We will be meeting at Boston College. BC is a coeducational university with an enrollment of 8,700 undergraduate and 4,500 graduate students. Founded in 1863, it is one of the oldest Jesuit, Catholic universities in the United States. Boston College supports more than 50 fields of study through 11 schools and colleges. The university's 115-acre main campus is located in an open suburban setting six miles from downtown Boston, with direct access to the city via trolley. All participants will have official status, most likely as visiting scholars, at Boston College.
Boston College is a member of the Association of Research Libraries and its combined libraries, including the Thomas P. O'Neill Memorial library, has a collection that recently passed two million volumes. Seminar participants will have full library privileges, including lending privileges with a consortium of Boston area colleges through the Interlibrary Loan department. Participants will also have access to group study rooms, computers, on-line electronic databases, and a computerized search catalog within the library. The library is currently open from 8 am to 1 am on weekdays, 9am to 10pm on Saturdays and 11am to 1am on Sundays.
We have made arrangements so that on campus, air conditioned housing will be available at subsidized rates to seminar participants on a weekly basis. The rooms offered to us are apartments designed for four students, but because students are not living in them during the summer, each single participant will have their own bedroom, sharing the living room, bathroom and kitchenette area with one other participant. The tentative cost for each participant is $236.00/week (sharing an apartment with one other participant, with private bedrooms) or $427.00/week for a family occupancy (whole apartment). Participants will also have access to on campus dining facilities or a wide array of eating establishments in the neighborhood. Those who bring their spouses and children, or who prefer off-campus housing, will be able to access the on-line resources of the Boston College housing office which can help them identify short term off campus housing alternatives for both singles and families during the summer. There will be a staff person at the Boisi Center who will help any participant s out with their housing needs. I understand how important housing issues can be in insuring a positive experience for participants, and I feel confident that Boston College appreciates my concern.
The seminar will be held at the Boisi Center and participants will have access to phones, email, computers, photocopying, and limited secretarial support during their stay. We have one large and quite pleasant office that can be made available to participants. The Boisi Center is located in a 1920s Tudor style house adjacent to the main campus, giving us the advantage of a central location.
Participants will be able to enjoy the benefits of the greater Boston area during the summer. I will host at least two social gatherings, one at my home in Brookline and the other at my summer house on Cape Cod. The group will also meet informally for picnics and for outings to Boston's wide offerings of summer events. We will plan on holding a concluding event, most likely a dinner. Information about concerts and art exhibits can be provided to seminar participants in advance of their arrival.