Lute Library | News

Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen

<b>Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen</b>, professor of early and medieval Christian history, has a chapter under Part V: Reception in “The Oxford Handbook of the Pelagian Controversy”.

Anissa Rogers

7th edition of her textbook, “Human Behavior in the Social Environment” with Routledge Publishers.

Anissa Rogers

Anissa Rogers, chair of the Master of Social Work program and professor of social work, published the 7th edition of her textbook, “Human Behavior in the Social Environment” with Routledge Publishers.

Michelle Ceynar

Michelle Ceynar, professor of psychology, published “Early Psychological Contributions from Women of Color.” Volume II with, R. S. Mason and J. Grahe, through Routledge.

Justin Eckstein

Justin Eckstein, associate professor of communication, published “Sound Tactics — Auditory Power in Political Protests,” through Penn State University Press. He appeared on Fox 13 to discuss his book.

LeBron Sims ’93

LeBron Sims ’93, who was in the School of Nursing while at PLU, published his first novel, “The Queen’s Sacrifice.” It’s the story of a Jewish family living on a small farm near Budapest in the 1880’s.

Kevin O’Brien

Kevin O’Brien, professor of Christian and environmental ethics, published “Meeting the Enemy: The Fossil Fuel Industry and the Power of Christian Climate Resistance” through Fortress Press.

Jessica Sklar

Jessica Sklar, professor of mathematics, published “First-Semester Abstract Algebra: A Structural Approach”, 2nd edition through LuLu.

Mary Ellen Biggerstaff

Mary Ellen Biggerstaff, associate professor of nursing, published “Radical Nurses: 28 Stories of Resistance, Reform & Revolution.”

Sara Finley

Book cover of “The Oxford Handbook of Vowel Harmony.”

Sara Finley

Sara Finley, associate professor psychology, recently published two chapters in the “The Oxford Handbook of Vowel Harmony.” This comprehensive guide contains over 75 chapters from researchers around the world. The chapters are “Vowel Harmony in Optimally Theory” and “Psycholinguistic Approaches to Vowel Harmony.”

Douglas Henning ’73 , ’78

from there to here book cover by Douglas Henning.

Douglas Henning ’73 , ’78

Douglas Henning, ’73, ’78 published a memoir, “from there to here: Many Threads of Deconstruction. A Memoir of Spiritual, Psychological, Social Justice Reflections Appalachian Southern Baptist through Bienam, Jesus People to Buddhist Christian.” His story has threads stretching through Vietnam, Jesus People, to Buddhist Christian, each transition motivated by social justice concerns, especially for LGBTQA+ and people of color.

Cara (MacDonald) Meredith '10

Church Camp book cover, by Cara Meredith

Cara (MacDonald) Meredith '10

Cara (MacDonald) Meredith ’01 second book, “Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation” was released on April 29 from Broadleaf. The book, which is part spiritual memoir, journalism, and theology, includes interviews with several Lutes and was dedicated to fellow Lute and camp staffer Michael Weldon ’02.

Micah Miller

Origen of Alexandria and the Theology of the Holy Spirit book cover.

Micah Miller

Micah Miller, visiting assistant professor of religion, released his book Origen of Alexandria and the Theology of the Holy Spirit through Oxford University Press.

Michael J. Halvorson & Shelly Cano Kurtz ’98

This Little World: A How-To Guide for Social Innovators book cover.

Michael J. Halvorson & Shelly Cano Kurtz ’98

Michael J. Halvorson, professor of history and director of innovative studies, and Shelly Cano Kurtz ’98, an entrepreneur and start-up coach, co-authored This Little World: A How-To Guide for Social Innovators. Published by Routledge, the guidebook is designed for technologists, leaders, and employees in the social impact sector and anyone with aspirations for purpose-driven outcomes in their work.

Kevin O’Brien

Grounding Religion: A Field Guide to the Study of Religion and Ecology book cover.

Kevin O’Brien

Kevin O’Brien, professor of Christian and environmental ethics, co-edited the book Grounding Religion: A Field Guide to the Study of Religion and Ecology (3rd edition) with Whitney Bauman and Richard Bohannon, published by Routledge.

Teresa (Healy) Janssen '08

Teresa (Healy) Janssen '08

Teresa (Healy) Janssen ’08 released her historical novel, The Ways of Water, with publisher She Writes Press. The novel tells a coming-of-age story inspired by her grandmother’s early life in the American Southwest at the turn of the last century.

Brenda Miller

The Next Draft: Inspiring Craft Talks from the Rainier Writing Workshop book cover.

Brenda Miller

The Rainier Writing Workshop, PLU’s low-residency MFA in creative writing program, published The Next Draft: Inspiring Craft Talks from the Rainier Writing Workshop. The collection features “morning craft talks” from RWW’s annual summer residency delivered by the renowned authors who teach at the prestigious program. The book was edited by longtime MFA faculty member Brenda Miller and published by University of Michigan Press.

Rick Barot

Rick Barot, professor of English and MFA director, published Moving the Bones with Milkweed Editions. The book has been described as a vulnerable and honest collection of poems exploring lineage, love, and the pandemic, from one of the most acclaimed poets of his generation.

Jen Soriano

Jen Soriano MFA ’18 released Nervous: Essays on Heritage and Healing. Published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins, the collection uses science, history and family stories to bring to light the lingering impacts of transgenerational trauma.

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha MFA ’17 published a book of poetry titled Kaan and Her Sisters with Trio House Press.

Erin Hollowell

Erin Hollowell MFA ’09 published Corvus and Crater with Salmon Poetry.

Rebecca Wilkin

Rebecca Wilkin, professor of French, co-edited and translated Louise Dupin’s Work on Women: Selections, which Oxford University Press published. This book marks the first English translation of Louise Dupin’s work, offering a profound feminist analysis of the French Enlightenment.

Antonios Finitsis

Antonios Finitsis, professor of religion, published a book titled Dress Hermeneutics and the Hebrew Bible: “Let Your Garments Always Be Bright” with publisher T&T Clark. This collection of essays examines dress and clothing in the Hebrew Bible.

