President Eaton May Visit You Soon!

From January through April, Seattle Pacific University President Philip Eaton and his wife, Sharon, will be meeting with alumni, friends and prospective students at special receptions across the country. If you have an interest in SPU, you'll want to attend one of these very special events, which include an opportunity to talk with the president about "the big idea" for SPU in the 21st century. President's receptions have already been held in Boise, Idaho, and Pasadena, California. Still to come are events in Denver, Colorado, on January 21, 1998; Anchorage, Alaska, on January 31, 1998; Scottsdale, Arizona, on February 12, 1998; Honolulu, Hawaii, on February 25, 1998; Chicago, Illinois, on March 26, 1998; Portland, Oregon, on April 21, 1998; and Yakima, Washington, on April 25, 1998. For details, watch the mail for a personal invitation, consult the University Calendar, or contact the Office of University Advancement at 206/281-2100.

More Area Receptions Scheduled for Prospective Students and Families

High school students and their parents have several upcoming opportunities to "visit" Seattle Pacific University without leaving their own region. Prospective students and families are invited to attend any of the president's receptions being held across the United States (see above) - or one of the admissions receptions scheduled in other major cities. Each president's reception and admissions reception includes an introduction to SPU and information about admissions requirements and financial aid, as well as a chance to meet university representatives and students. Admissions receptions were held in early January in Sacramento, California; Spokane, Washington; and San Diego, California. Upcoming are receptions in Seattle on January 27, 1998; Portland, Oregon, on January 27, 1998; and Eugene, Oregon, on January 28, 1998. For more information, contact Seattle Pacific Undergraduate Admissions at 206/281-2021.

SPU Undergraduates Thrive in the World of Research

Research is usually considered the province of faculty members and graduate students, but a number of undergraduates at Seattle Pacific University are also engaged in significant scholarly investigation. This fall, 17 students, five professors, and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) traveled to Oregon's Willamette University for the Sixth Regional Conference on Undergraduate Research. The event was sponsored by the Murdock College Science Research Program. Eleven SPU students made poster presentations of their scientific research. All were required to answer questions and defend their methods and findings. The students' interests and experimentation were broad -- from the molecular to the geophysical to the ecological. "It was an excellent conference," says Martin Abbott, dean of CAS. "Our students mingled with researchers from other institutions and gained a firsthand view of how accomplished researchers operate." Participation in such a conference is valuable for other reasons as well, says Rick Ridgway, associate professor of biology. "It helps Seattle Pacific become recognized as a university where undergraduate research is a priority. This, in turn, will help us obtain outside funding for such research." SPU students and their professors worked together on some of the presented projects, particularly biological experiments at the University's Blakely Island Field Station. Medical research projects were conducted through liaisons with regional researchers such as those at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Senior Lisa Malmin was one of the Seattle Pacific presenters, offering her research on the ways molecules regulate the human immune system. A biochemistry major, she has been accepted to the UW Medical School. "The conference took us to a higher level and showed us that the world of research and discovery is not beyond the undergraduate."

SPU Tour Marks C.S. Lewis Centennial

Mike Macdonald and Kim Gilnett weren't in England 100 years ago when C.S. Lewis was born, but they aren't about to miss the author's centennial this summer. As hosts of a Seattle Pacific University-sponsored C.S. Lewis Study Tour in England, July 4-17, the two plan a special experience open to students, alumni and other interested parties. "Celebrating Lewis's life will be a big event in England," says Macdonald, professor of European studies, German and philosophy. "Kim and I offer a very unique way for people to be a part of it." As a Lewis scholar, Macdonald brings depth of knowledge to the subject. He is the founder of an annual C.S. Lewis Institute at SPU and is spearheading an important conference on campus in June: "The C.S. Lewis Legacy for the 21st Century: A Centenary Celebration." Gilnett, marketing associate for the Division of Fine Arts, contributes a longtime personal interest in Lewis, and a five-year involvement in the renovation of Lewis's home in Oxford. "Kim has made contacts all over England with the people who knew Lewis best, including his son and his priest," notes Macdonald. As a result, the study group will get rare glimpses of significant Lewis sites, as well as valuable insights into the life of one of the world's most influential Christian apologists. For more information, call 206/281-2209.

