News

Faculty News: December 2021

Written by Karen L. Bystrom
December 7, 2021

Faculty

Ken Allan, PhD, Associate Professor, Art History, gave his paper "Senga Nengudi, the Freeway, and the Fetish in 1970s Los Angeles" on a panel entitled "Urban Mobility and Spatial Resistances" at ASAP/12: Reciprocity--the annual conference of the Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present held virtually this year on October 27-30.  Dr. Allan serves as a board member of ASAP as secretary and the paper is part of a larger project on race, representation, and infrastructure in Los Angeles.

Kathleen Cook, PhD, Professor and Chair, Psychology, talked about strategies for coping on KUOW’s Seattle Now podcast, “The Big dark and the big SAD are here.”

Rob Efird, Professor, Anthropology and Asian Studies, presented at the annual E3 Washington Conference with a panel of Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators on the theme of "The Earth is Our First Teacher: Integrating Since Time Immemorial". The panel discussed ways in which environmental education (and education about native plants in particular) dovetails with the Since Time Immemorial curriculum on Tribal history, culture, and sovereignty, which has been legally mandatory in Washington state K-12 public education since 2015.

Brooke Gialopsos, PhD, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics was appointed by the Lake Washington PTSA Council Board of Directors to the position of Lake Washington PTSA Council Emergency Preparedness Co-Chair position. She has also been appointed to serve as the Emergency Preparedness Chair at an elementary school in Lake Washington School District.

Elaine Gunnison, PhD, Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics, and Director, Master of Arts in Criminal Justice, and Jacqueline Helfgott, PhD, Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics and Director, Crime & Justice Research Center, are co-editors of the journal “Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society.” 

Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, PhD, Professor, Modern Languages and Women Gender, and Sexuality Studies, was recognized in WOW2, the sister blog to This Week in the War on Women. The purpose of WOW2 is to learn about and honor women of achievement, including many who’ve been ignored or marginalized in most of the history books, and to mark moments in women’s history. It also serves as a reference archive of women’s history.

She will give a presentation at Syracuse University on "Presumed Incompetent: Vol. II", on December 14, 2021. Recent appearances and workshops include:

  • September 21, Eastern Kentucky University Poetry Reading, Professor Jose Juan Gómez-Becerra, Library reading.
  • October 8, City of Issaquah, Poetry Reading with Raúl Sánchez and Rita Wirkala in celebration of "Hispanic Poetry Night."
  • October 24, "Poesía en Tránsito,” Revista Raíces (Literary Journal), Mexico.
  • October 26, Wyckoff Auditorium: "Días de Muertos: Portals," a presentation about the significance of the days of the dead, including a poetry reading of Chicanx/Latinx poetry, read by SU students.
  • November 5, Writing Workshop "La Cultura Cura, Culture Cures" for Pajaro Arts Council
  • November 11, UCMerced, Zoom Reading for the Chicanx Literary Archive with Manuel Martín Rodríguez

Tanya Hayes, PhD, Professor and Director, Institute of Public Service and Program Director, Environmental Studies, and Felipe Murtinho, PhD, Associate Professor and Director, International Studies, and Associate Appointments, Institute of Public Service and Environmental Studies, published an article in the journal, "Nature Sustainability", showcasing their research they have conducted over the past 12 years. "Effectiveness of payment for ecosystem services after loss and uncertainty of compensation" looks at the effectiveness of payments made to indigenous communities on the conditions that they conserve their ecosystems to provide carbon offsets, watershed protection, and other ecosystem services. The article is based on research we have conducted under two NSF grants (in addition to building on some SU and CEJS seed grants). The study examines what happens when payments start, and, when they unexpectedly stop. They find that payments can prompt sustained conservation behaviors, but caution that these behaviors need to be understood within the broader context. They also note the potential for detrimental economic impacts, particularly for poorer households, when payments stop.

Matthew Hickman, PhD, Professor and Chair, Criminal Justice, Criminology & Forensics, was quoted in “Officers found guilty of excessive force in Florida doesn't mean they lose certification” by First Coast News.

Audrey Hudgins, EdD, Clinical Associate Professor, Matteo Ricci Institute, attended the annual conference of the Jesuit Migration Network - Central America/North America (RJM-CANA), held virtually on November 15, 17, and 19, 2021. She also served on the analytical team for the forthcoming RJM-CANA annual report, Escenarios Migratorios 2021. The panel "Restrictions to Mobilities in a COVID-19 Era: Persistence, Resistance, and Human Rights in Central-North America" proposed by Audrey Hudgins and several colleagues from universities in the US and Mexico, was accepted into the Migration and Refugees track of the LASA2022 Hybrid Congress: Polarización socioambiental y rivalidad entre grandes potencias taking place May 5–8, 2022 in San Francisco, California.

Nalini Iyer, PhD, Professor, Department of English, and Theiline Pigott-McCone Endowed Chair (2020-2022), is featured in “Books: Notes on Pandemic Reading and Writing” on Khabar, one of the largest publications in the US to serve Indian Americans.

