We are halfway through the Spring Quarter in our first and hopefully only full academic year in a pandemic. I cannot thank you all enough for the hard work and difficulty you all have endured to continue our mission as a college and a university.
You'll see below that All College Day Awards are coming up. We're taking nominations below and will give out awards as usual (well "virtually" as usual), but I have to acknowledge that everyone deserves recognition this year. We're happy to begin integrating our newest program into the college, the MACFT program, joining us from the School of Theology and Ministry.
Finally, I have to acknowledge our newest Professor Emeritus, Dr. Kan Liang. His scholarship is in modern Chinese history, recently editing an English language two-volume series Human Memory: the Solid Evidence of the Nanjing Massacre. Kan has been a faculty member in the History Department for 26 years, serving as Founding Director of Asian Studies and Chair of the History Department before serving as Associate Dean of Arts and Humanities from 2010-2020. Congratulations Kan and thank you for you many major contributions to our shared academic endeavor.
Shared Governance
David V. Powers, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Seattle University
Welcome to the Master of Arts in Couples and Family Therapy
While the formal transfer to the College of Arts and Sciences is effective July 1, the transition has begun with the launch of the new MACFT website within the college. We look forward to working with our colleagues.
All College Day Awards
Nominations are now open for our annual awards, which will be announced at All College Day, June 4 at 3 p.m. (Watch for the Zoom link.)
Please look at the criteria for each and nominate someone you believe should be honored for their contributions. Please send narrative nominations of up to one page to Sonora Jha, and cc: Kate Reynolds () by Friday, May 21, for review by a committee of last year’s awardees. See past recipients here.
Congratulations to:
College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Promotions/Tenure
President Stephen J. Sundborg and Provost Shane P. Martin announced faculty promotion and/or tenure, effective Academic Year 2021-2022, including these faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Promoted to Professor
Tenured and Promoted to Associate Professor
Promoted to Senior Instructor
Congratulations to all of our colleagues who received promotion and/or tenure across Seattle University.
Launching SUURJ Volume 5 (Seattle University Undergraduate Research Journal), May 26, 6 p.m.
This year, SUURJ received a record 60 submissions from 12 majors across the university. After a rigorous review and multi-phase editing process by student and faculty editors, the finished publication will comprise 11 essays from nine diverse majors and the Core. Join the event on Zoom. More information about SUURJ is available here.
Planning an intentional summer: Afternoon Workshop
May 19, 2:15–3:30 p.m., Zoom link provided upon registration
Facilitated by Holly Slay Ferraro (Center for Faculty Development). We often look forward to summer as a time for rest, rejuvenation, deep thinking, and writing. But how many times have you started the Fall tired and disappointed that your summer wasn't what you hoped? This active workshop provides an opportunity to be intentional about your summer. For example, do you have personal goals you want to achieve such as more rest or time with family and friends? Perhaps you want to finish an article, book, or have extended time for reading and writing. This workshop encourages you to identify goals that are important to you and create strategies to have the summer you desire in an encouraging and supportive community. Join us to craft an intentional summer! Co-sponsored by the Center for Faculty Development (CETL/CFD) and the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP)
Call for submissions: Unmute the Voices
Unmute The Voices, a new project from Dr. Quinton Morris and Seattle’s Classical KING FM, seeks two kinds of classical music recordings ahead of its upcoming launch on June 19, 2021:
Please visit the KING FM website to learn how to submit. Recordings will be accepted on an ongoing basis. Unmute The Voices celebrates BIPOC artistry in classical music by highlighting compositions and performances by BIPOC artists. This includes both music composed by BIPOC composers and all classical music recorded by BIPOC artists. Unmute The Voices is hosted by Dr. Quinton Morris, KING FM’s first Artist-Scholar in Residence. He also talked about the program on the Trilloquy Podcast.
Combating Racial Animus Against the AAPI Community: Solutions for Change
“Watch the video of this event, hosted by SU Institute of Public Service and Asian Studies and Town Hall Seattle. A conversation with former U.S. ambassador to China and former Washington Governor Gary Locke, CEO of Treehouse Lisa Chin, and interim Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz, moderated by IPS Professional in Residence and journalist Joni Balter and Dr. Larry Hubbell, longtime previous IPS director.
