Professors successfully incorporating “Jesuit” in online classes Ignatius is not sitting in the back of the class, watching the students debate the value of servant leadership. But professors and other course designers at Gonzaga seem to be successfully incorporating Jesuit ethos into online classes, nonetheless. Mike Carey, the first dean of Gonzaga’s Virtual Campus, and Anastasia Wendlinder, associate professor and co-director of graduate programs in Religious Studies, would offer that Gonzaga’s online programs are closely based upon Ignatian pedagogy’s five dimensions of mind: context, experience, reflection, action and assessment. “Ignatian pedagogy provides the grounding for the entire program and intentionally permeates all the courses,” Wenlinder says. Students concur.
GONZAGA FACULTY AND STAFF NEWSLETTER
Mike Carey prepares to record his class introduction at the Virtual Campus production studio. He has been instrumental in encouraging incorporation of the Jesuit ethos throughout GU’s online class offerings. “I believe we are all capable and gifted, and we are all called to this mission. There is nothing more Jesuit.”
Library and much of the Gonzaga campus did not. Our class continued amidst the howling winds just outside.
Justin Marquis is director of instructional design “Some instructors did this through subject matter, for Virtual Campus. “My job is to take where the “As we left campus that night in an attempt to find some through online discussion, some through instructor is and figure out how he or she can something to eat, we could not help but observe that example, some through their constant challenge to best adapt their class with new technology and the power was out just across the street to the north, students to reimagine their way of thinking and seeing pedagogies to accomplish their objectives; and how east and south of the campus. Although difficult to things from a new, Jesuit-infused perspective,” says we can best design the course online to meet the prove, I am convinced that the on-campus presence Joe Moore, who earned an undergraduate degree in learning expectations and incorporate Jesuit ideals.” of the Jesuits, as instruments of the will of God, Criminology from Fresno State. protected the campus on that stormy night.” “While on campus in November “I saw the Jesuit ethos in my studies of servant 2015, Spokane experienced one of leadership,” says Julie Pastor, who holds bachelor and the worst wind storms in the history doctorate degrees in Veterinary Medicine from Texas of the community,” recollects A & M. “It’s what the Jesuits stand for. Unity of heart, Marc Anderson (M.A. ’16), who mind and soul is key: In order to lead and serve others, did most of his studies online. “Our I must first understand myself and work on my own Father Kevin Waters, S.J., says class sessions were held at Foley he is retiring, sort of. He’s actually development.” Center, under the dome in the Rare moving to Santa Clara where he Books Reading Room with big glass One of her best memories was on a campus visit, hopes to continue counseling and windows all around. While the seeing the Ignatius quote on the Hemmingson Center: offering spiritual direction. majority of the Spokane community “Go forth and set the world on fire.” But he won’t be staying in an lost power that evening, the Foley undergraduate residence hall anymore, like he has done as chaplain in DeSmet for the past 33 years. “Lived there that whole time, and I did it without ear plugs,” Fr. Waters quips. “My dorm experiences are enough to last me the rest of my life.”
Waters ready for new challenges
Hemm Den a big hit with students Hemmingson Center unveiled the Hemm Den in April, providing a comfortably outfitted basement-level lounge for students to enjoy before finals. Former Vice President for Student Life Sue Weitz envisioned a new student center even before Crosby Center was created in 1993. GSBA President Caleb Dawson provided the vision and the push to get the student
spirit
lounge completed in previously unoccupied space. President Thayne McCulloh also lauded John Hemmingson for continuing his support of the center and this new space, along with several other contributors. The building project began Feb. 15, and opened April 19, across from the entrance to the Hemmingson Auditorium.
The gregarious priest has spent nearly 60 years in the classroom. At GU, he taught composition, orchestration, music theory, opera, and upper-division philosophy. He was recruited to Gonzaga in 1983 to serve as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, which he did for 17 years, but he never stopped teaching. And serving. He’s had stints on the Boards of Trustees at both Seattle U and Gonzaga, and served as presiding officer of the Boards of Members at both institutions. He also served as chair of the fine arts department at SU. But he hasn’t been confined by state borders. He taught in Dublin, Ireland, and throughout the U.S., including summer stints at Creighton, Fordham, Santa Clara and San Francisco. He also served residencies in Guadalajara and Rome. He counts his success in the success his students have enjoyed, particularly his music composition students, many of whom have gone onto graduate schools, some receiving doctorates. He has performed many weddings and baptisms for his former students. He finds glory in their imagination. “Imagination proves to be the foundation for all genuine problem solving, whether for world culture or for world dilemmas,” Fr. Waters says.