Antonios Finitsis

Antonios Finitsis, professor of religion, published a book titled Dress Hermeneutics and the Hebrew Bible: “Let Your Garments Always Be Bright” with publisher T&T Clark. This collection of essays examines dress and clothing in the Hebrew Bible.

Karen McConnell & Terri D. Farrar

Karen McConnell, professor of kinesiology, and Terri D. Farrar, associate professor of kinesiology, authored Live Well: Comprehensive High School Health, a text for high school students and teachers that helps students understand and cultivate healthy habits, including nutrition, physical activity, emotional well-being, social health, risk prevention and environmental protection.

Mari Matthias ’94

Mari Matthias ’94 published The Runestone’s Promise with Unsolicited Press. The literary fiction novel is a family mystery set in 1799 Christiania (now Oslo).

Colleen Hacker & Mallory Mann

Colleen Hacker, professor of kinesiology, and Mallory Mann, associate professor of kinesiology, published Achieving Excellence: Mastering Mindset for Peak Performance in Sport and Life.

Jon Grahe & Michelle Ceynar

Jon Grahe, professor of psychology, Michelle Ceynar, professor of psychology, and colleague Rihana S. Mason co-authored Early Psychological Research Contributions from Women of Color, Volume 1. This book compiles the dissertations of 20 cultural pioneers, representing women of color who were among the early recipients of doctoral degrees in psychology.

Silong Chhun

Silong Chhun

Silong Chhun, PLU digital communications manager, co-curated and wrote the narrative for a photo book titled On the Corners of Argyle and Glenwood published by Catfish books. The book documents culture and life for Cambodian refugee families living in Chicago in the 1990s.

Kelli Russell Agodon ’07

Kelli Russell Agodon - Dialogues with Rising Tides

Kelli Russell Agodon ’07

Kelli Russell Agodon ’07, an adjunct faculty member and alumna of PLU’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program (known as the Rainier Writing Workshop), published her latest book of poetry, Dialogues with Rising Tides, with Copper Canyon Press.

Phyllis Wong ’95

Phyllis Wong ’95 published “We Kept Our Towns Going” with Michigan State University Press. The book captures the voices of over 100 women who worked at the Gossard Co. (Ishpeming and Gwynn, Michigan) who led one of the largest successful labor strikes in the garment industry in 1949.

JoDee Keller

JoDee Keller, professor of social work, co-authored a textbook titled School Social Work: A Skills-Based Competency Approach that was released by Springer Publishing. The book provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary school social work and delivers timely content regarding professional identity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice.

Craig Fryhle

Craig Fryhle, professor of chemistry, co-authored the textbook titled: Organic Chemistry published by Wiley, Inc. This is Fryhle’s 13th edition.

Jon Grahe

Jon Grahe, department chair and psychology professor, released his book, A Journey into Open Science and Research Transparency in Psychology with publisher Routledge.

Douglas Oakman

Douglas Oakman, professor emeritus of New Testament, released his book The Radical Jesus, the Bible, and the Great Transformation with publisher Cascade Books.

Nancy Simpson-Younger

Nancy Simpson-Younger, associate professor of English, co-edited an essay collection titled Forming Sleep: Representing Consciousness in the English Renaissance that was published by Penn State University Press. She also published an article in the Early Modern Studies Journal and wrote a chapter in a new book titled Performing Disability in Early Modern English Drama.

Steven Starkovich

Steven Starkovich, associate professor emeritus of physics, released his book The Structures of Mathematical Physics with publisher Springer Publishing.

Karen McConnell and Terri D. Farrar

Karen McConnell, Dean of Education & Kinesiology, and Terri D. Farrar, Associate Professor of Kinesiology, co-authored a textbook titled Live Well: Middle School Health published by Human Kinetics, Inc.

Courtney Gould ’16

Courtney Gould ’16 released her debut novel The Dead and the Dark with publisher Wednesday Books. The YA mystery was praised by critics. Kirkus Reviews described it as “a complex and sophisticated thriller with haunting real-world connections.”

Wendy Gardiner

Wendy Gardiner, associate professor of education and the Jolita Hylland Benson Endowed Chair in Elementary Education, co-published the book Responsive Mentoring: Supporting the Teacher All Students Deserve. The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has recognized the book as a resource for the state’s Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) mentor program.

Nathalie op de Beeck

Nathalie op de Beeck, associate professor of English, edited a collection titled Literary Cultures and Twenty-First-Century Childhoods that was published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Erik Hammerstrom

Erik Hammerstrom, associate professor of East Asian and comparative religions, released his book The Huayan University Network: The Teaching and Practice of Avatamsaka Buddhism in Twentieth-Century China with publisher Columbia University Press.

Sergia Hay

Sergia Hay, associate professor of philosophy, published her new book Ethical Silence: Kierkegaard on Communication, Education and Humility, with publisher Lexington Books. Hay also wrote a chapter in the book Taking Kierkegaard Personally: First Person Responses, and was an interview subject for the “Beyond Stories” podcast.

Roger Hansen ’70

Roger Hansen ’70 published “Masonic Clubs of the District, Territory, and State of Alaska.” The book will be added to collections at select libraries and museums.

Patt Gamino O’Neil ’80

P.A. O'Neil - “Witness Testimony and Other Tales”

Patt Gamino O’Neil ’80

Patt Gamino O’Neil ’80 released a collection of short stories titled “Witness Testimony and Other Tales.” Patt writes under the name of P.A. O’Neil.

Nancy (Wendland) Feehrer ’86

Nancy Feehrer '86 - “Running Across America: A True Story of Dreams, Determination, and Heading for Home”

Nancy (Wendland) Feehrer ’86

Nancy (Wendland) Feehrer ’86 and Boston Marathon Race Director Dave McGillivray wrote their second children's picture book, “Running Across America: A True Story of Dreams, Determination, and Heading for Home.” It tells the true story of Dave's 3,452-mile run from Medford, OR to Medford, MA to raise money for children's cancer research.

Christopher Howell ’67

Christopher Howell ’67 published his twelfth collection of poems, “The Grief of a Happy Life.” The collection explores the interplay between memory and imagination, celebrating the ways that happiness and grief inform one another and give our lives fullness and vitality.

