Dr. Kunder chosen for Swanson Promise Award

DR. KUNDER CHOSEN FOR

Saint Martin’s University’s Andrea Kunder, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics, was recognized with the prestigious Lynwood W. Swanson Promise for “Every student has pushed me to think about my Scientific Research Award from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. The award honors junior faculty members who demonstrate exceptional potential to establish exemplary, productive, and sustainable research programs. “It is an honor to be recognized with this award,” shared Dr. Kunder. “It is so rewarding to watch my students begin to understand difficult concepts and develop new skills as they focus on trying to solve one unknown problem over the course of the summer. Every student has pushed me to think about my research in a deeper way. Every student has challenged me to think more deeply about what it means to be a student, a professor, and member of society today.” The Murdock Trust posted this video to highlight Dr. Kunder’s work and impact here: https://vimeo. com/646104238. research in a deeper way. Every student has challenged me to think more deeply about what it means to be a student, a professor, and member of society today.” —DR. ANDREA KUNDER, PH.D.

SAINT MARTIN’S FACULTY ARE BEING AWARDED AND RECOGNIZED!

Teresa Winstead, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Anthropology and Sociology

Dr. Teresa Winstead, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Sociology, has been involved in public health research related to treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) during her sabbatical this last academic year. Dr. Winstead’s project is a collaboration with the University of Washington, Addictions, Drug and Alcohol Institute and the The Olympia Bupe Clinic (OBC), and is focused on evaluating the impact the clinic’s OUD treatment approach has for its patients. The evaluation project, funded by Pew Charitable Trusts, is one of six partnerships across the country focused on helping community treatment models, like OBC, evaluate their services and broaden their impact. Winstead’s role has focused on creating and facilitating the qualitative part of the evaluation, which includes semi-structured interviews and staff and patient focus groups. The research team hopes to document the model’s most impactful practices and to identify ways the clinic can increase healthcare effectiveness. The interviews highlight the positive impact access to Buprenorphine treatment has for patients in terms of personal health and wellbeing, community and family relationships, and economic and housing stability. The team hopes that sharing patient’s stories will decrease stigma toward patients in recovery from Opioid Use Disorder, and will contribute to an increased understanding of and better access to Buprenorphine treatment. It can be a vulnerable experience to share one’s experiences in treatment and recovery, and Dr. Winstead says she is indebted to and inspired by the staff and the patients who have shared their experiences in treatment and their perspectives on the OBC model with her. The project runs through 2022, and dissemination of results will follow.

David Wacyk, D.M.A. Assistant Professor of Music, Department Chair for Fine and Performing Arts

The Saint Martin’s University Music Department continues to grow and enjoys artistic success, despite the challenges of the pandemic. In addition to the choral traditions held dear to the university through the work of the SMU Chorale (Professor Darrell Born, Director), the department has grown through the creation of the new Saint Martin’s University Band Program. The SMU Bands, under the direction of Dr. David Wacyk (Assistant Professor of Music),

began their work in the fall of 2019 following Dr. Wacyk’s arrival, and a generous estate gift from Ruth Lewis in memory of her late husband, Johnny Lewis, in support of the music program and instrument library. The Wind Ensemble was able to perform three concerts, and the Saints Pep Band played for the men’s and women’s home basketball seasons before the pandemic shut-down. Since that first season, the band program has grown in membership to nearly double, despite the changed rehearsal methods during the pandemic. During the 2020/2021 academic year, the SMU Wind Ensemble and Chorale embarked on a new and creative project, recording performance videos that also featured the beautiful outdoor spaces on campus. These videos were released virtually to wide acclaim, both locally and nationally.

This academic year marks a return to in-person performances. The Music Department celebrated with a fall concert in the Abbey Church. ♬

