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.
September 17 is Constitution Day, the anniversary of the date when the Constitutional Convention of 1787 adjourned with a new charter for the new American Republic.
In 2004, the U.S. Congress passed legislation requiring educational institutions who receive federal funding to provide their communities with information concerning the U.S. Constitution. For nearly two decades, as part of Seattle Pacific University’s commemoration, we have been fortunate to have Professor (now Emeritus Professor) of History Bill Woodward offer his expert analysis of one of our country’s most important documents.
This year's essay is titled “The Second Amendment, the NRA, and a One-Armed General.” In it, Professor Woodward builds on his 2019 essay, which showed how the “well-regulated militia” of the Second Amendment developed over the century following the writing of the Constitution. Now Professor Woodward focuses on Washington state’s own early-20th-century Adjutant General James Drain, an Olympian marksman and National Rifle Association officer. Drain was one of several individuals key to the development and passage of a Militia Act in 1903 that transformed the National Guard and, effectively, the application of the Second Amendment’s militia clause.
Professor Brent Ruby graduated from SPU in ’89 with a degree in exercise science. He now serves as a professor at the University of Montana, where his research includes the physical and mental toll fighting wildfires has on the people who battle these blazes. Being away from loved ones can also weigh on firefighters, which led Ruby to write a children’s book called Wrango and Banjo on the Fireline that tells the story of a canine fire crew battling wildfires with the goal of helping the children of these heroes better understand the demands of their parents’ job.
Brent talks about his journey since leaving SPU in this episode of SPU Voices podcast. Listen or read the podcast transcript.
On July 1, Deana L. Porterfield became SPU’s 12th president and the first female president in the University’s 132-year history.
President Porterfield has more than 35 years of experience working in higher education, including nine years as president of Roberts Wesleyan University and Northeastern Seminary.
She was raised in Northern California and spent 30 years in Southern California before moving to Western New York. President Porterfield and her husband, Doug, who is a native of Washington state, have two married daughters and five grandchildren.
When animals and people cross paths, Todd Jacobsen '10, of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, maintains the peace.
Deep in the woods of rural Washington, a hunter and his son return to a 12-foot-deep sinkhole they discovered the previous year. To their surprise, an elk calf is trapped at the bottom of the pit. Springing into action, the hunter contacts the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which deploys Todd Jacobsen ’12. With the help of a tractor and dart gun, he lifts the elk out to safety.
It’s just another day’s work for Jacobsen, a wildlife conflict specialist for Klickitat, Skamania, and Clark Counties with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
In the latest SPU Voices podcast, meet Falcon athlete and NCAA Division II indoor track and field champion Vanessa Aniteye, who was nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award! She talks about being an athlete, getting married and having a son, and coming to SPU to resume her track and filed pursuits.
Juliet Williams is heading to Georgetown for law school after completing an internship in the Washington State Legislature. The fast-paced environment of the 105-day Washington State legislative session thrilled political science major Juliet Williams ’23. Heels clicked on the granite floors of the state capitol in Olympia. Senators hustled to pass bills. And interns answered constituent calls and emails. Williams’ 2023 internship made her long to experience another capital city: Washington D.C. The 2023 Seattle Pacific Univesity graduate is headed to Georgetown Law this fall.
At the tender age of 70, the Rev. Marilyn S. Hair was likely the most senior member of Seattle Pacific’s Class of 2023. Technically, Marilyn graduated summa cum laude with her bachelor’s degree in biology last November, but her participation in the June Commencement and the Ivy Cutting ceremonies was significant for her and her husband, Richard B. Steele, professor emeritus of moral and historical theology at SPU.
In an opinion piece for The Seattle Times, SPU Sociology Prof. Karen Snedker argues for the need to expand treatment courts to address King County’s fentanyl crisis. "As an expert on mental health courts, I argue for expanding treatment courts, especially co-occurring courts that are designed to address both substance abuse and mental illness."
The latest SPU Voices podcast features Prof. Emeritus Frank Spina talking about life after leaving SPU, failing retirement, his new book, and unpacks several well-known Bible stories. Frank was a professor of Old Testament at SPU for more than 45 years. He often heard from students that he had taught their parents — or their grandparents. Considered tough and fair, he was named Professor of the Year by these very students. Frank is an Episcopal priest, serving as interim priest at St. Aidan's in Camano Island. He speaks regularly in the Northwest and beyond and currently hosts a podcast called “The Bible You Thought You Knew."
Men's soccer player Tyler Speer, women's basketball players Hunter Beirne and Natalie Hoff, cross country/track runner Libby Michael, and volleyball player Lindsay Rosenthal all have earned a Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar-Athlete Award for the fourth consecutive year, as announced on July 13, 2023, by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
They were part of an overall collection of 31 Falcons to make the list — and this one is a very elite list. Getting onto it takes a cumulative grade-point average of 3.85 or higher.
"While thrilled with their accomplishments in competition, we are even more proud of the academic achievements of our SPU student-athletes," interim athletic director Dan Lepse said. "The fact that so many Falcons sustained grade point averages above the lofty 3.85 level is remarkable. Receiving this FAR recognition is a tribute to their diligent work and time management along with the strong support from their coaches and staff."
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.