Learning from others; giving back
BC graduate Joseph Rizzuto ’15, now in medical school, is creating his own service-learning tradition in Nepal.
Boston College’s commitment to global engagement lies at the core of its educational mission. The Jesuit, Catholic liberal arts tradition, fostered through the links between Jesuit scholars across the world since the sixteenth century, is in its essence international. Our path for the future is expressed in the university’s Strategic Plan:
"Boston College commits itself to increasing its presence and impact through increased outreach to international students, recruitment of faculty with international backgrounds, and the development of programs that promote global cooperation.”
After twelve months of systematic work, the Boston College Global Engagement Committee— consisting of faculty, students, and administrators—completed the BC Global Report (2018), which recommends a set of strategies and initiatives to increase the university's presence and impact in the global arena.
BC Global Engagement
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The difference of experience
“To be ethical leaders in this stunningly diverse world takes courage,” said Isabel Capeloa Gil, who received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Describing her life as a series of enriching encounters with other cultures, religions, and languages, Isabel encouraged this year’s Boston College graduating class to seek out opportunities for what she called “the most challenging dimension of human growth: the experience of difference.”
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BC partners with Jesuit Refugee Service
Boston College will collaborate with the Jesuit Refugee Service—a Rome-based international Catholic relief and human services organization operating in more than 50 countries—to develop programs and activities aimed at improving the quality of life and care of refugees and forcibly displaced persons in areas of the world where JRS is involved.
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Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities
Representatives from six of the eight universities comprising the new Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities attended a signing ceremony hosted by Catholic University of Portugal on October 12. Among the signatories are university provosts, rectors, and Alberto Godenzi, vice provost for global engagement at Boston College.
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Truth and Memory
Participants in the Boston College seminar to Chile and Argentina discuss their experience. The seminars offer an immersive professional development experience, but also an invaluable face-to-face connection with their colleagues in different schools. Participants in the most recent seminar came from the departments of English, philosophy, history, sociology, communication and physics.
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Big Questions: Immigration
Immigration has become a flashpoint around the world and the faculty experts at the Lynch School of Education are trying to understand complexities surrounding families and children. Dean Stanton Wortham, Prof. Brinton Lykes and Associate Professor Mariela Paez explain their research and work with immigrant families.
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Every Rock Tells a Story: A Field Trip in the Italian Alps
As a Geological Sciences major, I am humbled by my studies because, whether I am actively cognizant of it or not, I am reminded each day how fleeting the human lifespan is in the context of Earth’s four billion year history...
Read more about her thesis and her trip to the Italian Alps here
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Arrupe Chile
Each year, more than 100 BC students participate in the Arrupe Program. They travel to parts of Central America and the Caribbean to humbly encounter, hear, and respect the stories of the people from the countries they visit in their own words. Through these stories, our Arrupe Chile group was able to better understand the complex realities of a country where the income of the top 10% is 26 times higher than the poorest 10% of the population.
Spotlights from Colleges, Schools, and Centers
International Engagement
313
international faculty and research scholars
1878
enrolled international students
50%
of undergraduate students study abroad
246
students participated in an international service trip