Rebecca Ackerman Masters in Higher Education and Student Affairs ‘23

This summer, Rebecca Ackerman, had the opportunity as a graduate student in Saint Martin’s Higher Education and Student Affairs program to intern under the Office of Campus Life. Her role as a graduate intern focused on providing programmatic support to Summer Orientations and Incipio Welcome Weekend. In addition to supporting orientation, Ackerman assisted the Director of Campus Life, Alexis Nelson, in starting a research project focusing on redesigning Summer Orientation and Incipio Welcome Weekend to better serve first-generation college students. Through a first-generation lens, the Campus Life team analyzed the current orientation programming to redesign and implement strategies that improved the transition journey for first-generation college students. Prior to orientation, they provided first-generation resources and training to the Orientation and Incipio Leaders. The team was very intentional in the way they cultivated a culture of accountability by modeling the strategies they were enforcing. During Summer Orientation, Ackerman led a workshop called Transitioning to College where she shared her journey as a first-generation college student and held space for students to dive deeper into their journey by focusing on how they can best prepare to thrive. Ackerman’s qualitative research focuses on gathering stories from incoming and returning firstgeneration college students at Saint Martin’s. The students shared the significance of peer mentorship and guidance during their first year on campus; the confusion and panic they felt navigating the nuances of higher education, primarily around terminology and logistics; and the immense pressure to succeed. The information they shared will be used as a framework on how to support first-generation college students at Saint Martin’s.

Sharing space with these students reminded Ackerman of her own experience as a first-generation college student. Their resiliency and determination were elements that are important to highlight when discussing first-generation support services. Ackerman is excited to continue her research with the Office of Campus Life and their efforts to redesign programming that embraces first-generation college students.

SAINT MARTIN’S FACULTY WHO WERE AWARDED GRANTS:

Lori Sirs, D.S.W., L.I.C.S.W (Assistant Professor of Social Work) and

Shandeigh “Nikki” Berry, Ph.D., RN, CNOR (Assistant Professor, Nursing) Elisabeth Power, Ph.D., MBA

Assistant Professor of Business

Drs. Sirs and Berry have been awarded the Student Civic Leader Fellowship grant, a year-long fellowship program which offers financial support, an online learning community, and in-person training to foster confidence and success in student leaders. The grant will support two student research assistants during the 2021-2022 academic year to Drs. Sirs and Berry in their interprofessional collaborative research project. During their intervention study, Drs. Berry and Sirs will address a critical healthcare gap regarding complicated grief in men following perinatal loss by using an innovative therapeutic movement modality, poi spinning. Dr. Lisa Power, a professor in the school of business, received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, to enhance cultural competency skills development within the school of business. Drawing on the Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Model, a globally recognized way of assessing and improving effectiveness in culturally diverse situations, her program will train Saint Martin’s

business community how to adapt behavior to social and cultural surroundings.

New course content in BA 305: Business Communication class will focus on domestic CQ, or improving the way we work with people in our own country—for example, people from different regions, generations, ethnicities, or job functions. Students in BA 420: International Business and Economics will learn to do business across ten international cultural cultures. In both courses, students will learn about their own values by completing a self-assessment that measures their cultural competency by evaluating cognitive, metacognitive, motivational and behavioral factors. They will then learn more about how their values compare to others in the class, in business careers and around the world. Finally, they will create a short-form video interview or discussion with a businessperson from a different culture. As students complete the videos, their work will be added to an ever-growing video library. This award is provided by a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education known as CIBER (Center for International Business Education and Research). The CIBER Consortium for MinorityServing Institution (MSI) and Community College (CC) (CMCC) acts as a resource multiplier in connecting schools across the CIBER network with MSIs and CCs nationwide for the goal of internationalizing business education. u

CALL FOR INTERNSHIPS!

Internships are amazing experiential learning opportunities students can complete to apply what they have learned from their professors and prepare for their careers post-graduation. Last fall, Saint Martin’s University was awarded a $2.25 million Title III grant to create a culture of experiential learning through internships. Since then, the Career Center has hired three full-time staff, with two of them working solely on helping students find internships and developing connections with the community. Saint Martin’s Internship Navigators are: • Alysia Bean, Internship Navigator for College of Arts & Sciences • Carina Bissett MED ’20, Internship Navigator for Business, Engineering/Computer Science & Education • ‘Ula Kamaka ’20, Program Coordinator These Internship Navigators are located in a brand-new space in Harned Hall! The Internship Hub is a space for current students to get support in their exploration, search and registration process of an internship. This year, Saint Martin’s goals revolve around increasing internship opportunities, students enrolled in for-credit internships, faculty advisors, and professional development curriculum into internship courses. Multiple faculty members have partnered with staff in the Career Center and Internship Hub to include additional professional development work for the students in their for-credit internship courses. Have an internship opportunity? Want to help our Saints? There are many internship opportunities organizations can create for students. They can be as short as week-long “micro-internships,” as long as a full semester (15 weeks), summer, or even up to a year-long opportunity. Internships can be in-person, remote, or a hybrid version. It all depends on the kind of work and support the organization is looking for. These academic-rich experiences have set goals and learning outcomes that the student can expect to achieve, highlighting what they will gain from the internship. If your organization is interested in creating or advertising an internship experiences for current Saints, you can reach our Internship Navigators at internships@stmartin.edu. We are ready to support you! u

SAINT MARTIN’S FACULTY AND STAFF IN ACTION:

Ramon Luzarraga, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Chair of Theology and Religious Studies Susanna Southworth, J.D., Ph.D.

