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About Laura Stivers

Laura Stivers is a Full Professor of Social Ethics at Dominican University of California and is the Co-Chair for the Division of Public Affairs and on the bargaining team for the full-time faculty union with California Federations of Teachers.

For six years she served as Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Education; two years as Director of the Graduate Humanities program; and two years as Chair of the Religion and Philosophy Department at Dominican. Laura received her Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, her M.Div. from Pacific School of Religion, and her B.A. from Saint Olaf College. Before coming to Dominican University, she worked for ten years at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina where she taught philosophy and religion and was the Dean of the School of Religion. She is the author of Disrupting Homelessness: Alternative Christian Approaches; Co-author Earth Ethics: A Case Method Approach; Co-author of Christian Ethics: A Case Method Approach; and Co-editor of Justice in a Global Economy: Strategies for Home, Community, and World. Laura has served on the Board of the Society of Christian Ethics and was a past President of the Southeast Commission for the Study of Religion. She also served on the leadership team of the Marin Interfaith Homeless Chaplaincy.

Positions

2020 - Present Professor, Dominican University of California
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2017 - 2020 Dean, Dominican University of California ‐ School of Liberal Arts and Education
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2014 - 2017 Dean, Dominican University of California ‐ School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
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2013 - 2015 Professor, Dominican University of California ‐ Department of Religion and Philosophy
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2010 - 2012 Associate Professor, Dominican University of California ‐ Department of Religion and Philosophy
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2008 - 2010 Dean, Pfeiffer University ‐ School of Religion
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2005 - 2010 Associate Professor, Pfeiffer University ‐ Department of Religion and Philosophy
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2000 - 2005 Assistant Professor, Pfeiffer University
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1990 - 2000 Instructor, Just Economics and Center for Ethics and Economic Policy
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January 1999 - May 1999 Faculty Member, Urban Habitat Leadership Institute
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January 1998 - May 1998 Teaching Assistant, Pacific School of Religion
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September 1996 - September 1996 Faculty Member, Ms. Institute on Women and Economic Development
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January 1996 - May 1996 Teaching Assistant, Pacific School of Religion
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Curriculum Vitae

Disciplines

Research Interests

Grants

2019 - 2020 Transforming Our Pedagogies: Moving from a Religion to a Social Justice Major
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion
Pedagogies for Social Justice and Civic Engagement Grant
Role: Grant co-writer
$35,000
2019 Campus Compact Conference
Arthur Vining Davis Foundation
$1,000
2017 - 2019 Dominican Research Collective Grant
Dominican University of California
$500
2017 - 2018 Scholarly Project on Homelessness
Center for Religious Wisdom & World Affairs
$2,000
2017 To support university community engagement theme of Democracy and Equity
California Humanities
Role: Grant writer
$5,000
2015 To support a university community engagement theme at Dominican University of California
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Role: Grant co-writer
$100,000
2015 student scholarships towards The Washington Center’s summer academic internship program
New York Life Foundation
Civic Engagement Award
Role: Grant co-writer
$20,000
2011 Building Democratic Learning Communities and Fostering Engaged Learning
Dominican University of California
School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Strategic Initiative Grant
$3,000
2011 Engaging Ethics of Care in Nurse Education
Dominican University of California
Strategic Initiative Grant
$3,750
2009 Disrupting Homelessness
American Academy of Religion
Research Grant
$1,500
2008 Department Goals and Outcomes
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion
Project Grant
Role: Project Director
$2,500
2007 Title III Course Revision Grant
Department of Education
$2,000
2007 Title III Research Grant
Department of Education
$5,000
2006 Title III Course Revision Grant
Department of Education
$2,000
2005 Title III Research Grant
Department of Education
$5,000
2004 Lily Endowment
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion
Research Grant
$8,000
2003 - 2004 Workshop Grant
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion
$
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Honors and Awards

  • American Academy of Religion Research Grant, 2009
  • Starnes Award for Outstanding Achievement, Pfeiffer University, 2008
  • Award for Excellence in Service Learning, Pfeiffer University, 2002
  • Phi Delta Sigma Honor Society at Pfeiffer University, inducted 2001
  • Chan Essay Award on Religion and Economics, Graduate Theological Union, 1995, 1997 and 1999
  • Newhall Fellowship, Graduate Theological Union, 1996 and 1997
  • Grant from the Economic Education for Clergy, Inc., 1999

Courses

  • Ethics of Housing and Homelessness
  • Ethics from the Margins
  • Wilderness to Ecojustice
  • Social Justice, Oppression, and Privilege
  • Justice and a Common Good
  • Environmental Advocacy: From Preservation to Eco-Justice
  • Globalization and Economic Justice
  • Philosophy of Human Nature
  • Environmental Philosophy and Ethics
  • Ethics; Moral Philosophy

Education

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2000 Ph.D., Graduate Theological Union ‐ Christian Ethics and Social Theory
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1992 M.Div., Pacific School of Religion
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1987 B.A., cum laude, Saint Olaf College ‐ Philosophy and Urban Studies
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Links

Contact Information

Dominican University of California
50 Acacia Ave.
San Rafael, CA 94901

415-458-3734

Email:

Articles (11)

Books (4)

Book Reviews (12)