Lecture Series - Online
Please join us as BC Beyond Lifelong Learning presents our Spring 2026 Lecture Series!
The purpose of this series is to provide lifelong learning opportunities with Boston College faculty and administrators on a wide variety of topics, including local and world history, science, technology, social issues, the arts, and more. We are pleased to offer a series of lectures and conversations each Fall and Spring semester to Boston College alumni, friends, and community members.
Spring 2026 Lecture Series - Online
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET
- Online participants are required to have a computer with video and audio capability.
- Please note: all registrants are required to log in to Zoom prior to accessing the Zoom link for the program. Instructions on how to create a Zoom account can be found here.
- All programs offered online via Zoom will be recorded; recordings will be available to registrants for two weeks following each lecture.
- These programs have a maximum capacity to allow for participant engagement.
Registration Options:
- Register for individual lectures for $15 each or register for the entire lecture series for $90.
- Register for the McMullen Museum tour for $15.
Register
Register early to avoid disappointment!
Online via Zoom • 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Title: Formative Education and the Transformative Education Lab
Presenters: Stanton Wortham and Deoksoon Kim
Boston College is known for its distinctive approach to holistic, “formative” education. All Jesuit universities adopt some version of this approach, but Boston College has been particularly intentional and active in developing formative education over the last two decades. This presentation provides an overview of formative education, both in theory and in practice. We illustrate the approach with examples from the undergraduate experience at BC, then introduce a new venture, the Transformative Education Lab (bc.edu/tlab). This Lab aims to make Boston College a hub for both research and practice in holistic, formative education. BC is hosting conferences, grant competitions, retreats for teachers, and other activities designed to expand and deepen the community of formative educators, and to make BC more visible as a source of wisdom about this approach.
Online via Zoom • 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Title: Expert Witness: The Weight of Our Testimony When Justice Hangs in the Balance
Presenter: Ann Burgess
This book describes the courtroom testimony of Professor Ann Burgess and the legal outcome for cases described in her book, A Killer by Design, including the trials of the Menendez brothers, Bill Cosby, Larry Nassar, Ed Kemper, and the defendants in the Duke Lacrosse case.
Online via Zoom • 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Title: Human-Centered AI in Engineering, Health, and Education: Applications and Ethical Considerations
Presenter: Bryan Ranger
This lecture explores how human-centered AI is shaping work in engineering, healthcare, and education. It presents ongoing research in biomedical engineering for global health, with a focus on how AI can support ultrasound imaging and clinical decision making. The lecture also highlights approaches in human-centered engineering education that guide students in designing technologies that address real needs. Ethical and social considerations, including fairness and careful use of data, are discussed within these contexts. Together, these perspectives illustrate how human-centered AI can contribute to practical solutions in both health and learning.
Online via Zoom • 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Title: 25 Years of Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College
Presenter: Rev. Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski and Rabbi Ruth Langer
In this presentation, Prof. Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski and Prof. Ruth Langer will discuss the accomplishments of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning as it celebrates its 25th year. They will connect the work of the Center with the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate and the 25th anniversary of Dabru Emet, foundational documents on dialogue from the Catholic and Jewish worlds, respectively. Looking at the legacy of Christian-Jewish relations over this time, Joslyn-Siemiatkoski and Langer will also discuss what the future of these relations might hold both nationally and globally.
Online via Zoom • 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Title: Depolarizing Immigration Politics the Braver Angels Way
Presenter: Peter Skerry
Braver Angels is a volunteer-led citizens movement, the nation’s largest cross-partisan organization dedicated to depolarizing American politics. Its protocol pairs red and blue participants in equal numbers in political conversations with the hope of demonstrating that Americans with different views can find common ground. Since 2024, the movement has made the divisive topic of immigration its primary focus. Professor Skerry, a respected author and national expert on immigration policy, serves as chair of the Immigration Policy Roundtable of Braver Angels’ Citizens Commission on Immigration. The Commission’s efforts will result in a Report to the Nation, outlining key immigration policy recommendations that reflect red/blue consensus, in 2027. Join us to learn how this organization is seeking to find areas of agreement and trust in American politics.
Online via Zoom • 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Title: Collaborating in Conflict: The Yeats Family and the Public Arts
Presenters: Marjorie Howes and Nancy Netzer
The Spring 2026 exhibition at Boston College's McMullen Museum, Collaborating in Conflict: The Yeats Family and the Public Arts, explores how three generations of a talented, influential, and complicated family shaped each other, the arts, and the public sphere. This lecture explores the new things we can learn by examining them in combination — what makes this exhibition unique? By moving through a series of the exhibition’s most striking objects, this lecture will tell the story of how the Yeats family contributed to visual arts, how their work in visual art incorporated other arts, and how the family’s artistic accomplishments arose out of collaboration, conflict, and financial struggle.
In person at the McMullen Museum • 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
In-person viewing of Yeats Family Exhibition at the McMullen Museum, Collaborating in Conflict: The Yeats Family and the Public Arts
Lifelong Learning Program Testimonials
-“I found every one of the lectures well presented and interesting… The variety of topics is important. I am very impressed with the quality of professors at BC.”
-“I welcome the lectures you offer because it keeps me updated on many topics as well as connected to Boston College. Learning is a lifetime adventure.”
-“I thought all the lecture topics and all the speakers were excellent. I liked the range of topics, the preparation of the speakers, the clear presentations, the information provided, and the opportunity for questions. I believe that I came away with new knowledge and perspectives.”
-“The speakers all had great presentations and the attendees had great comments and questions!”
About the Presenters
Program Pricing
General Admission
General Admission for the Lecture series is as follows:
Register for individual lectures for $15 each or register for the entire series for $90.
Register for the McMullen Museum tour for $15.
No discounts are available.
General Information:
You must be 18 years old to participate in the BC Beyond Lifelong Learning Lecture Series. All sales are final; we are not able to offer refunds. Registrations may not be transferred to another person or to another course, workshop, or program.
Online registration is required to participate in the program. The fee for individual lectures is $15 each; the fee for the entire lecture series is $90 to be paid by debit or credit card. Registrations will be processed upon receipt of payment. Payment is due in full in order to enroll.