Katie Seelig and Emma Fahy, May graduates of Gonzaga University, along with Gonzaga senior Molly Roberge, are leaders in this national tour. Credit Eye to Eye.

Click here to view the embedded video.

‘Own Your Label, Share Your Story’

SAN FRANCISCO – Katie Seelig and Emma Fahy, May graduates of Gonzaga University, along with Gonzaga senior Molly Roberge have been challenged by dyslexia their entire lives. The friends embark today (Friday, July 19) leading a nine-city national tour to help empower those with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In addition, they hope to make the discourse around LD/ADHD more positive.

(from left) Emma Fahy, Katie Seelig, and Molly Roberge.

The LD/ADHD Strike Out Stigma National Tour begins in San Francisco and ends July 30 in Providence, R.I., with stops in Reno, Nev.; Salt Lake City/Park City, Utah; Boulder, Colo.; Omaha; Chicago; Cleveland; and Buffalo, N.Y.; Included in presentations are tips on self-advocacy, self-esteem, meta-cognition, accommodations, and effective school transitions. Click here to view the tour schedule.

Eye to Eye is the only national movement that pairs children with learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with similarly labeled college students. Seelig, from Castro Valley, Calif., and Fahy, from San Francisco, are co-founders of Gonzaga’s student chapter of Eye to Eye. Roberge, from Denver, became involved in Eye to Eye as a Gonzaga freshman.

The idea for the tour came last summer when Seelig and Fahy attended Eye to Eye’s Annual Youth Leadership Conference. After the conference, they spent three months developing a plan for the Strike Out Stigma National Tour and by December their idea was approved and funded by a grant from Eye to Eye.

Seelig looks forward to seeing the idea, which she and others have worked so hard to develop, come to fruition. 

“This has been a yearlong project, with countless hours of work, and I am so excited to finally get going,” Seelig said. “I’m excited for all of the people we are going to meet and all of the new places we will experience!”

Eye to Eye’s goals for the tour include raising awareness about learning disabilities, empowering all people living with learning disabilities/ADHD, and transforming the conversation around LD/ADHD from a negative to a positive one. Tour members also have emphasized the phrase “Own your label, Share your story,” which aims to show others examples of the success people with LDs can achieve.

This past school year, Seelig, Fahy, Roberge and Gonzaga’s other Eye to Eye student mentors went into the community to help young students with learning disabilities like their own. Using an art-based curriculum, they helped children build self-esteem as they embrace their abilities as different thinkers. Eye to Eye promotes self-advocacy and continues to strike out stigma so those who are labeled can become their own best advocates.

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom offered his support for the effort.

“As an individual with dyslexia, I know firsthand the challenges associated with the issue championed by the Eye to Eye mentors and Think Different Diplomats leading the LD/ADHD Strike Out Stigma National Tour,” Newsom said. “These students are bringing hope to vulnerable, at-risk youth in all areas of the country. The tour is working to draw attention to a significant social issue and changing the conversation about being labeled as learning disabled, ADHD and dyslexic.”

For more information about Eye to Eye please visit the organization’s website. For more information about the LD/ADHD Strike Out Stigma National Tour, follow the tour’s blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram account, and YouTube channel.  

Click here to view the embedded video.

SPOKANE, Wash. – Twenty-five teachers from the Charles Lwanga College of Education in Zambia are at Gonzaga University for two weeks as part of a program Gonzaga designed to help them realize their dream of turning their school into an independent university. Gonzaga hopes the effort will assist the College in transforming teacher education in Zambia.

Kebby Mwanamoomba (center), one of the 25 student-teachers from Zambia studying at Gonzaga for two weeks, speaks with (right) Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Associate Professor Deborah Booth. Photo by Rajah Bose

Gonzaga adapted its Master’s of Education in Leadership and Administration program to be delivered on-site, online, and in Spokane. A requirement from the Zambia Ministry of Education for their two-year school to become an independent, four-year university – authorized to grant bachelor degrees – is that the teachers hold master’s degrees. Located in the southern province of the Republic of Zambia, the school currently grants two-year degrees for aspiring elementary school teachers.

Jon Sunderland, who spearheaded the initiative as dean of Gonzaga’s School of Education, described organizers’ hopes.

“Our hope is that when we train their instructors in strategies and methods that are atypical for Zambian schools of education, and they then teach and train the future elementary and middle and secondary teachers in Zambia using these same methods, it will have this exponentially growing benefit to Zambia’s educational system,” Sunderland said. “It will create a different form of education that places more value on developmental education, and teaching and learning.”

The program, which will conclude in December 2014, is a hybrid of Gonzaga School of Education courses in the Master of Education and the Master of Leadership and Administration programs, along with teacher education courses. The program also includes a class in second-language acquisition. Gonzaga faculty travel to Zambia for a week at the start of each course and meet with students daily before leaving them with assignments to be finished online for the remaining seven weeks of each course.

Gonzaga is providing room, board and tuition for the two-week summer component; the students are required to pay only for their airfare, insurance and visas. The initiative demonstrates Gonzaga’s response, as a Jesuit apostolate, to meaningfully engage in the service of faith and promotion of justice where it’s most needed in the world, as directed at the last worldwide meeting of the Society of Jesus, the 35th General Congregation in Rome (2008). Decree 3 of the General Congregation identifies Africa among regional preferences for special attention. Gonzaga’s initiative also responds to a long-extant twinning agreement between the Jesuit provinces of Zambia-Malawi and the Oregon Province, which includes Gonzaga, promoting mutual advancement.

“The greatest hope for individual, societal and intellectual advancement, for meaningful development, for the chance to build a better and more peaceful world, lies in the possibilities that higher education brings to the world and its people,” said Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh. “In very important ways, our students and faculty are engaging with those that the Society of Jesus has asked us to effectively engage with and support – people who truly need us, but whom we need as well.”

The genesis of the program traces to 2007 when President McCulloh (then vice president for administration) visited the Jesuit Province of Zambia-Malawi with Rev. Patrick Lee, S.J., at that time Gonzaga’s vice president for mission. Rev. Lee is now provincial of the Oregon Province.

That experience spawned a fact-finding trip to Zambia by Sunderland, along with faculty colleagues Raymond Reyes and Susan Norwood. Financial support from Gonzaga Trustee Don Herak and benefactor John Rudolf proved foundational. Reyes and GU education Associate Professor Deborah Nieding were Gonzaga’s first faculty in the program. Nieding continues to teach in the program while Reyes has worked with Sunderland to make the program a reality. Associate Professor Jonas Cox taught there last summer. Relationships blossomed as Gonzaga conducted four-week, faculty-led study abroad trips to the school the past two summers, allowing GU students to interact with the Charles Lwanga faculty. The program was officially approved last year and began in spring 2013.

At a breakfast welcoming the students Monday, President McCulloh thanked everyone involved in supporting the program, including Rudolf, who attended the event. President McCulloh also thanked Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who was in attendance, for her continued support of higher education.

For more information, please contact Peter Tormey at (509) 313-6132 or via email.

