ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ

Earlier this year, ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ University received a Reframing the Institutional Saga grant from the Council on Independent College's NetVUE Program. The purpose of this grant program is to enable institutions to produce an updated account of their history and mission in light of their current context. One way to understand ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ’s past and present is through the creative arts. Poetry, art, photography, storytelling, and music allow us to express ourselves. We invite ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ students, faculty, staff, and alumni to reflect on the following prompts and express yourself, creatively, to help us understand ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ’s past and to contextualize our present circumstances

Creative Prompts

1. Where do you see the Setonian spirit and charism in our contemporary moment?
2. Visualize a moment from your life at ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ with a fleeting scene or cherished memory—that you wish to hold onto. Create art that reflects the memory or feeling you had.
3. With this sentence as a prompt: “I knew then that my life would never be the same because of ________.” (Insert the name of a person at SHU or one of its buildings, or scenic landscape such as the SHU drive, etc.) Express creatively what happened before and what changed in that experience.
4. The Sisters of Charity planted the London Plane trees as seedlings along ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ Drive. They are now majestic trees that reach to the sky, providing shade for the traveler and inspiration for the soul. Create a work that responds to these magnificent trees.
5. What ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ tradition (tree planting, Crib ceremony, Christmas on the Hill, etc) is your favorite? Express in a creative way what this experience means to you.

Any current, or former, ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ student, staff or faculty member may participate. The review committee will accept submissions of art in every medium, creative written work (poetry, story, song, play, etc.), musical performance (written or performed) or theatre and dance, as well as digital art (graphic design, film, photography, etc.).

Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis. Entrants must supply contact information, title of the work, a brief reflection of the work, and a digital file (Word doc, PDF, JPG, TIFF, MOV, etc.) less than 1 GB in size that contains the contents or depiction of your creative work. Submissions must be related to the provided prompts, which ask you to reflect on ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ’s mission, history, identity, etc.

All creative works must be submitted through this by May 2, 2025. Juried selections will be announced by June 6, 2025. Publications will be released in January 2026. 

Christine Cusick, Professor of English, and Sister Mary Kay Neff, Associate Professor of Art, Graphic Design & Interactive Design, in collaboration with Casey Bowser, University Archivist, will jury the submissions. Selected works will be identified for publication in either a book, magazine, or website. The Reframing the Institutional Saga project will have three separate iterations. Selections may be used in one publication or all three. The creative works selected will complement historical narratives currently in production by ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ faculty.

We want all Setonians to be a part of defining, and redefining, ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ’s vocation as a Catholic, Setonian institution and have the opportunity to have creative work celebrated, showcased, and published. By reflecting on their own experience, we hope Setonians feel more connected to ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ.