fyi - News for the Campus Community
fyi is the official faculty-staff newsletter for the Santa Clara University community. It is designed to keep faculty and staff informed about campus news and information. It is compiled, written and published by the Office of Marketing and Communications.
-
 Philosophy Major, Women's Cross Country and Track Team Captain Named to Elite List of Rhodes Scholars
Noelle R. Lopez becomes first woman Rhodes Scholar from SCU and only the second ever in university history.
Noelle R. Lopez, the captain of Santa Clara University's women's cross country and track team and a philosophy major, was named Saturday as one of 32 U.S. Rhodes Scholars, one of academia's most prestigious awards granted to students of "high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership, and physical vigor."
Lopez is the first woman from SCU to achieve this honor and only the second SCU student to do so since alumnus Arthur Hull Hayes Jr. in 1955.
Winners receive all-expenses-paid scholarships for postgraduate study in Oxford, England.
Lopez has already garnered some of Santa Clara University's highest awards, including numerous scholarships, prizes, and grants. Consistently on the Dean's list, she also was one of three recipients of the Hackworth Fellowships in Applied Ethics and received the Donovan Fellowship grant for students wishing to deepen their knowledge of social justice through a community-based learning experience.
"The entire Santa Clara University community congratulates Noelle for her well-deserved recognition," said President Paul L. Locatelli, S.J. "Her outstanding scholastic, athletic, and personal achievements reflect the best of the Jesuit ideal - the education of the whole person. She is also a stellar model of Santa Clara's vision of educating leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion -values that we strive to infuse in every student."
Rhodes scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, the British philanthropist and African colonial pioneer. His intent was to reward those with the potential to make an effective and positive contribution throughout the world, who "esteem the performance of public duties as their highest aim." Each year the U.S. scholars join about 50 other international students at Oxford. This year in the U.S., 769 students applied, having been endorsed by 207 different colleges and universities.
At SCU, Lopez has been a standout leader in the area of ethics, a field she plans to continue studying at Oxford. Through the Hackworth fellowship, she has been focusing with her peers on the question: "What do we mean when we use the term 'social justice'?" She has also been a peer educator for the class "Ethical Issues in Society" as well as an English-as-a-Second-Language tutor through the Santa Clara Community Action Program.
Lopez said Rhodes' vision meshes perfectly with her studies and focus on ethics at Santa Clara University. "My interests and desires for the future matched up well with those put forth by the Rhodes scholarship," she said. "I am really grateful for the support of the university, and for all the opportunities that it allowed me in the last four years."
"The Santa Clara community could not be more proud of Noelle Lopez on this incredible honor," said Santa Clara Athletic Director Dan Coonan. "In so many ways she is the consummate Jesuit-educated student-athlete. She is a brilliant student, a gifted athlete and leader on her team. She has a huge heart, which is evidenced by her commitment to community service and social justice. On top of all this she has a very modest and unassuming personality that people are naturally drawn to. She is an inspiration to us all."
West Coast Conference Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich also congratulated Lopez, noting that Rhodes Scholars are "the personification of the student-athlete ideal, and those who are deemed worthy of its honor can pride themselves on having lived up to its lofty standard."
A 2005 graduate of Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Ariz., Lopez participated in cross country and track and played freshman basketball. She was named an Arizona Interscholastic Athletics Scholar-Athlete. She placed second in the 5A Arizona Cross Country Championships in 2004 and was All-State. She was named an Arizona Dairy Council All-American, and selected as Southern Arizona Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year by the Tucson Citzen/Arizona Daily Star.
In high school she was named a National Hispanic Merit Scholar and was a member of Students Against Drunk Driving and the National Honor Society. She volunteered at the Casa Maria Soup Kitchen and with Habitat for Humanity.
-
SCU Grad Student Promotes Heart of Technology
Members of the MSIS Women's Community Clinic project (left to right): Vijaya Garg, Paolo Posadas, Samira Habibian, Melissa Wijaya. Not present: Benjamin Bayani
Paolo Posadas, University employee and graduate student, has a senior project in the works that fulfills not only a course requirement but a personal mission as well.
A technical specialist in the Office of the Registrar, Posadas is also enrolled in the MSIS program at the Leavey School of Business, where he’s required to complete a capstone project that puts to use his newly acquired knowledge of business and technology.
Up until now, MSIS students have geared their capstone projects to the corporate world, spending at least two quarters with companies like Cisco and Lockheed, where they apply technical classroom concepts to real-world challenges.
Posadas and a group of fellow students, however, aimed their project at an atypical industry: nonprofits.
