Faculty news
Research Professor Philip Altbach and Professor Hans de Wit write that optimism in US international student numbers is misplaced in the July issue of Times Higher Education. Altbach is founding director and de Wit is director of the Center for International Higher Education. The two wrote about the effect emerging patterns in the rise of nationalism have on the internationalization of higher education in the September issue of University World News. In an op-ed in the July issue of CommonWealth on how Massachusetts stacks up against international competitors in education, Altbach notes the state does well at K-12 and college levels, but must not rest on its laurels.
A three-year, $2 million continuation grant from the National Science Foundation is supporting a Lynch School initiative to engage Massachusetts urban public school students in the science and enterprise of hydroponic gardening. Change Makers: Urban Youth Food Justice Ambassadors began September 1 under the leadership of Professors G. Michael Barnett, David Blustein, and Belle Liang in partnership with College Bound, the Lynch School Urban Outreach Initiatives program directed by Catherine Wong.
Boston College honored Lynch School Associate Dean Mary Ellen Fulton with its Community Service Award for her work with two Boston-area Catholic schools, Saint Joseph’s Preparatory Academy and Saint Columbkille Partnership School, and for her volunteerism with the Natick Public Schools.
Research Professor Jackie James, a co-director at Boston College’s Center on Aging and Work, discussed the positive relationship between working and health with WGBH News. James also commented on hiring discrimination against workers not raised during the Internet age in the Los Angeles Times.
At Brighton’s St. Columbkille Partnership School, a three-week digital storytelling project led by Associate Professors Deoksoon Kim and David Scanlon helped sixth and seventh graders harness tech tools—from videos to emojis—to tell meaningful stories.
Laura E. Rumbley, assistant professor of the practice, was appointed to the editorial advisory board of Studies in Higher Education, the journal of the Society for Research into Higher Education. Rumbley is associate director of the Center for International Higher Education.
In his new book, The New Imperatives of Educational Change: Achievement with Integrity (Routledge, 2017), Professor Dennis Shirley calls for a move beyond the standardized testing and marketplace competition that have become pervasive in school systems.
A recent gathering co-sponsored by the Center for International Higher Education and covered by University World News addressed issues of student mobility, international research collaboration, and other forms of cross-border engagement in higher education.