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| August 9, 2024 | Submit a Note |
 Ohlone elders and youth were on campus June 27-30 for the Second Annual Ohlone Youth Cultural Camp hosted by Isabella Gomez "27 (Philosophy), center, and Amy Lueck (English), far right.
Last week, we concluded our new student summer Orientation sessions - the first in-person Orientation at SCU since 2019! It was wonderful to have student energy back on campus mid-way through the summer. Many thanks to all in the College who participated – I only heard great reviews from students and parents alike! It was a huge amount of work for many staff, faculty and student ambassadors, so to hear that parents (especially) felt like their students were being well taken care of was very gratifying. We look forward to Transfer Orientation at the end of the month and are working on our plans to usher in the Class of 2028 during Welcome Weekend in September. The search for our new AD of Student Services and Academic Support continues. We had a great pool of applicants to review and have narrowed it down to our finalists who have been invited to campus for in-person interviews later this month and in September. As a reminder, this new AD will be responsible for improving and managing the overall quality of student academic support across the College and will be a resource to the departments. We are very excited about the caliber of applicants and hope to have our new AD in place early in the Fall quarter. Lastly, please save the date for our 2024 Convocation, Tuesday, September 17 at 10:30 am in the Mission Gardens, with a lunch to follow on the Ignatian Lawn. Sincerely Daniel Highlights
In December 2023, Leandro Damasco (Theatre and Dance) had the opportunity to travel out of state and re-engage as a student of dance to enhance his pedagogical skills. He spent weeks immersed in the movement methodologies of two prestigious professional companies: Whim W'Him Contemporary Dance in Seattle and Rubberband Contemporary Dance in Montreal, Canada. These companies are at the forefront of contemporary dance. Leandro anticipates incorporating these advanced techniques into his repertoire as a movement specialist and aspires to potentially choreograph for these esteemed companies in the future.
Chris Bacon (Environmental Studies and Sciences) invited Steve Gliessman (UCSC) to co-author a commentary article recently published in the Journal of Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. As two agroecologists, they were pleased to see that, for the first-time, food systems had a significant profile in United Nations global climate negotiations. COP 28 included a Food Systems Pavilion and at least one day of formal negotiations foregrounding the relationships between agriculture, food systems, and climate change. This is important since global food systems are both a major driver of climate change, accounting for about a third of all greenhouse gas emissions, and increasingly vulnerable to climate change intensified heatwaves, droughts, floods, and wildfires threatening farms, farmworkers, and food supplies in California and worldwide. However, food justice concerns, agroecology, and food systems emissions fell out of the concluding broader agreement, despite the urgent needs to address hunger and build more resilient food systems. After unpacking the power relations in these global climate negotiations and food system governance debates, they conclude with several possible next steps for those interested in an agroecology inspired food systems transformation.
Paul Soukup, S.J. (Communication) was featured in the June episode of the AMDG Podcast with Mike Jordan Laskey, produced by the Jesuit Conference of the U.S. and Canada, titled, "How Communication Technology Transforms Cultures with Fr. Paul Soukup, SJ." The podcast addresses questions of media ecology, culture, and religion.
Kirsten Read (Psychology) gave a "Science on Screen" presentation for the Frida Cinema's screening of the 1984 classic film The NeverEnding Story. The program, funded by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloane society pairs a scientist with a film to make connections with their work and bring the science of the film alive. Kirsten's presentation, "Stories, Words and Portals for the Imagination" described quantitative research on the benefits of reading for young children and the way that the words in stories open up readers to new connections, to build empathy and to gain access to new ideas.
Tom Plante (Psychology) presented "Ethical and Spiritual/Religious Considerations in Evaluating, Treating, and Consulting with LGBTQI+ Populations" as an invited talk at the LGBTQI+ Behavioral Health Summit hosted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Rockville, MD, June 24-25, 2024. Tom also published an invited paper for a special issue of the journal, Religions, entitled, Spirituality for Community in a Time of Fragmentation. Abstract: Community engagement in general has been declining, while religious and spiritual community engagement in particular has dropped off significantly in recent decades, and most especially following the COVID-19 global pandemic. Religious and spiritual communities must adapt to changing times or risk becoming irrelevant, diminishing further, and losing their sustainability to continue with their activities and services. Religious communities might wish to consider the best state-of-the-art evidence-based practices to engage their members, as well as appeal to those who might be interested in joining with them. There are many mental and physical health benefits to active engagement with spiritual religious practices and communities. The world could use more rather than less community engagement, including religious and spiritual engagement, during our challenging contemporary times.
On July 9, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was honored to host 80 middle school girls who were selected to be part of a week-long hands-on STEM camp called Tech Trek at Santa Clara University. Tech Trek began in California at Stanford University in 1998, powered by an American Association-University Women (AAUW) community grant. AAUW of California member Marie Wolbach, the founder of Tech Trek was in attendance. Megan Tichy, Academic Staff in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at SCU, along with other board members of the Silicon Valley chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS), hosted a fun experiment in the SCDI labs. Students ranked the vitamin C content in Vitamin C tablets and various beverages like orange juice and lemonade. Tech Trek is now in 22 different states around the nation, and is designed to make STEM fields exciting and accessible to girls in middle school. Program tracking and statistics have demonstrated that Tech Trek enhances interest and confidence in STEM fields, decision to pursue those fields, and future career plans at a crucial point in the social and emotional development of teen girls. Image: Tech Trek students performing an experiment to test for vitamin C in various beverages in SCDI labs.
Arnav Khatri ’24 (Public Health) attended Vice President Kamala Harris' Reproductive Freedoms Tour stop in the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose on Jan 29, 2024. Arnav created the GenAction arm of SCU's Public Health club as a collaboration with Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, and was invited to attend the event in this role. He was thrilled to meet the vice president and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. Arnav reported, “This past January, I had the privilege of attending Vice President Kamala Harris’ reproductive freedom tour, where I had the opportunity to meet her and listen to someone determined to restore Americans’ right to essential reproductive healthcare. Additionally, I had the honor to be in a group discussion with the Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff about how men can support the fight for reproductive justice. As the only student, I shared my perspective on the issue and how I’ve worked with several people to try and close the gaps in reproductive health on campus.”
Michael Whalen (Communication) will teach on the television shows of Norman Lear, a visionary who created shows known for their wit, social commentary, and exploration of relevant issues. He will lead students through a journey of Lear’s most well-known series, such as “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons,” “Maude,” and “Good Times.” Students will watch episodes from these shows and explore how Norman Lear used humor and drama to tackle serious issues like racism, sexism, and class struggles.
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Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Arnav Khatri| College of Arts and Sciences |
Questions? Contact Sandy Boyer |