Current Boston College students may be inclined to ignore the University's 10-year plan, because they won't be here to reap the fruit of the University's labor. BC has begun taking significant steps toward implementing the seven strategic directions of the Master Plan, however, by inaugurating three new academic centers: the Institute for the Liberal Arts (ILA), the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy, and the University Institute On Aging in the 21st Century (IOA).
The first institution will propel BC toward its first goal of "becoming the leader in liberal arts education among American universities." The Institute for the Liberal Arts is, Patricia De Leeuw, one of the founders of the ILA, said, "an umbrella organization where BC thinks about the liberal arts."
While the liberal arts are taught in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), within the ILA, teams of faculty and students will work together to further understanding of the liberal arts. The ILA will fund interdisciplinary projects and research, and publish materials such as journals and books.
The ILA traces its origins back to the strategic planning process that began in 2004. In 2006 and 2007, the vision of the ILA was finally realized by a group of seven faculty members.
Last April, Dean of A&S David Quigley was appointed the first director of the institute. In an e-mail, Quigley said, "The Institute is committed to working across the University with colleagues from the social and natural sciences as well as from the professional schools." The ILA is currently searching for a new director, following Quigley's appointment as BC's interim dean of A&S this past month.
De Leeuw finds this strategic direction to be an appropriate step for BC. "Liberal arts were the educational curriculum of the first universities in the 13th century and have been the direction of Jesuits for over 400 years," DeLeeuw said.
The second new academic institution is the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy. Charles Clough, a former head of BC's board of trustees, gave the money to start a center that would focus on constitutional democracy in the United States and around the world. These funds will be drawn on to support scholars and students alike when it is fully operational. The money supports research projects and faculty and will provide funds for experts to lecture on campus. In the future, civic internships may be provided for.
The departments of political science, history, economics, classics, education school, law school, and graduate school of social work will all be working together within the Clough Center to provide information about constitutional democracies.
Kenneth Kersch, director of the Clough Center and professor in the political science department, said of the teamwork, "We want to make the center a hub for interdisciplinary work, to have people work together who might not normally."
The Clough Center is not up and running yet. This academic year is mostly about bringing publicity to the new center, and a Web site is forthcoming. The lecture series has started and will continue.
This generation faces a unique phenomenon - a greater population of older men and women in America. Soon there will be just as many people 60 years and over as there are 18 years and younger.
The situation has not gone unnoticed at BC, and will be the topic of action and discussion as BC tackles No. 3 on its list of strategic directions: "Identify and support selected research commitment that will achieve excellence and distinction in addressing urgent societal problems." The IOA will study the issues that will arise as a larger segment of American society ages.
This interdisciplinary institution will focus on "the second half of life," said James Lubben, the director of the IOA and a professor in the graduate school of social work, referring to those aged 50 and older.
"I chose that age because when one reaches age 50, they have to accept the aging process," Lubben said.
Lubben notes how this age group from 50-year-olds and above is not very well studied, and society needs to know more about them. This understanding will lead to initiatives that will allow older members of society to make the most of the later years. The IOA will be at the forefront of this research and development.
In a society with an aging population, public transportation, housing, health care, and other key elements of society must be rethought. It is in the answers to these issues that opportunities for BC students become apparent. In developing new programs for the elderly, students and faculty will have a head start on living and making a career in an aging society.
Because no single discipline holds the answers to the questions raised by the IOA, teamwork between academic disciplines will be central to success. Lubben foresaw business, education, nursing, social work, and other majors working together to address the aging of society.
"We hope to make for a better world for future older adults and their families," Lubben said.
Be the first to comment on this article!