Rick Rouse ’69 and Paul Ingram

Rick Rouse ’69 and Faculty Emeritus Paul Ingram authored “The World is About to Turn: Mending a Nation's Broken Faith.” It offers a biblical and interreligious approach to how people of different perspectives and faith traditions can find common ground for a life of mutual respect and care for each other.

Jacob Taylor-Mosquera ’09

Jacob Taylor-Mosquera ’09 published “I Met Myself in October: A Memoir of Belonging,” a true adventure discussing international/transracial adoption and what it means to belong to two countries and two families.

Michael Halvorson

Michael Halvorson, Benson Chair of Business and Economic History, recently published a new title, “Code Nation: Personal Computing and the Learn to Program Movement in America.”

Rick Barot

Rick Barot, associate professor of English and director of the MFA Program, released his fourth book of poetry, “The Galleons: Poems,” with publisher Milkweed Editions. Barot also recently received the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America.

Philip Formo ’68

Philip Formo ’68

Philip Formo ’68 published his third book, a novel titled “A Steeple Chase,” the story of a fictional pastor who served three very different congregations. The book is filled with humorous as well as tragic events that are part of congregational life. It is available on Amazon and is published by Ingramspark.

Sherry West '97

Sherry West ’97 taught English as a Second Language after PLU. She has been married for the last 20 years, has three children, and is a member of the Indiana chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Her illustrated children’s book, “It’s Raining Cats! It’s Raining Dogs! It’s Raining Bats! And Pollywogs!” was released this year. Sherry used lessons she learned from her PLU children’s lit class when she wrote and illustrated her book.

Katherine Wiley

When a 23-year-old Katherine Wiley first went to Kankossa, Mauritania with the Peace Corps, she didn’t know what to expect. A small-town kid from northern New York, she’d studied abroad in Europe, but knew little about Africa or Islam. Wiley’s new book, Work, Social Status, and Gender in Post-Slavery Mauritania (Indiana University Press), is based on anthropological research she conducted on a return trip years later. It focuses on women who are Haratine—a term that refers to former slaves or their descendents.

Kate Luther ’02

Sociology Department Chair and associate Professor of Sociology Kate Luther ’02 is the co-author of a book titled “#Crime: Social Media, Crime and the Criminal Legal System.” The book looks at how media influences our perceptions of crime and the implementation of punishment, while emphasizing the significance of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality.

Mary (Walker) DeMuth ’89

Mary (Walker) DeMuth ’89 released her 40th book mid-year 2018 titled “We Too: How the Church Can Respond Redemptively to the Sexual Abuse Crisis” (Harvest House).

Kyle Parsons ’16

Kyle Parsons ’16 published a book in October 2018 titled “Professionally Provocative.” A large focus of the book talks about social media and the impact (both positive and negative) it’s had on his life.

Natalie Gulsrud ’03

Natalie Gulsrud ’03 recently published “Street Fights in Copenhagen: Bicycle and Car Politics in a Green Mobility City.” It considers the underlying political conditions that enabled cycling to appeal to such a wide range of citizens of Copenhagen and asks how this can be replicated elsewhere.

Samuel Torvend

Professor of religion Samuel Torvend published Still Hungry at the Feast: Eucharistic Justice in the Midst of Affliction. Torvend, a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, draws on recent research into the life of Jesus to explore the meaning of the Eucharist and contemporary social justice.

Rosanna Pansino ’07

Rosanna Pansino ’07

The creator and host of hit internet baking show “Rosanna Pansino,” Rosanna (Reardon) Pansino ’07 has published Baking All Year Round: Holidays and Special Occasions. It includes 86 recipes that will keep you in sweet treats from Valentine’s Day through Christmas.

Tina Schumann ’09

Tina Schumann ’09, whose mother was an immigrant from El Salvador, is the author of the timely anthology Two-Countries: U.S. Daughters and Sons of Immigrant Parents. The flash memoir, personal essays and poetry were published in 2017, and Rick Barot — director of the Rainier Writing Workshop — wrote a blurb for the anthology.

Corey Dunn ’00

Corey Dunn ’00, founder of the math club at PLU, published a textbook, Introduction to Analysis, in June 2017. He received his master’s and Ph.D. from University of Oregon and he is currently a professor of mathematics at California State University in San Bernardino, California.

Sharon-Gwen (Hagerty ’97)

Sharon-Gwen (Hagerty ’97) West’s illustrative children's book It's Raining Cats! It's Raining Dogs! It's Raining Bats! And Pollywogs! has just received a contract with a New York publishing house. It may be in the bookstores around Christmas or after the New Year.

Carey Taylor ’91

Carey Taylor ’91

Carey Taylor ’91 published a book of poetry, The Lure of Impermanence, in July.

Barbara Minas ’73

Barbara Minas ’73

Barbara Minas ’73 recently published the book: Moscow 1959: A Week with Dad Behind the Iron Curtain.

David Anderson ’73

David Anderson ’73

David Anderson ’73 just published his fifth book, Shepherd of Souls: Faith Formation Through Trusted Relationships. It represents the culmination of 30 years of teaching, leadership training and coaching in seminaries, colleges and congregations across the United States, as well as in Canada, Norway and Australia. He and his wife Gloria Fry ’75 also are writing, Taking Faith Home, a weekly resource that helps individuals and households shepherd one another in faith. Both resources are part of their Milestones Ministry organization and available at milestonesministry.org. Learn more

Jenna (Acker) Harrop ’91

$Jenna (Acker) Harrop ’91 - The Simple Math of Writing Well: Writing for the 21st Century$

Jenna (Acker) Harrop ’91

Jenna (Acker) Harrop ’91 recently published an open textbook titled The Simple Math of Writing Well: Writing for the 21st Century. Harrop is an English professor, department chair and writing center director at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. She has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Denver, a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Colorado State University, and a bachelor’s in journalism from PLU. She is completing a second doctorate this April.

Erin McKenna

In Livestock, past PLU professor, Erin McKenna, allows us to see the unhealthy confinement and poor treatment of livestock in America and presents alternatives. She interweaves stories from visits to farms, interviews with producers and activists, and other rich material about the current condition of livestock. In addition, she mixes her account with pragmatist and ecofeminist theorizing about animals, in particular drawing on John Dewey’s account of evolutionary history, and provides substantial historical background about individual species and about human-animal relations.

