Appointments

Donna Teevan, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair of the Theology and Religious Studies Department, has been named as the Gaffney Endowed Chair for the next two-year appointment from Fall 2023 through Spring 2025.

Sharon Suh, PhD, Professor, Theology and Religious Studies, was named the 2023-2025 recipient of the Patricia Wismer Professorship for Gender and Diversity Studies.

Hilary Hawley, PhD, was named Director of First-Year Academic Engagement.

22-23 Provost’s Faculty Award

Jacqueline Helfgott, PhD, Professor, Criminal Justice and Director, Crime and Justice Research Center, received the award for Excellence in Scholarly Activity Tenured or Tenure-Track Faculty.

More Faculty News

Connie G. Anthony, PhD, Associate Professor, Political Science, conducted an interview with Congressman Adam Smith on US foreign policy, especially the war in Ukraine and its global impact, as part of the Crosscut Festival.

John H. Armstrong, PhD, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies. published a letter in the Los Angeles Times about legislation to support urban solar energy, relating findings from his study about the ecosystem implications of urban renewable energy development and opportunities to plan for biodiversity.

Caitlin Carlson, PhD, Chair and Associate Professor, Communication and Media, is the first Kamp Media Law Scholar-in-Residence in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at University of Iowa. During her visit there, she delivered a guest lecture to the course JMC 2600: Freedom of Expression (their undergraduate media law course) and met with faculty and graduate students.

Sarah D. Cate, PhD, Assistant Professor, Political Science, gave an invited talk based on her new book at Connecticut College titled "The Problems with 'Community' Solutions to Mass Incarceration."

Pete Collins, PhD, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics, attended the signing ceremony in Olympia for the jury diversity legislation with alum Hailey Perkins, MACJ, PhD, who is currently a Court Program Analyst.

Kathleen Cook, PhD, Professor, Psychology, and her colleagues had two papers accepted for the 2023 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition. The papers will be published in the Proceedings and be presented in Baltimore, MD in June.  The papers, with co-authors, Yen-lin Han, Teodora Rutar Shuman, Greg Mason, and UW’s Jennifer Turns, are Building a culture of “Engineering with Engineers” and Creating effective prompts for “Teaming”.  In addition, we will present a workshop on The Sustainability of Change: A Process and Framework.

Serena Cosgrove, PhD, Associate Professor, International Studies, and Marissa Olivares Morales, International Studies faculty and visiting Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, participated in the panel, “Un país cerrado a la investigación social: Reflexiones sobre Libertad académica en Nicaragua” (Closed to research: Reflections about academic freedom in Nicaragua).  Marissa presented a paper titled “The Challenges to teaching and researching in Nicaragua” and Serena served as the panel discussant at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) 2023 Congress in Vancouver, Canada.  Additionally, Serena organized and facilitated a round table at LASA about higher education under threat in the Americas entitled, “Higher education and the authoritarian turn in the Americas: Academic freedom, university autonomy, and critical thinking under threat.”

Julie Homchick Crowe, PhD, Assistant Professor, Communication and Media, attended the Rhetoric Society of America’s summer institute on Graphic Medicine and Rhetorics of Health in May. In June, she is attending Yale University’s Foundations in Bioethics program through their Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics.

Elizabeth Dale, PhD, Associate Professor, Nonprofit Leadership, presented “Understanding intersectional identity, positionality, and motivations among social justice donors” at the West Coast Nonprofit Data Conference at the University of Oregon in Eugene. She is quoted in the Bloomberg article, "Sexual Harassment Claims Spurred Shakeup Atop José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen."

Program, presented her paper, “Educating for Resilience: Sustaining Social Workers for Career Longevity,” at the European Social Work Conference, held in Prague, Czech Republic, May 22-24, 2023.

Claire Garoutte, Associate Professor, Art, Art History, and Design, worked as Dale Chihuly’s in-house photographer for nearly seven years in the 1990s, and one of her photos is the cover of the new book, “The Boathouse: The Artist’s Studio of Dale Chihuly.”

Elaine Gunnison, PhD, Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics, and Director, Master of Arts in Criminal Justice, was elected Vice-President of the Western Society of Criminology for 2023-2024.

Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, PhD, Professor, Modern Languages and Women Gender, and Sexuality Studies, will be a featured poet in the Cascadia Poetry Festival in Seattle, October 6 though 8. She will participate in MUROS 2023, an academic conference in Aliante Spain as the closing poet. The conference is May 18 through 20 at Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche in Elche, Spain. She was also interviewed by Matt Sedillo for Poets Cafe on KPFK.

