SEATTLE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE REIMAGINING STEM EDUCATION IN THE CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND INNOVATION, OPENING 2021
HATS OFF!
PHOTO BY YOSEF CHAIM KALINKO
Congratulations to the undergraduate and graduate students who became official Seattle University alumni at commencement ceremonies June 17. Check out more photos from the day with Being Scene on page 15.
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VOLUME 42, ISSUE NUMBER 3, FALL 2018
MAGAZINE EDITOR Tina Potterf LEAD DESIGNER Anne Reinisch SENIOR WRITER Tracy DeCroce UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHER Yosef Chaim Kalinko CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dean Forbes, Brian Vail (Athletics) CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Matthew Lipsen, '19, Meryl Schenker, Wilson Tsoi (Athletics) DESIGN TEAM Marissa Leitch, Terry Lundmark
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DIRECTOR | ADVANCEMENT COMMUNICATIONS Kristen Kirst PRESIDENT | SEATTLE UNIVERSITY Stephen Sundborg, S.J. VICE PRESIDENT | UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS Scott McClellan VICE PRESIDENT | UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT Michael Podlin ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT | ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT Jonathan Brown, EdD, ‘92, ‘94
Seattle University Magazine (ISSN: 1550-1523) is published in fall, winter and spring by Marketing Communications, Seattle University, 901 12th Avenue, PO Box 222000, Seattle, WA 98122-1090. Periodical postage paid at Seattle, Wash. Distributed without charge to alumni and friends of Seattle University. USPS 487-780. Comments and questions about Seattle University Magazine may be addressed to the editor at 206- 296-6111; the address below; fax: 206-296-6137; or e-mail: tinap@seattleu.edu. Postmaster: Send address changes to Seattle University Magazine, Marketing Communications, Seattle University, 901 12th Avenue, PO Box 222000, Seattle, WA 98122-1090. Check out the magazine online at www.seattleu.edu/magazine. Seattle University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, political ideology or status as a Vietnam-era or special disabled veteran in the administration of any of its education policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletics, and other school-administered policies and programs, or in its employment-related policies and practices. All university policies, practices and procedures are administered in a manner consistent with Seattle University’s Catholic and Jesuit identity and character. Inquiries relating to these policies may be referred to the University’s Assistant Vice President for Institutional Equity, Andrea Herrera Katahira at 206-220-8515, katahira@seattleu.edu.
PHOTO BY YOSEF CHAIM KALINKO
ON THE COVER: Center for Science and Innovation rendering design by EYP/Mithun
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
PHOTO BY YOSEF CHAIM KALINKO
TRANSFORMING OUR UNIVERSITY AND STUDENTS
MISSION Seattle University is dedicated to educating the whole person, to professional formation and to empowering leaders for a just and humane world. We are building Seattle University’s future by reimagining STEM education for a technology-driven workplace, fulfilling our Jesuit educational mission in a world needing it more than ever and cultivating diversity and inclusion as central to sustaining academic and institutional excellence. In just three years, we will open the doors to the Center for Science and Innovation. The state-of-the art center will allow College of Science and Engineering faculty to keep STEM graduates ahead of the curve and well prepared to enter the workforce. It will also create new opportunities for students across all majors to take courses in STEM fields such as programming, machine learning, analytics and design and get hands-on, collaborative project experience in maker spaces. I cannot think of a step that we have taken that will be bigger and more transformative for the university. Nor can I think of an academic experience that is more essential for students today than Jesuit education. It is the cornerstone of and inspiration for our mission, one that is critical in a world defined by rapid technological advances, disruptive innovation, novel scientific discoveries, new and complex moral issues, changing demographics, globalization and climate change. In deepening our commitment to Jesuit education, we are meeting students where they are—in a continuously changing and increasingly diverse world—and empowering them to shape the world for the betterment of all. Our Catholic and Jesuit educational traditions are values-driven and rooted in the humanities and liberal arts, challenging and inspiring students to be creative problem solvers, critical thinkers
and continual learners. Most importantly, Jesuit education calls students to reflect on the moral choices of the day and commit to lives serving others and the greater good. Fulfilling this educational mission is our most essential building block for the future. It is a mission that can only be fully realized by placing diversity, inclusion and belonging at its center. If there is one lesson I have learned during my 21-year presidency, it is the importance of caring for each and every one of our students. We welcome and accept students from every walk of life for who they are and offer them our distinctive education so they may discover their deepest passion and become the person they seek to be in their own unique way. We have led in a number of ways over the years, demonstrating how diversity and inclusion enrich the educational and campus experience for all students. While there is much important work that remains as we build for the future, we are renewing and deepening this commitment, which ultimately will be seen in our actions. Reimagining STEM, fulfilling our Jesuit mission and realizing excellence through inclusion are three critical building blocks that give me hope and confidence for a promising future. They are made possible by our dedicated faculty and staff and the support of our many alumni, friends and partners for whom I am ever grateful.
Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J. President
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A C L E S N T DA R N E V E SAVE THE DATE
For information on these and other events visit www.seattleu.edu/alumni/events or call 206-220-8443.
HOMECOMING WEEKEND
34th ANNUAL ALUMNI AWARDS
Wednesday, Nov. 8–Sunday, Nov. 11 Various events and festivities to celebrate Homecoming Seattle U Campus
Friday, April 26, 2019 Four Seasons Hotel Seattle Nominations now open at seattleu.edu/alumni.
SERVE LOCAL BLOCK PARTY
2018 IDEALIST GRADUATE FAIR
ALBERS EXECUTIVE SPEAKER SERIES
Tuesday, Oct. 2 5-7 p.m., The Douglas Lounge 1223 E. Cherry St., Seattle
Monday, Oct. 15 5–8 p.m., Campion Hall Ballroom Hosted by the Nonprofit Leadership and Master in Public Administration program. idealistgradschool.org/attend-a-fair
Thursday, Nov. 1 5:30 p.m., Pigott Auditorium Featuring Dean Allen, CEO of McKinstry.
TOOLS FOR TRANSITION WORKSHOP SERIES
Mondays, Oct. 1-22 Student Center 210 Whether you are looking to change fields, make a strategic career move or gain a competitive edge in your job search, Tools for Transition will provide the insights to get ahead.
CATHOLIC HERITAGE LECTURE, HOSTED BY INSTITUTE FOR CATHOLIC THOUGHT AND CULTURE
MASS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
LEGACY FAMILY PINNING CEREMONY
Thursday, Oct. 4 10:30 a.m., Immaculate Conception Church Join us for one of the most memorable fall traditions at Seattle University. The Mass is the annual prayer gathering during which the university community asks for God’s spirit to bless the academic year.
ALBERS EXECUTIVE SPEAKER SERIES: BOEING PANEL DISCUSSION
Thursday, Oct. 11 5:30 p.m., Pigott Auditorium Featuring former Boeing Commercial Airplane CEOs Alan Mulally, Ray Conner and Frank Shrontz; moderated by Marilyn Gist, Albers associate dean and executive director of the Center for Leadership Formation.
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Thursday, Oct. 25 7 p.m., LeRoux Room, Student Center 160 Featuring Andrew Prevot, on the theme of spiritual practice and the intellectual life.
Friday, Oct. 26 8 p.m., Campion Ballroom Celebrate your family tradition of a Seattle U education! We invite all families with more than one member who attended SU to join us for a pinning ceremony where you’ll pin your current student with a legacy pin.
35TH ANNUAL GALA
Saturday, Oct. 27 Seattle Sheraton Hotel (by invite only) An unforgettable evening that raises funds for student scholarships. The St. Ignatius Medal award, the most prestigious honor bestowed by the university, will be given to Steve and Tricia Trainer, ’02.
POST-GRAD SERVICE FAIR
Thursday, Nov. 8 Student Center Hearth This event, co-sponsored by the Center for Community Engagement, Alumni Engagement, Career Services and Campus Ministry, focuses on ways for students to remain engaged in service opportunities after graduation.
CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING AND RECEPTION
Thursday, Nov. 29 6 p.m., Student Center/Library Plaza This annual tradition begins with activities in the Student Center, including a short program, followed by the lighting of the tree outside of Lemieux Library. The community is invited to attend and join in singing Christmas carols, enjoying refreshments and celebrating this festive occasion.
ADVENT MASS & RECEPTION
Saturday, Dec. 1 Mass: 4-5 p.m., Chapel of St. Ignatius Celebrate the season at this special event, with Christmas carols and a reception to follow at Pigott Atrium.
ATH LETI C S
PHOTO BY WILSON TSOI
As men’s soccer is in full swing, this fall could be one of notable milestones not only for the team but also for longtime head coach Pete Fewing, who is in the midst of coaching his 25th year at Seattle University. Since taking the coaching job, Fewing has helped lead the men’s program to a pair of national championships and five Western Athletic Conference championships. On Sept. 9, he coached his 500th career game. And with 11 more wins, Fewing will claim his 300th career victory. Considering the Redhawks are one of five programs to win at least 11 games in each of the last five seasons, expectations are high that Fewing will secure that noteworthy achievement this season. Students who have played for Fewing live by the coach’s motto—or more aptly, his mantra: “It’s important what we do on the field. It’s more important what we do off the field. And it’s most important what we do after the field.” The Redhawks have been successful on the field, as Fewing and his staff work tirelessly to recruit and develop elite players. Off the field, players excel in the classroom, work with local youth programs and host summer camps. “After the field,” however, is where Fewing is most proud of his program and the sense of unity and tradition among alumni. “It’s my nature to help create relationships,” he says. “I love the game and what it provides. I would say that I talk with a former player of mine seven days a week. Sometimes it’s just to check in, other times it’s to try to help with bigger decisions.” “He’s really a father figure to a lot of people,” says Bobby McAlister, ’05, who was a member of SU’s 2004 NCAA Division II National Championship team. “Pete’s great at getting people together and making alumni feel comfortable. I think he gets joy from making those connections.” Hamza Haddadi, ’16, a key player in SU’s run to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 2015, says the coach instills life lessons that go beyond the pitch.
