Sept.-Dec. & Feb.-Jun.
Send your updates with faculty, staff, student, and alumni news at any time to Karen Bystrom
May 1
Welcome to this special two-month edition of the Dean’s memo. Our faculty, staff and students have been incredibly active over the past few months and we are now on the cusp of “Events Season,” the period from April to graduation in mid-June when we have the most activities and recognitions of the accomplishments of our academic community members, especially our graduating students. You’ll see that this memo is so rich with announcements that we added a table of contents within that section. There are a host of amazing accomplishments here, please take a moment to see what’s happening around the college.
Shared Governance
David V. Powers, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Seattle University
Ken Allan, PhD, Associate Professor, Art History, , just published a review of a public art installation in Seattle's Volunteer Park about loss, recovery and the body: "Chloë Bass's Soft Services," sponsored by the Henry Art Gallery/University of Washington.
Allan's review was commissioned by caa.reviews, a free online journal of the College Art Association and addresses Bass's exploration of the history of park as a site of protest and commemoration during the AIDS crisis and her interrogation of the history of public monuments.
Caitlin Carlson, PhD, Chair and Associate Professor, Communication and Media, recently published "Rethinking Adarand after Prometheus: A rational basis solution to FCC minority ownership policy." Terry, C. & Carlson, C.R. (2023). Berkely Technology Law Journal, 37. She welcomed the Chief Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court, Steven González, in the Communication Law course. Research she conducted with former student Haley Witt is referenced in the editorial, "Continuing the fight for women’s equality."
Claudia Castro-Luna, MFA, MA, Adjunct Professor, Matteo Ricci Institute, curated a series of events for The Seattle Public Library with a variety of artists exploring how we can keep creativity alive in our lives.
Sarah D. Cate, PhD, Assistant Professor, Political Science, published a new book, The Myth of the Community Fix, a detailed examination of the limitations and pitfalls of pursuing the community-based reform movement in the American criminal justice system. As the extent of America's mass incarceration crisis has come into sharper view, politicians, activists and non-profit foundations from across the political spectrum have united around "community-based" reforms. Many states are pursuing criminal justice reforms that aim to move youth out of state-run prisons and into community-based alternatives as a way of improving the lives of youth caught in the juvenile justice system.
Elizabeth Dale, PhD, Associate Professor, Nonprofit Leadership, was part of a panel asked to write commentary for this year’s Philanthropy 50 for The Conversation
Yancy Dominick, PhD, Senior Instructor, Philosophy, will be part of a panel discussion of diversity in the Classical Western Tradition at the upcoming meeting of the Ancient Philosophy Society, hosted by Gonzaga University. The panel hopes to foster a conversation between faculty and students (both graduate and undergraduate) on the question of how to and what it means to diversify the curriculum and methodologies of teaching and research within the classics. Genevieve Sheara, (BA, major in English; University Honors) is also on the panel.
Fade Eadeh, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychology, was interviewed by Joe Donnelly at GamesRadar on the concept of revenge in videogames.
Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, PhD, Professor, Modern Languages and Women Gender, and Sexuality Studies, as president of Seattle Escribe, has been able to bring opportunities for our students, She US Latinx/Chicanx Literature for fourth year Spanish majors and minors under Modern Languages, in Spanish, and Latin American literature in English, and took advantage of the opportunity to bring a major Colombian poet, a Chicanx scholar who has recently published a translation of Occupied America, a canonic text for Chicanx populations, recently published in Spanish in Valencia, Spain, and five academics and poets from Spain to present their work and give the students a taste of Spain and Spanish culture and literature. Our presentations at Seattle University included:
She read in three venues/ on Zoom for International Poetry Day on March 21, one with the Seattle Civic Poet, one with MOOLA in Los Angeles, and the last for George Mason University. For GMU, she was asked to put together a team of six poets, including her and alum Aldo Reséndiz.
Her reading at the offsite Association of Writers and Writing Program conference event at Cascadia Poetry Lab was recorded. Listen here.
She also wrote the review “Poetic License: the Reconfiguring of Border Lines Through Poetry in Mark Statman’s Hechizo” for Cultural Daily.
On June 1, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., she will interview Kathleen Alcalá at Elliott Bay Book Company and celebrate the release of a new edition of Alcalá's novel, The Flower in the Skull.
Janet Hayatshahi, MFA, Assistant Professor, Performing Arts and Arts Leadership, Janet Hayatshahi performed in Seattle Shakespeare Company’s acclaimed production of Drum and Colours: Henry IV.
