Last week, the Political Science Department held the 2024 Eric Hanson Alumni Speaker Series, with a keynote address by Dr. Sekou Franklin '94, who argued that the struggle for voting rights is just as important today as it was in the 1960s. Dr. Franklin also joined students and faculty for two lunchtime conversations at the Adobe Lodge. Front row: Dayana Lopez Guevara '25 (English, Political Science), Fiorella Vera-Adrianzén, MacKenzie Fisher '26 (Philosophy), Gabrielle Pitre '26 (Political Science). Back row: Imaan Qureshi '25 (Political Science, Psychology), Elsa Chen, Sekou Franklin, Francisca Gelman '26 (Communication, Spanish Studies), Emma Samaniego '24 (Political Science, Philosophy), Sean Gallagher '25 (Political Science), Dennis Gordon.

Dear College Faculty and Staff,

At Tuesday’s State of the University, President Sullivan highlighted the recently approved Strategic Plan. While the Plan includes many important pieces, the most exciting part, in my opinion, is that it will make a significant investment in access and affordability for students, starting right now. We won’t wait for the end of another capital campaign, rather, we will start prioritizing financial aid in the next fiscal year’s budget.

It is exciting to imagine Santa Clara University adding social mobility to the long list of things we do with our students. We educate them, we socialize them, transform them, equip them with skills, engage them, walk with them in their spiritual journeys, and enliven them by bringing different perspectives, people, and disciplines together. This plan will equip us to add to that—to join leading universities in the country whose graduates jump into a different socioeconomic class by virtue of having come to our university.

This goal, having students from less advantaged socioeconomic households travel a larger distance in economic growth is part of the American dream, really. Imagine if, just a few years from now, a student gets into SCU and sees no financial difference for her between attending SCU or a UC. In that future, we will have made good on one of the most important of our aspirations for our students.

Thank you all for being on this journey with us.

Warmly,

Daniel

Highlights

INDEPENDENT LENS / PBS presents the national premiere of “Breaking the News,” a critically-acclaimed and crowd-pleasing documentary executive produced by Nico Opper (Communication).

Watch the premiere on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, at 11 p.m. on PBS, or stream anytime after Feb 19 via the PBS App. The feature documentary takes the viewer inside The 19th* newsroom as a group of women and LGBTQ+ journalists launch a digital news startup seeking to buck the white-male status quo of U.S. newsrooms. Shot over three years, the film documents the honest discussions at The 19th* around race and gender equity, revealing that change doesn’t come easy, and showcases how they confront these challenges both as a workplace and in their journalism. But this film is about more than a newsroom; it’s about America in flux and the voices that are often left out of the American story. Read the full press release and trailer.

The Department of Art and Art History invites you to a day of celebration honoring the life and work of Sam Hernández. Sam taught art for 37 years at Santa Clara University and was instrumental in developing the program from its small beginnings to its robust presence in the life of the University. In honor of his memory, the department will be showing a 50-minute film as part of this celebration. Sam’s recipe for Paella will be served for lunch. We are also raising funds to purchase one of Sam’s sculptures for the department. "Hyde Park Café" will be available for viewing during this celebration and thereafter on permanent display. For more info go to samhernandezmemorial.org to contribute and to RSVP to this event.

Please join us on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at 11 a.m. for lunch followed by the film screening and short remarks from faculty. The lunch gathering will be in the Dowd Sculpture Garden and the film screening will take place in the Art and Art History Gallery in the Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building.

Tom Plante (Psychology) published a chapter, "Spirituality, religion, health, and professional psychology" in Oxford Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, Second Edition, pp. 559-594., L. Miller (Ed.), New York: Oxford University Press.

Abstract: Most people believe in the divine in some form and consider themselves to be spiritual, religious, or both. However, most psychologists and other mental health professionals perceive themselves as not religious and have little if any training or interest in spirituality and religious diversity. Psychologists and other healthcare professionals can use spiritual principles and practices to better serve their clients, even if they do not share the same or any religious or spiritual engagement. Benefits of religious/spiritual engagement for physical, social, and mental health are discussed in this chapter along with religious hazards to health. Spiritual tools commonly found within the major religious traditions are also discussed and suggested for use by psychologists and others. Assessment, intervention, ethical, and research issues are discussed as well.

Students working in the Learning & Remembering Lab in the Psychology Department presented at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society in San Francisco on November 16, 2023. Chloe Morrison ’24 (Psychology) and Angelina Valenza ’24 (Psychology) presented work investigating how college students judge whether they have learned new material well enough to remember it later, and the factors that influence these judgments of learning. Co-authors Kate Griffin ’23 (Psychology) and McKenna Anderson ’23 (Psychology) also contributed to this work. The students were mentored by Patti Simone and Lisa Whitfield in the Psychology Department.

Di Di's (Sociology) research project, titled "A Capital-Driven Science | Religion and Science in Tech Companies," is featured in a YouTube video. Drawing on nearly 100 interviews conducted with tech workers in both China and the U.S., this research delves into the extent to which religious beliefs contribute to the ongoing discourse on tech ethics.

Tim Myers (English) did a podcast interview on “The Transformative Power of Play” with creativity expert Nancy Norbeck of “Follow Your Curiosity.”

Victor Quiroz (Modern Languages and Literatures), with coauthors Estelle Tarica and Ana Lucía Tello, has published the article “Viven hasta ahora, canancamapas causan: el Manuscrito de Huarochirí como puente al futuro" in the book Abiayalan Pluriverses. Bridging Indigenous Studies & Hispanic Studies, edited by Gloria Elizabeth Chacón, Juan G. Sánchez Martínez and Lauren Beck. The paper interprets the Huarochirí Quechua Manuscript (Viceroyalty of Peru, 17th-century) through categories developed by contemporary Indigenous thinkers such as Daniel Heath Justice, Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, Mishuana Goeman, among others. This approach adopts a feminist perspective that emphasizes the role of female characters in the text and draws connections between their actions and the activism of contemporary Indigenous women like Máxima Acuña Chaupe and Nélida Ayay Chilón. The article proposes that the struggle of these activists recodifies and reactivates, in the 21st-century, the feminine agency embodied by the guardian stones referred in the Manuscript. It also reveals the necessity to reconsider the forms of interaction between human beings and nature amidst the contemporary ecological catastrophe.

Laura Ellingson (Communication) finished her course on how culture and science are interrelated and how we can recognize facts, opinions, and lies in a world where misinformation is rampant. She discussed how researchers determine what topics are worthy of funding and how journalists report important information without distorting findings in this OLLI@SCU course on Truth and Consequences.

OLLI@SCU will be featuring notable instructors periodically in the College Notes. The average course ranges from 4 to 10 hours of instruction per quarter. We hope this will inspire you to stay updated on OLLI news and possibly teach a class for our members. OLLI instructors are compensated for their time and knowledge; to learn more about the joy of teaching adult learners, contact olli@scu.edu.

"Lost in the City" from Existencia, Diavolo|Architecture in Motion. Photo: Cheryl Mann

Leandro Glory Damasco, Jr. (Theatre and Dance) was interviewed for Fjord Review's featured article, "Breaking Free," about Diavolo|Architecture in Motion's new work, Existencia. Leon, who danced with the company from 2012-2018, choreographed three scenes in the piece, "Standing Alone," "Lost in the City,” and “Symbiosis," as well as contributing solo & duet material and gesture motifs used throughout Jacques Heim's first evening-length work.

College of Arts and Sciences Calendar