tomorrow, a psychoeducational curriculum to help ninth-graders see connections between school and work; and the Education Advocacy Program, which connects students with support services while encouraging them to complete homework assignments.
LSOE professors David Blustein and Mary Walsh and associate professors Maureen Kenny and Elizabeth Sparks were highlighted in the article, and doctoral student Jennifer Murphy appeared in the cover photo.
APA Monitor is distributed to the more than 155,000 members of APA. The September edition can be found through the publication's on-line archive, at www.apa.org/monitor/previous.html.
How do couples cope with a serious illness, conflicts with their adolescent child, the transition to becoming a stepparent, or other sources of stress? And if they can't cope, how can they get the help they need?
Scholars from North America and Europe will examine these questions and many others when the Graduate School of Social Work hosts the International Meeting on Couples Coping with Stress on Oct. 12 and 13. The event, organized by Prof. Karen Kayser (GSSW), is the follow-up to a similar gathering held two years in Fribourg, Switzerland, but represents the first such conference held on American soil.
The program will include presentations, panel discussions and poster sessions, with participants comparing the impact of stress on younger and older couples, for example, or exploring couples' responses to health problems in the family.
"We've seen that couples can, and do, deal with stressful situations, whether it's an illness or 9/11," said Kayser, who along with GSSW Dean Alberto Godenzi will offer a welcome and introductory remarks at the conference. "We're still trying to learn more about the exact dynamics of that process, how it works, or doesn't work. As we learn more, it could lead to the design of more effective interventions."
More information on the conference is available at www.bc.edu/couples2002.
The Boston College Center for Work and Family has developed a new set of work/life standards aimed at helping companies to produce satisfied employees along with economic success.
The guidelines include a set of measures, competencies and behaviors that allow organizations to gauge their progress in providing a supportive work environment where work/life strategies and core business strategies are aligned. The standards will be introduced during the National Work and Family Roundtable to be held in Boston on Nov. 6.
Center staff members and an advisory board of leading corporate practitioners and academic theorists developed the corporate work/life recommendations.
CWF Executive Director Brad Harrington calls the standards "The starting point for developing a successful strategy in work/life integration.
"(They) provide a framework for the work/life field, define a vision for excellence and provide the tools to set a course to achieve it," he said.
GRAD. SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Around the block
As a new raft of graduate students find their way around BC, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences hopes to draw their attention to one of its more recently established writing resources.
Last year, GSAS inaugurated the Grad Student Writers' Block, to which students can submit their papers, where other master's or doctoral candidates read and evaluate them.
"Around Campus" is a compendium of items submitted by Boston College's undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. Chronicle reserves the right to edit items for clarity, space and style.