Fall 2021

Message from the Dean

Arts and Sciences Dean David V. Powers, PhDDear Arts and Sciences Alumni and Friends,

The College of Arts & Sciences is almost completely back on campus and in-person this fall. Many people saw each other in person for the first time in 18 months and welcomed the freshmen and sophomores for their first on-campus classes.

Kudos to all of our community members for the hard work they have done to get back on to campus and into the classrooms. Faculty, students, and staff have been very good about following safety protocols, getting vaccinated (over 96% and very few exemption requests) and are happy to be back. We do move to online classes after Thanksgiving, to ensure our community's safety.

Through the hard work of restarting, our faculty, staff, alumni, and students have moved on to some amazing accomplishments. You’ll see how one student (now an alum) and a faculty member worked together with Northwest Harvest on ways to improve nutrition education. You’ll see a host of events, many of which you can access remotely, if you like.

We would love your support in reconnecting with students in Winter Quarter. We plan to return to an in-person LinkUp event Wednesday January 26. Information about our annual student and alumni mentoring event is below and, if you are able, we would be grateful for your participation. We will, of course, be following all Seattle U COVID safety protocols in place at that time.

Thank you for your continued support and enjoy our fall newsletter.

David V. Powers, PhD
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences


In This Issue

Sharing Power, Building Community

When Jasmine Waland, (BA, Sociology and Humanities for Teaching, minor in Psychology, ‘19) helped organize a social justice dialogue that was part of year-long teach-in series created by the (then) Anthropology, Sociology, and Social Work Department*, she did not anticipate that it would lead to co-publishing “Sharing Power, Building Community: Strategies for Improving Nutrition Education at Food Pantries,” a significant research project.

Report cover and images of Jasmine Waland, Lauren Titzer, and Mark Cohan“Sharing Power, Building Community” is the result of a collaboration between Mark Cohan, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair of Seattle University’s Department of Anthropology and Sociology; Laura Titzer, Community Initiatives Manager, Northwest Harvest; and Waland. Based on interviews with food pantry customers and professionals working in the emergency food system, the report identifies how customers and professionals, each in their own way, believe that food pantries and the larger emergency food system (EFS) can be transformed to be a force for food justice.

Waland worked on the 2018 social justice dialogue, which was designed to examine food insecurity and how it comes about in communities. Students had the opportunity to engage in conversation with those who worked directly with people experiencing food insecurity. “I talked with Laura, in her role at Northwest Harvest,” said Jasmine. “I had so many questions, asking her, as a white fem in this work, how does race come into play, how she viewed the root causes of food insecurity, what role a non-profit plays in combating food injustices, and so much more. I learned a lot from Laura and quickly recognized she’d done a lot to unpack her own privileges and how they impacted the work she did.”

Not long after the event, Cohan approached Waland about joining a research project about food insecurity, a collaboration with a community organization. She was surprised. “I was so new to the topic of food insecurity, so early in my own learning journey,” she said. “I had never thought about being a researcher. I immediately said yes.” It was then that she learned that Titzer would be the community partner for the project and felt that it had come full circle.

Cohan and Titzer had worked together on an earlier class project. “In that class, the students helped produce a video about food banks that Northwest Harvest used to promote an annual conference,” he says. “After that, Laura and I decided we wanted to continue to collaborate, she raised the issue of nutrition education at food banks, we started working on the design for a research project, and the rest is history.”

“Mark asked me to participate in a social justice event at SU and I happily accepted. I remember the students present being very engaged and one person who was very curious about the emergency food system and white saviorism,” says Titzer. “Her curiosity and social justice focus were a force to be reckoned with and I found myself happily engaged in conversation with her. I still remember talking about this student to my colleagues and partner because I was so impressed with the critical questions and conversation. Later, when Mark and I were planning out this research project, he said he already had in mind a student to join the project. It turned out to be Jasmine, the same woman I had that terrific conversation with. I felt that the project was aligning in just the right ways. “Working with the experience that Cohan brought and the passion and skills that Waland brought created a research team that went beyond the report and into friendship. Says Titzer, “I value the time I got to spend and learn from both. In my role I’ve worked with many student interns over a variety of projects, and this was by far the longest giving credit to Jasmine’s passion and values when she had so much going on in her accelerated life after college. The value that working with a university brought cannot be undermined and concretized the importance of having a diverse team such as ours each bringing our own unique lens to the work while each appreciating and holding space for what the other was bringing.”