The Women, Gender, and Sexuality Program Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is the governing body of the WGST Program. It meets every three weeks throughout the academic year and works collaboratively with the Director to guide and maintain the WGST major/minor and LGBTQ minor. Contact Dr. Theresa Earenfight with questions. Three positions are available:
Please consider nominating yourself or others. Nominations are due May 17, 2021, by 3 p.m.. Please send nominations to Kathleen Jones by email.
Admitted Transfer Student Evening Reception, College of Arts and Sciences: Tuesday, June 2, 2021: These events are for admitted transfer students (and their families) to learn more about their college, and connect with advisors, faculty, and current students within their college. Participating programs should have already submitted the required information.
Summer Preview Day: August 18, 2021: This event is for rising high school juniors and seniors, and prospective transfer students to learn more about Seattle U as they launch their college search and prepare to apply.
The mission of the A&S Leadership Committee on Intersectionality and Justice (LCIJ) is to a) improve the institutional culture and structure within Arts & Sciences for faculty, staff, and students around issues of race, gender, sexuality, religious bigotry, immigration status, income disparity, other historically and structurally marginalized groups and the intersections of those domains, b) support faculty integration of state-of-the-art knowledge in these domains into course curriculum, scholarship and creative works toward academic excellence and c) connect with and support university-level work on these issues, as outlined in the 2016 Final Report of the Task Force on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence. These goals are consistent with the Seattle University commitment to social justice as a central part of the Jesuit Catholic mission of the institution, defining justice as the elimination of systematic unfairness and oppression.
CALL for APPLICATIONS
The Leadership Committee on Intersectionality and Justice [LCIJ] is recruiting the following A&S members to apply to serve on this committee:
Although there is no compensation for student or staff representatives currently, faculty representatives receive a one-course release per year as committee facilitators.
The LCIJ was launched by Dean David Powers in the fall of 2017. We, in short, have been working to develop, support and promote activities that (1) increase the College/University’s awareness and understanding of issues related to race, gender, sexuality, religious bigotry, immigration status, income disparity, and so forth; (2) improve the institutional culture of the College for everyone and, in particular, for historically and structurally marginalized groups; (3) support increased coverage of the aforementioned issues in all curricula across the College, (4) support scholarly and creative works that address these issues, and (5) advise the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences on issues of racial justice, inclusion and intersectionality.
The LCIJ generally meets two or three times an academic quarter.
If you are interested in applying to be part of the LCIJ, please respond specifically to the following three questions in no more than 500 words total:
Please email your application to Kate Reynolds by Monday, May 24, 5 p.m.
If you have questions, please reach out to the respective staff, student, and faculty representatives currently serving:
NEH Summer Stipends Program – May 30, internal notification deadline
**Seattle University is allotted two nominations for the NEH Summer Stipends Program. Please refer to the OSP webpage for the nomination process.**
The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Summer Stipends program aims to stimulate new research in the humanities and its publication. The program works to accomplish this goal by:
The $6,000 NEH Summer Stipends support continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months.
Russell Sage Foundation – May and August deadlines
The Russell Sage Foundation is dedicated to programs of social science research. 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.
Conference on College Composition and Communication Emergent Researcher Program – September deadline
The Emergent Researcher Awards program invites proposals for projects that can contribute to or influence discussions about literacy and writing instruction in and out of formal education. The initiative also asks recipients to clearly address the impact their research might have on these conversations, conveying the implications of their work in at least two final products: one that is addressed to a scholarly audience of researchers and teachers in the field, and one that is addressed to a specifically identified more public audience.
Public Welfare Foundation – rolling LOI deadline
Public Welfare Foundation awards grants to projects which honor the Foundation’s core values of racial equity, economic well-being, and fundamental fairness for all. The Foundation looks for strategic points where its funds can make a significant difference and improve lives through policy and system reform that results in transformative change. Current funding priorities include: Criminal Justice (Sentencing Reform, Community Reinvestment), Youth Justice (Closing Youth Prisons, Racial Disparities, Raising the Age), Legacy Initiatives (Civil Legal Aid, Workers’ Rights) and Special Opportunities (Race, Redemption, and Restoration).