Jacqueline Helfgott, PhD, Professor, Criminal Justice and Director, Crime and Justice Research Center, will publish her new book Jacqueline Helfgott’s book Copycat Crime: How Media, Technology, & Digital Culture Inspire Criminal Behavior and Violence (Bloomsbury) in summer 2023. The book will be used along with Ray Surette’s new book Copycat Crime and Criminals (Lynne Rienner) in the Fall 2023 course "CRJS 4810/5810 Murder Movies & Copycat Crime." The course is open to all students as an online asynchronous elective offering.
With Elaine Gunnison, PhD, Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics, and Director, Master of Arts in Criminal Justice, she published "Trauma, Psychopathic Traits, and Resilience in Female Post-Prison Reentry"in Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, 23(2).
An Op-Ed, co-written with MACJ Students and SPD MCPP Research Analysts Brandon Bledsoe and Katie Kepler, appeared in the South Seattle Emerald.
Recent media appearances include:
Latest reports include:
Audrey Hudgins, EdD, Clinical Associate Professor, Matteo Ricci Institute, attended the annual meeting of the Jesuit Migration Network – United States & Canada, held in Tucson, Arizona and hosted by the Ignatian Solidarity Network and the Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology in March 2023. The focus of the meeting was enhancing collaboration across the network in support of migration justice through research and scholarship, advocacy and activism, and humanitarian assistance and accompaniment.
She, was a panelist for the Migrant Accompaniment Panel hosted by Jesuit Refugee Service-USA and Kino Border Initiative in March 2023. This panel brought together individuals who have sponsored families for asylum in Washington DC, Rutland, VT and Seattle, WA, as well as those who have received their welcome and become part of their communities over weeks, months or years of accompaniment. Panelists shared their gifts and challenges as well as best practices for those considering asylum sponsorship or another way to accompany people arriving in search of safety or a more dignified life. The panel concluded with ways to get involved in direct accompaniment or advocacy for more welcoming policies. Link to the recording.
Nalini Iyer, PhD, Professor, Department of English, received the Distinguished Service Award from the South Asian Literary Association, an allied organization of the MLA. Yhe organization’s President Dr. Cynthia Leenerts said when conferring the award, “Nalini has been a continuous member of SALA since 2012. She served as our Secretary from 2013-17 and as Vice President from 2017-19. In 2019, she joined South Asian Review as our first woman Editor, revitalizing and refreshing this journal in ways long needed, including bringing together a strong team of Associate Editors, streamlining processes to make the turnaround time for decisions quick, and increasing submissions significantly, as well as building circulation via Taylor & Francis, with which she works closely. She created SAR's Provocations segment, bringing in important scholarly voices, and she developed several exciting special issues (featuring writing from Kashmir, Writing South Asia in disaster time, literature from the Northeast, South Asian digital humanities, ecofeminism, and more—and some of these special issues have become books through the Special Issue into Books program from Taylor & Francis). She expanded submissions focusing on marginalized writers and writing within South Asia, including non-Anglophone writers, Dalit writers, and theatre and performance studies.
"When the pandemic hit, Nalini kept working with her team: getting articles in and working with peer reviewers. Importantly, she got the journal SCOPUS-indexed, which was important for our non-US contributors to have their submissions count, which brought in more submissions from South Asia based scholars. At MLA, of which she has been a member since 1986, Nalini currently co-chairs the Committee for the Literatures of People of Color from the United States and Canada. She is also on the Executive Committee for the MLA Forum South Asian and South Asian Diasporic and is actively working to strengthen MLA's relationship with SALA . Also in connection with MLA, she is co-editing the Teaching Anglophone South Asian Diasporic Lit book with Pallavi Rastogi (forthcoming 2023/24), which had its genesis at the SALA 2020 conference.
"Nalini is a superb collaborator, a leader as well as a valued worker who pitches in along with her many teams, supporting everyone and giving them credit for their contributions. She works seemingly tirelessly. In my time as President, I have always relied on her for her sharp insights, for her common sense grounded in long experience, and for her support of our mission at SALA, including to our allied association of MLA. Her deep respect for her colleagues on the Executive Committee and among SALA's officers, and of her editorial team in SAR, along with her continuing dedication to SALA and to South Asian studies in general make it a pleasure and an honor to confer this award.”
