SU Today

In the spirit of “Where Innovation Meets Humanity,” the Tech & Society Reading Group seeks to engage all stakeholders in the ethical, legal and social issues surrounding rapid technological advancement. Group participants will have the opportunity to be discussion leaders, ensuring all perspectives across disciplines are presented and valued. Organizers hope this will illuminate discipline-specific blind spots.

The reading group will meet once a month during the workday around lunchtime on campus given general availability of interested readers. Each discussion will be scheduled to last one hour but we will have a flexible end time to allow spirited discussion to organically conclude. Each meeting will have lunch provided for readers who RSVP and will be hosted in the Lemieux Library.

Please RSVP here. 

Reach out to nkh@seattleu.edu with any questions.

Wednesday, May 8, 12:30 p.m.
Boeing Room, Lemieux Library 122
Lunch included
Please RSVP to ICTC@seattleu.edu

In today’s Anthropocene, the context of increasing environmental degradation accompanies ongoing ill and worsening human health, both disproportionately affecting the most marginalized humans and environmental spaces among us. Embodiment is a complex concept with the potential to help health professionals understand integral ecology and the importance of the Laudato Si’ platform to which Seattle University is committed. Embodiment is also a potential pathway for enacting a truly holistic view of health as framed by Indigenous knowledges and Catholic Intellectual Tradition principles, which both honor “the accumulated wisdom of the past.”

In this presentation, ICTC Faculty Fellow Dr. Jennifer Fricas of the College of Nursing will share findings from an initial literature review of the concept of embodiment, contextualize these with data from research into well-being in Ecuador and discuss implications for the education of health professionals.

Wednesday, May 1, 4–5:30 p.m.*
STCN 160 (LeRoux Room)

You are warmly invited for connection and conversation at the next Colleagues in Jesuit Education featuring SU colleagues:

• Shannon Britton, Grounds Manager
• Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, VP for Mission Integration
• Jason Wirth, Professor, Arts & Sciences, Philosophy

Program:

*3:45 p.m. | Enjoy time to connect over food and wine

4:15 p.m. | Program

5:30 p.m. | Further conversation and refreshments

The Center for Jesuit Education hopes you’ll join for wine, conversation and community. All are welcome! For an Outlook invite, centerforjesuiteducation@seattleu.edu.

Happy Earth Month! Do you have old desk phones, monitors, keyboards/mice or any other electronics collecting dust in your office? ITS Service Desk is available to pick up your workplace electronic recycling. Please complete the quick Electronic Recycling Pickup Form to send in your request and ITS will stop by as soon as they can. You are also welcome to drop off unneeded electronics at the Service Desk in Lemieux Library, 3rd floor, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday–Friday.

Wednesday, May 1
Lunch for in-person attendees begins 11:45 a.m.; program at noon
RSVP here

RoundGlass India Center presents a timely panel featuring experts in higher education, food sciences, agricultural development and food security as they explore the growing opportunities for collaboration between India and the U.S.

Moderated by KV Raman, adjunct professor in Cornell University's School of Integrative Plant Science and faculty fellow in the David R. Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, the speaker panel includes:

• Girish Ganjyal, professor of Food Science at WSU;
• Meetu Kapur, director, Nutrition in Global Growth & Opportunity at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation;
• Peter Kelly, CEO of Grow Further;
• Vijay Raghavan, CEO of Sathguru Management Consultants (Hyderabad, India); and
• Sonny Ramaswamy, president of the North West Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Cosponsored with Seattle University’s Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability, admission is free to the public (with advance registration). In-person registrations will receive a complimentary lunch at the event.

Friday, April 26, 4–6 p.m.
Stuart. T. Rolfe Community Room (Advancement and Alumni Building)
RSVP Here

Join the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center to learn how Hello Robin went from a hobby to being Yelp’s best chocolate chip cookie at Founder Friday with Hello Robin.

Robin Wehl Martin, ’92, founder of Hello Robin and Seattle University alum, is taking Seattle by storm with cookies that all started from humble home kitchen beginnings. After a successful collaboration with and encouragement from close friend Molly Moon in 2013, Wehl’s innovative and bold cookies have been the talk of the town. While they started from simple beginnings, Hello Robin has grown to having two storefront locations in Capitol Hill and University Village.

Harness AI Today to Create Future Success
with Trent Gillespie, MBA ’10, CEO of Stellis AI
Tuesday, April 30, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
Oberto Commons (Sinegal Center)

Open to all SU faculty and staff. Lunch provided, please RSVP here. 

The College of Science and Engineering and the Albers Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) present the Spring Innovation Lunch & Learn—a new quarterly event for SU faculty and staff who are interested in STEM innovation.

AI presents a profound opportunity to unlock breakthrough success, yet few leaders are poised to capitalize on it. In this talk, you will discover how AI will generate up to $30 trillion in global value and learn the mission-critical strategies needed today to avoid getting left behind. With the AI SPRINT framework and real-world implementation examples, you will gain the tools to move beyond fear and uncertainty, transform your organization and advance your career, leveraging AI for continuous innovation, competitive advantage and enduring growth.

