A Jesuit University And "Union Busting"

The NLRB is expected to set a vote for some time in May. However, Seattle University officials say they expect to appeal the decision; the appeal deadline is May 1. Adjuncts, sometimes called contingent faculty, are instructors who are not eligible for tenure at colleges and universities and sometimes restricted to part-time work. They’re usually paid at a lower rate than their tenured counterparts — sometimes significantly so — and receive lesser benefits and little job security.

Seattle University argued that it was exempt from NLRB jurisdiction because it is a religiously-operated institution. An earlier Supreme Court case found that the NLRB, the federal agency that safeguards employees’ rights to organize, could infringe on a school’s First Amendment rights if it were to have jurisdiction over a school.

Seattle University also argued that it should be exempt because full-time adjuncts should be classified as managers, because the employees who want to unionize do not represent a “sufficient community of interest” and because the proposed union did not include faulty in the College of Nursing and School of Law. Ronald Hooks, regional director of the NLRB in Seattle, rejected all of those arguments. Among other findings, Hooks wrote that Seattle University “lacks substantial religious character” because it receives no funding from the Catholic Church or Society of Jesus, that only a minority of its students are Catholic and its faculty are subject to no religious requirements.

Link (here)

Jesuit University Purchases Jesuit Residence From Jesuit Province

The province declared bankruptcy nearly three years ago, around the time that the group agreed to pay $166.1 million to about 500 people abused by Jesuit priests at schools in the Pacific Northwest. It was one of the Catholic Church’s biggest sex-abuse settlements. At the time, the National Catholic Reporter reported that the province would pay $48.1 million and that the order’s insurer would pay the rest.

On Jan. 16, Seattle University paid the Jesuits $2.2 million for the Arrupe Jesuit Community Building, which is on campus at 924 E. Cherry St. SU had previously owned the land but not the building, which serves as a home to Jesuits.

The purchase will help Seattle University, a Jesuit-run institution, ensure the continued presence of “a vibrant Jesuit community on our campus and is consistent with the relationship between other Jesuit universities and their Jesuits,” SU spokeswoman Stacy Howard said in a statement. Pat Walsh, the spokesman for the Oregon province of the Society of Jesus, said the sale is unrelated to the sexual-abuse settlement. The bankruptcy was over with several years ago, and the people who had claims against the province have been paid, he said. Money from the sale of the building will go into the province’s budget and could be used to fund the care of elderly priests, Walsh said, adding that Jesuits have been selling residence halls to Jesuit educational institutions.

Link (here) to Bizjournals

Seattle University To Host Angela Davis

A Catholic university in Washington has invited communist and abortion supporter Angela Davis to speak on campus, raising concerns among those who say her views are anathema to Catholic teaching. Davis will give a lecture on October 17th at Seattle University, a Jesuit institution. Her talk is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Justice in Society, and will ostensibly be about prison reform.

Davis is a controversial choice for a Catholic university, however. She is a former leader of the U.S. Communist Party, and ran for vice president twice in the 1980s on the Communist ticket. She holds socially liberal views at odds with Catholic teaching, including the view that abortion rights are a “fundamental prerequisite for the emancipation of women.”

These views should disqualify her from a speaking slot at a Catholic university, wrote James Bascom of TFP Student Action, a conservative education group. “It would be difficult to find a speaker who contradicts the teaching of the Catholic Church on more levels than Angela Davis,” he wrote in a blog post for TFP Action. “Stalin maybe?” Catholic institutions should recognize the death and destruction wrought by communism in the 20th century and decline to honor one of the ideology’s devotees with a guest lecture, wrote The College Fix. Seattle University did not respond to a request for comment.

Link (here) to The Daily Caller

Melinda Gates Jesuit Educated

The Wedding of Bill and Melinda Gates on January 1, 1994 on the Hawaiian island of Lanai  (source)

Fr. William Sullivan, S.J., presided over the wedding of Bill and Melinda Gates on January 1, 1994, in Hawaii. Fr. Sullivan is the former president of Seattle University and connected with Melinda when she was a student at that Jesuit university. 