From left to right: Judi Biggs Garbuio, Brenda Stevenson Marshall, Vincenct C. Alfonso and Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak. Photos by Rajah Bose.

SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga welcomes four new leaders this fall: Brenda Stevenson Marshall, inaugural dean of the new School of Nursing and Human Physiology, School of Education Dean Vincent C. Alfonso, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak, and Judi Biggs Garbuio, vice president for student development.

Dean Marshall leads Gonzaga’s first new school in nearly 40 years, underscoring the University’s strong and enduring commitment to developing health professions in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition. The SNHP aims to prepare more professional and specialized leaders in the rapidly evolving health care industry, and improve the quality of health and health care through education, research and engagement while advancing the cause of social justice. 

Dean Marshall hails from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, where she served as a professor of public health, special assistant to the provost for health sciences, and founding dean of its School of Health Sciences. The recipient of many teaching and professional honors, her scholarly work focuses on health care management with emphasis on the preparation of clinicians and access to health services for vulnerable populations. Read more about Dean Marshall.

Dean Alfonso, who served for 19 years as a professor and top administrator in the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University in New York City, takes over for Jon Sunderland, dean since 2007. At Fordham, Alfonso directed the school psychology program, was executive director of two assessment centers, associate dean for six years and acting dean for a year. His scholarly work focuses on assessment and treatment of preschool children, psycho-educational assessment, among other areas.

“Gonzaga has a very good School of Education, so I am coming into a great situation,” he said. “I’m here to help move the School of Education to an even higher level.” View an interview with and read more about Dean Alfonso.

Dean Mermann-Jozwiak, the Haas Professor of English and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi since 2005, leads Gonzaga’s largest school – filling the post vacated in spring 2012 by Marc Manganaro, who became provost at Loyola University, New Orleans. Political science Professor Blaine Garvin served as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences this past academic year.

Her scholarly work focuses on ethnic American literature, critical theory, and transnational American studies. She has authored two books, and nearly 20 articles, chapters and book reviews. At Texas A&M, she received both the Excellence in Teaching Award (2004) and the Excellence in Service Award (2002) from the College of Arts and Humanities, as well as the university-wide Excellence in Teaching Award (2004). View an interview and read more about Dean Mermann-Jozwiak.

Vice President Biggs Garbuio served as associate dean of students at University of Southern California before accepting the position to replace Sue Weitz, who held the position since 1983 and continues to serve Gonzaga as an advisor. Biggs Garbuio, who holds a 30-year record of successful professional experience, said she is pleased with the opportunity to combine student affairs with Jesuit ideals.

“I am excited to finally have an opportunity to integrate my passion for working with students and staff along with my strong student affairs background into a dynamic Jesuit learning environment,” she said. The vice president for student development oversees most nonacademic student programs and services. Student life recently changed its name to the student development to better describe the focus and work of the division. View an interview and read more about Vice President Biggs Garbuio.

Junior forward Kelly Olynyk led Gonzaga with 26 points and 9 rebounds while sophomore guard Kevin Pangos added 19 points. Photo by Shawn Toner.

By Peter Tormey
SALT LAKE CITY – Ninth-seed Wichita State stunned the No. 1-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs 76-70 on Saturday in the third-round of the NCAA Tournament at the EnergySolutions Arena, ending the Zags’ remarkable season of firsts. The Shockers (28-8), who drained 14 3-pointers in the game, advance to the West Regional in Los Angeles to play the winner of Sunday’s Mississippi-La Salle game.

Coach Mark Few called the loss “a tough, tough, tough way to end a fabulous season,” and credited the Zags for their record-setting year in which they became the first Gonzaga team to earn the nation’s No. 1 ranking, a top seed in the Big Dance, and win 30 games.

Kelly Olynyk guarded by Wichita State’s Ehimen Orukpe. Photo by Shawn Toner.

“These guys, I told them after the game, had an unbelievable year, one for the ages,” Few said. “To have the best season in the history of basketball at our school and kind of capture the attention of a nation, it was one hell of a ride. We had a lot of fun.”

Few credited Wichita State for making one big shot after another.

“They stepped up and made big shot after big shot, especially after we dug ourselves, not only back in the game, but kind of started to take control of it,” Few said. “They deserve a ton of credit. It’s a first time in a while somebody shot 50 percent on us and to bang in 14 threes is pretty amazing.”

The Bulldogs (32-3) overcame a rocky first-half shooting in which they trailed nearly the entire way, including by up to 13 points with 7:01 remaining, to close the halftime deficit to 36-31. The Zags took their first second-period lead, 43-41, on a 3-pointer by Mike Hart with 13:38 remaining and extended that lead by 8 points. However, Wichita State made five 3-pointers, including two by freshman guard Ron Baker, to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 61-60 with 4:23 remaining.

Senior Mike Hart was asked how the Shockers got back into the game at that point.

“I think we lost some shooters on the defensive end and let our guard down a little bit,” Hart said. “We defended so well at the start of the second half, and then we just lost some guys. You can’t do that. When guys have it going, you’ve got to have a hand up and stay close to your assignments, and we lost them on a few possessions there and that really hurt us.”

View Zags’ Guard Kevin Pangos’ Postgame Comments:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Zags made three of their next five shots, including two free-throws, but turned the ball over once while the Shockers sank five in a row – including two 3-pointers and two free-throws – to move ahead 70-65 with 1:28 left. With Gonzaga having to foul in the waning 39 seconds, the Shockers sealed the victory by making all 6 at the free-throw line.

For the game, Wichita State shot 50 percent from the floor and the 3-point line while Gonzaga shot 35.6 percent from the floor and made 34.8 percent of their 3-pointers. Gonzaga outshot WSU at the charity stripe 69 percent to 66.7 percent.

Baker and junior forward Early Cleanthony led the Shockers with 16 points apiece while junior forward Kelly Olynyk led Gonzaga with 26 points and 9 rebounds and sophomore guard Kevin Pangos contributed 19 points. Forward Elias Harris added 12 points and 7 rebounds for the Zags.

Harris called the feeling after the loss difficult to describe:

“I don’t even know what’s going through my head right now,” said the senior from Germany. “It is what it is. It was a heck of a year. It’s just over now, and it’s sad. It hurts, but that’s life, I guess.”

Hart said he was amazed at how quickly the season ended.

“We had a great year. We’ll look back and savor this year and cherish it and understand how great it was. But it’s pretty rough right now because we definitely came up short of where we were looking for,” Hart said.

Sophomore guard Gary Bell was unable to play in the second half due to severe foot pain, Few said.

“It ended up being his foot. I have no idea, but he was in a lot of pain. He couldn’t really move, and we’ll have to get it evaluated now when we get home,” Few said. “That didn’t help us defensively. He’s our best perimeter defender.”