A montage of photos of students and alumni at LinkUp 2019LinkUp 2022

We are excited to announce that the College of Arts and Sciences annual mentoring and networking event LinkUp 2022 will be in person. (with COVID safety measures in place)

Save the Date:  Wednesday, Jan. 26th, 2022, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Student Center. More details and registration available soon here. You may also contact Amy Lonn-O’Brien, Professional Formation Coordinator, by email or at .206-296-2840

LinkUp is a virtual, low-key, networking event that connects College of Arts and Sciences students with our alumni and friends of the College.  At our last in-person event, 70 undergraduate students, six graduate students and 53 mentors participated.

Back to Table of Contents


Celebrate the Holiday Season with SU Choirs

Blue sky with stars and text about concertPremiering December 4 at 7:30 p.m., on their YouTube channel. Seattle University Choirs present All is Bright, a seasonal celebration in song and word with Dr. Leann Conley-Holcom, Director, and Dr. Lee Peterson, Assistant Director and Pianist. Featuring University Chorale, Chamber Singers & University Singers.

You can watch last year's holiday programming, too.

Interested in performing with Seattle Choirs?

New singers are welcomed into the Seattle University Choirs at the beginning of each quarter. Auditions are required for University Chorale & Chamber Singers; University Singers does not require an audition and is open to students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members. Reach out to Dr. Leann Conley-Holcom, Director of Choral Activities, by email to get involved.

Back to Table of Contents


Events: Upcoming and On Video

Cover of book and photo of Dr. Yitan LiIdentity in the Shadow of a Giant: How the Rise of China is Changing Taiwan, with co-author Yitan Li, PhD, Associate Professor, Political Science

November 30, 12:30-1:25 p.m.

Identity in the Shadow of the Giant: How the Rise of China is Changing Taiwan 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, Dr. Li, Associate Professor of the Political Science Department, director of the Asian Studies Program at Seattle University, and editor of the Journal of Chinese Political Science, will discuss how the authors, Scott Gartner, Chin-Hao Huang, Yitan Li and Patrick James, consider the influence of the rapid military and economic rise of China on Taiwan’s identity.

Now Available: Recent Events on Video

You can find the recordings of the recent events on our Arts, Events and Lecture page.

Image with poster and grasses in the backgroundThe Indigenous People's Institute at Seattle University presented the Second Annual Honoring Indigenous Voices: Interweaving the work of Storytelling and its Relationship to Inner Growth on October 25. Our three panelists, yetaxwelwet (Anna Hansen), Kasey Nicholson, and Brooke Pinkham, led the discussion on intergenerational trauma; specifically surrounding mandated boarding schools and residential schools for First Nations and Native American youth in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Book cover with image of Judge Cordell and gavel in backgroundIn Her Honor: My Life on the Bench…What Works, What’s Broken and How to Change It, Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell provides a rare and thought-provoking insider account of our legal system, sharing vivid stories of the cases that came through her courtroom and revealing the strengths, flaws, and much-needed changes within our courts. Joining her in this conversation on October 26 was Judge Anita Crawford-Willis, a graduate of Seattle University and its Law School, Presented by Elliott Bay Book Company; Northwest African American Museum; and Seattle University College of Arts and Sciences, Criminal Justice, Criminology & Forensics Department; School of Law; and Black Law Student Association.

Photo of Tamiko Nimura and textDr. Nalini Iyer, Pigott-McCone Endowed Chair in the Humanities; Professor, English' and Associate Appointments in Asian Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and the English Department welcomed Dr. Tamiko Nimura, on October 26, who spoke about her recent book, We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration. This graphic novel about Japanese Americans is co-authored with Frank Abe and artists Ross Ishikawa and Matt Sasaki.

