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Founded more than a decade ago, the Boston College Association of Retired Faculty (BCARF) has established itself as a locus of social, intellectual and service activity for retired faculty.
BCARF’s monthly slate includes a general program meeting with a featured lecture, a seminar for faculty research presentations, and a book club – which includes an annual trip to the location of a featured book, such as the New Bedford Whaling Museum and the John and Abigail Adams house in Quincy. Association members also go on tours of new exhibitions at the McMullen Museum of Art, and attend an end-of-academic-year banquet at which newly retired faculty are welcomed.
In addition, retired faculty can apply for grants to fund research-related activities and projects; a committee appointed by the BCARF Executive Committee reviews applications and awards the grants. Recently, the following faculty members had their proposals approved for funding:
• Matilda Bruckner (“Travel Expenses for Modern Language Association Annual Convention 2015”)
• Jean Mooney (“Project to Design Academic Support for Students Who Struggle in a Catholic School Environment”)
• Rebecca Valette (“Production of a Book: Navajo Weavings with Ceremonial Themes”)
• Judith Wilt (“Attendance at the Bi-annual Conference of the International Gothic Association”)
Wilt also was among faculty who presented at last fall’s research seminars, speaking on “Writing ‘Romance’: from the Dissertation to ‘the Retirement Book’,” along with Dennis Sardella (“Language and Symbolism in Icons”) and Rosemarie Bodenheimer (“Edgar and Brigitte: German/Jewish/American Lives”).
Other faculty who have given talks in the past few years have included Dennis Taylor, Carol Hurd Green, John Dacey, Michael Clarke, Rachel Spector, Alan Lawson, Joseph Appleyard, SJ, David Northrup and Dwayne Carpenter.
This semester’s research seminars feature Walt Haney – who presented “Using Drawings in Research and Teaching (and War)” on Jan. 22 – Fr. Robert Imbelli, Matilda Bruckner and Laurel Eisenhauer.
“These seminars, which are led by Dennis Taylor, are probably our most significant activity,” said BCARF President Jean O’Neil. “They are well attended, with a lot of cross-discipline participation. Recently, a member commented that an interdisciplinary atmosphere offers better supportive feedback for developing research, books, and papers for conference presentations than when depending only on departmental involvement.”
For information on the Boston College Association of Retired Faculty, see www.bc.edu/sites/retiredfaculty.html.