View Bell’s postgame comments below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

GSBA President Johnny Draxler underscored the importance of sustainability at the signing of the St. Francis Pledge Oct. 7. GU President Thayne McCulloh and G-Prep President Al Falkner signed the pledge. Seated (from left) are President Falkner, Prep Student Body President Nick Bahr, Prep Principal Cindy Reopelle; Professor Brian Henning; and President McCulloh. Photo by Austin Ilg

Presidents Sign St. Francis Pledge

SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga University President Thayne McCulloh and Gonzaga Preparatory School President Al Falkner together signed the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor, making the schools partners in the national movement for faithful action on climate change.

“Gonzaga recognizes, as key elements of Catholic social teaching, our important commitments to protect human life and dignity and to be especially mindful of the poor and vulnerable who are disproportionately harmed by environmental degradation and climate change,” President McCulloh said during the campus ceremony Oct. 7 at the Boone Avenue Retail Center (BARC). The signing took place in front of the Hydroponic Garden, where lettuce is grown for students’ meals.

The action responds to calls by Pope Francis, the Society of Jesus, and the U.S. Catholic Bishops for mission-based sustainability consistent with Catholic ideals and values. Gonzaga will expand its sustainability commitment in the John J. Hemmingson University Center under construction. 

Others signing the pledge were Gonzaga Student Body Association President Johnny Draxler, GU Professor Brian Henning, co-chair of Gonzaga’s Advisory Council on Stewardship and Sustainability, Gonzaga Prep Principal Cindy Reopelle, Prep Student Body President Nick Bahr, and GU community members.

“Time and again, Dr. McCulloh has demonstrated his deep commitment to making Gonzaga a leader in ecological stewardship and sustainability,” Henning said. “His commitment goes back all the way to his days as an undergraduate here at Gonzaga when he was a member of GEO (Gonzaga Environmental Organization).”

Daniel Misleh, executive director of the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, thanked the Gonzaga presidents.

“Gonzaga University and Gonzaga Preparatory School are seen not just as a top U.S. university and a top high school, but as Catholic institutions in service to the world,” Misleh said.

The St. Francis Pledge is the principal outreach tool for the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change. Specifically, the St. Francis Pledge asks Catholic individuals, parishes, and institutions to:

• PRAY and reflect on the duty to care for God’s Creation and protect the poor and vulnerable.
• LEARN about and educate others on the causes and moral dimensions of climate change.
• ASSESS how we – as individuals and in our families, parishes and other affiliations – contribute to climate change.
• ACT to change our choices and behaviors to reduce the ways we contribute to climate change.
• ADVOCATE for Catholic principles and priorities in climate change discussions and decisions, especially as they impact the poor and vulnerable.

Related to this event, the program, Gonzaga hosted “Melting Ice, Mending Creation: a Catholic Approach to Climate Change” that evening on campus.

In January, President McCulloh approved Gonzaga’s first comprehensive Climate Action Plan, which aims for Gonzaga to achieve climate neutrality – zero emissions – by 2050. Last year, Gonzaga was named an “EPA Green Power Partner” in recognition of the clean and renewable energy it bought in 2011. Gonzaga and campus partner Zag Dining by Sodexo earned 2012 Recycler of the Year for Higher Education Award for reducing waste 25-30 percent. Gonzaga Prep has boosted its sustainability efforts with multiple initiatives, including solar power improvements and the switch this fall to all students using iPads with digital textbooks iPads.

Click here to view the embedded video.

By Brenna Greene, Class of 2014
Gonzaga News Service

SPOKANE, Wash. – Sitting out a year in any sport is a challenge. Sitting out a year while your team reaches No. 1 in the country for the first time, and earns its first top seed in the NCAA Tournament? Now that is difficult. The time to shine in a Gonzaga uniform has finally come for junior Gerard Coleman, a transfer from Providence College.

Coleman is expected to play a major role in Gonzaga’s offense this season. A wiry and strong “3” guard, he brings a new dimension to the position held last year by Mike Hart, the captain for Sports Illustrated magazine’s 2012-2013 All Glue Guy Team. As a sophomore for the Friars of the Big East, Coleman averaged 13.2 points and 5.0 rebounds and expects to improve those numbers this season.

When asked to describe his style of play, the 6-foot-4-inch Coleman cuts straight to the point. “I’m a scorer, slasher, someone who can get to the rim and make things happen.”

In a recent article in The Spokesman Review, Coleman’s Zagmates described his play in similar ways. For example, senior center Sam Dower Jr. also called him a “slasher” who “pushes the ball like crazy off a rebound.”

It looks like Coleman has used his redshirt year to his advantage, just as former Zag and current Boston Celtic Kelly Olynyk did before his consensus All-American performance last season. Coleman has worked hard on his strength and his outside shot, but says he is most proud of his improvement on defense.

“My defense has come a long ways. They used to show me clips of myself at Providence, and what I used to do on defense opposed to what I do now. I take it a lot more seriously,” says Coleman, a sports management major.  

Coleman has achieved impressive numbers. He averaged 28.5 points in high school in Boston and was rated the No. 2 prospect in New England as a senior. He was named the 33^rd best prospect in the country by Scout.com, No. 54^th best by Slam Magazine, No. 54 in the ESPNU 100, and was ranked No. 58 by Rivals.com.

At Providence, where Coleman became the first true freshman to start in a season-opener since 2005-06, he garnered two Big East Rookie of the Week awards, and averaged double-digits in points per game both seasons.

Recently, a USA Today article also named Coleman an “X-Factor” for the Bulldogs this season.

Despite all of the personal attention around his return, Coleman speaks of his goals in the collective sense, from a team perspective.

“I just want to help this team win as many games as possible and go deep in the tournament,” he said. 

Mary Ritter Heitkemper, Ph.D., director of Gonzaga’s Career Center, conducts a mock job interview with a student. Gonzaga’s increased emphasis on finding students internships is working. Photo by Zack Berlat.

SPOKANE, Wash. – Few words are more affirming to college graduates, their parents and their alma maters than “you’re hired.” In the highly competitive markets for higher education and employment, Gonzaga University is increasing its emphasis on finding internships for students to tilt the odds in their favor when entering the job market.

Student internships and career preparedness constitute one focus of the University’s Strategic Plan under development, said Mary Ritter Heitkemper, Ph.D., director of the Career Center.

“Students recognize internships provide an opportunity to apply and test their knowledge and problem-solving skills in their chosen career field and gain access to full-time opportunities after graduation,” Heitkemper said. “Research indicates employers are increasingly using their internship programs as the primary source for acquiring new talent for full-time positions. Gonzaga students bring a sense of service and commitment to their work. They care about making a difference, and that makes a Zag intern the ideal job candidate.”

Clearly, the initiative is helping. The percentage of Gonzaga students who had internships (paid or unpaid) or jobs rose from 34 percent in 2008 to 51 percent last year. Heitkemper says Gonzaga is on track for 70 percent of its students to experience internships by 2016. Most telling, 91 percent of Gonzaga’s 2012 graduates were working or pursuing service interests when surveyed a year after commencement. 

A 2013 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers indicates employers made full-time offers to 56.5 percent of their interns.

