Faculty and Syllabi

Professor James Weiss is Director of the Capstone Program. A native of Chicago who lived many years in Germany, Weiss founded the Capstone Program in 1990 as an outgrowth of his interest in spirituality and personality development.

Weiss serves as an Episcopal priest in two diverse parishes, one in Boston’s inner city, another in the Back Bay. He also offers individual spiritual direction.

A love of travel led him to work with BC’s International Programs as a liaison to foreign study sites that focus on social justice in South Africa, Ecuador, and Nicaragua.

He enjoys mountain hikes, baking bread, and music of Brahms and Enya.

Dr. Karen Arnold is Associate Professor of Higher Education at the Lynch School of Education. Best known for her longitudinal studies of talented students, Karen is the world’s foremost and only expert on high school valedictorians. More recently, she has used audio diaries, Instagram, and text messaging to study the experience of students who are the first in their family to attend college. In all of her work, she looks at transition points in early adulthood and questions standard definitions of achievement and success. 

Among her pre-BC jobs, Karen was Head Usher at Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts and Vice President for Student Services at Reed College. Her educational path took her from degrees in piano performance and French literature, at Oberlin College and Conservatory, to graduate degrees in Higher Education at the University of Illinois. Karen is still an active musician, as is her husband Jeff (trombone and guitar) and her daughter Sarah (cello).  After finishing a 13-year section hike of the Appalachian Trail under the trail name of “Walkabout,” she continues to backpack the good parts with Jeff (“Long Haul”) and Sarah (“Mountain Goat”).       

Originally from Grosse Pointe, MI, Biz Bracher is a 1991 graduate of Boston College who majored in Human Development in the Lynch School of Education. While an undergraduate, Biz was a member of the women’s Varsity Lacrosse team for which she served as a captain her senior year. After graduating from BC, she worked for FAO Schwarz in Boston and later for the Etruscan Foundation in Siena, Italy before returning to the Heights in 1995 to earn her MA and Ph.D. in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology in the Lynch Graduate School of Education. Since 1996, Biz has worked in the Office of First Year Experience, first as a graduate assistant and then moving up in the ranks to be the Assistant Director, the Associate Director, and most recently was the Interim Director. In FYE she oversaw and facilitated BC’s Student/Parent Orientation, First-Year Academic Convocation, The 48HOURS Retreat Program, and taught in the Courage to Know First-Year Seminar Program (CTK). In 2017, Biz moved into the Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences, bringing the CTK program with her and she now serves as the Director of the Cornerstone Seminar Programs including the First-Year Topic Seminars as well as some sections of First-Year Writing Seminars and Perspectives I. Biz also serves on the University’s PreHealth Advising Committee.

Biz and her husband Troy (CSOM ’91 and CGSOM ’98) live in Newton, MA with their three sons Jack (BC ’22), Christian (BCH ’21) and George (7 th grade). When she isn’t in the bleachers of their baseball, basketball, or hockey games, you can find her playing tennis, running, or working her way through an ever-growing stack of books. She loves to cook and share meals with friends. A highlight of each semester is having her classes over to her home for a festive dinner and a competitive game of salad bowl!

J. Joseph Burns graduated from Boston College in the late 1960s. After graduation he participated in the Peace Corps, among other adventures.

In the mid-'80s Burns returned to BC as an Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. He currently holds the position of Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Burns loves big ideas, historic detail, challenging conversation, and everything about BC.

Dr. Robert Capalbo began his career as a faculty member teaching Political Science, then accepted the opportunity to become a college administrator, a Dean of Men, and a Dean of Students, while continuing to teach part-time.

Capalbo returned to BC, his Alma Mater, as Director of Housing and Director of Residential Life. He now holds the position of Associate Director, Stewardship and Donor Relations in the Development office, raising funds for student financial aid, faculty research, and University initiatives.

He brings a deep knowledge of BC to the students enrolled in his courses, not only from his service in residential life, but also in his role as a Faculty Fellow to the Shaw Leadership Program, and a member of the Mays Mentoring Program.

Capalbo loves to travel and has driven across the United States twice. He has visited Istanbul, Turkey, four times within the past seven years. He loves Native American and African art, Japanese pottery, and collects Presidential Inaugural Medals.

Deborah De Chiara-Quenzer is an Associate Professor of the Practice in the Philosophy Department. Over her years as a college professor, she has enjoyed teaching courses in her area of specialty, Ancient Greek Philosophy, especially Plato and Aristotle, and also courses that span the history of philosophy from the Ancient Greeks to the Twenty-First Century. Presently her interests are focused on using Aristotle’s moral categories from the Nicomachean Ethics as a lens through which to evaluate the moral dispositions of substantial figures in ancient Greek literature (e.g., Achilles in Homer’s Iliad and Oedipus in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus). Of late, Prof. De Chiara-Quenzer has also been teaching more personally-reflective courses (e.g., Courage to Know and now Capstone).