Sonora Jha, PhD, Associate Dean for Academic Community and Professor, Department of Communication and Media, continues to receive rave reviews for her novel, The Laughter. The latest include The New York Times and a recommendation from The New Yorker. She was also interviewed on KUOW about the book recently.
Kira Mauseth, PhD, Senior Instructor, Psychology, participated on a panel for Washington Department of Health and Washington State Public Health Association as part of Public Health Week. Watch the video here.
Susan Meyers, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of English and Director, Creative Writing Program, Writer and educator Susan V. Meyers directs Seattle University’s Creative Writing Program published “I Wanted To Get Pregnant With My Gay Friend's Sperm. I Had No Idea Of The Fight We Were In For” on HuffPost. She is at work on a memoir about reproductive rights and a novel about her family’s history in the circus.
James Miles, MFA, Assistant Professor, Performing Arts and Arts Leadership, was appointed to the search committee for the new director of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture by Mayor Bruce Harrell.
Quinton Morris, DMA, Associate Professor, Violin, received an Alumni Achievement Award from Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee where he earned his Bachelor of Music. From the announcement, “An accomplished concert violinist, educator, filmmaker, and entrepreneur, Boston Conservatory at Berklee graduate Quinton Morris is a multifaceted talent. The director of chamber and instrumental music and assistant professor of music at Seattle University, Morris is only the second living African American violinist to receive a tenured professorship in U.S. history. Morris is also the founder of Key to Change, a nonprofit providing music instruction to underserved youth and students of color in his native Washington State, and he has received numerous accolades, including the Governor’s Arts Award for his success with the documentary film The Breakthrough.”
Carmen A. Rivera, MS, Assistant Teaching Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology & Forensics, published a guest editorial in the Renton Reporter, "To improve traffic safety for all, lawmakers should pass HB 1513."
Jeannette Rodriguez, PhD, Professor: Theology and Religious Studies and Couple and Family Therapy, and Director, Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, presented “Cultural Memory, Resistance, and a Return to ‘Original Instruction’” at the Canadian Theological Society, organized by their Dignity, Equity, and Justice Committee.
Patrick Schoettmer, PhD, Associate Teaching Professor, Political Science, published “Survival!: A Portable Simulation that Encourages Failure”, where he makes the case for using simulations as a tool to create challenging situations students are likely to fail the first time they attempt them. Rooting his argument in Deweyan pedagogy, a core tenant of which is that failure is the best teacher, Schoettmer makes the case for using class time to give students puzzles that push them beyond their current capabilities.
John Trafton, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Film and Media Studies, wrote the book “Movie-Made Los Angeles,” which will be published in October 2023.
Rachel Turow, PhD, Adjunct Faculty, Psychology, published “Event Promotes Comprehensive Strategies for Student Mental Health” with Inside Higher Ed.
Shasti Conrad, Sociology and International Studies, '07, chair of the Washington state Democratic Party, was interviewed for "Lower Columbia Currents: Dem's new state leader to combat rural red tide" in the Chinook Observer.
Patience Malaba, MPA ‘20 , was named to Puget Sound Business Journal's “40 under 40.”
James Nau, BA, History, '01, Lakeside School history teacher, is featured in Seattle U Magazine, having been named the Washington State History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
ChrisTiana ObeySumner, '13, MNPL'16, MPA ’20, is running for Seattle City Council.
Marvin Rosete, MPA, is running for a seat on the Renton City Council.
Former CAS athletes Stephanie Verdoia, Political Science,’15 and Olivia Crawford, Criminal Justice and minor in Sociology, ’20 (basketball) are featured along with Katie (Antich) Favilla, Diagnostic Ultrasound, ’10, in the latest issue of Seattle U Magazine, sharing insights on their sports as color commentators.
Veterans Tea’Ayanna Garvey, a pre-health anthropology major with a minor in biology, and Fanny Vaca, majoring in Criminal Justice, are featured in the SU Newsroom story, “From Combat Boots to the Classroom."
Students Ed Lawrence Hagape, Public Affairs, and Julieta Dentone, Environmental Studies and Public Affairs, were recently selected for the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute program.
Please congratulate the following Arts and Sciences students for being inducted into the Tau Sigma Transfer Student Honor Society on March 1, 2023. They join the more than 1,100 transfer students who have been inducted to SU’s chapter of this national honor society since 2010.