Meagan Macvie ’14

Meagan Macvie ’14 recently released her Alaskan coming-of-age novel, Ocean in my Ears. MacVie’s debut novel raises questions of love, purpose and the power to choose your own future, even when your future’s the thing that scares you the most.

Corrie Hulse ’04

Corrie Hulse ’04 recently released When We Let People Die: The Failure of the Responsibility to Protect, a collection of essays examining situations in which R2P, a report called “The Responsibility to Protect,” was — or should have been — implemented, including in Darfur, Iraq, Libya and Syria. The essays also suggest ways the international community might begin to think differently about the various aspects of the principle.

Nikki Poppen-Eagan ’90

Bronwyn Scott’s (pen name for Nikki Poppen-Eagan ’90) work “Dancing with the Duke’s Heir,” one part of Scandal at the Christmas Ball, has been named as a finalist in the Novella Category of the 2018 RITA awards. The RITA, the romance publishing industry’s highest award of distinction, recognizes excellence in published romance novels and novellas. Scandal at the Christmas Ball is Bronwyn’s 40th release.

Trudi (Strain) Trueit ’85

Trudi (Strain) Trueit ’85 is thrilled to be the first children’s author to launch a series under National Geographic’s new fiction imprint, Under the Stars. Trudi’s work Explorer Academy is filled with real-world science, code-breaking and plenty of adventure. The series already has received critical acclaim from director J.J. Abrams, actor LeVar Burton and writer T.A. Barron. Explorer Academy will serve as National Geographic’s first global franchise to include consumer products, family entertainment centers, family travel and education.

Nancy (Wendland) Feehrer ’86

Nancy (Wendland) Feehrer ’86 and Boston Marathon Race Director, Dave McGillivray, co-authored the children’s book Dream Big: A True Story of Courage and Determination. Dream Big is a touching story of rejection, determination, a beloved grandpa, a Boston Marathon attempt, a Boston Marathon failure and the good advice that finally got Dave to the finish line.

Maj. Margaret Witt

Margaret Witt - Tell: Love, Defiance, and the Military Trial at the Tipping Point for Gay Rights

Maj. Margaret Witt

Maj. Margaret Witt '86 released her book Tell: Love, Defiance, and the Military Trial at the Tipping Point for Gay Rights. Witt, a nursing alumna, read excerpts from the book during a presentation on campus in fall 2017. Buy now

Jessica K. Sklar

Jessica Sklar - First Semester Abstract Algebra

Jessica K. Sklar

Jessica Sklar, chair and associate professor of mathematics, self-published First-Semester Abstract Algebra: A Structural Approach.

Bernadette McDonald

The newest book by Bernadette McDonald ’72, The Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voyek Kurtyka, shares her love of nature and the Rocky Mountains. Buy now

Laura (Davis) Hamilton

Laura (Davis) Hamilton ’79 recently published, Lily: One in a Million ‒ A Miracle of Survival, which will be available in spring 2018. Laura wrote about her dog, a Golden Retriever born unable to eat, unable even to lap water. The book tells the story of how Laura managed to keep the dog alive. Because no veterinarian had even encountered a dog with her extremely rare condition, no one was able to tell Laura what to do to help Lily survive, so Laura had to be creative in her intensive management. Lily has survived and is presently working as a Pets As Therapy dog in England. Buy now

Jeff Leisawitz

Jeff Leisawitz, music lecturer, recently wrote about the creative process and pursuing your passions in Not F*ing Around: The No Bullsh*t Guide for Getting Your Creative Dreams Off The Ground. Buy now

Kevin O'Brien

Kevin O’Brien, dean of humanities and associate professor of religion, authored The Violence of Climate Change: Lessons of Resistance from Nonviolent Activists. Climate change is viewed as a primarily scientific, economic or political issue. While acknowledging the legitimacy of these perspectives, the books argues that we should respond to climate change first and foremost as a case of systematic and structural violence. The book offers a constructive and creative response to this violence through practical examples of activism and nonviolent peacemaking. Buy now

Samuel Torvend

Jason Mahn: Radical Lutherans/Lutheran Radicals

Samuel Torvend

Samuel Torvend, professor of religion, joins teacher-scholars from five ELCA colleges in the new book Radical Lutherans/Lutheran Radicals. Chapters follow Martin Luther, Soren Kierkegaard, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothee Soelle and others as they sink deep roots in the Lutheran Christian tradition while simultaneously resisting the status quo. Buy now

Jon Meyer Ericson

The Rhetoric of the Pulpit: A Preacher’s Guide to Effective Sermons

Jon Meyer Ericson

Jon Meyer Ericson ’52 — dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts at California Polytechnic University and past professor at Stanford University, Central Washington University and Pacific Lutheran University — recently authored: The Rhetoric of the Pulpit: A Preacher’s Guide to Effective Sermons. In his work, Ericson treats the sermon as the single most important factor in evangelism for a parish, and also the most important factor in the spiritual growth of both the congregation and the pastor. Buy now

Jeanette Zaichkin

Jeanette Zaichkin ’78 edited Understanding the NICU: What Parents of Preemies and other Hospitalized Newborns Need to Know, which won the 2017 National Gold Award in Parenting from the Independent Publishers Book Awards. Conducted annually, the Independent Publisher Book Awards honor the year's best independently published titles from around the world and bring increased recognition to the thousands of exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles published each year. Understanding the NICU was written as a guide for parents facing the challenges of neonatal intensive care, helping them communicate with members of the NICU team, and learn about their baby’s condition so that they can participate as valuable partners in their baby’s care. Buy now

Marcia G. Anderson

Marcia G. Anderson ’71 released her work, A Bag Worth a Pony: The Art of the Ojibwe Bag, on May 15. The book celebrates Ojibwe bead artists and the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. Buy now

Elea Carey

Elea Carey ’08 is editor of NAIL, a magazine celebrating the ideas and perspectives of creative professionals with the mission of looking at lives across the world. The inaugural issue in summer 2017 explored the meaning of leadership and how to survive bullies in the “post-truth culture” experienced in politics today. Carey earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing through PLU’s Rainier Writing Workshop. Buy now

