Campus Connections

Issue Date: July 11, 2005

News and Notices

The value of a liberal arts education

In a commentary piece published in The Oregonian on June 27, Tom Hochstettler, president, examines the reasons students attend college or university and choose certain majors. Writes Hochstettler: “The strength of the American educational system, the liberal arts system, is that it provides students across disciplines the opportunity to reflect on life, explore different ways of knowing, immerse themselves in the great ocean of human ideas and test themselves intellectually against each other and their teachers.”

When great scientific minds meet

Selected science students at Lewis & Clark are spending the summer conducting research in collaboration with faculty members as part of the John S. Rogers Science Research Program. Each week, the students discuss their research in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and computer science during brown bag talks in Olin 204.

The John S. Rogers Science Research Program promotes collaborative research in the mathematical and natural sciences and provides the framework and financing for more than a dozen student-faculty research projects each summer. The program gives science majors the opportunity to work together, full time, for 10 weeks each summer.

Tuesday, July 12, 12 p.m. “Measurement and Interpretation of Light Curves for Short-Period Eclipsing Binary Star Systems.” Satomi Sugaya ’07 and Scott Henderson ’07 will discuss their research into how light curves from eclipsing binary systems impact the Earth. Faculty research collaborator: Tom Olsen, associate professor of physics.

“Molecular evolution of the toxic enzyme sphingomyelinase D in venoms of brown spiders (Loxosceles).” Lindsay Rogers ’07 and Melody Rynerson ’06 will discuss their research into brown spider venom. Faculty research collaborator: Greta Binford, assistant professor of biology.

Tuesday, July 19, 12 p.m. “High-Velocity Clouds and Their Role in the Evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy.” David Honegger ’06 will discuss his research into interstellar high-velocity clouds. These clouds may provide a continual flow of primordial material into our galaxy—material from which stars are made— and may account for the continuing formation of stars. Faculty research collaborator: Steve Tufte, associate professor of physics.

“Pulse Sequence Development for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.” Daniel Peterson ’06 will discuss his research into the development of techniques to reduce the time needed to conduct NMR experiments. Faculty research collaborator: Niko Loening, assistant professor of chemistry.

“The Development and Characterization of Chemical Shift Thermometers for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.” Jenny Maki ’06 will discuss her research into the design of intrinsic temperature probes for use in NMR spectroscopy. Faculty research collaborator: Niko Loening, assistant professor of chemistry.

An eye on media, religion, video games, and more

Students and faculty members team up to present results of their collaborative research projects. The midweek brown bag talks in July and August are at 12:30 p.m. in Howard 122, unless otherwise noted. Refreshments are provided.

Wednesday, July 20 Robert Eisinger, associate professor of political science, and Loring Veenstra ’06, double major in political science and economics, will discuss “What Media Bias? Conservative and Liberal Labeling in Major U.S. Newspapers, 1992-2004.”

Wednesday, July 27 Ben Westervelt, associate professor of history, and Rebecca Hayes ’06, double major in German studies and history, will give a presentation titled “What Do They Say About the Jesuits?: The Society of Jesus in the Mid-Eighteenth Century.”

Wednesday, August 10 Mark Becker, assistant professor of psychology, and Ian Rasmussen B.A. ’05 will discuss “Fearful Faces Produce Panicked Search.” Howard 115.

Thursday, Aug. 11 Yueping Zhang, assistant professor of psychology, and Chelsea Heveran ‘07, psychology major, will discuss “The Pros and Cons of Video Game Playing.” Howard 203.

Tracking the American river experience

Secondary teachers will immerse themselves in the world of explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during a weeklong summer institute at the graduate school in early August. The summer program will focus on “Rivers and the American Experience: From Lewis and Clark to the Bonneville Dam.”

“The rivers of the sest were Lewis and Clark’s rationale and means for conducting the expedition,” says Christopher Zinn, executive director of the Oregon Council for the Humanities and institute codirector. “Our goal this summer is to teach teachers how to share those experiences with students in the classroom.”

Joining Zinn are Clay Jenkinson, College scholar in residence; Janet Bixby, assistant professor of education at the graduate school; and a team of visiting scholars.

The institute featuers a series of free evening lectures:

Monday, August 8, 7 p.m. Robin Cody discusses “The Spirit of Rivers in Northwest Literature.” Cody is the author of “Ricochet River” (Knopf, 1992) and “Voyage of a Summer Sun: Canoeing the Columbia River” (Sasquatch Books, 1996). Albany Quadrangle, Smith Hall.