Students stream into the Hemm Den on opening day, April 19.
It continues to drive him.
VIEW ONLINE AT: www.gonzaga.edu/spirit
• Faculty honored, 2 • Tailoring the website, 3 • Mize always with a smile, 3 • Finding ‘Jesuit’ online, 4 MAY 2017 | VOL 18 | #8
MAKING THE MOST OF THE FINAL FOUR
Some people may feel like the Men’s Basketball team’s Final Four appearance received all the coverage it should. They’re thinking, “Move on already.” We get it. But viewed from an external lens, what the University experienced this April is like nothing in its 129-year history. Plain and simple, the positive attention afforded Gonzaga through its participation in the NCAA tournament and championship game has made Gonzaga an international and highly recognizable name, even to those who still can’t properly pronounce it.
Total inquiries from prospective students for fall 2018 rose 10,000 over the same time last year, to 55,000.
Through unprecedented local, national and international coverage, our student-athletes were articulate, kind, humble and excellent representa- time, up 275 percent over a similar period last year, says tives of their university. Gonzaga’s website was Todd Zeidler, assistant athletic director. Video, print visited in record numbers, and because GU’s web and online feature stories appeared in the country’s and marketing teams made sure that visitors were directed to some of the University’s outstanding Among several million Tweets about the Zags was academic and service enterprises, the world gained a much broader view of this outstanding University this one from WCC rival St. Mary’s College: in the upper left corner of the country. “Can’t believe we’re saying this but . . . good luck to @ZagMBB today. We’ve got your back.” Peter Tormey, who directs the Gonzaga News Service, worked with a third-party media tracking company to determine the advertising value major media outlets, including ESPN, USA Today, Wall equivalency of Gonzaga mentions during the Street Journal, CBS Sports, Sporting News, Sports NCAA Tournament. The $406.5 million reported Illustrated and NBC Sports. represents the total value of online and broadcast media mentions, but doesn’t include the value of “Thanks to good planning in anticipation of a Final the online publications also represented in print – Four appearance, we saw a big jump in the volume including the front-page coverage in the New York of gifts and pledges during the Final Four weekend, Times. including a number of six- and seven-digit gifts that were accelerated or advanced in conversations with On Facebook, Gonzaga’s content reached nearly benefactors that week,” says Brian Ruark, assistant 5.8 million users who generated 301,000 likes, vice president for development. comments and shares, says Kristie Infantine, social media specialist in the Marketing and Back on the Homefront Communications office. Jeff Bunch, web Meanwhile, back at home, nearly every electronic content manager, reports 342,000 people viewed gonzaga.edu and unfold.gonzaga.edu on National reader board in town displayed Go Zags messages, and newspapers and evening newscasts sometimes felt Championship day alone (2 million visited during like a Gonzaga rally, recalls Mary Joan Hahn, director March). Visitors to the Athletic Department web of public and community relations. “Support for our page numbered 2.5 million during tournament
team poured in from throughout the region,” she said. Karen Franks-Harding, recruitment specialist for Career and Professional Development, reported an astonishing increase in interest in GU graduates over the same “tournament” time last year. From March 15 to April 4, 2016, 133 employers posted 690 jobs with the Career Center. By comparison, from March 14-April 3 this spring, 1,089 employers posted 2,170 jobs. “I’m hoping this (Final Four phenomenon) has a long-term impact on the employers who want to recruit on campus, and these numbers give me hope that this will happen,” says Ray Angle, assistant vice president for CCPD. Zag alumni across the globe also were inspired to step up. Drew Rieder, director of GU’s Regional Chapter Program, says alumni leaders in 10 locales from Texas to Iowa, Oregon to Vermont, and even in South Carolina (home of the Zags’ semifinal victim Gamecocks), were asking to start new alumni chapters. “They really want to build strong Gonzaga communities and bring people together,” Rieder says. Alumni’s semifinal pre-game social at the Gila Arena in Phoenix drew a record 2,200 alumni, fans and family members. see Final Four p. 2
MAY 2017
AROUND CAMPUS >> Commencement weekend: Law Ceremony, May 13, 9-10:15 a.m., McCarthey Athletic Center, speaker Thomas W. Hillier, II, whose passion for criminal defense ignited a federal defender career, including his current work focusing on indigent defense pro bono matters; Graduate Ceremony, May 13, noon-2 p.m., McCarthey, speaker Stephanie Russell, vice president for Mission Integration for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and a key lay leader in Jesuit higher education; Commencement Mass, May 13, 3:30-5 p.m., McCarthey. Undergraduate ceremony, May 14, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Spokane Arena, speaker Sherman Alexie, Native American poet, novelist, filmmaker of Native American reservation life >> Seventy GU business student volunteers contributed 851 hours helping 793 Spokane County residents file income tax returns through United Way’s VITA program, claiming $1.09 million in refunds. Assistant accounting Professor Andrew Brajcich reports Cole Garcia (20 hours), Molly Steilen (21), Carter Padgham (17) and Divin Kanyama (16) were top achievers. >> Junior Veronica Ochoa is one of 273 students nationwide named as 2017 Newman Civic Fellows by Campus Compact, a Boston-based nonprofit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education. Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate. The fellowship also provides fellows with access to exclusive scholarship and postgraduate opportunities.