Dear SU Faculty and Staff,

As many of you may have heard from students, it’s time for this year’s Search Retreat (May 3–5). Put on by Campus Ministry, Search is an opportunity to deepen spirituality in the context of community. Given the important role that you play in so many students’ lives, you can help to make this experience meaningful and memorable by writing letters for students attending the retreat. You can access a list of students who will be attending or leading Search by following this link. Please take a few moments to review the list and see if you know any students attending and, if so, consider participating by writing Palanca letters.

• Palanca comes from palancar, Spanish for “to lever” or “to lift up or raise.” On the Search Retreat, Palanca serve as a special gift that consists of letters and notes of love and support written for retreatants by family members, friends, professors and mentors.
  
  
• Your letters can express your love for the retreatant, the encouragement you want to offer them, the special memories you have shared with them and/or your gratitude for the gifts they have offered you. It can be as simple as an inspirational quote, a poem, a photo or a fond memory. Palanca letters are a central part of the retreat, which also includes talks by peer leaders, small group conversations and time for reflection and relaxation.
  
  
• Please note that Palanca is a surprise, so Campus Ministry asks that you not mention it to your students until after the retreat. 
  
  
• Please e-mail your letters as soon as possible to searchretreat@seattleu.edu and no later than Wednesday, May 1. In the subject line, please write “[Student Name]: Palanca” (e.g., “Jane Doe: Palanca”). While Campus Ministry will open your e-mail to print your letter and put it in a sealed envelope, they will not read it.
  
  
• If you prefer to turn in a hard copy, letters can be deposited in the Search drop box in the Campus Ministry office (STCN 120) during business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.). Hard copies are due by the end of the business day on Wednesday, May 1. Please do not submit any letters by mail or drop off packages. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Stevi Hamill, Campus Minister for Retreats, at 206-296-5731 or hamillstevi@seattleu.edu. 

– Campus Ministry

The spring quarter open forum for Slate for Student Success will take place virtually on Thursday, April 25, from 11 a.m. to noon. An update will be provided on the project progress, some of the latest functionality will be showcased and there will be time for questions and feedback. If you would like to attend, please use this link to sign up.

Friday, May 24, 10:30 a.m. – noon
Harding 141

Join the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement and other community partners in a discussion of the book Project Unlonely by Jeremy Nobel. During Mental Health Awareness Month, we turn our focus to the crisis of disconnection in our university, our communities of belonging and other terrains, with the hope of destigmatizing loneliness and creating pathways to connection.

CEIE is sponsoring this event in its office. Light refreshments will be served. Please send questions and RSVP to Rev. Dr. Kara Markell, assistant director, at markellk@seattle.edu.

Hello Campus!

Pre-College Program applications are live for Summer 2024. If you know of a rising 10th, 11th, or 12th grader interested in experiencing life at SU for the summer encourage them to apply. Program offerings include AI for Equity, Albers Summer Business Institute and Urban Sustainability. 

Not sure what Pre-College Programs are? Pre-College programs are college access programs that allow current high schoolers to explore their future education track through experiential learning, campus life immersion, college and career readiness and community building. Scholarships are available for these programs. 

Students: Looking for a summer role? Undergraduate Admissions is hiring Program Advisors. Apply on Handshake.

Faculty/Staff: If you have ideas about starting a new Pre-College Program, please contact precollege@seattleu.edu. 

Please note: Undergraduate Admissions oversees the Pre-College Programs.

Learn more: Pre-College Postcard.

Thursday, May 2, 4–6 p.m.
Oberto Commons (Sinegal 200)

You are cordially invited to attend the 2024 Peter L. Lee Endowed Lecture in East Asian Culture and Civilization. This year’s lecture, titled “East Asia in a Larger World: Cross-Cultural Contacts in the Globalizing Middle Ages,” will be delivered by Professor Hyunhee Park, Ph.D. (Department of History, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Center, the City University of New York). 

Dr. Park is an accomplished author, having written Mapping the Chinese and Islamic Worlds: Cross-Cultural Exchange in Pre-Modern Asia (Cambridge 2012) and Soju: A Global History (Cambridge 2021). Her research has focused on the historical cross-cultural contacts between East Asia and the Islamic World, especially in the areas of Sino-Islamic interactions during the Mongol Empire and broader aspects of global history. 

A reception will start at 4 p.m. and the lecture will be between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Learn more at Peter L. Lee Lecture Program 2024.

Tuesday, May 7, 4 p.m.
Casey Commons

The Departments of Philosophy, Political Science and Sociology-Anthropology, with support from the Mellon Foundation and College of Arts and Sciences Events Committee, are hosting a lecture titled “The Only Thing That Hasn’t Changed About Black Politics Since 1965 is How We Think About It” Dr. Adolph Reed, Jr.

Dr. Reed, a professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, has written extensively about black political thought and American politics. His work has focused on the social inequality and economic insecurity experienced by the Black American working class and the mechanisms that create and sustain inequality. He is a columnist for The Nation and frequently appears in other major national publications. 

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Dr. Sarah Cate at scate@seattleu.edu.

