Theatre arts professor assumes new role: faculty president

David Hlavsa to lead Saint Martin’s University

September 27, 2006

Lacey, Wash. – David Hlavsa, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts, has assumed the role of Saint Martin’s University faculty president for the 2006/2007 academic year, chairing the Faculty Senate and representing the University’s 70-member faculty.

Since 1989, Hlavsa has taught acting, directing and playwriting at Saint Martin’s. His new book, An Actor Rehearses: What to Do When -- and Why, due out from Allworth Press in November not only describes the actor’s rehearsal process, but it also Hlavsa says “shows how, in pursuing their craft, actors can become better people: more compassionate, vital and alive.”

“The main reason I took on the job as Faculty President,” says Hlavsa, “is that it gives me great joy to work with and represent such articulate, bright, engaged and passionate people. This is a time of great change for the University, and I want to make sure that the faculty speaks with a strong and unified voice. We need to embrace new opportunities and at the same time preserve the heritage and character of Saint Martin’s.”

In recent years, St. Martin’s University has experienced tremendous growth. Student population has increased significantly, new dorms and educational facilities have been built and a new University president took the school’s helm for the 2005/2006 academic year.

Hlavsa, who earned a bachelor’s degree in theater from Princeton University and a Master of Fine Arts in directing from the University of Washington, has fostered the talents of hundreds of students as young as 11 over his 20-year theatrical career. He has directed and acted in scores of productions featuring students and professionals in Seattle, Minneapolis, Princeton and Lacey, and served as arts writer for the Seattle Repertory Theatre for five years. His latest play, Pack of Lies, has been widely produced.

Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives. Its 22 majors and six graduate programs span the liberal arts, business, education and engineering. A Catholic, Benedictine university, Saint Martin’s welcomes 1,100 students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to Lacey, Wash., main campus and 600 more to three extension campuses.

Contact:
Carleen Jackson
360-438-4485
carleenj@stmartin.edu