Tanya Hayes, PhD, Professor and Director, Institute of Public Service and Program Director, Environmental Studies, and Felipe Murtinho, PhD, Associate Professor and Director, International Studies, and Associate Appointments, Institute of Public Service and Environmental Studies, published the article “Diagnosing Participation and Inclusion in Collective Decision-Making in the Commons: Lessons from Ecuador” in the International Journal of the Commons. The article aims to understand the governance mechanisms that facilitate more inclusive communal decision-making processes among indigenous communities in Ecuador. The findings reiterate the challenge of gaining full participation, particularly from women, and indicate how the gender makeup of the executive council and leadership training may influence greater inclusion and overall agreement with communal decisions. The article is part of their NSF research project on the use of economic incentives for conservation and sustainable development in Ecuador.

Brittany Heintz Walters, PhD, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, will give a podium presentation at the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Annual Conference in Toronto, Canada titled, "The effect of cognitive load on visual strategy during upper and lower extremity motor tasks across older adults with varying attentional capacity".

Jacqueline Helfgott, PhD, Professor, Criminal Justice and Director, Crime and Justice Research Center, and Elaine Gunnison, PhD, Professor, Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics, and Director, Master of Arts in Criminal Justice, published “Trauma, Psychopathic Traits, and Resilience in Female Post-Prison Reentry Outcomes” in the Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society.

Matthew Hickman, PhD, Professor and Chair, Criminal Justice, Criminology & Forensics, is quoted in the article and headline of the Times-Picayune/NOLA Advocate article “Louisiana rarely bans police convicted or fired for abuse: 'This has been a failure.'”

Audrey Hudgins, EdD, Clinical Associate Professor, Matteo Ricci Institute, and the transregional research collaboration between Seattle University and Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla was featured in a recent newsletter of the International Association of Jesuit Universities. The research team from Ibero Puebla will travel to Seattle University in May/June 2023 in preparation for its presentation at the Latin American Studies Association 2023 Congress in Vancouver, Canada and its second phase of fieldwork in Wenatchee valley. They will join the team of Seattle University faculty and students associated with the project, Audrey Hudgins, Cullin Egge, Abi Berhane, and Claire Wiener. Marissa Olivares, International Studies faculty and visiting Fulbright scholar, will join the fieldwork component.

Naomi Hume, PhD, Associate Professor, Art, Art History, and Design, participated in the workshop, “Pictorial Techne and Co-operative Processes in Relation to Early Photography,” Karl-Franzens-Universität, Graz / University of Graz, Austria in April. She presented a talk entitled ““Simplicity” in Early Accounts of Nature Printing and Photography.”

Sonora Jha, PhD, Associate Dean for Academic Community and Professor, Department of Communication and Media, published an invited essay titled "#MeToo, Masculinity, and Sexual Agency: Emerging Conversations and Representations" in the journal South Asian Review. Dr. Jha was also the featured author at the King County Library System Foundation's Author Salon on May 17, where she was interviewed by Naomi Ishisaka, Assistant Managing Editor for Diversity and Inclusion and the Social Justice Columnist for The Seattle Times.

Hye-Kyung Kang, MSW, PhD, Associate Professor and Chair, Social Work and Director, Master of Social Work, presented a jury-selected paper, “Social justice-focused Mental Health Practice: an Integrative Model for Clinical Social Work” at the European Social Work Conference, held in Prague, Czech Republic, May 22-24, 2023.

Kevin Kyrcka, PsyD, Associate Dean for Social Sciences and Professional Programs and Professor, Psychology, and Eric Severson, PhD, Senior Instructor, Philosophy, published their new book, “The Psychology and Philosophy of Eugene Gendlin: Making Sense of Contemporary Experience.”

Kira Mauseth, PhD, Senior Instructor, Psychology, is quoted extensively in the Bloomberg commentary by F. D. Flam, “Spike in childhood mortality needs nation’s attention,” which has since been published across the country. Read it in the Everett Herald (the original is behind the paywall on Bloomberg.)

Quinton Morris, DMA, Associate Professor, Violin, was selected as “Outstanding Studio Teacher of the Year” by the Washington chapter of the American String Teachers Association. He was honored with an Alumni Achievement Award  The Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. He has also been featured in numerous media interviews, including:

• “Another Joseph Bologne Movie - Interview with Dr. Quinton Morris” in Violinist.com
• “Key To Change string studio offers music lessons, opportunities in south King County” in the Renton Reporter
• “Key To Change inspires youth through world-class music instruction” on New Day NW, KING 5

Christopher Paul, PhD, Professor, Communication and Media, presented” Why the party needs a blue shell: "An Apologia for Nintendo“ at the the 19th Annual Tampere University Game Research Lab Spring Seminar.