“I really wanted to take my project in a different direction,” he explained. “I thought that a nonprofit organization would feel a greater impact from any work I did, and I like the idea of leading a project that is service oriented; it fits in well with the Jesuit ideal.”
It isn’t always easy to match such student undertakings with respective charities, and that’s why Posadas’ project is only the first of its kind in the 5-year-old MSIS program. According to MSIS Director Manoochehr Ghiassi, “We deal with implementing systems, and most nonprofits don’t have the funding to buy expensive computer applications.”
Posadas spent two months searching for a place that would benefit from the technical expertise he gained during his two years in the MSIS program. Then, in March, he approached the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education and Associate Director Valerie Sarma told him about the Women’s Community Clinic in San Francisco. From there, said Posadas, everything fell into place.
“The clinic had received a grant for some software that would make their operation much more efficient, but they had no resources to implement the new system. They were just waiting for someone to come in and help them. It was perfect timing for both of us—they were thrilled to hear from me, and I had the project I was looking for.”
Specifically, Posadas is heading a team of SCU graduate students—Vijaya Garg, Samira Habibian, Melissa Wijaya, and Benjamin Bayani. They are replacing an outdated system with one that will allow the clinic to better manage its volunteers and target its donors. He estimates the new computer application will “shave off about two hours of work time a day.”
I’ve learned so much since we began the project,” noted Posadas. “Working with our clients and capturing their needs, and then using business and technology to satisfy those needs—it’s been extremely rewarding.” He said his team is aiming to go online with the new system Dec. 1, with training sessions and documentation to follow.
The mutual benefits of working with charitable organizations are clear, Ghiassi said. “Paolo’s project is definitely worth at least $100,000 to the clinic; that’s nine months of work by five people, plus time from one and a half faculty members—and our students receive valuable experience and, of course, the satisfaction that comes from providing service to the community.”
The MSIS program is mostly for part-time students and is on track to graduate 20 to 30 students each year, Ghiassi noted. “It’s definitely on our agenda to do more with nonprofits, so when opportunities like this project come up, we’ll grab them.”
-
Taking Computer Engineering to a New Degree
Within 10 days of the Board of Trustees approving the new Bachelor of Science degree in Web Design and Engineering this fall, five students had tracked down Associate Professor Dan Lewis to switch to the new major, despite the fact that the degree does not officially become available until fall 2009.
“We hadn’t even advertised the new degree yet, other than by word of mouth,” marveled Lewis, who was the primary author of the proposal for the new major.
Lewis is confident that enthusiasm for the degree will draw a new, diverse contingent of students to SCU and to engineering in particular. New majors in Web design and engineering are expected to eventually increase the computer engineering department to about 150 students. Enrollment dipped considerably from a high of 235 during the dot-com boom to a low of about 85 after the bust and has increased only modestly within the last year.
“We were looking to add a major that would attract students. Young people are now more interested in the Web and video games and robotics and less interested in operating systems, compilers, and database systems—the traditional bread-and-butter of the computer engineering discipline,” he explained.
The department decided against creating a new degree in video game development due to competition from UC Santa Cruz’s new program. And the Web design and engineering degree meshes better with the cornerstones of a Jesuit education— competence, conscience, and compassion.
One goal of the new degree is to prepare a new breed of Web engineers who possess an understanding of and proficiency with the technological aspects of Web design. Graduates also will be sensitive to and appreciate the social implications and aesthetic aspects of their creations within the context of a new communications and collaborative media. They’ll also have insight into how people’s use of the Web drives the development of its technology.
Coursework will include traditional computer engineering classes as well as courses in graphic design, communications, sociology, and an ethics course directly related to the discipline.
“This is one of the few opportunities, in addition to the environmental studies and bioengineering programs, that brings together engineering and humanities faculty in a common enterprise,” Lewis pointed out. “It’s a great opportunity for the School of Engineering to be really engaged with the rest of the university in providing an innovative major for the 21st century.”
-
Teacher Gives Gift of Performance to Seniors
Acting on Shakespeare’s notion that “All the world’s a stage,” SCU theater professor Kimberly Hill will bring a bit of the Bard to two local retirement homes this week.
Hill has marshaled a troupe of students to performat the Terraces on Dec. 2 and at the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center on Dec. 4, both in Los Gatos. She said the young actors from her theater class, Acting Styles: Shakespeare, are eager to perform for the two audiences of senior citizens.
“We talked about the idea on the first day of class,” she explained. “The students were immediately very open to the project, and very excited about doing it.” In the hour-long performance, each actor will present one monologue and at least two scenes from Shakespeare’s various plays.