Faculty Award Winners Honored
New Hires Virginia Cooper, administrative assistant, Education; Aaron Faulks, custodian, Plant; Erica Williamson, gift entry officer, University Advancement; Meghan Semmens, admissions counselor, Virtual Campus
New Positions/Promotions Margaret Martens, program specialist, graduate admissions, Education; Stashia Kaiel, senior international enrollment specialist, Global Engagement; Katie Burrow, campus reservationist & project coordinator, Hemmingson; Allison Peterson, administrative assistant II/events coordinator, President’s Office
Faculty excellence was celebrated April 25 at the Academic Honors Convocation. Honored were, front row: Anny Case, open award; Joe Johnston, service learning; Bonni Dichone, professional contributions; Suzanne Ostersmith, collaborative work/innovation; Cate Siejk, professor emerita;
Shannon Dunn, teaching excellence. Back row: Tailian Chen, open award; Linda Tredennick, teaching excellence; Andy Goldman, professional contributions; Kevin Hekmatpanah, academic citizenship; Scott Starbuck, teaching excellence.
THIS TEAM EMBODIES THE SPIRIT OF IGNATIUS’ Fritz and Jeanie Wolff, longtime advisers, servants and benefactors of Gonzaga, were bestowed the 2017 Ignatian Spirit Award in April for their many years of contributions to the University. Fritz served as chair of the Board of Trustees and Jeanie as an Opus Prize juror. “Fritz and Jeanie are among the giants of Gonzaga, always asking ‘Why not?’ Why can’t we?’,” President Thayne McCulloh said. “They have been a part of the most significant initiatives of Gonzaga over the past 30 years, and for so many of us, we are humbled and blessed to call them friends.”
Humbled and thankful, Fritz and Jeanie Wolff receive the Ignatian Spirit Award.
The Wolffs have provided funding for scholarships and multiple facilities. They have played an important role in athletics. They have played an integral part in the lives of students, and many others, who have been touched by the work of our students through CCASL.
Final Four continued While Zag Nation’s passion to share this event was huge, so was the response from future Zags. Admission Dean Julie McCulloh reports that almost 55,000 prospective students have inquired about Gonzaga for admission in fall 2018, about 10,000 more than a year ago at this time. While GU was seeking to enroll 1,175-1,200 first-year freshmen this fall, early estimates place that number closer to 1,225-1,250.
capitalize on this experience to shine a light on all of the amazing academic and co-curricular programs and people of the University that are core to our success,” President McCulloh says.
ask, ‘What should we be thinking about? What do you wish you would have known? What initiatives and activities did you implore to capitalize on the energy and visibility?’
So where do we go from here to capitalize on the attention Gonzaga has received?
“We have to ask the questions: What does this experience obligate us to think about? What opportunities does this kind of attention offer to gain recognition for everything the University does, and open the doors for prospective students and benefactors to important initiatives we’ve undertaken? This summer I will bring people together to do some great and creative thinking about these questions,” McCulloh says.
“In addition to elevating the success of our basketball and athletic programs, we want to
The president plans to engage officials from similar institutions that made runs to the Final Four to
“The greater success would be to parlay what’s happening here for this great institution in the same way that certain other institutions have capitalized on such opportunities. They created great opportunity through athletics, then leveraged it to become a prominent university and create a competitive advantage. I’d like to emerge from this experience having taken advantage of every opportunity to increase the financial and reputational health of Gonzaga University,” McCulloh says.
