Dear College Faculty and Staff,

I hope this message finds you thriving in summer mode!

This week’s College Notes highlights some of the remarkable energy and impact of our faculty, staff and students. I am especially struck by how engaged the CAS community is with issues of the day. Whether politically and socially important matters are near us or far afield, our teacher-scholars and students jump right in with their elegant, nuanced and principled analyses. It is especially gratifying to see our colleagues using the summer to bring their projects to fruition.

Rest and recharging is great too; make sure lots of that happens as well!

Best,

Daniel

Highlights

Sonja Mackenzie (Public Health) served as research mentor and steering committee member for a research report on LGBTQ+ Youth and Mental Health published by The Kite Trust, an organization by and for LGBTQ+ youth in Cambridgeshire, England. This community-based research project centered LGBTQ+ youth leadership and voices as they explored experiences of trying to access mental health support, and their recommendations for improving access to support. A key message from the project was to follow the expertise of the community and build it to become a systems-level intervention.

On July 5, Thomas Plante (Psychology) presented a half-day master camp workshop entitled, "Recognizing, Treating, and Avoiding Burnout for Catholic Professionals" for the Catholic Media Association's national conference in Portland, OR.

Behavioral science research and clinical practice suggest that many industries have significant and often alarming increases in stress and burnout among professionals. Catholic media is no exception and has the unique challenges of dealing with a Church that has been trying to manage a devastating sexual abuse scandal for over 20 years. Additionally, political polarization within and outside of the Church, bishops and other church leaders causing scandal in multiple areas, a more mistrustful and cynical population, and an escalating increase of those who identify as either “none” or “done” when it comes to religion make matters that much more challenging. The purpose of the half-day workshop was to identify stress and burnout signs and symptoms, reflect on the unique stressors of media professionals in the Catholic press, and most importantly, discuss productive and evidence based coping strategies to increase tools in one’s stress management toolbox for better coping.

John Farnsworth (Environmental Studies and Sciences, emeritus) had his photograph "Snow Geese in the Skagit Flats" published on the cover of Tangents, the journal of Stanford's Master of Liberal Arts program.

Peter Minowitz (Political Science) published a letter in the San Jose Mercury News. It assesses responses to the recent Supreme Court decisions about abortion and gun control.

James Lai (Ethnic Studies) recently guest edited with John Ishiyama, University of North Texas, as well as contributed the introductory, editorial essay to a special edition of the Journal of Political Science Education (Volume 18, Issue 2) entitled "Teaching College Students about Asian Pacific American Politics from Multiple Perspectives." This special edition features eight essays from a diverse group of scholars and teachers in the field that address a wide variety of issues and perspectives ranging from the Asian Pacific American women faculty and the bamboo ceiling to teaching Asian Pacific American politics at an HSI.

The Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries is excited to announce SCU’s first graduate certificate. Starting this Fall 2022, the Graduate Certificate in Restorative Justice & Chaplaincy will be offered online or in-person to post-undergraduate students interested in healing communities through ministry or chaplaincy. Read the press release.

The COVID-19 pandemic, growing incarceration rates, rising poverty, and a need for support within schools contributed to increased interest in restorative justice studies across the nation.

College of Arts and Sciences Calendar