See the event flyer at Adolph Reed Talk.

The Albers School’s direct trade coffee brand, MotMot, is running a “thank you to the community” sale from April 22–25. Take 20 percent off (discount applied automatically) when you purchase any coffee product from MotMot on those dates. Delivery is free to Seattle University. Visit motmotcoffee.com to stock up.

MotMot is also available at The Bottom Line, the coffee shop in Pigott Building. And if you order catering through Emerald Plate/Chartwells, MotMot is now available upon request!

Monday, April 29, 5–6:30 p.m.
Pigott 102

Nervous about the future? Want to hear more about what your life could look like in various career fields as a disabled or neurodivergent person? Join the Infinity Club for our annual legacy panel to hear Seattle University professors, staff and faculty discuss their experiences navigating their career fields as a neurodivergent or disabled person.

Snacks will be provided. Have any questions? Please contact zdar@seattleu.edu and agetz@seattleu.edu. 

Wellness and Health Promotion is excited to offer Mental Health First Aid free of charge to any Seattle University student, faculty or staff member. Mental Health First Aid is an evidence-based program developed by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

Certified facilitators have trained more than 3 million people in US, and peer-reviewed studies offer strong evidence that Mental Health First Aiders are more knowledgeable and confident when it comes to identifying and helping an individual in distress. Mental Health First Aid uses community-specific scenarios, activities and videos to teach the skills needed to recognize and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges as well as how to provide initial support until appropriate professional help is received.

Participants must complete all nine hours of training (12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. across both days of training) to receive Mental Health First Aid certification. Available sessions are:

• Session 1. Thursday, April 25, and Friday, April 26, from 12:30 to 5 p.m.
• Session 2. Monday, May 6, and Monday, May 13, from 12:30 to 5 p.m.

Space is limited to 30 participants. Please complete this form to request a spot.

If you have any questions, please e-mail Dr. Chris Fiorello, Director of Wellness and Health Promotion, at wellness@seattleu.edu.

Staff and faculty are invited to help find candidates for open staff positions. Please view the full list of postings or check out this week’s highlighted opportunities: 

Academic Specialist: Records and Data Management (Office of the Registrar)

Director of Alumni Engagement (Alumni Engagement)

Thursday, April 25, 5:30–6:30 p.m.
Pigott Auditorium
Register to save your seat

Join the Albers School of Business and Economics as it hosts its final guest of the 2023–24 Albers Executive Speaker Series, PCC Community Markets President and CEO Krish Srinivasan. He will be sharing his experiences leading the country’s largest cooperative retail grocer in his talk, “People, Planet, and Profit: A CEO's Perspective on Leading a Food Co-op Steeped in Community and Purpose.”

Tuesday, April 30, 12:30–1:30 p.m.
Register for the workshop on Tockify

Faculty: Are you looking for alternatives to expensive textbooks for your students? Do you want to integrate more free learning content into your courses? In this free workshop, the Center for Digital Learning & Innovation (CDLI) will help you navigate the world of Open Educational Resources (OERs) and get you started finding free resources for your courses—including textbooks, journals, assignments, activities, assessments, images and video!

This event is co-sponsored by the Open Education Task Force.

Thursday, April 25
5:30 p.m. reception; 6 p.m. event begins
Wyckoff Auditorium, Engineering Building
Register here
Appetizers and refreshments will be served before and after the event. 

Please join in commemorating the launch of the Department of Public Affairs and Nonprofit Leadership with this special event featuring Deepa Iyer, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at Building Movement Project and writer. The event will be moderated by Dr. Maureen Emerson Feit and Dr. Rashmi Chordiya and will include a student-led panel discussion and an interactive exhibit on Iyer’s Social Change Ecosystems framework.  

“NOVA” Opening Reception
Thursday, April 18, 4:30–7:30 p.m.
Vachon Gallery (Fine Arts Building)

Join in celebrating the hard work of the 2024 Design Cohort at the opening reception for “NOVA.”

From the exhibition team:

“‘NOVA’ is a culmination of our hard work and evolution as designers at Seattle University. A nova is an astronomical event that translates to ‘new star’ in Latin. 

“While coming up with a theme that represented us as a cohort, we first landed on the idea of a constellation, with each of us as unique, individual stars unified. This evolved into 'NOVA,' symbolizing us as new stars in the professional design world. Like a nova’s light suddenly brightens, we wanted to highlight the best of our work in the Design program. 

“The explosion of light reflects our launch into different artistic directions as our time as a cohort together comes to an end. 'NOVA' celebrates the 2024 Student Design Cohort as 14 individual designers and their growth in this senior exhibition."

The exhibition runs through May 8. Learn more at Arts at Seattle U.

Members of the Laudato Si’ Action Plan Priority 2 Zero Waste Working Group are partnering with the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN) to complete Seattle University’s first comprehensive campus-wide waste assessment. The information gathered will enable SU to develop a strategic action plan striving toward zero waste. This is a university goal adopted as part of our sustainability commitment and institutional participation in the Laudato Si' Action Platform.

Celebrate Earth Day by deepening your connection with the more than human world through this short online prayer video from the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement. Join with practitioners from our SU community and beyond in this meditative prayer for the earth.

The Procurement Office, Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability and Laudato Si’ Action Platform are seeking community members’ feedback on a draft Policy on Sustainable Procurement. The policy is intended as a resource to facilitate purchasing products and services in a manner that minimizes the harmful effects on people and the planet. The draft policy is available for review on the university’s Policies page. Please direct any questions or comments to Associate Director of Sustainability Yolanda Cieters at cietersy@seattleu.edu.

Saturday, April 27, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
Parking Lot P6 at 1313 E Columbia St.

Looking to discard unwanted or expired prescription medications and shred documents you no longer need? The Department of Public Safety is working with the Seattle Police Department to host DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and a Shredathon at three drop-off/drive-thru locations including SU.

Shredding requirements:

• Limit of three bags/boxes per vehicle.
• Box size requirements: 10 L x 12 W x 15 H or smaller.
• Plastic Items such as credit cards, notebooks and compact disks CANNOT be accepted.
• Documents should be free of paper clips and other metal (staples do not need to be removed).

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will dispose of the unwanted medications. Iron Mountain Shredding is generously donating their shredding services. Canned and dry goods will also be accepted to benefit the local community.

For more information, contact Nikki Maryanski in the Department of Public Safety at drm@seattleu.edu.

Assistant Professor in Film and Media Studies Benjamin Schultz-Figueroa, PhD, was awarded a Summer Stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The stipend will support Dr. Schultz-Figueroa's project, Beastly Futures: Multispecies Documentary in the Time of Mass Extinction, a book on the ways documentary films about animals have evolved as makers and viewers come to better understand environmental change and the mass extinction of species.

A highly competitive program, this is the first time in more than 20 years that an SU faculty has received a Summer Stipend. More information on this award can be found in the NEH Press Release and on the application process on the OSP webpage.

Read more at Animal Stories on The Newsroom.

Tuesday, April 23, 12:30–1:30 p.m.
Via Zoom (link provided in advance): RSVP HERE

The Office of Sponsored Projects is excited to partner with the Office of Strategic Initiatives to host a series of Lightning Talks in AY23-24 centered on the three thematic curricular priorities under our Reignited Strategic Directions, Goal 1: Reimagine and Revise our Curriculum. The third and final installment in spring quarter will highlight faculty scholarship related to racial injustice and widening economic inequality.

Learn from six colleagues from across Seattle University's colleges whose scholarship embodies this theme, including:

• Janie Ng, Albers School of Business & Economics | Empowering our Community: Fostering Growth for Underserved Small Businesses
• Janet Hayatshahi, College of Arts & Sciences | Nation of Immigrants
• David Fainstein, College of Education | From Community to Classroom: Supporting School Tutors with Instructional Science
• Gayle Robinson, College of Nursing | Engaging in Reckoning with Racism in Nursing
• Mark Jordan, College of Science & Engineering | The Seattle University Math and Science Scholars: A Program for Improving Outcomes in STEM for Low Income Students
• Danieli Evans, School of Law | Belonging, Equity, and the Law

The application deadline for students to present at the Student Research and Creativity Conference (SRCCon) ’24 has been extended to April 22. Students can apply at the SRCCon website.

SRCCon, which showcases undergraduate and graduate student research and creativity presentations, takes place Friday, May 10, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. 

Presenting at SRCCon offers many benefits including:

• Campus involvement and networking opportunities with peers and faculty.
• Provides valuable real-world experience, potentially confirming career paths or unveiling new ones.
• Strengthens scholarship and graduate school applications.
• Provides a platform for personal growth and confidence-building.

Friday, April 19, noon–1 p.m.
LeRoux Conference Center (+ virtual option)
Register here
This free hybrid event includes lunch with in-person registration or livestream viewing from anywhere.

What factors are most likely to influence Indian Americans’ voting patterns and political beliefs? In the coming 2024 election year, with South Asian candidates on the ballot and American democracy in transition, these questions matter more than ever. Join the RoundGlass India Center Indian American Community Services for this timely event.

Karthik Ramakrishnan is professor of public policy at the University of California, Riverside and the founder of AAPI Data, a nationally recognized publisher of demographic data and policy research on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. He has published many articles and seven books, including most recently, Citizenship Reimagined (Cambridge, 2020) and Framing Immigrants (Russell Sage, 2016), and has written dozens of op-eds and appeared in nearly 3,000 news stories. 

Wednesday, April 24
4:30–5 p.m. | Reception
5–6:30 p.m. | Lecture and Q&A
Rolfe Community Room, Advancement and Alumni Building

Dr. Ryan W. Booth (member of the Upper Skagit Tribe), a postdoctoral fellow in the History Department at Washington State University–Pullman, presents this year’s Al Mann Lecture.

Dr. Booth researches Jesuit Native American Boarding Schools in the Pacific Northwest to examine the historical legacy of the boarding schools and to help identify gravesite locations and student identities within historical archives. In this talk, Dr. Booth examines the history of the Jesuit-Native American boarding school at DeSmet, Idaho as a case study. The boarding school among the Schitsu’umsh (Coeur d’Alene) operated from 1878-1974.

