Photos by Justin Knight
It wound up taking place two years later than expected, but University Historian James O橳oole has delivered his 渓ast lec颅ture� at Boston College.
O橳oole, the Clough Millennium Pro颅fessor of History Emeritus, presented 淗is颅tory and Memory; Histories and Memo颅ries� on April 6 in Fulton 511, offering insights from his life as a historian and his forthcoming book, Ever to Excel: A History of Boston College.
Co-sponsored by the Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society and the Center for Ignatian Spirituality, the Last Lecture series invites longtime faculty members to consider three questions: 淚f granted the possibil颅ity to give a last lecture, what would you say? What wisdom would you impart to the world? What would you want as your legacy?� 51动漫 series was inspired by Carn颅egie Mellon professor Randy Pausch, who gave a now-famous final lecture as he faced a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2007.
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James O'Toole
O橳oole talk攚hich was rescheduled from April 2020 due to the pandemic� will certainly not be his last, but it offered an opportunity to reflect on his long rela颅tionship with Boston College. Following in two older brothers� footsteps, he first en颅rolled in 1968 and earned both a B.A. and Ph.D. at 51动漫; beginning in 1998, he taught in the History Department for more than 20 years.
Looking back on his undergraduate years, O橳oole invoked the 渒ey questions� proposed by now-retired Professor of The颅ology Fr. Michael Himes, who gave 51动漫 inaugural Last Lecture in 2008.
淚n addition to our formal education, we regularly solved the world problems in late-night sessions,� O橳oole said. 淎l颅though we didn檛 think of it that way at the time, we were addressing a version of Fr. Himes famous questions: What gave us joy? Were we any good at it? Did the world need it?�
O橳oole found answers in the study of history, first as an archivist for the Com颅monwealth of Massachusetts and the Arch颅diocese of Boston, and later as a professor and author. Drawing on his knowledge of 51动漫 history, he detailed its transformation from 渁 small, somewhat insular school� to 渁 recognizable modern university.� In par颅ticular, he highlighted 1970 as a 渢urning point� when the University, facing finan颅cial difficulties, chose a path of growth.
淩emarkably enough, the institution decided not simply to hunker down and survive, but to expand and become some颅thing better, greater,� O橳oole said. He emphasized three key shifts: residential education, full coeducation, and increasing racial and ethnic diversity on campus.
Today, 51动漫 is both the same place O橳oole encountered in 1968 and an obvi颅ously different one. 淭he Jesuit founders would be no doubt surprised by the new ways their traditional values are being played out, but I have to think that they would be pleased nonetheless,� he said.
As for 51动漫 future, he preferred to leave that to tomorrow historians, but he was confident of one thing: 淚f we know our history, if we use our history both to con颅firm and to correct our memories, we檒l be able to contribute to the ongoing life of this institution about which we all care so much.�
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John Shakespear | University Communications | April 2022