SaintMartin’sUniversity
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
LetterfromtheDean
As the year draws rapidly to a close, I’d like to begin by thanking the faculty and staff of CAS for their hard work and strong support of students this year. Elsewhere in the newsletter you will read of the many student successes we will celebrate at the Honors Convocation this month. These student successes occur because able and willing students are taught and encouraged by our faculty and staff. With everything else that goes on around campus, it is important to remember that we are still doing the essential work of transforming young adults to realize their full human potential as scholars and people.
And while we are honoring our students, we are also honoring book and chapter authors on campus this month.CAS authors include Margaret Olney, Sam Fox, Arwyn Smalley, Liz Nutter, Nikki Berry, Nathalie Kuroiwa-Lewis, Julia Chavez, Dave Olwell, Brian Garcia, Ian Werritt, Br. Luke Devine, Hunhui Oh, Irina Gendelman, Robert Hauhart, Marc Kirchmeier, and Andrea Kunder.
As of this writing, we are making good progress with our searches. Dr. Shailee Woodard has accepted a position as assistant professor of psychology, and we have offers out to candidates in exercise science and sociology. We also working though a good candidate pool in history and political science We are paying particular attention to mission and identity fit in our hires this year, and I am pleased to report the search committees have done excellent work attending to this.
Professor Kathleen McKain and I have been co-chairing the provost search. We are excited by the candidates that have been brought to campus, and we look forward to the decision of the board of trustees, abbot, and president.
The May board meeting will have many items on its agenda. In addition to the provost search, I expect some resolution on reorganizing academic affairs. I am not yet sure what the results will be, but I do expect that the quality of service to students will not be adversely affected.
CAS is a large community of scholars, students, staff, and alumni. CAS works because we work together well, with a strong sense of collegiality and a deep love of our students and, dare I say, each other. It has been a joy working as a member such a fine group this year. Our progress on many fronts has been a team win. My job is to enable success for students, faculty and staff, and I will continue to give my best to that end. Thank you!
Dean’sListRecipients
Congratulations to the many students who recieved a 3.5 or higher GPA for the 2024 Fall Semester, keep up the good work!
Jillian Abbe
Guadalupe Acosta-Pelayo
Haley Agena
Natalie Aguilar
Elia Aguilar
Cheryl Aguilar Henriquez
Hannah Alamillo
Lori Aldrich
Yoel Alejandres-Aleman
Matthew Alexander
Angel Alvarado
Laura Alvarez
Taylor Ames
Chrystal An
Lauren Anderson
Crystal Antal
Autumn Apelar
Stephanie Apgar
Lauren Apthorp
Jayse Arcalas
Kimberly Astin
Mya Ball
Sara Barnes
Riley Bateman
Nevaeh Battee
Molly Beers Bracey
Collin Bell
Ardeleah Bernal
Hailey Blancas
Jessica Bodkin
Kobe Bolduc-Vorachith
Kasey Booster
Merribeth Born
Ashley Brascher
Christian Brazel
Aaron Brimmer
Analise Brown
Tiffany Brual
Ruby Bryntesen
Ryan Burns
Flavia Burrell
Olivia Callaghan
Rachael Callaghan
Shiann Canionero
Bianca Carl
Liam Carney
Alyssa Carter
Jesus Cervantes
Enrique Chagolla Hernandez
Chikumbutso Chikopa
Zoey Coleman
Rylee Colvin
Keith Zachary Corook
Rebecca Cortesi
Sherise Cruz
Katherine Cruz
Elijah Dale
Kirsten De Lara
Bianca DeGracia