Next Steps to Leverage Success
PAGE 2
NOTEWORTHY
Goodbyes Coral Pruitt, senior director of strategic projects, University Advancement; Jae Webb, assistant director, Student Community Standards; Anthony Lee, groundskeeper, Plant Services; Barbara Kolbet, assistant to the chancellor, Chancellor’s Office; Monica Frank, admissions operations specialist l, Admissions
Anniversaries
35 25 10 5
Tim Hatcher, working groundskeeper supervisor, Plant
Laura Gatewood, senior director, Donor Relations
Jamie Larson, account manager, Controller’s Office
Denise Ogorek, lecturer, Nursing
Cradle Call Robert Barnes, custodian, Plant, and spouse Christine had a baby boy, Calvin. Jon Billings, marketing & recruiting specialist, Business, and spouse Jessica had a baby girl, Blake.
FOCUS ON . . . MIZE’S MAGNETIC ENERGY Early in her tenure here, Suzie Mize dressed up as a storm trooper for Halloween. The only problem was the length of her uniform – she is rather diminutive. Her solution: tuck the bottom of her trousers into white go-go boots, and flaunt her big, recognizable smile. “She is so much fun to be around,” says her boss, Chuck Faulkinberry, director of GUEST and the Hemmingson Center. “She works a mile a minute, and helps us understand the work we do within the fabric of the university. (As assistant director for finance and business) She knows legal issues, risk management and finance . . . She’s a business woman without seeming like one. She has helped our team build important relationships around campus, and she loves being a Zag.” Her office walls on the second floor of Hemmingson are filled “with noise,” as Faulkinberry refers to it. “That’s just the way her brain is, full.” So she’s living life to the fullest, which is easier to understand knowing she is a two-time cancer survivor. She’s been cancer-free for the past eight years. Mize sharpened her pencil working 28 years in the hotel management industry, most of it with Hilton Worldwide and Red Lion Hotels. But she was ready for a change when she answered an ad for the assistant director’s position at Hemmingson, on the last day. She interviewed on a Tuesday, was offered the job on a Thursday and started on the next Monday. She sensed this was the right fit for her. “I’m not a Gonzaga alum nor a Catholic, but I appreciate the acceptance I’ve felt here. I truly feel like I’m part of a family,” Mize says. And as a member of this family, Mize is fulfilled protecting the University and its assets – physical
Suzie Mize a masterful multitasker
and human – reviewing contracts, gauging risk, strategizing revenue generation. Summer offers no break for Mize and her crew, who shift into high gear, scheduling housing, meals and facilities for sports camps, debate workshops, Business Week and other summer programs. “We manage all reservations, do all the billing. Revenue from many of these summer events help support the Hemmingson Center and its year-round operations,” Mize says. But what she enjoys most is the “community” part of her job, working and sharing with others … like treats around the holidays, helping colleagues with new-fangled technology and offering an endless supply of hugs.
NEW WEBSITE MAKES TIGHTER CONNECTIONS WITH / FOR CONSTITUENTS Research shows websites are the No. 1 source for prospective students learning about a university. “Our website was becoming a competitive disadvantage for us,” says Kurt Heimbigner, senior director of integrated marketing and web communications. So he is leading a multiyear process to recreate Gonzaga’s website in new and innovative ways, responding to the needs of its constituents. The new website will be unveiled during the next academic year. “We’re building two new sites: a redesigned website for external audiences – such as prospective students, alumni and donors – and an intranet, dubbed myGU, for internal audiences. This will allow us to better focus on the specific needs of each group,” Heimbigner says. The current site has more than 13,000 pages, many outdated. The new websites will have around 5,000 pages, split evenly between the public site and the intranet.
Built into the new process will be the ability for webpage editors from various schools and departments to keep information updated via a new content management system. Unlike the current site, the new sites will work across computers, tablets and mobile phones, so users have access to the same information everywhere. Gonzaga will eventually be able to personalize the content users’ interests, based on the information they have viewed or searched for previously on the sites, Heimbigner says. This is similar technology to what Amazon.com uses to recommend products to you based on previous searches on their site. Another new feature of the public site is called the
Passion Finder. It’s an alternative way for students to find what GU offers based on their interests instead of having to know what specific degree or program they might want to pursue. For example, if a prospective student is passionate about improving education, they can find out what students here are studying or the kinds of careers alumni are pursuing to help achieve that. Another map-based, interactive feature “highlights our commitment to global engagement and allows us to share what our students, faculty and alumni are doing around the world,” Heimbigner says. The intranet will allow employees a portal to the applications and information they need for their work, i.e. Zagweb, Zags Travel & Expense, Blackboard. Currently, all these have separate web addresses and logins. Soon, employees can customize their home intranet page to have those applications and pages they use most often readily available. Another feature of the intranet is a comprehensive staff and faculty directory, or people finder.