Upcoming Event
Celebration of Scholarship
Please join the OSP, the Office of the Provost and Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons for a celebration of Seattle University faculty’s excellence in research, creative, and other scholarly activities! After opening words from Provost Martin, you will hear from six of your colleagues as they share their recent work in a lighting talk format, as well as learn about SU faculty’s wide-ranging intellectual and scholarly contributions – including sponsored projects, published books and manuscripts, conference presentations, and all other products. Please complete this brief form so that we may celebrate your important achievements!
Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, PhD, Professor, Departments of Modern Languages and Women Gender & Sexuality Studies, and illustrator Veronica Eldredge, BA, Humanities Leadership with minors in Studio Art and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, 2016, had their book accepted for publication by Chatwin books. The children’s book, "¡Iván, y van!" is a bilingual tale of a young Mexican Nahua man who travels up and down the West Coast as a migrant farm worker. As he journeys, he realizes many things: that the mountains in Washington State remind him of his homeland, and the indigenous people he encounters are also his relatives. Iván wonders why people in the U.S. are not generous to migrants like him, when they themselves have been to Mexico as tourists and enjoyed staying as guests in his own community. Realizing that his community has many gifts to offer the rest of the world, Iván and his companion Humberto are determined to uplift their indigenous knowledge of environmental sustainability to improve the lives of their community, and the world. From their proposal, “Readers of all ages are brought along on this adventure as Iván makes connections about the world we live in, how we are all related, and that our future is interdependent. Naturally our books are created with the intention of expanding notions of intersectionality (including gender, race, class, and migration). We envision our books to become staples within elementary school curricula, precisely because our educators are in such great need of images and stories like those of “Iván.””
Gutiérrez y Muhs will be a keynote speaker for the second annual conference for Hispanic / Latinx / Chicanx studies hosted by Spanish Association for U.S-Hispanic Studies (HCNA). The conference is May 26 through 28, 2021 with the Universidad de León, León, Spain. She will also join Aldo Reséndiz (BA, Sociology and BA, Humanities in Teaching, with minors in Latin American Studies and WGST, 2011) and Carlos Sibaja (BA, English, 2011 and MA, Education, 2013), on a panel about their 600+ bilingual Chicanx/Latinx anthology forthcoming in May with Polibea Press in Spain. The recent Washington poet laureate Claudia Castro Luna, who has also taught at Seattle University, and several other Seattle Poets who have presented at events and work in the schools like poet laureate for Burien Raul Sanchez, will also be included, as well as renowned Chicana poet Lorna Dee Cervantes, Jim Cantú and Catalina Cantú.
Audrey Hudgins, EdD, Associate Clinical Professor, Matteo Ricci Institute, and her students in 21SQ INST 3910/UCOR 3600 Perspectives on Im/migration completed a five-week Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) experience with Guillermo Yrizar Barbosa, Ibero Puebla, and his students in 2021 Spring semester Migraciones Internacionales. The combined group of 45 students formed eight bi-national groups, investigated a migration research question in a particular region of the world, and shared their findings with each other.
Jacqueline Helfgott, PhD, Professor, Criminal Justice and Director, Crime & Justice Research Center, and Will Parkin, PhD, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice, have two recent research publications.
Arts Leadership faculty, students and alumni are well represented at the Association of Arts Administration Educators virtual conference in May.
Department Mail Request: A gentle reminder to faculty and staff to please develop a regular routine for checking hard copy mail. Any donations to the university – whether current or old, should be forwarded to Advancement Services, Attn: Ann Schiffer, Gift Processing, ADMN 305B, via campus mail as soon as possible. Thank you!
Our Moment for Mission: President’s Challenge to Alumni Continues – Are you in touch with alumni? Help SU recognize their involvement by letting us know about alumni who are staying in touch with you, or your departments/programs. If you are featuring alumni guest speakers in classes, connect alumni as mentors or internship hosts, or hear employment or life updates with alumni please email Katie Chapman or Kathleen Jones with a note and we will take it from there. We are trying to reach 10,000 alumni this year. To learn more and to see how we are doing visit the website.
SU Alumni Owned Business Directory: Check out the new map and directory. This effort is just beginning; if you know of an alumni-owned business, please let Katie Chapman know and we will add it to the directory with the Office of Alumni Engagement.
