News

Faculty News: September 2021

Written by Karen L. Bystrom
September 30, 2021

Pete Collins, PhD, Associate Professor, and Brooke Gialopsos, PhD, Assistant Professor, both in Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics, published a report for Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts entitled “An exploration of barriers to responding to jury summons.”

Serena Cosgrove, PhD, Associate Professor, International Studies, and her co-author, Ben Curtis, are happy to share the news that the updated and revised, second edition of their textbook, "Understanding global poverty: Causes, solutions, and capabilities", has been published by Routledge. Audrey Hudgins, EdD, Clinical Associate Professor, Matteo Ricci Institute, contributed to a chapter titled “Migration and poverty reduction: Balancing human security and national security.”

Elizabeth Dale, PhD, Interim Director and Associate Professor, Nonprofit Leadership was interviewed for these stories:

Angelique Davis, JD, Associate Professor, Political Science, on NBC News' "Stay Tuned," their Snapchat news show, talking about the controversy around critical race theory.

Anna Farina, PhD, Assistant Professor, Social Work, is quoted in “Can A Court Victory Provide Refuge For Foster Youth?

Maureen Emerson Feit, PhD, Director and Assistant Professor, Nonprofit Leadership, worked with Taylor Coats, a recent MNPL graduate, and Jack Brandon Philips of Tarleton State to gain greater insight into the role that community organizations played in addressing a potential undercount in U.S. Census 2020. Read the article.

She was also selected to participate in the 2021 ARNOVA/Independent Sector Symposium for Public Policy and Nonprofits in September. The Symposium will focus on nonprofit engagement in voting, equity, democratic participation, and election reform. In their commentary, Dr. Feit and her colleague Dr. Jack Brandon Philips will argue for an expanded understanding of the role that community organizations play in voter participation, centering the social capital and labor that staff of color contribute as they engage constituents in democratic processes and pushing the boundaries of the theory of nonprofits and civic engagement to actively engage the history of the U.S. as a racialized democracy.

Brooke Gialopsos, PhD, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics was a keynote speaker at the Campus Security & Life Safety Virtual Summit in July 2021. She and co-authors presented “Countering the media narrative: Positive outcomes of an active assailant protocol.” 

Kimberly Harden, EdD, Instructor, Communication and Media, published “The Allyship Challenge,” an on-the-job guide for those who have an uneasy sense that racial justice must be served but don’t know what to do. The question she answers is: What can we do to evoke justice in the context of the workplace—the realm where we’re most likely to meet others with backgrounds different from our own?

Jacqueline Helfgott, PhD, Professor, Criminal Justice and Director, Crime & Justice Research Center, is quoted in the Crosscut article, "Unions warn of ‘mass exodus’ over city of Seattle vaccine mandate.”

Matthew Hickman, PhD, Professor and Chair, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics was interviewed for:

Audrey Hudgins, EdD, Clinical Associate Professor, Matteo Ricci Institute, and Guillermo Yrizar Barbosa, Ibero Puebla, published a review of the book, The deportation machine: America’s long history of expelling immigrants by Adam Goodman, in the June-July edition of "Mitologías hoy: Revista de pensamiento, crítica y estudios literarios latinoamericanos," a bi-annual, bi-lingual interdisciplinary journal of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona that seeks to inform the current debate on the Latin American experience by drawing on literary, theoretical, and cultural perspectives. Read it here. 

Also, with two Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla colleagues, Guillermo Yrizar and Elena Ayala, she presented a paper, “’Tenemos una vida de perros’: Separación de familias migrantes en tránsito durante la pandemia en Puebla“ at the international conference, Seminario de Migracion y Ciudadanías: Poderes Móviles en Centro - Norte América, hosted by the University of Guanajuato on July 5, 2021. The session was recorded on Facebook Live and can be viewed here.

Michael Jaycox, PhD, Associate Professor, Theology and Religious Studies, is part of a three-day colloquium addressing Catholic perspectives on criminal justice reform. The workshops and public lectures include leading scholars examining how Catholic tradition and social thought might inform the challenges confronting today’s American criminal justice system. Professor Jaycox will be joined by Professors Hershella Conyers (University of Chicago Law School), Michael Scott (Arizona State University), and Tobias Winright (Saint Louis University). More information and registration for this online discussion is here.

Nalini Iyer, PhD, Professor, Department of English, and the Theiline Pigott-McCone Endowed Chair (2020-2022), is the Editor-in-Chief for South Asian Review, which is now being indexed by Scopus. Her work as Editor is supported with a course release from English/CAS. When she started as Editor, the journal had just moved to being published by Taylor and Francis after nearly 40 years of being a print only and niche society publication. This recognition by Scopy marks the journal’s international impact. The journal currently has 16k annual downloads and a 17% acceptance rate per Taylor and Francis metrics. Scopus uniquely combines a comprehensive, expertly curated abstract and citation database with enriched data and linked scholarly literature across a wide variety of disciplines.

Sonora Jha, PhD, Associate Dean for Academic Community and Professor, Communication and Media, was invited to speak on a panel of senior researchers and administrators for The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication's Workshop "Women Faculty Moving Forward: Leading the Future of Academia," held virtually on Wednesday, August 4, 2021. The workshop was part of the AEJMC's annual convention and was designed to help junior women faculty move forward in their careers through mentoring, networking and preparing for tenure and promotion and administration and leadership positions.

