玛丽E. 沃尔什—namesake of the Lynch School of Education and Human Development’s Center for Thriving 孩子们—is this year’s recipient of the Saint Robert Bellarmine, S.J., Award in recognition of her exemplary career and significant contributions that have consistently and purposefully advanced the mission of 电子游戏软件.
玛丽沃尔什 (Caitlin Cunningham)
沃尔什, who was the Daniel E. Kearns Professor in Urban Education and Innovative Leadership at the Lynch School until she retired from teaching, received the faculty honor from University President William P. 莱希,年代.J., at the University Commencement Exercises on May 22. She is the fourth recipient of the award, named for the Italian cardinal, influential professor, one of the leading figures in the Counter-Reformation.
Drawing from research in child development and learning, 沃尔什, a clinical developmental psychologist and BC faculty member since 1989, has advanced a path-breaking, evidence-based “whole child” approach to supporting students in school. 在她的领导下, the 沃尔什 Center and its signature initiative, 城市连接, have grown to annually serve 50,000 students in public, 宪章, Catholic schools in Massachusetts and other states, 以及都柏林, 爱尔兰.
“We are thrilled that 玛丽沃尔什 and her extraordinary work are being recognized with this prestigious University award. She and the 城市连接 team exemplify a powerful blend of first-rate research brought into practice for the benefit of others, exactly the kind of work that we aim to do at the Lynch School and 电子游戏软件. ”
She recently retired from teaching but has continued as the executive director of 城市连接, the 沃尔什 Center for Thriving 孩子们.
“We are thrilled that 玛丽沃尔什 and her extraordinary work are being recognized with this prestigious University award,斯坦顿说.F. Wortham, the Charles F. 多诺万,年代.J., Dean of the Lynch School. “She and the 城市连接 team exemplify a powerful blend of first-rate research brought into practice for the benefit of others, exactly the kind of work that we aim to do at the Lynch School and 电子游戏软件.”
城市连接, an intervention that 沃尔什 and her Boston Public School colleagues launched in 2001 within schools serving predominantly under-resourced neighborhoods and families, has demonstrated gains in academic achievement and student success by effectively addressing both the in- and out-of-school needs of students. Her focus on improving education for urban school students emanated from her initial research with homeless children and families, a formative experience that identified and linked the harmful impact of out-of-school challenges on students’ academic performance. 城市连接 has become one of the nation’s leading networks for connecting students in high-needs urban schools with the resources required to thrive.
Through an anonymous $10 million gift, the Center for Optimized Student Support was renamed the 玛丽E. 沃尔什 Center for Thriving 孩子们 in February 2022, to honor its founder.
“三十年来, 玛丽沃尔什 has been building an exceptional program that is improving the lives of tens of thousands of children,” said Wortham at the renaming event. “She conceptualized it, 为它筹集资金, commissioned research that shows it is both successful and cost-effective. Her consistent focus on developing the whole child fits wonderfully with the BC formative education mission."沃尔什 has published and presented widely in the area of school-community supports for students and their families, written or co-written three books: 孩子们, Health and Learning; Meeting at the Hyphen: Schools-Universities-Communities-Professions in Collaboration for Student Achievement and Well-Being, Moving to Nowhere: 孩子们’s Stories of Homelessness.
沃尔什 earned a bachelor’s degree from the Catholic University of America, a master’s degree in developmental psychology and a doctorate in clinical-developmental psychology from Clark University, from which she received an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 2005.
She began her academic career as a lecturer at Assumption College and Clark University, then served as clinical and research consultant and an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at Regis College, before joining the BC faculty.
Phil Gloudemans| University Communications | May 2023