Julissa Detrinidad
Gabriella Dewhurst
Quang Diep
Alyssa Dominguez
Delany Donaldson
Charles-Philippe Dorgler
Kassandra Eunice Doroteo
Chalis Dotson
Hae Durbin
Riley Edenholm
Taylor Ellison
Amanda England
Cassandra England
Samantha Escobar
Pedro Esqueda
Lesli Eufracio-Amates
Emily Fairfield
Elizabeth Fellman
Cassandra Fischer
Brayden Flores
Evelyn Flores
Fevee Fontejon
Queen Garrard
Erica Garrett
Emily Garten
Jonathan Gashel
Peter Geurts
Cassandra Gilson
Jobe Glass
Kyia Glover
Ana Gomez
Abigail Gonzalez
Sara Gray
Samuel Gray
Alyssa Greenleaf
Veronica Gudino Sandoval
Kelsey Guzman
Faith Hahn Landis
Lilian Hale
Melissa Ham
Kazi Hamid
Bethany Hamilton
Kaden Hansen
Raegan Hansen
Christopher Harper
Nicole Harris
Audrey Hays
Benjamin Heck
Brock Heffner
Thomas Hega Hega
Virginiah Hernandez
Yesenia Hernandez
Ernestina Herrera-Agustin
Angelina Herron
Devon Hess
Ava Heston
Laiken Hill
Brittany Holland
Ianeta Hollister
Jacob House
Habriana Howard-Eram
Guadalupe Huerta-Acuchi
Nicholas Hughes
Chloe Husmillo
Damon Ingram
Kelsie Inouye
Kevin Ishimwe
Michael James
Ansel Jenissen
Jenna Jenkins
Amy Jensen
Amalia Jimenez
Yoo Mi Jo
Jesse Joash
Amiesha Johnson
Bridget Johnson
Lucia Juarez
Ethan Jud
Sofia Jusino
Madeleine Kabena Kashondo
Alyssa Kapeliela
Jasper Keller
Ava Kephart
Melissa Khan
Joachim Killian
Aidan James Killion
Amy King
Emerson Klahr
Makenna Klovdahl
Melissa Klym
Phoebe Knellhorne
Maile Koeckritz
Vincent Koigi
Hinata Kojima
Ben Krasnokutsky
Carla Kumher
Cameron Kunz
Katelyn Kuss
Jayda Lagerwey
Thu-Tiffany Lam
Michael Larsen
Aliyah Rosita Lazcano
Shania Lazcano
Sarah Leatherman
David Lee
Stephen Leonard
Samantha Leulu Tupuola
Chloe Leverington
Julie Liang
Dyson Lighthall
Faith Linthicum
Aubrey Lopez
Desirae Lucero
Xianna Maciel
Christjan Mago
Leah Mahakata
Keicea Manayan
Zachary Mandlin
Yasmeen Martin
Julius Martinez
Kingsley Mason
Cameron Matthewson
Isaiah Mayfield-Prieto
Farah Mcallister
Jonathan Mcdade
Ian Mckain-Pitts
Shayla Mckenzie
Cody Mears
Emily Medina
Nora Melcher
Fasika Mengesha
Dean’sListRecipients
Sawit Mengstab
Kadence Merritt
Jasmin Miller
Zarina Miller
Savana Million
Cha Mo
Shannon Moe
Rochelle Monroe
Melinda Moradi
Bree Morrell
Mark Morris
Jazlynn Mortimore
Uriel Mull-Pernetz
Rebecca Mwaura
Kailah Myrick
Bryson Nakamoto
Stephanie Nelson
Nathan Newsom
Amaiya Rose Nguyen
Leah Nguyen
Jaden Nielsen-Skinner
Ian Nomura
Bailey Oas
Immanuel Oludele
Tomas Ordonez
Miriam Ortiz
Sarah Osmanson
Carmelina Pablo Martinez
Carina Pablo Martinez
Jordan Pacheco-Mendez
Destiny Padilla Santillan
Celine Paula Paez
Patricia Page
Alejandra Palencia Linares
Shelby Palmer
Zinessa Patton
Jeffrey Pei
Melanie Pena
David Peppard
Victor Perez
Reaghan Perez
Kristine Perez
Brenden Perez
Sallyann Perreault
Amanda Peterson
Kevin Pham
Sabrina Poole
Isabelle Pope
Maximillian Potter
Trey Prestwich
Revekka Pronina
Faith Prosch
Meghan Quebedeaux
Aldrin Rafael
Kya Ramirez
Avril Regis
Julie Ribeiro
Kaylynne Richards
Virginia Richardson
Dylan Rocha-Gonzalez
Omar Rodela
Elizabeth Rodriguez
Nadia Rodriguez
Abigail Roll
Jennifer Roper
Yennifer Rosario Ledesma
Crysania Saballa
Cassie Saephanh
Ciera Salvador Ramos
Shaelene San Nicolas-Cruz
Seth Sawyers
Gabriella Scalera
Eila Schlender
Kekai Schultz
Tyler Scott
Emma Scotthanson
Elizabeth Seese
Nala Sellers
Noah Sheppard
Tinsae Shifreaw
Sunna Siewert
Reilly Smalling
Shalyse Smith
Austin Smith
Hailey Smith
Jacquelyn Sneeden
Valeria Sotelo
Amanda Soto
K'Leia Sotomish
Dmitri Soviak
Camryn Spaulding
Jennifer Spencer
Nichapa Srisaringkarn
Yajaira Sterioti
Tia Stilson
Abigail Stone
Brian Sweetman