Hill, who earned a master’s degree in acting from the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco, knows all about using material from the world’s most famous playwright to entertain older folks. While teaching in the ACT master’s program a few years ago, she organized a short Shakespeare performance at a nearby senior community. The event was a hit, and led to a successful outreach program that is now funded through a grant.
“I’ve been interested in doing this type of community service for a long time,” she said. “My experience has been that older audiences are so thrilled to be in the presence of young people. Their delight is really inspirational.”
Hill has been acting and teaching in the Bay Area for more than 15 years and is in her third year of teaching at SCU. She is confident that her students will receive warm welcomes in Los Gatos, “especially from the Jesuits because they’re so well versed in Shakespeare.”
Cheryl Holsman, recreation services coordinator at the Jesuit Center, agreed. “Some of the priests here attended Shakespeare in the Park this summer and they’re really looking forward to the SCU program,” she noted. “Quite a few have taught at the university, too, and they’re going to get a kick out of seeing students from the school; it’s a connection that will be very well received.”
-
Lisa Sowle Cahill '70 Continues Discussion of Faith and Politics
Lisa Sowle Cahill '70
On Jan. 15, 2009, SCU hosts Boston College Professor Lisa Sowle Cahill ’70, who writes on difficult topics, such as Catholic feminists raising families, peacemaking in the 21st century, stem cells and the Roman Catholic Church, and religion and homosexuality. A Santa Clara University graduate, Cahill earned her doctorate at the University of Chicago and has taught at Boston College since 1976, where she is the J. Donald Monan, S.J., Professor of Theology.
The second installment of this year’s President’s Speaker Series begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Mayer Theatre. Tickets for faculty, staff, and members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute are $20 each; tickets for students are $5. They can be purchased online or by calling ext. 4400.
Learn more about Lisa Sowle Cahill on the President’s Speaker Series Web site.
-
SCU in the News
Handling Layoffs in wake of Workplace Shootings
CBS 5
Nov. 17, 2008. David Caldwell, a management professor at Santa Clara University, is quoted in a news segment on how to properly handle layoffs. Watch the story.
Prop. 8 divides Bay Area Catholics
San Francisco Chronicle
Nov. 22, 2008. Paul Crowley, a Jesuit priest and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University, is quoted in an article about how Proposition 8 has caused tension in the Catholic community. Read the story.
Santa Clara University senior is named Rhodes Scholar
San Jose Mercury News
Nov. 23, 2008. Noelle Lopez, a senior and a philosophy major at Santa Clara University, has won a prestigious Rhodes scholarship. Read the story.
Desperate Times for Retailers
KNTV/NBC 11
Nov. 24, 2008. SCU Retail Management Institute director Kirthi Kalyanam discusses the prevalence of holiday retail price cutting. Watch the story.
Big discounts lure throngs of Bay Area shoppers
San Francisco Chronicle
Nov. 29, 2008. Dale Achabal, a marketing professor and the executive director of Santa Clara University's Retail Management Institute, was quoted in an article about how consumers will be spending this holiday season. Read the story.
-
SCU Events
Tuesday, Dec. 2
Music at Noon: Holiday Voices
Noon to 1 p.m.
Music and Dance Facility, Recital Hall
Once again the SCU voice department continues its traditional end-of-year Music at Noon performance, leading the campus and community into the holiday season in a special program designed for all ages. Sing-alongs, traditional holiday songs from around the world, opera, musical theater, and surprise guests are on the program.
For more information: http://www.scu.edu/cpa/musicatnoon.cfm
Thursday, Dec. 11
Noon to 1 p.m.
HR Workshops: Planning Your Retirement with Fidelity
Benson Center
Parlor B
The Planning Your Retirement Income workshop will help those retiring in five years or less determine if their portfolio is appropriately invested to generate sufficient income during retirement. Fidelity presenters will discuss which sources of income you may want to use first, and will help you to identify distribution options that will meet your lifestyle needs. The goal is to provide you with an action plan that will enable you to meet your retirement goals.
RSVP at http://www.scu.edu/events/rsvp.cfm?sched=15103
-
SCU People
Jenny Moody ’07 has joined the Alumni Office staff as the Assistant Director, Chapters and Groups.
-
Grants, Awards, and Publications
Charlie Ambelang (human resources) was listed as one of the Top Practitioners in Leadership Development on Leadership Excellence Online in an article by Ken Shelton entitled “The Excellence 100 Top Thought Leaders for 2008-2009.”