Elizabeth J. Dale, PhD, Assistant Professor, Nonprofit Leadership, about the potential effects on their charitable giving on the announcement of Melinda and Bill Gates’ decision to divorce:
She recently published Charitable Giving in Married Couples: Untangling the Effects of Education and Income on Spouses’ Giving. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Mesch, D. J., Osili, U. O., Dale, E. J., Ackerman, J., Bergdoll, J., & O’Connor, H. A. (2021).
Amelia Seraphia Derr, PhD, Associate Professor, Social Work, was cited in the letter to the editor, Stigma deters sound treatment.
Anne Farina, PhD, Assistant Professor, Social Work, published an article, "You’re So Exotic Looking': An Intersectional Analysis of Asian American and Pacific Islander Stereotypes" which was cited in the Washington Post article "There’s a long, global history to today’s anti-Asian bias and violence".
Jacqueline Helfgott, PhD,
Molly Clark Hillard, PhD, Associate Professor, English, has received an advance contract with Bloomsbury Press for her book project, Literary Subjects: the Contemporary Novel and the Return to Victorian Form. The book examines contemporary and Victorian literature side by ide to determine what is at stake in our narrative practices. It takes Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, Ian McEwan’s Saturday, and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go as examples of books that are in some sense still Victorian; that is, persistently affiliated with Victorian genres, plots, and characters, as well as Victorian questions of community, authority, and artistic ideology.
Audrey Hudgins, EdD, Associate Clinical Professor, Matteo Ricci Institute, collaborated with Guillermo Yrizar Barbosa, and Ibero Puebla on a review of the book, The deportation machine: America’s long history of expelling immigrants by Adam Goodman. The review has been accepted for 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.
Nalini Iyer, PhD, Professor, English and Associate Appointment, Asian Studies Program and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies moderated a conversation with Thrity Umrigar, bestselling author of The Secrets Between Us, and many other novels for the King County Library System. Free.
Sonora Jha, PhD, Professor, Communication and Media and Associate Dean for Academic Community, College of Arts and Sciences, has continued her virtual tour for her new book, “How to Raise a Feminist Son: Motherhood, Masculinity and the Making of My Family.” Several events have been recorded and are available here:
Additional press coverage:
Hye-Kyung Kang, PhD, Chair, Social Work and Program Director, MSW Program, was spotlighted in 12 Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Social Workers by the New Social Worker magazine. She also was part of a panel conversation about anti-Asian racism at UW, Anti-AAPI Racism and Violence: Past, Present, and a Brighter Future” on May 4.
Paul Kidder, PhD, Professor, Philosophy, was a panelist on April 21 for a Folio Seattle forum on “Truth, Social Media and Conspiracy Theories: Is Truth Dead?” Moderated by Mort Kondracke, the panel also featured Jevin West, Director of University of Washington Center for an Informed Public; Brier Dudley, editor of the Seattle Times' Save the Free Media project; Republican State Sen. Doug Ericksen; and Chicago Sun-Times DC correspondent Lynn Sweet. Dr. Kidder focused on philosophical theories of truth and their status in contemporary academic debates.
Jasmine Mahmoud, PhD, Assistant Professor, Arts Leadership published “Sensing Out of Numbness: A Conversation with Shin Yu Pai” in the South Seattle Emerald.
Christina Roberts, PhD, Nakoda and Aaniiih Nations, Director, Indigenous Peoples Institute; Associate Director, Matteo Ricci Institute; and Associate Professor, English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, moderated a Q&A with Robin Wall Kimmerer for Seattle Arts and Lectures.
Byron Schenkman, Adjunct Faculty, Performing Arts and Arts Leadership, was featured in the Seattle Times article, “Future looks bright for Byron Schenkman & Friends as season ends with ‘Beethoven & the Schumanns’.”
Sharon A. Suh, PhD, Professor, Theology and Religious Studies, and colleagues from UC Riverside and University of Detroit-Mercy received a Wabash Digital Salons grant to create an “Asian American Feminist Guidebook to Teaching Buddhisms in America.” The Guidebook will outline the mechanics and racialized politics of teaching Buddhism in the United States and offer a “how to” guide with information and scholarship about the Asian American Buddhist presence (i.e., practitioners, communities, notable teachers/chaplains, sociopolitical and theological contributions) in America.
