Members of the Boston College faculty are available to offer comment on a wide variety of subjects, including the following topics currently in the news. To find a faculty member who can address another topic, feel free to search our on-line database.
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The U.S. and Immigration:
The Center for Human Rights and International Justice at Boston College seeks to address the world's refugee problem not just from the traditional legal standpoint, but also in consideration of the political ramifications, the ethical and religious issues, as well as the psychological impact on the refugees. Among the center's leaders are:
Director David Hollenbach, SJ
617-552-8855
david.hollenbach.1@bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/centers/humanrights/about/directors/hollenbach.html
Fr. Hollenbach is a Jesuit priest whose research interests are in the foundation of Christian social ethics, particularly in the areas of the human rights, theory of justice and the role of religion in social and political life. He teaches periodically at Hekima College of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, in Nairobi, Kenya. Fr. Hollenbach was the principal consultant for the US Catholic Bishops' 1986 report "Economic Justice for All." He has served as president of the Society of Christian Ethics. Fr. Hollenbach's publications include The Global Face of Public Faith: Politics, Human Rights, and Christian Ethics;The Common Good and Christian Ethics; Justice, Peace, and Human Rights: American Catholic Social Ethics in a Pluralistic World, and Claims in Conflict: Retrieving and Renewing the Catholic Human Rights Tradition. In 1998, Fr. Hollenbach received the John Courtney Murray Award for outstanding contributions to theology from the Catholic Theological Society of America.
Associate Director Daniel Kanstroom
617-552-0880
daniel.kanstroom.1@bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/centers/humanrights/about/directors/kanstroom.html
A clinical professor in the Boston College Law School, Kanstroom is an immigration and deportation law scholar and practitioner. He is the director of the Law School's Human Rights Programs and is the founder and current director of the Law School's Immigration and Asylum Clinic in which students represent indigent non-citizens and asylum-seekers. Together with his students, Kanstroom has won several high-profile immigration and asylum cases and has provided counsel for hundreds of clients over more than a decade. He and his students have also written amicus briefs for the U.S. Supreme Court. Kanstroom has published on topics such as U.S. immigration law, criminal law, and European citizenship and asylum law. Kanstroom co-chairs a national immigration committee of the American Bar Association. He teaches "Immigration and Refugee Law" and "International Human Rights Law."
Political Science Professor Peter Skerry
617-552-3112
peter.skerry@bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/polisci/facstaff/skerry.html
Skerry's research focuses on social policy, racial and ethnic politics, and immigration. He is a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and has been a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington as well as a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. His writings on politics, racial and ethnic issues, immigration and social policy have appeared in publications such as Society; Publius; The Journal of Policy History; The New Republic; Slate; The Public Interest; National Review; The New York Times; The Los Angeles Times; The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. His book, Mexican Americans: The Ambivalent Minority, was awarded the 1993 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He also is author of Counting on the Census? Race, Group Identity, and the Evasion of Politics. His courses have included: "Urban Politics in 21st-Century America," "Immigration: Processes, Politics, and Policies," and "Race and Ethnicity in the Administrative State."
Political Science Professor Alan Wolfe
617-552-1862
wolfe.bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/centers/boisi/about/meet_the_staff/alan_wolfe_bio.html
Wolfe is director of the University's Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. His work in recent years has focused on cultural and religious issues in American politics. His publications include: One Nation, After All; The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Practice our Faith and Moral Freedom: The Search for Virtue in a World of Choice. He has written on the topic of immigration for The New Republic.
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Aging Workforce/Retirement Issues:
Alicia H. Munnell
Drucker Professor of Management Sciences
Director, Center for Retirement Research
617-552-1934
alicia.munnell.1@bc.edu
Center for Retirement Research: 617-552-1762
Munnell, a former member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, is one of the nation's leading experts in retirement planning, savings, 401(k)s and Social Security issues. She is co-author of the book, Coming Up Short: The Challenge of 401(k) Plans, which chronicles the evolution of 40(k) plans and examines mistakes that are made when risk and responsibility for retirement funding is shifted to employees. Munnell has been appointed by the Massachusetts Legislature to lead a Blue Ribbon Panel to analyze the state's public retirement system.
Joseph F. Quinn
James P. McIntyre Professor of Economics
617-552-2393
joseph.quinn@bc.edu
Quinn is a professor of economics and former co-chair of a panel for President Clinton's Social Security Advisory Committee and has been widely quoted regarding retirement patterns, the aging workforce and the economics of aging. His work has covered the economics of aging with emphasis on the economic status of the elderly, Social Security reform, the determinants of the individual retirement decision, and trends and pa tterns of labor force withdrawal among older Americans.
