PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
NOVEMBER 20, 2025 VOL. 33 NO. 7
CSTM to Partner with Archdiocese
Remembrance
INSIDE 2 Around Campus
CWBC Colloquium renamed for McGillycuddy; Kathleen McGillycuddy; Stuff the Truck; Stuff Multifaith the Thanksgiving. Truck; Multifaith Thanksgiving.
3 New Minor
BY KATHLEEN SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER
Offers a theological window on scientific, technological issues.
8 ‘Support, Wisdom, Guidance’
Colleagues praise Kwasi SarkodieMensah, who retired from the University this fall. photos by caitlin cunningham
ITS Head Bourque to Retire in March BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Michael Bourque, Boston College’s Vice President for Information Technology Services (ITS) since 2010, has announced that he will step down from his position in March of 2026 after nearly 23 years of service to the University. A respected administrator, Bourque is credited with building a strong ITS leadership team and a culture of support and professionalism during his tenure that enabled the division to meet the ever-changing technology demands of an R1 research university consisting of more than 3,600 employees and 15,000 students. Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead praised Bourque for his contributions to BC, which include the successful integration of EagleApps, an internally designed set of web-based applications that manages the academic and enrollment activities for BC students, faculty, and administrators. “I have had the privilege of working alongside Mike for the last 10 years,” said Lochhead. “He has done so much over his time at Boston College to advance not only the information technology goals for the University, but also its mission. “He has created a strong customer-
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Scenes from last week’s Boston College Veterans Day Remembrance Ceremony.
Boston College has received a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help the Gloria L. and Charles I. Clough School of Theology and Ministry (CSTM) establish the program “So I Send You: Together in Christian Leadership and a Synodal Church.” “So I Send You” is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, which is intended to help theological schools across the United States and Canada strengthen their educational and financial capacities to prepare and support pastoral leaders for Christian congregations both now and into the future. “The Clough School of Theology and Ministry is deeply grateful to Lilly Endowment for its generous support of ‘So I Send You,’” said Clough School Dean Michael
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A Time for ‘Braver Angels’ BC PoliSci professor sees hope for U.S. in cross-partisan citizens’ movement BY JACK DUNN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
From his perspective as a longtime observer of political discourse in the United States, Political Science Professor Peter Skerry believes that the toxicity and polarization in American politics have never been worse. His observation is supported by polling data from the Pew Research Center that confirms that the political divide in America is steadily growing, with more than 60 percent of registered voters believing that those in the other party are “immoral, dishonest, and close-minded.” So, when Skerry was presented with an opportunity to become part of the solution, he readily embraced it, joining a volunteerled citizen’s movement called Braver Angels, the nation’s largest cross-partisan organization dedicated to depolarizing politics. “I am old enough to remember how divided America was over the Vietnam War and the concomitant cultural changes of the Sixties Generation as well as the turmoil
around the Civil Rights movement and its aftermath, including the assassinations of the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Skerry. “But in many respects, I regard what America is currently experiencing as even more disruptive, disturbing, and threatening. Braver Angels, whose goal is ‘to inspire and equip Americans to practice courageous citizenship across political differences through skill-building, convening, and collaborative action,’ is one of the few organizations that is genuinely attempting to overcome our rancorous divisions by getting ordinary Americans to sit down and just talk to one another across the divide.” Braver Angels’ origins came in the wake of the 2016 presidential election when two former colleagues, David Blankenhorn and David Lapp—deeply troubled by the vitriolic rhetoric engulfing the nation—agreed to host a weekend meeting in southern Ohio among 10 or so supporters of Hillary Clinton and 10 supporters of Donald Trump with the goal of getting people to listen civilly to opposing views.
Peter Skerry photo by caitlin cunningham
The success of their experiment led Blankenhorn and Lapp, along with University of Minnesota Professor Bill Doherty, to co-found Braver Angels, with the stated mission of “bringing Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen
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