Sonora Jha, PhD, Associate Dean for Academic Community and Professor, Department of Communication and Media, was invited to be a keynote speaker at University of Northern British Columbia's conference titled "Inspiring Women Among Us (IWAU)", an annual series of events and celebrations held at UNBC that lead up to the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women on December 6. The title of Dr. Jha's talk, held on Nov. 17, was “How Feminism May Save Our Boys and Men.” Dr. Jha was also a featured in-person author at the Portland Book Festival on Nov. 13, where she was interviewed before a live audience by journalist and activist Sarah Rothenfluch. Additionally, she was a featured author at the annual Novel Nights series that raises funds for Seattle's Hugo House and was interviewed by Washington State Book Award winner E. J. Koh.

Paul Kidder, PhD, Professor, Philosophy, will give a Zoom presentation for the Museum of History and Industry’s History Café on January 19 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., entitled “Minoru Yamasaki’s Place in Seattle Architectural History.” It will explore Yamaski’s University of Washington training, his influence on local architectural styles, his battle with Seattle preservationists, and the relationship between his Seattle buildings and his New York World Trade Center design.

Marco Lowe, MPA, Adjunct Faculty, Institute of Public Service, is quoted in the Seattle Met article, "What Happens If Kshama Sawant Is Recalled?" He also appears in “A look at how fear drives American politics” on New Day NW.

Kira Mauseth, PhD, Senior Instructor, Psychology, will lead a forum on teen mental health in the pandemic with students and other school participants in Eastern Washington on December 7. She also discussed the neuroscience behind our motivations and behaviors during a disaster, and how the way our brains respond can influence our experience as well as promote recovery and resilience. “Anatomy of a Disaster” for the Columbia Basin Badger Club.

Quinton Morris, DMA, Director, Chamber and Instrumental Music; Associate Professor, Performing Arts and Arts Leadership; Associate Appointment, African and African American Studies, announced his retirement from public performance in an interview with KIRO TV. "There are so many things I want to do as an artist...I've got to really focus on what's most important and what my legacy will be after I'm gone." His new radio show on KING FM, "Unmute the Voices," celebrates BIPOC artists and his nonprofit, Key to Change, supports underserved youth through world-class music instruction. Currently on sabbatical from Seattle U, he returns to the classroom next September. "I love seeing my students excel in the classroom as well as on stage."

Kathleen Pape, PsyD, Lecturer, Psychology, authored a chapter entitled: “Emerging into a world of understanding: A hermeneutic exploration of perinatal mood disorders and clinical practice” in the book Hermeneutic Approaches to Interpretive Research: Dissertations in a Different Key.  She and the book’s co-authors presented at the 2021 Psychology & the Other Conference through Boston College in September. 

Stephen Rice, PhD, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics, and his research, are mentioned in “Is the fear factor overblown in police shootings?” in the Salt Lake City Tribune.

Carmen Rivera, MA, Criminal Justice, Criminology & Forensics, was elected to the Renton City Council and sworn in on November 30. She is featured in "Progressives Make Impressive Gains in South King County" on Times News Network.

Jeannette Rodriguez, PhD, Professor: Theology and Religious Studies and Couple and Family Therapy, and Director, Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, presented “When the Clan Mothers Stand: Interreligious Dialogue and Liberation in Colonial North America” at the AAR American Academy of Religion in “Society for Hindu-Christian Studies” and the theme, “Indigeneity and Colonization in Hindu-Christian Studies.” The diverse legacies of Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial powers in India deeply inform the practice of Hindu-Christian Studies as a scholarly discipline. Less commonly explored are themes of colonization, assimilation, and the subjugation of Indigenous peoples as they manifest in both European Christianity and Sanskritic Hinduism. This panel attempts a comparative enquiry on these themes, in the contexts of India and North America. Panelists will focus on particular case studies of Christian and Hindu colonial and neocolonial programs, along with those decolonial spaces of resistance created by and/or with Indigenous peoples.

Patrick Schoettmer, PhD, Instructor, Political Science, hosted US Congressman Adam Smith in his “Local and State Politics” class on Monday November 22, 2021.  The Congressman and students engaged in lively discussions about how the U.S. government works.

Sharon Suh, PhD, Professor, Theology and Religious Studies, was an invited speaker and facilitator of a workshop on Embodied Mindfulness and Self Care Practice at the national United Methodist Women's Soul Care Retreat for Change Makers (Nov. 2021). Her book, "Occupy This Body: A Buddhist Memoir," was featured at an Author Meets Critics panel at the American Academy of Religion where she served as respondent (Nov 2021). She will deliver the keynote address at Pacific Lutheran University's Biennial Symposium on Healing in Spring 2022 on "Trauma-Informed Healing for Individual and Collective Trauma."

Kirsten Moana Thompson, PhD, Professor and Director, Film Studies, Kirsten Moana Thompson has just been appointed to the “Color in Motion” Advisory Board for the newly built Academy of Motion Pictures Museum, Los Angeles. The exhibition “Color in Motion” has been funded by a Getty Award 2021-2022 and will be created at the museum in 2024.

Charles M. Tung, PhD, Professor and Chair, English, gave a lecture, “H. G. Wells’ World Brain, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s Noosphere, and the University at the End of the World,” on Nov. 23, 2021, Georgetown University.  The event was sponsored by Georgetown’s Future of the Humanities Project, its Humanities Initiative, and its Master’s Program in the Engaged and Public Humanities, as well as Campion Hall and Blackfriars Hall at the University of Oxford.