 S.F. Archbishop Describes Need for Church Explanation
Affirming the need for an explanation of how Catholic faith intersects with modern culture, San Francisco Archbishop William Levada said it is time to fashion a new Church apologetics, or dissertation on the Church’s view of current issues. Levada’s March 5 speech at USF titled “New Apologetics for a New Millennium?” answered its own question with a definite positive.
“Issues of peace and war, questions about economic justice, respect for life, guarantees for equality and peace, the meaning of sexuality in God’s plan—all need to be included in a new apologetics,” Archbishop Levada said.
The speech—originally the inaugural address in this year’s annual lecture series sponsored by the university’s Catholic Studies Program and the St. Ignatius Institute—was scheduled for Sept. 11, but was cancelled because of the terrorist strikes. Archbishop Levada said the events of that day make his call for greater interfaith dialogue and more religious opinion on modern problems “all the more urgent.”
“Is religion a cause of war and violence?” Archbishop Levada asked. “Can real dialogue exist without asking these two religions [Christianity and Islam] to put their ideas on the same plane? If the aim is understanding, then understanding the truth they are convinced of is key to that dialogue.”
The Archbishop said he is interested in reviving apologetics as a form of Church explanation. There has not been an apologetics written since the 1962 Vatican Council, when a congregation of bishops called for a “new apologetics” as a foundation for dialogue among all people.
Archbishop Levada told the audience of about 100 people at the McLaren Center that the Church must try to influence public policy even though it no longer operates from “a central position in the public square.”
But given the rising influence of Islam, “We may have to wait for a new summit, perhaps a Muslim II,” he said.
Enron Panel Discusses Corporate Accountability
The challenge of how to reign in corporate wrong-doing was the central topic of a USF panel discussion last month on the Enron collapse. Five USF professors from the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Business and Management, and a managing partner from Andersen (formerly Arthur Andersen), the accounting firm responsible for auditing the energy company, were on the panel.
Most of the panel appeared to favor ethical controls of the financial markets, including a more explicit federal policy for ensuring investor safety.
“It’s about accountability, it’s about the corporate culture,” said Les Myers, assistant professor of business and management. “We’ll be seeing extremely high penalties coming out of this.”
But Associate Professor John Veitch, chair of the economics department, said investors should have been wary of a sudden downturn in Enron stock.
“You should be skeptical of what you’re told,” Veitch told the audience of about 100. “Enron has been a good thing for financial markets because investors have been taking stories too long on trust.”
While the faculty members—including Barry Doyle, professor of business and management, and Roberta Johnson, politics professor—debated who should have taken responsibility for Enron’s inflated earnings and hidden accounting practices, Larry Varellas, West Coast managing partner for Andersen, used the platform to explain away Andersen’s failure to uncover the company’s financial problems.
“We, as the auditor, made an error,” in approving one of the infamous Enron partnerships the company created off the books. As it stands now, auditors are only required to give companies the equivalent of a class grade for their solvency, he explained. “Maybe the accounting rules should be changed,” he said.
Former Military Strategist Says U.S. Should be “Sophisticated” on Terrorism
The United States should concentrate on covert intelligence, police work, and the economic links that keep terrorism alive rather than conventional warfare, said former military strategist Patrick Hatcher. A Distinguished Kiriyama Chair Fellow at the USF Center for the Pacific Rim, Hatcher made his case for winning the war on terrorism in a Feb. 19 lecture titled “Afghanistan: What Now?”
“Subtle, simple, sophisticated should be the watchwords for future military policy,” Hatcher said. “Let’s get ahead of the terrorists. Instead of saying, ‘Let’s roll,’ let’s say, ‘Gotcha!’”
A retired colonel and former military strategist in the Kennedy administration and on through Ronald Reagan’s presidency, Hatcher said technological advances are making conventional fighting methods obsolete. Instead of large armies, for example, deploying small, highly trained units is strategically more efficient.
Unfortunately, he said, the United States is still in love with huge battleships and maintaining expensive army bases on foreign soil.
“Now the military is building bases in countries you can’t even pronounce,” like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, he said.
He warned that although the campaign in Afghanistan appears to be over, the war on terrorism will be a protracted struggle because of its “long, deep roots.”
He added that acting like a security force around the world is an untenable position for the United States, which currently keeps personnel stationed in hot spots as far away as the Balkans and central Asia.
“It’s necessary to find ways to operate that do not make the rest of the world want to distress us or destabilize us,” he said.
He was not, however, advocating a dove-like approach. Investing in precision arms, like drone planes directed by radar instead of pilots, is staying in line with the curve of a technologically driven military. The key is to direct money away from conventional fire power, he said.
Hatcher is the author of three books, including Suicide of an Elite: American Internationalists in Vietnam. While a Kiriyama Fellow, he is working on a forthcoming book, America’s Korean Odyssey.
Prize Named for Sociology Professor
A fund has been established in memory of Esther Madriz, associate professor of sociology, said Michael Stanfield, associate professor of history and a co-director with Madriz of the Latin American Studies Program. The fund will support the Esther Madriz Prize for Social Justice, a $500 cash award given to a graduating senior “whose academic excellence and commitment to social justice exemplify Esther’s spectacular gifts to USF and the world,” wrote Stanfield in an announcement of the scholarship.