PETE FEWING
A QUARTER CENTURY OF
EXCELLENCE By Brian Vail
“It’s kind of a trick that he pulls,” explains Haddadi. “He tries to teach you all these little things off the field—making sure the details are right, focusing on helping people—and in the end, they help you on the field. The things he is teaching end up making you a better player and better person.” Season ticket holder alumnus Joe Zavaglia, ’72, spearheaded the birth of the men’s soccer program at Seattle U in 1967 and has seen the evolution—and lasting success—of the program under the guidance of Coach Fewing. “The men’s soccer program at Seattle U has a legacy of building character and being other-centric,” Zavaglia says. “It’s important to win games, but it’s more about making a difference in the world.”
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F E AT U R E
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
INCLUSIVITY IN ACTION UNIVERSITY AND ALUMNI ACTIVATE CHANGE FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE BOARDROOM
This is the conclusion of our two-part series on diversity and inclusion at Seattle University. Here we examine the efforts employed in the classroom and the workplace to address issues around race, gender, LGBTQ rights and more. By Tracy DeCroce Connor Wesley, RN, BSN ’14, couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His nursing supervisor at a major Seattle hospital was talking about an emergency room patient under their care. “Are we still trying to find a bed for that person who thinks they’re a woman?” Wesley, a nurse who is himself transgender, immediately emailed a nursing officer to say he didn’t feel he would be safe if he was a patient at his own hospital. That experience reinforced the path Wesley had taken as a College of Nursing (CON) student—to create safer health care settings for the LGBTQ community. Inspired by Associate Professor Susan Matt, PhD, who encouraged him to lecture in the classroom, Wesley has been educating nurses about his community’s unique needs. “And I get to do it all while being my authentic self,” says Wesley, whose appearance in March 2018 on KING-5 TV’s daytime talk show New Day Northwest marked a decision to be fully out with his transgender identity. As Seattle University alumni like Wesley challenge injustice at work and in the world, the university continues to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment within the context of its Jesuit Catholic mission and commitment to inclusive academic excellence. On campus, efforts involving faculty, staff, students and administrators have begun addressing individual biases while 0 8 S E AT T L E U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E | FA L L 2 01 8
working toward dismantling and correcting systemic wrongs within curriculum and institutional programming. In the College of Arts and Sciences, SU’s largest college, Dean David Powers, PhD, is working with faculty experts to create a culture that addresses “intersectional” challenges, acknowledging interrelated issues of racism, sexism, income disparity and ageism. The college held a training last December called “Undoing Institutional Racism” for 35 faculty, staff and students. Powers describes it as “one of the biggest shifts to understanding everyone equitably” in his 21 years in higher education. He plans more trainings and says the college has also adjusted its hiring practices with help from an outside consultant to be more inclusive. Similar dialogue is happening in the Seattle U “Ignatian Leadership and Race” class, which grew out of the Catholic Heritage Lecture Series. Taught by faculty and staff from different disciplines, the class explores topics such as Muslims who experience racialization in the U.S. As one student wrote in the course evaluation, “The class forced me to step out of my comfort zone.” The Center for Community Engagement (CCE), which annually engages 3,000 SU students in service work and collaborates with dozens of community partners, is “striving to live and lead as an anti-racist organization,” according to its website. Director Kent Koth says, “It was something we had to do” to create stronger and more trusting partnerships with local schools, families, youth and organizations in the surrounding racially and culturally diverse neighborhood.
“This is my place to create change in nursing. In a career I love I get to make it better. I get to make it safer for the community. I get to make nurses grow. And I get to do it all while being my authentic self.” —Connor Wesley, ‘14
PHOTO BY YOSEF CHAIM KALINKO
Connor Wesley, '14, is creating safer health care settings for the LGBTQ community.
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“Seattle U taught and trained its students to be just and humane leaders by educating them on what inclusion, diversity and equity mean to organizations and economic policies.” —Kindah Sais, ’03 In 2017-18, all 400 SU students who volunteered with children and youth through the CCE's Seattle University Youth Initiative (SUYI) participated in a daylong racial equity training and 20 faculty who taught service-learning courses participated in a racial-justice seminar, Koth says. Val Gorder, the donor who with her husband Greg sponsored the student trainings, says, “I hope the students gain a deeper empathy and understanding of the population they are serving.”
its blind spots. “The CON cannot simply ‘guess’ what issues its diverse students and other members face on a day-to-day basis,” the committee's formation papers state. At the same time, cofounder Dominique Friz, ’19, says, “We wanted to play a critical role in holding the administration more accountable.” Co-founder Jillian Wiebe, ’19, adds, “When these actions are not happening to you, it’s very easy to ignore it. …It’s not the fault of anyone. Hopefully the committee can acknowledge that.”
Students, too, have been actively involved in shaping Seattle U’s culture change.
Soon the university will have a coordinated and centralized response to address bias incidents. A working group of students, staff and faculty, under the direction of Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Natasha Martin, JD, spent last year auditing campus resources and reviewing other universities’ protocols. It plans to propose a model for Seattle U this year.
The College of Nursing installed a student-run, faculty-advised standing committee after two undergraduates raised concerns that the college was not adequately addressing issues relevant to students of color, low-income students, first-generation college students and faculty of color. The Equity and Justice Committee, which can bring motions to the CON Faculty Assembly, aims to guide the college through
But the real test of a mission’s staying power is how alumni live it out. Here's a closer look at what four alumni are doing to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.
BROADENING AWARENESS OF LGBTQ NEEDS IN HEALTH CARE As a freshman at a small Quaker college in North Carolina, Connor Wesley first heard the word transsexual and knew it was what he was meant to be. At the time a young woman trying to identify as a lesbian, the realization didn’t make him happy. Unable to accept who he was, he dropped out of college and moved home to Tacoma. There, he took an EMT certification course that provided “a passion for something that was greater Connor Wesley, ‘14 and bigger than the turmoil in my life,” he says. “It was the spark that led me to nursing.” Wesley had fully transitioned into a man by the time he entered SU’s College of Nursing (CON). He kept his true identity to himself until the day he found himself in the midst of a class discussion about health care for the LGBTQ community. He was uncharacteristically quiet, causing the professor to inquire. In that moment, Wesley says, “I decided to be authentic. I spent the last half of the class telling my classmates how to support
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trans people.” The next class Wesley told the professor he wanted to create a lecture to support the trans population. He has been training his peers ever since. These days Wesley is a Swedish Hospital nurse who educates nurses and other health care providers at major hospitals throughout the Puget Sound region about the LGBTQ community. As an adjunct CON faculty member, he also trains SU nursing students and faculty. In his trainings he explains what it means to be gender nonconforming and how that often results in those individuals being victims of violence or self-harm. He gives his peers the tools to support trans patients. Ultimately, Wesley aspires to become a nurse practitioner who treats trans patients. “This is my place to create change in nursing,” Wesley says. “In a career I love, I get to make it better. I get to make it safer for the community. I get to make nurses grow. And I get to do it all while being my authentic self.”
PHOTO BY YOSEF CHAIM KALINKO
REAL TALK IN THE CLASSROOM “I’m talking to mostly other white students about our role in social justice.” —Jaci Belur, ‘14
After completing Seattle U’s Master In Teaching program, Jaci Belur, ’14, felt prepared to make a difference teaching in a community of color. Instead, she was hired by the Issaquah School District—the same predominantly white district where she had once been a student. The twist of fate gave Belur, who is white, a platform to develop a Diversity Unit, addressing issues of race, class and gender that has been adopted district-wide in high school history courses. As part of the unit, students discuss current events in relation to history—for example, inequitable sentencing in the criminal justice system as an outgrowth of historic racial bias in the law. “The course gives our kids context for things they hear about and the ways all these things from history still exist,” Belur says. “I want kids to look at the core systems in place and see the policies and practices that have worked against people of color.” A government and politics teacher, Belur says the opportunities to address social inequity in her home district feel “more authentic.”
has shown a strong commitment to equity. “It’s nice to be in such a supportive district.” Over the past decade, in the 20,000-student district, Latino students increased 137 percent, Asian students increased 87.7 percent and students who identify as non-white increased 121 percent, according to the district. English language learners increased by 189 percent. Belur and a co-facilitator, who is a person of color, offer a professional development course called “Leading for Equity” for professionals in the district, including bus drivers, counselors and teachers. At first Belur felt self-conscious as a white person discussing topics involving race, but that has changed especially as she collaborates with more teachers of color to evolve the curriculum. “I have come to see the role white people have played in building up systems of oppression and believe it is also our responsibility to help tear those down,” Belur says.
“I’m talking to mostly other white students about our role in social justice,” she says, adding that the district, which is diversifying,
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DIVERSITY & INCLUSION ON A GLOBAL SCALE “I had a plan with a vision of how I thought I wanted my life to be. I wanted to be different and to make a difference in my community, country and possibly the world.” —Kindah Sais, ’03
Kindah Sais, ’03, grew up in a family of aviators. Her father was a Saudi pilot and her mother was a Lebanese flight attendant for Saudi Airlines. Fascinated from a young age by astronomy and aerospace, Sais would tag along with her dad to airplane hangars and cockpits and dream of flying. Her heroes were Sally Ride, the first American woman astronaut in space, and Prince Sultan bin Salman, the first Saudi astronaut.
