Dean Emeriti
Kristen M. Swanson, College of Nursing
American Academy of Nursing Fellow
She is known nationally and internationally for her leadership and her scholarship. Her Caring nursing theory has been used by countless scholars as a framework for their research.
Under Dean Swanson’s leadership we have grown our BSN program and moved our nurse practitioner program from a master’s degree to a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. We successfully went through 4 accreditations under her leadership – she deserves a medal just for that!
She was a fearless leader in how we weathered the pandemic. When COVID hit, we had to pivot our clinical rotations from in person to virtual in a matter of days. Dean Swanson was not only proactive in creating an alternative plan for our students but was a leader in how to approach COVID issues in nursing education across Washington and nationally. She was the one to spearhead the partnership with Swedish to provide a vaccination clinic during the pandemic. We were able to bring in our nursing students to work with faculty and other nurses to provide vaccinations to the community. The SU-Swedish model of moving hundreds of people through vaccinations quickly and efficiently was copied and used across the country.
Dean Swanson is beloved by faculty and staff – she truly cares about people and has an open door policy. She will be a hard act to follow, but she is leaving the CON in good shape.
It has been my good fortune to be an Associate Dean under Dean Swanson. I can’t tell you how much I have learned about leadership and addressing tough issues by working closely with her. She will be missed.
Faculty Emeriti
Jeffery A. Brown, College of Science & Engineering
Annette Clark, School of Law
Professor Clark was named Dean of Seattle University School of Law in 2013 and served in that capacity until 2022. She was the first alumnus of Seattle U Law to serve as its dean and the only law dean in the country to hold both J.D. and M.D. degrees. During those 9 years, she led efforts to “right-size” the law school, grow its national reputation, and enhance the law school’s social justice footprint in the community. Under her leadership, Seattle U Law was recognized as one of the most diverse law schools and a top law school nationally for racial justice and equity. The law school also diversified its educational offerings, launching new LL.M. programs, a Master’s in Legal Studies, and a part-time Flex JD program that offers legal education in an innovative hybrid, online format. Among other DEI efforts, Professor Clark spearheaded an initiative to bring access to legal education to Central Washington through a Law School Admission Council-funded pipeline collaboration among Heritage University, Seattle University School of Law, Gonzaga University School of Law, and the University of Washington School of Law.
Professor Clark counts teaching law students as one of her greatest joys. Her areas of expertise include civil procedure, medical liability, bioethics, and legal education, and she is a frequent regional and national lecturer on those topics. Her scholarship operates at the interface of health care, law, and health policy, with a particular emphasis on end-of-life issues. She has published articles in the New York University Law Review, the Georgetown Law Journal, and the Tulane Law Review, among others. To commemorate Seattle University School of Law’s 50th anniversary this year, she is currently writing an article describing the sale of the law school in 1993 from the University of Puget Sound to Seattle University and the impact the change in sponsorship had on the law school’s trajectory.
While on the Seattle U Law faculty, Professor Clark received the Seattle Journal for Social Justice Faculty Award in 2005, the Dean's Medal in 2006, and the Outstanding Teacher Award from the graduating classes in 2007 and 2011. She was named the James B. McGoldrick, S.J., Fellow in 2008-09 by President Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J. This annual award is given to the faculty member or administrator who best exemplifies commitment to students and to the values of a Jesuit education.
Throughout her professional career, Professor Clark has been active in various professional organizations, including the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), where she most recently served as the 2022 Chair of the Workshop for New Law School Teachers Planning Committee. She was the co-leader and co-host for many years of the national Promoting Diversity in Law School Leadership Workshop, which has successfully promoted and fostered diversity in law school leadership positions, particularly law deanships. In the community, Professor Clark has been a member of the MultiCare Institutional Review Board, the Bloodworks Northwest Board of Trustees, and the Washington Leadership Institute Advisory Board, and she currently serves on the Safe Crossings Foundation Board and the Overlake Medical Center Board of Trustees.
In recognition of her service to the legal profession, Professor Clark received the 2018 Betty Binns Fletcher Leadership and Justice Award from MAMA Seattle, which is given each year to an individual who has paved the way to success for, and has served as an inspiration to, other mother attorneys striving to excel in their legal careers while balancing family demands. In 2021, Professor Clark was named the recipient of the Washington Women Lawyers Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst Passing the Torch Award, which is given annually to an individual who has gone above and beyond in mentoring women lawyers, making a difference, and “passing the torch” in support of WWL’s mission to further the integration of women in the legal profession, promote equal rights and opportunities for women, and prevent discrimination against them.
Terri Clark, College of Nursing
American College of Nurse-Midwives Fellow
Coming soon...
Theresa M. Earenfight, College of Arts & Sciences
Professor Earenfight's research and teaching focuses on questions of women and power, authority, and agency. Her focus specifically on queens and queenship and am currently finishing a book on Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. In this book, tentatively entitled Portraits of Catherine, is not a conventional academic study nor a biography, and it uses material culture in the form of clothing and shoes she wore, books she commissioned and read, paintings and objects of art that she owned to get a richer sense of who she was.
Paul Kidder, College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Kidder received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Boston College in 1987 and joined the Seattle University faculty in 1989. He specializes in metaphysics, Continental philosophy, philosophy of art and architecture, and ethics, including ethics in urban affairs. He is author of Minoru Yamasaki and the Fragility of Architecture and Gadamer for Architects, both published by Routledge. His recent courses include "Democracy and the Humanities," "Philosophy of Art," "Existentialism," "Faith and Reason in Global Context," "Crises in Contemporary Thought," and "Major Ethical Debates."