Madriz, who died from ovarian cancer at her home on Nov. 30, was remembered at her memorial service in St. Ignatius Church as an inspired sociologist, Bay Area activist, and dedicated teacher. “The purpose of the prize is to keep Esther’s example alive, an example of a person who is an excellent academician and who is committed to making the world a better place,” Stanfield said.
Women’s History Month Activities
March is Women’s History Month, and the USF Women’s History Month Coordinating Committee has put together a month’s worth of programming including a knitting circle Mar. 6, 13, and 20; a women’s art exhibit and open mic (art by male artists about women is welcome) on Mar. 7; a women’s luncheon on Mar. 21; a Women’s History Month movie series Mar. 7-8 and 14-15, and more.
All events are free and open to the public. Visit the Web site www.usfca.edu/shep/womenhistory.html for a full list of activities. For further questions about Women’s History Month, call (415) 422-6702 or email kenzig@usfca.edu.
Noam Chomsky to Visit Campus Mar. 18
Linguist, political philosopher, and cultural critic Noam Chomsky will appear on campus Mar. 18. His talk, titled “Human Rights: Global Change and Continuity,” will take place in McLaren Center from 1-2:30 p.m. Cited by The New York Times as “arguably the most important intellectual alive today,” Chomsky is nationally recognized for his critiques of the media, U.S. foreign policy, and human rights.
Physics Colloquia in March, April
As part of its ongoing series of colloquia on a variety of scientific phenomena, the physics department is offering five free lectures in March and early April: “Supernovae and the Fate of the Universe” on Mar. 2 by Dr. Peter Nugent, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; “The Keck Extrasolar Planet Survey” on Mar. 7 by Astronomy Professor Steve Vogt of UC Santa Cruz; “Solar System Studies at Near and Mid-Infrared Wavelengths with the Keck Telescope: First Results with the Adaptive Optics System” on Mar. 14 by Imke de Pater, astronomy professor at UC Berkeley; and “An Acoustic Casimir Effect and Other Acoustic Analogs to Quantum Electrodynamics” on Apr. 4 by Andres Larraza, physics professor at the Naval Postgraduate School.
Faculty Invited to Apply for Distinguished Research Award
The University of San Francisco and the Faculty Association are now seeking nominations for this year’s Distinguished Research Award. All full-time faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business and Management, the School of Education, and the School of Nursing are eligible for nomination. Applications are due by 6 p.m., Apr. 1.
The criteria used in selecting a recipient are as follows: The research must be original, significant, outstanding, and scholarly. It must have been completed within the last three years, and completed while the applicant has been a member of the USF faculty. The award of $2,500 is provided jointly by USF and the USF Faculty Association. In the event of a tie, the purse is divided. Last year’s recipient was Theology Professor John Elliott.
For more information, contact Karen Johnson, chair, Distinguished Research Award, at (415) 422-2759.
Catholicism at Center of Religious Discussion Group
Topics for the “Readings in Theology” series on Tuesdays, 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Cowell 323 will include world religions, the Holy Spirit, and American public policy. Copies of selected readings can be picked up in Campion D2. For more information contact Sally Vance-Trembath, (415) 422-5137, or at sally@usfca.edu.
Spring Business Plan Competition
USF students and alumni are invited to compete in the spring business plan competition organized by the USF School of Business New Venture Center and the MBA Entrepreneurial Club. Proposals for a viable business, including a business model description and list of possible business competitors, are due by Mar. 20 by email to cannice@usfca.edu. The prize for the first-place graduate student or alumni is $5,000. The undergraduate prize is $2,500. The judge’s panel will include venture capitalists and senior executives. David Beirne, partner at world-famous Benchmark Capital, will give the keynote address at the competition on May 3 at 9 a.m. in room 148 of the Lone Mountain campus.
Contest details can be found at www.usfca.edu/sobam/nvc. Questions may be directed to Professor Mark Cannice at cannice@usfca.edu.
Jesuit Foundation Grant Applications
All faculty and staff are invited to apply in the second round of the bi-annual Jesuit Foundation Grant awards. The types of activities and programs or projects supported by the Jesuit Foundation include: opportunities that offer greater theoretical and experiential knowledge of Ignatian spirituality and academic programming, curriculum development, and research projects which bespeak USF’s Jesuit Catholic mission. Past winners include Joseph Angilella, S.J. for an Ignatian Spirituality Retreat for Faculty and Staff; Tom Nazario, law professor, for the Tibetan Children’s Human Rights and Educational Project; and Steven Shatz, law professor, for the Death Penalty Project.
A detailed description of the program and materials for the application process are available in the Provost’s Office, (415) 422-6136, or you can make a request for an e-attachment from Carmen Silva at silva@usfca.edu.
 Loyola House Celebrates Mardi Gras
Jack Treacy, S.J., rector of USF’s Jesuit Community (center, being hoisted by Don Morgan–Major Gift Officer, Development, left and J.J. Thorpe–Director, Residence Life, right), was chief bead thrower and host of the Loyola House Mardi Gras party on Feb. 12. The entire USF community was invited.
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