As an ex-New Yorker, Prof. De Chiara-Quenzer has enjoyed living for many years with her husband and daughter in Massachusetts. When occasionally asked by family members scattered throughout New York and Connecticut whether she would ever come back home, the answer has been no. Her response is that Massachusetts, with its politics, life-style, wonderful seasons, and of course creative drivers, is the place that she calls home. When not catching up on sleep, one can find her buried in reading various newspapers or running in her town (she is often referred to as the Forest Gump of the neighborhood).

Dacia Gentilella came to Boston College to pursue a graduate degree in the English Department 34 years ago, and never left. She teaches classes in the English Department core, as well as ELL literature, and mentors graduate students who teach the First Year Writing Seminar. Her field is multi-cultural literature, with a particular interest in Native American literature.

She is a first generation college student and applied to both her undergraduate school, Dickinson College, and then Boston College without first visiting either campus. While these experiences turned out to be very positive, she is drawn to helping first gen students navigate the unknowns in their undergraduate lives. Dacia began teaching a Topic Seminar focused on first gen students this fall. She taught in the BAIC Options Through Education program for 14 years and has worked for the Learning to Learn Program for more than 25 years.

Dacia is very interested in mindfulness studies and is currently working to make mindfulness and stress reduction programing more readily available to students at Boston College. She is a certified Life Coach and Reiki Master and works to achieve balance in her life and in the lives of those around her. Dacia divides her time between her home in East Boston and Cape Cod, where she finds calm in and around the ocean and loves to cook and eat great food.

Dr. Brad Harrington is the Executive Director of the Boston College Center for Work and Family (CWF) and an associate research professor in the Carroll School of Management. CWF is the country’s leading university-based center that assists employers in their efforts to improve the lives of working people and their families. Prior to coming to Boston College, Dr. Harrington was an executive with Hewlett-Packard for 20 years, serving in business unit and global leadership roles in the US and Europe.

Harrington’s work has always focused on fostering more democratic leadership in organizations and helping people find greater meaning in their lives and their work. He is the lead author of Career Management and Work/Life Integration: Using Self-Assessment to Navigate Contemporary Careers (Sage Publications, 2007) and The New Dad: Caring, Committed and Conflicted (2011). His research on fatherhood has garnered international media attention.

Harrington is a graduate of Stonehill College and has completed graduate studies in psychology, human resources, and organizational behavior at Boston College and Boston University. He is married to Dr. Annie Soisson, Associate Director of the Tufts University Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching. They are the proud parents of Maggie, Hannah, Dillon, and Chelsea (the family dog). His passions are traveling and spending time with his family, deeply appreciating Celtic music and all things Dickens, and playing tennis (but unfortunately never to his full potential).

Tom Kaplan-Maxfield received his PhD from BC in 1993 and as a full time professor has taught writing and literature courses in the English department here ever since. He is a novelist and sometime friend of the writer Lawrence Durrell. His latest book, Belongings is a fictionalized recounting of his time spent with the famous writer in the south of France in the 1980’s.

He writes a series of novels that are set on the BC campus, called Adventures on the Heights, the latest of which, Satanas Mysterium concerns good and evil, featuring the Devil in residence on the Heights. Other novels include the award-winning Memoirs of a Shapeshifter (a treasure hunt for a brooch hidden on main campus is tied to the novel) and Hide and Seek, a murder mystery in reverse. He has worked as a book editor, reporter, and political activist.

In his third life he is a licensed building contractor, and is most dedicated to teaching at the intersection of practical lived life, writing and love. His Litcore on Love has been a perennial favorite of Freshmen, and Capstone, in connecting theory with practice, is a natural extension of his interests. He is most passionate about connecting with students in all his courses via challenging talk—and food. At home he plays flute, cooks with his wife Ellen, writes with his cat Pepper asleep on his lap, and builds houses on his days not teaching.

Professor Dan Kirschner has had a continuing interest in the application of biophysical techniques to problems in biology, especially as it pertains to human disease. Hence, his double undergraduate degree in Biology and Physics and his graduate degree in Biophysics. His current research interests are focused in two areas: the structure and dynamic membrane interactions in abnormal nerve myelin, in which alterations have resulted from experimental, pathological, or genetic conditions; and the molecular organization of amyloid, which are deposits of mis-folded polypeptides involved in certain neurodegenerative diseases (including Alzheimer disease and "mad cow" disease).