Kirsten Moana Thompson, PhD, Professor and Director, Film Studies received Honorable Mention for Best Edited Collection from the British Association for Film, Television and Screen Studies, April 2021, for her coedited book, “Animation and Advertising,: editors Malcolm Cook and Kirsten Moana Thompson (Palgrave 2019).
Lena Beck, BA Humanities for Leadership 2017, published “‘Ghost’ Forest Expansion Rate Alarming: Study.”
Melissa Chittenden, MNPL, 2002, is the new Executive Director at Cascadia Art Museum.
Sena Crow, BA English, 2019, was accepted to the University of Washington's Master of Library and Information Science and received the MLIS Dean's Fellowship.
Jen Doak, BA History, 2002, is the owner of Brimmer & Heeltap in Ballard, and has continued to adapt the business during the pandemic.
Veratta Pegram-Floyd, BSW and Sociology, 2007 and MEd, 2013, has been named director of undergraduate student advising at Central Washington University. She currently serves as the academic and career coordinator of the Tykeson College at the University of Oregon. She also has academic and student affairs experience at Western Carolina University.
Eddie Lincoln, BA Communications Studies, 2005, was appointed Interim Chief Executive Office of Equal Opportunity Schools.
Sofia Locklear, BA Sociology, 2014, accepted a faculty position as an assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario.
Claire Lucas, BA Theology and Religious Studies and Psychology 2019, recently published two articles:
Joe Nguyen, BA, Humanities and Finance, 2006, who currently represents the 34th Legislative District in the Washington Senate, announced he will run for King County Executive. He also published an op-ed in the South Seattle Emerald, “Why an economic recovery agenda shaped by those who have relied on government programs prioritizes investing in people.”
Anna Pickett, BA Spanish and Humanities for Leadership, 2017, has been awarded the William H. Gates Public Service Scholarship to attend law school starting this fall at the University of Washington. This is more than a full-ride scholarship; it speaks to the depth of Anna’s commitment to public service and means that she will be able to dedicate herself fully to her studies and associated opportunities while in law school. Only five incoming UW law students receive this fellowship each year.
Talisa Rhea, BA Sport and Exercise, 2012, was promoted to general manager of the Seattle Storm.
David Rue, MFA in Arts Leadership, 2017, Public Engagement Associate, Seattle Art Museum, cohosted The Art of Empathy, Session 3: Social Awareness for the museum.
Chelsea Schiller, BA Humanities in Leadership, 2016, (also a Naef Scholar and Ignatian Fellow) joined Health Commons Project, a non-profit organization committed to accelerating health equity in Washington state. Health Commons Project operates a Public Health Service Accelerator Program that supports communities in the design and launch health care products and services. Currently, they are applying their Public Health Service Accelerator Program to support communities in pandemic response. Her role has been focused on the design and launch of a statewide vaccine service delivery program that engages city government, local fire departments, and community-based organizations to deliver vaccinations to eligible and vulnerable community members.
Bob Smith, BA Journalism, 1978, regional editor of the Port Orchard Independent and Central Kitsap Reporter, has been promoted to executive editor of the Kitsap News Group’s three weekly newspapers and two monthly publications. He will continue his role as editor of the Port Orchard weekly newspaper and the monthly CKR. In his new position, Smith will work to expand Kitsap News Group’s coverage of regional news in the Kitsap County communities of Bainbridge Island, Port Orchard and Poulsbo.
Cheryl Strange, MPA, 2020, was named secretary of Washington’s Department of Corrections (DOC) by Governor Jay Inslee. She will be the department’s first female secretary. She is currently secretary of the state’s Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), the state’s largest human service agency.
Teresa Wippel, BA in Journalism, 1979, the publisher at My Edmonds News, spoke to the Edmonds Rotary on “The Changing Face of the News.” She founded the My Neighborhood News Network, which includes online community news websites in the South Snohomish County cities of Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace.
Anson Frederick, Kinesiology, senior, received the Undergraduate Scholar Award from the American Kinesiology Association.
