University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. appointed University vice president Joy Moore and Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean Rev. Gregory Kalscheur, S.J. as co-directors of Boston College’s Forum on Racial Justice in America, according to a University release.
“I am excited to accept the invitation to serve as co-director of the Forum for Racial Justice in America, given how vitally important the topic is to all of us within the BC community,” Moore said in the release. “I look forward to working with faculty, staff, and students to create programming to address issues regarding race and racial justice and to using my alumni connections to help form a national board of advisors to assist in guiding Forum activities in the coming years.”
The forum, which was launched in June of last year, is a “University-wide initiative designed to provide a meeting place for listening, dialogue, and greater understanding about race and racism in America,” the Wednesday release said.
The appointment of Kalscheur and Moore, who also serves as executive director of the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success, follows the departure of the forum’s inaugural director and former BC Law School Dean Vincent Rougeau, which the University announced in February. Rougeau now serves as president of the College of the Holy Cross.
The forum’s events kick off this year with a virtual visit from Pulitzer Prize–winner Isabel Wilkerson on Wednesday evening. Past guests include physician and epidemiologist Camara Phyllis Jones and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem.
Kalscheur said in the release that he is grateful for the opportunity to serve as co-director alongside Moore, and looks forward to engaging in the forum’s important work with the BC community.
“Promoting justice and reconciliation are at the heart of the Jesuit mission, and Boston College can provide valuable insights into the issues of racism and racial injustice in our country through the academic contributions of its faculty members and the resources available to us in the Catholic social thought tradition,” he said.
Featured Image by Meegan Minahan / Heights Editor
