Guest Lectures & Collaborative Programs
In addition to the keynote lecture at our annual Excellence in Teaching Day, the CTE also seeks out opportunities to bring nationally-recognized experts to campus at other times in the year to engage faculty in conversations about the latest research on teaching and pedagogy. These lectures are open to the entire university community, unless otherwise noted.
We also occasionally host programs that are offered in collaboration with other BC organizations.
Fostering Belonging for LGBTQ+ Students in the Classroom: A Panel of BC Students & Faculty
Wednesday, February 22, 3:30-5:00 pm, Stokes S195
Please note: this panel discussion is intended for a faculty audience. Faculty play a significant role in the campus experiences and learning of LGBTQ+ students by facilitating proactively welcoming course climates, inviting LGBTQ+ students into their fields of study, and “queering the curriculum.” A collaboration with the GLBTQ+ Leadership Council, this panel will feature students and faculty talking about their experiences and practices in the classroom. Join us to hear from Wells Arkins (‘23), Nathan Schirtzinger (‘24), Ali Erol (Communication), and Christy Pottroff (English), reflect on your own pedagogical practices, and exchange ideas and questions with other BC instructors. Coffee and dessert will be provided.
Register for Fostering Belonging for LGBTQ+ Students: A Panel of BC Students & Faculty
Past Lectures
Inclusive Practices In Higher Education
Dr. Bryan Dewsbury
Wednesday, April 3, 2:00 - 4:00 pm | CTE’s Innovation Lab (O’Neill 250)
Dr. Bryan Dewsbury (Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Rhode Island) delivered an interactive lecture on “Teaching for Meaning and Purpose: Inclusive Practices in Higher Education.” Open to all BC faculty and staff, this session worked from the assumption that inclusive practices in the classroom demand a non-linear, sometimes unorthodox approach to each semester. In this talk, we collectively explored what those approaches might look like in unique contexts, and unpacked how these approaches can augur profound, inclusive experiences. For further information, contact Stacy Grooters.
Supporting Women & Minorities In STEM
Dr. Leena Akhtar
Tuesday, April 9, 1 - 3:00 p.m. | CTE’s Innovation Lab (O’Neill 250)
The CTE was pleased to partner with the Institute for the Liberal Arts to host a workshop by Dr. Leena Akhtar. Titled “Redesigning the Clubhouse: Supporting Women & Minorities in STEM,” this workshop introduced instructors to a series of useful frameworks for supporting women and minorities in the sciences. In addition to considering the institutional and historical pressures that have led to discrimination and exclusion and pressing issues facing junior scientists today, we discussed strategies for more effectively connecting with and supporting women and minorities aspiring to STEM careers. The workshop was open to all faculty and staff at Boston College. For further information, contact Jenna Tonn.
Self-Replenishing Compassion
Dr. John Makransky
Thursday, October 25, 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Gasson 305
In this public talk and workshop co-sponsored by Intersections, Associate Professor John Makransky introduced the theory and practice of the Sustainable Compassion Training (SCT) method, helping participants explore their own experience of it and the questions it raises for them. SCT adapts a pattern of contemplative practice seen across faith traditions into a secular and inter-religious form aligned with areas of social psychology and neuroscience. SCT helps individuals cultivate a more inclusive and replenishing power of care and compassion for themselves and others that is less susceptible to bias, empathic distress, and burnout. In this method of practice, we experience ourselves both as embraced in a relational field of care and compassion, and as an extension of that field of compassion to others.
John Makransky
John Makransky is Associate Professor of Buddhism and Comparative Theology at Boston College and Senior Academic Advisor for Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche’s Centre for Buddhist Studies in Kathmandu University, Nepal. He is the developer of the SCT model, which was incorporated into an international education initiative launched by the Mind and Life Institute in 2014 and continues under the Courage of Care Coalition.
For the past 15 years, Dr. Makransky has taught ways to cultivate more inclusive and sustainable compassion to educators, healthcare and mental health providers, social workers, hospice volunteers, clergy, and those who work with prisoners, at-risk youth, the hungry, and the dying. He has taught contemplative workshops at numerous institutions and he is former president of the Society of Buddhist-Christian Studies.