Boston College Front Row

Maureen Gormley ’85, chief operating officer of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, talks about authenticity in leadership as part of the Connell School of Nursing's Pinnacle Lecture Series.

Maureen Gormley ’85, chief operating officer of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, talks about authenticity in leadership as part of the Connell School of Nursing's Pinnacle Lecture Series.

R. L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy, an associate professor of sociology and black studies at the City College of New York, outlines the way both gender and class are under-addressed in U.S. educational policy

R. L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy, an associate professor of sociology and black studies at the City College of New York, outlines the way both gender and class are under-addressed in U.S. educational policy and public conversations pertaining to African-Americans. His talk, titled “Still Left Behind: Gender and Class Exclusion in the Pursuit of African-American Educational Justice,” is part of the New Directions in African Diaspora Lecture Series.

Laura Gentile, MBA’96, vice president and founder of espnW, talks to Warren Zola, executive director of the Boston College Chief Executives’ Club of Boston, as part of the Carroll School of Management's Distinguished Marketing Lecture Series.

Laura Gentile, MBA’96, vice president and founder of espnW, talks to Warren Zola, executive director of the Boston College Chief Executives’ Club of Boston, as part of the Boston College Carroll School of Management's Distinguished Marketing Lecture Series.

George Bodenheimer, former president and executive chairman of ESPN, delivers this talk as part of the Chambers Lecture Series.

George Bodenheimer, former president and executive chairman of ESPN, delivers this talk as part of the Chambers Lecture Series.

Both our politics and the wider American culture are increasingly polarized. Public discourse is often vitriolic, and rhetoric divisive.

Both our politics and the wider American culture are increasingly polarized. Public discourse is often vitriolic, and rhetoric divisive. In such a context, nonetheless, there can still be found the few, but impressive writers who distinguish themselves with their thoughtful commentary on controversial and important topics. This Boisi Center panel brings together several such writers whose area of focus is a topic central to culture and individuals’ worldviews: religion. These writers discussed their insights regarding contemporary discourse on religion, including the challenges that exist for those who desire to engage in thoughtful reflection on provocative topics; as well as present their approaches to these challenges. Rod Dreher is a writer, editor and blogger, who currently writes a regular blog for The American Conservative; Mark Oppenheimer is the 2014-2015 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations at Boston College; Sarah Posner is an investigative journalist, author, and expert on the in

Bob Inglis, executive director of the Energy and Enterprise Initiative (E&EI) at George Mason University and a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives

Child development and social policy expert Joan Lombardi, M.Ed. ’73, Ph.D., discussed the evolution—and future—of early childhood education in the United States. A former Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services (2009–11)

Bob Inglis, executive director of the Energy and Enterprise Initiative (E&EI) at George Mason University and a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, talks about free market solutions to our current energy and climate challenges. The talk is part of the Winston Forum on Business Ethics.

Child development and social policy expert Joan Lombardi, M.Ed. ’73, Ph.D., discussed the evolution—and future—of early childhood education in the United States. A former Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services (2009–11), Lombardi explored progress made since the emergence of Head Start, the dramatic shifts in our understanding of the influence of the early years on later outcomes, and where the field is moving.

James McMenamin is an assistant professor of Italian at Dickinson College.

James McMenamin is an assistant professor of Italian at Dickinson College.

Maureen Kenny, dean of the Lynch School of Education; Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools; Michael Russell, professor of educational research, measurement, and evaluation

Maureen Kenny, dean of the Lynch School of Education; Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools; Michael Russell, professor of educational research, measurement, and evaluation; and Henry Braun, Boisi Professor of Education and Public Policy, are featured speakers in the Lynch School of Education Endowed Chairs and Lynch School of Education Policy Committee Colloquium Series 2014-15

This series features alumni leaders in politics interviewed by Boston College Law Professor Kent Greenfield.

This series features alumni leaders in politics interviewed by Boston College Law Professor Kent Greenfield. Michael Capuano is serving his eighth term as a U.S. Representative for Massachusetts' 7th congressional district, which includes Chelsea, Everett, Randolph, Somerville, half of Cambridge and Milton, and approximately 75 percent of Boston. He is the senior Massachusetts member on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Financial Services Committee. He was named to the House Ethics Committee in 2013.