Augustine Herman, first year Kinesiology Masters student, presented original research, "Using Sports Science Data in Collegiate Athletics: Coaches’ Perspectives,” a collaborative effort from the Kinesiology Department titled " at the Northwest Student Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium, a regional conference for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.
The Blume Criminal Justice Scholars awards go to an undergraduate and graduate student whose academic work, research, and/or service advances scholarship and practice at the intersection of criminal justice and mental health. The award is named after Ann and Bruce Blume. The Blume Scholars receive a $2,500 Award for the 2021-22 academic year, are included on a list of Blume Scholars, and listed as a student leaders on the department’s advisory committee.
Sedona Naifeh, Undergraduate Blume Scholar 2021-22, is a junior in Criminal Justice with Specialization in Forensic Psychology with double major in Psychology. She is a member of the National Criminal Justice Honor Society and the local Pi Delta Chapter. Sedona is interested in the intersection between psychology and criminal justice and in how different countries (such as the US and Canada) address the intersection between criminal justice and mental health. She is planning to pursue graduate research at the doctoral level in the intersection of criminal justice and mental health. Sedona has volunteered with the Gospel Rescue Mission and Mary’s Place Seattle and other community organizations. She recently completed case study research on the case of serial murderer Israel Keyes.
Joslyn Wallenborn, Graduate Blume Scholar 2021-22, is a student in the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice program. She earned both her BA in Sociology with a minor in Law, Societies, & Justice and her Paralegal Certificate from the University of Washington. She is a member of the National Criminal Justice Honor Society and the local Pi Delta Chapter. Joslyn has worked in state service for over a decade and currently works full-time in the Criminal Justice Division at the Washington State Attorney General’s Office where she provides legal support to attorneys and investigators, as well as hires, mentors, and supervises legal staff providing support to the Sexually Violent Predator Unit, the Criminal Litigation Unit, the Statewide Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Unit, and the Homicide Investigation Tracking System (HITS) Unit, and provides assistance on human trafficking and wrongful conviction cases within these units. Joslyn organized the annual Commercially and Sexually Exploited Children Statewide Coordinating Committee meeting from 2017-2019, coordinated the first Truckers Against Trafficking coalition build in Washington State in 2018, assists with planning and volunteering at the annual Medal of Honor Ceremony honoring fallen officers in our state, and has coordinated regular tours of the Special Commitment Center (SCC) on McNeil Island for attorneys and staff since 2014. Prior to the Attorney General’s Office, Joslyn was a judicial assistant at the Office of Administrative Hearings for four years. She has served as TA for CRJS 4500-5500 The Psychopath, recently published a co-authored chapter on the history of forensic psychology in a forthcoming text Clinical Forensic Psychology (Garofalo & Sijtsema, Palgrave Publishers), and is currently working on an article
Seattle U Choirs continue their virtual performances with "America" by Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel, arranged by Stephen O'Bent, in a collaborative performance with the Digipen Institute of Technology Vocal Ensemble. Presented by Dr. Leann Conley-Holcom, Director of Choral ad Vocal Activities and Dr. Lee Peterson, Assistant Director & Pianist. Video and audio production by Stephen O’Bent. Find this performance and others, and join our virtual community, on Facebook, Instagram (@seattleuchoirs), and YouTube.
Hate speech can happen anywhere--in Charlottesville, Virginia, where young men in khakis shouted, "Jews will not replace us"; in Myanmar, where the military used Facebook to target the Muslim Rohingya; in Capetown, South Africa, where a pastor called on ISIS to rid South Africa of the "homosexual curse." In person or online, people wield language to attack others for their race, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or other aspects of identity. Join Seattle University Associate Professor, Caitlin Ring Carlson, as she discusses her new volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Hate Speech, what it is, and is not; its history; and efforts to address it. Free. Register for the Zoom link here.
The Theology and Religious Studies Annual Ann O’Hara Graff Lecture is excited to welcome theologian M. Shawn Copeland, Professor Emerita at Boston College. From Dr. Copeland: “As we peoples of Earth continue to grapple with the lethal coronavirus, we are beset with grave existential, spiritual, and intellectual suffering. Moreover, we in the United States are grappling with waves of white racist supremacy. To answer the question, ‘Who is my neighbor?’ in deeds as well as in words requires that we rethink what it means to be human and what it means to live humanely in a world shaped by legacies of racial domination and oppression.” An award-winning author, Dr. Copeland has written and/or co-edited six books including her Knowing Christ Crucified: The Witness of African American Religious Experience (Orbis, 2018) and Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, and Being (Fortress 2010), and no less than 125 articles, book chapters, reviews, and blog entries on spirituality, theological anthropology, political theology, social suffering, gender and race. She is the recipient of six honorary degrees. , and RSVP by email to attend the event. The Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture is a co-sponsor for this year’s lecture.
