Faculty Honored for Service Beyond Campus

National and State Awards

Scott Edwards

Note: This story is an extended version of the article that appeared in the Spring 2010 print issue of Response.

Three Seattle Pacific University faculty members have received recognition during this academic year for their service to communities beyond the SPU campus.

Scott Edwards, associate professor of marriage and family therapy, received the “Division Contribution Award” from the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) in recognition of 13 consecutive years of service in key positions on four state AAMFT divisional boards, including five years as president-elect, president, and past president of the Washington state division of AAMFT. Edwards was instrumental in the development and passage of a new law that re-organized the registered counselor designation in Washington state.

He currently serves in a peer-elected position on the AAMFT National Board as the chair of the Council of Divisional Presidents comprised of leaders within all the states and Canadian provinces.

“Scott provides a strong example of effective and respected leadership,” says Mícheál Roe, dean of the School of Psychology, Family, and Community. “He is a fine ambassador for SPU.”

Edwards has been at SPU since 2001. In addition to teaching in the marriage and family therapy program, he is also the director of clinical training and research. Edward’s work to strengthen certification and license requirements for registered counselors was featured in the Winter 2009 issue of Response. See a video of him accepting his award.

Miriam Adeney, associate professor of world Christian studies, was awarded a “Lifetime Achievement Award” by Christians for Biblical Equality in 2009. The award recognizes “a lifetime of courage, sacrifice, and vision in advancing the biblical basis for gift-based ministry.” Adeney’s book, Kingdom Without Borders: The Untold Story of Global Christianity (InterVarsity Press, 2009), was also selected as “Book of the Day” for the first day of InterVarsity’s Urbana 09 Student Missions Conference.

Some of her other books include Daughters of Islam: Building Bridges With Muslim Women (InterVarsity Press, 2002); and God’s Foreign Policy: Practical Ways to Help the World’s Poor (Regent College Publishing, 1993).

Adeney has been at SPU since 1976. She frequently travels around the world, speaking on global issues and leading cultural orientations for various mission agencies. She serves on the boards of Christianity Today International and Media Associates International, and she is past president of the American Society of Missiology.

Donald Yanik, professor of theatre and chair of SPU’s Theatre Department, was inducted into the Washington State Thespian Society’s Hall of Fame in recognition of more than 20 years of significant volunteer work with local high school theatre programs. He has consulted with drama departments in high schools around Washington state, including Chehalis, Bothell, Inglemoor, Roosevelt, Sammamish, Sequim, and Vashon Island.

He regularly teaches high school level classes involving set design and safety practices in scene shops. The Hall of Fame committee, made up of previous inductees, was unanimous in selecting Yanik.

In addition to his volunteer work in high schools, Yanik regularly leads workshops on set design, costume design, and makeup application. Kamiak High School drama teacher Laurie Levin admires Yanik’s professionalism and patience with students, as well as the artistic skill he brings to the stage. “I’m always amazed at what Don can do with the technical aspects of theatre. His sets and costumes are amazing,” says Levin. “I’m a groupie of Don Yanik.”

Yanik has been at SPU since 1985, where he teaches courses in scene design and technical drawing, costume and period styles, scene painting, and stage makeup. In addition to designing sets and costumes for SPU mainstage productions, he serves as producing director for all SPU productions.