Barbara Colyar (international programs) received the IES Professional Development Award. Santa Clara University was the first full IES Abroad Consortium Member and, due to Colyar’s efforts and those of her faculty colleagues, the partnership has grown and become increasingly productive.
Diane Jonte-Pace (religious studies) has co-edited a book with William Parsons and Susan Henking, titled Mourning Religion, published by the University of Virginia Press.
Sally Lehrman (communication) published a chapter entitled “Cops, Sports and Schools: How the News Media Frames Coverage of Genetics and Race” in the book Revisiting Race in a Genomic Age, edited by Barbara A. Koenig, Sandra Soon-Jin Lee, and Sarah S. Richardson. The book was published by Rutgers University Press as part of a series on medical anthropology.
Jim Purcell (university relations) will be awarded the J. Barry McGannon, S.J., Award from the Jesuit Advancement Administrators at their next annual conference in Seattle in June. The McGannon Award is the highest honor bestowed by JAA. It is presented biennially to an individual who has made a distinguished contribution to Jesuit higher education and to Jesuit advancement. It is a unique honor reserved for individuals whose service to one or more Jesuit institution of higher education has been exemplary and who is acknowledged by colleagues nationally as meriting recognition.
Meir Statman (finance) has won the 2008 Moskowitz Prize for Socially Responsible Investing, along with his co-author Denys Glushkov of Barclays Global Investors. The pair won the award from the Center for Responsible Business at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Their winning study, “The Wages of Social Responsibility,” demonstrated that socially responsible investors can do both well and good by investing in companies that score high on social responsibility characteristics, such as good employee relations and environmental stewardship, while not nixing outright companies associated with products such as tobacco and weapons, which some socially responsible investors consider objectionable.
William Stover (political science) was recognized as “an extraordinary educator in Political Science” by the American Political Science Association for his teaching involving information technology and international relations.
Andy A. Tsay (Operations & Management Information Systems) spoke at UC Berkeley in a conference called “Holding China Accountable? Strategies for Protecting Consumers in a Globalized World.” The conference was underwritten by the Travers Program on Ethics and Accountability in Government and cosponsored by the Commonwealth Club of California.
-
Santa Clara University gets $7 million gift for a new student activity center
In a gesture to honor the departing president of Santa Clara University, Mary Mathews-Stevens '84 and her husband, Mark, a partner in the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, have donated $7 million for a future Paul L. Locatelli, S.J., Student Activity Center.
The University intends to break ground by spring 2009.
The couple has been active in education philanthropy in recent years with their support of numerous educational organizations in California including a previous gift to Santa Clara in August 2002. At that time, Mark and Mary donated $500,000 to endow a fellowship program for graduates of St. Mary’s Academy (Mary’s high school in Portland, Oregon) who wish to attend SCU. The new student center—a longtime goal of Father Locatelli— was “a perfect project to support given my deep involvement with student government, sports, and other student activities while I was an undergraduate at SCU,” said Mary.
The gift comes at a time when the growing global economic crisis is beginning to affect U.S. colleges and universities. Many institutions, in the face of negative endowment returns, government budget cuts, and shrinking donations, have been forced to slash budgets and delay capital improvement projects. “We see our donation as a long-term investment in the quality of student life at Santa Clara. It is indeed fortunate that we are able to support the mission of the University in these very turbulent economic conditions,” Mark explained.
Mary has served on the Board of Fellows since 2001. She has witnessed firsthand the dramatic improvements during Locatelli’s tenure as President. “Santa Clara’s soaring academic reputation and quality of campus life are direct results of Father’s relentless adherence to the Jesuit values of competence, conscience and compassion,” said Mary.
“The new student center will fulfill a great need,” said Locatelli. “I am touched that Mary Mathews-Stevens and Mark Stevens wanted to name a place of gathering, reflection, and social inclusion in my honor. I know the future center will be a welcoming and well-used space for students.”
Mary Mathews-Stevens recalls her years at Santa Clara with fondness. “It was a real stretch economically for my parents to send me there. Along the way, I received a great education, had many great experiences, and established many friendships that persist to this day. Mark and I feel so blessed that we can help generations of future Broncos,” she said.
Mary Mathews-Stevens, '84 and her husband Mark Stevens
-
Spotlight on the Center for Student Leadership: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice
Jonathan Gray, Director, Center for Student Leadership
Created in 1993, the Center for Student Leadership facilitates the leadership development of Santa Clara students. Center staff members also oversee student activities and advise the eight Chartered Student Organizations and registered clubs. Director Jonathan Gray explained to fyi how the Center accomplishes its multiple missions.
