Dr. Cynthia Fitch, Professor of Biology

Dr. Cynthia Fitch, Professor of Biology

We recently received the following e-mail from an SPU alumna:

I would really like to nominate Dr. Fitch. When I was a student she was pretty much the only female Biology professor and served as such an amazing example of how to balance being a great scientist, a wife, a mother, a mentor, and a Christian. She shaped the lives and influenced all of my female friends (and many males of course!) and I am sure continues to do so.

Dr. Fitch is Associate Professor at SPU and is the Coordinator of the Pre-professional Health Sciences Program. In 2004, she received the President's Award for excellence. The SPU Response wrote this about her:

In presenting Cynthia Fitch with the President’s Award for Excellence, SPU President Philip Eaton noted that her scientific specialty — genetics — has been much in the news of late as the worldwide discussion of genetic engineering issues continues. He added, “She comes to these issues as a Christian person challenged to excellence, as a scientist engaged in cutting-edge research.”

In the new Science Building, Fitch and her students study chromosomes, using fluorescent tagging. She sees tagging as a teaching tool and as a research technique for medical diagnostics and other wide-ranging applications. “The great thing is, the students and I get to work on tagging right here in our own labs, which keeps us completely current,” says Fitch.

Her significant contributions to Seattle Pacific extend beyond the classroom. As pre-med and pre-dental program advisor, Fitch is instrumental in helping SPU students consistently achieve a 90-plus percent acceptance rate into medical school. She is advisory to Ivy Honorary; serves on the Undergraduate Policies and Evaluation Committee; and co-leads the weekly Biomedical Ethics Cadre. “I work with students who are hungry for challenges and eager to explore the world around them,” she says. “They make my job a pleasure.”

Dr. Delia Nüesch-Olver, Associate Professor of Global & Urban Ministries

Dr. Delia Nüesch-Olver, Associate Professor of Global & Urban Ministries

Dr. Delia Nüesch-Olver is Associate Professor of Global & Urban Ministries at Seattle Pacific University. As a professor, Dr. Nüesch-Olver is committed to the development of World Christians who will know how to engage urban communities and their cultures from a missiological perspective. Before coming to Seattle Pacific University, Dr. Nüesch-Olver was Director for Social, Urban, and Ethnic Ministries for the Free Methodist Church of North America. An ordained minister, she has planted several urban churches throughout her years in ministry.

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Dr. Nancy Murphy, Domestic Abuse Prevention and Advocacy

Nancy Murphy, D.Min., is president of the Global Institute on Violence and Exploitation, the executive director of Seattle’s Northwest Family Life Learning and Counseling Center, and teaches at Mars Gill Graduate School.

Ruth Wicker Schaaf, Violist, National Symphony

Ruth Wicker Schaaf plays viola in the National Symphony Orchestra at Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Ruth Wicker Schaaf studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and graduated from the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik. As the recipient of a Graduate Teaching Fellow Scholarship Award, she received her Master's Degree from the University of Oregon. She has soloed with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle, and the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn. Ms. Schaaf taught viola at Western Michigan University and Andrews University. For two seasons she served as Principal Violist of the Kalamazoo Symphony, and was a member of the Oregon Symphony prior to joining the National Symphony Orchestra. Source

Martha Barkman, Construction Manager

Martha Barkmann is the construction manager for the Harbor Steps in Seattle. "She's thrilled that at age 33, she has a dream opportunity to manage the 1.2 million-square-foot development -- a project similar in size to the Columbia Seafirst Building."

Rebecca King, Boys & Girls Club

Rebecca King is the Director of Communications and Marketing for the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound.

Dr. Miriam Adeney, author, editor, and professor

Miriam Adeney is editor at large for Christianity Today and is Associate Professor of World Christian Studies at Seattle Pacific University.

Dr. Kimberly Moore-Jumonville, Associate Professor of English

Dr. Kimberly Moore-Jumonville teaches at Spring Arbor University.

Melinda Lundquist Denton, Author

Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers is published by The University of North Carolina Press. Ms. Denton is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Dr. Jeeyung Lee, Music Professor and Soloist

Dr. Jeeyung Lee teaches piano at Avila College.

Marilyn Meberg, Humorist and Author

Frighteningly intelligent and unexpectedly hilarious, Marilyn Meberg is smart enough to choose joy over despair any day. She doesn't hesitate to tackle the tough subjects - and with two master's degrees (one in Counseling Psychology), she's got the background to do it. But her knowledge is more than academic. Marilyn's been there - dealing with the loss of a child, the death of her husband, a life-threatening illness, and other crises. She shares her hard-won wisdom in her newest book, Since You Asked. But don't expect her to be boring! Marilyn is warmly encouraging, scripturally sound, and completely zany. "Laughter," she says seriously, "is good for your liver." As one of the original Women of Faith speakers, Marilyn has helped more than 3 million women laugh their way to healthier livers. A long-time resident of California, Marilyn now finds herself living in Frisco, Texas.

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Patricia C. Buchsel, Nurse, Professor, and Clinical Specialist in Oncology

Nationally recognized, Ms. Buchsel has received numerous honors including the Oncology Nursing Society award for Excellence of Scholarship and Consistency of Contribution to the Oncology Nursing Literature, the Connie Henke Yarbro Mentorship Award from the Oncology Nursing Foundation and was selected as the 1999 Outstanding Alumna of Seattle University.

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SPU Alumna: Artist Jackie Brooks

View the artwork of Jackie Brooks here and here

SPU Instructor: Executive Editor & Author

Suzanne Wolfe is Executive Editor of Image, a journal of the arts. She is an instructor at SPU who holds degrees from Oxford University.

SPU Alumna: Small Business Owner & Award-Winning Gardener

Lorene Edwards Forkner, award-winning gardener and owner of Fremont Gardens in Seattle