Link (here) to Think Jesuit

Seattle University Is Not Controlled By The Oregon Province

Seattle University won't be financially liable for lawsuits filed against the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesuits, said President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., in his State of the University address. In January of 2009, a lawsuit was filed against the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesuits for sexual abuse against Alaskan Native children. Sundborg was named as a defendant in the case, which sparked concerns as to whether Seattle U's assets were safe. Back in 2009, when legal charges caused the Oregon Province to file for bankruptcy, Sundborg included the following statement in an email to students, faculty and staff: "I want to assure you that Seattle University is not part of this bankruptcy proceeding. Seattle University is, and has been for more than 100 years, an independent Washington non-profit corporation. Seattle University is not owned, operated or controlled by the Oregon Province."

Link (here)

Sacrosanctum Concilium

Main Alter at the Chapel of St. Ignatius

Sacrosanctum Concilium. That document, though primarily about the reform of the liturgy, also spoke about church architecture. Some church designers, though, went farther than the document itself. “People within the various dioceses in the United States seized up on that because they wanted to promote modern architecture in the Catholic Church and said, ‘Well, Vatican II said we have to tear out all this old furniture because it’s old,’” Anthony said. “What a terrible destruction happened.” Duncan Stroik, an architect in South Bend, Ind., said, “The misinterpretation of Vatican II was like Pandora’s box in which architects and clients thought that it meant anything goes. Anything as long as it was not traditional styles.” 

 That spawned what Stroik called the “consistently dull” suburban churches of the late 1960s and 1970s. “Cheaply built, ugly, dysfunctional and iconoclastic,” Stroik said. “If they had been built as commercial or residential buildings they would have been torn down by now. There are some churches designed by famous architects which, though sophisticated, are rather poor places of worship.” He mentions Seattle University’s Chapel of St. Ignatius, 

the Chapel of St. Basil at the University of St. Thomas in Houston and St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minn. He also cites the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco, which some locals refer to as “Our Lady of Maytag” because its dome looks like the agitator of a washing machine. “Interestingly, they all received awards from the architecture community,” Stroik said.

Link (here) to the full article at The National Catholic Register.

The Queen Of Seattle University Sylvia O'Stayformore

Sylvia O'Stayformore

Sylvia O'Stayformore wasn't surprised there was a negative response; religious conservativism is something the host is familiar with. But even with religious communities there is usually room for diversity, according to O'Stayformore. "There is usually a pocket of acceptance in every religion no matter how conservative it is," O'Stayformore said. Originally a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, O'Stayformore is no stranger to religious conservatism; the fact that Seattle U is willing to support an event like a drag show comes as a welcome surprise to O'Stayformore. "It's pretty amazing that it happened in a Jesuit college, and that [the show] is getting support. I don't think it's going to say that the college is going to be accepting all but its pretty eye opening," said O'Stayformore. As far as the Cardinal Newman Society goes, O'Stayformore wasn't really surprised. "I guess it is a passive aggressive way of saying they don't agree with it," O'Stayformore said. Sylvia is a non-affiliate performer, so from her perspective the allegations against Seattle U. aren't personal. For the Catholic community on campus, however, the assertion that Seattle U is somehow non-Catholic is personal. "I believe whole-heartedly that Seattle University is thoroughly Catholic," said Director of Campus Ministry Mike Bayard, S.J..

Link (here) to read the full article at Spectator.

Planned Parenthood At Seattle University

On March 23, President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., received an open letter from the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) and Students for Life of America (SFLA) urging him to end Seattle University's relationship with Planned Parenthood.The Virginia-based CNS monitors Catholic institutions of higher education to determine how closely individual colleges and universities adhere to the teachings of the Catholic Church. SFLA offers college students funding, training and support to start their own pro-life groups on their respective campuses.

Along with CNS and SLFA, 14 other pro-life and Christian group leaders from around the country signed the letter. Their main concern with Planned Parenthood is that some of its locations provide abortions. 

"Promoting and glorifying Planned Parenthood and other abortion organizations on any campus is unacceptable, most especially on a Catholic campus," 

said Kristin Hawkins, executive director for SFLA, in a press release on the CNS website. While short, the letter quickly outlined its qualms. "The University refers students to Planned Parenthood for ‘sexual health' services, allows and promotes student internships with Planned Parenthood, hires employees with past experience at Planned Parenthood, and honors students for their past work with Planned Parenthood," the letter read.

Link (here) to read the full article at The Spectator

As Peers Of A Jesuit Institution

Fr. Patrick Howell, S.J.

In a campus-wide email sent Mar. 25, Seattle University stated "the university and the Oregon Province are legally and financially separate and independent entities." The case has stirred up a great deal of controversy across campus with students and staff. In a separate message sent to students from Fr. Patrick Howell, S.J. on Mar. 28, Howell encouraged students to pray for the abused and their families. As peers of a Jesuit institution, Howell stated, we must not "lose sight of the victims" and continue to focus on reconciliation and the protection of children. 

"We need to focus not so much on Jesuits and what's happening to Seattle U, but the victims and care for victims and how we're going to address that in the future," Howell said. "We need to focus on how we're going to keep children protected." 

According to the university's official statement, Seattle U was in no way involved with the abuse happening under the Oregon Province, but does cite a handful of claims against two former Jesuits at Seattle U, both of whom are now deceased.
Link (here) to read the full article.

Marble Statue

It is located at the chapel of Catholic Jesuit run Seattle University. And it is called Gratia Plena (Full of Grace).

It is made from one single slab of Cararra marble with some gold leafing. According to the Seattle University website, 

Steven Heilmer, associate professor of art at Greenville College, in Greenville, Illinois, created the piece and said: "I wanted to take a life-sized block of Cararra marble and carve a flowing stream of milk." 

If you and I are in anyway similar, to be told that this object is supposed to be a statue of Our Lady is a shock.

Link (here) to America needs Fatima blog.

Jesuit Says, "The Cock Has Crowed"

"I write from within the church and the society of Jesus. I am not outside looking on. 

These are my brothers, abusing priests, bishops and religious superiors who were unaware or unresponsive. 

I am not above but alongside. I know what it means to be a sinner redeemed by the grace of Christ."

He continued with a biblical reflection.

The image of Peter has been a source of consolation for me. He couldn't understand why Christ should suffer. He fell asleep in the Garden while Christ agonized, turned to violence when Christ was accused, denied his Lord three times during the Passion, and finally woke up when the cock crowed. 

Exactly when the cock crowed, Christ looked at Peter, and Peter went out and wept. Jesus' look was an accusation and a healing. Later Christ asked Peter three times if he loved him. 

Three times Peter affirmed that he did. Three times Christ confirmed Peter's role as shepherd. The cock has crowed for the church. Christ is looking at us, accusing and healing. No press report, no angry victim or parent can look more accusingly than Jesus. But his look heals, and his Spirit is at work in victims and in the church, healing. And he calls us to repentance and to healing.

Link (here) Fr. Patrick Howell SJ full op/ed Piece in the Seattle Times

2,500 Pro-Lifers Protest Jesuit Seattle University

Seattle University, a Jesuit Catholic college in Seattle, Washington, is offering its students the opportunity to intern at Planned Parenthood in order to fulfill the degree requirements for a Bachelor of Arts in Public Affairs.

According to the University’s website, public affairs majors are required to participate in an internship with a public or nonprofit organization. The website provides a list of 29 such organizations with whom public affairs students can intern, among them Planned Parenthood of Western Washington. The University also boasts a Woman’s Studies Department, whose website encourages students to consider volunteering with women’s organizations such as the Feminist Majority Foundation, the National Organization for Women, and the University sponsored organization Seattle University Society of Feminists. The pro-life organization TFP Student Action is urging pro-life supporters to sign a protest petition addressed to Seattle University President Fr. Stephen Sundborg, SJ.  The petition, which has collected 2,500 signatures within four hours of being posted on the organization’s website, urges Fr. Sundborg to remove Planned Parenthood and all other pro-abortion groups from the University’s website. 

Link (here) to Lifesite to read the full article

Private University On The Hill Is Impenetrable

Seattle University Ariel View

Seattle University deserves commendation for taking a page from the successful Harlem Children's Zone and broadening a partnership with Bailey Gatzert Elementary to a Youth Initiative spanning 100 blocks. For many residents in the Central Area, the private university on the hill is impenetrable. Many do not envision their children could attend the school or their community use the campus. Seattle U is smart to seek to change that misperception. In addition to the tutoring and after-school programs university students have supplied Gatzert for 20 years, parents and neighbors can look to Seattle U for a broad range of assistance, including health-care assistance from the nursing program and legal aid from the law school. Seattle U's timing is perfect. The community around the university faces youth violence and incarceration rates among the highest in the city. A third of the families live in poverty; more than 90 percent of the elementary school's children qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch.