SPU Can Take Pride in Its Art Collection, Say Professors

In the lobby of Tiffany Hall sits a large round sculpture called "Trinity" by Stewart Branston, a former Seattle Pacific University art professor. For some years, it lay on the floor where students leaned on it or plopped books on it. Unable to bear this casual treatment, Christina Roseman, professor of classics and art history, asked for and received a pedestal to show off the piece. "As a university, we should display and take care of the art we have. After all," she says, "we teach aesthetics; it's part of the curriculum." That's why Roseman encourages the SPU community to rediscover its small but treasured art collection. The most public works are the relief sculptures by Harold Blaz on Weter Hall, and the panels by Ernst Schwidder on Demaray Hall's clock tower, both built in the 1960s. "Weter's symbols portray the history of writing systems, from hieroglyphics to Gutenburg," Roseman notes. The clock tower symbols represent the Trinity and three areas of knowledge: fine arts, science and history. Seattle Pacific Art Professor Larry Metcalf points to works in the new library, including contributions from faculty, Northwest art on loan from Seafirst Bank, and a display of Middle Eastern pottery dating from 3200 B.C. Adding to the uniqueness of SPU's campus collection is a totem pole by Tlingit artist Abner Johnson located in front of Beegle Hall. A Roseman favorite is the monumental sculpture in the School of Business and Economics. "The Falconer" by alumnus Walter Massey is a massive bronze representing SPU and Christ. "I think an important point is that our art is mostly 'homegrown,'" says Metcalf. "We have the work of students, friends, alumni - even board members. It's very personal and we are proud of it."

Faculty and Students Play Leading Role in Japanese Nursing Education Seminar

The "graying" of America has been well-documented in the media. Less noticed is the "graying" of Japan where, until recently, accepted cultural practice has been for the elderly to live with their children until death. But in Japan, as elsewhere, a shift has begun toward the placement of older citizens in long-term care facilities. It is a change difficult for the elder Japanese to accept and one that leaves their children in conflict with their emotions and their culture. The Japanese government is interested in what American-educated nurses and health professionals have to say on such critical issues. At last summer's Second International Nursing Education Seminar in Kusatsu, Japan, nine faculty members, three graduate students and two RN Baccalaureate students from the Seattle Pacific University School of Health Sciences were guests of the island nation. They presented research on adult gerontology and other issues facing professional nursing in the future. "SPU was the prime US university sharing the limelight with the Gunma University School of Health Sciences," says Annalee Oakes, dean of the School of Health Sciences and organizer of the 10-day trip. "Our entire contingent presented scholarly and practical modes of health care delivery for the 21st century. "It was an opportunity for us to present upper level education in a Christian context to members of a largely Buddhist culture," says Oakes. "Our presentations were entered into the official proceedings and attended by several top government officials."

New SPU Librarian Advocates "Information Literacy"

One thing Seattle Pacific's new university librarian believes strongly is that the library "is not a warehouse for storing things." Rather, says Ray Doerksen, an institution's library is integral to the learning process. But what Doerksen has discovered in his career as a secular college librarian, and now in Christian higher education, is that not every university is equipped to make "information literacy" - the ability to access, assemble and evaluate information -- a critical piece of the educational package. "Well-qualified librarians should be recognized as educators," Doerksen says. "This library and the SPU community seem poised to 'steer the ship' in that direction and make the library an even more vital part of the campus." Since arriving this summer, Doerksen says he has enjoyed serving on strategy groups like President's Council that take him outside the library confines to better understand the development of curriculum and other significant campus issues. Doerksen holds three master's degrees - in history, library science and theology - as well as an undergraduate degree in history from Tennessee Temple University. Canadian-born, he was bibliographer for the University of Manitoba, assistant head of the acquisitions department for the University of Alberta, and a 10-year associate director of the library at Cornerstone College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Three times a year, he writes a column called "The Y Factor" in The Christian Librarian, official organ of the Association of Christian Librarians.