Friday, May 10, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Virtual: Register here  

All are invited to this free online event to explore the fascinating intersection between technology, criminology and criminal justice.

Sunday, April 28, 2 p.m.
Oberto Commons (Sinegal Center)

"Dancing in a Circle" will bring to life many of the stories in Nobuko Miyamoto’s memoir, Not Yo’ Butterfly, with an opportunity to dialogue with her as she "talks story."

Rev. Don Castro will introduce the program with a short chanting invocation, explanation of the Buddhist meaning of “mottainai” and introduction of Nobuko. Bon odori dancing including Nobuko’s “Mottainai” and “Kangie” will be presented for all to join and dance in a circle at the conclusion.

Donations from this event will go to Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple to support ongoing educational programs.

Saturday, April 27, 7 p.m.
Pigott Auditorium

Nobuko Miyamoto’s 120,000 Stories is a multi-generational journey with stories that address issues such as race, gender, multiculturalism and climate change. Miyamoto is an iconic dancer, creative artist and activist, who will be presenting an intimate concert through storytelling of her amazing life. She will be accompanied by music director Derek Nakamoto and guest artists Chic Street Man and Francis Wong.

Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple is grateful to Miyamoto for presenting this concert, hosted by Seattle University as a fundraiser for the Seattle Betsuin Arson Fire Restoration Fund.

On New Year’s Eve, SU's neighbors at the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple were victimized by arson. The damage was significant, including the loss of an invaluable archive. It will be many months before they can open again and the costly repairs have begun. Donations from this event will go directly to support the repairs.

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,  

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Burkhard Englert has been appointed the Department Chair and Amazon Endowed Chair of Computer Science. Dr. Englert currently serves as the Department Chair of Computer Science at Norfolk State University after being in the same position at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. He will begin at Seattle University on July 1. 

Dr. Englert brings a wealth of experience and a long track record of leadership, advocacy and scholarly excellence to the College of Science and Engineering. Those skills will be vital given the increasing popularity of computing programs, including software engineering, cybersecurity, information and data science and computer engineering, among others. 

As the Department Chair and Amazon Chair, Dr. Englert will be able to support the growth of our existing as well as new programs, both at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Additionally he will help address persistent issues of equity and access in collaboration with the faculty and staff in the college. His vision for growth of computer science as a discipline as well as infusing computing around the campus is aligned with our strategic directions. 

As the Computer Science Department Chair/Amazon Endowed Chair, Dr. Englert will be tasked with overseeing the implementation of a strategic vision for the department while supporting and hiring faculty. He also looks forward to developing partnerships both within Seattle University and in industry to help attract students from diverse backgrounds. He said he is most excited to work with our outstanding faculty as they take on the challenge of an ever-changing cyber world, including the increasing use of and issues around artificial intelligence.

“What I really like is Seattle University is always looking forward and the leadership deeply understands the challenges and opportunities that we face,” Dr. Englert said. “I’m excited to be part of that commitment. The faculty is outstanding. They see what the problems are and they aren’t running away, they’re looking to see what has to happen next. It won’t be easy, but it’s exciting to be a part of. I think it’s a perfect fit.”

Beginning his career with teaching positions at UCLA and California State University Long Beach (CSULB), Dr. Englert did a two-year stint as coordinator of Graduate Programs in the College of Engineering at Cal State Long Beach. At Long Beach he also served as the Department Chair for Biomedical Engineering and Computer Engineering/Computer Science before moving on to Dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado, where he also served as Special Assistant of the Provost.

Dr. Englert has been honored for his work several times, including the CSULB Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award, the Robert Sorgenfrey Distinguished Teaching Award for the Department of Mathematics at UCLA, the Louis J. DeLuca Memorial Award as outstanding Teaching Assistant in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Connecticut as well as the CSULB Leadership Fellow and the Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) Fellow from the Southern California Section of the Mathematical Association of America.

Dr. Englert has a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from University of Tübingen in Germany, a Master’s in Mathematics and a Master’s in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Connecticut and a PhD in Mathematics (Theoretical Computer Science) from the University of Connecticut.

Much of Dr. Englert’s research involves issues of cybersecurity as well as machine learning, distributed computing, distributed algorithms and transportation network modeling and optimization. He has presented at conferences around the world.

I thank the Search Committee, whose members are listed below, for their hard work in leading a successful process that led us to adding a fantastic candidate to our team. Please join me in giving a very warm welcome to Dr. Englert. We are looking forward to his arrival later this summer.  

Sincerely, 
 

Amit Shukla, PhD
Dean, College of Science and Engineering

Computer Science Department Chair and Amazon Endowed Chair Search Committee  

• Amit Shukla, Dean, College of Science and Engineering (Committee Co-Chair)
• Wan Bae, Professor, Computer Science (Committee Co-Chair)
• Braxton Cuneo, Assistant Professor, Computer Science
• Sheila Oh, Associate Teaching Professor, Director of Computer Science Fundamentals Certificate Program
• Narissa Tsuboi, Graduate Research Assistant
• Jeff Boersema, Mathematics Department Chair 

Professor of Mathematics Brian Fischer, PhD, along with longtime collaborators at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and others, was recently awarded funds from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) for two projects focused on understanding neurological auditory systems.