Kindah Sais, ‘03
But her dream wasn’t to be because Sais had a competing vision—to become a champion for women in the Middle East. The Albers School of Business and Economics alum has devoted more than 15 years to working toward diversity and inclusion in the region, primarily by helping to advance professional women. Currently Sais serves as The Boeing Company’s global diversity and inclusion leader for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey. She credits her parents and Seattle U with helping her find her calling.
and Inclusion Practices. She was the first Saudi female in the organization’s Human Resources department. “I had a plan with a vision of how I thought I wanted my life to be,” says Sais, who holds an MBA from the American University of Beirut. “I wanted to be different and to make a difference in my community, country and possibly the world.” Sais has been a role model for leading and supporting working women in a region where she says “one of the greatest obstacles we as women can face … is hitting the glass ceiling when attempting to go up the career growth ladder.” At Procter & Gamble, Sais introduced a mentorship program that, she says, leveraged women’s inclination toward relationship building and ultimately leveraged talent across the organization. Now based in Dubai, Sais is responsible for helping Boeing “align its diversity and inclusion efforts with the unique customs and cultures of the region,” which includes some of the company’s major customers and markets. On a personal level, working for Boeing is a homecoming that ties together her passions—from aerospace to promoting women—and reconnects her to Seattle, where she spent summers as a child during her father’s aviation career.
“My parents instilled in me the need to go to a university that injected and promoted inclusive excellence in its academic and service dimensions. Seattle U taught and trained its students to be just and humane leaders by educating them on what inclusion, diversity and equity mean to organizations and economic policies,” she says. “My background and upbringing encouraged me “Joining Boeing made me realize I am back home to work toward making a difference in the world.” where it all stated, to where my passion lies in making a difference within my role, organization, Prior to joining Boeing, Sais spent a decade at values and industry and its link to the Emerald Procter & Gamble, Saudi Arabia, where she led City.” the Talent Supply and Development, Diversity
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EQUALITY IN EDUCATION The world set up Eddie Lincoln, ’05, for life as a walking stereotype. A tall, athletic African-American kid with a love for basketball, Lincoln felt pressed as time went on to pursue sports to the exclusion of everything else. Initially, he didn’t mind. By his senior year at Seattle’s O’Dea High School, he was the state basketball Player of the Year and he planned to go pro for a team in Europe. It wasn’t until he took Assistant Professor Jeff Philpott’s persuasive communication and Professor Jodi Kelly’s theology classes at Seattle University that Lincoln, then a starter on the SU men’s basketball team, discovered what he’d been missing— and what he was capable of. “That got me thinking about politics and making an impact in the world. At that point, I was a cocky athlete, but that wasn’t who I was anymore,” Lincoln says. “Through using my voice and being educated, it made me really comfortable being myself.” Lincoln went on to earn his law degree and is today a senior director of strategic initiatives for Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), which works with school districts nationwide to increase the number of low-income students and students of color in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs.
EOS uses a collaborative model to assist school districts to identify students who qualify for but are missing from the AP or IB classes and then helps enroll the students and support their academic success. According to Lincoln, research shows that students who take even one advanced class have a 10 to 20 percent higher chance of graduating from college within five years than students who do not. That graduation rate is 25 to 36 percent higher for students who pass end-of-year exams, he says. To date, EOS has helped school districts place 55,000 students in AP and IB classes in 27 states. Prior to joining EOS, Lincoln was assistant director of SU’s Center for Community Engagement where he helped launch the Seattle University Youth Initiative. He draws on those experiences of collaborating with community stakeholders in his role today as he recruits school districts to partner with EOS. Lincoln reflects on how education changed his life and digs in to make the case for the next generation. “I can only imagine what it’s like for a person who doesn’t have a first-class education,” he says. “I want to see low-income kids and kids of color have a fighting chance.”
“I can only imagine what it’s like for a person who doesn’t have a first-class education. I want to see low-income kids and kids of color have a fighting chance.”
PHOTO BY YOSEF CHAIM KALINKO
—Eddie Lincoln, ‘05
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BRIDGING TROUBLED WATERS JAMES MARTIN, S.J., BUILDING A BRIDGE: HOW THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE LGBT COMMUNITY CAN ENTER INTO A RELATIONSHIP OF RESPECT, COMPASSION, AND SENSITIVITY
Reviewed by Jerry Cobb, S.J. Pope Francis recently named James Martin, S.J., a consultant to the Vatican’s Secretariat for Communications. And communicate he does, with more than 220,000 people following his twitter posts. He acquired celebrity status by serving as chaplain to the comedic political show The Colbert Report. Father Martin is the Jesuit equivalent of an anti-inflammatory drug—he publishes and speaks widely on topics around which intense disagreement and heated rhetoric flare up. He has a calm, philosophically balanced approach to controversial issues. His latest book stands out for its cool-headed, warmhearted approach. The book’s title says it all: Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity. Fr. Martin’s choice of bridge as a central image has important echoes in scripture. Jesus showed himself to be a bridge when he proclaimed, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” The extended arms of Jesus made bridges across the social chasms of his time. He refused to condemn the woman caught in the act of adultery; he touched the ostracized sick and preached to crowds from the unconventional pulpit of a boat bobbing on the Sea of Galilee. Fr. Martin applies this pastoral compassion of Jesus to the historically fraught relationship between the LGBTQ community and the Catholic Church. He describes a bridge with two-way traffic, focusing as much on the challenges the LGBTQ community faces within itself when contemplating a rapprochement with the institutional Church. He writes, “My goal is
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to include all people who may feel that their spiritual journey, and their welcome in the Church, have been made more difficult by their sexual orientation.” He adeptly analyzes biblical passages that provide consolation and prophetic challenges based upon Jesus’ words and example. Fr. Martin points out unique gifts LGBTQ Catholics bring to the Church. For example, they have a deeply felt empathy for others who have experienced exclusion or discrimination. They are painfully aware that there are still parts of the world where people are jailed or executed for being gay. Fr. Martin also asserts that the Church must not only suffer with but must also celebrate with the LGBTQ community. Fr. Martin urges readers to consider the experiences of LGBTQ people—what was it like to grow up and how have you grown into your awareness of God’s gift of your sexuality? How might you show the Church the respect and sensitivity that you hope and expect the Church will show to you? The Society of Jesus historically has sought to bring an enlivened gospel to new communities and contexts. It is the nature of a university to break new ground in teaching, scholarship and service. Fr. Martin believes now is a time for the Church to make healing gestures of outreach to members of the LGBTQ community and for the community to have an attitude of respectful dialogue with the Church. Next June Father Martin will deliver Seattle University’s undergraduate commencement address. Jerry T. Cobb, S.J., teaches in the English Department at Seattle University.
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BEING SCENE
It was a time to celebrate an academic milestone—graduation!—and look to a promising future ahead for the Class of 2018. Addressing students at the undergraduate and graduate ceremonies June 17 were Sally Jewell (undergraduate), former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and CEO of REI, and Samuel Green (graduate), a Washington State Poet Laureate who was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry.
BY THE NUMBERS
1,800
Undergraduates and graduates who attended commencement
2,100
Total number of undergraduate and graduate students who earned degrees
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ON CAMPUS
FAITH AND HOSPITALITY AT HEART OF GLOBAL IMMERSION TRIP By Tracy DeCroce
For the past 15 years, Theology and Religious Studies Professor Jeanette Rodriguez, PhD, has lead a group of faculty, staff, alumni and community members on a Guadalupe Faith and Hospitality Experience trip to Mexico. Co-facilitated by Associate Professor of Anthropology Ted Fortier, PhD, the trip is an amalgamation of social justice, faith exploration and cultural, history and political study. Rodriguez has developed a trusted relationship with an Order of Benedictine nuns who welcome the Seattle U group into their daily lives. The 10-day trip begins in Cuernavaca at the Order’s Guadalupe Center. Last December the SU contingent joined the center’s 12 sisters, who were helping the community rebuild after the 2017 September earthquake. The nuns are the backbone of the community and are instrumental in helping to fill societal gaps in areas such as housing, healthy meals and before- and after-school programs. The trip coincides with the December 12 feast day in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which celebrates what many believe was the Virgin Mary appearing to colonized indigenous people. Millions travel from inside and outside the country, many on foot, to Mexico City to view Juan Diego’s cloak on which the Virgin left her image. The SU group joined the pilgrimage as they traveled from Cuernavaca to Mexico City for the feast. Seattle University Magazine sat down with Professor Rodriguez to learn more about this global immersion.
Q: How did this trip begin and how has it evolved over the years? A: When I came to Seattle University it was 1990 … they had this retreat connected to the Benedictine Monks of Western Priory. The problem was nobody spoke Spanish and at the time, the sisters didn’t speak English. So, people would go and still have a wonderful experience but when I went I thought we could do so much more here. I started out just taking faculty because I wanted them to talk about these issues of immigration and poverty and borders in the classroom. But then staff said they were interested and so I expanded it to faculty and staff. And then I thought, ‘Well, there’s some community people that are doing some great work.’ Over the years, I’ve formed a very deep relationship with the Benedictine Sisters of Guadalupane. The sisters’ charism is hospitality. Everyone feels seen, respected, cared for. I have brought Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Christians, so it’s been a very welcoming experience. Q: What do you hope participants will gain from this experience? A: In the morning, I have speakers give an overview of the socio-economic, political, religious reality of Mexico and it’s relationship to the United States. I try to choose them based on the disciplines of our participants. continued on page 36
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PHOTO BY MATTHEW LIPSEN, '19
TRANSFORMING EXPERIENCE
PHOTO BY YOSEF CHAIM KALINKO
STEVE AND TRICIA TRAINER, ’02, ARE THIS YEAR’S ST. IGNATIUS MEDAL RECIPIENTS
A LIFE OF SERVICE
By Tracy DeCroce
This year’s recipients of the St. Ignatius Medal are a couple whose conversion to Catholicism in the 1980s helped transform an innate call to service into an unwavering commitment to the poor. Steve and Tricia Trainer, ’02 MDiv, will receive the university’s highest honor, recognizing individuals whose voluntarism, leadership, humility and service inspire and profoundly influence the progress of the university.