Marit Trelstad

Marit Trelstad, Ph.D. and professor of religion, is editor and contributing author of Cross Examinations: Readings on the Meaning of the Cross Today. In today’s theological landscape, the significance of the cross has become strongly affirmed and radically questioned. This book gathers theologians and historians who have thought through critical and constructive issues surrounding the cross. Each author addresses the Christian symbol in the context of current theological, sociological, political or environmental issues. Buy now

Ksenija Simic-Muller

Ksenija Simic-Muller, Ph.D. and assistant professor of mathematics, co-authored In Reflecting the World: A Guide to Incorporating Equity in Mathematics Teacher Education. It seeks to bring mathematics to the real world for both students and teacher educators. For Simic-Muller, equity, diversity and social justice are tightly interwoven with teacher education, and Reflecting the World will assist educators in designing and teaching mathematics content and methods in ways that allow future teachers and students to find the relevance of mathematics to our world, as well as to connect mathematics to the lives, interests and political realities of an increasingly diverse student body. Buy now

Duncan Foley, Ph.D.

Duncan Foley, Ph.D.

May 2016 issue of National Geographic. Duncan Foley, Ph.D. and professor of geosciences, was a consultant for the May issue of the magazine. He assisted magazine staff in taking a deeper look at the geothermal activity below the surface of Yellowstone National Park.

Jessica Spring

Jessica Spring, resident artist in the Department of Art and Design and manager of the Elliott Press, co-authored the book Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color, along with Chandler O’Leary. It features 27 women who have made a mark on the world. Illustrations, images and archival photos are paired with stories of feminists such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Gwendolyn Brooks and more. Buy now

Tamara Williams

Los oficios del nómada: Fabio Morábito ante la crítica was co-edited by Tamara Williams, professor of Spanish and executive director of the Wang Center for Global Education, and Sarah Pollack (City University of New York). It’s an anthology of 18 critical essays focused on the work of Fabio Morábito, one of Mexico's most important living writers. The collection features essays by scholars from Argentina, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, the U.S., Spain and Venezuela, as well as shorter reflections by well-established writers in the field of Hispanic letters.

Charles Bergman

Professor of English Charles Bergman authored the book A Penguin Told Me a Secret, with contributor Susan Mann. It tells the true story of a face-to-face encounter between the author, his wife and a curious, talkative penguin on an island near the edge of Antarctica. Buy now

Frank Edward Beutler '53

Frank Edward Beutler '53

Frank Edward Beutler did a lot of traveling with his wife, Bibi, before she died in 2010. He has compiled haiku verses and images depicting the natural phenomena they encountered, using the collection to honor her memory. Buy now

Christopher Howell

Christopher Howell ’67 published his 11th collection of poems, Love’s Last Number. A two-time winner of the Washington State Book Award and many fellowships and honors, including the PLU Alumnus of the Year Award in 1982, Howell teaches in the Master of Fine Arts program at Eastern Washington University’s Inland Northwest Center for Writers in Spokane, Washington. Since 1975, he has been director and principal editor for Lynx House Press and he is former director and senior editor of the Eastern Washington University Press. Buy now

Molly Davis

Molly Davis ’75 published BLUSH: Women & Wine. The book is not about alcoholism or never drinking wine again. It’s about awareness, not intervention, and is a thoughtful, reflective and whole-hearted invitation to explore readers’ relationships with wine. It’s an honest, vulnerable and insightful book in which Davis suggests wine has become a daily habit and coping mechanism. Davis encourages readers to step fully into their own lives and bring to themselves all they have to offer. Buy now

Lise (Voss) Hedegaard

Lise (Voss) Hedegaard

Lise (Voss) Hedegaard ’82 published her first children’s book Plants in Disguise. With charming illustrations, engaging prose and intriguing natural history notes, the book introduces elementary-age children to 21 native plants with animal names. Buy now

Shannon Mayer

Shannon (Ryan) Mayer ’87, associate professor of physics at the University of Portland, recently co-edited the book Awaken the Stars: Reflections on What We Really Teach. The book features essays from 25 faculty members in a wide variety of academic disciplines from the University of Portland, including an essay from Steven Mayer ’87, who wrote about what it is they really seek to teach their students in the college classroom. The essays will surprise and inspire students and parents alike, and will encourage educators to be attentive and awake in fresh ways as they engage their students. Buy now

Gabri Joy Kirkendall

Gabri Joy Kirkendall ’09 is a published author and artist who recently released the book The Joy of Lettering. It’s a creative exploration of contemporary hand lettering, typography and illustrated typeface. Buy now

Teresa Ciabattari, Ph.D.

Sociology of Families: Change, Continuity, and Diversity by Teresa Ciabattari, Ph.D. and women's and gender studies chair. Ciabattari's book considers the tension between change and continuity, situating families in a social, historical and economic context. Buy now

Samuel Torvend

Samuel Torvend, Lutheran studies chair, discusses "The Forgotten Luther." Read more of his work in the recently published anthology, The Forgotten Luther: Reclaiming the Social-Economic Dimension of the Reformation. Buy now

Kelsey (Dawson) Goodson

Kelsey (Dawson) Goodson published her first children's book, "Starting School with Weezy."

Lyle Slovick

Lyle Slovick had his book "Trials and Triumphs of Golf's Greatest Champions: A Legacy of Hope" published in May 2016. Slovick works as a consultant for the United States Golf Association Museum and Library in Far Hills, New Jersey.

Rebecca Ellison

Rebecca Ellison compiled the autobiography “Forty Years Master: A Life in Sail and Steam,” written by Capt. Daniel O. Killman and edited by John Lyman and Harold Huycke, Jr. Capt. Killman's book, written in the 1930s, recounts his more than 50 years at sea on sailing ships and steamers. It tells of hurricanes, typhoons, murder and attempted murder, the Alaskan gold rush, recalcitrant crews and bureaucrats, and troubles in ports all around the world throughout the waning years of sail.

Paul Berg

Paul Berg published “Sandra’s Hands: A Reflective Journey from the Vietnam War to the Siege of Wounded Knee,” a personal memoir of the events of Berg between the years of 1966 and 1976. The story begins with Berg's service in the Vietnam War and follows his life as he returns to America, becomes a school teacher, and encounters another war on the Pine Ridge Reservation of South Dakota. In 1973, tensions on the reservation exploded and culminated in the 72 siege of Wounded Knee. A young Lakota woman, Sandra Woundedfoot, changes his life and the lives of thousands of people on the reservation.