• For the first project, funded through the Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience program, Dr. Fischer and a team of international collaborators will examine fundamental mechanisms involved in the visual-auditory pathways of barn owls.
  
  
• The second project, funded through the Brain Research through Advancing Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, investigates network connectivity and cellular computation in the auditory systems of barn owls to shed light on how neural mechanisms produce normal and learned behavior.

Dr. Fischer, a computational neuroscientist, will lead modeling and data analysis for both projects. Funding will enable Dr. Fischer to engage two undergraduate students per year over three years for each year, for a total of 18 undergraduate research experiences.

Dear Faculty and Staff,

We are looking for your textbook adoptions for Summer and Fall Quarter 2024. Please submit these as early as possible. Our target date to get as many adoptions as we can is May 5. This date helps us maximize our list of books we want to buy back from students during Finals Week and allows us to obtain as many used books as we can. We are competing with universities all over the country for used textbooks.

The link to submit your textbook orders is right here. 

Please send me an e-mail if you have not already created an account and need one set up or if you have password trouble. I can resolve both issues quickly.

If your class requires no textbook, please let us know via e-mail or the adoptions website. There is a check box to indicate there are no textbooks required for your class. If your class is cross-listed, you must submit a textbook order for each cross-listed class or include a note with the other course numbers. Independent Study and Internship classes will be listed as “No Text Required” unless I hear otherwise. If that applies to you, you do not have to do a thing.

The Campus Store carries a reseller permit from Washington State. This prevents us from acquiring desk or instructor copies from publishers. Most publisher websites or customer service phone lines are set up for faculty to request desk copies.  

I am here to help the best I can, so please let me know if you have any questions outside of what is covered in this message.

Aaron Klouzal

Course Materials Market Manager
klouzala@seattleu.edu

The Office of University Counsel is seeking community members’ feedback on a draft Protection of Minors Policy. The policy is intended to formalize certain best practices for managing risks associated with university programming involving minors. The draft policy is available for review on the university’s Policies page. Please direct any questions or comments to Associate University Counsel Sarah Cox at scox1@seattleu.edu. 

Monday, April 22, noon–1:45 p.m.
Doors open 11:30 a.m.; light lunch served 
Pigott Auditorium

Celebrate Earth Day with Earth Talks, Seattle University’s annual showcase of five-minute sustainability-focused presentations by students, staff, faculty and community partners.

This year’s keynote speaker is Jessyn Farrell, City of Seattle’s Director at the Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE). The event’s theme is “Care for Our Common Home.”

Earth Talks is hosted by the Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability (CEJS), and cosponsored by the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture (ICTC), the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement (CEIE) and the Laudato Si Action Platform.

For the program and event details, visit Earth Talks.

Giveaway: All attendees at Red Talks will receive a complimentary pass to the Bloomberg Green Festival. Taking place in Seattle July 10–13, the inaugural festival will celebrate thinkers, doers, and innovators who leading the way toward a greener future.

In December 2023, the Vatican shocked both the Catholic community and the world with the release of Fiducia Supplicans, a document about the blessing of persons in irregular unions. Surprising many, the document explicitly discussed the blessing of same-sex couples. It sparked much discussion and debate, leaving people wondering what this means for the Catholic Church locally and internationally. Does this mark a radical change or a continuation of Pope Francis’s pastoral approach towards people in same-sex relationships? 

The Division of Mission Integration and the Institute for Catholic Thought & Culture invite you to explore Fiducia Supplicans, as well as its reception by the wider Catholic Church, at one or both of the following events on Tuesday, April 23:

• Faculty Fishbowl Conversation & Lunch
  12:30 p.m.–1:45 p.m. | Student Center 210
  RSVP requested for lunch: missionintegration@seattleu.edu
  
  
• Public Event and Discussion
  4:30–5:45 p.m. | Le Roux Conference Center (STCN 160)

Each event will include an interdisciplinary conversation with faculty colleagues: 

• Michael Jaycox, PhD, Associate Professor, Theology and Religious Studies Department
• Jodi O’Brien, PhD, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor, Sociology Department
• Lucas Sharma, S.J., PhD Student, Sociology Department, UCSD, Seattle University Trustee, and ICTC Advisory Board Member

Thursday, May 2, 12:30–2 p.m.  
Please RSVP for the event here.
(In consideration of accessibility and universal design, this event is offered fully online. The Zoom link will be sent to registered participants)

College of Arts and Sciences Dean Powers and the Leadership Committee on Intersectionality and Justice (LCIJ) invite members of the college community to this second installment of the 2024 Inclusive Conversations Series. In this meeting Dr. Mary-Frances Winters*, the author of Inclusive Conversations, will guide a deeper exploration of the Inclusive Conversations principles and how to apply them in the context of of the College of Arts & Sciences.