Preliminary data look promising for Gonzaga’s Class of 2013 as well, including these stories:

Dane Pavlik’s two-year internship at Opus Bank was instrumental in securing a position with the bank – a job he created. After interning in two of the bank’s departments, Pavlik, a business administration major, saw the need for a new job and pitched it. Seconds later, Pavlik had the job.

Lise Green’s internship with Gonzaga athletics provided the experience necessary to secure a job with University of Maryland athletics. As a determined freshman, Green emailed the entire Gonzaga athletics staff seeking experience. A sports management major, her persistence led to an internship with Gonzaga’s sports information where she worked for all four years at Gonzaga. At Maryland, she helps mentor at-risk student-athletes.

Antonia Hall credits Gonzaga’s Career Center & GAMP office for helping her get an internship at Levi Strauss this past summer that led to a role as a public relations contractor for the company. A public relations major with a minor in promotions, Hall used the Career Center’s offices for phone and Skype interviews, and for help polishing her resume. Also, Gonzaga’s speed mock interviews helped her succeed, Hall said.

Madeline Nolan learned about the importance of internship from GAMP (Gonzaga Alumni Mentoring Program). To pursue her dream job in theatre, Nolan knew she had to start networking. Eventually she was offered an internship with Seattle Children’s Theatre in the Promotions and Development department. Once her internship was completed, she was offered the job of House Manager for the 2013-2014 season. Nolan, a theatre arts major, is also currently interning at Pacific Northwest Ballet promoting The Nutcracker and works as the Public Relations Director for Tenacity Theatre Collective.

Many other recent Gonzaga alumni (and their employers) who have received jobs through their internships, including (among others): Michael De Haan (electrical engineering major) Parametrix; Brendan Krieger (business administration) The Boeing Company; Emily Wakefield (political science and history, international relations minor) The Artisans; Tessa LaVergne (broadcasting) KREM-TV; Stuart McDonald (business administration) ZenithOptimedia; Emily Oller (history and journalism) The Bend Bulletin; Agnes Pomykala (business administration) Alaska Airlines; Kaitlin Pursley (business administration) Microsoft; Drew Reeves (broadcasting and journalism, minor in public relations) KXLY-TV; Emily Rosenberger (public relations) Nike; Greg Talbott (broadcasting, minor in journalism) KNDU-TV; Kelsey Wickman (public relations, minors in promotions and dance) MSL Seattle; and Joe Worthey (business administration) Webtrends.

Gonzaga opened applications Oct. 1 for students to begin – in fall 2014 – its two-year program or traditional three-year sequence.

SPOKANE, Wash. – Innovating to address the challenges of legal education, Gonzaga University School of Law will become the first Pacific Northwest school to offer a two-year Juris Doctor degree. Gonzaga opened applications Oct. 1 for students to begin either its two-year program or traditional three-year sequence in 2014.

Challenges with the nation’s legal education system are documented in the recent draft report and recommendations from the American Bar Association Task Force on the Future of Legal Education, which recommends multiple changes in the wake of sharp enrollment declines, rising tuition and student debt, and “dramatic changes” in the legal job market.

Gonzaga Law’s new two-year path toward a J.D. degree models innovation within existing accreditation standards. 

“Our new accelerated program provides motivated students with the option to complete their legal degree in only two years, with exceptional experiential and practice preparation requirements,” said Jane Korn, dean of Gonzaga School of Law. “This provides an extra year of opportunity for students. This program will speed the process without sacrificing educational quality.”

President Barack Obama joined in the debate recently, suggesting U.S. legal curricula should take two years. Dean Korn agrees that a two-year law degree could work for highly motivated students who will have virtually no break. The ABA accredits law schools, and requires 58,000 minutes of instruction for a J.D. degree.

Dean Korn believes the three-year program will remain an option for law students who wish to follow the traditional academic calendar.

“I have been in legal education for over 25 years and I do not think it is possible to have someone learn the theory and doctrine of the law as well as develop the practical skills that are deemed necessary in today’s law practice in two traditional (nine-month) academic years,” Dean Korn noted.

Gonzaga Law’s Accelerated J.D. program has three terms per calendar year. To address the concern that students in accelerated programs may not have as much opportunity for internships and externships, Gonzaga’s two-year program requires 12 credits of experiential learning and allows for up to 15 credits of practical, hands-on training. Also, the two-year program requires four semesters of legal research and writing – double that of many law schools.

“It is the responsibility of law schools to find solutions for the challenges of legal education,” Dean Korn said. “While it would be irresponsible to cut the education students receive, it would be equally imprudent to fail to adapt to the changing needs of the legal industry and law students.”

The ABA report does not directly address President Obama’s recent suggestion for a two-year curriculum.

However, Task Force Chair Randall T. Shepard, former chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, called the idea  “plausible enough that it’s worth examining,” notes the Wall Street Journal’s Sept. 20 Law Blog.

Find more information online about the Accelerated J.D. Program.

Peter Kareiva, chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy and Gonzaga’s 2013 O’Leary Distinguished Scientist, meets with Gonzaga students. Photo by Rajah Bose

By Peter Tormey
SPOKANE, Wash. – Peter Kareiva, chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy and Gonzaga University’s 2013 O’Leary Distinguished Scientist, said an Earth Genome Project, similar to the Human Genome Project, could revitalize the environmental movement.

Delivering Gonzaga’s 28th annual O’Leary Lecture on Monday, Kareiva said he believes such an epic undertaking could do for the planet what the HGP has done for world medicine.

“The Human Genome Project has changed the face of medicine,” he said. “The Earth Genome Project has the same potential. I hope we announce it in Stockholm in spring 2015.”

The HGP is considered a major feat of scientific exploration and discovery. Completed in 2003, the international research effort to sequence and map all of the human genes – collectively known as the genome – gave scientists the ability, for the first time, to read nature’s complete genetic blueprint for a human being.

In his lecture titled, “Rethink, Revitalize, and Rebuilding the Environmental Movement: A Call for Tolerance and Nontraditional Partnerships,” Kareiva said the Earth Genome Project could prove transformative by enabling large-scale adoption of “nature capital” considerations for public-private decision-making by providing transparent, unbiased, easy-to-use information on impacts to the planet.

Named a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2011 for his excellence in scientific research, Kareiva said the Earth Genome Project could engage people, business, and government — providing a systemic approach to revitalizing the environmental movement. 

Kareiva opened the lecture with a big-screen image of a youthful Gaylord Nelson, considered the father of Earth Day, who served as The Wilderness Society’s counselor after a career as a U.S. senator and governor of Wisconsin. The image included the following quote from Nelson in 1969: “I am convinced that the same concern the youth of this nation took in changing this nation’s priorities on the war in Vietnam can be shown for the environment.”

Nelson came up with the idea of Earth Day, an enormous success since its inception on April 22, 1970, which American Heritage Magazine called “one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy.”

Kareiva, an undergraduate when Earth Day was initiated, called the first Earth Day “astonishing” in its impact.

