Teaching on campus and off
Tim McCarthy ’93 doesn’t get much sleep. There are tasks to do, things to write, people to see. Whether on campus or off, often he is greeting and hugging someone. His phone is usually buzzing, and he hardly has time to recuperate from a cold. “I live my life at a pretty breathless pace,” he said. “You only get one shot at this!” His one shot has been pretty productive so far. Raised in a boisterous, working-class, Irish-Italian Catholic family, McCarthy said the focus then was on “being your brother’s keeper, your sister’s keeper, your neighbor’s keeper.” That ethos “animated my family and dominated my childhood.” McCarthy has been involved in the community for as long as he can remember. As a Harvard College student, he worked with the First-Year Urban Program, the Phillips Brooks House Association, and in local schools. That commitment to helping others and to social justice has defined his life...