Jeannette Rodriguez, PhD, Professor: Theology and Religious Studies and Couple and Family Therapy, and Director, Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, presented “Cultural Memory, Resistance, and a Return to ‘Original Instruction’” at the Canadian Theological Society, organized by their Dignity, Equity, and Justice Committee.

Jeannette Rodriguez, PhD, Professor: Theology and Religious Studies and Couple and Family Therapy, and Director, Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, presented “Cultural Memory, Resistance, and a Return to ‘Original Instruction’” at the Canadian Theological Society, organized by their Dignity, Equity, and Justice Committee.

Patrick Schoettmer, PhD, Associate Teaching Professor, Political Science, was interviewed for “Filing period ends for Seattle City Council candidacy, 4 empty seats will be filled” for US Times Post. He was also interviewed about the race by KING 5 News.

Benjamin Schultz-Figueroa, PhD, Assistant Professor, Film and Media Studies, received one of the 2023 Distinguished Graduate Alumni Awards from University of California, Santa Cruz.

Mary-Antoinette Smith, PhD, Professor, English, contributed a chapter titled “A Classical Drama of Human Bondage: Recurrent Replications of Supplication, Appeals, and Social Justice Activism from Antiquity to the Present” to the recently published edited volume "Adaptation Before Cinema: Literary and Visual Convergence from Antiquity through the Nineteenth Century" (Palgrave, Studies Adaptation and Visual Culture Series, 2023). She presented a paper titled “A Twist in Expectations: Intersectional Approaches to Adapting Literatures of the Long 18th and 19th Centuries for Diverse Demographics in the Contemporary Classroom” at the annual Western Region Conference on Christianity and Literature (March 2023). Additionally, she has published chapters forthcoming in edited collections titled, respectively, “Back to the Future: Foreshadowed Forewarnings from the Romantic Period Forward” in Romantic Futures: Legacy, Prophecy, Temporality (Routledge, 2024], and “Secular Saint Seacole: Global Doctress Mirabilis and Practitioner of Cura Personalis” in "Between Worlds: Nineteenth-Century Transatlantic Women Writers and Religious Identity" (University of Edinburgh Press: Interventions in Nineteenth-Century American Literature and Culture, 2024).

Maria Tedesco, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor, Matteo Ricci Institute, published an article titled "Affect, the State, and Political Subjectivity among the Nur Community in Turkey" in the journal Political Theology.

Donna Teevan, PhD, Associate Professor and Department Chair, Theology and Religious Studies, presented a paper, “Lonergan’s Contributions to Thinking about the Role of Theology and Religious Studies at Jesuit Universities,” at the West Coast Methods Institute, which met at Gonzaga University, April 20-22. The Theme of the conference was “Bernard Lonergan and the Crises in Higher Education and Culture.”

Kirsten Moana Thompson, PhD, Professor and Director, Film Studies, and Theiline Pigott-McCone Endowed Chair (2022-24), is serving on the Color in Motion Advisory Board, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences, Los Angeles, 2021-2024 which is preparing a major color in film exhibition called “Color in Motion” which opens at the Academy Museum, Fall 2024. She published “Report on the 6th International Conference: Color in Film,” held at Kinemathek Lichtspiel, Sep 25-28, 2022, Bern, Switzerland, Color and Film: British Association of Film, Television, and Screen Studies: Special Interest Group(BAFTSS) Oct 2022. Other recent publications include “'Drawn to Life’: Intermedial Promotion in Disney and Cirque du Soleil,” The Animated Environment, Society for Animation Studies Conference, Rowan University, NJ,  June 2-16, 2023 and “Hallucinogenic Color in Disney’s Dumbo, Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros,” Colour and Film Research Seminar, British Academy of  Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS) 15th June 2023.

Charles M. Tung, PhD, Professor, English, co-edited a special cluster with Sean Grattan (U of Arizona) called “Posthuman Scale and the Care to Come,” available on ASAP/J, the open-access platform of ASAP/Journal (May 3, 2023).  Their introduction, “Scalar Care,” reflects on the absence of caring, trajectories of the human-in-relation, and relations after humanism. Tung’s piece, “Scenes of Instruction in Deep Time,” reflects on knowledge transmission mechanisms in North America and the vision of structural care in larger histories and planetary scales.

Rachel Turow, PhD, Adjunct Faculty, Psychology, published “Mindfulness, meditation and self-compassion – a clinical psychologist explains how these science-backed practices can improve mental health” on The Conversation.