“They had 12,000 events, Congress took the day off, and two-thirds of Congress spoke at an Earth Day event about the importance of the environment. The Today Show covered it for 10 hours,” Kareiva said. Early efforts contributed to landmark legislation protecting the environment, including passage of the Environmental Protection Act (1970), the Clean Air Act (1970), the Clean Water Act (1972) and the Endangered Species Act (1973).

“These changed the world,” Kareiva said. “The air got cleaner and the water got cleaner.”

Kareiva suggested broad ways in which the environmental movement should adapt to remain vital and effective: embrace technology and ingenuity, partner with major global corporations and end the “demonization and villainization” of corporations, broaden outreach efforts to be more “big tent” to expand the movement’s base, and recognize the intrinsic economic value of sustainability.

“Nature has material value and if we only recognize that people would care about the environment,” Kareiva said, pointing to a cover of The Economist magazine picturing a dollar sign overlaid on a tropical rainforest. “Economics is not just about dollars, it’s about values.”

Kareiva called major global corporations “one of our most important allies in conservation,” and compared corporations working for sustainability to “keystone species” that provide major ecological benefit. “Keystone species are so important that if you remove them you would really notice the difference,” he said.

Companies focused on sustainability perform better because they attract and retain the best employees, encourage a culture of innovation, offer consumers and investors more choice, reduce risk, and have great social license to enter new countries, he said.

“Brand matters,” Kareiva said. “Brand is probably now, in the modern world, the most important asset a company has.”

Click to hear GU students in the Big Bing Theory sing a holiday classic;
it’s Day 20 of Gonzaga’s special online Advent Calendar.

SPOKANE, Wash. – Although Jesuit poet and priest Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) never published while alive, save for a few uncharacteristic poems scattered in periodicals, his posthumous literary fame established him among the most important 19th-century poets. Reflecting on its Catholic, Jesuit and humanistic mission at Christmas, Gonzaga offers the following poem written by Father Hopkins, S.J., titled “Christmas Prayer.” Warm Christmas blessings to all alumni and friends, students, faculty and staff.

Christmas Prayer

Moonless darkness stands between.
Past, the Past, no more be seen!
But the Bethlehem star may lead me
To the sight of Him Who freed me
From the self that I have been.
Make me pure, Lord: Thou art Holy;
Make me meek, Lord: Thou wert lowly;
Now beginning, and always,
Now begin, on Christmas day.

– Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J.

Gonzaga maintains the Gerard Manley Hopkins Collection – one of the world’s foremost Hopkins research archives. A major part of the archives is the Bischoff Research Collection, named for Fr. Anthony Bischoff, S.J. (1910-1993), a member of Gonzaga’s English department who started the collection by gathering Hopkins-related materials in the late 1940s as a doctoral candidate at Yale University (Ph.D., 1952). Fr. Bischoff continued collecting widely until the early 1990s. Gonzaga’s collection serves as a resource for Hopkins’ scholars worldwide.  

Below are 25 special links to the University’s Advent Calendar.

 Special Links to Gonzaga’s Advent Calendar

1. Advent Sunday: Peace
2. Deck Your Screens
3. Global Guessing Game
4. Cutest Critters
5. Give Some Zag Cheer
6. Match Campus Photos
7. Zag Family Fun
8. Advent Sunday: Hope
9. Snowball Spike
10. Bing Crosby’s Boyhood Home
11. Make a St. Al’s Gingerbread House
12. 50 Years of Gonzaga-in-Florence
13. Caring About Our Community
14. Shake, Battle and Roll
15. Advent Sunday: Joy
16. Build the John. J. Hemmingson University Center
17. A Thankful Heart
18. Flat Spike Goes Global
19. Million Dollar Opus Prize
20. Christmas Cheer, BBT Style
21. Holiday Word Search
22. Advent Sunday: Love
23. Global Celebration, Global Education
24. Reason for the Season
25. Merry Christmas!

SPOKANE, Wash. – M. Shawn Copeland, professor of Catholic systematic theology at Boston College, will deliver Gonzaga University’s 38th annual Flannery Lecture at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 20 in the Cataldo Hall Globe Room. The lecture, titled “Toward A Mystical-Political Theology of Solidarity,” is free and open to the public.

Just over 50 years ago in a sermonic address, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., sketched a dream of human and humane living in which “justice would roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24). King’s dream called for purposeful, hope-filled, and sustained action in construction of social justice. Professor Copeland’s lecture asserts that for such action to be effective, it ought to be grounded in certain fundamentals – compassion, conversation, and solidarity. Moreover, the lecture proposes a connection between King’s notion of the beloved community and a notion of the Mystical Body of Christ.

Professor Copeland is a former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), and a former Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium, an interdisciplinary learned association of Black Catholic scholars. A prolific scholar, she has authored more than 100 publications including “Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race and Being,” and “The Subversive Power of Love: The Vision of Henriette Delille.”

In addition, she is the recipient of five honorary degrees as well as the Yves Congar Award for Excellence in Theology from Barry University, Miami, and the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Black Religious Scholars Group of the American Academy of Religion. Her research interests include: shifts in theological understanding of the human person and accords particular attention to body, gender, and race; the African American Catholic experience, and political or praxis-based theologies.

Gonzaga’s Flannery Lecture, which aims to further excellence in theological study and teaching at Gonzaga, is made possible through a gift of the late Maud and Milo Flannery of Spokane. The Flannery Lecture is delivered each year by an outstanding Catholic theologian and presented to benefit as wide an audience as possible.

For more information, contact Jackie Fulton in the Gonzaga religious studies department at (509) 313-6782 or via email.

Click here to view the embedded video.

By Peter Tormey
SPOKANE, Wash. – If “all the world’s a stage,” as Shakespeare famously wrote, it’s no wonder Father Jack Bentz, S.J. plays his part with such natural grace. After all, the 1985 Gonzaga University graduate with a double major in English and theatre has found being a Jesuit the ideal role – one that combines his love of Jesus and the stage.

Fr. Bentz, who came to Gonzaga three years ago as vocation director for the Oregon Province Jesuits, finished directing a run of “Good People” at Interplayers Theatre on Feb. 8.

“It’s squarely part of my ministry. It’s squarely part of who I am in the world as a Jesuit,” he said. “I’ve trained as a theatre artist, that is what my undergraduate work was about. I went to acting school in New York and then worked and started a couple of theatres before joining the Jesuits in my early 30s.”

Fr. Bentz has practiced his theatre ministry in the jungles of Honduras, in Mexico, and in Serbia, helping cultures to understand how the art form can begin to stitch together communities torn asunder by war, poverty or other strife.

He has done bilingual theatre work throughout California and in Seattle, and Yakima, Wash., helping immigrant populations and other communities encounter each other. Last year, he wrote a play called “Full Measure,” which looks at both sides of the same-sex marriage issue and played two priests on both sides of the debate. He’s helped found five different theaters, directed numerous plays, taught acting, and was assistant to the resident director of “The Lion King” on Broadway.