Adjunct Faculty of History and Political Science

Dr. Ramon Luzarraga, Associate Professor and Chair of Theology and Religious Studies at Saint Martin’s University, published an article “The Charism of Companionship: John Henry Newman’s Adventure in Religious Life” in the Newman Studies Journal. Dr. Luzarraga was also elected Vice President of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States. Dr. Susanna Southworth, Adjunct Professor in Political Science at Saint Martin’s University, presented a paper at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, entitled, “The Clash of Constitutional Rights and Liberties and Legal Pluralism in Abortion” on the Panel: Women’s Lives and Constitutional Rights. Dr. Southworth is an attorney

and co-counsel with The Law Office of Erik L. Bauer. She is a part of a team of attorneys for the plaintiff in the federal case, M.L. v. Craigslist et. al. This case is the first case in the country to survive the motion to dismiss stage against craigslist for their facilitation of child sex trafficking. Jackie Clark, Ph.D., M.A.Ed.

Program Director of M.Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs

Interim Program Director of Ph.D. in Leadership Studies

Dr. Jackie Clark, Program Director of M.Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs at Saint Martin’s University, was selected to attend the Leadership Educators Academy, a selective training academy sponsored by the International Leadership Association. Each year, 80 leadership educators are chosen

for this intensive 6-day training on leadership curriculum, pedagogy, theory, and program leadership. Dr. Clark will continue to work with her affinity group of faculty during the year to share best practices and build stronger programs. Dr. Clark also attended the Education Law Association’s annual conference where she led a pre-conference training program on best practices in higher education law. Attendees

worked with faculty leaders from K-12 and Higher Education to build syllabi, develop strong pedagogy, and consider how to engage students with the law.

Kael Moffat

Information Literacy Librarian

This summer, Kael Moffat and John Hopkins and co-presented at the 8th annual Lifelong Information Literacy Virtual Conference on the concept of desettling, a concept they have been working on as a way to describe how non-

Indigenous persons can address concerns about Indigenous rights. Indigenous peoples have taken to using the term “decolonization” to sum up their strategies and acts of resistance to colonial structures and cultural and physical violence. For those of us who are non-Indigenous and have settled on Indigenous lands, we cannot really decolonize because we are the colonizers. Kael and John use the term “desettling” to describe complementary strategies and actions that settlers can take to start to challenge colonial structures and colonial violence. Their presentation was on the concept of desettling and how libraries can start to incorporate a desettling framework. Kael also had his poem, Polar Route, published on the website for Creative Colloquy, a local literary journal.

Julie Prosser, M.A., Ph.D.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology

Dr. Julie Prosser, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology at Saint Martin’s University, co-authored and presented a paper at the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) conference. The paper is called “Gendered beliefs and behaviors in couple relationships as predictors of physiological stress functioning”. Dr. Prosser is a member of an interdisciplinary group of researchers at Colorado State University. Their research provides the first investigation connecting gender role ideology and a specific dimension of marital equity with patterns of diurnal cortisol production. The study involved 62 heterosexual couples who completed several questionnaires and who provided several saliva samples on two consecutive school or work days. Results showed that men’s traditional gender ideologies are associated with dysregulated (i.e., unhealthy) cortisol patterns for both men and women. Additionally, for women who have more traditional gender ideologies, their cortisol patterns were more regulated (i.e., healthy), but only when those women also performed a greater number of traditional feminine tasks.

The conference is organized by the International Association for Relationship Research, which is a non-profit interdisciplinary organization that encourages collaboration between students and scholars of all experience levels to promote their research in the scientific study of personal and social relationships. The current projects being presented at this conference were supposed to be held in London in 2020, but because of COVID, they transitioned it to a virtual conference. IARR members come from a variety of disciplines, including family studies, psychology, communication, sociology, child/lifespan development, gerontology, education, clinical work, philosophy, and anthropology. Its members also come from six of the seven continents!