Michael A. Smyer
Director, Center on Aging & Work
617-552-8401
smyer@bc.edu
Smyer is director of the Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College and a professor in the Department of Psychology. Smyer is a licensed clinical psychologist who has been active in geriatric mental health research for approximately 30 years. Smyer's research and interests include: older workers/baby boomers, flexible work options, aging and work, adjustments to aging, geriatric mental health, and mental health care in nursing homes. Smyer was awarded the M. Powell Lawton award for distinguished contributions to clinical geropsychology. He has been on the editorial boards of the journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, Psychology of Aging, and currently is on the board of Generations. He is co-author, editor or co-editor of numerous books and chapters, including the John Wiley Series on Adult Development and Aging; Aging and Mental Health; Older Adults' Decision Making and the Law; The ABCs of Behavior Change: Skills for Working with Behavior Problems in Nursing Homes; and Mental Health and Aging: Progress and Prospects.
Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes
Director, Center on Aging & Work
617-552-4033
pittcats@bc.edu
Pitt-Catsouphes is director of the Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College and an associate professor in BC's Graduate School of Social Work. Her areas of research and interest include: olderworkers/baby boomers, flexible work options, aging, and work and family. She has conducted studies about workplace culture, supervisor-employee relationships, and the adoption of innovative employee policies. She founded the Sloan Work and Family Research Network which provides resources about working families to business leaders and state legislators as well as to academics around the world.She is a Research Fellow of the Work & Family Roundtable, a corporate membership group organized by the Boston CollegeCenter for Work & Family.
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Law School Asst. Prof Mary-Rose Papandrea is a seasoned commentator, who has been interviewed by both print and broadcast media. Her primary research and teaching interests include the Supreme Court, civil procedure, constitutional law, defamation and privacy law, and national security and civil liberties. Papandrea received a BA degree from Yale University and a JD from the University of Chicago. She clerked for Hon. John G. Koeltl of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Hon. Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Hon. David H. Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court.Following her clerkships, Professor Papandrea spent several years as a litigator at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., where she specialized in First Amendment and media defense litigation. She is a member of the Connecticut, New York and District of Columbia bars.
(617) 552-0582; maryrose.papandrea@bc.edu
Law School Professor Robert M. Bloom is an expert in, and author of, numerous publications related to criminal and civil law and procedure. He has been interviewed by both print and broadcast media. A former defense lawyer and prosecutor, he also has been a court-appointed master on complicated civil cases. He teaches courses on criminal procedure, civil procedure and judicial process at BC Law School. He received his law degree from Boston College.
617-552-4374; bloom@bc.edu
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Political Science Professor Robert Ross is an expert in Chinese history, politics and foreign policy; weapons and security issues in China and Asia as well as US-China relations. A former Fulbright professor at the Chinese College of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, and member of the National Committee for US-China Relations, he is author of the book Negotiating Cooperation: The United States and China 1969-1989; co-author of Great Wall and Empty Fortress: China's Search for Security; editor of and contributor to East Asia in Transition: Toward a New Regional Order, and co-editor of and contributor to Engaging China: Management of an Emerging Power. He also has written numerous articles including "American China Policy and the Security of Asia," and has taught courses including "US-China Relations"; "The International Political System"; "Chinese Foreign Policy"; and "Great and Local Powers in East Asia."
(617) 552-3259
robert.ross@bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/polisci/facstaff/ross/
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Bioterrorism - Risks and Realities:
Sociology Professor Jeanne Guillemin can address issues related to biological warfare, including anthrax research; prevention, danger and risk. One of America's foremost authorities on the history of biological weaponry, she is author of the books Biological Weapons: From the Invention of State-Sponsored Programs to Contemporary Bioterrorism and Anthrax: The Investigation of a Deadly Outbreak, a study of the 1979 Sverdlovsk chemical disaster. She also has written "Soldiers Rights and Medical Risks: The Protest Against Universal Anthrax Vaccinations," and made numerous presentations on the subjects of bioterrorism and other weapons of mass destruction.
(617) 552-4133
jeanne.guillemin@bc.edu
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Crisis & Renewal in the Catholic Church:
A number of Boston College theologians can address various aspects of the ongoing efforts of the Church to rebuild and move forward in the aftermath of the clergy sexual abuse crisis. Among them: Theology Professor Thomas Groome, director of the Boston College Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry, Theology Professor Stephen Pope, Monan Professor of Theology Lisa Sowle Cahill and Theology Professor Rev. Raymond Helmick, SJ.
Stephen Pope: (617) 552-3892; stephen.pope@bc.edu
Thomas Groome: (617) 552-8449; thomas.groome.1@bc.edu
Lisa Sowle Cahill: (617) 552-3890; lisa.cahill.1@bc.edu
Rev. Raymond Helmick: (617) 552.3880; raymond.helmick@bc.edu
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Legalized Gaming in New England:
Carroll School of Management Associate Professor Rev. Richard McGowan, SJ is a nationally recognized expert on legalized gaming. Prof. McGowan has published several books, including: State Lotteries and Legalized Gambling: Painless Revenue or Painful Mirage; Industry as a Player in the Social and Political Arenas, and Government and the Transformation of the Gaming Industry. His upcoming book is titled Dividing the Spoils: States and the Gambling Industry. He was the only academic appointee to a commission to study the potential expansion of legalized gaming in Massachusetts.