*Mary-Frances Winters (she/her/hers) is the author of seven books including Racial Justice at Work: Practical Solutions for Systemic Change and best sellers Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit and We Can’t Talk About That at Work! How to Talk About Race, Religion, Politics, and Other Polarizing Topics. She is the Founder and CEO of The Winters Group, Inc., a global diversity, equity, inclusion and justice consulting firm.

Dr. Winters came of age during the civil rights movement of the 1960s and is a passionate advocate for justice and equity. Named a top ten diversity and inclusion trailblazer by Forbes, she believes in opening doors and amplifying marginalized voices and their allies. Winters has received many awards and honors, including the ATHENA Award, Diversity Pioneer from Profiles in Diversity Journal, The Winds of Change recognition from The Forum on Workplace Inclusion, the 2023 Profiles in Diversity Journal Black Leadership Award and the 2024 Empowering Equitable Change Award from the University of Rochester.

As CEO of The Winters Group for the past forty years, she harnesses her extensive experience in strategic planning, change management, diversity, organization development, training and facilitation, systems thinking and qualitative and quantitative research methods to work with senior leadership teams to drive meaningful organizational change.

The e-book version of Inclusive Conversations by Mary-Frances Winters is available in digital form for free through the SU Library.  

Also available: LinkedIn Learning Videos | Use your SU credentials for free access to explore the following LinkedIn Learning courses led by Mary-Frances Winters.  

CAS Leadership Committee for Intersectionality and Justice (LCIJ)

• Hye-Kyung Kang, LCIJ Co-Chair and Professor of Social Work 
• Julius Moss, LCIJ Co-Chair and Interim Chair of Kinesiology 
• Monica Alfonzo, LCIJ Student Representative
• Angelique Davis, LCIJ Faculty Representative, Professor, and Director of African and African American Studies 
• Joseph DeFilippis, LCIJ Faculty Representative and Associate Professor of Social Work 
• Isha Rajvanshi, LCIJ Student Representative
• Heather Reis Fike, LCIJ Staff Representative
• Ava Thornton, LCIJ Student Representative
• Darozyl Touch, Ex-officio Member and Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice

The Campus Store is having a huge clearance event! Come to find many of your favorite sweatshirts and clothing items marked down 25 percent and office/dorm and health/beauty products on sale for 50% off.

Faculty “Writing” Groups (FWGs) are back with a slightly different process for registration.

Why a Faculty "Writing" Group?

FWGs provide you with accountability and camaraderie as you work toward your own individual research goals. (The word “writing” is being used loosely here to encapsulate whatever is involved from the inception of your idea to the completion of the final scholarship “product.”) Visit the Faculty "Writing" Groups webpage for examples of scholarship you might be working toward while participating in a FWG and for information on how to register. 

What should I expect after registration?

The Center for Faculty Development is now organizing FWGs on an on-demand basis. Once sufficient faculty are interested, you will be grouped with two or three other colleagues from across campus and will be invited to attend a brief launch meeting with your group and a member of the center.

Thursday, Apr 25, 3:30–5 p.m.
Loyola 201
Appetizers, beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages will be served
» Register

Spring is typically the time of year when universities around the country are looking back and toasting the successes of the past 12 months. Less celebrated—but no less important—are all those instances of risk-taking over the past 12 months that didn’t lead to the results we had hoped for, such as:

• Articles, chapters and conference papers that were rejected;
• Learning activities, assignment designs and course designs that didn't work as intended;
• Grants, fellowships and funding applications that didn't come through;
• Applications that were turned down; and
• Conference sessions that no one showed up for.

Academia is full of such moments, yet we rarely acknowledge them publicly. As author Helen Sword (2017, p. 178) writes, “habitual risk takers understand that failure, too, is worth celebrating,” and with that in mind, the Center for Faculty Development, Office of Sponsored Projects, and Center for Jesuit Education are co-sponsoring this celebration of risk-taking. This is a chance for us to toast our valiant efforts, recognizing that—to quote Einstein—“Failure is success in progress.”

For this informal reception and celebration to go ahead, confirmation is needed of at least 30 “swings that were misses” from attending faculty. So when you register, be sure to let us know what miss(es) we can anonymously add to the list.

Information for this event is also available at To the Swings We Missed: A Celebration of Risk-Taking in the Academy.

Dear Colleagues:

As some of you know, Professor Emeritus Henry “Hank” McGee, Jr. passed away last month. Professor McGee was one of the first African American hires at the UCLA School of Law, where he taught for 25 years before joining Seattle University in 1994 as our School of Law’s first-ever tenured professor of color.

Previous to his career in higher education, Professor McGee served as a county prosecutor, private firm litigator and regional director of the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity Legal Services Program. He represented Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) members who were arrested for assisting with African American voter registration during Freedom Summer in 1965.

Whether in government, private practice or academia, Professor McGee brought to his work an unwavering commitment to racial and economic justice and service to others. His prolific scholarship and writing helped shape our understanding of civil rights issues nationally and closer to home, including among many others a casebook he coauthored on housing law and his widely cited article on the transformation of the Central District. He was as engaged globally as locally, twice serving as a Fulbright Scholar and teaching at more than 30 universities throughout the world.