Photo of book cover and author Urayoán Noel

Susan Meyers, PhD, Associate Professor, English and Director, Creative Writing Program and Juan Reyes, MFA, Assistant Professor, English presented Virtual Transversal: Poetry & Performance by Urayoán Noel on October 20. The bilingual poetry event featured English/Spanish translations of the author's new book, "Transversal," recently released by the University of Arizona Press.

 

Images of event speakers over photo of tentOn October 19, the Institute of Public Service presented their Fall Quarter entry in their Conversations series, Homelessness: After All the Time and Effort, Why Is It Getting Worse? Panelists include: Marc Dones (they/them), CEO of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority; Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (she/her); Tiffani McCoy (she/her), advocacy director for Real Change News; and Jon Scholes (he/him), president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association. The event was moderated by Larry Hubbell, professor at Seattle University, and Joni Balter, contributing columnist and lecturer at SU.

Photo of Dr. Kira Mauseth and compass on a rocky beachA resilient workforce during these challenging times is more meaningful than ever. On October 7, Dr. Kira Mauseth, Psychology, shared Workplace Trends, Resources, and Strategies: Reopening, Reorienting, and Navigating Unknowns, Behavioral Health during COVID-19. Leaders and team members alike have unique opportunities to help others navigate their experiences while also taking care of themselves. Learn about behavioral health considerations and navigating the unknowns during recovery. The presentation includes information about the physical and neuro-chemical processes at work that influence our behavior in disaster recovery, strategies for improving healthy boundaries, self-efficacy, and active coping, and the PEACE model for active, practical resilience building.

Photos of Dr. Paul Kidder, book cover, and buildingsDr. Paul Kidder talked about his new book, Minoru Yamasaki and the Fragility of Architecture: A Conversation on October 7. Few figures in American arts have stories richer in irony than does architect Minoru Yamasaki. While his twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center are internationally iconic, few who know the icon recognize its architect’s name or know much about his work. One is tempted to call him America’s most famous forgotten architect. He was classed in the top tier of his profession in the 1950s and 60s, as he carried modernism in novel directions, yet today he is best known not for buildings that stand, but for two projects that were destroyed under tragic circumstances: the twin towers and the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis. Presented in partnership with Elliott Bay Book Company.

Find all of our event videos here.

Back to Table of Contents


News: College of Arts and Sciences Community

Play a Part in the Seattle University Christmas Greeting

The theme of SU’s 2021 Christmas video is “coming together to celebrate joy and inclusion” and Marketing Communications is looking for participants. Alumni and friends, you are invited to submit a video of yourself telling us in one sentence what your wish is for the holidays. Send submissions to Marcom2@seattleu.edu by November 22.


Students

Bree Calhoun, major in Communication and Media, Strategic Communication, and McKenzi Williams, Bachelor of Social Work Candidate, were both honored by the Western Athletic Conference preseason awards. Calhoun earned Preseason All-WAC Second Team in both coaches' and media voting, while Williams earned Second Team in the coaches' voting.

Amanda Feng, MFA'21 recently joined Future Arts (co-founded by MFA alum Debra Webb), bringing strategic marketing and social media acumen to our team of womxn-led creative disruptors.

Alumni

Toshiko Grace Hasegawa, BACJ '10 and MACJ ’19,  was elected to the Port of Seattle Commission.

Sonia Nelson, MFA ’16, was named the first Development Coordinator for Donkey Mill Art Center in Holualoa, Hawaii.

Janelle Simms, MFA ’16, joined SU Advancement as Assistant Director. Previously, she worked with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) where she served as a Development Manager, and an Associate Manager of Donor Relations, for the past four years. She also managed Tour de Cure—the ADA’s big giving-day style event—honing complex project and event management, volunteer coordination, and multi-channel marketing skills.

Melissa Stuart, MNPL ’15, was elected to the Redmond City Council.  As a nonprofit leader, Melissa has championed the well-being of kids and families in our region.

Stephanie Verdoia, Political Science, ’15, was interviewed for “Prepare, work hard, learn and grow: Life lessons learned by former Brighton athlete.” She was a award-winning SU soccer player and is now a lawyer with a Seattle firm.

Debra Webb, MFA'13 has co-founded Future Arts, a hybrid non-profit/creative agency bridging art, technology, and community. The mission of Future Arts is to unleash a pulse of togetherness that cultivates cultural and creative disturbances.