The Leadership Committee on Intersectionality and Justice (LCIJ) is hosting its second installment of the CAS-wide "Inclusive Conversation Series" on Thursday, May 4, from 12:30-3:30 p.m. As you know, LCIJ has invited our college to read bell hooks' Teaching to Transgress as a foundational text to build our learning community upon the principles of anti-racism, anti-oppression, and intersectionality.
The event will be in a hybrid format to ensure accessibility for all folx who hold intersectional identities within our community. The plenary session will occur from 12:30-1:30 p.m., and the discussion groups will be from 1:30-3:30 p.m.
The plenary session will feature a keynote presentation by Dr. Elizabeth Jeffers, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations at the University of New Orleans, titled "Dismantling Racial Hierarchies Within and Beyond the Classroom."
Lunch and dessert will be provided for in-person attendees. For the in-person discussion groups, there will be facilitated breakout sessions for staff, faculty, and students based on affinity groups. The discussion for BIPOC-identified community members will include mindfulness practices and be facilitated by Tracy L. Stewart (MA, MEd), a community mental health therapist and wellness educator.
Our keynote facilitator, Dr. Elizabeth Jeffers, will facilitate the discussion group for our White-identified community members. This event will close out the series for the academic year, so please read as much of the text as you can. Please share this with your colleagues and encourage your students to attend!
Register with this link, using the password: LCIJ.
Since circumstances required combining our content for both March and April, there are more announcements than usual. Here is a list of those included, with those requiring response at the top.
Standing committees of the College of Arts and Sciences are integral to college operations and shared governance. Most committee positions are elected, but some are appointed or ex-officio by virtue of their position on campus. Nominate a colleague and/or apply to run for a committee by April 28 by sending an email to Kate Reynolds.
For those who aren’t yet familiar, it has been an annual tradition (for more than 20 years!) for us to gather together on the Friday of spring quarter finals week in recognition of the contributions of Arts and Sciences faculty and staff through an awards presentation and reception. This year, the Annual All College Day Awards and Recognition Event will be on Friday, June 2, 3:30-5 p.m., in the Casey Atrium & Patio.
Please look at the criteria below and nominate someone you believe should be honored for their contributions. Please send narrative nominations of up to one page by email to Sonora Jha and Kate Reynolds by Friday, May 19. The nominations will be reviewed by a committee of past award recipients who will make recommendations to the Dean. See the full list of past recipients here.
Award Criteria
The Outstanding Teaching Award provides the occasion for the College to recognize the successful embodiment of the Jesuit and Catholic ideal of liberal education by a colleague whose courses are recognized by students and faculty alike as being particularly engaging, rigorous, and challenging, and whose delivery of these courses is again recognized by students and faculty members as having a major impact on the intellectual, spiritual, and/or personal development of the students. Innovative student-centered teaching methods deserve special recognition.
The Outstanding Administrative Staff Award provides the occasion for the College to recognize a member of the administrative staff who has made an outstanding contribution to the staff, faculty, and students at the College.
The Outstanding Scholarship Award provides the occasion for the College to recognize the publication of a book, the production of a creative work, or the publication of a series of articles by a colleague that scholars in their discipline judge as representing a significant contribution to the field.
The Outstanding Service Award provides the occasion for the College to recognize a colleague who has given generously of their time and energy to the department, the College, the University, the community, or the profession, and whose service has had a significant positive impact on those to whom it has been given.
The Outstanding Academic Advising Award provides the occasion for the College to recognize a colleague who has had a major impact on the intellectual, spiritual, and/or personal development of students through serving as their academic adviser.
The Outstanding Contract Faculty Award provides the occasion for the College to recognize a colleague in a full-time non-tenure track position who has met the criteria for the Outstanding Teaching, Scholarship, or Service Award (or who has made an outstanding contribution in a combination of areas).
The Outstanding Collegiality Award provides the occasion to recognize a member of the Arts & Sciences community who supports the effectiveness, well-being, advancement, and professional growth of their colleagues. This award recognizes an individual who has a significant positive professional and personal impact on the health and happiness of others in the college as we work together on our shared educational mission. All faculty and staff in the College of Arts & Sciences are eligible.
Up to $400 for an honorarium is available per external speaker for talks on the themes relevant to the Mellon-funded project, “Race, Racialization, and Resistance in the US,” including for events held this quarter or the fall quarter. If interested, please contact Hazel Hahn by email. See the abbreviated proposal for topics.
We will send out a Call for Proposal for new courses or course revisions around May 1, with a deadline of around May 31.
