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.
"Silent Sky" is a true story of 19th century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, who explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries. With music and math bursting forth onstage, Henrietta and her female peers change the way we understand both the heavens and the Earth. It is the poignant tale of a woman’s dedication to the stars, and the human touch that makes life under the vast sky beautiful and timeless.
Han (한), nunchi (눈치), and jeong (정) are Korean constructs that profoundly shape Korean people’s lives. How might the understanding of these constructs offer lessons that generalize beyond the Korean setting, as we pursue intrapersonal, interpersonal, and communal flourishing?
In the annual Winifred E. Weter Faculty Award Lecture for Meritorious Scholarship, Professor of Psychology Paul Youngbin Kim will explore the features of these constructs, drawing from his academic field of psychology but also Korean media and arts. He will articulate the strengths and pitfalls associated with han, jeong, and nunchi. Whenever relevant, Prof. Kim will describe how the three constructs can be reimagined for faithful Christian living.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
7 p.m.
Upper Gwinn Commons
Ben Hartley, associate professor of mission and world Christianity, recently received a $6,000 Franklin Research Grant from the American Philosophical Society. He will use the grant to defray the costs of archival trips to Columbia University, Yale University, and the University of Minnesota to complete research for a biography of Nobel Peace Prize laureate John R. Mott (1865-1955).
JoAnn Flett, executive director of the Center for Faithful Business, received a Fulbright Specialist Program Award from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. She will complete a project at The Entrepreneurship Hub in Trinidad and Tobago that aims to exchange knowledge and establish partnerships benefiting participants, institutions, and communities both in the U.S. and overseas through a variety of educational and training activities within business administration.
Professor Emeritus of Educational Ministry Ed Smyth died at his home in Lexington, Kentucky, on March 9, 2024, after a lengthy illness. Ed came to SPU in 1976 and taught educational ministry (Christian education) until 1985, and then again from 2000 to 2016, when he retired. He was the director of Church Relations at SPU from 1985 to 1992 and served in ministry positions outside of SPU from 1992 to 2000.
Dr. Deana L. Porterfield was inaugurated as Seattle Pacific University's 12th president, and the University's first female president, on Feb. 23, 2024. Her inaugural address was delivered at the First Free Methodist in Seattle, Washington.
Read the address or watch the inauguration ceremony.
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.