As being a Jesuit means doing the magis – a Latin term meaning the more universal good – Fr. Bentz also serves as chaplain for the Gonzaga School of Law, Madonna Residence Hall, and the Zags men’s basketball team. His leadership in Jesuit vocations takes up most of his time, and his ingenuity in that work has led to some new approaches to campus discernment – ideas that are being used at other schools in the West. One innovation in particular is a twice-monthly discernment meeting for young men at Gonzaga who kick around the idea of becoming Jesuits.

“I came to Gonzaga because I know the quality of the students here and that they are open to the question of becoming a Jesuit,” he said. “And why wouldn’t graduates of Gonzaga become Jesuits on a more regular basis? It’s a great life.”

Having a Jesuit pontiff, Pope Francis, also helps vocations.

“Francis is making a difference in the Church but he’s also making a difference in Jesuit vocations,” he said.

Born and raised into a cattle ranching family with six siblings in a part of Eastern Oregon so remote it’s referred to as “where God lost his shoes,” Fr. Bentz says he sees God revealed through an ongoing openness to Christ.

“It’s by us being willing to invite him into our lives.”

One useful way to think of prayer is as opening the door to Christ each morning, he said. 

“It’s getting that door open that’s important,” he says. The door may represent our worry, anxiety, self-centeredness, anger, resentment or other useless feelings that can block our spiritual development, he says.

“My prayer practice is opening that door, and the rest of the day Christ walks in,” he said. “Prayer is at least two pieces: petition and praise. Petition, I think that’s good and I do a certain amount of that. Praise is a much larger piece – lots of gratitude and thankfulness for the life I have.”

The Jesuits are grateful for an engaging leader like Fr. Jack Bentz – in the role of his life, acting for the Jesuits, as directed by Jesus.  

Click here to view the embedded video.

SPOKANE, Wash. – This fall, Gonzaga University will host the 2014 Opus Prize, one of the world’s most important faith-based humanitarian honors with a top award of $1 million, and faculty, staff and students are embracing the transformative opportunities it offers to learn directly from some of our world’s top entrepreneurial humanitarians.

Gonzaga’s selection to administer the Opus Prize and present a public award ceremony in October provides a unique living laboratory for Gonzaga faculty, staff and students to study some of the world’s most innovative humanitarian leaders making a difference. Among the most sought-after opportunities, Gonzaga this month selected seven students, three faculty members and one staff representative who will travel in teams to finalists’ work sites to assess their efforts. The teams were chosen from more than 70 students and 35 faculty and staff who applied.

Many other Gonzaga community members are engaged in the project, helping to design and organize learning opportunities as well as the campus welcome and engagement with the finalists.

Three finalists and one alternate for the award were chosen (from 26 nominations) in January by a panel of 15 distinguished jurors – selected by Gonzaga – who met on campus. The Opus Prize Foundation will select the primary award winner by late summer based, in part, on the judgment of the Gonzaga teams that will have evaluated the finalists’ work. The two runner-ups will receive $100,000 each. The names and countries of the award finalists will remain confidential until October. 

Gonzaga Evaluation Teams Chosen

In March, Lazarina Topuzova, assistant professor of organizational leadership, will accompany and support students Meaghan Driscoll, Carson Schneider and Hayley Medeiros to the workplace of a finalist in North America who works to support and integrate incarcerated women into society. In May, business-marketing Professor Peggy Sue Loroz and Luisa Gallagher, service immersion coordinator for Gonzaga’s Center for Community Action and Service-Learning, will travel with students Jalene Herron and Aaron Danowski to the site of a finalist who creates educational opportunities and supports health care for children and their families in Asia. Greg Gordon, assistant professor of environmental studies, also departs in May with students Francis Chau and Allison Chra to Southeast Asia to evaluate the work of a finalist who supports human rights and sustainable educational and environmental improvements.

The trips will be led by Don Neureuther, executive director of the Opus Prize Foundation, and will include members of the Opus Prize Board of Directors.

“We want to find the next Mother Teresa, the social entrepreneur, an unsung hero, who is transforming lives of poor,” said Neureuther, who came to campus Feb. 10 to train the groups.

The private, independent and nonprofit Opus Prize Foundation was established in 1994 by a Midwest Catholic family that wishes to remain in the background as it provides “a cannon shot” gift that meaningfully honors and supports individuals and organizations making substantial changes in transforming the lives of the poor, Neureuther said.

Early on, Father Steve Privett, S.J., outgoing president of University of San Francisco and a 1966 Gonzaga alumnus, encouraged the family to use Catholic universities in the process.

“The family said, ‘that make a lot of sense,’ and it’s one of the best decisions that the board of directors ever made. We have since then partnered with a different Catholic university every year, from different parts of the country, different sizes – some are large, some are small, Jesuit and non-Jesuit,” Neureuther said. 

Unsung Heroes Will Engage Community

Opportunities for the Gonzaga and Spokane communities to engage with and learn from the Opus Prize finalists run from Oct.14-16 and include classroom discussions and presentations – culminating in a public awards ceremony at Martin Woldson Theatre at The Fox. This is the first time Gonzaga has been chosen to administer the prize – an honor that aligns ideally with Gonzaga’s mission to educate women and men for others.

“We anticipate that the stories of the finalists and the profound good they are doing in the world will inspire our own campus community and residents throughout the Inland Northwest toward greater awareness and support of social justice work worldwide,” said Michael Herzog, Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh’s chief of staff, and project leader.

For more information, please contact Michael Herzog at (509) 313-6104 or via email.

Photo by Austin Ilg, Gonzaga Bulletin.

SPOKANE, Wash. (Courtesy GoZags.com) — The Gonzaga University women’s basketball team made school history Monday, receiving the program’s highest seed ever when the NCAA announced the pairings for the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs, the No. 6 seed in the Lincoln Region, will face 11th-seeded James Madison University in Sunday’s opening round in College Station, Texas.

Tipoff for Sunday’s matchup is slated for 2:30 p.m. Pacific. ESPN will broadcast the game, however, early-round games are often subject to whip-around coverage. This year’s Final Four will take place in Nashville, Tenn.

This season marks Gonzaga’s sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and seventh overall, with every berth in the field coming since 2007. Prior to this selection, the Zags’ highest seed came in 2010, when they received a No. 7 seed and made their first Sweet Sixteen. They have advanced at least that far in three of their last four trips to the NCAAs, with the highpoint being an Elite Eight appearance in 2011.

For the first time since their current NCAA Tournament streak began in 2009, the Bulldogs (29-4) will have to travel outside the state of Washington for the competition’s early rounds. Sunday’s showdown will mark just the second meeting between Gonzaga and James Madison, a school of nearly 20,000 students in Harrisonburg, Va. The previous matchup occurred in 1996 at the Cablevision Classic in Lincoln, Neb. James Madison won 72-66.

The Dukes, 28-5 overall, won the Colonial Athletic Association’s regular season and tournament championships. They are making their ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but first since 2011.

Kirby Burkholder, the CAA Player of the Year, paces the Dukes’ attack. The senior guard averages 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Three other players also average double-figure scoring for JMU, including Precious Hall (13.6), Toia Giggetts (13.2) and Jazmon Gwathmey (10.1). The Dukes also boast CAA Defensive Player of the Year Nikki Newman.