Mya Swenson
Lamrot Tafesse
Zack Takeshita
Evelyn Tandoh
Kelton Tom
Connie Torchia
Lylah Tran
Jada Travis
Juan Diego Trejo Delgado
Emily Tuck
Madison Ungren
Trisha Mae Valenzuela
Sarah Venuti
Kandice Villasenor
Alyona Vysotskiy
Megan Warner
Brooklynn Warner
Laura Washburn
Emma Weerasinghe
Nolan Wegeleben
Mckenzie Welliver
Samantha West
Mia White
Ayden Wilkerson
Ashley Williams
Hiedi Wilson
Kaitlyn Wood-Morris
Sydney Woods
Jonathan Wright
Sara Wywadis
Brianna Yamada
Tehani Anne Yamashita
Gabriella Ybarra
Brooke Yoshida
Alisa Zhupanenko
Poetry in the Gardens
Dr. Nathalie KuroiwaLewis recently published her poem “Self-portrait as natural history museum ” at the Lakewold Winter Garden poetry event in Tacoma, WA.
The link to the recording of her poem can be found at the QR code:
Literature and Culture
In February, Jamie Olson attended the Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture, where he presented on a panel about contemporary Ukrainian poetry and took part in a translation workshop. The workshop culminated in a public reading of texts translated from over a dozen languages, followed by a discussion with the audience.
Also in February, Jamie's translation of a poem by Ukrainian author Irina Yevsa, "In Memory of a Peninsula," was published by the journal Circumference. The poem can be found here:
Arkhip Kuindzhi, Dnieper in the Morning, 1881. Public domain.
Presentation Success
Dr. Arwyn Smalley, professor of Chemistry recently gave a presentation at the Spring meeting for the American Chemical Society in late March. Dr. Smalley was then invited by the organizers to reprise that talk as a webinar and will be presenting the webinar for ChemHIST Talks, a history webseries, on the 23 of April. The title of the presentation is “Mystery of the Coast Salish woolly dogs” and below is the abstract: rd
Early European explorers to the Pacific Northwest commented that the native people kept flocks of fluffy, white dogs. They were compared to Pomeranians in appearance, although they were somewhat larger, and they were shorn at regular intervals throughout the year – not unlike sheep. Despite being a common sight in the 18th century, the practice of raising and keeping these dogs had almost disappeared by 1860, and the breed was considered extinct by the end of the 19th century. For context, European explorers brought diseases that devastated the native people throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, and the tribal
populations were significantly reduced and sometimes totally wiped out. In addition, the “treaties” forced natives to give up many of their traditional practices, including keeping dogs and weaving. By the beginning of the 20th century, all that was left of the weaving tradition were a few grandmothers who had learned to weave as children, and who might talk about or pass on the tradition in secret to their own children and grandchildren. As a result of this cultural destruction, by the mid- to late-20th century, some researchers questioned whether dog fibers 39 had actually been used to create blankets, and whether dog hair had been used in any significant way to produce blankets. Multiple Coast Salish blankets exist in museums worldwide, but it was very difficult to determine the fiber type using physical means. New scientific techniques in the late 20th and early 21st centuries have provided new ways to analyze the blankets. I will describe these scientific innovations and what new information they brought to solve the mystery of the Coast Salish woolly dogs.
