Flexibility and balance

On attracting and keeping top talent.

Helping scholars balance work and family life is good not only for the professoriate but for the University too: It helps attract and keep top talent. Which is why SCU is pleased to be one of six universities named as a recipient of the 2007 Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Faculty Career Flexibility. The award brings $200,000 to expand and enhance flexible career paths for faculty.

The competition was open to more than 300 master’s universities, with nearly 60 schools vying for the awards. The winners were announced in January. At SCU, the grant will support training and workshops for faculty and administrators, and it will be used to develop a series of courses educating undergraduates about work-family convergence in a changing society.

After all, noted Don Dodson, senior vice provost at SCU, “Research shows that discussion on work-life issues is effective when it starts early.”

—DA

A Reflection

On Monday, April 21, 2025, after news of Pope Francis’s death arrived at Santa Clara University, Dennis C. Smolarski, S.J. stood in the Mission Church and gave a homily for Mass. His words reflected on the miracle of Easter, hope, and the example Francis gave others to follow.

Back to Basics

Bridging classrooms and living rooms, the BBILY Project helps parents help kids with math.

The Accent Artist

Turn those hard American As into proper British “ahs” with the help of dialect coach Kristin Hill ’25

Moral Dilemmas on Wheels

Anthropologist Melissa Cefkin steers us through the ethical predicaments of self-driving cars.