(617) 552-3474mcgowan@bc.edu
http://www.bc.edu/schools/csom/faculty/bios/mcgowan.html
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Political Science Associate Professor Dennis Hale
(American Politics and Political Thought; Public Administration; State and Local Politics)
617-552-4165; dennis.hale@bc.edu
Prof. Dennis Hale's areas of research include local government, American political thought, public administration, and the modern experience of citizenship. His essays and reviews have appeared in the Political Science Quarterly, PS, Society, The Journal of Politics, APSR, State and Local Government Review, Polity, Administration and Society, The Political Science Reviewer, The Washington Post, and Newsday.
Political Science Professor Marc Landy
(U.S. Presidency; Federalism/Comparative Federalism; Environmental Regulation)
617-552-4172; marc.landy@bc.edu
Prof. Marc Landy is a leading authority on the subject of the U.S. presidency, from election to office. He is co-author of the book Presidential Greatness, an author of the Environmental Protection Agency From Nixon to Clinton: Asking the Wrong Questions, and an editor of Seeking the Center: Politics and Policymaking at the New Centuryand The New Politics of Public Policy. His latest textbook is American Government: Balancing Liberty and Democracy (co-authored with Sidney Milkis).
Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Professor of American Politics R. Shep Melnick
(American Politics; Courts; Public Policy)
617-552-1896; shep.melnick@bc.edu
R. Shep Melnick teaches a variety of courses on American politics, including Courts and Public Policy; Ideas and Institutions in American Politics; Democracy in America; Rights in Conflict, and an American politics graduate field seminar. His research and writing focuses on the intersection of law and politics. His first book, Regulation and the Courts, examined judicial influence on the development of environmental policy. His second, Between the Lines, investigated the ways in which statutory interpretation has shaped a variety of entitlement programs. His current research project looks at how the Rehnquist Court is reshaping our governing institutions. Melnick is co-chair of the Harvard Program on Constitutional Government and a past president of the New England Political Science Department. He is the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Professor of American Politics at Boston College.
J. Joseph Moakley Professor of Political Science Kay L. Schlozman
(Citizen Politics; Parties and Elections; Interest Groups)
617-552-4174; kay.schlozman@bc.edu
Prof. Kay Lehman Schlozman teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in American politics - among them, Parties and Elections in America, Rights in Conflict, Women and Politics, and Inequality and Politics. She has written numerous articles in professional journals and is editor of Elections in America and co-author of Injury to Insult: Unemployment, Class and Political Response (with Sidney Verba), Organized Interests and American Democracy (with John T. Tierney), Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics (with Sidney Verba and Henry E. Brady) and, most recently, The Private Roots of Public Action: Gender, Equality, and Political Participation (with Nancy Burns and Sidney Verba), which was co-winner of the APSA’s Schuck Prize. Among her professional activities, she has served as Secretary of the American Political Science Association and currently chairs the APSA’s organized section on Elections, Public Opinion and Voting Behavior. She has been a member of the Boston College political science department since 1974 and currently serves as the University’s J. Joseph Moakley Endowed Professor of Political Science.
Political Science Assistant Professor Jennifer A. Steen
(American Politics; Congress; Campaigns and Elections)
617-552-6029; jennifer.steen.1@bc.edu
Asst. Prof. Jennifer Steen studies dynamics of the electoral process in the United States. Her latest book is Self-Financing Candidates in Contemporary American Elections. A former political consultant, Steen's theoretical and empirical work is complemented by her background in the rough-and-tumble world of political campaigns. Prior to pursuing her doctorate (at U.C. Berkeley) she worked for candidates in local, state and federal elections. She also was active in party politics, serving as a county precinct captain, national convention delegate and member of the Electoral College.
Political Science Professor Alan Wolfe / Director, Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life
(American Politics; Public Policy)
617-552-1862; wolfe@bc.edu
Prof. Alan Wolfe's work in recent years has focused on cultural and religious issues in American politics. His book One Nation, After All argued that the "culture war" was largely the work of intellectuals; most Americans were not deeply divided over moral issues. Widely quoted and published, Wolfe also is director of Boston College’s Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. His most recent books include The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Practice our Faith and An Intellectual in Public. He is the author or editor of more than ten other books including Marginalized in the Middle; One Nation, After All; Moral Freedom: The Search for Virtue in a World of Choice and School Choice: The Moral Debate. Both One Nation, After All and Moral Freedom were selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year.