What’s happening at SPU? This is where you’ll find the latest news about research, events, activities, achievements, and milestones in the life of SPU and its people.
Brenda Salter McNeil, associate professor of reconciliation studies, was interviewed by Sojourners magazine about racial reconciliation in an article titled "Brenda Salter McNeil knows why we're fed up with 'racial reconciliation.'"
Biological anthropologist and SPU alumna Cara Wall-Scheffler ’00 was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science. Wall-Scheffler, who is a professor and co-chair of SPU’s Biology department, was recognized for her groundbreaking research in energetics, particularly the evolution of human bipedalism/mobility. She is among only a handful of fellows who teach at a liberal arts university, and the only scholar in this year’s AAAS cohort who teaches at a Christian university. Congratulations, Professor Wall-Scheffler!
The 2024 Undergraduate Commencement ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 8, 10:30 a.m., at T-Mobile Park, near downtown Seattle. Ivy Cutting and Graduate Commencement will be held on campus, Friday, June 7.
Learn more on the 2024 Commencement website.
The year's Perkins Lecture series features several events on Tuesday, April 23, including Rev. Sandra Van Opstal as keynote for the annual Perkins Lecture at 7 p.m. in Upper Gwinn. The Perkins Center is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024.
Let me introduce the Korean concept of jeong as a counterpart to the Seattle Freeze. Although jeong has no English equivalent, it can be experienced and expressed outside of the Korean context. Jeong captures the tight interpersonal connection between people. It is the energy that underlies friendships. It can also describe the emotional bond between a parent and child.
After nine years as the president of both Roberts Wesleyan University and Northeastern Seminary near Rochester, New York, Dr. Deana L. Porterfield was inaugurated Feb. 23 as the 12th president of Seattle Pacific University in its 133-year history and its first female president. In an interview with Light + Life magazine a month after her inauguration, she emphasized that Seattle Pacific remains faithful to its Christian commitment even as the university attracts students from a variety of backgrounds and connects with its city.
After an extensive nationwide search, Dr. Kathy Lustyk has been named the next vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer at Seattle Pacific University. Lustyk currently serves as vice chancellor and associate chief academic officer at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), Prescott. She will assume her new role at SPU in the next few months.
Live like an SPU student for a day during Falcon Fridays! This one-day visit includes information sessions about specific academic programs, financial aid, and admissions. Plus, you'll take a tour of our beautiful campus and enjoy lunch in our award-winning dining hall. Sign up today!!
"Silent Sky" is a true story of 19th century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, who explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries. With music and math bursting forth onstage, Henrietta and her female peers change the way we understand both the heavens and the Earth. It is the poignant tale of a woman’s dedication to the stars, and the human touch that makes life under the vast sky beautiful and timeless.
Han (한), nunchi (눈치), and jeong (정) are Korean constructs that profoundly shape Korean people’s lives. How might the understanding of these constructs offer lessons that generalize beyond the Korean setting, as we pursue intrapersonal, interpersonal, and communal flourishing?
In the annual Winifred E. Weter Faculty Award Lecture for Meritorious Scholarship, Professor of Psychology Paul Youngbin Kim will explore the features of these constructs, drawing from his academic field of psychology but also Korean media and arts. He will articulate the strengths and pitfalls associated with han, jeong, and nunchi. Whenever relevant, Prof. Kim will describe how the three constructs can be reimagined for faithful Christian living.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
7 p.m.
Upper Gwinn Commons
Dr. Christopher Jones ’94 hopes the families in his medical practice never need to ask: “Is my kid sick enough that I should pay for a doctor’s visit?” Medical director of HopeCentral, a nonprofit health center, he and his team have adapted the concept of concierge medicine to a diverse Seattle neighborhood.
Assistant Professor of Philosophy Leland Saunders earned a $10,100 Graves Award in Humanities for his research project, “The Structure of Moral Judgement: Philosophical Perspectives.” His research responds to recent arguments that human beings’ concepts of morality are just a quirk of evolution and don't connect to anything deeper.