Julie (Taylor) Aageson

Julie Aageson - Benedictions: 26 Reflections

Julie (Taylor) Aageson

Julie (Taylor) Aageson recently published two books. “One Hope: Re-Membering the Body of Christ” was written to honor the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Aageson and five others co-wrote “One Hope” hoping it might serve as a lively tool for ongoing conversation about what Lutherans and Catholics share in common. “Benedictions: 26 Reflections” was published in March. “Benedictions” focuses on spirituality and the presence of the sacred in ordinary things: the ground beneath our feet, the ways we bless each other, loss and grief, the making of our homes, doubt and darkness. It reminds readers to live life with feeling, passion and art, paying attention to the holiness of the commonplace.

Rick Rouse

Rick Rouse published the latest book titled "Beyond Church Walls: Cultivating a Culture of Care," the book serves as a timely resource for pastors, church leaders, and seminary students.

John Stewart

John Stewart published his 24th book, “Personal Communicating and Racial Equity,” a 63-page manual for enhancing multicultural competence. See www.johnstewart.org.

Rick Barot

That art should once have been marked with this delicacy: always only one of each thing made, so that your poem has its one life on the sheet you have chosen for it, or the snapshot of the birthday party, everything in the room upended by the children’s jubilation, survives only in the single defended piece of glass.

Rosanna Pansino

The Nerdy Nummies Cookbook: Sweet Treats for the Geek in All of Us showcases recipes by internet personality Rosanna Pansino ’07.

Logan Seelye

Senior Web Designer Logan Seelye's book 10 and 90: The Tackle That Changed Everything, about his journey to walk again after a football accident left him paralyzed, was published in December, 2015. He lives his life by a simple but powerful quote from Charles Swindoll, "Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it."

Seth Dowland

Seth Dowland

In the 1970s, evangelical Christians worked with Republicans to support Christian schools and to fight abortion, gay rights, liberal textbooks, and major feminist objectives. Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right investigates how these beliefs came together under the banner of family values, the most important religious agenda in late twentieth-century American politics.

Katrina Hay

Katrina Hay

Associate Professor of Physics Katrina Hay’s children’s book Little Bear's Big Night Sky, about the surprising scale of our universe, was published in October. “My goal is to spread a positive message about science to as many kids as possible,” Hay said. “This book invites young children to wonder and think big.”

Maria Chávez

Maria Chávez

Associate Professor of Political Science Maria Chávez is the co-author of the forthcoming book Living the Dream: New Immigration Policies and the Lives of Undocumented Latino Youth, scheduled for release in Fall 2014 by Paradigm Publishers. The book is the first to examine the lives of approximately 5 million DREAMers in the wake of President Barack Obama’s 2012 deferral of the deportation of qualified undocumented youth. Chávez also is the award-winning author of Everyday Injustice: Latino Professionals and Racism (Rowman and Littlefield Inc., July 2011).

Paul Manfredi

An Associate Professor of Chinese, Manfredi is the author of Modern Poetry in China: A Visual-Verbal Dynamic. (Cambria Press, 2014)

Read Paul's Blog

www.chinaavantgarde.com

Maria Chávez

Maria Chávez

Associate Professor of Political Science Maria Chávez is the co-author of the forthcoming book Living the Dream: New Immigration Policies and the Lives of Undocumented Latino Youth, scheduled for release in Fall 2014 by Paradigm Publishers. The book is the first to examine the lives of approximately 5 million DREAMers in the wake of President Barack Obama’s 2012 deferral of the deportation of qualified undocumented youth. Chávez also is the award-winning author of Everyday Injustice: Latino Professionals and Racism (Rowman and Littlefield Inc., July 2011).

E. Wayne Carp

E. Wayne Carp, Benson Family Chair in History and Professor of History, is the author of Jean Paton and the Struggle to Reform American Adoption (University of Michigan Press January 31, 2014), which uses previously unexamined sources to offer the first-ever biography of the pioneering adoption activist’s 50-year struggle to reform American adoption.

Tyler TravillianVisiting Assistant Professor of Classics

Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics, has been been awarded two grants:

- A $2,500 Study Away Curricular Development Grant from PLU’s Wang Center, for a trip to Italy to prepare a J-Term 2016 Italy course, and
- An Italian Landscape Exploration grant for $1,800 to cover the plane flight to Italy.

Kevin O'Brien

Kevin O'Brien's book, An Introduction to Christian Environmentalism Ecology, Virtue, and Ethics, was published by Baylor Press in November 2014. This textbook, written with Kathryn Blanchard, examines seven contemporary environmental challenges through the lens of classical Christian virtues. The authors use these classical Christian virtues to seek a “golden mean” between extreme positions by pairing each virtue with a pernicious environmental problem. O’Brien is chair of the Environmental Studies program.

Pauline M. Kaurin

Pauline Kaurin: The Warrior Military Ethics and Contemporary Warfare

Pauline M. Kaurin

Pauline M. Kaurin, associate professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department: The Warrior, Military Ethics and Contemporary Warfare: Achilles Goes Asymmetrical (August 2014). When it comes to thinking about war and warriors, first there was Achilles, and then the rest followed. Kaurin uses Achilles as a touchstone for discussing the warrior, military ethics and the aspects of contemporary warfare that go by the name of “asymmetrical war.”

Samuel Torvend

Samuel Torvend, professor of the History of Christianity: Flowing Water, Uncommon Birth: Christian Baptism in a Post-Christian Culture (April 2014). Part of the Worship Matters series, Flowing Water, Uncommon Birth explores a rich, ancient, multifaceted, deeply Christian baptismal practice and theology. This book invites us to ask important questions about the central mystery of Holy Baptism and the fullness of the baptized life.

Erin McKenna

Erin McKenna

Erin McKenna, professor of Philosophy: Pets, People, and Pragmatism (2013). McKenna’s latest book offers a fascinating new examination of the relationships between humans and their pets—without assuming that such relations are benign or unnatural and to be avoided.