Professor Visits England to Present Research on Adolescents' Search for Meaning

Young people with little sense of meaning in their lives are at greater risk for depression and suicide. To create a mechanism which enables school counselors to identify at-risk students, Seattle Pacific University Associate Professor of Education Chris Sink has spent five years surveying more than 1,500 adolescents in the US and abroad about how they define meaning for their lives. With two of his doctoral students, Sink recently presented his findings before the British Education Research Association in York, England. "I began the study while an assistant professor in Missouri," he explains. "I was interested in how adolescents make meaning for their lives, how a young person makes sense of a father dying or a sister on drugs. I came at it from an evangelical Christian perspective because so often school counselors simply avoid or obscure the larger issues of life, including students' religious and existential concerns." Among US high school students, Sink found that those in Christian high schools associate a significantly higher meaning to their lives compared to those in non-Christian schools, even though 70-80 percent of both groups claim affiliation with a particular Christian church. The key issue here, he says, appears to be related to the depth and level of personal engagement with one's faith tradition. Over time, the study has spread to students on the West Coast, and in Russia and Switzerland. "This research is directly tied to what SPU is all about - helping students find meaning and purpose for their lives," says Sink.

Faculty Bookshelf

The following are among many faculty volumes available in the Seattle Pacific University Bookstore. To order a book, or to request a full listing of SPU faculty books, call 206/281-2136. Beyond Integrity: A Judeo-Christian Approach to Business Ethics Zondervan Publishing House, 1996 Edited by Scott B. Rae and Kenman L. Wong The Wall Street insider-trading scandals of the '80s led to a resurgent interest in the field of business ethics. When one-time corporate heroes turned high-profile white collar felons, corporations and business schools nationwide received a wake-up call. A number of endowed university chairs in business ethics found funding and companies began hiring ethics officers and social issues managers sensitive to the moral concerns of corporate stakeholders. Kenman Wong, associate professor of management in Seattle Pacific University's School of Business and Economics, and his colleague Scott Rae, associate professor of biblical studies and Christian ethics at Biola University's Talbot School of Theology, have edited a volume of classic readings and case studies in business ethics from both secular and Christian authors. Their textbook, now part of the regular business curriculum in more than two dozen business programs, includes commentary and Christian assessment of real-life workplace issues such as sexual harassment and questionable sales tactics. It goes beyond matters of simple personal integrity - e.g., calling in late, stealing from the supply room -- to the larger context of corporate responsibility. "I believe in natural law," explains Wong. "God's law is written on the hearts of all people and provides some internal sense of right and wrong. Violating these principles has consequences that carry over into commercial affairs. An efficient economic system must be filled with participants who practice fairness and exercise self-restraint."   Spirituality in a Mixed-Up Age Light and Life Communications, 1997 H. Mark Abbott There is a distinct cast to spirituality in the Pacific Northwest, says Mark Abbott, senior minister of Seattle's First Free Methodist Church and university pastor at Seattle Pacific. He argues that confusion reigns in a region known as the Mecca of the New Age movement, but that it is a confusion with national implications as Americans coast-to-coast struggle to define what it means to be spiritual. Abbott has, it can be argued, "seen it all" in 30 years of pulpit experience. "Spirituality is 'in' these days," says the author. In his book's initial chapter titled "Hot, Hip and Half True," he underscores that the US is feasting on a virtual smorgasbord of old and new spiritual novelties that include Hollywood-style Buddhism, angel-mania and near-death experiences. "We need a framework for evaluating our beliefs so that we don't buy every new philosophy that comes down the pike," says Abbott. "Our spirituality is something that God does in us, not something we can manipulate through our own efforts." Spirituality in a Mixed-Up Age examines case histories of real people with real faith struggles, including Abraham, Jacob and Moses. Through meditations in Ephesians and Romans, Abbott says he attempts to demonstrate that authentic Christian spirituality is the only effective antidote to "junk-food" religion.

Please read our disclaimer. Send any questions, comments or correspondence about Response to jgilnett@spu.edu or call 206-281-2051. Copyright © 1999 University Communications, Seattle Pacific University. Seattle Pacific University Office of University Communications 3307 Third Avenue West Seattle, Washington 98119-1997 United States of America