Keeping the Earth Power Coming - Native Oral, Visual and Digital Storytelling for Social Justice

The Inclusion and Justice Committee of Antioch University’s Ph.D. in Leadership and Change Program will host an evening program that includes Native Oral, Visual and Digital Storytelling for Social Justice on Thursday, Jan. 19th at 6:30 p.m. at the Duwamish Longhouse located at 4705 W. Marginal Way, S.W., Seattle, Washington 98106. The event is free and open to the public.

In 1983, Acoma writer Simon Ortiz edited a collection of short stories by Native writers titled Earth Power Coming (Navajo Community College Press). In the introduction he writes, “it is to make sure the voice keeps singing forth so that the earth power will not cease, and that the people remain fully aware of their social, economic, political, cultural and spiritual relationships and responsibilities to all things.” Almost four decades later, a group of Native individuals will sing forth their voices and share stories (orally, visually, and digitally) about social justice issues we face as indigenous peoples today. It is up to all of us to keep the earth power coming.

Featured presenters will include Ph.D. in Leadership and Change students Brenda Manuelito (Navajo), Carmella Rodriguez and Nora Antoine (Lakota). The evening will also include special guests, Deb Guerrero (Tlingit, Snohomish and Cowlitz), co-founder of Turtle Women Rising, and Roger Fernandes (Lower Elwha Band of Klallam Indians), Executive Director of South Wind Native Arts and Education Foundation, a small grassroots non-profit.

The Ph.D. in Leadership and Change Program is part of Antioch University, which is founded on principles of rigorous liberal arts education and innovative experiential learning. Since its creation in 1852, Antioch University has evolved from a small liberal arts college to a multi-campus university system with five campuses located across the nation in Yellow Springs, Ohio; Keene, New Hampshire; Seattle, Washington; Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, California. Today’s Antioch University is the legacy of Horace Mann’s original vision, nurturing in their students the knowledge, skills and habits of reflection to excel as lifelong learners, democratic leaders and global citizens.

School of Psychology Launches Mentor Program

Antioch University Seattle’s School of Applied Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy has launched a new program allowing Psychology alumni to lend a helping hand to current M.A. Psychology students by serving as mentors, counselor/therapists (or both) for them.

As a mentor, alumni would serve as an available resource sharing their professional knowledge and experience with selected MHC or CFT students during their graduate studies. As a counselor/therapist, they would serve as an outside consultant helping these students explore the relevant therapeutic issues they are interested in addressing during their graduate studies (rates not to exceed $35 per hour).

Alumni interested in participating in the Antioch Student Assistance Project (ASAP), should email Alumni Director Eric Warn (ewarn@antioch.edu) stating their willingness to receive back the paperwork needed to participate.

The School of Education is also considering developing a mentor program.

Whole Systems Design Alumni Gathering Big Success

Approximately 57 Whole Systems Design alumni, faculty, staff, students and community members took time on Tuesday, Nov. 29th to gather together at Antioch University Seattle to mix and mingle, partake of great food and watch a showing of “The Ecology of Mind” showcasing Gregory Bateson in honor of two deceased faculty members Elaine Jessen and Rodney Donaldson.

Shelley Glendenning, M.A. WSD ‘94, summed up the evening best when she said “there was a lot love in that room that night – moves me just to think about it.” Sandra Jones, M.A. WSD ‘90, called it a ”terrific event with a rewarding focus and worthy way to honor Elaine and Rodney.” Lively conversation went way into the night. Below are photos capturing the evening.

AUS B.A. Core Faculty Member Gives Last Lecture

Candace Harris, core faculty in the B.A. Completion Program, gave her last lecture on Tuesday, Nov. 29, to faculty, staff, alumni and students and received a standing ovation. She is retiring after a 20 plus year career at Antioch University Seattle (having started before there was voicemail).

She first worked at AUS as a temporary program assistant for the Psychology master’s program in the fall of 1985. She then became the permanent program associate and worked through 1989. She took a break from AUS when she worked as a conflict resolution/mediation consultant.

Candace returned to Antioch in 1990 when she joined the B.A. faculty, having been hired as the prior learning coordinator. Under her direction, the program expanded tremendously to include writing courses that support students as they develop their prior learning packages. She was instrumental in finding ways for students to use financial aid to pay for priors.