What is the purpose of the Center for Student Leadership, and how does it help students become leaders?
The Center for Student Leadership is what many other institutions would call a Student Activities Office. We are that—and more.
The Center bridges the gap between the theory and the practice of leadership. The theory piece includes opportunities for students to think about, talk about, and conceptualize leadership through programs like our Emerging Leaders Program, the Magis Leadership Retreat, and the Outdoor Leadership Expedition, as well as workshops, presentations, and speakers.
That’s only talk. We didn’t think that did any good until you actually put some of those ideas into practice. That’s where we took a look at our student activities and said, “This is a great laboratory opportunity for students to begin to practice the skills and competencies associated with leadership.”
What have been some of the most noteworthy accomplishments of the Center?
Our flagship program is the Emerging Leaders Program. It’s been around since prior to 1993. It’s a 2-unit course designed for freshmen. They self-select into the course. It’s a great opportunity for them to begin to transfer skills from high school to college and get connected to the University community.
During class periods, we talk about values and vocation, how to effect change and about some of the concepts of leadership. It’s a nice opportunity for students to spend some time reflecting on what they want to accomplish while they’re at Santa Clara and how.
Another thing that we’re really proud of is the Magis Leadership Retreat, now in its fourth year. It’s a pretty powerful opportunity for students to begin to claim or reclaim their own story. To bring voice to their story—who they are, what their ups and downs have been, and how those things have created the person that they are today.
In terms of the student activity side of the house, I think there been so many accomplishments. The newspaper continues to be award winning. The activities the Programming Board plans are becoming bigger, more complex, and more easily delivered than ever before. Doing a concert with a top-40 artist is not an easy thing to do, to sell out a crowd and manage all the logistics. The students manage everything—from fire code to ticket sales to safety and security and the demands of the artists. To pull that off, we pat ourselves on the back.
How does the Center differ from other universities’ student activities offices?
Many student activities offices have what they would call a program coordinator position where that staff member is actually responsible for the concert or the newspaper. That’s not a model that we’ve ever embraced here. We are advisors to, not supervisors of, those programs.
We are not so much product-driven. I’m not necessarily concerned about producing an award-winning newspaper. I’m not concerned about having a sellout concert. I’m not concerned about having the number-one radio station in the area.
What I’m concerned about is that in the process of delivering those goods, students learn about the topic at hand—that might be radio or journalism or programming—but more importantly, they learn some really good leadership skills that they’ll be able to translate to other experiences beyond Santa Clara.
Our goal is to help students understand through trial and error—and error is more painful than success—some of the realities of the world. A lot of mistakes are made along the way, but we don’t try to prevent them. All of them are measured losses, but we think they’re important nonetheless.
The journey is more important than the destination. If we are attentive to the journey, the product will be award-winning. That has proven to be the case.
Does the Center operate from the bottom up with students driving the programs or from the top down with the administration in charge?
Both. The leadership programs the Center for Student Leadership offers are staff-directed. That’s more of a top-down model. But we would never move forward on any initiative without having buy-in from students. So if we have an idea about a speaker coming to campus, we would involve students from the very beginning. So it’s top-down, but it’s certainly a collaborative process.
The student organizations, on the other hand, are entirely student run, student initiated, and student driven. It’s their ideas that gather momentum. Our job is to help them see the strengths and weaknesses of what they want to accomplish, and help them move that along. So all of the organizational efforts are student run.
For more information about the Center for Student Leadership, visit www.scu.edu/csl/.
-
Meet SCU's New Student Bloggers
These students blog about everything from moving into the residence halls, getting through registration, adjusting to life in college, and coming back to campus as sophomores. See fyi’s slide show introducing them, and read their blogs at http://www.scu.edu/blogSCU/.
-
Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Celebrates 'Global Entrepreneurship Week'
Chris A. Malachowsky, '86, co-founder of technology company NVIDIA
Santa Clara University’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is participating in the first Global Entrepreneurship Week, a celebration by groups in more than 70 countries to expose people under the age of 30 to entrepreneurship. The events take place on Santa Clara University’s campus Nov. 17 to 23.
The week will be headlined Tuesday by a speech and Q&A session with Chris A. Malachowsky ’86, co-founder of Santa Clara-based visual-computing technology company NVIDIA. In addition, on Friday five teams of undergraduate students will compete in the annual “Be a VC” competition. On Sunday, graduate students will pick their Venture Capital Investment Competition winner, who will go on to the regional competition between six colleges and universities Feb. 13.