the words for caring for the poor and the coming with good intentions,” Steve says. things we were feeling. It never seemed “Native people want to make sure you’re like the things we did before we became in for the long haul.” Catholic challenged our wealth so much. … Through the poor you see God.” The Trainers have a wide footprint at Seattle University. Steve is a Trustee who The Trainers began volunteering together chairs the SU Facilities Committee. He as Stanford undergraduates during a also chairs the Campaign Task Force for 1968 trip to Hong Kong to teach English. Global Engagement, which is raising $14.5 Tricia also inherited a family tradition of million to expand opportunities in Central service that she brought to the marriage. America, Africa, South Asia, the Middle To the Trainers, “it’s all about the people.” Steve built a successful career as vice East and China. Through their decades of service and president and principal at Wright Runstad philanthropy, they have formed close & Company and then as co-founder of Global initiatives are important work for the relationships that extend from indigenous Seneca Group. Trainers. Steve met Joe Orlando, director people of the Pacific Northwest to people of the Center for Jesuit Education, for around the globe, along with many Jesuits A relationship with the Chief Seattle Club coffee to talk about what Joe said was the and individuals within the university. began one day in 1992 when its then need for greater global engagement at director Sister Julie Codd, CSJ, asked Seattle U. They discussed the importance of Catholicism, they say, helped reframe their Tricia to bring soup to the social service elevating global issues and experiencing lives of privilege even as they wrestled center for urban Native American people. places in the world where Americans don’t with the Church’s position on women and The building was dilapidated and cold, normally go. This conversation progressed lay leaders. The example of their Native with holes in the wood floor. The Trainers to a written proposal to President Stephen friends holding many faiths helped them raised money for a new building and, 26 Sundborg, S.J., for a Global Engagement find peace in the parts of Catholicism that years later, remain actively involved with Initiative that would develop opportunities strengthen their lives. the organization. for students, faculty and staff to participate in research, study and service experiences “Since converting to Catholicism our lives “You’d think we wouldn’t belong because in Nicaragua. The proposal led to the are so much richer,” Tricia says. “It gave us we’re white, but they recognize we’re Trainers funding the initiative in 2014. continued on page 36 S E AT T L E U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E | FA L L 2 01 8
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C OV E R S TO RY
NEW CSI
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE INSIDE THE CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND INNOVATION “The College of Science and Engineering is the fastest growing school or college on campus. More students are being drawn to STEM majors, so it's important that we have the facilities to support this rapid growth.” —Michael Quinn, PhD, dean, CSE
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The new CSI will be a focal point of the campus.
The new Center for Science and Innovation is moving closer to its scheduled opening in 2021. Architectural plans are being finalized for the three-building complex that creates spaces for “creative collisions� among STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students and faculty members, with the aim to ultimately engage every student on campus. Seattle University Magazine recently sat down with Michael Quinn, PhD, dean of the College of Science and Engineering, and Lara Branigan, director of design and construction, to get a peek inside the new building and its impact on the future of science and engineering at Seattle U. S E AT T L E U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E | FA L L 2 01 8
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Q: Why is this new Center for Science and Innovation important to the future of the College of Science and Engineering, STEM education and SU as a whole? Quinn: The College of Science and Engineering is the fastest growing school or college on campus. More students are being drawn to STEM majors, so it’s important that we have the facilities to support this rapid growth. The new building will also support new programs in important areas related to computer science: artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science. These are all really important fields and are good fits to the Seattle economy. In short, the new facilities are going to support an increasingly important component of Seattle University. Q: What are some of the building's unique design features? Quinn: A theme of this project is to make the best use of every square foot of the building. For example, we’re moving from single investigator research labs to larger research labs supporting four to six faculty researchers and their students. Larger, multiinvestigator research labs encourage collaboration and also allow for more efficient use of the space. We’re locating the research labs and the teaching labs right next to each other so that during the summer, when our focus shifts away from teaching toward research, the extra student researchers will be able to make use of the bench space in the teaching labs. Branigan: The new building will also have collaboration spaces near faculty offices. So a faculty member can step outside of their office and have a white board and some seating and get a group of students and go over an issue with them. Or students can gather in study groups or teams for projects. We’ll also have spaces for ‘creative collision,’ as they call it, where a faculty member bumps into another faculty member and they get to talking about what they’re doing and maybe some creative collaboration comes out of that. One of Father Steve’s challenges to us was to make sure that everybody on campus uses this building. The Core classes will
be held on the upper floor in the advanced chemistry labs as an example. It means the student who’s just taking science because they need a Core class has to go up through the building and so they see other labs and maybe they get intrigued, maybe they see the computer science room and think, ‘I’m going to do that.’ It’s a way of getting them exposed to more opportunities at Seattle University. Another big thing is the quality of the space, particularly in the new building but even with the interventions into the Bannan Science and Bannan Engineering Building; we’ll make learning, teaching and collaborating visible. Whereas now you walk through the two existing buildings and a lot of what’s happening is behind closed doors, in this new space you’ll have big windows so you can see into the science lab, you can see into the computer science project room or the engineering project room. You’ll be able to look in and students will be able to say, ‘Oh, someone like me can succeed in that.’ Q: Can you talk more about the maker spaces—what they are and how will they be used not only by CSE students but also by students across campus? Quinn: We’ve come to the realization that we need to have a variety of maker spaces [hands on, do-it-yourself creative spaces]. Some will have a low barrier to entry so that every individual will feel comfortable walking into them. We’ll also have high-end maker spaces that require more training and supervision. The space in the new building is going to be open to every student on campus and the idea is to have activities that appeal to a wide range of students who can come in and work on a personal project or a project related to one of their classes. Then throughout the college we’re going to have different-level maker spaces. We already have some with higher-end equipment. Branigan: By putting it at the entry to our campus, we have exciting activity right there. We know maker spaces are used well into the evening. So, when people are driving down 12th they’ll see activity and things happening.
PHOTO BY MATTHEW LIPSEN, '19
Q: Why did you decide to have the new building front 12th Avenue? Branigan: That is technically our campus entry and at the moment, it’s a little underwhelming. This will really show off who we are. One of the challenges we were given was that the building should broadcast who Seattle University is right at the entry. When somebody is driving down 12th they’ll literally be able to see students studying, they’ll see the science labs and they’ll be able to see the Center for Community Engagement right there showing the heart of our campus. Quinn: Housing biology, chemistry and computer science in the new building emphasizes the importance of these disciplines to Seattle Dean Michael Quinn and Lara Branigan, director of design and construction.
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CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
A lunch between Biology Professor Lindsay Whitlow, PhD, and Kent Koth, director of the Center for Community Engagement (CCE), launched the idea to co-locate the center within the new CSI. “There’s already strong involvement of science and engineering faculty, staff and students in the Seattle University Youth Initiative,” Koth says. “We thought, ‘If we co-located, we could do more.’” That initial meeting led to working groups and familiarization with models at other universities. It will eventually become a formal plan developed through consultation with faculty and staff from the College of Science and Engineering,
community partners and CCE. As that vision now takes shape in architectural plans, Koth outlines some ideas for collaboration that are emerging: • Engage more science faculty and students in preschool through 12th grade summer and afterschool learning; • Connect biology and ecology departments to gardens and open spaces at Yesler Terrace; • Lend air quality and soil sampling expertise to projects throughout the International District; and • Bring computer science and software engineering skills to local nonprofits.
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University. It symbolizes that science is an equal partner to the liberal arts. Q: The CSI project includes renovating the existing Bannan Science and Bannan Engineering buildings. How will the new building and the reimagined Bannan work together? Quinn: Most of the wet labs, the specialized labs with ventilation hoods, will be in the new building. Most of the renovated classrooms and conference rooms are going to be in the existing buildings. Faculty aren’t going to be isolated in the new building. Branigan: We’re trying to make it work as a complex. We’re adding a new entry off the lower mall right into Bannan to make the commute easy between the two. And we’ll do unified finishes, signage and more … so they won’t feel like three disparate buildings. Q: How have SU students and faculty been involved in project planning? Branigan: We had one big session with students during planning. Some of the things we’re doing really come out of what they asked for, things like a unified Project Center. … The mentoring room is another example of something that came out of that conversation. One new piece of student involvement is we have
KXSU KXSU 102.1 FM will literally come into the light when moves from its basement burrow in Campion Hall to the glass-enclosed space overlooking 12th Avenue in the new Center for Science and Innovation. The student-run station, whose 120 DJs reach 400,000 listeners, will have two new studios, space for roundtable discussions and a greenroom for guests. It plans to add broadcast journalism and town hall discussions to its format, says Station Manager Randy Scott. Proximity to the Center for Community Engagement (CCE) is another benefit of relocation, Scott says, noting that CCE and KXSU have been partners for years in community service projects that require sound and music. Most important, the move to CSI will enable KXSU to do more collaboration and fulfil its mission to serve the public interest. “It’s always been a dream of mine to be more outward facing and more accessible to the community,” Scott says. “Students are coming to Seattle U now aware of a radio station. This will make it more inclusive.”
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a group of Project Center students putting together a project to use sensors in the new building to monitor the structure of the building. … We’ve challenged our architects and engineers to come up with ideas for project teams who would want to be involved. And we’ve had a lot of interface with students about sustainability and their goals for the project. … It’s interesting to discuss this with our CSE students because their fields such as mechanical engineering have both a lot of impact and a lot of cost in building design and there are many options and variations. Talking to the students about what each trade-off is in the building design really helps them learn skills they’re going to need as they leave us and go out into the world. Quinn: Faculty have been heavily involved throughout the entire process. The architects have done a great job of engaging with the faculty, listening to the perspectives of the various departments. They had a great influence in shaping the project. For example, faculty explained the benefits we will gain by putting the Biology and Chemistry departments close together in the new building. As another example, the engineering faculty made it very clear that they want the engineering Project Center rooms close to the engineering faculty offices, not in the new building.