PAGE 3
AROUND CAMPUS >> Commencement weekend: Law Ceremony, May 13, 9-10:15 a.m., McCarthey Athletic Center, speaker Thomas W. Hillier, II, whose passion for criminal defense ignited a federal defender career, including his current work focusing on indigent defense pro bono matters; Graduate Ceremony, May 13, noon-2 p.m., McCarthey, speaker Stephanie Russell, vice president for Mission Integration for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and a key lay leader in Jesuit higher education; Commencement Mass, May 13, 3:30-5 p.m., McCarthey. Undergraduate ceremony, May 14, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Spokane Arena, speaker Sherman Alexie, Native American poet, novelist, filmmaker of Native American reservation life >> Seventy GU business student volunteers contributed 851 hours helping 793 Spokane County residents file income tax returns through United Way’s VITA program, claiming $1.09 million in refunds. Assistant accounting Professor Andrew Brajcich reports Cole Garcia (20 hours), Molly Steilen (21), Carter Padgham (17) and Divin Kanyama (16) were top achievers. >> Junior Veronica Ochoa is one of 273 students nationwide named as 2017 Newman Civic Fellows by Campus Compact, a Boston-based nonprofit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education. Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate. The fellowship also provides fellows with access to exclusive scholarship and postgraduate opportunities.
Faculty Award Winners Honored
New Hires Virginia Cooper, administrative assistant, Education; Aaron Faulks, custodian, Plant; Erica Williamson, gift entry officer, University Advancement; Meghan Semmens, admissions counselor, Virtual Campus
New Positions/Promotions Margaret Martens, program specialist, graduate admissions, Education; Stashia Kaiel, senior international enrollment specialist, Global Engagement; Katie Burrow, campus reservationist & project coordinator, Hemmingson; Allison Peterson, administrative assistant II/events coordinator, President’s Office
Faculty excellence was celebrated April 25 at the Academic Honors Convocation. Honored were, front row: Anny Case, open award; Joe Johnston, service learning; Bonni Dichone, professional contributions; Suzanne Ostersmith, collaborative work/innovation; Cate Siejk, professor emerita;
Shannon Dunn, teaching excellence. Back row: Tailian Chen, open award; Linda Tredennick, teaching excellence; Andy Goldman, professional contributions; Kevin Hekmatpanah, academic citizenship; Scott Starbuck, teaching excellence.
THIS TEAM EMBODIES THE SPIRIT OF IGNATIUS’ Fritz and Jeanie Wolff, longtime advisers, servants and benefactors of Gonzaga, were bestowed the 2017 Ignatian Spirit Award in April for their many years of contributions to the University. Fritz served as chair of the Board of Trustees and Jeanie as an Opus Prize juror. “Fritz and Jeanie are among the giants of Gonzaga, always asking ‘Why not?’ Why can’t we?’,” President Thayne McCulloh said. “They have been a part of the most significant initiatives of Gonzaga over the past 30 years, and for so many of us, we are humbled and blessed to call them friends.”
Humbled and thankful, Fritz and Jeanie Wolff receive the Ignatian Spirit Award.
The Wolffs have provided funding for scholarships and multiple facilities. They have played an important role in athletics. They have played an integral part in the lives of students, and many others, who have been touched by the work of our students through CCASL.
Final Four continued While Zag Nation’s passion to share this event was huge, so was the response from future Zags. Admission Dean Julie McCulloh reports that almost 55,000 prospective students have inquired about Gonzaga for admission in fall 2018, about 10,000 more than a year ago at this time. While GU was seeking to enroll 1,175-1,200 first-year freshmen this fall, early estimates place that number closer to 1,225-1,250.
capitalize on this experience to shine a light on all of the amazing academic and co-curricular programs and people of the University that are core to our success,” President McCulloh says.
ask, ‘What should we be thinking about? What do you wish you would have known? What initiatives and activities did you implore to capitalize on the energy and visibility?’
So where do we go from here to capitalize on the attention Gonzaga has received?
“We have to ask the questions: What does this experience obligate us to think about? What opportunities does this kind of attention offer to gain recognition for everything the University does, and open the doors for prospective students and benefactors to important initiatives we’ve undertaken? This summer I will bring people together to do some great and creative thinking about these questions,” McCulloh says.
“In addition to elevating the success of our basketball and athletic programs, we want to
The president plans to engage officials from similar institutions that made runs to the Final Four to
“The greater success would be to parlay what’s happening here for this great institution in the same way that certain other institutions have capitalized on such opportunities. They created great opportunity through athletics, then leveraged it to become a prominent university and create a competitive advantage. I’d like to emerge from this experience having taken advantage of every opportunity to increase the financial and reputational health of Gonzaga University,” McCulloh says.