For more information, go to http://www.scu.edu/business/cie/
-
Holiday Food and Fund Drive 2008
The Holiday Food and Fund Drive has been in full swing the last two weeks, but there is still time to donate. Organized in partnership by SCU Campus Ministry, Residential Learning Community Association, and Athletics, there are four opportunities to contribute:
- Virtual Food Drive. Visit www.virtualharvest.net, select “Schools” from the first drop-down menu and “Santa Clara University - Campus Ministry” (or “Athletics”) from the second drop-down menu, and SCU will be credited with the amount donated. This year’s goal is $2,500.
- Food 4 Fines. Until Dec. 10, each canned item donated will reduce existing library fines by $2. There are collection barrels in the Harrington Learning Commons, Sobrato Technology Center, and Orradre Library.
- Cellar Market Drop-off. There will be three barrels outside the Cellar Market in the basement of Benson for nonperishable food donations through Dec. 10.
- ACCESS Donations. From Nov. 17 to Dec. 7, ACCESS dining points can be donated to help relieve hunger locally (not to exceed $50 for any one resident diner). Donations of any amount from nonresidents are also welcome. All donations will be used to purchase food for Second Harvest Food Bank.
-
A Forest of Giving
Five students from Professor Dolores LaGuardia’s Business Writing class are seeking to unite the Santa Clara campus behind a common cause: to bring the spirit of Christmas to underprivileged and low-income children. Each year, thousands of children in the Bay Area go without presents due to financial difficulties – this year, there could be a record number of families unable to afford presents for their children.
To fight this problem, the students have teamed up with The Family Giving Tree, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing children with their Christmas wishes. Their main method of collecting donations is by distributing "wish cards" with a child's information and gift request on it.
The students’ project is aimed at assisting the organization by connecting donors to children. To accomplish this they are placing tree-shaped posters with the wish cards on them in all the academic departments and SCU offices from November 18-22. Interested donors should pick up a card, leave their contact information, and purchase the gifts over the Thanksgiving break. The students will be collecting the gifts and cards Dec. 1-2 in Benson and the various departments and offices.
If you see a tree, please take a card and bring some joy to a child’s heart.
Additionally, anyone with a question or any departments or offices who did not receive a tree and wish to participate should contact Joshua Lu at JLLu@scu.edu.
-
SCU Events
CIE Speaker Series
Nov. 18
Tuesday, 6:45 to 8:30 p.m.
SCU Recital Hall
Speech and Q&A by Chris A. Malachowsky ’86, co-founder of NVIDIA, a global leader in visual and interactive computing technologies and processors for workstations, personal computers, game consoles, and mobile devices. To help answer the perennial entrepreneur’s dilemma “I’ve got an idea. Where do I start?’’ Malachowsky will share the story of how he helped found NVIDIA. (Event co-sponsored by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Dean of the School of Engineering, Dr. Godfrey Mungal.)
Law and Social Justice Case Study Conference
Nov. 21
Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Bannan 135
Students in Law and Social Justice will describe their research on social justice cases, legislation, and issues. To reserve lunch, call or e-mail the Center for Social Justice & Public Service at (408) 551-1720 or socialjustice@scu.edu.
-
SCU in the News
San Jose Mercury News
November 4, 2008. Laura Ellingson, associate professor of women’s and gender studies was quoted in an article on Republican women. Read the story
KQED
November 6, 2008. Professor James Lai was featured in the California Report on KQED in a story on the role of Asian Americans in politics. Listen to the story
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
November 6, 2008. The Center for Science, Technology, and Society and Professor Eric Carlson were featured on a program about social entrepreneurs. Watch the story
San Francisco Chronicle
November 10, 2008. Geoffrey Bowker, executive director of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society, was quoted in an article on the new President’s technology positions. Read the story
-
Grants, Awards and Publications
Sara Soledad Garcia (education) published a paper entitled, “Spanish-English or English-Spanish in California: The Dialectics of Language in a Sociocultural Historical Context,” in the Forum on Public Policy, a journal of the Oxford Round Table. It was published in the spring 2008 online edition of the Forum.
Dale Larson (counseling psychology) gave a keynote presentation titled, “A Person-Centered Approach to End-of-Life Care: Learning from our Mistakes,” for the European Association of Client-Centered Psychotherapy and the Person-Centered Approach in Naples, Italy, on Oct. 10.
Sally Lehrman (communication) published an article entitled, “The Christian Man’s Evolution: How Darwinism and Faith Can Coexist,” for the October issue of Scientific American.
Ed Maurer (civil engineering) presented the Dawdy Lecture in Hydrologic Sciences at San Francisco State University on Oct. 14. The title of the seminar was, “California's Changing Hydrologic Landscape: Dealing with Uncertain Climate Change Impacts.”