Link (here) to the full article at The Seattle Times

Former Guns N's Roses Guitarist On His Jesuit Education

Duff McKagan

I went to Seattle University--a Jesuit school--a few years back. If you know anything about Jesuit schools, you will know that the Jesuits require a ton of philosophy courses for their students to advance.

Hence, I am a quasi-expert armchair philosopher. There is a Buddhist saying that says, and I paraphrase:

"Be the water flowing down the stream, and not the boulder in the stream trying to hold the water back."

.

Link (here) to read the blog post by Duff McKagan

The Art At Seattle University

St. Ignatius of Loyola Chapel - Seattle University

As a relatively young city, Seattle doesn't have a large number of major art collections in public or private hands. Though our art benefactors have been generous and shown a fine eye for great art, Seattle can't stand up to the magnificent art collectors and collections in cities like San Francisco, New York, or even Los Angeles.
So local art lovers have to do a little more legwork to enjoy the pleasures of seeing art. One great source for viewing art is to take in the fine art collections in the corporate or organizational world. To take in one of these fine collections, start at Seattle University's central campus on Capitol Hill.

Link (here) to the Sun Break blog with lots of pictures of Seattle University art collection and new chapel.

An Interview Of Fr. Stephen Sundborg, S.J.

I think all of us realize that the Jesuit universities are sitting on a goldmine that no one else has an opportunity to mine, 

which is this international network of higher education institutions with a common mission. Who else has that? 

And what would it be like if faculty had the opportunity to do joint scholarship with faculty from Latin America and India on issues of poverty or the Millennial Goals or sustainability or peace issues?

Link (here) to the full interview of Fr. Stephen Sundborg, S.J. at Seattle Commons.

Insubordination

In a full-page ad in Monday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel nearly two-hundred faculty members from two Jesuit institutions—Seattle University and Marquette University—condemned Marquette’s decision to rescind an offer to Jodi O’Brien to become Marquette’s dean of arts and sciences, “condemned the involvement of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and other outside influences in this decision,” and stated “that the appropriate response to the current situation is for the offer of the Deanship of the College of Arts and Sciences to be extended again immediately to Dr. O’Brien with an apology.” Insubordination

The full details (here) at Religion on our Campuses.


One Jesuit, Fr. Josef V. Venker, S.J., Seattle University Assistant Professor of Fine Arts signed the petition. Find the complete list (here)

Dr. Jodi O'Brien, A L@sbian Professor At Seattle University

"For the past 15 years, Jesuit values have been at the center of my evolution as a teacher and scholar at Seattle University, which treasures its Jesuit Catholic mission. Because Marquette is recognized as one of the nation's top Jesuit universities, I was deeply honored earlier this year when I was offered the opportunity to help advance its Jesuit mission as Dean of Arts and Sciences. 

I said in my initial application letter that I believe Jesuit colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to provide an educational experience that fully prepares students for ethical leadership in our complex times. 

I believe in the Jesuit mission even more today as a result of the outpouring of support I've received from Marquette students and faculty. My hope is that members of the Marquette community will continue listening to each other, caring for one another, and striving for excellence consistent with the best Jesuit tradition."

Link (here) to the controversial figure at the Jesuit University of Seattle. 

The Jesuit Run Seattle University's Anti-Catholic Profesor, Denied Catholic Teaching Position At The Jesuit Run Marquette University For Being Anti-Catholic

Marquette University officials said Thursday that a lesbian scholar who has published works on gender and sexual orientation will no longer be offered a job as dean for the college of arts and sciences. 

The decision to withdraw the offer from Seattle University professor Jodi O'Brien wasn't about O'Brien's sexual orientation or the quality of her work, said Marquette spokeswoman Mary Pat Pfeil. 

But, Pfeil said, some of O'Brien's (pictured) published writings "relating to Catholic mission and identity" were a factor.

Link (here) to the full story.

Pill Pusher At Seattle University

An adjunct professor at the Seattle University School of Law serves as the legal director of Planned Parenthood of Western Washington, according to the university’s web site. As Planned Parenthood’s legal director, Laura Einstein has sought to compel pharmacies to fill prescriptions for the morning-after pill, which can act as an abortifacient.

A May 2009 mailing from the Center for Professional Development of the Seattle University School of Law noted that “Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest is currently looking to hire a summer intern. Work will involve research, writing, litigation, strategic thinking, and transactional activities.”

Link (here) to Catholic Culture for the full story.