Gonzaga qualified for the NCAAs by claiming the West Coast Conference’s automatic bid. The Zags snagged their sixth WCC Tournament championship by winning three games in Las Vegas, including a 71-57 victory over BYU in the title tilt.

The Bulldogs also finished 16-2 in the WCC en route to their 10th consecutive regular-season title. That string of conference championships is the seventh-longest streak in the history of women’s college basketball.

The winner of the Gonzaga/James Madison game will play either Texas A&M, a no. 3 seed from the Southeastern Conference, or North Dakota, the No. 14 seed from the Big Sky.

All-Session tickets for the NCAA Tournament can be purchased through Gonzaga by clicking here.

Sam Grashio (left) with the late Gonzaga Vice President Father Art Dussault, S.J. Photos courtesy Gonzaga University Archives.

SPOKANE, Wash. – The heroism of Spokane native and Gonzaga alumnus Sam Grashio unfolds in a new Public TV documentary “4-4-43: Escape in the Pacific,” which chronicles the only known successful group escape from a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War II. The Gonzaga University Alumni Association and KSPS Public Television presented a special screening of the film including discussion with John D. Lukacs, whose book inspired the documentary, at 7 p.m., Thursday, May 29 in Gonzaga’s Cataldo Hall.

KSPS has aired the documentary twice (May 25 and May 28) and will air it again on KSPS World (Ch. 7.2 over the air / Comcast Ch. 313) on Thursday, June 5 at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.; Friday, June 6 at 1 p.m.; and Sunday, June 8 at 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Northwest Profiles presents the heroic story of Spokane veterans Grashio and Jack Donohoe who survived the Bataan Death March in World War II at 9:30 p.m., Friday, June 6 on KSPS. On the web: ksps.org/northwestprofiles. Also on ksps.org: watch full-length interviews with Grashio and Donohoe, recorded in 1995.

Based upon Lukacs’ book, “Escape from Davao: The Forgotten Story of the Most Daring Prison Break of the Pacific War” (2010, Simon & Schuster), the film chronicles events leading up to the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, and tells how 10 American POWs – survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March and the Fall of Corregidor – and two Filipino convicts planned and carried out the courageous escape from the Davao Penal Colony.

The tale unfolds through the story of its leaders, swashbuckling Texan, Lt. Col. William Edwin Dyess, and Capt. Grashio, who becomes the group’s spiritual guide and eventual storyteller. Once returned home, Grashio’s emotional speeches galvanize the American public to greater prosecution of the Pacific war and lead to significant changes in U.S. government wartime censorship policies.  The escape of the “Davao Dozen” and the revelations that followed, Lukacs asserts, changed the course of the war.

Grashio (’38) graduated from Gonzaga Prep in 1936, retired from the Air Force in 1965, and worked for nearly 20 years as special assistant to the president of Gonzaga University before his death in 1999. Grashio appears throughout the film in wartime newsreels, radio broadcasts and still photographs. His widow Devonia Grashio and squadron hero Jack Donohoe, also a Spokane native, appear in the film and have been invited to the May 29 event.

“We invite the community, especially members of Spokane’s military community and their families, to join us to experience together this powerful documentary and to take the opportunity to hear from the author of the story,” said Drew Rieder with Gonzaga’s Alumni Association. “KSPS and Gonzaga intend this evening to be a salute to all who serve our country.”

“Stories like these can’t be told often enough,” said Gary Stokes, general manager of KSPS.  “KSPS is proud to provide a home for excellent documentaries like this one that help put a face on history.”

“Escape in the Pacific: 1943” is an official selection for the prestigious 2014 GI Film Festival in Washington, D.C., May 19-25.

Seating is limited and reservations are requested. To request reservations visit: www.ZagsOnline.org/Escape1943 or call (509) 313-5999.

Florentines Share ‘Renaissance within’

By Rajah Bose
FLORENCE, Italy – On her final night here, Gonzaga senior Lindsey Kranz (’15) had dinner at the Palazzo Corsini with more than 350 alumni and friends. Some had originally come to Florence in 1963, and some, like Kranz, had finished finals the week prior. The regal dinner Saturday, April 26 crowned a series of events celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Gonzaga-in-Florence.

Guests gathered on the terrace of the Renaissance-era building overlooking the Arno River, reminisced, reconnected with friends, favorite professors and Italian haunts before Dean Pat Burke welcomed everyone into the ballroom.

The festivities had begun days earlier at the Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall where Michelangelo’s David statue once stood. Trumpeters heralded the opening reception as local politicians joined Florence faculty and alumni in a great hall with a ceiling painted like that of the Sistine Chapel. The two days of events that followed included tours led by Florence faculty, a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Giuseppe Betori of Florence, classes, and dinners.

Henry Batterman, who has taught Italian for more than 20 years here, spoke of the program’s changes and said online social media has made authentic cultural experiences a bit more difficult.

“It makes no sense to talk about turning back the clock, but it is our job as educators to offer students the same kinds of experiences and values which made your time in Italy such an enriching and important part of your lives,” said Batterman. He credited the program’s founders for embracing learning through cultural experience, recognizing Jesuit Fathers Neil McCluskey, Clement Regimbal, Tony Lehmann, Anthony Via and Bruno Segatta.

Junior Erin Murphy (’15) couldn’t decide what she loved most about the Florence program: watching sunsets overlooking the city, gelato, warm croissants from the bakery at 3 a.m., waking up for Italian class, and city tours with art history Professor Mercedes Carrara. The year had gone too fast, Murphy said, but lessons were learned.

“Gonzaga-in-Florence has taught me to truly be passionate,” Murphy said. “It has shown me things about myself that I never knew and has really made it clear to me what is important in life. I have made friends and memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Tim Barnard (’71-’72) spoke of finding common ground, confidence and independence through exploration.

“We learned the journey was more important than the destination, we found true friends and relationships with depth and warmth in each other,” said Barnard, who credited all of the many people who have made Florence a life-changing experience the past five decades. Barnard said he and other students came to the place where the Renaissance began and later realized the experience shaped their own internal renaissance.

“It was the renaissance within that was so important,” Barnard said. “And that, my fellow Florentines, is the thing we share: the renaissance within.”

President Thayne McCulloh also thanked all the many people whose generous contributions of time, talent and resources have helped the program flourish. To close the celebration, President McCulloh offered a special toast to the nearly 400 attendees saluting Florence at 50 with best wishes for its continued success.

“This isn’t the end of my Florence experience,” said Kranz who spent her final evening in Florence entranced in conversations with alumni from across the decades. “To see everyone come back across the ocean to this reunion, you realize this isn’t just a few months of my life. This will have an impact on the rest of it.”

Please like Gonzaga-in-Florence on Facebook and follow on Twitter for updates, photos and stories from the Reunion. If you would like to “G-I-F,” or “Give It Forward” to tomorrow’s Gonzaga-in-Florence students, click here. Learn more at the GIF 50th Reunion Web page.