Godfrey Mungal (engineering) presented an invited lecture entitled, “Jet Diffusion Flame Stabilization via Pulsed Plasma Forcing,” at the 61st Gaseous Electronics Conference in Dallas in October.
Robert Parden (engineering management) was presented with a plaque for his 50-plus years of dedicated service to the School of Engineering at the school’s first Big Bash on Oct. 18.
Kathy Potter (Career Center) participated in a panel discussion for the Castilleja Alumni Parent Association in Palo Alto on Oct. 25.
Shauna Shapiro (counseling psychology) has three peer-reviewed papers in press: “Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction for the Treatment of Adolescent Psychiatric Outpatients: A Randomized Clinical Trial” for the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology; “Mindfulness Meditation and CBT for Insomnia: A Naturalistic 12-Month Follow-up” for The Journal of Science and Healing; and “Cultivating Mindfulness: Effects on Well-Being” for the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Marian Stetson-Rodriguez (engineering management) and Richard Lowe of WorldWork, London, presented the research and case study, “Building Trust in Global Teams,” at the SIETAR (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research) Europa annual conference on Oct. 24 in Granada, Spain.
Wendelin Wright (mechanical engineering) and William Nix (Stanford) have had a paper accepted for publication in the March 2009 Focus Issue on Indentation Methods in Advanced Materials Research in the Journal of Materials Research. The paper is entitled, “Storage and Loss Stiffnesses and Moduli as Determined by Dynamic Nanoindentation.”
-
Santa Clara University honors 20 years of leadership from departing President Paul Locatelli, S.J.
In an evening filled with laughter and nostalgia, the Santa Clara University community gathered Friday night to honor the tenure of President Paul Locatelli S.J., and his 20 years of service to the university he so profoundly shaped.
About 850 alumni, faculty, students, staff and admirers began their evening at a reception at the Harrington Learning Commons, Sobrato Technology Center, and Orradre Library. They were there to toast, honor, and send off Locatelli, who in January will take on worldwide responsibilities as Secretary for Higher Education for the Society of Jesus in Rome.
Locatelli, 70, became president of Santa Clara University in 1988 and is the longest serving president at the University. Previously, he was SCU's academic vice president and associate dean of the Leavey School of Business, as well as a faculty member in the accounting department. His departure follows a tremendously prosperous 20 years during which the University evolved into one of the preeminent Jesuit, Catholic universities in the country.
"Your legacy at Santa Clara is long and deep," said Locatelli's recently selected successor, Michael Engh, S.J.
The evening, which continued at a dinner at the Pat Malley Fitness and Recreation Center, featured a video tribute to Locatelli's presidency. Many speakers focused on his dedication to the University, his outreach to the community and world at large, and his emphasis on infusing social justice and reflection into the lives of students.
Silicon Valley legend and SCU trustee Regis McKenna said Locatelli turned the university from a "closed" and "proprietary" institution 20 years ago to one more open and engaged with its surrounding community. "Almost from day one, he began tearing down the walls," he said.
"This did become a place where Jesuits spoke to important issues," said Gerdenio 'Sonny' Manuel, S.J., the rector of Santa Clara University's Jesuit community.
Jennifer Moody, a 2007 SCU graduate and former student body president, said that she learned at SCU the Jesuit art of reflection. "Every situation, small or large, I learned to reflect on that—what can I gain from it, what can someone else gain from it, where can I take that to another level, and give back even more than I have in this situation," she said.
During his four terms as president, SCU's endowment grew tenfold, from $77 million in 1988 to approximately $700 million in June 2007. Facility expansion included the construction of new residence halls, the learning commons, technology center and library, the arts and sciences building, a music and dance building, the new Jesuit residence, the business school, the baseball stadium, a new parking structure, the fitness center, and the doubling of the alumni science building.
Locatelli, who received a long and thunderous standing ovation Friday, used the occasion to thank donors, staff, faculty, elected officials, community members, and students who contributed to his successful tenure. "No one person could do all that we have done," he said.
Nearly 200 donors made gifts totaling more than $14 million in special honor of Locatelli's presidency. Vice President of University Relations Jim Purcell showed a rendering of a future Paul Locatelli S.J., Student Activity Center, which was made possible by a $7 million gift from Mark and Mary '84 Mathews Stevens.
Tita Crilly Diepenbrock, the widow of James Diepenbrock '51, donated one of only 360 sets of the seven-volume St. John's Heritage Bible, a replica of the first Bible to be handwritten and hand-illuminated in over 500 years.