Kirschner is also an avid visual artist, having received citations for photography and painting as a student. This avocational interest is reflected by his cover designs for scientific journals in which he publishes, and by contributions of his framed photographs as fund raisers for the auctions of nonprofit foundations. In addition, nights and weekends will often find Dr. Kirschner as the fiddler/violinist for a local klezmer band, for which he has composed specialty celebratory dance melodies in the klezmer tradition. In addition to performing spirited, soulful music before live audiences, Kirschner also is an enthusiastic bicyclist during fair weather and a cross-country skier during snowy weather.

Somehow, among all these scientific and avocational activities, he has managed to co-parent two fantastic daughters, both of whom have earned teaching degrees. And, with the births of two grandsons during the past nine years, a third generation is coming along.

Paula Mathieu came to Boston College in 2001 after completing a doctoral degree in Language Literacy and Rhetoric at the University of Illinois in her hometown of Chicago. At BC she teaches courses homelessness and literature, nonfiction writing, and rhetoric as cultural study, while also directing the First-Year Writing Program and the Writing Fellows Program. She is author of Tactics of Hope: The Public Turn in English Composition and co-editor of three essay collections. She is currently writing two projects: one about the connections between mindfulness and teaching; and two, a study of Hobo News and the rhetorical power of dissident press. She began working with homeless writers in 1997 in Chicago, where she founded a writing group and learning center for homeless vendors of StreetWise newspaper. For three years she was Deputy Chair of the International Network of Street Papers.

Paula lives in Lexington, MA where she spends time with her husband, Alex; daughter, Delia; and adorable mutt, Penny. She enjoys drinking coffee, biking, taking piano lessons with her daughter, and playing on a co-ed softball team. Delia and Penny like visiting BC, and may show up at a Capstone course from time to time.

Professor McDargh arrived at Boston College 25 years ago, fresh from graduate study at Harvard University in the psychological study of religion, and never left. Recognized in his field for his contributions to the study of childhood development and religious formation, the Capstone project understandably recruited his interest from its first year.

John and his partner live up the road at Newton Centre where their son Sasha—adopted seven years ago from Russia (now on the threshold of adolescence)—is giving them a late-life education in Super Mario, Jackie Chan movies, and being Newton soccer dads.

McDargh has been known to show up for Capstone classes accompanied by the family golden retriever, Murphy.

David McMenamin has been the Director of the PULSE Program and one of its faculty for almost 15 years. Because they were and are his own questions, the questions "Who am I?", "For what can I hope?", and "How should I live?" have animated his teaching of philosophy since his first days in a classroom. They have especially shaped his teaching in the seminar offered to the PULSE Council, a course which has inspired his current Capstone course.

Prior to coming to Boston College 20 years ago, he worked and taught at Villanova University, where he was one of the co-founders of their Center for Peace and Justice Education. That interest has never faded and has led him to his additional "part-time job" at BC, working on conferences and programs connected to the ten-year-old national effort to examine the Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education.

Paul McNellis, S.J., taught political philosophy and social ethics at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, before coming to Boston College to teach in the Perspectives program.

His most formative experience was growing up in Minnesota as the oldest of nine children, which proved to be an excellent preparation for two later challenges in life: military service in Vietnam and entering the New York Province of the Society of Jesus.

As for the latter, being the sole Midwesterner among NY Province Jesuits, a special mission fell to him. He reminded native New Yorkers that the term "the city," as in "Let's go to the city," could have a referent other than "New York." One could, for example, have in mind Minneapolis, Chicago, Seattle, Omaha, Cleveland, or even Duluth.

Before entering the Jesuits he worked in Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia, as a soldier, journalist, and refugee relief worker. Since 1995 he has periodically taught in Vietnam and Cambodia.

His pastoral work as a Jesuit includes prison ministry, Project Rachel; and The Sons of St. Patrick, a group of Christian gentlemen at Boston College.

Dorothy Miller has done a variety of things in her life: taught high school, directed a career counseling agency for women, edited a medical newsletter, and raised a family. Miller has been teaching in the English department since 1980. Teaching allows her to combine what she loves to do and is good at.

Miller's family is important to her, which is why she finds herself loving her students.

She has traveled extensively all over Europe and to more exotic places like Turkey, China, Thailand, Burma, and West Africa, which is why she is drawn to teaching literary works about different cultures.

In addition to writing, she has painted, worked in stained glass, and designed jewelry; along with her knowledge of literature she uses her creative side when she teaches and tries to foster the creativity of her students.

