At this year鈥檚 Commencement Exercises, University President William P. Leahy, S.J, presented the inaugural Saint Robert Bellarmine, S.J., Award to Thomas F. Rattigan Professor of English and Director of the Institute for the Liberal Arts Mary Crane.
The award, named for Saint Robert Bellarmine, S.J., a cardinal and influential Jesuit professor, will be given each year at Commencement to honor a distinguished 艾可直播member whose significant contributions have consistently and purposefully advanced the mission of 艾可直播 College.
"It's wonderful that 艾可直播 College has instituted the Saint Robert Bellarmine, S.J., Award to recognize a 艾可直播member during the Commencement ceremony each year," said Crane. "Both the ILA and Core Renewal have succeeded only because of the dedication of countless BC 艾可直播to research, teaching, and the university mission, so it's great that 艾可直播effort and initiative will now be recognized annually. I was honored to be the first to receive the award."
Crane, an English Department 艾可直播member since 1986 and former chair of the department, is an eminently respected teacher and Shakespearean scholar who is dedicated to her students, her scholarly field of English Renaissance literature and culture, and the 艾可直播 College community. The author of three books and numerous scholarly articles, she is internationally recognized for her pioneering work spanning intellectual history, the history of science and technology, and cognitive literary theory.
Under her leadership, the Institute for the Liberal Arts has deepened the quality of student-艾可直播exchange, fostered innovative programs that enhance the intellectual life of the University, and organized seminars and symposia that bring together 艾可直播from different disciplines around shared topics of interest. It is a tangible example of the University鈥檚 commitment to liberal arts education.
As a co-chair of the Core Renewal Project and a member of the University Core Renewal Committee since 2015, she has worked tirelessly to revitalize and strengthen the core curriculum at 艾可直播 College.
鈥揔athleen Sullivan | University Communications | May 21, 2018