Tuesday, August 9, 7 p.m. Clay Jenkinson, humanities scholar in residence at Lewis & Clark, will portray John Wesley Powell, the one-armed Civil War veteran who explored the Colorado River in 1869. Jenkinson is the author of “Becoming Jefferson’s People: Re-inventing the American Republic in the Twenty-First Century” (Marmarth Press, 2005) and “Message on the Wind: A Spiritual Odyssey on the North Plains” (Marmarth Press, 2002). Agnes Flanagan Chapel.

Thursday, August 11, 7 p.m. Robert Kelley Schneiders discusses “Hydropower: American Rivers and the Rise of the Empirical State.” Schneiders is the author of “Big Sky Rivers: The Yellowstone and Upper Missouri” (University Press of Kansas, 2003) and “Unruly River: Two Centuries of Change Along the Missouri” (University Press of Kansas, 1999). Albany Quadrangle, Smith Hall.

The lectures and the teacher institute are funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, with support from the graduate school and the Oregon Council for the Humanities. For more information, call ext. 6040.

Memorial tree walk honors legacy of Evan Williams

In 1990, two Lewis & Clark students conducted a comprehensive census of campus trees and published their findings in a volume titled “A Natural History Guide to the Lewis & Clark College Campus.” The guide included a tree walk that featured 48 species.

Twelve years later, Evan T. Williams, professor of chemistry and founder and chair of the environmental studies major, inspired students to restore the tree walk and enhance its educational and aesthetic value. Williams passed away in 2004; the following year, the restored tree walk was dedicated in his honor.

The walk features 20 campus trees that incorporate the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. Several species of trees along the walk are native trees that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark encountered during their expedition west. A Glenna Goodacre bronze sculpture, Sacagawea and Jean Baptiste, is also located along the walk.

Tree walk maps and guides are available at designated kiosks on campus or can be downloaded from the Web. Enjoy a stroll on campus this summer!

Graduate school receives federal grant for American Indian education

Federal funding will enable the Graduate School of Education and Counseling to train teachers to meet a critical need: American Indian teachers and leaders for American Indian students.

The $930,000, four-year grant from the Office of Indian Education of the U.S. Department of Education brings the graduate school into a consortium relationship with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Indians in Central Oregon. The program will initially recruit and train up to 12 American Indians as teachers and educational administrators through the Northwest Consortium for Training and Developing American Indian Educators.

“One key to this program is its infusion of tribal cultures, histories and worldviews into existing coursework for master’s degree programs at the school,” says Mary Clare, professor of counseling psychology and director of the school’s Oregon Center for Inquiry and Social Innovation. Lewis & Clark’s program is one of approximately 15 in the nation to be funded in 2005.

While 12,479 of Oregon’s nearly 550,000 K-12 students are American Indians, statistics compiled by the Oregon Department of Education show a lack of Indian educational leaders. According to a 2003-04 study conducted by the state’s education department, out of 446 principal positions across the state, only three are held by American Indians. In Portland Public Schools, where 1,025 Indian students are enrolled, the district only employs five Indian teachers and administrators. Tribal and reservation schools in the state enroll nearly 700 students. Eventually, the program will expand to offer teacher and leadership education to the other tribes in the Pacific Northwest and across the country.

IT offers summer classes

Information Technology offers ongoing computer training courses. During the next six weeks, these classes are available: InDesign (three-part course), Backing Up Your Computer, WebDisk and Other Storage Devices, PhotoShop Elements, and Intro to Mac OS X Tiger. For more information, contact IT at ext. 7020.

Historical snapshot

In 1984, Lewis & Clark consolidates postgraduate programs in education, counseling psychology, and public administration into Graduate School of Professional Studies. View more College milestones online.

People News

New faculty and staff

College of Arts and Sciences: Benjamin David, assistant professor of art history; Karen Gross, instructor in English; Susanna Morrill, assistant professor of religious studies; James Proctor, professor of environmental studies and program director; George Skipworth, assistant professor of music and orchestra conductor; and Iva Stavrov, assistant professor of mathematical sciences. In addition, Robert Kugler, Paul S. Wright Professor of Christian Studies and chair of religious studies, will serve as dean for the Arts and Humanities Division.

Graduate School of Education and Counseling: Kim Campbell, assistant professor of education; Sara Exposito, assistant professor of education; Stella Beatriz Kerl, associate professor of counseling psychology; Elizabeth Meador, assistant professor of education; and Richard Sagor, director and professor of educational leadership.

