November 16, 2011
As a professor of business law at St. John’s University, Joyce
Boland-DeVito ‘81SVC delights in teaching students from around the
world. She is especially impressed by the way international
students adapt to life in a new city and nation.
Prof. Boland-DeVito’s admiration for those students grew this
past summer, when she was immersed in the life and culture of
another country. Thanks to a Fulbright
Specialist Grant, Prof. Boland-DeVito, who teaches in the
College of Professional Studies (CPS), spent two weeks at the
Law School of the National
University of Ireland at Galway (NUI Galway).
Mentoring law students and learning the nuances of the Irish
legal system, she experienced what it was like to be a newcomer to
a foreign land. True, her hosts spoke English (though Gaelic also
is spoken in Western Ireland), but there were enough differences to
make those two weeks challenging.
“I’ve always appreciated the challenges my international
students face,” said Prof. Boland-DeVito. “But it was eye-opening
to experience some of them myself. My hosts were extraordinarily
gracious, but at times I still found myself walking on the wrong
side of the road, trying to figure out where to buy food and
necessities.”
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The experience also enhanced her global perspective on law and
education. “On the one hand, you come to realize the similarities
in our legal systems,” said Prof. Boland-DeVito. “Students
mentioned cases I know well. But there were twists — for example,
in Ireland, blasphemy is still listed as a legal offense.”
Prof. Boland-DeVito worked closely with Prof.
Marie McGonagle, Director of the LL.M. in Public Law at NUI
Galway. “I couldn’t have asked for a better Fulbright experience,”
she said. “Marie is an internationally known author of media and
communications law. I’ve used her research in the past. It was
wonderful to meet and work with her, and everyone at Galway.”
The timing also was right for meeting other Irish notables —
including Michael D.
Higgins, the President-Elect; Maire
Whelan, the Attorney General; and David McRedmond, Chief
Executive of TV3. “I just happened
to be there when they were on hand for the Council of the Bar
(Ireland’s barristers’ organization),” Prof. Boland-DeVito
explained.
Her Fulbright experience, said Prof. Boland-DeVito, was possible
thanks to the support of Kathleen Vouté MacDonald, Ed.D., Dean of
CPS, and Almerinda Forte, Ph.D., Professor of Economics and Chair,
Division of Administration and Economics. “They were very
supportive—even convincing me that now was the time to apply for
the grant,” said Prof. Boland-DeVito.
Prof. Boland-DeVito has been teaching at St. John’s for 25
years. Originally an adjunct, she left a position in corporate
counsel to join the faculty full-time. She earned her bachelor’s
degree in communications at St. John’s, her M.B.A. at Hofstra
University and her J.D. and LL.M. degrees at Fordham
University.
She was an undergraduate at St. John’s when she met her husband,
Vincent DeVito ‘82SVC. A Studio Producer at CBS Sports, he has won seven
Emmy Awards.
Prof. Boland-DeVito values the opportunity to share her
Fulbright experiences with her students. “It’s a privilege to teach
at St. John’s,” she said. “I look forward to coming to work every
day.