November 2020
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Welcome to The Bridge, the newsletter of the Office of Global Engagement.
The motto of our office is Faciamus cum sociis pontes, "Let us build bridges with our partners". We hope you will begin to partner with us by subscribing.
SACRU: The Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities 
The Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities, or SACRU, hopes to increase the impact of Catholic research universities in addressing global challenges and to enhance collaboration across various dimensions of global engagement.
SACRU Webinar — November 11:
The COVID-19 Working Group of the Strategic Alliance of Catholic Universities is hosting the first-ever SACRU webinar: a discussion on upcoming COVID-19 vaccinations, including their development and issues surrounding access. It will feature the following distinguished guests and hosts. 
As a reminder, starting in the Fall of 2022, the Jesuit Institute at Boston College will provide annually one semester-long visiting-professor fellowship for a SACRU faculty member that covers travel, room and board, a modest stipend, and an office. Other universities are strategizing to complement BC’s offer.
COVID-19 Research Updates The COVID-19 Faculty Seminar/Working Group at Boston College will continue to welcome submissions of citation information to the COVID-19 repository: Visit the archive:
Advancing Research Day: Responding to COVID-19 On October 30th, Research Day welcomed the BC community and participants from our partners in 6 countries. Check out the recorded content from the panels and the poster projects at the links below:
Teaching Panel Conevery Valencius, History
Invited Guest Panel Lilian Ferrer Lagunas, Director of International Affairs, PUC-Chile
Research Panel Theresa Betancourt, Social Work
Building Bridges: Partnerships 
Since we reopened the Global Engagement Office in January we have seen through the signing of the SACRU constitution and by-lawys by the member institutions' 8 Rectors and Presidents and have developed and promoted its joint initial programs. Similarly, we have furthered the agreements with Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS). More recently we signed a partnership with the The Pontifical Council of Culture regarding shared interested in human-centered engineering.
In addition, we are actively developing partnerships with three Jesuit universities. 
The Ateneo de Manila
This school matches BC in the size and scope of its mission. Here, we foresee a program between the School of Theology and Ministry and the Loyola School of Theology, a joint sustainability project, as well as a joint project in education and beyond.
The Javeriana in Bogotá
There have been multiple faculty exchanges with this school, the oldest Jesuit university in the Americas. It's now time to build more concrete bridges between us, particularly in cybersecurity, the care of children who have been been forced into migration and war, joint sustainability, and public health projects. Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut
Already pursuing relations with USJ, these efforts were sped-up after the tragic blast. We have started discussions between our schools of nursing and social work, and programs on reconciliation sponsored by their religious studies department and our school of theology and ministry. We also hope to pair their school and our department of engineering.
Refugees and Migrants Paradoxes in the Age of COVID-19: Cardinal Michael F. Czerny, SJ will discuss with BC professors Kristin Heyer and Fr. Alejandro Olayo-Méndez, SJ and Marjean A. Perhot from Catholic Charities of Boston his work with Pope Francis on issues surrounding refugees and migration around the world, particularly in the age of COVID-19. Tuesday, Nov 17 from 12pm - 1pm EST 
International Education Week Under the direction of the Office of International Programs and the Office of International Students and Scholars, various events will be occurring November 6 - 16. Check out the link below for more information on the theme and schedule.
The theme for Boston College’s 2020 IEW is "Exposing the Fault Lines: Embracing Social Justice in the Wake of a Crisis." This theme recognizes that events over the past year - including the global health pandemic and rise of the Black Lives Matter movement - have shed light on disparities that have long existed in the U.S. and beyond, often disproportionately affecting the most marginalized and vulnerable populations. 
Other International Visiting Scholars
The Office of Global Engagement would love to hear from you if your department or center is hosting a Visiting Scholar. Please let us know using the quick form below.
Book Release Dean Hashimoto, Associate Professor at Boston College Law School and Chief Medical Officer for Workplace Health and Wellness at Mass General Brigham released his book "The Case for Masks" on October 27. Hashimoto recently gave a on the topic for the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy at Boston College. 
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