Charlotte West, History and International Studies, ’02, joined Open Campus in their first cohort of national reporters. She will cover the future of postsecondary education in prisons, writing in-depth stories, publishing a regular newsletter, and collaborating on projects with their Local Network of higher education reporters.

Faculty

Ken Allan, PhD, Associate Professor, Art History, published a review of “Black Refractions: Highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem” in College Art Association’s open-access online journal. The exhibition toured to Seattle’s Frye Museum this past summer.

John H. Armstrong, PhD, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies, published “Taking control to do more: how local governments and communities can enact ambitious climate mitigation policies,” in the Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning. While local governments have emerged as policy leaders on climate change, evidence indicates that many of the policies enacted do not significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study focuses on ambitious climate policymaking, examining the stakeholders involved and their concerns, including the role of local control. The study analyzes Community Choice Aggregation in California, an impactful climate policy that local governments have pursued throughout the state over the past decade. A qualitative-driven approach is used, including interviews with policymakers and stakeholders in five areas of the state that adopted the policy and two areas that voted against it. An interconnected effort of local elected officials and grassroots groups led the policymaking process, driven by concern about climate change and a desire for local control. Grassroots engagement can be critical in building support and coalitions for ambitious climate policies. Stakeholders and governments embraced local control to shape policies to match their priorities and achieve a variety of co-benefits.

Onur Bakiner, PhD, Associate Professor, Political Science, published an article titled “Truth Commission Impact on Policy, Courts, and Society” in the Annual Review of Law and Social Science.

Andrew G. Bjelland, Professor Emeritus, Philosophy, published “How can the American eagle fly on one wing?

Rebecca Cobb, PhD, LMFT, Assistant Clinical Professor and Clinical Coordinator, Couples and Family Therapy has been offered a book deal with Routledge for her proposal for an edited book on “The Therapist’s Notebook for Systemic Teletherapy: Creative Interventions for Effective Online Therapy.”

Kathleen Cook, PhD, Chair and Professor, Psychology, the primary investigator for NSF RED grant “Revolutionizing Engineering Education through Industry Immersion and a Focus on Identity,” presented Building Design Experience and a Greater Sense of Community through an Integrated Design Project at the Frontiers in Education conference in October. This work extends a paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) in June 2021, Making the “New Reality” More Real: Adjusting a Hands-On Curriculum for Remote Learning. The paper, Engineering with Engineers: Fostering Engineering Identity, was also presented at ASEE 2021.

Christie Eppler, PhD, LMFT, Program Director and Professor, Couples and Family Therapy, will present “Ultimate Mysteries in Systemic Therapy” at the virtual Systemic Family Therapy Conference, November 10 to 12. She presented “Meaningful Experiences of Relational Teletherapists during the Coronavirus” for Seattle University's Office of Sponsored Projects Lightening Talks on October 28.

Brooke Gialopsos, PhD, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics, co-authored a chapter entitled: “Fear of terrorism: Nature, reactions, and consequences” in the book “Theories of terrorism: Contemporary perspectives.”

Kimberly Harden, EdD, Instructor, Communication and Media, was interviewed by KIRO TV for “Gonzalez withdraws attack ad condemned as racist.

Jacqueline Helfgott, PhD, Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics, and Director, Crime & Justice Research Center, and William Parkin, PhD, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics, published an Op-Ed with Crosscut, “Seattle survey wants to know: How do you feel about public safety?

Audrey Hudgins, EdD, Clinical Associate Professor, Matteo Ricci Institute, presented her work on assessment in community-engaged learning contexts at the October 2021 Assessment Institute hosted by Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Her presentation, titled “Civic Identity Development in a Critical Service-Learning Context: (De)constructing identity, power, and privilege using the Civic-Minded Graduate Rubric 2.0,” was based on her 2020 article in the Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education. The session was moderated by Dr. Kristi Lee, SU College of Education. She also hosted Mexican colleagues Elena Ayala Gali, chair of the International Relations Department at Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla, and Fr. Alfredo Zepeda, SJ and Monica Cuetara of Radio Huayacocotla, for a 10-day visit to Washington state to begin the research design process for a bi-national project examining the experiences of H2A migrant workers in Wenatchee valley and the experiences of their families in Huayacocotla.

