EMERITUS PROFESSOR SALLY CASSIDY DIES
Sally Whelan Cassidy, a professor in the Sociology Department from the early 1970s through the early 1990s, passed away at her home in Chestnut Hill on June 10. Cassidy received the PhD degree from the University of Chicago in 1959, with a dissertation titled, “Some Aspects of Lay Leadership.” Cassidy and long-time friend Paule Verdet (also BU Sociology Professor Emeritus) had lived in France and French Canada and were active in resistance and left-Catholic circles before entering the University of Chicago in the 1950s as part of a pioneer generation of women. In her time at BU, Cassidy taught and wrote about sociological methods, believing that learning methods could be an part of a general education, not just an esoteric exercise for specialists. After her retirement, she spent time painting and teaching painting, and in 2007, she and one of her pupils, James Teele (another BU Sociology Professor Emeritus), hosted a showing of their work in the Department.
Funeral services will be held Friday, June 15, at 11:00 at Sacred Heart Parish, 1321 Centre Street, Newton Centre, MA. In lieu of flowers – the family asks that donations be made to The Humane Society