Agnes Choi

Agnes Choi, Assistant Professor of Religion, is the associate editor of Handbook of Women Biblical Interpreters: A Historical and Biographical Guide (2012). This fascinating exploration of 180 women who, over the last 2000 years, have left their marks in the field of Biblical interpretation also covers their influence in church history regarding women's roles in the church and synagogue.

Jason Skipper

Jason Skipper, associate professor of English: Hustle: A Novel (2011). In this novel set in Texas, an ex-con-man grandfather, his restless seafood salesman son and his teenage musician grandson struggle to make up for their past and set course for the future.

David Wolff

David Wolff, associate professor of Computer Science and Computer Engineering: OpenGL 4.0 Shading Language Cookbook (2011). Wolff provides easy-to-follow examples that first walk you through the theory and background behind each technique, then go on to provide and explain the GLSL and OpenGL code needed to implement it.

Sharon L. Jansen

Sharon Jansen: The Monstrous Regiment of Women

Sharon L. Jansen

Sharon L. Jansen, professor of English: The Monstrous Regiment of Women: Female Rulers in Early Modern Europe (2010). When Mary Tudor became queen of England, the succession of a woman to the throne horrified many, including the Protestant reformer John Knox. His blistering condemnation of female rule, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, was followed in print by a series of pamphlets that echoed and expanded his argument that female rule was unnatural, unlawful, and contrary to scripture. In her own variation on this "monstrous regiment," Jansen contributes to the debate about female rulers.

Nathalie op de Beeck

Nathalie op de Beeck, associate professor of English: Suspended Animation: Children's Picture Books and the Fairy Tale of Modernity Paperback (2010). Through a combination of nostalgia and new printing technologies, picture book publishing in America became a popular enterprise between the wars. Suspended Animation analyzes the phenomenon of American picture books and what their imaginative form and content reveal about the modern nation.

Rebecca Wilkin

Rebecca Wilkin, associate professor of French, co-translator of A Woman Who Defends All the Persons of Her Sex (2010). During the oppressive reign of Louis XIV, Gabrielle Suchon (1632-1703) was the most forceful female voice in France, advocating women's freedom and self-determination, access to knowledge, and assertion of authority. This volume collects Suchon's writing from two works—Treatise on Ethics and Politics (1693) and On the Celibate Life Freely Chosen; or, Life without Commitments (1700)—and demonstrates her to be an original philosophical and moral thinker and writer. This translation marks the first time these works appear in English.

Nolen GertzVisiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Nolen Gertz: The Philosophy of War and Exile

Nolen GertzVisiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Nolen Gertz, Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, has published The Philosophy of War and Exile: From the Humanity of War to the Inhumanity of Peace (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2014), the inaugural book in the series Palgrave Studies in Ethics and Public Policy, edited by Thom Brooks.

Anna Leon-Guerrero

The fifth edition of Professor of Sociology Anna Leon-Guerrero’s book Social Problems: Community, Policy, and Social Action was released in August. The book offers a thought-provoking overview of social problems, challenging readers to understand and recognize social problems in their communities and inspiring them to become part of the solution.

Erik J. Hammerstrom

Assistant Professor of Religion Erik Hammerstrom’s new book, The Science of Chinese Buddhism: Early Twentieth-Century Engagements was published in August by Columbia University Press. Examining dozens of previously unstudied writings from the Chinese Buddhist press, the book maps Buddhists' efforts to rethink their traditions through science in the initial decades of the 20th century.

Solveig C. Robinson

Solveig C. Robinson, Associate Professor of English and Director of the Publishing & Printing Arts Program, gave an illustrated talk about researching and writing The Book in Society: An Introduction to Print Culture (Broadview Press, 2013) at the Seattle Central Library on April 6. It was the first event of 2014 for the Book Club of Washington.

Anna Young

In the recently published Prophets, Gurus, and Pundits: Rhetorical Styles and Public Engagement, Associate Professor of Communication Anna Young addresses the shortcomings in university academia, mainly that intellectuals are not encouraged, and in some ways, don’t know how, to become engaged in public dialogue. “I’m trying to look at how people who are obviously very credentialed in some area of expertise manage to engage audiences that don’t necessarily know that much about their topic in a way that is accessible and exciting,” Young says.

Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen

Brenda Llewelyn Ihssen: They Wo Give from Evil

Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen

Visiting Assistant Professor of Religious History and Historical Theology Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen was interviewed by Eastern Christian Books on her new work, John Moschos' Spiritual Meadow: Authority and Autonomy at the End of the Antique World, read the interview.

Michael Halvorson

Michael Halvorson

Michael Halvorson, Associate Professor of History, has published The Renaissance: All That Matters (Hodder and Stoughton and McGraw-Hill, August 2014), a fast-paced introduction to the Renaissance era from its beginnings in Italian city states to later cultural, political and scientific achievements in France, Spain, England and Germany. The book is based on a decade of teaching the Renaissance at PLU and is for both students and general readers.

Douglas Oakman

Douglas Oakman, professor of New Testament, has published Jesus, Debt, and the Lord's Prayer: First-Century Debt and Jesus' Intentions (Cascade Books, 2014), a book deeply rooted in the story of Jesus of Nazareth that is a concern for people mired in debt. Debt was a central control mechanism for the administration of the Roman Empire. It kept peasants at their plows and contributed to the suffering bodies and tortured minds that Jesus attempted to heal. In the end, his praxis to liberate people from perennial debt led to a Roman cross, but his memory was kept alive at the table around which he communed with tax collectors and debtors alike.

Suzanne Crawford O’Brien

Suzanne Crawford O’Brien, associate professor of Religion and Culture: Coming Full Circle: Spirituality and Wellness Among Native Communities in the Pacific Northwest (2013). This interdisciplinary exploration of the relationships between spirituality and health in several contemporary Coast Salish and Chinook communities in Western Washington from 1805 to 2005 examines how these communities define what it means to be healthy, and how recent tribal community-based health programs have applied this understanding to their missions and activities. Crawford-O’Brien has spoken widely on the book in 2014, with public lectures at Willamette University, Oregon State University, the Nisqually tribe, the Shoalwater Bay tribe and the Chinook tribe’s Cathlapotle Plankhouse.