She also taught a 6-day workshop titled "Discovering and Deepening Your Story," at Hollyhock Learning Centre on Cortes Island, British Columbia, Aug, 28-Sept. 2. "Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of Covid-19," in which she had an essay (titled Alone and Awash in Desire) and Dr. Serena Chopra had a poem (titled Seduction, After Fruit & Mercy), has won the Washington State Book Award in the "General Non-Fiction" category.

Paul Kidder, PhD, Professor, Philosophy, presented a virtual talk on his book, “Minoru Yamasaki and the Fragility of Architecture” on Zoom on September 7, in partnership with Elliott Bay Books. The video will soon be available. He was interviewed about the book by Crosscut: “Remembering the Seattle architect who built the World Trade Center.” He also published “The Man Who Designed The World Trade Center’s Twin Towers” with Post Alley.

Leilani Lewis, MNPL, Adjunct Faculty, Nonprofit Leadership, and public art consultant on the Jackson Apartments Art Walk, was interviewed for “A wave of Black art rises in Seattle’s Central District” on Crosscut.

Yitan Li, PhD, published a co-authored book (with Scott Gartner, Chin-Hao Huang, and Patrick James), “Identity in the Shadow of a Giant: How the Rise of China is Changing Taiwan” with the Bristol University Press. This book investigates the implications of the global ascent of China on cross-Strait relations and the identity of Taiwan as a democratic state. Examining an array of factors that affect identity formation, the authors consider the influence of the rapid military and economic rise of China on Taiwan’s identity. Their assessment offers valuable insights into which policies have the best chance of resulting in peaceful relations and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and builds a new theory of identity at elite and mass levels. It also possesses implications for the United States-led world order and today’s most critical great power competition.  This book is published at a crucial time juncture of cross-Strait relations. On the one hand, tensions between the United States and China continue to rise. On the other hand, with the chaotic withdrawal of the United States from the 20-year-war in Afghanistan, one wonders if the United States would ever effectively come to Taiwan’s defense if cross-Strait relations deteriorate into conflict. This book is a timely reminder for how volatile cross-Strait relations can be and how important the effects of a rising China are on Taiwan’s identity and cross-Strait relations.

Marco Lowe, MPA, Adjunct Faculty, Institute of Public Service, was interviewed for

Kira Mauseth, PhD, Senior Instructor, Psychology, was interviewed for

Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, PhD, Professor, Modern Languages and Cultures and Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies performed her commissioned poem, “Homeland” for "Chile Mole Pozole.” Another commissioned poem  was performed by the theatre company "Teatro Visión." “In Xóchitl, in Cuícatl: Floricanto, Cien año de poesía chicanx/latinx (1920-2020)” her anthology, published bilingually in Spain. launched in the United States. It includes 66 Chicanx/Latinx poets and represents the last one hundred years, 1920-2020.  There is no other anthology like this one, with introductions for each literary period covered by the anthology. Readings included one in Santa Cruz County at the renowned Henry Mello Center, with about half the poets reading. Poets arrived from all parts of the US, including alumni from New York, Aldo U. Reséndiz; Seattle, Carlos Sibaja-García; and Veronica Eldrege from San José, who designed the cover of the anthology.

Wingate Packard, MA, Adjunct Faculty, English, reviewed Ruth Ozeki’s fourth novel, “The Book of Form and Emptiness,” for the Seattle Times.

Christopher Paul, PhD, Professor, Communication, was interviewed for the Vice story, “The Addictive Allure of Gacha Games Comes for Everyone Eventually.”

Carmen Rivera, MA, Full Time Faculty/Lecturer, Criminal Justice, Criminology & Forensics  was interviewed by Crosscut for  "In WA, incarcerated students are ‘left behind and left out.” She is also running for Renton City Council and was feature in The South Seattle Emerald, “Will Local Governments Reflect The Changing Demographics Of South King County?

Christina Roberts, PhD, Director, Indigenous Peoples Institute; Associate Director, Matteo Ricci Institute; and Associate Professor, English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, supported SU ECE professor Henry Louie in his application for the recent  NSF research grant he received to improve the use of off-grid solar electricity on Native American reservations. The project is a collaborative effort with Navajo Technical University.

Alexandra Smith, PhD, Seattle U English and Seattle University Writing Center, was one of the experts consulted for this U.S. News and World Report article, "3 Academic Writing Tips for International Students."

Randall Souza, PhD, Assistant Professor, History, was elected Vice-President of the Puget Sound Society of the Archaeological Institute of America, which sponsors a number of lectures every year as well other activities including, this year, an International Archaeology Day event at the Burke Museum on October 23. In July with his coauthor Alex Walthall he published an article ("Sortition in Hellenistic Sicily: New Archaeological Evidence from Sicily," American Journal of Archaeology 125.3: 361-390), which identifies a pair of small objects inscribed with names as lots for random selection, and proposes a connection with the distribution of land to new citizens during a period of migration and mobile populations.

Sharon Suh, PhD, Professor, Theology and Religious Studies, is the new president of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women, considered by many the most important organization for Buddhist women in the world. Read about her selection here.

John Trafton, PhD, Film Studies, presented “An Appetite for Film: Food in the Movies” for Humanities Washington and Scarecrow Video. The online presentation explored the complex relationship between food and film throughout history, and how this relationship continues to impact our cultural landscape.

Brittany Heintz Walters, PhD, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, was awarded the American Society of Biomechanics 2021 Junior Faculty Research Award. Heintz’s research focuses on understanding neuromuscular changes associated with movement impairments in healthy older adults and patient populations. This project will evaluate the performance of a soft robot for hand rehabilitation (developed by Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Yen-Lin Han) as a critical step toward improving hand motor function and quality of life in stroke survivors.