Timothy P. Muldoon is a philosopher, theologian, and author of many books in the areas of Christian theology and spirituality. His research interests in both Philosophy and Theology include the thought of Bernard Lonergan, SJ, particularly as his work sheds light on reversing cultural decline; and the history and practice of Christian spirituality, particularly in the Ignatian tradition. He held several administrative and teaching roles at Boston College since 2005, and joined the Philosophy Department in 2020. He has held visiting professorships at LaSalle University, the Catholic University of America, and Washington Theological Union, and has lectured widely in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Prior to coming to Boston College, he was the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Theology at Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, Pennsylvania. His current work involves the philosophy of community and the promotion of flourishing communities.

Scott Olivieri, Ph.D. is Director of Web Services at Boston College. As part of a talented team in the Office of University Communications, Olivieri is currently leading the redesign of more than 200 websites. In 1991, Olivieri and his father developed a unique computer video system for the Boston Red Sox that helped players and coaches predict tendencies. After travelling with the team for 4 years operating the system, Olivieri shifted to advertising as a founding member of Hill, Holliday's Interactive division. Following six years as a web developer at Fidelity Investments, Olivieri returned to his alma mater. Olivieri holds a B.A. in English, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Boston College. His doctoral dissertation focused on diversity on higher education websites. Olivieri enjoys watching his beloved New England Patriots, triathlons, and visiting national parks with his wife and two grown children.

Akua Sarr is currently Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Originally from New York City, Akua earned a Bachelor's degree in English from Dartmouth College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in African Languages & Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A former Fulbright Scholar, Akua has published two books: The Histories, Languages and Cultures of West Africa: Interdisciplinary Essays (2006) and Black Women Writers' Contributions to Contemporary Feminist Discourse (2003). She would also like to write her first novel. Her research interests include West African literature and film, African retentions in the Americas, and representations of Africa in contemporary African-American literature.

Akua enjoys yoga, Pilates, and spending time with her husband and two daughters.

David Storey received his BA in Philosophy from Boston College. He got hooked on philosophy as a freshman by the course he now teaches--Perspectives on Western Culture--and never looked back, going on to receive his PhD from Fordham University in 2011, which focused on environmental ethics.

At BC, he also teaches courses on the ethics of climate change, the philosophy of technology, and philosophy "as a way of life," which invites students to not just read and discuss philosophical texts, but to do "spiritual exercise"--practical experiments to try out living like a Stoic or a Buddhist--in order to become more intentional about their own development.

Along these lines, he led the "Camino course"--Self-Knowledge and Discernment--in Summer 2019, in which students spend a semester studying the philosophy and spirituality of pilgrimage and hike 100 miles of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. He is also a certified teacher of Koru Mindfulness, a meditation course designed for college students that he offers for free to BC students.

David is the host of the podcast Wisdom at Work: Philosophy Beyond the Ivory Tower, where he interviews people who studied philosophy and went on to successful careers outside the academy in business, government, and a wide range of fields. He is a dog lover, a political junkie, a meditator, a runner, and an author, and he blogs about politics, culture, technology, and the environment on Medium.

Ethan Sullivan is the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Curriculum in the Carroll School of Management. In this role since 2008, he is responsible for providing strategic direction and integration of curricular initiatives in the undergraduate program, including the Portico Program, in which he teaches two sections per year. In addition to working in the Carroll School, Sullivan has also worked in First Year Experience at Boston College, as well as at Harvard University, Boston University, and New York University. Prior to entering academia, he was a brewer of craft beers in the Pacific Northwest. Dean Sullivan received his Ph.D. from Boston College and his M.A. from New York University. He was an English and Philosophy major as an undergraduate at Boston College and these majors greatly contributed to his love of reading.

Ethan lives in Needham, MA with his wife, Jennifer, and their four children. He is very involved in coordinating and coaching youth sports in Needham, and trying not to tear an Achilles while playing soccer, hockey, basketball, lacrosse, and baseball with his active children and their teammates. His work as a parent and coach intertwines beautifully with his teaching, all roles informing and enhancing each other. Teaching in Capstone is a microcosm of this pursuit—the pursuit for meaning and a life well-lived.

Dr. Waddock is a professor in the Carroll School of Management, where she teachers about corporate responsibility. She is one of the founders of the Leadership for Change Program, in addition to being the coordinator of the Organizational Module. Her research and teaching revolve around issues of individual and organizational leadership and responsibility.

Waddock has a personal mindfulness practice and a passion for folk music—singing and playing badly.