Boston College President Addresses CM Faculty at PD Day

Chestnut Hill, Mass.— The President of Boston College addressed faculty from Catholic Memorial School during their Professional Development (PD) Day at BC on Friday morning.

Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., the President of Boston College since June of 1996, applauded the faculty for its continued efforts toward revitalizing Catholic education after they finished a series of morning case studies and department meetings.

He asked that faculty members reflect on their work's mission and think about how it affects the children they serve.

“I think there is a great relationship between vision, mission, and decisions,” said Fr. Leahy.

“When the Church is going forward in society and has to deal with all sorts of issues, it needs people who are in Catholic secondary schools to expose students to new ideas, to the faith, to the values, and challenging the students to live out those values.”

Earlier that morning, Ms. Karen Kiefer, the Director of The Church in 21^st Century (C21) Center at Boston College, echoed a similar sentiment. She welcomed the faculty to campus and began the day with a brief introduction to the C21 Center.

The C21 Center began at BC in 2002 as a two-year initiative to explore the problematic issues existing in the Church, according to the center’s website. While it began as a response to the sex abuse crisis in the Church, the center has since offered symposia, lectures, conference, published papers, and other resources to move the Church forward and into renewal.

The C21 Center started the renowned Agape Latte speaker series. The series serves as a monthly event for students to gather and listen to testimonies about faith in a welcoming environment. CM adopted an iteration of the series two years ago, the first known high school in America to do so.

Ms. Kiefer challenged the faculty to use the center’s holistic model when attempting push forward the Catholic tradition inside their classrooms.

After Ms. Kiefer’s talk, the faculty broke into small groups. Together, they discussed refined approaches to pedagogy, new protocols, and updates from peer coaching assignments. Department meetings at noon provided the faculty with opportunities to discuss the upcoming Campus Ministry Knight Day and collaborative assignments between departments.

Dr. Folan ended the day with a simple message meant to remind the faculty of their impact.

“What we’re doing matters,” he said.

“We’re revitalizing the Catholic faith, Catholic schools, and our greater community.”