James M. Albrecht

James Albrecht: Reconstructing Individualism

James M. Albrecht

James M. Albrecht, professor of English and Dean of the Division of Humanities: Reconstructing Individualism: A Pragmatic Tradition from Emerson to Ellison (2012). Albrecht argues that our conceptions of individualism have remained trapped within the assumptions of classic liberalism. He traces an alternative genealogy of individualist ethics in four major American thinkers: Ralph Waldo Emerson, William James, John Dewey and Ralph Ellison.

Robert P. Ericksen

Robert Ericksen: Complicity in the Holocaust

Robert P. Ericksen

Robert P. Ericksen, Kurt Mayer Chair in Holocaust Studies and professor of History: Complicity in the Holocaust: Churches and Universities in Nazi Germany (2012). In one of the darker aspects of Nazi Germany, churches and universities, generally respected institutions grew to accept and support Nazi ideology. Ericksen explains how an advanced, highly educated, Christian nation could commit the crimes of the Holocaust.

Douglas E. Oakman

Douglas Oakman: The Political Aims of Jesus

Douglas E. Oakman

Douglas E. Oakman, professor of Religion: The Political Aims of Jesus (2012). Amid competing portrayals of the “cynic Jesus,” the “peasant Jesus,” and the “apocalyptic Jesus,” the “political Jesus” remains a marginal figure. Oakman argues that advances in our social-scientific understanding of the political economy of Roman Galilee, as well as advances in the so-called “Third Quest” for the historical Jesus, warrant a revival—and a critical revision—of H. S. Reimarus’ understanding of Jesus as an instigator of revolutionary change.

Joanne M. Lisosky

Joanne M. Lisosky

Joanne M. Lisosky, professor of Communication, co-author: War on Words: Who Should Protect Journalists? (2011). Violent criminals and corrupt governmental officials harass, co-opt and kill local and foreign journalists in countries from Mexico to Afghanistan, to Russia and the Philippines. War on Words examines the deteriorating and dangerous environment facing journalists and what stakeholders are doing to address this serious problem threatening democracy worldwide.

Jessica K. Sklar

$Jessica Sklar: Mathematics in Popular Culture$

Jessica K. Sklar

Jessica K. Sklar, associate professor of Mathematics, co-editor: Mathematics in Popular Culture: Essays on Appearances in Film, Fiction, Games, Television and Other Media (2011). In this collection of essays, contributors consider the role of math in everything from films, baseball, crossword puzzles, fantasy role-playing games and television shows to science-fiction tales, award-winning plays and classic works of literature.

Joanna Gregson

Joanna Gregson, professor of Sociology: The Culture of Teenage Mothers (2010). Gregson sheds new light into the world of teenage mothers, presenting stories from actual teenage mothers who provide insight into their culture and world.

Kevin J. O'Brien

Kevin J. O'Brien

Kevin J. O'Brien, associate professor of Religion: An Ethics of Biodiversity: Christianity, Ecology, and the Variety of Life (2010). Life on Earth is wildly diverse, but the future of that diversity is now in question. Estimates suggest that species extinctions caused by humans occur at up to 1,000 times the natural rate, and that one of every 20 species on the planet could be eradicated by 2060. O’Brien argues that these facts should inspire careful reflection and action in Christian churches, which must learn from Earth's vast diversity in order to help conserve the natural and social diversity of our planet.

Donald P. Ryan

Donald P. Ryan

Donald P. Ryan, Division of Humanities Faculty Fellow: Beneath the Sands of Egypt (2010). Beneath the Sands of Egypt is the gripping first-person account of a real-life “Indiana Jones” as he recalls a career spent delving into the remains of Egypt's past—including his headline-making rediscovery of a lost tomb in the Valley of the Kings containing the mummy of the famous female pharaoh Hatshepsut.

Neal SobaniaProfessor of History

Neal Sobania: Putting the Local in Global Education

Neal SobaniaProfessor of History

Professor of History Neal Sobania is the editor of Putting the Local in Global Education: Models of Transformative Learning Through Domestic Off-Campus Programs (Stylus Press, May 2015), which emerged from his time as executive director of PLU’s Wang Center for Global Education. It is the first book of its kind to look at domestic off-campus programs as a way of doing global education. Six other PLU faculty/staff members are authors of three additional chapters: Amanda Feller, David Huelsbeck, JoDee Keller, Rose McKenney, Kathy Russell and Joel Zylstra.

Carrie Mesrobian

Sex and Violence, a YA novel by Carrie Mesrobian, MFA ’13, was named one of the Best Books of the Year for 2013 by Publisher’s Weekly. Writes PW: “First-time author Mesrobian makes a bold, memorable debut with a novel that examines both the psychological aftereffects of an act of violence and a teenage boy’s growing awareness of his own destructive attitudes toward sex. Packed with big ideas, big struggles, and big questions with answers that are never clear-cut.”

Ed Hrivnak

WOUNDED: A Legacy of Operation Iraqi Freedom

Ed Hrivnak

Retired Air Force officer and Puyallup resident Capt. Ed Hrivnak ’96 was recognized in December 2013 at the Pritzker military library in Chicago. Part of Hrivnak's work from WOUNDED: A Legacy of Operation Iraqi Freedom is included in the new release Standing Down by the Great books Foundation.

Deanna Nowadnick

I scrambled out of the car, slammed the door, and kicked the rear tire. Squinting into the harsh glare of a flashlight, my first words were louder than necessary, “If you’re going to ticket me, then ticket me! I just want to get home.” Not giving the police officer a chance to respond, I continued, still annoyed, still defiantly frustrated, “I’m tired. Really—I just want to get home!”

SIGNS IN LIFE begins with a late night encounter with local law enforcement. In the harsh glare of a flashlight, author Deanna Nowadnick learns the consequences of speeding through a stop sign. Other incidents follow. All are linked to the divine signs she’s encountered in that bigger journey through life.

Join Deanna as she shares humorous anecdotes and inspirational lessons from her adventures with God. See the signs in life. She might be speeding—yet again!—while you’re navigating a busy street, but together we’re all part of a bigger journey, a greater purpose. We’re all part of God’s great story.

As she used to tell her young sons, “Buckle up. We’re going for a ride.”