Marco Lowe, MPA, Adjunct Faculty, Institute of Public Service, was interviewed by KOMO 4 News for “Davison leads in race for Seattle City Attorney.”

Kira Mauseth, PhD, Senior Instructor, Psychology, spoke to Seattle Met for the article, “Some of Us Are in a Disaster Cascade.”

Alexander Mouton, MFA, Chair and Associate Professor, Art, Art History, and Design, was a 2020 King County Art Projects Grant recipient through 4Culture and was an SU 2020 Summer Faculty Fellowship recipient for his photobook project, To A Place in Time, Held Within Four Walls.

Christopher Paul, PhD, Professor, Communication, appeared on Twitch with Saffista, on “Theory Questing with Christopher Paul.”

James Risser, PhD, Professor, Philosophy, recently published several book chapters and articles. “The Task of Understanding in Arendt and Gadamer.” Arendt Studies, vol. 5 (2021); “Philosophical Hermeneutics, Language and the Communicative Event,” in The Cambridge Companion to Gadamer, 2nd revised ed., Cambridge University Press; “Poetry, Art, and the Arts,” in The Gadamerian Mind, Routledge; “Heraclitean Hermeneutics,” in Tidvatten: Festskrift till till Hans Ruin, Södertörn Philosophical Studies.

Carmen Rivera, MA, Criminal Justice, Criminology & Forensics, was elected to the Renton City Council. She was also interviewed for “King County Conservatives Discredit Progressive POC Candidates as ‘Defund’ Extremists” for the South Seattle Medium.

Patrick Schoettmer, PhD, Instructor, Political Science, was interviewed by KOMO 4 News for “Updated elections results show Bruce Harrell maintains strong lead over M. Lorena González.”

Kirsten Moana Thompson, PhD, Professor and Director, Film Studies, co-edited “Animation and Advertising,” with Malcolm Cook. The book received a commendation by the McLaren-Lambart Award for Best Scholarly Book in Animation Studies, Society for Animation Studies in October, 2021.  The Adjudication Committee said “ Animation and Advertising sets a new bar with the astonishing breadth of its historical and industrial scope, as well as the scholarly depth of its numerous individual case studies. The book definitively establishes a close and reciprocal relationship between animation and advertising, which has been woefully neglected by decades of scholarship in both fields.” The book also received the Honorable Mention for Best Edited Collection from the British Association for Film, Television and Screen Studies in April, 2021.

Charles M. Tung, PhD, Professor and Chair, English, co-organized the roundtable “Posthuman Scale and the Care to Come” and presented “Scenes of Instruction and Education in Deep Time” at the Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present Conference, Oct 27-30, 2021.  Tung was invited to participate in the media studies symposium Do Memes Think? at the Viceroy Chicago, sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Council at Indiana University, Bloomington, Nov. 4-6, 2021.

Sam Howe Verhovek, BA, Adjunct Faculty, Public Affairs and Environmental Studies, appeared at Town Hall Seattle on November 5 to discuss his book, “Invisible People: Stories of Lives at the Margins,” a tribute to the work of his friend and former colleague, the late Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Alex Tizon. Appearing with him in conversation was Tizon’s widow, Melissa Tizon.

Zachary D. Wood, PhD, Assistant Professor, Institute of Public Service, was interviewed by KOMO News for “Seattle U professor breaks down policy differences on homelessness in Seattle mayor race.” He is quoted in a national Reuters story, “Democratic cries to 'defund police' fade in U.S. mayoral races as crime surges.”  He was also elected to the Board of Directors of the Community Development Society, a 50-year-old professional association of community development scholars and practitioners.

Support Seattle U College of Arts and Sciences

Save the date: Seattle U Gives, February 24, 2022

Your gift of time, know-how, or financial support helps provide an increased level of excellence that supports students, faculty, research, core programs, and new College initiatives.  Your investment inspires others to give, helping raise our profile and reputation in the community.'

Graduate Program Information Sessions and Open Houses