We will also send out a Call for Proposal for retreats organized by faculty for curricular revisions within departments or programs around May 1. The retreats should be held in the fall quarter.
There will be another round of Call for Proposals this fall.
A Zoom info session on the Mellon project is scheduled for Tuesday May 9, 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Members of the Advisory Committee are Nalini Iyer (English), Henry Kamerling (History), Yitan Li (Political Science and Asian Studies), and Christina Roberts (English). Members of the Proposal Review Committee are Sarah Cate (Political Science), Henry Kamerling (History), Kimberly Riley (Couples and Family Therapy).
You can read about the grant here. Questions? Please contact Hazel, Charles or Maria.
April 21, LeRoux Room (STCN 160) or Zoom, noon-1:45 p.m., doors open at 11:30 a.m. Light lunch served. Seattle University’s annual showcase of 5-minute sustainability-focused presentations by students, staff, faculty, and community partners. The event’s theme is Care for our Common Home! This year’s keynote speaker will be SU alumni ('21) Patience Malaba, Executive Director of the Housing Development Consortium, 2020 Bullitt Foundation Environmental Fellowship awardee, and named one of the 2023 Puget Sound Business Journal’s top “40 Under 40.” All speakers will attend in person, but audience members can attend virtually. The Zoom details will be provided closer to the event date. More information available here. Earth Talks is hosted by the Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability (CEJS), and co-sponsored by the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture (ICTC) and the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement (CEIE).
Seattle University is launching two high-demand online master’s programs to help meet the need for additional school counselors and criminal justice professionals in communities throughout the country, while providing an outstanding academic experience and access for working adults.
The online Masters in Criminal Justice program allows students to choose between three cutting-edge tracks—investigative criminology, research and evaluation and victimology. Aligned with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences best practices, this programs prepares graduates to make a difference in their communities and advance their careers.
“We are very student-focused,” says Elaine Gunnison, PhD, professor and the director of the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice program. “Students will have complete faculty support and individualized attention that I don’t think they’d find anywhere else, especially in other online programs.”
Applications are available for Fall 2023. Interested in applying or have questions? Learn more about the online criminal justice program.
Promotion Fellowship
Dean's Research Fellowships
Faculty Research Fellowships
Thank you to this year's Selection Committee, whose job was unenviable, given the excellence of the several applications received. The Committee was drawn from last year's recipients of the fellowships - Dr. Carlyn Ferrari, Dr. Rashmi Chordiya, Dr. Rebecca Cobb, Dr. Victor Evans, Dr. Audrey Hudgins, and Dr. Yitan Li and to Kate Reynolds for all her help with facilitation of this process.
Congratulating to the Arts and Sciences 2023 inductees to the Seattle University chapter of Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit honor society. The inductees have all distinguished themselves through excellence in scholarship, loyalty to the values of Jesuit education, and service.
Undergraduate members
Graduate members
Honorary members
And congratulations to all of the Seattle University inductees.
Student recruitment is at the heart of the website redesign. Information about the project can be found here. Karen Bystrom, as our liaison to the project, will be reaching out to chairs regarding content for program/degree pages as this continues through Spring Quarter. Watch for additional updates that will go out to all faculty and staff.
Please remind students. Applications are now available for the Chon and Buckley Endowed Scholarship! Please review the below information and share with your students. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, April 30.
Steps to apply:
Michael W.T. Chon Endowed Scholarship – Apply Online (estimated application time: 30 min)
This scholarship is an annual scholarship award for a full-time undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences, in order to enable students to complete their baccalaureate degree in four years. Specific scholarship award amounts will be confirmed with SFS prior to distribution. The Chon is approximately $5,000 a year to multiple recipients (over 3 quarters each year).
Eligibility criteria:
Gary and Diane Buckley Endowed Scholarship - Apply Online (estimated application time: 45 min)
The Gary and Diane Buckley Endowed Scholarship for Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking is awarded to full-time College of Arts and Sciences students at SU with a commitment to the principles and practices of peacemaking, restorative justice, mediation, group reconciliation, or similar areas of informal conflict resolution. Specific scholarship award amounts will be confirmed with SFS prior to distribution. The Buckley is approx. $2,000 a year (over 3 quarters) –1 recipient.
Eligibility Criteria:
It has been a great year for internships. Since Summer 2022 through Spring 2023, more than 200 CAS students pursued internships for credit. We would love to see more students adding internships to their program of study and Amy Lonn-O'Brien is here to help with any stage of the internship process.