Law School: Janet Neuman, professor of law, has been appointed the school’s first associate dean of faculty. Julia Stumpf is a new associate professor of law.

Other new staffers across campus include: Tana Atchley-Juarez, assistant director, Ethnic Student Services; Martha Davis, departmental specialist, Business Services, law school; Jeff Hanson, paralegal, National Crime Victim Law Institute; Liz Hobbs, administrative secretary, Registrar, law school ; Laura Keniston, Teacher Education administrative secretary, graduate school; Karen Swan, departmental coordinator, Development Services, Institutional Advancement; Jason Voss, serials assistant, Boley Law Library; Lisa Webb, associate dean of students and director, Ethnic Student Services; Cindy Wyllie, departmental coordinator, Student Financial Services; and Sumiko Yourtee, director, Cashier and Credit .

Published, presented, honors and achievements

Faculty and staff serve as ambassadors for the College through their publications, presentations, awards, grants, and other accomplishments. Recent highlights include:

In July, David Campion, assistant professor of history, will present a paper at the annual Anglo-American Conference at the University of London. His paper is titled “An Empire of Souls: The Society of Jesus and European Expansion in Asia during the Age of Discovery.”

Kathy Faust, assistant director for technical services at the Boley Law Library, has been elected secretary-treasurer of the American Association of Law Libraries’ Online Bibliographic Services Special Interest Section.

Tami Gierloff, associate director of the Boley Law Library, has been elected president of the Western Pacific Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries. The chapter’s membership is drawn from Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, U.S. Pacific territories, and western Canada.

Louis Kuo, professor of chemistry, received a $33,640 grant from the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society for 2005-06. His project is titled “Synthesis of Water-Soluble Ruthenium-Alkylidene Reagents for Effecting Aqueous Olefin Metathesis; A ‘Green’ Metathesis Catalyst.”

Yueping Zhang, assistant professor of psychology, published an article in the April issue of the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, 119 (2), 399-410. The article, coauthored with three colleagues, is titled “Involvement of ventral pallidum in prefrontal cortical-dependent aspects of spatial working memory.”

More listings of faculty and staff achievements can be found in our online pressroom.

L&C in the news

College faculty and staff are in the news on a regular basis. Recent mentions include:

KPAM Radio: Robert Eisinger, associate professor and chair of political science, discusses the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. July 1, 2005.

KXL Radio: Steve Kanter, professor of law, comments on the end of the Supreme Court’s session and speculation about Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s status with the court. June 27, 2005.

The Oregonian: Profile of Justin Baughman, Lewis & Clark’s new head baseball coach. “…Pencil hope back into the Lewis & Clark lineup. Justin Baughman, a big leaguer who cherishes his small-college roots, is back on campus.” June 26, 2005.

The Oregonian: Art review focuses on an exhibit by Ted Vogel, senior lecturer in art and program head of ceramics. The exhibit is on view through August 7 at Portland's Contemporary Crafts Gallery. June 24, 2005.

Portland Tribune: Article reports on research into the Australian Bynoe’s gecko that shows the all-female lizards not only reproduce without males, but they outperform gecko species that reproduce the old-fashioned way. June 21, 2005.

Post-Intelligencer/Washington Post News Service (Seattle, Wash.): Satya Byock B.A. ’04 discusses life lessons learned in the aftermath of the South Asian tsunami. June 18, 2005.

School Construction News magazine: A three-page color feature profiles John R. Howard Hall as the “Facility of the Month.” May/June 2005.

For a sampling of how and where Lewis & Clark is mentioned by media outlets across the nation and around the globe, visit the online pressroom.

Events

Traveling exhibit opens in Denver

The College’s traveling exhibition, The Literature of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, opens Monday, August 1, at the Denver Public Library. The exhibit remains on view through September 30.

The exhibition features 60 items in 11 display cases and a number of framed wall pieces with items drawn from the College’s unmatched library of expedition-related literature acquired over the past 20 years.

Since its launch at the Jefferson Library at Monticello in 2003, the exhibit has been on view at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia; the Louisville Free Public Library in Kentucky; the Boston Athenaeum; Westfield Memorial Library in New Jersey; Fort Mandan in North Dakota; the Oregon Historical Society in Portland; and the Washington State Historical Society in Tacoma.

Upcoming

Visit the campus Web calendar for events coming up in July and August.