Recent Publication
The most recent issue of the American Literature (March 2025) includes Dr. Todd Barosky’s, "Counterfeit Detectors: The Literary Origins of the US Secret Service."
The article's published abstract: "This article examines the US Secret Service, a federal agency created during the Civil War to protect the greenback against counterfeiters, and its literary origins. It explores an overlooked chapter in the history of American crime and detective fiction, one that has special relevance today with the rise of cryptocurrencies. The author argues that Secret Service agents who turned authors, as well as professional writers enlisted to support the agency, between 1865 and 1920 developed a unique version of the detective narrative with a particular ideological function: to discredit counterfeiting as a politically subversive act and to legitimize the configurations of political and economic power consolidated by the federal government in the decades following the Civil War. Cast as a literary detective, the Secret Service agent is interchangeable with any other agent, ubiquitous across space and time, and possesses unimpeachable integrity and so embodies the very attributes that gave the greenback its value as a fiat currency. The Secret Service narrative transforms detective fiction into a celebration of a nationalism that links patriotic sentiments to recently created symbols of federal authority and redefines popular sovereignty as a passive, sympathetic identification with dutiful federal agents, who collectively stand before the reader as the personification of an implacable and alienated state power."
“About the Journal: American Literature has been regarded since its inception as the preeminent periodical in its field. Each issue contains articles covering the works of several American authors from colonial to contemporary as well as an extensive book review section; a “Brief Mention” section offering citations of new editions and reprints, collections, anthologies, and other professional books; and an “Announcements” section that keeps readers up-to-date on prizes, competitions, conferences, grants, and publishing opportunities.
Electronic access to current and back volumes of American Literature is available through a combination of read.dukeupress.edu and JSTOR.”
Our Common Home Farm
The 2025 season is off to a great start at Saint Martin’s University Farm (also known as Our Common Home Farm), located just 15 minutes from campus in the Nisqually Valley. As Spring moves into full swing, we are growing lettuce, sugar snap peas, and garlic in the greenhouse. Outside, asparagus and rhubarb are ready to harvest, and strawberries are coming back to life. This year we ’ ve planted potato boxes as an experiment. And as soon as Mother’s Day is here, we will plant the fields with lettuce, spinach, kale, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, beets, peas, green beans, zucchini, winter squash, pumpkins, and corn. In the greenhouse we will plant our crops that like heat: tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, and basil.
In keeping with our mission, we donate all the produce we grow in the local community – at the TUB, at Saint Michael’s Parish and Community Kitchen in downtown Olympia, and at the Thurston County Food bank.
Last year we had more than 180 individual volunteers, and we hope to exceed that number this year. If you are curious about the farm project and want more information, let us know! You can reach out to anyone on the leadership team: Tim Madeley (TMadeley@stmartin.edu), Sam Fox (SFox@stmartin.edu), Julia Chavez (JChavez@stmartin.edu), or Ernesto Chavez (Echavez@stmartin.edu).
We have regular volunteer opportunities on Saturday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 am. If you’d like to get involved, you can sign up here. All are welcome to join as we work collaboratively to address food insecurity. - Dr. Julia Chavez
Christmas Highlights
Director of Social Work Katya Shkurkin was awarded for her 25 years of service to SMU
Staff and Faculty Christmas Party
Christmas Under the Canopy
Julia Chavez, Cameron Sweet, and Shahlaa Al Wakeel
Christmas Under the Canopy