One goal we’ve implemented in the building design is to carefully zone the uses so that the labs are separated from the offices. Labs use a lot of energy and need airflow 24/7 but by separating the office block from the labs we can run them on a different system and utilize nighttime setbacks and other efficiency measures that we would not be able to use if the entire building was one zone. We are utilizing best practices for lab energy efficiency and high performance building systems. Our design engineers are the same firm that designed the Bullitt Center so we are confident they can design efficient buildings. To make a gift to support the new CSI contact Michelle Finet, senior director of development for the College of Science and Engineering, at 206-296-2846 or email finetm@seattleu.edu. Make a gift online at www.seattleu.edu/scieng (select Center for Science and Innovation).
PROJECT CENTER As part of the CSI project, the College of Science and Engineering’s Project Center will undergo a complete transformation. Now in its 31st year, the Project Center is a partnership between the College of Science and Engineering and industry sponsors. Teams comprised of seniors in engineering, computer science and environmental science will assume projects for real-world clients—some of the region’s top tech companies, nonprofit and public organizations. To date, Project Center students have made do with limited workspaces scattered throughout two existing buildings. The redesigned space will consolidate the engineering portion of the Project Center on the third floor of the Engineering Building, making more efficient use of space for interdisciplinary team collaboration and giving students easy access to Project Center staff, says Associate Dean and Project Center Director Jean Jacoby, PhD. Lara Branigan, director of design and construction, says students gave input concerning their needs for an upgraded Project Center. There was a call for better mentoring rooms. “One of the things the students said to us about working on project teams is that when the industry liaisons come in they wanted a proper, professional space to meet with them.”
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Q: Talk about the sustainability aspects of the building. Branigan: We held an eco-charrette for the project in 2014 and set sustainability goals, including some ‘stretch’ goals. For the new building, these include obtaining LEED Gold certification, planning for resiliency, flexibility and a long life span and no greenhouse gases.
The new Center for Science and Innovation will include state-of-theart labs, creative maker spaces and collaborative areas for study and discourse. It will also be home to the student-run radio station KXSU.
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PHOTOS BY CLAIRE GAROUTTE
ON CAMPUS
INITIATIVE
TO SERVE Guatemala—the people and the culture— occupies a deep and special place in Michael Lott’s heart and in his scholarly pursuits. The connection Lott, ’16, has with this corner of the world began to take shape while an undergraduate at Seattle University.
During his junior year Lott took a quarter off from his studies to volunteer in the Central American country. It was around this time he heard about an opportunity for undergrads to travel to Nicaragua to study child and youth migration in a global immersion trip under the leadership of Assistant Professor Serena Cosgrove. Intrigued, Lott applied and was accepted to participate in the Nicaragua Initiative. Post-graduation, another opportunity presented itself—one that would allow Lott to return to a country that was so important to him. He was invited to join an SU group that traveled to Guatemala to conduct research alongside NGOs fighting gender-based violence. “… I have had the privilege of developing relationships with young Guatemalan women through my time volunteering there and through my current job as a
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TEAM OF RESEARCHERS FIGHTS GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN GUATEMALA By Tina Potterf
case manager working with unaccompanied immigrant youth,” Lott says. “It has been a privilege to witness the resilience they’ve developed but their stories of hardship have also shaken me to the point that I feel morally obligated to act in solidarity with women working on the ground in Guatemala. No one should have to endure the systematic violence that women, particularly indigenous women, are subjected to.”
The Nicaragua Initiative evolved out of an existing relationship between Seattle University and the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in Managua. It has expanded to become the Central America Initiative under Cosgrove’s leadership. This involves outreach, programs and research throughout Nicaragua, including the isolated Caribbean Coast, and in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The research and collaboration among peer scholars and universities in both Guatemala and Nicaragua are examples of the global engagement that is integral to the mission of Seattle University.
Laying the groundwork for research in Guatemala began five years ago when Cosgrove, along with professors Kristi Lee and Claire Garoutte, traveled there with a team of staff, alumni and students. The group matched up with the Guatemalabased NGO Asociación Generando (ASOGEN) and interviewed survivors of gender-based violence. Last year, with a collaboration agreement with the Jesuit university in Guatemala, Universidad Rafael Landívar, Cosgrove, Lott and others returned to continue their research, extending their efforts to include another women’s-focused NGO. Participants again visited ASOGEN and also conducted important research and assessment of NGO Nuevos Horizontes (New Horizons), based in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, that provides services to survivors of violence. During their time on the ground, the participants from Seattle U were joined by faculty and students from URL-Quetzaltenango to carry out research in tandem, exploring the role that Guatemalan nonprofits are playing to end violence against women in the country.
ON THE GROUND By Sara Haugen, ’15 Alumna Sara Haugen has been an active participant in the Central America Initiative, doing meaningful research on the ground in Guatemala. She shares her perspective from a 2017 trip there to continue the efforts toward ending gender-based violence. I was first invited to participate in research under what is now the Central America Initiative in 2015.
Michael Lott, ’16, (left) meets with a project colleague while conducting research in Guatemala.
“Much like the field research trips available to the science majors, this trip provides students interested in gender and development and ending gender-based violence the opportunity to apply their education to real-world topics and gain experience in field research and impact assessment,” Cosgrove says. “This type of engaged research has to be interdisciplinary and horizontal. This is why it is so important to involve students and faculty colleagues from different departments and collaborate with our Guatemalan colleagues and their students at the Universidad Rafael Landívar.” On the 2017 trip, Lott’s role was to do qualitative data collection and analysis, which he says “meant developing a working knowledge of the socio-political background of the region,” including meetings and interviewing community members. And this past June Lott, who now serves as a research leader, was once again part of the Seattle U group that returned to the region to continue their ongoing research, working alongside the university and the women-led New Horizons. The organization generates opportunities for women’s empowerment and economic self-sufficiency as a way to combat interpersonal violence, teenage pregnancy and poor economic options in Quetzaltenango. The end game, as Lott sees it, is to produce scholarship and outcomes that support the work of “indigenous and women leading grassroots movements resisting gender-based violence.” “By doing research and producing scholarship, we can provide evidence that can lead to further economic investment in these initiatives,” he says. For Associate Professor Kristi Lee, PhD (counseling), who has been involved in the Central America Initiative from the beginning, this work in Guatemala around issues of gender-based violence is especially meaningful as she spent part of her undergraduate years working at a women’s shelter in Kansas. That experience, coupled with her education in mental health counseling and proficiency in Spanish, made her involvement in this global research a strong fit. On the most recent trip this past June Lee led a group of graduate students for the first time. continued on page 36
As part of Seattle University's Central America Initiative, this research involves a partnership with faculty and students at the Universidad Rafael Landívar (URL) Quetzaltenango campus. On a trip last year, the group was comprised of researchers from both URL and SU, and we interviewed service providers at ASOGEN and from two other centers of comprehensive support for women. I found myself admiring how much these women, both service providers and survivors, have accomplished in a sociopolitical setting that challenges their work daily. The women and men we interviewed know that gender-based violence is a problem and have used their networks to accompany survivors effectively, despite the barriers of limited funding and widespread apathy. I believe intercultural collaboration in research is crucial to forming horizontal relationships and a balanced understanding between U.S. academia and other countries. In the field of international development, there’s been far too much of the global north creating solutions for the global south without inviting the true stakeholders into the conversation. This kind of research works to counterbalance that. The issue of gender-based violence is important to me because it impacts the lives of everyone in the world and our responses to it should be interdisciplinary and informed by the survivors themselves. In a world where grassroots movements get the real work done in large part, it is vital that we support small organizations by helping them establish credibility and the funding they need. Thanks to my experiences and connections at SU, I have been offered opportunities to engage in the global work I dedicate myself to now. Read more of Sara’s story at www.seattleu.edu/news.
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CIVIC MINDED SENIOR KATE HANNICK IS SU’S LATEST TRUMAN SCHOLAR
Kate Hannick with (l-r) Theresa Earenfight, Bridget Hiedemann and Melissa Shade.
By Tina Potterf Growing up, Ignatian spirituality—specifically, the Jesuit focus on social justice and service to others—loomed large in Kate Hannick’s life. Raised in St. Louis, Hannick’s parents work closely with Jesuits—her father teaches at an area Jesuit high school and her mother was active with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and is a nurse at St. Louis University—and stressed the importance of community and service. So it was little wonder than when it was time to consider colleges she gravitated toward Jesuit schools, particularly smaller universities located in metropolitan areas. Seattle U checked those boxes and more. “Coming to SU my first year, I was moving more than 2,000 miles away from home and did not know a single person. I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to find community here,” says Hannick. “But through Campus Ministry,
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Orientation, student government, the Honors program and many other opportunities that were presented to me, I was able to find a great support system at Seattle U. I am so grateful for the people in my life that I have met here.” Academically, Hannick’s interest in policy and governmental affairs—again, with social justice underpinnings—will suit her well for a future in public service as will her selection as a 2018 Truman Scholar. Hannick, an economics and public affairs double major, is one of 59 undergraduate students selected this year by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Truman Scholars receive a $30,000 scholarship toward graduate school and the opportunity to participate in professional development programs to help prepare them for careers in the public sector.
PHOTOS BY YOSEF CHAIM KALINKO
ON CAMPUS
As is his tradition for Truman recipients, President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., shared the news with Hannick during a surprise visit to her economics class last spring. “When Fr. Steve walked in I was kind of confused as to what was going on,” Hannick says. “When I saw Dr. (Bridget) Hiedemann, Dr. (Theresa) Earenfight and Melissa Shade, who have been advising me through the whole process, I think it finally hit me what was happening. When Fr. Steve made the announcement, I just started to cry.” Hannick, who calls the moment “surreal,” says, “I felt humbled by the opportunity and at the same time couldn’t really believe it was actually happening. The whole process of applying involved multiple stages over the course of six months. I had so many people help me prepare, so when I learned I had been selected, I remember being really grateful and excited because I now would get to share the good news with all those people.” Currently Hannick is an intern in the office of U.S. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, where she assists in constituent casework related to immigration and health care. In addition to her role with Jayapal, Hannick also worked in the offices of Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill. “I want to help craft and implement social justice-oriented policies for either a member of Congress, federal department or think tank,” says Hannick, who is still considering graduate schools.
