December Arrives: USD Holiday Events, End-of-Semester Happenings

The month of December is a special time of year, no question. The holiday season is everywhere. At the University of San Diego, events include the celebration of Advent; the traditional Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 2 at Paseo de Colachis; Office of Sustainability and campus partners have a Sustainability Holiday Fair on Dec. 5 at Colachis Plaza; the annual festive Lessons and Carols Dec. 7-8 in Founders Chapel; Special La Gran Terraza holiday events (Dec. 4, 7, 10-11-12, 15); Virgen de Guadalupe Celebration (Dinner, Mass and Play) Dec. 8 in the UC Forums and The Immaculata; Pavilion Dining’s Holiday Dinner on Dec. 11 from 4:30-9 p.m.; Dec. 14 USD Alumni Christmas Mass in Founders Chapel and so much more.

December is equally a time to see an art exhibit or music concert, attend a panel discussion, gain insights for 2020, and to recognize students who’ve put in the time and effort necessary to achieve their goals and requirements. Here are selected events and key dates to remember this month:

Dec. 1-13 — Christ: Life, Death and Resurrection art exhibition, Hoehn Family Galleries. Open noon to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Free. Open to all.

Dec. 1-31 — Be sure to check out USD Athletics teams competing in December, especially men’s basketball (home games Dec. 7, 14, 29) and women’s basketball (home games Dec. 4, 7, 11, 15, 21). West Coast Conference play begins in late December.

Dec. 3-13 — School of Law students’ fall examinations. 

Dec. 3 — Transfer Learning Community (TLC) Integration Showcase, from 12:15-2:15 p.m. in Hahn University Center Forums A-B-C. Free to attend and open to the public. 

Dec. 3 — Torero Ventures Lab Demo Day from 7-9 p.m. in the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. This experiential and interdisciplinary entrepreneurship and innovation management education course — taught by both business and engineering faculty — enables students to test their entrepreneurial ideas before bringing them to market. This event is sponsored by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Catalyzer at USD School of Business. Register to attend. 

Dec. 4 — “Strangers No Longer: Interfaith Conversation on Immigration, Human Dignity and a Call to Action.” University Ministry presents an interfaith immigration panel from 7:30-9 p.m. in the Ministry Center behind Founders Hall. All are welcome to this free event and the Mass for Peace which follows the event at 9 p.m. in Founders Chapel. 

Dec. 5, 10-11-12 — The Music Department has several end-of-semester concerts, each taking place in Camino Hall’s Shiley Theatre: USD Strings and Chamber Music Ensembles (7:30 p.m., Dec. 5, ticket required); Gamelan Ensemble and Mariachi Ensemble Concert (7:30 p.m., Dec. 10, ticket required); Jazz Ensemble Concert (7:30 p.m., Dec. 11, ticket required); Student Recital (12:30 p.m., Dec. 12); Digital Audio Composition Concert (7:30 p.m., Dec. 12, free). 

Dec. 5 — The Changemaker Challenge’s eight finalists are feted at 12:30 p.m. in the Changemaker Hub office in the SLP. Vote totals from their video entries (vote via USD Changemaker Hub Facebook page until Dec. 4) will determine their percentage part of a $6,000 prize money pool. Finalists advancing their idea beyond the Challenge are eligible for bonus support from the Changemaker Hub.

Dec. 5 — Franciscan Vision Series Fall 2019 Lecture: “Saint Francis, Master of Prayer, Part 1” with Michael J. Higgins, TOR, president of the Franciscan School of Theology at USD. The event is at 7 p.m. in Founders Hall’s French Parlor. For more information, contact Sr. Kathy Flood, OSF, at kflood@fst.edu or the Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture at cctc@sandiego.edu 

Dec. 6 — The Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate’s 19th annual Residential Real Estate Conference offers an outlook for 2020. Featured speakers include Norm Miller, Hahn Chair of Real Estate Finance at USD’s School of Business, and Tim Sullivan, managing principal of Meyers Research. Miller and Sullivan will provide national and local forecasts for residential markets. Sullivan will moderate a panel that will discuss rent control, inclusionary housing, NIMBYism, transit-oriented development, up-zoning, SOS initiative and more. The event runs from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Register here. Cost is $90. Discount tickets for USD faculty, staff and students available. 

Dec. 6 — Engineering and Computing Expo, 2:30-5 p.m., Belanich Engineering Center. Come meet Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering’s students who are doing Senior Design projects. See how they are working with community partners to reduce waste in the Tijuana Estuary, building autonomous drone charging stations and more. Free to attend, open to the public.

Dec. 11 — More Human, a live storytelling event, is curated around different themes each month. This last one for 2019 is “Apart.” Faculty, staff and students share meaningful experiences or challenges they’ve overcome. The event starts at 4:30 p.m. in USD’s Humanities Center, Saints Tekakwitha and Serra Hall Room 200. It is free and all are welcome. 

Dec. 13 — Last day of Fall 2019 classes for undergraduate and graduate students.

Dec. 13 — Mid-Year Graduates’ Mass. Students completing their studies after the fall semester, but technically January 2020 graduates, and their guests are invited to attend the Mid-Year Graduates Mass at 3 p.m. in Founders Chapel. Following Mass, graduates have the opportunity to take photos in regalia in the French Parlor of Founders Hall.

Dec. 16-20 — Final exams for undergraduate and graduate students.

For information about all special Holy Day and Holiday Masses in December, please visit The Immaculata Catholic Church website. USD’s Founders Chapel has daily mass through Dec. 23 and the final Sunday Mass of Fall 2019 is Dec. 15.

— Compiled by Ryan T. Blystone