 Fr. Neenan shares his favorites on his "Dean´s List."
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Rev. William Neenan, SJ came to Boston College 22 years ago as the dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, after 14 years as an economics professor at the University of Michigan and one year at BC as the visiting Gasson professor. Once as dean, Neenan addressed incoming freshmen and told them that BC had "spent a lot of money buying books to fill the library, you might read a couple while you're here," and then mentioned a few books they might find appealing. The next day it was suggested that he put out a list of recommended books, to be called the Dean's List.
Such are the origins of Neenan's Dean's List, a tradition that has persisted for 22 years and that many of you might remember hanging on your refrigerator door as your parents nagged you about it. The Dean's List has maintained some constants over the years as it has remained a constant during freshman orientation. The number of books, 27 or "three cubed, a mystical number," has stayed the same. Some books have remained constant as well, such as The Fall by Albert Camus, which Neenan feels is a good example of the struggle of those who see themselves as alone on God's earth. Other books have a briefer stay, such as Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscut: An American Legend, which was on last year's list only because of external pressure. Neenan admits to "a lot of pressure" from outside sources as the creator of the Dean's List, although it does lead him to receive several books without any legwork on his part.
The only guideline which informs Neenan's choices is what he likes, which leads to "not necessarily great books - no poetry, no Shakespeare," but definitely to several good reads. Furthermore, while the wide range of his choices' themes and settings are not a conscious reflection of the breadth of the Jesuit education, they are the manifestation "of one Jesuit's education." The variety of his choices include David McCullough's biography, Truman, a love story set in 14th century Norway, Kristin Lavransdatter, and Simon Winchester's River at the Center of the World, a travelogue along the Yangtze River with some reflections on Chinese history.
Personal experiences also affect Neenan's selections. The droll travails of the young academic in Lucky Jim resonated with Neenan's own life as a young academic at Michigan, although the real life had perhaps a touch less ribaldry. James Agee's A Death in the Family, which recounts a family's, and especially a young boy's, response to the accidental death of the father, recalled Neenan's own memories of his grandfather's death. He also hopes that Wallace Stegner's Collected Short Stories will receive attention it might not otherwise receive from students, for its humor, and that those grappling with St. Augustine in their classes will visit the brief life of the saint by Garry Wills.
The Dean's List represents Neenan's belief that "reading should be an end to its own" and that one's journey in life "is enhanced by literature ... it expands our imagination." He continued that "the goal of Jesuit education is to make one free, and in order to be free, one must see there are options," and that goal is made even closer through the extensive subjects and voices of literature. While these sentiments explain Neenan's own love of reading, the Dean's List itself is the response to the question, "Have you read a good book lately?" Perhaps those who come across the Dean's List will ask the same of themselves.
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