This real world experience has been bolstered by active roles in student government— as a first-year representative, executive vice president and president—and civic engagement as an undergrad. Outside of the university she also volunteers with the YMCA to advise a group of high school students on civic and government affairs. For Hannick, the Truman Scholarship will make grad school more financially viable, open doors to new opportunities and provide a connection to mentors and past scholars who can offer guidance and inspiration.
says. “So to me, the award also means that I now have an even greater responsibility to those role models to emulate their leadership and service throughout my career.” —Dean Forbes, media relations specialist, and the College of Arts & Sciences contributed to this story.
“Several public servant role models of mine have been Truman Scholars or are involved with the Truman Foundation,” she
ABOUT THE TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIP The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation was created by Congress in 1975 to be the nation’s living memorial to President Harry S. Truman. The foundation has a mission to select and support the next generation of public service leaders. The Truman award has become one of the most prestigious national scholarships in the country. Seattle University has been recognized as a top producer of Truman Scholars. The Truman Scholarship carries extra meaning for Hannick, who originally hails from the same state as the scholarship’s namesake and former U.S. president.
“… This is special for me as a Missourian, as I grew up surrounded by President Truman’s legacy.” S E AT T L E U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E | FA L L 2 01 8
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PHOTOS BY YOSEF CHAIM KALINKO
F E ATU R E
Luis Escamilla, '10 MIT, brings a global perspective to his English Language Learning class at Foster High School.
HIGH PLACEMENT RATES FOR COLLEGE OF EDUCATION ALUMNI By Tracy DeCroce
In Luis Escamilla’s classroom, barely an inch of wall is visible. Artwork by Jake Prendez, posters of Che Guevara and images of the Haitian revolution hang alongside newspaper articles about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., world maps and student writing assignments. It’s what Escamilla refers to as the second classroom—a place where students are learning even when their eyes aren’t on him. A College of Education (COE) graduate, Escamilla, ’10 MIT, teaches English Language Learning (ELL) at Foster High School in Tukwila. A Los Angeles native, whose tattoos peek above the collar of his puffy green jacket, Escamilla designed his classroom to speak to students who have fled oppressive and war-torn countries including Afghanistan, Gambia, Somalia, Myanmar and El Salvador. “A lot of images revolve around liberation, but liberation starts with the self,” Escamilla says. He works the theme into his language lesson about an immigrant family facing difficulties. To be a successful teacher “you have to have a philosophy and a framework,” Escamilla explains. “You have to have critical love that uses reflection and transformation. Bringing in a critical consciousness helps us through the assumptions we have, especially relating to black and brown youth.” Escamilla, who is transitioning from teaching to an administrative role this year, is one of many Seattle U Master’s in Teaching (MIT) graduates who have found a job, if not a career, in education. In both 2016 and 2017, the teaching and subbing placement rate for COE MIT graduates was 100 percent. Of the 67 teachers who graduated in 2017, 62 are full- or part-time teachers and five are substitute teachers, often by choice.
them contracts since we attract students who are attuned to a curriculum focused on equity, inclusion and social justice— lessons that serve them well in diverse school and community settings.” Seattle University produces 15 to 20 percent of Seattle Public Schools’ teachers, says Tim Collins, the district’s manager of onboarding and retention. Between 30 and 50 SU teaching interns work in Seattle schools each year. “The training SU gives aligns well with our school system,” Collins says. From the first course, the MIT program immerses students in the sociopolitical and sociocultural realities of schools, says Professor Charisse Cowan Pitre, PhD, chair of the K-12 Teaching, Learning and Social Justice Department. “This is a vital component of teacher development, where teachers begin to see themselves as partners working in collaboration
While the market for new teachers is robust in Washington and nationally, MIT graduates are a first-round choice of many recruiters, says COE Dean Deanna Sands, EdD. As master’s students, candidates begin interning in the classroom from the second week of the program and continue throughout the year, gaining practical experience that sets them apart, Sands says. “I receive unsolicited feedback that we have very strong candidates coming out of our MIT program,” Sands says. “Districts aren’t waiting for students to finish before offering
Carlito Umali, '08, '12 MIT
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Nisha Daniel, '10 MIT, goes through a lesson with one of her students at Beacon Hill International School.
with schools, families and communities to close educational opportunity gaps for K-12 students,” Cowan says. “Our focus is on equity, access and preparing teachers for culturally rich educational settings.” Social studies teacher Carlito Umali, ’08, ’12 MIT, was taking those lessons to new heights at Risdon Middle School, a Renton school that blends two socioeconomic communities—Newcastle and the Renton Highlands, where Umali himself lives. Umali always thought he’d return to the Rainier Valley where he grew up to teach. But a family tragedy nearly ended his career before it began. Fortunately, an offer from TAF Academy in Federal Way jumpstarted his career, which is now in full swing. “I want kids to discover themselves. I want kids to discover others,” Umali says. “You can leverage their natural curiosity. That’s the fun part of teaching to me.” He says the MIT program taught him both the technical and the relational sides of teaching. Now, he is mentoring other teachers, an exercise that has him
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revisiting his MIT lessons and emulating his former professors. “At SU, they were asking us to consider, ‘What is the culture you are entering? How do you navigate that?’” he says. “One of my professional goals is to get teachers together for better student outcomes.”
we keep expecting to fix our social ills like gun violence and mental health in the schools. We keep putting more on teachers’ plates.” Pay is also an issue. The starting salary for Washington state public teachers was $40,426 in 2016-2017, slightly higher than
“At SU, they were asking us to consider, ‘What is the culture you are entering? How do you navigate that?’ One of my professional goals is to get teachers together for better student outcomes.” — Carlito Umali, ’08, ’12 MIT/Risdon Middle School (Renton) Even as job prospects rise for new teachers, the profession struggles to hold on to its veterans. Some estimates show half of teachers will leave the profession after five years, according to the National Education Association (NEA). “It’s important to understand why teachers are leaving,” Dean Sands says. “The job just keeps getting more complex. As a society,
the national average of $38,617, the NEA reports. Nisha Daniel, ’10 MIT, embodies the conflicted feelings many teachers have. Beaming at her 27 squirmy firstgraders sitting crisscross at Beacon Hill International School, Daniel wants to be sure they understand an assignment. “If
you got it, put your hands on your head. If you think you got it, put your hands on your knees. If you’re not sure, put your finger on your nose.” In one masterful stroke, Daniel achieves crowd control while gleaning crucial information and making learning feel like a game. Daniel became a teacher after working for the nonprofit Girls First and hearing too many stories from girls of color about their teachers not supporting them. She says she chose Seattle U because it best matched her professional teaching goals. At Beacon Hill, a public school offering language immersion, Daniel learned Spanish on the job to converse with many students and parents. A seven-year veteran, Daniel loves her job but is frustrated with the financial strain. She can relate to teachers in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona who went on strike earlier this year. “When I hear stories of teachers who could barely live, I connect so much,” she says. “It makes me so sad when teachers are put on the back burner. It’s definitely not the pay that keeps you. It’s the kids. There’s so much love.” The MIT program tends to attract students with an interest in educational equality, Cowan says. Paige Wakamatsu, ’09 MIT, is a perfect example. Once intent on becoming a doctor in Africa, Wakamatsu has a degree in applied math and chemistry. She worked for several nonprofit organizations before tutoring led her to teaching. A desire to work with students of color and at-risk kids makes her a perfect fit for South Lake High School, an alternative Seattle public school where she teaches math and ELL. Part teacher, mentor and social worker, she says what she loves most is the school’s family environment where all the teachers and staff know and care about the kids. To Wakamatsu, it is an extension of SU’s culture. “Even today, I have the utmost respect for all the faculty. They are beautiful, loving people,” Wakamatsu says. “And the social justice piece, helping marginalized communities. I really felt the love at Seattle U.”
BY THE NUMBERS Did you know that 100 percent of 2017 MIT alumni who are teaching are all doing so in Washington state schools? Here’s a look at placement trends over the past five years.
FULL- AND PART-TIME MIT TEACHER PLACEMENT* 100 80 60
78%
88%
91%
95%
2014
2015
2016
93%
40 20 0
2013
2017
*Numbers do not include substitute teaching.
In 2017, the College of Education introduced new pathways to receive teaching credentials as part of a bachelor’s degree program. To learn more, visit www.seattleu.edu/education/undergraduate-degrees.
PUBLIC TEACHER STARTING SALARIES The national average for starting public teacher salaries is $38,617. Here's how Washington and other states measure up: WASHINGTON, D.C.