Next Steps to Leverage Success
PAGE 2
NOTEWORTHY
Goodbyes Coral Pruitt, senior director of strategic projects, University Advancement; Jae Webb, assistant director, Student Community Standards; Anthony Lee, groundskeeper, Plant Services; Barbara Kolbet, assistant to the chancellor, Chancellor’s Office; Monica Frank, admissions operations specialist l, Admissions
Anniversaries
35 25 10 5
Tim Hatcher, working groundskeeper supervisor, Plant
Laura Gatewood, senior director, Donor Relations
Jamie Larson, account manager, Controller’s Office
Denise Ogorek, lecturer, Nursing
Cradle Call Robert Barnes, custodian, Plant, and spouse Christine had a baby boy, Calvin. Jon Billings, marketing & recruiting specialist, Business, and spouse Jessica had a baby girl, Blake.
FOCUS ON . . . MIZE’S MAGNETIC ENERGY Early in her tenure here, Suzie Mize dressed up as a storm trooper for Halloween. The only problem was the length of her uniform – she is rather diminutive. Her solution: tuck the bottom of her trousers into white go-go boots, and flaunt her big, recognizable smile. “She is so much fun to be around,” says her boss, Chuck Faulkinberry, director of GUEST and the Hemmingson Center. “She works a mile a minute, and helps us understand the work we do within the fabric of the university. (As assistant director for finance and business) She knows legal issues, risk management and finance . . . She’s a business woman without seeming like one. She has helped our team build important relationships around campus, and she loves being a Zag.” Her office walls on the second floor of Hemmingson are filled “with noise,” as Faulkinberry refers to it. “That’s just the way her brain is, full.” So she’s living life to the fullest, which is easier to understand knowing she is a two-time cancer survivor. She’s been cancer-free for the past eight years. Mize sharpened her pencil working 28 years in the hotel management industry, most of it with Hilton Worldwide and Red Lion Hotels. But she was ready for a change when she answered an ad for the assistant director’s position at Hemmingson, on the last day. She interviewed on a Tuesday, was offered the job on a Thursday and started on the next Monday. She sensed this was the right fit for her. “I’m not a Gonzaga alum nor a Catholic, but I appreciate the acceptance I’ve felt here. I truly feel like I’m part of a family,” Mize says. And as a member of this family, Mize is fulfilled protecting the University and its assets – physical
Suzie Mize a masterful multitasker
and human – reviewing contracts, gauging risk, strategizing revenue generation. Summer offers no break for Mize and her crew, who shift into high gear, scheduling housing, meals and facilities for sports camps, debate workshops, Business Week and other summer programs. “We manage all reservations, do all the billing. Revenue from many of these summer events help support the Hemmingson Center and its year-round operations,” Mize says. But what she enjoys most is the “community” part of her job, working and sharing with others … like treats around the holidays, helping colleagues with new-fangled technology and offering an endless supply of hugs.
NEW WEBSITE MAKES TIGHTER CONNECTIONS WITH / FOR CONSTITUENTS Research shows websites are the No. 1 source for prospective students learning about a university. “Our website was becoming a competitive disadvantage for us,” says Kurt Heimbigner, senior director of integrated marketing and web communications. So he is leading a multiyear process to recreate Gonzaga’s website in new and innovative ways, responding to the needs of its constituents. The new website will be unveiled during the next academic year. “We’re building two new sites: a redesigned website for external audiences – such as prospective students, alumni and donors – and an intranet, dubbed myGU, for internal audiences. This will allow us to better focus on the specific needs of each group,” Heimbigner says. The current site has more than 13,000 pages, many outdated. The new websites will have around 5,000 pages, split evenly between the public site and the intranet.
Built into the new process will be the ability for webpage editors from various schools and departments to keep information updated via a new content management system. Unlike the current site, the new sites will work across computers, tablets and mobile phones, so users have access to the same information everywhere. Gonzaga will eventually be able to personalize the content users’ interests, based on the information they have viewed or searched for previously on the sites, Heimbigner says. This is similar technology to what Amazon.com uses to recommend products to you based on previous searches on their site. Another new feature of the public site is called the
Passion Finder. It’s an alternative way for students to find what GU offers based on their interests instead of having to know what specific degree or program they might want to pursue. For example, if a prospective student is passionate about improving education, they can find out what students here are studying or the kinds of careers alumni are pursuing to help achieve that. Another map-based, interactive feature “highlights our commitment to global engagement and allows us to share what our students, faculty and alumni are doing around the world,” Heimbigner says. The intranet will allow employees a portal to the applications and information they need for their work, i.e. Zagweb, Zags Travel & Expense, Blackboard. Currently, all these have separate web addresses and logins. Soon, employees can customize their home intranet page to have those applications and pages they use most often readily available. Another feature of the intranet is a comprehensive staff and faculty directory, or people finder.