Our May 2021 focus is the Garifuna people of Central America
Co-sponsors: International Studies and Latin American Studies
At the Crossroads of Repression and Environmental Pressures: The Resistance of Garifuna Communities in Honduras
May 13, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Miriam Miranda, a human rights advocate and leader of the Honduran Black Fraternal Organization (OFRANEH), speaks about the challenges facing the Garifuna communities. In mid-2020, five Garifuna land defenders from the community of Triunfo de la Cruz were disappeared and haven’t been heard from since. Join this Zoom link.
May 20, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Book Launch for Surviving the Americas: Garifuna Persistence from Nicaragua to New York City
Join authors Serena Cosgrove, José Idiáquez, Leonard Joseph Bent, and Andrew Gorvetzian as they shed light on what it means to be Garifuna today, particularly in Nicaragua. They will read from the book and talk about the process of researching and writing a book as an international research team based in different countries. Join at this Zoom link.
Lanzamiento de libro para Surviving The Americas: Garifunia Persistence from Nicaragua to New York City
el 21 de mayo, 10-11 a.m.
Los autores leerán secciones del libro y hablarán del proceso de investigación y escritura desde diferentes países y culturas. En Nicaragua, el pueblo Garífuna se compone por unas 5.000 mil personas que viven en comunidades aisladas en la Laguna de Perlas de Nicaragua y en otras partes del mundo. El enlace de registración estará disponible pronto en nuestra Facebook.
May 13, 6 p.m.
Online
There is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has radically altered our individual and collective lives. But how has it transformed fundamental ethical and existential questions? What practical and political significance do these fundamental questions have today? And why should we care about them in the midst of a global pandemic? Professor Carlson will explore the meaning of vulnerability, community, finitude, and freedom through the prism of the pandemic and consider the importance of addressing these philosophical themes in dialogue with others. Carlson is Professor of Philosophy at Providence College. Free, register here.
For the final book club event of 2021, the Arts Leadership Book Club Series is proud to present Emerald Street: A History of Hip Hop in Seattle written by Dr. Saudi Ade with a foreword by Sir Mix-A-Lot.
RSVP and find more information
The 2020-2021 Arts Leadership Book Club Series is supported by the Endowed Mission Fund at Seattle University.
Friday, May 14, at 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Myron Joel Bañez (Economics and Public Affairs, '21), recipient of the Francis Student Research Fellowship, examines the role of the built environment to urban Filipino-American spaces and community development in Seattle.
Piper Klinger (Environmental Science, '21), recipient of the Gary L. Chamberlain Fellowship, will present a comprehensive and inexpensive approach to prepare biochar for use in the treatment of arsenic-contaminated drinking water. More information and registration here. (Zoom link available upon registration).
During this workshop, learn foundational mindful eating principles and practices from a trauma-informed perspective. Mindful Eating–Compassionate Living focuses on rediscovering a joyful relationship to food, learning to trust our internal wisdom, and examining the relationship between consumption and social justice. Mindful Eating-Compassionate Living is based in Buddhist practices of mindfulness and compassion. Participants will engage in meditation, mindful movement, mindful eating practices, discussion, and receive take-home materials to support their practice. Part of Loyola Marymount University’s Center for Religion and Spirituality for the Yoga, Mindfulness and Social Change series. Tickets $38; purchase here.
Dr. Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, former ICTC Director and Theology and Religious Studies faculty member, presents on May 18 on "Women, Migration, and Domestic Work in CST." Register for the online series here.