$51,359 (HIGHEST)
CALIFORNIA
$44,782
WASHINGTON OREGON MONTANA
$40,426 $35,534
$30,036 (LOWEST)
$10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,00 $60,000 Source: National Education Association, 2016-2017
To help your local schools, visit DonorChoose.org, a website where public school teachers post items they are trying to fund for their classrooms. S E AT T L E U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E | FA L L 2 01 8
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PHOTO BY YOSEF CHAIM KALINKO
PERSPECTIVES
LEADING WITH
HEART NURSING ALUMNA BRINGS UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE TO ROLE AT CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL By Tracy DeCroce
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Madlyn "Mady" Murrey, MN, RN, is well suited to a hospital environment where the buildings conjure storybook settings and the elevators call to mind woodland creatures. “Can you imagine me anywhere else?” she asks, as the “Otter elevator” comes to a stop at the administrative floor of the River Building at Seattle Children’s hospital. Murrey, ’81, knew early in life that she wanted to be a pediatric nurse. Today, as the Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at Seattle Children's, she maintains that she is “still very much steeped in nursing” while overseeing more than 1,000 nurses at one of the top children’s hospitals in the nation. “You give up a little personally when you move further from clinical, hands-on work,” Murrey says. “But what I am able to give impacts more children on a larger scale. I strive to create an environment where the people who do clinical care delivery can do their best work.” Caring for kids has been at the center of Murrey’s life since her childhood growing up on a farm in Fife, Wash. Taking notice of this nurturing quality was Murrey’s grandmother, who suggested Murrey might make a fine nurse. Inclined to agree, she donned a candy striper uniform at age 16 and found her calling while volunteering for MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma. When she became a mother, Murrey extended her capacious love beyond her own three sons and daughter to make room for “any child that needed a home.” She and her husband, Lonny, whom she met in junior high and married after college, welcomed eight foster children into their lives. Murrey’s devotion to children led her down a myopic career path. Then mid-
way into her nursing career, she had the opportunity to assume a different role, which gave her the chance to consider her profession—and herself—in a new light. In 1994, Mary Bridge entrusted Murrey— then a part-time ER nurse—with developing a state-certified trauma program. Over the next decade, she assumed positions of higher rank while becoming adept in leadership. Eventually, she held executive
acting with kindness and still being smart and strategic. It’s who I am as a leader.” College of Nursing Dean Kristen Swanson, RN, PhD, FAAN, says these qualities distinguish Murrey. “Madlyn Murrey is a champion for empowering nurses and other caregivers to create an environment based in caring—and making health care in our
“A senior leader told me I led too much with my heart. I tried to change and it didn’t work. I learned that I need to be Mady Murrey every day.” —Madlyn "Mady" Murrey, ’81, MN, RN
positions at both Mary Bridge and Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel in Portland, Ore.
communities more compassionate so children and their families will thrive,” Swanson says.
Returning to Seattle Children’s as its senior vice president in 2015 was a homecoming for Murrey, who began her career there as a Seattle U undergraduate nursing student and spent her first 12 years in the hospital and clinics. She returns to SU’s campus to cheer on Dance Marathon participants, who raise money for the hospital.
Walking the halls of the River Building at Seattle Children’s, Murrey offers a smile to everyone, no matter their job or position. It’s the same way she approached patient care as a nurse and stems from a lesson she learned at Seattle U about taking the time to understand each person’s unique circumstance.
While transitioning from bedside care, Murrey had to formulate her leadership style that was true to herself.
“I still really work on being humble in inquiry,” she says. “Those are my Seattle U roots.”
“A senior leader told me I led too much with my heart. I tried to change and it didn’t work,” she says. “I learned that I need to be Mady Murrey every day. For me it’s about being sensitive to others,
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FAC U LT Y S P OT L I G H T
WON KIDANE, SCHOOL OF LAW
JUSTICE THROUGH A CULTURAL LENS By Tracy DeCroce
he has continued to represent state-owned companies, primarily in China and Africa, in international arbitrations in The Hague. During the summers, Kidane teaches international arbitration and dispute settlement at the School of Transnational Law at Peking University in Shenzhen, China.
In his groundbreaking book, The Culture of International Arbitration, Seattle University School of Law Professor Won Kidane relays the story of an African witness giving testimony in a European city before a panel of all Western jurists. On cross-examination the witness is asked to identify the color of his identification card. Despite the economic rise of China and Africa, Kidane says The documentary evidence submitted into the record shows an the arbitrational field remains “dominated by Western thought.” orange ID card but the witness responds “yellow.” Kidane, the Kidane’s book is the first to make the case for having international only lawyer with an African background in the courtroom at the tribunals represent the cultures involved. time, immediately recognizes the source of the confusion. In the witness’ culture, yellow and orange are often referred to by “Since it’s been published, I’ve been invited to conferences from the same name. During a recess, Kidane pulls up the two colors Sydney to New York,” he says. He has been asked to contribute side-by-side on a computer screen in front of his colleagues from articles and chapters to numerous publications and is awaiting a Washington, D.C., law firm and asks the witness which one he a review of the book by the University of Geneva, home to the meant to say. The witness points to the orange color. world’s most prestigious international arbitration program. “That’s when I started thinking,” Kidane says, “‘What else is being misunderstood and how is that affecting the outcome of cases?’” The popularity of Kidane’s book suggests he isn’t the only one troubled by these questions. His culturally inclusive approach to arbitration is highly regarded on the international stage as an alternative to Western judicial traditions that dominate global legal proceedings. With expansion of the world’s economic power base, Kidane says, the time has come for international arbitration to represent the cultures of the parties involved.
In a sense, Kidane was born into the role of reformer. When Italian forces invaded Ethiopia during World War II, Kidane’s father was taken prisoner and his entire family executed. His father wrote a book about the experience and devoted his life to justice, first in Parliament, then as a judge. Kidane and his two brothers all became lawyers—Kidane has four law degrees from universities in both Ethiopia and the U.S. Although Kidane felt a need to leave Ethiopia to pursue his education, he frequently returns to represent state-owned companies in international disputes.
“Cultural miscommunication occurs in almost every arbitration room where arbitrators, the parties and their counsel come from different countries and legal traditions…,” Kidane writes. He goes on to say, “Diversity must be embraced not only because it adds legitimacy and improves outcomes but also because it is a step forward in the right direction of ensuring checks and balances.”
At Seattle U, Kidane uses The Culture of International Arbitration as a secondary source in his teaching. The director of SU’s Immigration Law Clinic, he teaches international arbitration and transnational and immigration law. Drawn to SU in 2008 from Penn State Dickinson School of Law, Kidane says he chose Seattle U, in part, because of its Jesuit Catholic heritage and the law school’s diversity.
Professor Kidane has spent his career in the international arena. As a private attorney in Washington, D.C., he represented African states in high stakes international investment and commercial arbitration matters. Since transitioning to academia,
“I was fascinated by the Jesuit character and how seriously it’s taken,” Kidane says. “I grew up in a religious family. The Chapel of St. Ignatius really struck me—it was so quiet. I loved the entire environment.”
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FA C U LT Y
NEWS & NOTES ALBERS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS Senior Instructor Sarah Bee and Assistant Professor Gabe Saucedo’s article, “Accounting Conversations: A Case Study in Auditor Communications,” co-authored with Iram Jafry (PMBA alumna), was accepted for publication by the Review of Business. Assistant Professor Ajay Abraham and Associate Professor Matt Isaac have had their article, “Implementing the Challenger Sales Model at Cars.com: A Case Study,” co-authored with Elaine Richards, EVP of Business Operations of Cars.com, accepted for publication by the Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing. An article by Assistant Professor Vlad Bejan, “Primed for Death: Law Enforcement-Citizen Homicides, Social Media, and Retaliatory Violence,” coauthored with Assistant Professor William Parkin, Associate Professor Matthew Hickman (both of SU’s Criminal Justice department) and Veronica Pozo, (Utah State University), has been accepted for publication in PLOS One.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES Associate Professor of Psychology Alex Adame has coauthored Exploring Identities of Psychiatric Survivor Therapists: Beyond Us and Them. The book focuses on the navigation and blending of the roles of psychiatric survivor, mental health professional and activist. In this volume, readers are introduced to the psychiatric survivor movement and are witness to how that affiliation was instrumental in shaping the activism and clinical work of the authors. Associate Professor Sven Arvidson, director of Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies, published “The Field of Consciousness and External Cognition” in Human Studies: A Journal for Philosophy and the Social Sciences. The overall purpose of the article is to answer the question “Where is the mind?” using Gestalt psychological theory, phenomenology and recent philosophy of cognitive science. Elaine Gunnison, professor of criminal justice, has a new book Community Corrections, published by Carolina Academic Press.
Assistant Professor Claus Portner’s article, “Income Shocks, Contraceptive Use, and Timing of Fertility,” co-authored with Shamma Alam (Dickinson College), has been accepted for publication by the Journal of Development Economics.
Associate Professor Jessica Imanaka’s paper, "Laudato Si', Technologies of Power, and Environmental Injustice: Toward an ecopolitics guided by contemplation", has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics.
A paper by Professor and Finance Chair Jot Yau, Associate Professor of Economics Quan Le and Instructor and Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Programs Teresa Ling, “Do International Co-Curricular Activities Have Impact on Cultivating Global Mindset in Business School Students?” has been accepted for publication in a special issue of the Journal of Teaching in International Business.
Chris Paul, associate professor and chair of the Communication Department, has published a new book, The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games: Why Gaming Culture Is the Worst.
the conference, he also presented work on the politics of multitemporality in a seminar on “Impossible Times.”
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION Jeffrey Anderson, professor in the College of Education, and Stacey Jones, senior instructor in economics coauthored the article, “The Influence of Service-Learning on the Civic Attitudes and Skills of Japanese Teacher Education Candidates,” which has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Research in Service Learning in Teacher Education. Professor Emeritus John Gardiner has received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. Presented by Marquis Who’s Who, publisher of biographical profiles, the award takes account of the recipient’s position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility and prominence in a field.
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING An article coauthored by Professor Phil Thompson, “The future is now: Graywater treatment for a commercial building,” was published in the December 2017 issue of Water Environment & Technology (WE&T). Thompson is director of the Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability.
SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AND MINISTRY Christie Eppler was named Educator of the Year by the Washington Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (WAMFT). Eppler is professor and program director of the Couples and Family Therapy Program.
Associate Professor Charles Tung presented a paper, “Apocalyptic Alternate History,” at the ASAP/9 Conference hosted by the University of California, Berkeley. At
Faculty and staff can share professional updates and achievements in Seattle University Magazine. Send announcement via email to tinap@seattleu.edu.
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INITIATIVE TO SERVE
TRANSFORMING EXPERIENCE
A LIFE OF SERVICE
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In collaboration with a team consisting of a faculty member and students from the psychology program at the URL, they met with NGO partners to continue research efforts around the central question: “How do girls and women who experience domestic violence heal?” Lee and her team examined how information about best practices in helping women and girls heal is shared among organizations and governmental agencies who provide resources, including legal aid, to assist survivors of domestic violence. Bringing this information back to the U.S. to train counselors who work with women and girls from Central America is a primary goal.