PAGE 3
Professors successfully incorporating “Jesuit” in online classes Ignatius is not sitting in the back of the class, watching the students debate the value of servant leadership. But professors and other course designers at Gonzaga seem to be successfully incorporating Jesuit ethos into online classes, nonetheless. Mike Carey, the first dean of Gonzaga’s Virtual Campus, and Anastasia Wendlinder, associate professor and co-director of graduate programs in Religious Studies, would offer that Gonzaga’s online programs are closely based upon Ignatian pedagogy’s five dimensions of mind: context, experience, reflection, action and assessment. “Ignatian pedagogy provides the grounding for the entire program and intentionally permeates all the courses,” Wenlinder says. Students concur.
GONZAGA FACULTY AND STAFF NEWSLETTER
Mike Carey prepares to record his class introduction at the Virtual Campus production studio. He has been instrumental in encouraging incorporation of the Jesuit ethos throughout GU’s online class offerings. “I believe we are all capable and gifted, and we are all called to this mission. There is nothing more Jesuit.”
Library and much of the Gonzaga campus did not. Our class continued amidst the howling winds just outside.
Justin Marquis is director of instructional design “Some instructors did this through subject matter, for Virtual Campus. “My job is to take where the “As we left campus that night in an attempt to find some through online discussion, some through instructor is and figure out how he or she can something to eat, we could not help but observe that example, some through their constant challenge to best adapt their class with new technology and the power was out just across the street to the north, students to reimagine their way of thinking and seeing pedagogies to accomplish their objectives; and how east and south of the campus. Although difficult to things from a new, Jesuit-infused perspective,” says we can best design the course online to meet the prove, I am convinced that the on-campus presence Joe Moore, who earned an undergraduate degree in learning expectations and incorporate Jesuit ideals.” of the Jesuits, as instruments of the will of God, Criminology from Fresno State. protected the campus on that stormy night.” “While on campus in November “I saw the Jesuit ethos in my studies of servant 2015, Spokane experienced one of leadership,” says Julie Pastor, who holds bachelor and the worst wind storms in the history doctorate degrees in Veterinary Medicine from Texas of the community,” recollects A & M. “It’s what the Jesuits stand for. Unity of heart, Marc Anderson (M.A. ’16), who mind and soul is key: In order to lead and serve others, did most of his studies online. “Our I must first understand myself and work on my own Father Kevin Waters, S.J., says class sessions were held at Foley he is retiring, sort of. He’s actually development.” Center, under the dome in the Rare moving to Santa Clara where he Books Reading Room with big glass One of her best memories was on a campus visit, hopes to continue counseling and windows all around. While the seeing the Ignatius quote on the Hemmingson Center: offering spiritual direction. majority of the Spokane community “Go forth and set the world on fire.” But he won’t be staying in an lost power that evening, the Foley undergraduate residence hall anymore, like he has done as chaplain in DeSmet for the past 33 years. “Lived there that whole time, and I did it without ear plugs,” Fr. Waters quips. “My dorm experiences are enough to last me the rest of my life.”
Waters ready for new challenges
Hemm Den a big hit with students Hemmingson Center unveiled the Hemm Den in April, providing a comfortably outfitted basement-level lounge for students to enjoy before finals. Former Vice President for Student Life Sue Weitz envisioned a new student center even before Crosby Center was created in 1993. GSBA President Caleb Dawson provided the vision and the push to get the student
spirit
lounge completed in previously unoccupied space. President Thayne McCulloh also lauded John Hemmingson for continuing his support of the center and this new space, along with several other contributors. The building project began Feb. 15, and opened April 19, across from the entrance to the Hemmingson Auditorium.