A second video tribute Friday night focused on Locatelli as a priest and as a person, especially his devotion to the core values he helped inculcate at Santa Clara: competence, conscience, and compassion.
"He really is contemplative, but he is also decisive and ethical and compassionate, and he really does embody the three C's," said Kathy Kale, executive director of the Alumni Association.
Close allies revealed other lesser-known traits that Locatelli will take with him to Rome. For instance, Board of Fellows member Mary Ellen Fox praised Locatelli's photography and shopping skills.
Locatelli's niece Dr. Lynn Locatelli celebrated her uncle's close family ties to his two brothers and their families, and shared photos that included some of his late parents, Marie and Vincent.
Others in the video mentioned his array of personal skills, such as cooking. Theatre and dance associate professor Michael Zampelli, S.J., noted that Locatelli makes a mean risotto, while San Jose Bishop Patrick McGrath said Locatelli is "the only person I invited to my home for dinner and then asked him to bring the food, and to cook it."
Locatelli's admirers are coming to terms with his leaving. Aldo Billingslea, associate professor in the theatre and dance department, mused, "You have a great resource; you are not supposed to keep it to yourself, you're supposed to share it."
Sociology professor Marilyn Fernandez reminded Locatelli, "Don't forget, this will always be your home."
-
Spotlight: Staff Senate
On Oct. 16, the Staff Assembly Council voted to change its name to the Staff Senate to more accurately reflect that its members are elected representatives of the staff. The current president of the Staff Senate, Jim Rowan, sat down with fyi to discuss the workings of the group as part of an ongoing series featuring departments, centers, and offices across campus.
What is the goal of the Staff Senate?
It represents the interests of the non-faculty staff, number one. The faculty has its own, somewhat parallel organization, called the Faculty Senate.
If staff has concerns, they are to bring them to their Senate representative. The Senate can debate it and discuss how to make recommendations. Once the Senate has considered a particular issue, it then makes a request or recommendation to the appropriate person or committee.
For example, last spring a number of people who bicycle to work asked if they could get some free parking permits, because people who take public transportation and buy their tickets through the University get a number of free parking passes every month. People who bike say they do the same thing for the environment and would like the parking benefit as well. So the Senate debated that. We are going to forward that to the University Coordinating Committee.
What other functions does the Senate have?
We put on a number of events designed to bring the staff together socially or to bring them useful information. There are a number of traditional events that are sponsored by the Staff Senate, the most notable of which is the Staff Faire in the fall. At this outdoor fair various departments have tables with brochures about what they do. People get together: it’s a social event and it’s an informational event. There’s always a lunch afterwards.
We have a Health and Wellness Fair in February. We’re also planning a Spring Fling—it’s simply an afternoon social event.
Who is on the Staff Senate?
We have allotted approximately 29 representatives. They are elected by the members of the group in which they are employed for a two-year term. The idea is that for approximately every 30 staff members there will be one representative.
Do you get enough participation from staff?
It depends on the departments. Historically, certain departments participate extremely well and others have not been as good. For example, the Law School often has more candidates for the Senate than the whole rest of the University put together.
How often does the Senate meet?
The Staff Senate meets once a month. And the executive committee meets once a month or as needed to set the agenda for the Senate meeting and to deal with matters that need immediate attention, such as preparing for an upcoming event.
How can staff get more involved with the Senate?
If the staff has concerns about their environment, they should contact their representative.
They can also read the minutes of past meetings and information about upcoming events on our Web site.
One of our goals is to improve the flow of communication between the Senate representatives and the rest of the staff. Coming soon to the Web site will be a list of representatives and contact information.
Representatives also have an online application that I wrote (I’m a systems analyst and software developer) where they can type in an e-mail and click it and it will automatically go to their constituents.
Anything else you think staff should know or understand about the Senate?
The current officers and members of the council have been very energetic. We promoted a community service project for staff that was started by the Ignatian Center. We had 20 staff members volunteer to cook breakfast at the Julian Street Inn, a facility of InnVision.
The Senate is also considering one-day community events, where we might do a public service cleanup of a park or something like that, maybe with a social event afterwards for volunteers, to make it easier for staff to volunteer in the community around Santa Clara.
About Spotlight
Spotlight is a new series, which will be included in each issue of fyi. Spotlight focuses on one department, office, or center each issue with the goal of familiarizing readers with programs, initiatives, and fellow employees across campus. Spotlight was developed in direct response to fyi reader feedback requesting more stories about individuals, groups, and offices on campus.
|
|
E-mail this page