Multitalented and extensively involved in the community, Professor McGee was an accomplished violinist who performed with the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, and he served on a number of boards in the Seattle area. A remembrance in BlackPast summarizes Professor McGee’s impact and accomplishments, which include the Metropolitan King County Council’s recognition of his distinguished legacy upon his retirement in 2015.

As we celebrate the truly extraordinary career and life of Professor McGee, let us especially keep in our prayers his wife, Dr. Victoria Kill, who served as Seattle University’s first full-time director of the Patricia Wismer Center and Adjunct Professor in English and Women and Gender Studies.

A memorial for Professor McGee will be held at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, May 4, at Seattle First Baptist Church (1111 Harvard Ave.). The service will include remarks by Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Natasha Martin and music by Professor Quinton Morris. A social will follow with ice cream—a particular love of Professor McGee, as his colleagues can attest.

Please join me in remembering with gratitude Professor McGee and all that he meant to our School of Law, our university and the wider community.

Respectfully,

Eduardo M. Peñalver
President

Thursday, April 18, noon–2 p.m.
Lemieux Library 369

Get help starting and completing your FAFSA/WASFA application. Financial Aid counselors will be available to support you. Come successfully submit, make corrections, ask questions and pick up a snack.

• Students should bring their FSA ID and password info, 2022 tax and income information, and a computer.

Questions? E-mail abrockel@seattleu.edu.

Friday, April 26, 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Via Zoom: To register, please complete this form by April 24
After you submit the form, a calendar invite with a Zoom link will be sent to confirm your registration.

The MOSAIC Center is excited to share another opportunity to complete SU UndocuAlly Training. This spring, The MOSAIC Center is offering a single session, virtual training. As with last quarter, this training aims to equip SU staff and faculty with skills to support undocumented students in their work. If you completed UndocuAlly Training during winter quarter, you do not have to sign up again as the content is the same.

The first half of the morning will cover definitions, terminology, myth-busting and relevant state and federal policies. The second half will be centered on application of concepts, what it means to be an UndocuAlly, how to assist undocumented students throughout their time at SU and available resources.

Questions? Please e-mail grios@seattleu.edu.

Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal
Faculty Learning Community
Thursdays: April 18, May 2 and May 16, 2–3:15 p.m.
Wismer Center (Loyola 200)

Tea and coffee provided at all meetings

*A copy of the book will be delivered to your faculty mailbox on campus prior to the first session

» Register

Co-facilitated by Samantha Hoang (Mechanical Engineering) and Michelle DuBois (Biology).

In this learning community, participants will read Unraveling Faculty Burnout, a book by Rebecca Pope-Ruark, who explores how we can reframe our experiences and conversations to mitigate burnout, specifically addressing the stressors unique to female faculty and female faculty of color. All are welcome.

Over the three sessions, learn about the “four pillars of burnout resilience,” as discussed in the book:

• Re-discovering your purpose and sense of meaningful work.
• Practicing compassion for yourself and others.
• Deepening connections with peers and mentors.
• Re-establishing realistic balance through self-care and setting boundaries.

Read a full description on the Faculty Development site.

The OSP quarterly newsletter is now available here. Learn about new resources, upcoming events, recent awards made to your SU colleagues, policy updates, programming to support faculty scholarship and more.

Join the Center for Faculty Development for the third gathering of faculty and student-facing staff focused on academic success!

The Mid-Term Check-in: Comparing Notes on Our Students' Experiences
Monday, April 15, 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Via Zoom: Register

Co-sponsored by Learning Assistance Programs and the Center for Faculty Development

Co-facilitated by Angelique Jenkins (Learning Assistance Programs) and David Green (Center for Faculty Development)

What is happening in our classrooms and office hours this term? What are some of our key partners in supporting students—Learning Assistance, the English Language Learning Center, the International Student Center, Housing & Residence Life and UREC—noticing in their own interactions with our students?

This metaphorical “half-time huddle” provides an opportunity to share observations, experiences and ideas that will help us all better understand shifts and patterns among our students.

Read the full event description and register.

Find long-term community by joining one of the Center for Faculty Development's faculty affinity groups. Click the title of each group to be taken to our website for more information.

• Affinity group for term faculty of color | Tuesdays: April 16, April 30 and May 21 | 2–3 p.m. | Via Zoom | Register
• Affinity group for tenure-track faculty of color | Wednesdays: April 17, May 8 and May 29 | 11 a.m.–noon | Wismer Center (Loyola 200) | Coffee and tea provided | Register
• Affinity group for faculty parents | Tuesdays: April 23, May 7 and May 21 | 11 a.m.–noon | All sessions via Zoom; the final session is hyflex with in-person participants meeting in Casey 515 | Register

Tuesday, April 16, 3:30–4:30 p.m.
Lemieux 409

Learn how to use Outlook as a success tool and schedule, track and organize everything important. Utilize your folders to store important information and use the calendar to track meetings, classes, assignments, social events and more. Join Learning Assistance Programs for this workshop to maximize your use of this seemingly simple tool.