The gregarious priest has spent nearly 60 years in the classroom. At GU, he taught composition, orchestration, music theory, opera, and upper-division philosophy. He was recruited to Gonzaga in 1983 to serve as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, which he did for 17 years, but he never stopped teaching. And serving. He’s had stints on the Boards of Trustees at both Seattle U and Gonzaga, and served as presiding officer of the Boards of Members at both institutions. He also served as chair of the fine arts department at SU. But he hasn’t been confined by state borders. He taught in Dublin, Ireland, and throughout the U.S., including summer stints at Creighton, Fordham, Santa Clara and San Francisco. He also served residencies in Guadalajara and Rome. He counts his success in the success his students have enjoyed, particularly his music composition students, many of whom have gone onto graduate schools, some receiving doctorates. He has performed many weddings and baptisms for his former students. He finds glory in their imagination. “Imagination proves to be the foundation for all genuine problem solving, whether for world culture or for world dilemmas,” Fr. Waters says.
Students stream into the Hemm Den on opening day, April 19.
It continues to drive him.
VIEW ONLINE AT: www.gonzaga.edu/spirit
• Faculty honored, 2 • Tailoring the website, 3 • Mize always with a smile, 3 • Finding ‘Jesuit’ online, 4 MAY 2017 | VOL 18 | #8
MAKING THE MOST OF THE FINAL FOUR
Some people may feel like the Men’s Basketball team’s Final Four appearance received all the coverage it should. They’re thinking, “Move on already.” We get it. But viewed from an external lens, what the University experienced this April is like nothing in its 129-year history. Plain and simple, the positive attention afforded Gonzaga through its participation in the NCAA tournament and championship game has made Gonzaga an international and highly recognizable name, even to those who still can’t properly pronounce it.
Total inquiries from prospective students for fall 2018 rose 10,000 over the same time last year, to 55,000.
Through unprecedented local, national and international coverage, our student-athletes were articulate, kind, humble and excellent representa- time, up 275 percent over a similar period last year, says tives of their university. Gonzaga’s website was Todd Zeidler, assistant athletic director. Video, print visited in record numbers, and because GU’s web and online feature stories appeared in the country’s and marketing teams made sure that visitors were directed to some of the University’s outstanding Among several million Tweets about the Zags was academic and service enterprises, the world gained a much broader view of this outstanding University this one from WCC rival St. Mary’s College: in the upper left corner of the country. “Can’t believe we’re saying this but . . . good luck to @ZagMBB today. We’ve got your back.” Peter Tormey, who directs the Gonzaga News Service, worked with a third-party media tracking company to determine the advertising value major media outlets, including ESPN, USA Today, Wall equivalency of Gonzaga mentions during the Street Journal, CBS Sports, Sporting News, Sports NCAA Tournament. The $406.5 million reported Illustrated and NBC Sports. represents the total value of online and broadcast media mentions, but doesn’t include the value of “Thanks to good planning in anticipation of a Final the online publications also represented in print – Four appearance, we saw a big jump in the volume including the front-page coverage in the New York of gifts and pledges during the Final Four weekend, Times. including a number of six- and seven-digit gifts that were accelerated or advanced in conversations with On Facebook, Gonzaga’s content reached nearly benefactors that week,” says Brian Ruark, assistant 5.8 million users who generated 301,000 likes, vice president for development. comments and shares, says Kristie Infantine, social media specialist in the Marketing and Back on the Homefront Communications office. Jeff Bunch, web Meanwhile, back at home, nearly every electronic content manager, reports 342,000 people viewed gonzaga.edu and unfold.gonzaga.edu on National reader board in town displayed Go Zags messages, and newspapers and evening newscasts sometimes felt Championship day alone (2 million visited during like a Gonzaga rally, recalls Mary Joan Hahn, director March). Visitors to the Athletic Department web of public and community relations. “Support for our page numbered 2.5 million during tournament
team poured in from throughout the region,” she said. Karen Franks-Harding, recruitment specialist for Career and Professional Development, reported an astonishing increase in interest in GU graduates over the same “tournament” time last year. From March 15 to April 4, 2016, 133 employers posted 690 jobs with the Career Center. By comparison, from March 14-April 3 this spring, 1,089 employers posted 2,170 jobs. “I’m hoping this (Final Four phenomenon) has a long-term impact on the employers who want to recruit on campus, and these numbers give me hope that this will happen,” says Ray Angle, assistant vice president for CCPD. Zag alumni across the globe also were inspired to step up. Drew Rieder, director of GU’s Regional Chapter Program, says alumni leaders in 10 locales from Texas to Iowa, Oregon to Vermont, and even in South Carolina (home of the Zags’ semifinal victim Gamecocks), were asking to start new alumni chapters. “They really want to build strong Gonzaga communities and bring people together,” Rieder says. Alumni’s semifinal pre-game social at the Gila Arena in Phoenix drew a record 2,200 alumni, fans and family members. see Final Four p. 2
MAY 2017