The topic will be twofold: Lummi spirituality in dialogue with Jesuit spiritual practice as well as Lummi reflections on ecology and earth care. Darrell Hillaire is a highly esteemed leader and the executive director of Tse-sum-ten and Setting Sun Productions. Pat Twohy, SJ is the author of two seminal works, Finding a Way Home and Beginnings: A Meditation on Coast Salish Lifeways. He has lived with and served indigenous peoples of the Northwest for four decades, including eleven years with the Colville Confederated Tribes in Eastern Washington and more recently the Swinomish and Tulalip Tribes of the Coast Salish Peoples.
Directed by Sonia Martin ('21) and Jasmine Ritter (‘21). She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms is an online theatrical experience that tells the story of Agnes Evans as she comes to terms with the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes discovers Tilly's Dungeons & Dragons notebook, she embarks on an adventure in the fantastical world that was Tilly's refuge. In this dynamic dramatic comedy loaded with homicidal fairies, cheerleader succubi, and a gelatinous blob, Qui Nguyen pays a wonderful homage to the geek and warrior within us all.
The Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture hosts this year’s current Faculty Fellows in presenting their research. Dr. Jaisy Joseph, Theology and Religious Studies: On the Edges of Catholic Consciousness: Eastern Catholics in the US. RSVP by email.
Featuring Christine DeLisle, author of Placental Politics: CHamoru Women, White Womanhood, and Indigeneity under U.S. Colonialism in Guam (forthcoming). The title of the talk will be announced soon. Zoom link for the event.
Launching SUURJ Volume 5 (Seattle University Undergraduate Research Journal)
May 26, 6 p.m.
This year, SUURJ received a record 60 submissions from 12 majors across the university. After a rigorous review and multi-phase editing process by student and faculty editors, the finished publication will comprise 11 essays from nine diverse majors and the Core. Join the event on Zoom. More information about SUURJ is available here.
The Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture hosts this year’s current Faculty Fellows in presenting their research. Dr. Amelia Seraphia Derr, Social Work: Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs: Using Participatory and Collaborative Processes to Respond to Emerging Migration Trends. RSVP by email.
Dan Giuliani, Volt Athletics, Technology in performance and health/fitness. The Kinesiology Department continues their podcast series, Redhawk Squawk. Register here to receive the Zoom link.
The Seattle University Choirs presents the final virtual choir performance for 2020-2021, "We Remember Them" by Susan LaBarr, dedicated to the more than three million lives lost to COVID-19. Find this performance and others, and join our virtual community, on Facebook, Instagram (@seattleuchoirs), and YouTube.
The Department of Performing Arts and Arts Leadership invites you to a conversation with Dr. Quinton Morris about his exciting new venture with KING FM, Unmute the Voices.
Dr. Morris will be interviewed by Maggie Molloy, Seattle University alum and the host of Second Inversion at KING FM. Unmute the Voices is a national radio show, podcast and video series that celebrates the music and performances of BIPOC composers and performers with dedicated space for BIPOC artistry. The project highlights classical music written by composers from BIPOC communities and includes performances and interviews with artists of color. Free; register to receive the Zoom link.
May 18, 10:30 to 3:30 p.m.
June 4, 3 p.m.
Watch for the Zoom link.
June 13, 1 p.m. (PDT)
The ceremony will be prerecorded and will broadcast online. After the university section (convocation, invocation, Fr. Steve remarks, keynote, student speakers, etc.) there will be a college commencement ceremony. All CAS GR and UG students will have their name called and will have the opportunity to provide a picture and quote that appears when their name is called. Faculty and staff are encouraged to watch the broadcast on June 13 and provide encouragement and congratulations through a social media tab (more details to come) when their students' names are called.
Departments and programs can host their own smaller virtual celebrations as well. If you are planning a virtual celebration specific to your department/program, make sure to check the commencement website to ensure that your event does not conflict with other university-wide commencement related events. Given the ongoing pandemic, there are to be no in-person graduation celebrations this year; there is no way to ensure equitable or safe access to any such gatherings.
Find the most recent Academic Calendar dates here.
Monday, April 8 at 11:30 AM
Wednesday, April 10 at 12:30 PM
Thursday, April 11 at 12:00 PM
Monday, April 15 at 12:00 PM
Wednesday, April 17 at 6:00 PM
Thursday, April 25 at 12:00 PM
The Dean’s Monthly Memo is published the second full week of the month, September through December and February through June. Send your updates at any time to Karen Bystrom.