Gonzaga junior guard Shaniqua Nilles. (Gonzaga photo by Mark Rawson, 2016.)

Zags Focus on Basketball Basics, Intensity

By Eli Francovich
Class of 2015

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Gonzaga Coach Lisa Fortier said the No. 11-seed Zags’ game against Oregon State on Sunday will be just like any other game, except this is the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and it’s a home game for the No. 3-seed Beavers who feature one of the best defenses in the nation.

Coach Lisa Fortier. (Gonzaga photo by Eli Francovich)

“At this point it really doesn’t matter … every game is zero-zero at the start,” Fortier said Saturday as the Zags met the media. “There are a lot of opportunities for both teams; it comes down to whoever wants it the most.”

The 25-7 Zags will take on the 27-4 Beavers at Gill Coliseum. OSU went to the tournament last year for the first time since 1996. Gonzaga has participated in March Madness eight out of the last nine years.

The Beavers, whom Gonzaga last played in 2004, are ranked sixth in the nation in field goal defense – holding opponents to a shooting average of 34.5 percent from the field. OSU also grabs an average of nine more rebounds than its opponents.

Much of their defensive dominance starts with 6-foot-6-inch Ruth Hamblin who has blocked 188 shots this year and averages 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Junior guard Jamie Weisner chips in an average of 13.7 points per game and sophomore Sydney Wiese averages 11.9.

The Zags also have three players averaging double-digits in scoring: Sunny Greinacher, 13.7 points; Keani Albanez, 12.8 points; and Elle Tinkle, 11.8. Four other Zags average at least 6 points a game.

The skill, size and athleticism of OSU won’t change Gonzaga’s overall game plan, Fortier said, adding the Zags will play aggressive team defense and contest all shots. Like Fortier, Shaniqua Nilles believes beating OSU will come down to the fundamentals.

“They (OSU) are playing on their home floor, so they are going to be aggressive, hyped-up and have a home-crowd advantage,” Nilles said. “We have to match their intensity and make sure we check out/box out on every possession. Team defense and toughness is the key to staying in the game and playing in the NCAA Tournament as long as you can.”

That energy, and defense, was evident in the Zags’ 82-69 opening-round victory Friday over George Washington. Gonzaga started the game on a 7-0 run, and hounded the Colonials throughout the game with strong defensive pressure. Fortier isn’t concerned with matching that intensity against OSU.

“I think that if you don’t get excited to play in the NCAA Tournament then you basically don’t have a pulse,” Fortier said. “This is what we practice for and play for all yearlong.”

OSU is wary of Gonzaga’s offensive potential, specifically Keani Albanez and the team’s passing ability.

“Keani Albanez is such an explosive scorer; we have to do a good job limiting her,” said OSU Coach Scott Rueck. “When their point guards are allowed to create that makes them better.”

While the challenge is still, the Zags like their chances.

“We are excited to be here,” Fortier said. “We are proud of how we played yesterday, but we know we have a long road ahead of us today in practice and we have to come out with the same kind of intensity tomorrow.”

SPOKANE, Wash. – Mark your calendars for Gonzaga Day on Saturday, Feb. 13 – the fourth annual celebration of Gonzaga University for students, alumni, parents, friends, employees, devoted supporters and casual fans. This year’s theme is “Academic Innovation,” a priority of Gonzaga’s capital campaign, Gonzaga Will.

On Gonzaga Day, the Gonzaga women’s basketball team takes on University of Portland in the McCarthey Athletic Center; tipoff is at 2 p.m. The Gonzaga men play at Southern Methodist University in a game broadcast on ESPN2 starting at 7 p.m. (PT).

Gonzaga Day is a great opportunity for Zags worldwide to unite in spirit and gather in person at alumni celebrations across the country to commemorate all that makes Gonzaga exceptional.

For more information about the excitement planned for Gonzaga Day on Feb. 13, visit www.gonzaga.edu/gonzagaday.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As part of Gonzaga’s annual Advent Calendar, President Thayne M. McCulloh, D.Phil., and Chancellor Father Bernard Coughlin, S.J., offer a special Christmas blessing.

Dennis Horn (Gonzaga photo by Rajah Bose)

SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga University is mourning the loss of Dennis Horn, a beloved leader among the University family and dean emeritus of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Horn, 73, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on May 11.

“Dennis Horn truly lived the Jesuit spirit of Gonzaga,” said Stephen E. Silliman, Ph.D., current dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. “He was an extraordinary gentleman, engineer, and mentor.”

“You won’t find a better person to work with or to be around. Dennis will be sorely missed,” said Paul Nowak, Ph.D., associate dean, professor and chair of the civil engineering department at Gonzaga.

Horn’s career spanned more than four decades in both the public and private sectors with roles in teaching, research, consulting, senior management and administration. He received his bachelor’s degree in geological engineering from Princeton University and held a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University department of environmental engineering sciences and water resources. Before coming to Gonzaga in 1997, he served on the faculties of Northeastern University and the University of Idaho, and was the dean of engineering, mathematics and science at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Under Horn’s 15 years of leadership, Gonzaga’s School of Engineering and Applied Science saw enrollment more than double. He oversaw major renovations and an expansion of the Herak Center facilities along with the 2008 construction of the PACCAR Center for Applied Science, Gonzaga’s first certified “green” building, which received the prestigious “Gold” certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system of the U.S. Green Building Council.

“Dennis Horn’s leadership flowed from his vision of the possible that was informed by his artist’s sensibility. That combination made him a powerfully effective leader for the School of Engineering and Applied Science during his tenure as dean,” said Academic Vice President Patricia O’Connell Killen.

Horn developed and led several programs successfully through the accreditation process and guided the school to achieve new levels of excellence. The final year before Horn’s retirement in 2012, the school was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the No. 17 best undergraduate engineering program in the nation (among schools without a doctorate in engineering).

Horn also served on numerous University committees; he chaired the search for a dean of the Gonzaga-in-Florence study abroad program and was active in the community, serving as a member (and ultimately chair) of the Army Science Board, a 100-person advisory board to the secretary of the Army. Horn was awarded the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal in 1990.

The Dr. Dennis R. and Sandra W. Horn Engineering in Florence Scholarship was endowed in honor of Horn’s retirement in 2012 and has since provided funding for multiple engineering students who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to study abroad in the program Horn himself helped to launch.

“Dennis’ time and efforts with his colleagues and friends left a permanent impression,” said Massimo Capobianchi, Ph.D., professor and chair of the department of mechanical engineering at GU. “He will be missed by all, both as a colleague in our common endeavor and as a friend.”

Dennis is survived by his wife, Sandra, and his sons Darrin, Kevin, Christian, Brendon, Colin (’09) and Justin. Cards and expressions of condolences may be sent to: 7019 N Fischer Ct, Spokane, WA, 99208.  Memorial gifts may be made to the Dr. Dennis R. and Sandra W. Horn Engineering in Florence Endowed Scholarship at Gonzaga University, Office of University Advancement, 502 E Boone Avenue, Spokane WA 99258-0098.

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