The Annual Summit is a full-day conference addressing pressing topics related to the sense of belonging at Boston College and in the higher education field.
May 28, 2025, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Gasson Hall
Join us at the 2025 Summit, where we will explore Boston College’s ongoing commitment to creating a welcoming and respectful environment that encourages engaging dialogue across many perspectives. This year’s theme, “Reflect, Renew & Recommit,” invites participants to consider the institution’s significant progress in fostering an welcoming campus community while infusing new energy into our ongoing initiatives that reaffirm our dedication to institutional mission, vision, and core values of cura personalis - care of the whole person - and cura apostolica, care of the work.
Morning Educational Concurrent Sessions
Presenters: Kathleen Flinton, Assistant Professor of Clinical Practice Assistant Dean of Field Education; Susan Coleman, Assistant Dean of Field Education. School of Social Work.
The Trauma Integration Initiative at the School of Social Work has a strategic focus within their efforts on supporting students in field placement, where students can have trauma-related experiences, both as echoes of those students’ own trauma histories and as vicarious trauma experienced through their close work with clients. In response to the experiences, Kathleen Flinton and Sue Coleman–drawing on their expertise in trauma-informed care–developed an Trauma Responsive advising model to help advisors build relationships, maintain boundaries and trust while creating a supportive learning environment for students.
As a result of the session, participants will be able to:
- Identify trauma related symptoms as they may present in students’ behavior and performance both within and outside the classroom.
- Apply a trauma informed lens around support, structure and perspective as they provide advising to their students around learning.
- Create an advising system that is trauma responsive as it acknowledges students’ lived experiences, historically and currently.
Presenters: Aziz Rana, Professor, Law School; Jeffrey Cohen, Professor, Law School; Kent Greenfield, Professor, Law School
This interactive panel discussion will engage participants in exploring the ongoing impact of the current administration's Executive Orders and laws on higher education. We will examine how institutions such as Boston College, along with community members, can reaffirm their commitment, in alignment with their institutional mission, particularly in light of our current legal climate.
Afternoon Educational Concurrent Sessions
Presenter: M. Mookie Manalili, Part-Time Faculty / Psychotherapist / Doctoral Student; SSW / MCAS / WCAS
This presentation presents and expands upon "Narrative Therapy", an emerging evidence-based approach rooted in family systems therapy practices and poststructural philosophy practice. As seen in the discourse (and discontent) in American culture and psychology, social justice movements have sought to critique the assumption of homogenizing every human person. Indeed, each human person is contextualized by heritages, cultures, and stories, which cannot be fully redacted in our therapeutic treatment. As our students (and patients) grapple with 'problems', 'diagnoses', and symptomatology - their unique values, goals, and motivations can (and ethically should) be brought to the foreground of accompaniment and therapy - to empower the folks we serve and allow for more humane treatment of students (and patients).
The presentation explores the theoretical foundations of narrative therapy, particularly social construction, and developmental, philosophical, ethical, and post-structural traditions. NT addresses the therapeutic position referred to as “de-centered and influential,” which respects “client’s, patient’s, person’s” local knowledge that is often obscured or subjugated when placed alongside normative discourse often reproduced in cultural and professional knowledge claims.
As a result of this session, participants will be able to:
- We will explore and critique the context of epistemologies and knowledge that give rise to what is "normative" for our students. We will do so through think-pair-shares and group discussions using Narrative Therapy practices.
- Narrative Therapy explores the power-dynamics that are implicit in each discourse and interaction, as well as the roles which we play in larger systems.
- The aforementioned frameworks and ways of approaching questions.
Presenter: Heather DuBois, Assistant Professor of Peace Studies, Trauma, and Spirituality; Clough School of Theology and Ministry
Mitigating trauma is a communal responsibility. This session introduces trauma and a socio-ecological approach to its prevention and healing. Activities include reflection on spiritual and ethical resources in attendees' lives and organizational contexts.
As a result of this session, participants will be able to: Define trauma; list trauma-informed principles; and imagine their university roles as part of a trauma-informed ecology. Attendees will also be able to reflect on the importance of spirituality and ethics in fostering trauma-informed cultures.