If you have any students who want help with the internship process, encourage them to meet with me. Students can click this link to set up an appointment with Amy.
New Limited Submission Opportunity – National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Stipend: All tenure-track or tenured faculty in humanistic fields are eligible to be nominated by SU for the NEH Summer Stipend Program, which provides $6,000 stipends to support faculty in developing scholarly products over the summer. Two nominees are allowed per institution. Prospective nominees must notify OSP of their intent to apply by June 15, 2023, with an internal application deadline of July 5, 2023. More details about SU’s nomination process for the NEH summer stipends is available on the Limited Submission Opportunities webpage. Note that non-tenure track faculty are also eligible to submit to the NEH Summer Stipend program as independent scholars outside of SU’s limited submission process. See the NEH Summer Stipends webpage for more details, including about eligibility.
Russell Sage Foundation: July 26 deadline (LOI)
The Russell Sage Foundation is an operating foundation dedicated to programs of social science research. RSF rarely considers projects for which the investigators have not already fully-developed the research design, the sample framework, access to data, etc. Investigators are encouraged to submit an LOI after they have developed and pre-tested survey instruments, completed preliminary data analyses if the data are publicly-available or conducted some preliminary interviews for qualitative studies. Funding priorities include: Behavioral Economics, Future of Work, Race, Ethnicity and Immigration, Social, Political and Economic Inequality, Immigration and Immigrant Integration, Improving Education and Reducing Inequality in the US, and Decision Making and Human Behavior Context.
Upcoming OSP Events
Faculty Lightning Talks
Incorporating Undergraduates into your Research - presentations with Q&A
Tuesday, April 25, 12:30 - 1:20p.m., Zoom
Join us for our Spring Quarter Lightning Talk where faculty will talk about incorporating undergraduates into their research. Learn best practices from seasoned faculty. OSP will also give a brief overview of resources on campus to support undergraduate research. The panel will also be available for a Q&A session!
Presenters include:
NSF Demystified: Preparing a competitive proposal to the National Science Foundation
Tuesday, May 2, 12:30 - 1:20 p.m., Zoom
Interested in pursuing support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) – which funds 27% of all federally-supported research at U.S. colleges and universities and over 25% of current externally-funded dollars at SU – but slightly overwhelmed by what can feel like an intimidating process? It is more manageable than one might think.
Join us as we ‘demystify’ the NSF by guiding participants to:
OSP PI Picnic
Wednesday, May 17, noon - 2 p.m., In-person
Please join the OSP in celebrating all the Principal Investigators ("PI"s) who submitted grant proposals, received new awards, and carried out their sponsored projects over the 2022-23 academic year. Lunch will be served.
The college and university experienced great participation during SU Gives on March 2. Seattle U Gives 2023 was one for the books and we are pleased to announce the grand total for the university: more than $895,000 was raised from just over 3,600 gifts.
Every gift – large and small – made a tremendous impact in the lives of our future Redhawk leaders. Donors, alumni, faculty and staff, and friends of SU helped fuel critical scholarships, resources, athletic programs and the life-changing student experience on campus.
We are so grateful for the support from our community who helps us fully live our Jesuit value of care for the whole person while we prepare leaders who are empowered to build a more just and humane world.
CAS had eight challenges set for several areas – with the goal of securing 150 gifts to unlock $10,000 to the College of Arts and Sciences Annual Scholarship Fund. We did that and MORE! The college secured just over 300 gifts bringing in more than $65,000.
Faculty and staff generosity is greatly appreciated throughout the year, and especially during SU Gives. Across the board, faculty and staff contributed an astonishing $71,000+ to SU Gives causes. This number was up from $36,000 last year. Thank you to all who helped supported the university on SU Gives, and continue to do so throughout the year.
Do you own a local business? Or know an alum who does?
We often turn to faculty and staff partners who help identify potential for engaged volunteers and philanthropic priorities that support the college. Your partnership with SU Gives is invaluable.
In our conversations with friends of the college, we continue to learn the importance of cultivating strong relationships with local business owners that have ties to SU. If you own a local business, or have connections with local alumni business owners, please email Josh Marron.
Thank you in advance for your continued help. As always, if your department receives a donation and you are unsure how to move forward, please contact Katie Chapman and Josh Marron. Please include any additional information you have regarding uses for the donation. We will handle processing the gift and sending the donors their acknowledgement and receipt.
We hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy! Thank you!
Design Cohort Exhibition: Current
Through May 10, Vachon Gallery. Artists: Michael Elizabeth, Ashlynn Bernardo, Casey Horio, Zahrah Jamil, Themba Kimani, Christina Leonidas, Zoe Li, Zizhe Lin, Julia Lugos, Sofia Mati, Ashley McKee, Olivia Newcomb, Michelle Nurzhanov, Olivia Okun, Duy Pham, Nhi Pham, Patrick Snedden, and Ming Williams. Created in consultation with Naomi Kasumi. More information.
Still Life: Featuring Artists Philippe Hyojung Kim and Birthe Piontek
Through June 22, Hedreen Gallery. In dialogue, the works of Philippe Hyojung Kim and Birthe Piontek underscore the essential impermanence of our existence through a subversion of the traditional still life. Piontek tells us the nature of the organic is transformation. The disintegration of our nourishment acts as a gentle reminder of our own make-up: flesh will turn to dust. While Kim serves us plastic, prepared to outlast the dinner and the diner. Seemingly, meaningful change may only occur alongside temporality. In this moment of shared instability, we are offered the choice to embrace a state of flux. It’s here we find our humanity. Gallery Curator: Arielle Simmons. More information.
Claire Dederer with Sonora Jha and Angela Garbes: Monstrous Artists
April 25, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall Seattle. Dr. Sonora Jha (The Laughter, How to Raise a Feminist Son, Foreign) joins fellow authors to explore Claire Dederer’s new book, Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma. In this unflinching, deeply personal book that expands on her instantly viral Paris Review essay, “What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?” Claire Dederer asks: Does genius deserve special dispensation? Is male monstrosity the same as female monstrosity? Does art have a mandate to depict the darker elements of the psyche? And what happens if the artist stares too long into the abyss? She explores the audience’s relationship with complicated artists, asking: How do we balance our undeniable sense of moral outrage with our equally undeniable love of the work? Tickets and information here.
A Night of the Dancing Violin: Solo Violin Works Written by People of Color
April 26, 2023, 8 p.m., Chapel of St. Ignatius at Seattle University. Internationally recognized violinist Rachel Barton Pine performs solo violin works by composers of color and is interviewed by Dr. Quinton Morris on the radio show "Unmute The Voices" on Classical King 98.1 FM. The concert is free, and no advance registration is required. The concert is sponsored by the Pigott Family Endowment for the Arts at Seattle University and produced by Quinton Morris, DMA. Free. Information here.
Al Mann Lecture: Alissa Walter, The 20th Anniversary of the US War in Iraq: Perspectives from Iraqi History
May 1, 4-6 p.m., Wyckoff Auditorium. This day marks the 20th anniversary of George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech on Iraq. The US invasion was part of a longer history of US intervention in Iraq, but the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003 marked a significant turning point in reshaping the political, social, and economic systems of Iraq. Drawing attention to Iraqis' different stories about their lives under Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and during the tumultuous two decades that followed his fall, the lecture sheds light on how these large-scale, systemic changes impacted people on the local level. Alissa Walter is an Associate Professor of History at Seattle Pacific University. Her research focuses on state-society relations in modern Iraqi history and Baghdad urban history. She is currently completing a book manuscript, Contested City: State-Society Relations in Baghdad through Wars, Sanctions, and Authoritarian Rule, 1950-2011. This lecture is free and open to everyone.
University Honors Touchstone Lecture
May 4, 4:30 p.m. Wyckoff Auditorium. Dr. Onur Bakiner, Political Science and Honors, will talk about a very timely topic, Emerging Technologies and Human Rights. A reception follows the lecture.
The Myth of the Community Fix: Inequality and the Politics of Youth Punishment
May 5, 2023, 3:30-5:15 p.m., Student Center 210
The Political Science Department hosts the launch of Dr. Sarah Cate’s new book, a detailed examination of the limitations and pitfalls of pursuing the community-based reform movement in the American criminal justice system. As the extent of America's mass incarceration crisis has come into sharper view, politicians, activists and non-profit foundations from across the political spectrum have united around "community-based" reforms. Many states are pursuing criminal justice reforms that aim to move youth out of state-run prisons and into community-based alternatives as a way of improving the lives of youth caught in the juvenile justice system.