At last count, Candace has helped over a thousand students (our best estimate) to earn college credit for life experience. In addition to the above, she has:

- co-taught a Whole Systems Design course on conflict resolution
- taught spiritual studies classes including two of her favorites, “Creativity and Spirituality” and “Spiritual Autobiographies”
- co-taught “Walking With Intention” with Sue Woehrlin, a fellow B.A. faculty member
- helped launch the Women’s Education Program with fellow B.A. faculty member Mary Lou Finley in 1999 and served as the coordinator from 2003 to 2010

Toni Murdock, Former AUS President and Current Antioch University Chancellor, To Retire

Having served as Chancellor of Antioch University for six years, Dr. Toni Murdock announced her retirement, effective June 30, 2012, at the fall board meeting held at the Midwest campus of Antioch University.

“Chancellor Murdock has done a phenomenal job of guiding Antioch University successfully through a period of remarkable change,” said Board of Governors Chair Larry Stone. “Dr. Murdock has provided collaborative, principled and thoughtful leadership throughout the tumultuous years of her tenure. We are grateful for her steady leadership.”

Prior to her appointment as Chancellor, Dr. Murdock served as President of Antioch’s Seattle campus for eight years, serving in both capacities in the final year of her presidency. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, Tucson, in 1986, with a specialization in Higher Education Finance.

Murdock has written and spoken nationally on “the public purpose of higher education” and has received numerous awards for her commitment to diversity, access and social justice. She has served on national boards such as the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), Campus Compact, and ACE/Office of Women in Higher Education.

Murdock has been very active in the higher education arena, participating in such discussions as the 2008 Summit panel discussion titled “Inside the Ivory Tower and Out” and the Council of Europe Global Forum, Council of Europe Headquarters, Strasbourg, France, on the topic of “Converging Competencies: Diversity, Higher Education, and Sustainable Democracy.”

“My tenure at Antioch has been an incredible daily leadership lesson and a dream come true that I would never trade for anything. I appreciate everyone who has walked along that path with me. We have, without a doubt, the best faculty, staff, students, and alumni,” said Dr. Murdock.

“Being the chancellor of Antioch University has been an honor, I’ve loved being here and I’m proud of all that we have accomplished together.” Under Murdock’s leadership, the financial health of the institution has measurably increased with the establishment of an endowment and growth of cash reserves; the University has received national awards and recognition for its commitment to community service and sustainability; student services have been enhanced through the creation of a University Virtual Library and a cross-campus virtual tutorial Learning Commons; faculty contractual benefits have been strengthened as well as faculty collaboration across campuses providing increased academic voice within the central strucure.

The University’s new strategic plan, focused on integration and collaboration across the University system, is poised to be unveiled.

Antioch University is founded on principles of rigorous liberal arts education, innovative experiential learning and socially engaged citizenship. The multiple campuses of the University nurture in their students the knowledge, skills, and habits of reflection to excel as lifelong learners, democratic leaders, and global citizens who live lives of meaning and purpose.

The Antioch University Board of Governors sets policy and strategic direction for the nonprofit, accredited university with five campuses: Midwest, New England, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Seattle. Antioch University also offers a system-wide Ph.D. in Leadership and Change and Antioch Education Abroad. All campus presidents’ report to the Chancellor at central administrative offices in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

In the six years Chancellor Murdock has led Antioch University, the institution has undergone a series of important transitions, including the separation of Antioch University and Antioch College into two distinct institutions. Murdock’s collaboration with the Board and the University Leadership Team has produced structural changes in university governance such as the establishment of boards of trustees for each campus of the Antioch University system. “There is no question that Toni has had an indelible impact on Antioch,” said Art Zucker, Board of Governors Vice Chair. “Her creative leadership has shown us all how to deal positively with change. She personifies the values we hold dear at Antioch,” Zucker continued.

The Board of Governors has engaged the services of the R.H. Perry firm to conduct the search for a new Chancellor and a search committee with representative constituents has been appointed. Co-chairs for the search are former Antioch University Board Chair Art Zucker and board member Charlotte Roberts, a strategic organization consultant.

The Women’s Education Program - Celebrating 13 Years of Community Engagement

To All AUS Alumni,

The Office of Academic Affairs is pleased to share some recent accomplishments of the Women’s Education Program (WEP) and fully endorses its goal to improve Seattle’s downtown corridor.

The WEP at Antioch University Seattle evolved from a cooperation between the Women’s Housing Equality & Enhancement League (WHEEL), The Sisters Project, and AUS in 1998.

The sustainability of the Program’s success depends on a community of student, staff, and faculty volunteers who continue to personify and perpetuate Antioch University Seattle’s core values of community outreach and compassionate engagement with and on behalf of others. Future events are presented in the attached Women’s Education Program Newsletter for Autumn 2011.

