University of San Diego: College of Arts and Sciences

08/22/2026

Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, offers a wide-ranging set of reflections on human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence. Rooted in the tradition of Catholic social teaching, the encyclical addresses the effects of A.I. on such varied matters as warfare, governance, human relationships and education.

This forum, a collaboration between the Humanities Center, Mission Integration, and the College of Arts and Sciences at USD, brings together speakers from across campus to discuss major elements of the encyclical. Occurring at the very start of the semester, the event will serve to open a conversation on the Pope’s thinking and on the challenges artificial intelligence poses to us all.

Tuesday, September 8
4-5:30 p.m.
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Theatre

Reception to follow.

Speakers:
Julia Cantzler, PhD, JD | Sociology
Victor Carmona, PhD | Theology and Religious Studies and Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Brian Clack, PhD | Philosophy and A. Vassiliadis Distinguished Director of the Humanities Center
Darren Kew, PhD | Dean, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies
Noelle Norton, PhD | Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Darby Vickers, PhD | USD Department of Philosophy

PLEASE REGISTER HERE: https://www.sandiego.edu/newscenter/146972

08/14/2026

Brian Clack, A. Vassiliadis Distinguished Director of the Humanities Center, joined the "At the Edge of it All" podcast to discuss the 10 year anniversary of the University of San Diego's Humanities Center and how the center has encouraged not only students and faculty, but the greater community, to be lifelong learners through their events, research opportunities and free art gallery on campus.

Clack also shared how the community is invited to the upcoming KPBS San Diego Book Festival next Saturday, August 22, that allows readers of all ages to enjoy the joy of reading on the university's campus.

Click the link below to watch the whole episode!

Brian Clack, A. Vassiliadis Distinguished Director of the Humanitie...

08/12/2026

University of San Diego professor of history, Thomas Barton, PhD, has been awarded a prestigious fellowship with the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) for the coming academic year.

Barton joins a distinguished list of past and present IAS scholars that includes Nobel Laureates, MacArthur fellows, Pulitzer Prize winners and more. Click the link below to read more! https://www.sandiego.edu/newscenter/151903

08/04/2026

Saturday, August 22, 2026
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
On the University of San Diego campus!

In partnership with KPBS, we are bringing our community closer together through the shared experience of reading and discussing great books!

Come to the KPBS San Diego Book Festival on the University of San Diego campus on Saturday, August 22, for this all-day free event for book lovers of all ages.

Attendees will enjoy panel discussions with award-winning authors, activities, live entertainment, exhibitors including local authors and independent booksellers, a whole fun children’s book and play area, lots of food and music and more! Check out the list of authors below who will be there! We will also have panels with several of our USD authors as well!

Please click this link below to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kpbs-san-diego-book-festival-registration-1989337228201?aff=oddtdtcreator

Authors include:
📚Andy Harkness ()
📚Julie Abe ()
📚Salina Yoona ()
📚Shugri Salh ()
📚Rasheed Newson (.newson.author)
📚Deborah Underwood ()
📚Vanessa Hua ()
📚Greg Karber ()
📚Alexandra Bracken ()
📚Sumayyah (Maya) Beck ()
📚Carlyn Greenwald ()
📚Oliver James ()
📚Jim Miller
📚Kelly Mayhew ()
📚Addie Thorley ()
📚T. Jefferson Parker
📚Kazim Ali ()
📚María Dolores Águila (.d.aguila)

See you there!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVmo8DVDVOk

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

08/02/2026

A new children's book is using academic research, poetry and illustrations to teach readers about ecology at the San Diego-Tijuana border.

It is called "Alas al Borde" or "Borderland Wings." It was illustrated by USD Associate Professor of Architecture Adriana Cuéllar! Click the link below to learn more!

The book, "Alas al Borde: Borderland Wings," tells the story of a migrant duck and a native bird exploring the border landscape. Then, KPBS' Beth Accomando previews two new plays opening this weekend. Finally, hear your weekend preview.

07/30/2026

Teaching Professor in the Department of Biology, Helen Jannke, and Hoover High School student researchers she is working with, were featured on San Diego’s CBS 8!

In collaboration with the Ocean Discovery Institute, the students are working in the Donald P. Shiley Center for Science and Technology this summer, studying pollution that is littering our coastlines- with an emphasis on microplastics.

Click the link to read more and watch the video! Great work!!

Hoover High students spent two weeks at the University of San Diego testing local beach sand for microplastics through Ocean Discovery Institute.

07/03/2026

Why do people root for the underdogs? And, what leads basketball players to throw a three-point shot with seconds left in a game?

Nadav Goldschmied, professor of psychological sciences, sat down with USD's "At the Edge of it All" team to share why he decided to pursue a niche career in sports psychology and what he hopes people can gain from his research in underdogs and taking risks in a high-stakes game.

Why do people root for the underdogs? And, what leads basketball pl...

07/01/2026

The University of San Diego’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter inducted Noelle Norton and Nicholas Santilli as honorary members on April 27 in a campus ceremony held on the eve of the Society’s first regional program in its 250th celebration. Norton serves as USD’s Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Santilli, as Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives.

Honorary membership is among Phi Beta Kappa’s highest recognitions and one Phi Beta Kappa chapters confer selectively. Norton and Santilli enter a membership that has spent 250 years championing the kind of education and leadership they have built their careers around. The election recognizes them, and the Society is stronger for their joining.

USD President Jim Harris named those qualities directly in his introduction. “Both Noelle and Nick are being recognized for embodying the USD ideal of being a changemaker,” he said, “demonstrating that a deep, multidisciplinary curiosity is the most powerful tool we have for addressing humanity’s most urgent challenges.” Click the link below to read more!

The University of San Diego’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter inducted Noelle Norton and Nicholas Santilli as honorary members on April 27 in a campus ceremony held on the eve of the Society’s first regional program in its 250th celebration.

06/04/2026

USD Assistant Professor of Sociology Odilka Santiago, PhD, began studying homelessness and housing justice in 2017 after her sister entered a shelter in New York. Click the link below to watch more on the story and Dr. Santiago's work.

A USD professor's research highlights the rise of first-time homeless individuals, emphasizing housing costs and system challenges.

06/02/2026

In early 2022, a computer science student stood before Darby Vickers’ artificial intelligence (AI) ethics class to present on GPT-3, OpenAI’s language model that was just beginning to capture attention beyond tech circles. When he demonstrated the tool on screen, generating increasingly sophisticated results after each prompt, the implications were crystal clear.

“That was a moment when I knew something big was coming,” said Vickers, PhD, assistant professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences. And it arrived quickly. By the time ChatGPT 3.5 launched in November 2022, faculty meetings were being convened almost immediately. The provost’s office wasted no time in forming a steering committee to prepare for AI’s evolving impacts.

Click the link below to read the full article from USD's magazine!!
https://www.sandiego.edu/newscenter/141942