Kevin K. Maifeld, College of Arts & Sciences
Kevin K. Maifeld is the Founding Director and Professor of the Master of Fine Arts in Arts Leadership program at Seattle University and a Senior Consultant with Arts Consulting Group. He previously served as the Managing Director of the Seattle Children’s Theatre from 2001 to 2007. Before moving to Seattle, Kevin served, for seven years, as the Managing Director of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and was Co-Chair of the Theatre Management/Master of Fine Arts Program at the University of Alabama. While at ASF, Kevin produced the Tony Award nominated musical, Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues that enjoyed a successful Broadway run and toured nationally and A Lesson Before Dying at the Signature Theatre in New York. Prior to joining ASF, Kevin served as Executive Director of the Denver Center Theatre Company for more than four years managing a four- theatre complex and the National Theatre Conservatory at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. From 1980 to 1989, Kevin was Vice President of The Denver Partnership; a civic organization committed to revitalizing downtown Denver through planned development and targeted investment. Kevin Maifeld served as Treasurer of the Board of Directors of ASSITEJ/USA, the national association of professional children’s theatre and previously served as Treasurer for the Washington State Arts Alliance. Kevin is Past President of the board of Theatre Puget Sound, is a graduate of the 2002/03 Seattle Leadership Tomorrow program and served as Treasurer of the National Theatre Conference in New York. He previously served as Treasurer for the League of Resident Theatres (LORT). Kevin holds an MFA degree in Arts Management from the University of Alabama and a BS degree in Accounting from the University of Denver.
Alvin Moser, College of Science & Engineering
Al Moser came to Seattle University after a number of years of experience in the medical electronics industry. He continues to actively consult in both hardware and software. He is presently on the executive committee of the Seattle Section of IEEE. Professor Moser's professional interests include electronics, microprocessors, and digital system design.
Jeffrey S. Philpott, College of Arts & Sciences
A native of Wyoming, Jeff Philpott has been a faculty member in the Communication Department since 1992. He has a Masters in Interpersonal Communication (with specializations in relationship dynamics and nonverbal communication) and a PhD n Rhetorical Theory and Criticism (with a secondary emphasis in media criticism). His scholarly interests focus on the epistemic and sociological functions of rhetoric, particularly on the role of public narratives in shaping and transforming social knowledge and identity – in other words, how public communication shapes our understanding of the world and ourselves.
His courses at SU have included Introduction to Rhetorical Reasoning, Persuasion, Advanced Rhetorical Theory, Advocacy and Social Change, Public Speaking (basic and advanced), Dynamics of Communication, and Reading Television. He has 18 years of experience as a competitive speaker/debater and as a college-level speech and debate coach and, since 1987, has maintained a small consulting practice helping engineers, architects, and business people improve their communication skills. He served as department chair from 1999 to 2005. Currently he is serving as the Seattle University Core Curriculum Director. Away from the university, his passions are hiking/camping/snowshoeing, cooking, and photography.
Shizuko Suenaga, College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Shizuko Suenaga was born and grew up in Saga, Japan. Out of her curiosity, she came to the U.S. in 1983 and studied Women’s Studies (BA), American Civilization (MA) at University of Massachusetts at Boston, and Sociology (PhD) at Boston College.
For her dissertation, Dr. Suenaga interviewed about thirty Japanese war brides, the women who married American servicemen after World War Two, and wrote about these women focusing on their assimilation patterns in the U.S. Japanese American women including the Japanese war brides have been her research interest. She published a book, Japanese War brides in America: An Oral History, with two co-authors in 2010. She has been an associate in research at Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University since 1998.
Dr. Suenaga has been teaching Japanese language and culture at Seattle University since 2002, and heads the Japanese Program. She also takes care of the Exchange Program with Sophia University in Tokyo.
Danuta M. Wojnar, College of Nursing
N. Jean Bushman Endowed Chair
American Academy of Nursing Fellow
Professor Wojnar's program of research centers in three key areas: 1) support of breastfeeding women through research and policy development; (2) culturally sensitive care to diverse populations, with special focus lesbian and other nontraditional families subsequent to unexpected pregnancy loss; and (3) application of theoretical frameworks to meet the healthcare needs of diverse populations in the United States. Over the past 10 years Professor Wojnar taught across the undergraduate and graduate curricula at Seattle University College of Nursing (SU CON). Areas of expertise include reproductive health theory and clinical, human lactation, research methods, concepts and theories for advanced nursing practice, and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Capstone seminars. Professor Wojnar supervised numerous MSN thesis and scholarly projects, DNP capstones, and was a supervisory committee member for PhD in Nursing Science dissertation research.
Professor Wojnar's service to the profession and Seattle University is driven by her strong commitment to excellence in nursing. Key activities on national level include service on the American Nurses Association Steering Committee to identify Barriers to RN Scope of Practice, American Academy of Nursing Expert Panel on RNs in Primary Care, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows Leadership Action Project to identify the optimal roles for RNs in primary care settings, and service on the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners/ Lactation Education Review and Program Approval Committee. Key service to the College in recent years includes her work as the Chair of the Department of Maternal/ Child and Family Nursing (2010-2015), Chair of the Rank and Tenure Committee (2011-2015), and work on the CON Executive team (2010-present).