Members of the Office of Academic Affairs thank the WEP for supporting a new Graduate Assistant to the art studio at AUS, in order to keep the arts available for the women in the Program. We congratulate Catherine “Cat” Condeff who recently received the Real Change Vendor of the Year 2011 award. She is a inspiration to our campus and deeply committed to both Antioch University Seattle’s and the Women’s Education Program’s missions of collaborative outreach. To see her Real Change Vendor of the Year Interview, visit the following link:

http://youtu.be/bWP-2Rarcek

Peter M. Rojcewicz, PhD
Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty
Antioch University Seattle

Passing of Elaine Jessen

Elaine Jessen, B.A. ’83, M.A. Whole Systems Design ‘85, and a longtime core faculty member in the AUS Whole Systems Design program passed away October 20th.

Elaine co-taught the very first systems thinking course at AUS back in the early ‘80’s. She pioneered graduate level intercultural studies, taking many groups of students to Bali. In addition, she taught in both the individualized WSD program as well as the OSR track, participated in the formation of the Center for Creative Change and later taught in the OSR program at Seattle University.

She combined a sharp intellect with boundless heart, full of love and courage. Elaine delighted in life—even in tough times—in ways that were infectious. She brought out the best in those around her.

Her family suggests that those wishing to memorialize Elaine do something wonderful for someone you love—which is truly her legacy—and that in lieu of flowers donations be made to Healing Journeys (www.healingjourneys.org). There will be a service in Bremerton at her Unitarian Fellowship to be announced later.

Here at AUS her legacy lives on in the Whole Systems Design program and the Center for Creative Change that owe much to her insight, skills, knowledge, and love. Deepest appreciations for having been with us, Elaine!

AUS Founder Visits Campus

More than 30 alumni, faculty, staff and students came together Monday, Oct. 17th, to hear comments from Dean Elias, the founder of AUS in 1975, to participate in storytelling and conversations on making meaning of this experience we call “Antioch” and to discuss what has changed over the years.

Below are photos of the evening.

AUS School of Education Alum Named Washington State Regional Teacher of the Year

For the past two years, an Antioch University Seattle School of Education alumna has been a Regional Washington State Teacher of the Year and a finalist for the Washington State Teacher of the Year award given annually by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. In 2011 it was Abigail Chandler, M.A. Education ’99. For 2012 it is Julie Trout, M.A. Education ’97.

Julie teaches art in Seattle - for the last three years at BF Day Elementary and this year at Gatewood Elementary. Her passion for art in school was ignited in fourth grade when a teacher used collages, drama and quilting to bring joy into learning for the students in her rural West Virginia classroom.

Julie carries out this same practice in her own classroom, where she uses art as a vehicle for struggling students to discover their own potential or find new ways of communicating. She believes this experience sets kids up for success by establishing a school as a safe place where they can be themselves. The problem-solving and evaluation skills that students learn in context of their artwork can then be applied to other subjects and their own lives.

Julie is also passionate about using art as a vehicle for teaching other subjects. Because art is the representation of social and historical events, concepts in the humanities are more easily understood through the lens of art. Students understand where their own art comes from which gives them greater insight into the art of Holocaust survivors, Sudanese refugees or migrant farm workers.
Julie’s colleagues and teaching partners say Julie is committed to a personalized approach to professional development, one that targets what the whole teacher needs to stay healthy and vital, but also offers many choices.

This focus on individual needs permeates all that Julie does and reinforces her belief that a preoccupation with standardized testing has promoted a one-size-fits-all approach to education that marginalizes the value of an arts rich classroom. And though she welcomes the concept of art as an academic discipline, she reminds us that not everything that matters can be measured.

Founder of Antioch University Seattle To Visit Campus

Dean Elias, the founder of Antioch University Seattle, is coming up from California to visit AUS on Monday, Oct. 17th, to meet with alumni, faculty and staff during the evening and then participate in Convocation on Tuesday, Oct. 18th.

Alumni from all class years are personally invited to come back to Antioch Monday evening and make meaning together of this experience we call “Antioch.” We’ll share stories of what brought us to AUS, what kept/keeps us there, perhaps even what drove some away….what patterns persist? What has changed? Why have we “always” done it that way?

A reception will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. and an interactive program from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 17th in room 100. Dr. Shana Hormann, associate academic dean and dean of students and Dr. Mark Hower, Center for Creative Change core faculty, will facilitate. Food and beverages will be served.

Please bring your stories, but first RSVP for the Monday night event to Kate DeShiell at 206-268-4108 or kdeshiell@antioch.edu.

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