In the afternoon, we do the site visits. I take them to the Cathedral, school for Indian children, to the indigenous village where they meet a spiritual leader… I take them to women’s co-ops, communities living off the train tracks. People are moved by the generosity and the capacity of these communities to give when they have so little.
The Nicaragua Initiative expanded to become the Central America Initiative. Under the leadership of Assistant Professor Serena Cosgrove, PhD, who credits the Trainers with helping Seattle U establish a “thriving set of relationships” in the region, there are outreach programs and research across Nicaragua, including the Caribbean Coast, and El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and beyond. Seattle U has also launched global initiatives in India and Africa.
“This work [in Guatemala] has expanded my view so I can help students expand theirs and so counselors can provide better services to Central American women in the United States,” Lee says. For Lott, the value of this research is not only meaningful on a deeply personal level but also impactful on his professional life.
A: I’m the daughter of Ecuadorian parents but I grew up in New York. And I went from New York to overseas as a young missioner. I’ve always lived in a very diverse, multicultural setting. When I moved to Seattle in 1990 it was my first time being in the dominant culture. Culturally, it was very difficult for me. … I also am a devotee of Guadalupe. So for me it is a pilgrimage. It fulfills a spiritual need. Every time I walk into the Basilica, I feel like I’m coming home to the Mother. Q: How does this pilgrimage align with the mission of Seattle U? A: This immersion really lifts up our Jesuit values. This is like an incarnation kind of a lived experience of all the things we talk about on campus in terms of the dignity of the human person, the need for community, human rights and spirituality. PHOTO BY CLAIRE GAROUTTE
“This is an opportunity to return to the country I fell in love with while I was a student at SU and reconnect with my friends in Guatemala,” he says. “Professionally, it will help me to be better at my job working with immigrant youth here in the United States.”
Q: What personal meaning does the trip have for you?
Seattle U and its university and NGO partners on the ground in Guatemala are working to improve the lives of women and children.
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It fits Steve’s vision that “every student should have firsthand experience outside the U.S. as part of their college experience.” Tricia, who received a master’s in divinity from the School of Theology and Ministry, worked as a spiritual director for 25 years for the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life program in Seattle. She also worked in family ministry at St. Joseph Church, the couple’s parish. At Seattle U, Tricia co-founded the Indigenous Peoples Institute (IPI), which supports and celebrates Native students on campus. She and Steve both serve on IPI’s working group. With new projects in the works, the Trainers balance volunteer duties against daily shifts with four grandchildren, ages 18 months to 7 years old, who live close by. Pat Twohy, S.J., who has worked closely with the Trainers on several projects over the years, says the couple’s commitment is the reason many organizations exist. “With an eye for the environment and all peoples, Steve and Tricia have chosen to live simply, sharing all that they can with so many of us,” Twohy says. “Their generosity makes good things happen. Their combined wisdom and compassion truly lights up our world.”
PHOTO BY M. LAUGHLIN | COURTESY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SEATTLE
IN MEMORIAM
REMEMBERING ARCHBISHOP
Seattle University joins with others in the Seattle community and beyond in mourning and remembering Archbishop Emeritus Raymond G. Hunthausen, who passed away July 22, 2018, at the age of 96. Archbishop Hunthausen had an outsized impact on our region and nation. Soon after being named bishop of his home Diocese of Helena, Montana, in 1962, he traveled to Rome for the Second Vatican Council. He was one of the youngest bishops to participate in the Council and the experience profoundly influenced and shaped him and the kind of leader he would become. Upon his return to the United States, he helped set in motion numerous reforms intended to more fully open the Catholic Church to the world and society. Appointed by Pope Paul VI to lead the Archdiocese of Seattle in 1975, Archbishop Hunthausen understood that the Catholic Church is only as strong as its people. He nurtured a more inclusive Church, empowering laypersons to take on roles traditionally reserved for clergy. Recognizing that no faith has a monopoly on the truth, he was committed to interreligious dialogue and forming collaborative relationships with people of other Christian denominations. He was a voice for the poor and the marginalized and welcomed with open arms those who historically had not been embraced by the Church. A champion for peace and justice, he actively opposed nuclear weapons, even
RAYMOND G. HUNTHAUSEN
though this position put him at odds with some conservative Catholics and the Reagan Administration.
As giant a man as he was in the eyes of many, Archbishop Hunthausen at his core was a humble and compassionate servant of the Lord. He had a gentle and pastoral presence, reflecting and generously sharing God’s love with others. Seattle University has a particularly special connection with the Archbishop. He modeled a vision for the Church that long after his retirement in 1991 has continued to resonate with and inspire our educational mission. In the 1980s, he teamed with thenPresident Bill Sullivan, S.J., to form the Institute for Theological Studies (ITS) as a way of training Catholic lay men and women for pastoral ministry in parishes, hospital chaplaincies and social ministries of the Church. The institute grew, eventually evolving into the School of Theology and Ministry in 1997, and its success drew the attention of Protestant leaders who began sending their seminarians and laypersons to SU for ministerial formation. In the spirit of Archbishop Hunthausen, the university continues to deepen its commitment to forming leaders for ministry and fostering ecumenical collaboration while celebrating his name and legacy in enduring ways on our campus. In 2004 the building that houses the School of Theology and Ministry was dedicated in his name, which is also found on a prestigious award the university gives annually to students who live out the mission as persons for others.
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LAST WORD
TRUE TRAILBLAZER Peter Lee, ’64, brought iconic American brand to China By Tina Potterf For Peter Lee, ’64, the journey to Seattle University took him half way around the world by land and by sea.
Once here, he wasted no time getting acquainted with his new city and campus life, acclimating by first living in the residence hall and finding a job—or more accurately, multiple jobs—while hitting the chemistry books.
In May 1959 Lee was finishing secondary school in Hong Kong and was looking “I studied chemistry because I wanted to ahead to college. When exploring schools have a good general science education,” in the U.S. he found Seattle University explains Lee, who was initially eyeing a appealing on several fronts—prime location career in engineering. As an undergrad, close to a downtown center, in a city with Lee took on a string of part-time gigs a temperate climate, at a school with a including waiter, custodian, tutor and solid chemistry program. An added bonus concrete pourer, to name a few. was that he discovered a Jesuit university that appealed to his values and sensibilities, Although he didn’t end up as an engineer with a “focus on educating the whole following his graduation in 1964, Lee put person, not just educating to create his chemistry degree to great use, first scholars,” says Lee. working as a quality control chemist with Darigold. Ultimately, his education and Selecting Seattle U was just the beginning work in the field would prove beneficial on for Lee, who spent nearly a month traveling an international stage as Lee is credited first by steamship from Hong Kong to as being instrumental in bringing iconic San Francisco, then by overnight bus to American brand Coca-Cola to China. Seattle. More on that in a minute.
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With his mind set on getting a doctorate in physical chemistry, Lee left Darigold and the Northwest for Michigan State in 1966. It was during this time that he married fellow SU chemistry student Patricia Coleman. After completing graduate research in molecular structure and gaining his PhD in chemistry in 1971, he continued with a post-doctoral fellowship at New York University. It was in New York where his wife joined Coca-Cola International as a microbiologist. While Lee was considering further postdoc research at ETH Zurich in the summer of 1972, the New York-based Coca-Cola International was consolidated into the corporate headquarters in Atlanta. After much deliberation, he and his wife decided that for professional advancement, she would accept the transfer to Atlanta, while he would move across the Atlantic Ocean to Zurich before the end of 1972. That plan was interrupted when Coca-Cola lured Lee to participate in a special research project.
“Being a trailblazer, I wasn’t afraid of a challenge.”
PHOTO BY YOSEF CHAIM KALINKO
—Peter Lee, ‘64
Coca-Cola was highly impressed with Lee’s work and persuaded him to take up a full-time position in corporate research and development. So Lee stayed in Atlanta as a research chemist focused on the chemistry of flavors and aroma for the company. The role at Coca-Cola saw Lee returning to Hong Kong in 1978 as part of the company’s Far East division. Lee was tasked with a dual technical position for the region and business development in China, where Coke was last bottled in 1950 and banned since then. It was a daunting proposition as it would be the first international company to reenter the marketplace there since 1949. “Being a trailblazer, I wasn’t afraid of a challenge,” says Lee, who indeed was successful in the re-entry of CocaCola into China with the signing of an agreement in Beijing in December 1978.
“China at the time was just opening up to the outside world,” explains Lee, “and wanted to attract tourism and promote good will.” The following year, he was named president of Coca-Cola China and oversaw the construction of several bottling plants in the country before relocating back to Atlanta in late 1984, when he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Coca-Cola Pacific. In keeping with his groundbreaking ways, he left Coke the following year when he was offered a job with Bell-South—now part of AT&T—to serve as president of the Asia Pacific region at a time when the telecommunications company was at the forefront of wireless tech. After two years he was back in the states, this time with a subsidiary of Mead, the Dayton, Ohio-based pulp and paper products company, as president of its newly established Far East Region. Lee assumed similar leadership roles with several other
multinational companies before retiring from corporate life late last year. Throughout all of his professional and academic achievements, Lee has never forgotten his Seattle University roots. As one of the university’s earliest international students, he is also among our most actively engaged alums. A recipient of the University Service award, Lee made the lead contribution and secured the remaining funds for the Asian Studies Program and later established an eponymous Endowed Lectureship in East Asian Culture and Civilization. “When we are successful,” says Lee, “we must remember how we became successful.” And his advice to others: “Don’t be afraid to accept a challenge.”
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SEATTLE UNIVERSITY
901 – 12th Avenue PO Box 222000 Seattle, WA 98122-1090
NOVEMBER WILL NEVER BE THE SAME You’ve got a new tradition to celebrate with your SU family this fall.
11.8.18-11.11.18 SE AT T LEU. E D U/ HO MECO MING