2023 Peter L. Lee Endowed Lecture in East Asian Culture and Civilization: “Heavenly Learning”: Jesuit Science in Imperial China
May 8, 4 p.m., Reception; 4:30-6 p.m., Lecture, Casey Commons. Featuring Florence C. Hsia, PhD, Professor of History of Science, Department of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison. From its beginnings in the late sixteenth century, the Jesuit episode in late imperial China framed a meeting of distinct scientific traditions, from concepts of earth and sky to modes of reckoning time and space. The encounter challenged members of the Society of Jesus to rethink how to best advance missions both religious and scientific, and to address how pursuing these intertwined goals might shape their own identities. This talk explores the long history of Jesuit scientific work in the Celestial Empire in order to better understand what such efforts meant for the Jesuits’ various audiences, as well as for themselves.
Nora: A Doll’s House, by Stef Smith, directed by Janet Hayatshahi
May 10-21, Lee Center for the Arts. Nora: A Doll's House is a modern re-telling of a classic tale. In the classic 1879 A Doll's House, written by Henrik Ibsen, Nora does the unthinkable and leaves her husband and three children. In this new adaptation by Stef Smith three different Noras, set in three different time periods (1918, 1968, and 2018), contemplate their options during eras when radical shifts were taking place in women's rights. Ultimately, we are left to wonder whether these Noras have any more agency over their lives than did their predecessor. Information and tickets.
Philosophy Club Keynote, Dr. Charles Johnson
May 12, 4 p.m., Bannan Auditorium. The Seattle University Philosophy Club, and the Seattle University Philosophy Department, are proud to present an afternoon with Charles Johnson. A renowned novelist, National Book Award winner (for The Middle Passage), philosopher, Zen practitioner, cartoonist, and all-around person of letters and humanity, Johnson will read his new short story, “Is that So?“ It is a contemporary retelling of a classic Zen teaching parable. He will then engage discussion on the story, and then take questions on any aspect of his life work.
Dr. Johnson plans to make this event accessible to all faculty, staff and students, as well as all those who work toward a more just and inclusive world. This will be the culminating event of the annual Philosophy club conference.
Retirement Celebration: Dr. Erik Olsen
May 12, 4:30-7:00 p.m., Casey Atrium. The Political Science Department invites you to celebrate our colleague’s retirement. Erik’s band will join the celebration. Music will start around 5 p.m. Hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be provided.
Philosophy Department Endowed Lecture on Human Values: Stoic Consolations on Attachment and Loss
May 18, 4 p.m., Wyckoff Auditorium. Featuring Nancy Sherman, Georgetown University. The ancient Stoics force us to rethink our views on attachment and loss since they hold that virtue alone is sufficient for happiness. We may lose our homes and homeland to natural disaster or war, our loved ones to disease and untimely deaths, but for the wise person these amount to a different kind of injury from that of losing or failing to cultivate one’s goodness. This view strikes many of us as inhumane, an expression of the overly austere side of Stoicism. Still, the Stoic view gives us space to wonder if we don’t at times fail to cultivate attitudes that build greater resilience. Are there viable ancient Stoic lessons for modern resilience? Nancy Sherman is Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University, Her most recent book is Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons and Modern Resilience (Oxford, 2021). She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Retirement Celebration: Theresa Earenfight
June 1, 5:30 - 7:30 pm, in Casey Commons. Join us to celebrate our colleague.
May 4, 12:30 p.m., A&S Inclusive Conversations Closing Event, register here. (event password is LCIJ):
June 2, 3:30 to 5 p.m., All College Day Faculty and Staff Awards and Recognition
June 9, 2-4:30 p.m., A&S Undergraduate and Graduate Graduating Student Celebration. Please note that we are moving away from an Awards Ceremony format and towards a bigger celebration of all graduating seniors in Arts and Sciences. We hope faculty and staff will join in celebrating with our graduating students and their families – watch for more details by email.
June 11, 2 p.m., Baccalaureate Mass. Note that this year’s mass is on a Sunday instead of the traditional Saturday mass.
June 12, Undergraduate (11 a.m.) and Graduate (5 p.m.) Graduation Ceremonies, Climate Pledge Arena. Note that this year commencement is on a Monday instead of the traditional Sunday ceremonies as in years past.
All current Commencement information is available here.
Thursday, April 25 at 12:00 PM
Monday, May 6 at 9:00 AM
Wednesday, May 8 at 12:30 PM
Monday, May 13 at 5:00 PM
Tuesday, May 14 at 12:00 PM